Thom S. Rainer's Blog, page 200
March 31, 2017
Six Warning Signs That a Church Has a Problem with Entitlement Mentality – Rainer on Leadership #315
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Entitlement is a real problem in many churches. So today, we discuss warning signs you might see in a church that has a problem with entitlement mentality.
Some highlights from today’s episode include:
The pervasive force affecting the Millennial generation is entitlements.
We are living in an entitled atmosphere, and it’s affecting our churches.
One of the ways the church can be counter cultural is by having a non-entitled mentality.
Don’t assume that everyone in your new member class is already a Christian.
Every church membership class should be a gospel conversation.
Service in the church is one antidote to entitlement in the church.
Many times, entitled leaders seek out places of influence in the church.
Leaders who put off difficult decisions become leaders with even more difficult decisions.
You will feel a lot more pain down the road if you avoid making difficult decisions when needed.
The six warning signs we discuss are:
Failure to state clearly the expectations of church membership on the front end.
Failure to make certain as possible that members are Christians.
Seeking numerical growth at all costs.
Failure to remind the congregation regularly what it means to be a part of the body of Christ.
Allowing the most entitled members into positions of key leadership in the church.
Failure to deal with difficult issues.
Episode Sponsors
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Vanderbloemen Search Group is the premier pastor search firm dedicated to helping churches and ministries build great teams. They’ve helped hundreds of churches just like yours find their church staff and are uniquely geared to help you discern who God is calling to lead your church.
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Feedback
If you have a question you would like answered on the show, fill out the form on the podcast page here at ThomRainer.com. If we use your question, you’ll receive a free copy of Who Moved My Pulpit?
Resources Mentioned in Today’s Podcast
How the Entitlement Mentality Crept into Our Churches
March 30, 2017
The Pros and Cons of Facebook for Pastors and Church Staff
By Jonathan Howe
While advocating for social media and online engagement by pastors and church staff, I’m continually asked about parameters for engagement. The problem is that every situation is unique. There’s not a one-size-fits-all recommendation for social media and online engagement by pastors and church staff.
Facebook is different than Twitter, and both of those are different than the world of blogging. Since Facebook is the most popular platform, it is often the most used and most abused by church members. A pastor or church staff member on Facebook can be a valuable resource to church members as well as a big target.
The Pros
There are many positives for pastors and church staff who are active on Facebook.
Your members are there. Because it’s the most used platform, your church members are likely to be there, too. It makes communication easier for you and the church.
Your members can see that you have a life outside of church. Because of the ease of sharing pictures and events from your everyday life, members can get to know more about you as a person. They get to see that you have a life outside of your job at the church.
You are easy to connect with and contact. Because of the ease of connection on Facebook, church members and community members can connect with you and, by extension, the church. Facebook can become a great outreach tool if you connect well with those in the church and community through its platform.
The Cons
Ironically, the positives that Facebook can bring you online can also be negatives.
Your members are there. Church members can see everything you say or do online. Things can easily be misconstrued, misinterpreted, or misrepresented. I’ve seen something as simple as changing ones profile picture lead to an inquisition about searching for a new job.
Your members can see that you have a life outside of church. Churches are often busy. Church staffs are often even busier. But what about that one event not in your area of ministry that you choose not to attend? The one you skipped for your kid’s play or for a trip with lifelong friends? You can almost expect someone to be upset you chose something else over him or her. It’s not fair. It’s not right. But it will likely happen.
You are easy to connect with and contact. For many pastors or church staff members, their busiest time on Facebook is often Sunday mornings. People often post or message them about being out of town or being sick or needing someone to fill in. Because of the ease of access, Facebook connections are subject to abuse by church members at times.
You might expect me to weigh the pros and cons and determine whether or not you should be on the platform—but that is for you to decide. As for me, even with the cons, the positives of Facebook and the opportunities it presents for ministry far outweigh the temporary frustrations of the negatives.
Jonathan Howe serves as Director of Strategic Initiatives at LifeWay Christian Resources as well as the host and producer of Rainer on Leadership and SBC This Week. Jonathan writes weekly at ThomRainer.com on topics ranging from social media to websites and church communications. Connect with Jonathan on Twitter at @Jonathan_Howe.
