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8 Causes of Concern for Bible Belt Churches – Rainer on Leadership #279

Podcast Episode #279

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When I look at what is happening in the Bible Belt, there are causes for concern as well as opportunities for growth. Today we look at why there is concern and how you can overcome those concerns.

Some highlights from today’s episode include:

Culture and people have changed over time, but many churches have not.
Many churches refuse to admit that the world around them is changing.
Cultural Christianity no longer exists—even in the Bible Belt.
Sometimes a church’s habits become “the only way something can be done.”
Some people are more obedient to the traditions of a church than they are to the Bible.
If you want to find out what a church’s idols are, start changing the bylaws.
How do you change the culture in an established church? Slowly.

The eight causes of concern for Bible Belt churches we discuss are:

They don’t recognize the decline in cultural Christianity.
They have many “church rules.”
They have leaders who have never led in a highly unchurched mission field.
They confuse traditions with truth.
They do outreach the way they’ve always done it.
They have significant conflict due to frustration.
They are very slow to respond.
They have significant facility challenges.


Episode Sponsors

Are you getting prepared for the changing ministry landscape? Get your Master of Divinity degree at Midwestern Seminary. The M.Div—Midwestern’s flagship degree program—is their primary track for ministry preparation. At just 81 hours, the Midwestern M.Div offers a complete foundation for full-time ministry leaders, offering everything you need, and nothing you don’t. Join other students in vibrant Kansas City as you train in a unique collaborative environment focused on the local church or study online in your current ministry context. Midwestern Seminary is developing a new culture of discipleship devoted to the local church and committed to taking God’s unchanging Word into a rapidly changing world. Join the movement today.

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

Eight Reasons Many Bible Belt Churches Are in Trouble
Pastors and Writing with Jared C. Wilson – Rainer on Leadership #269
Who Moved My Pulpit?
50 State + Canada Virtual Tour

“I Want My Old Church Back!”—Five Responses

The grief is both real and anticipatory.

The church member knows his or her church is in decline.

That member knows some things must change or the church is headed for more rapid decline or even death.

But change is difficult. These members want their old church back. They want to do things the way they’ve always done them.

That church of the past, however, will not return. The pace of change is faster than ever, and it will only increase.

How do we respond to these hurting, and sometimes, angry people? Here are five responses.

Respond pastorally. These members are not just hurting; they are grieving. Some of them believe they can find a way to return to the church of the 60s, 70s, or 80s. When they finally realize that the past will not return, their grief intensifies. They need our love, our encouragement, our support, and our prayers. If our first response is to return anger with anger, we can exacerbate a difficult situation.
Respond with reality. Do not give false hope to these members. That will only make the situation worse. Let them know gently and lovingly that change is inevitable. The church will either respond proactively to change, or it will be the victim of change. The latter is usually a death sentence.
Respond with the non-negotiables. Assure the church member that there are some facets of church life that can never change. The Bible is still the Word of God. The gospel is still powerful. Christ is still the only way of salvation. In providing these non-negotiables, you are pointing the members away from the minors to the majors.
Respond with an outward focus. Sometimes a church member’s longing for the past is indicative that he or she is inwardly focused. These members can possibly see church as a place to meet all their needs and desires. If possible, get them involved in ministries that take them away from their own preferences and desires to the world that needs our hope, our love, and our ministry.
Respond with resolution. A few church members will fight for the past no matter how toxic it may be for the church and her future. Leaders have to resolve to move on. They cannot spend all their time coddling the disaffected to the neglect of those who are ready to make a difference. This step is a last step. It is a final alternative. It is the most painful. But it can be necessary for the health of the body as a whole.

These days are days of rapid change. Congregations have not been immune from the impact of the change. We must always love people. But we cannot let one or a few hinder us from the work to which God has called us.

Pray for Calvary Baptist Church

Location: Brunswick, Georgia

Pastor: Dr. Donald Spires

Weekly Worship: 11:00 AM, Eastern

Fast Facts: After a few years of hardship, God sent Calvary Baptist a pastor with a heart for revitalization through reconciliation. Dr. Spires has led the church into repentance and rebirth. In September 2016, Calvary celebrated 80 years of ministry in Christ’s name. Then in October, Hurricane Matthew struck and destroyed their facilities—flooding every wing except the children’s wing. They are looking at at least 4 to 6 months before going back into the buildings to worship. Unfortunately, Calvary Baptist has never had flood insurance and damages are not covered by their current policy. Please pray for the church as they work to restore and rebuild their buildings in this difficult time.

Website: Facebook.com/CBC.BWK

“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..