March 29, 2017
Eight Unintended Consequences of Building a Church Facility Too Big
I call it “the aftermath.”
A church goes through an intense time of planning and fundraising to construct a new facility. Then the members participate in a groundbreaking service. Finally, the building is constructed in the midst of great hope and anticipation.
Then the bottom falls out.
The great hope that accompanied the building of the facility becomes a great despair. The church realizes the building is far more than they need, that the expenditures were far greater than they should have been, and that alternative and smaller plans were wrongly rejected.
The church built too big.
And now comes the aftermath. I also call it “unintended consequences.” Here are eight of them:
Debt becomes shackles. There are different schools of thought about churches taking on debt. Some would insist a church should remain debt-free. Another would be okay with moderate and reasonable debt. But in this case, the indebtedness is neither zero nor reasonable. It is burdensome and even debilitating.
Morale is hit hard. The morale swing in the church is dramatic. It is one thing for a church to have low morale. It is another thing for a church to have low morale after experiencing high expectations and a great morale.
Leaders spend too much time with a new narrative. They find themselves constantly explaining what happened, regularly defending their decisions, or falling on their swords with each new question and comment.
Utility costs are too high and burdensome. Almost every church I have seen in this situation underestimated the costs of utilities in the new facilities. Those extra and often unexpected expenditures further cripple the church financially.
They built it, but they didn’t come. It is not uncommon for churches that build too big to expect that growth will take care of the bigger facility. Rarely does a facility alone attract the unchurched and the nominally churched.
The church becomes dangerously nostalgic. The members remember “the good old days” when they had smaller but more used facilities. They long for the past where debt was not such a burden. Any church that lives in the past is headed for a future that holds imminent decline and death.
There are fewer financial resources for ministry. Most of the funds are used to pay personnel costs and the costs of the facilities, including indebtedness.
The church has difficulty finding good successor pastors. It is not unusual for the pastor to leave, frustrated and fearful of the financial burdens of the church. It then becomes exceedingly difficult to find a good successor pastor, once the candidates see how few dollars can actually be used for ministry in the church.
Don’t build too big. Plan carefully before you do. Be careful you don’t get too zealous in the types and sizes of facilities your church will build.
You will pay dearly for your mistakes in the future.
March 28, 2017
Introducing the Christian Standard Bible with Trevin Wax – Rainer on Leadership #314
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Released just this month, the Christian Standard Bible is optimal point for accuracy and readability. Trevin Wax joins us to shed light on this new translation and highlights some of its unique characteristics.
Some highlights from today’s episode include:
When selecting a Bible, you shouldn’t have to choose between accuracy and readability.
The CSB Translation team went through every verse and asked if it’s as accurate and as readable as possible.
Capitalization of divine pronouns can often force a translator into making theological decisions.
“We should be grateful for the wealth of biblical resources we have.”
The CSB is a translation that is solid enough for scholars and easy enough to read for new Christians.
“The response to the CSB has been overwhelmingly positive.”
Not all Bible translations are stewarded by Christian organizations—the CSB is.
The points we discuss with Trevin are:
The philosophy of optimal equivalence
Changes from HCSB to CSB
Putting CSB on the map in relation to other translations
We shouldn’t have to choose between word-for-word and dynamic
CSB is a great primary translation because it’s an optimal blend of accuracy and readability
Ultimately, we want more people reading the Bible
Episode Sponsors
Vanderbloemen Search Group is the premier pastor search firm dedicated to helping churches and ministries build great teams. They’ve helped hundreds of churches just like yours find their church staff and are uniquely geared to help you discern who God is calling to lead your church.
Find out more about Vanderbloemen Search Group by visiting WeStaffTheChurch.com.
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Feedback
If you have a question you would like answered on the show, fill out the form on the podcast page here at ThomRainer.com. If we use your question, you’ll receive a free copy of Who Moved My Pulpit?
Resources Mentioned in Today’s Podcast
Christian Standard Bible – This link contains all the information for all the Bibles mentioned in today’s episode.
March 27, 2017
Urgent Church: Nine Changes We Must Make Or Die
It broke my heart.
Another church closed. This church had unbelievable potential. Indeed, it had its own “glory days,” but only for a season. But, 10 years ago, few would have predicted this church’s closure. Today, it is but another statistic in the ecclesiastical graveyard.
I know. We don’t compromise doctrine. I know. We must never say we will change God’s Word.
But many of our congregations must change. They must change or they will die.
I call these churches “the urgent church.” Time is of the essence. If changes do not happen soon, very soon, these churches will die. The pace of congregational death is accelerating.
What, then, are some of the key changes churches must make? Allow me to give you a fair warning. None of them are easy. Indeed, they are only possible in God’s power. Here are nine of them:
We must stop bemoaning the death of cultural Christianity. Such whining does us no good. Easy growth is simply not a reality for many churches. People no longer come to a church because they believe they must do so to be culturally accepted. The next time a church member says, “They know where we are; they can come here if they want to,” rebuke him. Great Commission Christianity is about going; it’s not “y’all come.”
We must cease seeing the church as a place of comfort and stability in the midst of rapid change. Certainly, God’s truth is unchanging. So we do find comfort and stability in that reality. But don’t look to your church not to change methods, approaches, and human-made traditions. Indeed, we must learn to be uncomfortable in the world if we are to make a difference. “We’ve never done it that way before,” is a death declaration.
We must abandon the entitlement mentality. Your church is not a country club where you pay dues to get your perks and privileges. It is a gospel outpost where you are to put yourself last. Don’t seek to get your way with the music, temperature, and length of sermons. Here is a simple guideline: Be willing to die for the sake of the gospel. That’s the opposite of the entitlement mentality.
We must start doing. Most of us like the idea of evangelism more than we like doing evangelism. Try a simple prayer and ask God to give you gospel opportunities. You may be surprised how He will use you.
We must stop using biblical words in unbiblical ways. “Discipleship” does not mean caretaking. “Fellowship” does not mean entertainment.
We must stop focusing on minors. Satan must delight when a church spends six months wrangling over a bylaw change. That’s six months of gospel negligence.
We must stop shooting our own. This tragedy is related to the entitlement mentality. If we don’t get our way, we will go after the pastor, the staff member, or the church member who has a different perspective than our own. We will even go after their families. Don’t let bullies and perpetual critics control the church. Don’t shoot our own. It’s not friendly fire.
We must stop wasting time in unproductive meetings, committees, and business sessions. Wouldn’t it be nice if every church member could only ask one question or make one comment in a meeting for every time he or she has shared his or her faith the past week?
We must become houses of prayer. Stated simply, we are doing too much in our own power. We are really busy, but we are not doing the business of God.
Around 200 churches will close this week, maybe more. The pace will accelerate unless our congregations make some dramatic changes. The need is urgent.
Hear me well, church leaders and church members. For many of your churches the choice is simple: change or die.
Time is running out. Please, for the sake of the gospel, forsake yourself and make the changes in God’s power.
March 26, 2017
Pray for Lighthouse EPC
Location: Mooresville, North Carolina
Pastor: Ken Chivers
Weekly Worship: 10:30 AM, Eastern
Fast Facts: Lighthouse EPC was planted in 2000 in the Lake Norman area of Mooresville, NC. Its original name was Lake Norman Fellowship, but after the founding pastor left in 2014 to be a part of a missions group to pastors in Zambia, the congregation of 55 members renamed the church to Lighthouse in an effort to represent how they are to take the gospel to the community. The name change came in conjunction with a renewed emphasis on outreach to the community with much reliance on the Spirit. Please pray as they launch neighborhood prayer walks and outreach events this year. Also pray for the elders at Lighthouse EPC as they reevaluate every facet of the church in order to be a Great Commission church.
Website: LighthouseEPC.org
“Pray for . . .” is the Sunday blog series at ThomRainer.com. We encourage you to pray for these churches noted every Sunday. Please feel free to comment that you are praying as well.
If you would like to have your church featured in the “Pray for…” series, fill out this information form..