Notable Voices and the Week in Review: November 19, 2016

Earlier this week at ThomRainer.com:

Six Reasons Many Churches Spend Too Much on Personnel Costs
12 Ways to Handle Staff Conflict
Four Reasons Sunday Attire Is Important to Christian Millennials
Young Influencer List, November 2016
5 Ways to Stop Decline in a Church

 

6 Marks of a Faithful Ministry — Tim Challies

God is good to give us pastors. The very fact that God calls certain men to “care for the church of God” (Acts 20:28) proves that the church is in need of care. God gives us pastors because we need pastoring. But what is this ministry? How does a pastor minister to his people in a way that expresses due care and concern for them? Last week I spent some time studying Paul’s charge to the elders/pastors in Ephesus (see Acts 20) and saw him lay out a series of marks of a faithful ministry.

 

Seven Ways to Equip Your Church to Give Generously — Sam Rainer

Giving patterns in churches are changing. The ways in which people give are changing. What does not need to change is the heart for sacrificial giving. Indeed, kingdom work depends upon sacrificial giving rooted in a deep love for the gospel. Large or small, every church can be a resource giant for God’s kingdom. Rich or poor, every Christian can give sacrificially.

 

5 Common Marriage Counseling Mistakes — Winston Smith

As pastors and counselors, we need to step back from emotionally charged encounters and carefully consider how to help the hurting couple. Here are five common mistakes that pastors sometimes make in marital counseling and how to avoid them.

 

Should You Pastor a Church You Would Never Attend? — Phil A. Newton

When considering a pastoral call, one often takes a sobering look at the new church: Do they believe the gospel? Will they appreciate expository preaching? Do they want biblical leadership? Are they interested in spiritual growth? Do they have a heart for discipleship? Will they adequately support my family? Unfortunately, each of these questions won’t always be answered clearly before accepting a call. Rarely do initial visits and discussions give the full picture. In such cases, the newly installed pastor may face some rude awakenings. He may wonder if he’d even attend the church if they weren’t writing his paycheck.

 

How To Make Christmas Your Best Outreach Of The Year — Carey Nieuwhof

As our culture becomes more and more post-Christian, we’re seeing far fewer times when the holidays of the church and the holidays of culture sync. I remember about a decade ago hearing a Toronto DJ refer to Easter as “the first long weekend of summer.” Good Friday and Easter were completely lost on him. It was simply time off. Christmas is completely different. Our culture still loves Christmas.

 

4 Ways to Fight Laziness in Ministry — Eric Geiger

If it is true, as some pastors have warned, that “ministry can be a great place to hide out and a great place to burn out,” then ministry attracts both the workaholic and the lazy. Because all of us are prone to idolatry, we are likely more prone to one expression of sin than the other. If you are prone to laziness, you likely enjoy comfort and leisure more than accomplishment and the grind. As I have offered four ways to fight being a ministry workaholic, here are four ways to fight being lazy in ministry.

 

5 Ways to Stop Decline in a Church – Rainer on Leadership #278

Podcast Episode #278

SUBSCRIBE: iTunes • RSS • Stitcher • TuneIn Radio • Google Play

With 70-80% of churches in decline, many are looking for ways to reverse the trend. These five questions will help you address the issue of decline in your church.

Some highlights from today’s episode include:

In the past, as much as 30% of church attendees came because they thought it was culturally necessary.
Even though rural areas are declining in population, there are still unchurched people to reach in each community.
One reason many church members don’t stay at a church is because they come in with low expectations on them.
We have dumbed down what it means to be a church member so much that it often means nothing to people.
The competitive mentality between pastors of nearby churches is not nearly as strong as it once was.
If church membership is about “meeting my needs,” then people will react to change poorly.
How someone dresses in church is not a gospel-centric issue.

The five questions to ask yourself to deal with decline in your church are:

How do we replace those who used to attend for cultural reasons?
How do we replace the Builder generation?
How do we replace all the people who have left to go to larger towns and cities?
How do we respond to the rapid transfers from our church?
How do we respond more quickly to the changes all around us?


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.

Midwestern Seminary, one of the fastest growing seminaries in North America, exists to train leaders For The Church. The local church is God’s “Plan A” for the proclamation of the gospel, and there is no Plan B. And this is Midwestern’s vision and heartbeat—equipping pastors and other ministry leaders who are called to expand God’s mission in the world through the local church. At Midwestern Seminary: they train leaders ‘For The Church.’

Visit them online at MBTS.edu and start your ministry training today.