March 25, 2017
Notable Voices and the Week in Review: March 25, 2017
Five Things the Traditional Church Is Doing Well
12 Metrics for Church Assessment – Rainer on Leadership #312
Five Fascinating Lessons from a “Secret” Guest in Church Worship Services
Five Reasons Why This Millennial Still Likes Using Hymnals
Eight Easter-Related Church Trends – Rainer on Leadership #313
Six Lessons Learned Ministering in a Blue-Collar Community — Craig Thompson
For a long time, I struggled with some of my blue-collar guilt until I realized that God had put me in a position to minister well among this blue-collar crowd. These are my kind of people. I understand them and amazingly, they seem to understand me. As a result, I have worked to overcome my false guilt and to tap into the riches of my background that enable me to better minister among the people to whom God has called me. Here are some lessons I’ve learned:
Four Questions You Must Ask Yourself Before Hiring a Friend — Art Rainer
At first, it seems like a great idea. You know him, trust him, and like being around him. What more could you want? This is the mindset many fall into when presented with the opportunity to hire one of their friends. They imagine their friend only increasing the happiness of their work environment. And for a while, it may. Unfortunately, bringing a good friend on to the team does not always work out well. How do you know if you are making the right decision when such an opportunity presents itself? Here are four key questions you must ask yourself before hiring a friend:
Five Realities About the Weight of Pastoring — Eric Geiger
When the apostle Paul listed all his sufferings, he concluded the list with referencing his burden for the churches he served. The weight of pastoring, though filled with immense joy, was a weight that topped Paul’s list of suffering.
Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? (2 Corinthians 11:28-29)
Notice a few of the words Paul uses: face, daily, pressure, concern, sin, inwardly, burn. With those words in view, here are five realities about the weight of pastoring.
Are You Confusing Leadership and Control? — Michael Hyatt
Aspiring leaders would do well to stop focusing on control and figure out how to expand their influence. Here are four ways you can become a person of influence, no matter your position in your organization:
Why Ministry Is Discouraging — Darryl Dash
Discouragement is simply part of ministry. I don’t know a pastor or church leader who doesn’t occasionally struggle with discouragement. “Discouragement is an occupational hazard of the Christian ministry,” said John Stott. “It is not necessary by quotations from the biographies of eminent ministers to prove that seasons of fearful prostration have fallen to the lot of most, if not all of them,” observed Spurgeon. If you’re in Christian ministry, prepare to be discouraged at least some of the time. Why is ministry discouraging? Three reasons.
When a Minister Helps to Kill a Ministry — Jim Martin
Unfortunately, many other ministers start out well but then make one of three fatal errors which often brings a ministry to an end. In this case, the problem wasn’t a cantankerous elder or harassment from a segment of the congregation. Rather, in this case, this minister made three mistakes which are often fatal to to a ministry.
March 24, 2017
Eight Easter-Related Church Trends – Rainer on Leadership #313
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Easter is only three weeks away, so today we cover a few trends we are seeing in churches as we lead up to Resurrection Sunday. Also, we talk pants splitting, camels falling, and sets burning.
Some highlights from today’s episode include:
If your worship center is already at +70% capacity on Sundays, you might consider adding a service on Easter.
Churches should be taking advantage of Facebook advertising for Easter.
Facebook advertising is the most effective and cost efficient advertising churches have available to them.
The purpose behind high attendance invite days is to show members that people will come when invited.
Should you have an Easter sunrise service? It depends.
Do what is effective for your church; don’t just do what other people do.
Try something special and unique with your Easter guest follow-up.
The eight Easter trends we discuss are:
Adding services
Adding venues
Facebook advertising
Special emphasis for inviting
Tradition is contextual – Sunrise services, egg hunts, etc.
Involvement in community Easter activities
Cantatas are still popular for churches with choirs
Special follow up emphases.
Episode Sponsors
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Find out more at mbts.edu/mdiv.
Vanderbloemen Search Group is the premier pastor search firm dedicated to helping churches and ministries build great teams. They’ve helped hundreds of churches just like yours find their church staff and are uniquely geared to help you discern who God is calling to lead your church.
Find out more about Vanderbloemen Search Group by visiting WeStaffTheChurch.com.
Feedback
If you have a question you would like answered on the show, fill out the form on the podcast page here at ThomRainer.com. If we use your question, you’ll receive a free copy of Who Moved My Pulpit?
Resources Mentioned in Today’s Podcast
Invite Your One
Church Answers
Easter Set Catches on Fire
March 23, 2017
Five Reasons Why This Millennial Still Likes Using Hymnals
By Jonathan Howe
I might lose my Millennial card for admitting this, but:
I like hymnals. A lot.