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

Church Answers
The Unchurched Next Door
Invite Your One
Five Things I Pray I Will Not Do as a Senior Adult in the Church
I Am a Church Member

Young Influencer List, November 2016

By Jonathan Howe

Once again, the goal with this list is not to inflate the egos of those named, but to make you, the readers of ThomRainer.com, aware of the dozens and dozens of Christian leaders who are advancing the gospel in their respective spheres of influence. And while some pundits may sit back and claim Christianity is declining or dying, these leaders are clearly making a statement that it will not happen on their watch. They are passionate about Christ Jesus, His gospel, and taking it to the ends of the earth. The qualifications are quite simple: under 40 and making a Kingdom difference.

So without further ado, here is this month’s young influencer list:

Ben Zobrist (@benzobrist18) – Outfielder, Franklin, TN — Ben led the Chicago Cubs to a World Series title that was 108 years in the making and was named the series MVP. He’s also the author of Double Play: Faith and Family First
Sho Baraka (@AmIshoBaraka) – Hip Hop Artist, Atlanta, GA — Sho is a founding member of the 116 Clique. The Alberta, Canada native has worked with numerous overseas groups, ranging from race relations in South Africa to establishing musical cohorts in Indonesia.
Raechel Myers (@raechelmyers) – Co-founder & CEO of She Reads Truth, Nashville, TN — Raechel founded the wildly popular website SheReadsTruth.com and company which bears that name.
Scott James (@scott_h_james) – Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at UAB, Birmingham, AL — In addition to being a infectious diseases specialist, Scott is an elder at his church and author of the advent devotional The Expected One as well as Mission Accomplished , a two-week Easter devotional.
Angel Maldonado (@AngelXMaldonado) – Pastor of The Path Church, Atlanta, GA — Angel is a native of Puerto Rico, has a background in television, and now pastors a growing church in Atlanta.
Amy Lowe (@amyalowe) – Manager of Adult Ministry Publishing, LifeWay Christian Resources, Hendersonville, TN — Amy leads the publishing projects for the adult Bible studies LifeWay releases.

Please continue to pray for these individuals and their ministries. If you’d like to nominate a young influencer for consideration, let me know on Twitter: @Jonathan_Howe or in the comments section below. For previous young influencer lists, click here.

Jonathan Howe serves as Director of Strategic Initiatives at LifeWay Christian Resources, 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.

Four Reasons Sunday Attire Is Important to Christian Millennials

“Those Millennials are so dang selfish. All they care about is their preference of worship style and their grungy clothes.”

An older gentleman in a church made that statement to me. I did not make it up. Sadly, he said each of those words.

I disagree.

For certain, there are exceptions within any group. But among the Christian Millennials, I find a group truly seeking to reach out in their communities; truly trying to invite peers to church; and truly willing to sacrifice for the sake of the gospel.

The Millennials (born between 1980 and 2000) are America’s largest generation ever, over 78 million strong. But only about 15 to 20 percent of this generation is Christian. Based on our research thus far, however, the Millennial Christians may be the most potent missional generation we have ever known in America.

Okay, back to the issue of attire worn on Sundays (or whatever the worship day may be). Why is that issue important to Millennials? I recently had the opportunity to interview a number of these Christian young adults. Their responses may surprise you.

They want their unchurched friends to feel comfortable if they come to their churches. “Personally, I would wear a tux to church if that helped get my friends here,” one young Millennial male told me. “But my friends don’t wear tuxedos and they don’t dress like the rest of the people in my church. They would really feel out of place here.”
Their friends have told them that “properly dressed” churchgoers have looked down on them when they came to church. A female Millennial told me, “I was so embarrassed for my friend. I finally got her to go with me to church. She had no idea what we mean by ‘Sunday dress.’ You should have seen the condescending looks she got wearing her jeans. She won’t be back. I’ll probably find another church too.”
There is confusion about “giving your best to God.” “Yep, I’ve heard that phrase a few times. For some of our older members, giving your best means wearing their subjective definition of best.” I was listening to the same female Millennial I quoted above. “Did you know the tie that men wear had its origins in the early 17th century? Is that ‘giving your best to God’? I think giving our best is a matter of the heart, not the whitewashed tombs of what we wear on the outside.” Ouch.
“Tattoos, tatters, and piercings are not welcome here.” That quote came from a 31-year old Christian Millennial male. He went on to say, “Most of my friends have one or more of those in their appearance. I know they will not be welcomed in my church. What am I supposed to do?”

Christian Millennials as a whole care deeply about reaching their peers. But many of them don’t feel their friends would be welcomed or comfortable in their own churches.

As one young lady asked me, “What are our options?”

Good question.

Let me hear your thoughts.

12 Ways to Handle Staff Conflict – Rainer on Leadership #277

Podcast Episode #277

SUBSCRIBE: iTunes • RSS • Stitcher • TuneIn Radio • Google Play

Healthy churches have healthy church staffs, but unresolved staff conflict can harm a church staff and keep a church from realizing her full potential. Today, we discuss how to handle 12 causes of staff conflict.