Yes, I realize I’m supposed to want to worship with fog machines and song lyrics on projector screens with cool moving backgrounds. And sometimes I enjoy that too—but not all the time.
So why would a 36-year old Millennial enjoy hymnals? Here are my five reasons:
Holding the hymnal in my hands and reading the lyrics help me focus in worship. If my eyes are fixed on the words and notes to sing, I’m less distracted. Other than maybe the first and last verse of many hymns, I don’t know the words. Unlike many newer worship songs that I’ve memorized easily, I have to pay more attention to what I’m singing when using a hymnal because I’m less familiar with the words.
I prefer the ability to read music and sing harmony. I’m one of the strange people you sit next to in church who default to singing harmony and not melody. Having the music in the hymnal helps—especially with unfamiliar tunes. While I can sing harmony by ear when needed, having the music in front of me is always preferred.
Hymns use phrasing and words that modern songs don’t. Hymnals are full of rich theology and turns of phrase that we just don’t see anymore. Twitter’s 140 characters and the short lyrical hooks we find in modern songs have seemingly diminished our vocabulary. Hymns are full of poetic theological language missing in many contemporary songs.
Responsive readings are virtually nonexistent in many protestant churches, and I’m not sure that’s a good thing. Our liturgies have left behind responsive readings—a core component found in many hymnals. Like the hymns mentioned in the previous point, responsive readings are filled with rich theology. As hymnals have been used less and less, responsive readings in our church services have all but disappeared.
I want my kids to know hymns as well. I recently took my kids to an event that included a hymn sing. They knew virtually none of the songs. I knew all but one. I realized in that moment that they’ve never been in church services where hymnals were used. Everything is on the screen, and the songs being sung are the ones they hear on the radio. It’s good that they know the songs they do, but I’d also love for them to know hymns as well.
Does your church use hymnals? Do you have them and never use them? Are you a Millennial who misses using hymnals as well?
Jonathan Howe serves as Director of Strategic Initiatives at LifeWay Christian Resources as well as the host and producer of Rainer on Leadership and SBC This Week. Jonathan writes weekly at ThomRainer.com on topics ranging from social media to websites and church communications. Connect with Jonathan on Twitter at @Jonathan_Howe.
March 22, 2017
Five Fascinating Lessons from a “Secret” Guest in Church Worship Services
The guests showed up, but they never returned.
Has that ever happened in your church? You speak with someone who is visiting the first time. You try to be friendly. But you never see them again. At times you wonder why they never returned.
I just read Greg Atkinson’s new book, Secrets of a Secret Shopper. What made Greg’s book stand out from similar books is his vocation. His ministry includes going into churches and reporting back his experiences to the church. He is a secret guest! So when I read the book, I knew I was hearing directly from someone who had been there and done that.
There is no way I can cover all the insights I gleaned from this book in a single blog post. Allow me, then, to address the key lessons I saw as vital for those who read ThomRainer.com.
There are four points of first impression before the guests ever enter the church’s building. They are, in order, social media, mobile site, website, and the parking lot. How much attention is your church giving to these four areas? How many potential guests never show up because of the first three?
Parking is not only a first impression issue; it is a potential growth lid as well. Greg, citing Tim Stevens, notes three clear growth lids. The first of the three is parking. If guests have difficulty finding a parking spot, they may decide not to come to church at all. I have actually seen this reality when I was a church consultant.
The children’s area is a critical growth lid. Families will not return to your church if they perceive a room is too small, if the children’s area is understaffed, or if the area appears unclean and unsafe.
The 80% rule still applies to seating as a lid. While 80% is really more a guideline than a rule, it still applies to worship seating. For example, if your church worship center has a capacity of 300, it will probably be perceived full when 240 people are attending.
Greeters gathered together talking to one another may be less effective than no greeters at all. If the greeters are in a holy huddle talking to one another, they give the appearance they are cliquish and not focused on the guests. Greeters in the parking lot need to spread out. There does not need to be a greeter receiving line of handshakes at the entrance.
Keep in mind that guests are often uncomfortable and uncertain when they first visit your church. Many of them are not believers. Atkinson’s book provides great lessons and poignant reminders of how we in our churches can better practice the ministry of hospitality.