Some highlights from today’s episode include:

I have seen too many pastors go into a church and get eaten alive because they had no relational skills.
Focus on how you can be the best leader with the staff you have been given.
A pastor should have a major role in selecting incoming church staff.
Chemistry is often bad when someone is in the wrong role for his/her skill set.
Regular staff meetings are needed to check the ministry alignment of the church.
Make certain your church staff is philosophically aligned and that action reflect that alignment.
Staff should be held accountable for their work ethic.
I would like to see churches be more consistent in showing appreciation to their pastor and staff.

The 12 reasons for staff conflict which we discuss are:

Many church staff persons are woefully trained in leadership and relational skills.
Often the church staff involved did not have a role in selecting their team.
The chemistry among the staff is bad.
The priorities among the staff are not aligned.
There is jealousy and insecurity.
There is clear insubordination.
Church staff have formed unhealthy alliances.
Communication is poor.
There are work ethic divergences.
The staff spend time pointing blame at each other.
Solutions are frustrated or thwarted.
There is a consistent lack of appreciation.


Episode Sponsors

Are you getting prepared for the changing ministry landscape? Get your Master of Divinity degree at Midwestern Seminary. The M.Div—Midwestern’s flagship degree program—is their primary track for ministry preparation. At just 81 hours, the Midwestern M.Div offers a complete foundation for full-time ministry leaders, offering everything you need, and nothing you don’t. Join other students in vibrant Kansas City as you train in a unique collaborative environment focused on the local church or study online in your current ministry context. Midwestern Seminary is developing a new culture of discipleship devoted to the local church and committed to taking God’s unchanging Word into a rapidly changing world. Join the movement today.

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

Twelve Key Reasons for Church Staff Conflict
The Ideal Team Player

Six Reasons Many Churches Spend Too Much on Personnel Costs

If you think one of the six reasons is high salaries for each person on staff, you would be wrong.

While there are certainly some exceptions to my statement, they would be outliers. Repeated studies demonstrate we are not paying individuals too much; instead the total personnel costs are often too high. Here are six of the most common reasons why:

Churches do not regularly evaluate their staff needs. Like many other aspects of church, we assume the way we’ve always done it is the best path for the future. The best question for a church to ask is: How would we staff our church if we started from scratch?
We are fearful of making tough decisions. Personnel decisions are not easy. They are fraught with emotions and critics. Many leaders, therefore, do nothing. Fear drives their lack of decision-making.
We think in terms of personalities instead of stewardship. “We are a Christian organization; we can’t act like a secular company.” A leader in a church recently made that statement to me. He was referring to a church staff person who no longer had a productive role and, to add fuel to the fire, was downright lazy. Rather than being concerned with the overall stewardship needs of the church, though, the leader decided to let the non-productive and slothful staff person continue in his role.
We do not outsource. I’ve mentioned on a number of occasions that churches try to do too many functions beyond their core internally. I’ve also noted that many churches could be much more efficient if they outsourced bookkeeping and finance (the example I have given is MAG Bookkeeping); website development (Mere Church); website maintenance and strategy (Render); writing (Ellipsis); and assistant/secretarial (eaHELP). Churches are likely wasting millions of dollars collectively in America.
We are not equipping the laity. There are some functions that should be led by paid staff. But there are others that could be handled extremely well by volunteers.
Many churches have a pay-to-minister mentality. I refer to these churches as “country club churches.” The members perceive their tithes and offerings to be akin to dues. Since they pay their dues, someone should do the work for them. Ministry is all about paying for others to do the work, rather than doing the work of ministry themselves.

By the way, I have some new research that really dispels the myth that personnel costs should be around 50 percent or less. I am sharing that information first with my Church Answers cohort, but I plan to release the information to the general public in late 2017. In the meantime, let me hear from you.

Pray for Antioch Christian Church

Location: Vienna, Virginia

Pastor: Carl S. Sweatman

Weekly Worship: 11:00 AM, Eastern

Fast Facts: Established in 1903, the founders of Antioch Christian Church (ACC) agreed to stand together to spread the truth of God as proclaimed in the Bible. Today, the church continues that same mission through worship, music, teaching, service, and activities for all ages. ACC is a small body of members, but a body with a big heart for serving others. Please be in prayer for their our annual food drive collection, where they gather bags and bags of food products to help stock various food banks in the community, as well as their annual bike drive, where they collect old and/or abandoned bikes, refurbish them, and give them away to those who are in need. Finally, please pray for their new pastor, as he seeks to serve God through preaching and serving the congregation and the community; and for the church, as they seek to heal, rebuild, and grow.

Website: AntiochCCVienna.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..