Thom S. Rainer's Blog, page 263
July 14, 2015
The Challenges and Opportunities of Female Leadership – Rainer on Leadership #141
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Today on the podcast, Selma Wilson joins us to discuss the challenges and opportunities women face in leadership. Selma serves as vice president of organizational development at LifeWay Christian Resources and has been with LifeWay for more than 20 years.
Some highlights from today’s episode include:
The diversity and strength of your team makes you a stronger leader.
The team you put around you in leadership really matters.
The diversity of gifts and strengths on your leadership team will make you a stronger leader.
Don’t ignore critics, but don’t lead toward them. Keep the end in mind and don’t let the critics divert you.
The role of pastor is one of the greatest leadership roles in the world.
To manage your time well, you need structure for your time.
There is no replacement for time. You can’t get it back.
Half of a congregation is women. You need leaders in the church who can speak to women’s issues.
Sponsor
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 Autopsy of a Deceased Church.
Resources
SelmaWilson.com
Selma on Leadership
Raising Godly Children
Journey magazine
The post The Challenges and Opportunities of Female Leadership – Rainer on Leadership #141 appeared first on ThomRainer.com.
July 13, 2015
Six Thoughts about Proper Pastoral Attire for Worship Services
I never expected to write an article on this topic, and I’m still not certain I should. But I’ve received sufficient questions from readers of the blog and listeners of the podcast to indicate I should tackle the issue.
Allow me three caveats before I go further. First, this post is about high-level issues of attire, not the specifics of fashion and dress. I am not qualified to write about the latter. I once tried to subscribe to GQ and was rejected as unqualified. Second, though I am writing about pastors, much of the content could be applied to other church staff. Third, I am only writing to males. I am not about to delve into issues about female attire.
With those caveats, I must disclose a clear bias of mine. I do not like neckties. They are too similar to a hanging noose for my comfort. With those issues cleared, let’s look at six thoughts about pastoral attire.
Understand the demographic context. Most churches in South Florida and Southern California have different expectations about dress than some churches in Mississippi and Alabama. Find out how other pastors dress in the community. Find out how the men in your own congregation dress for worship services.
Understand the church’s expectations. The expectations of churches in the same community typically vary. Because I speak all over the nation, my assistant always asks my host about the expectations of my attire. I would never want the way I dress to be a distraction or stumbling block.
Understand changes in fashion. I have been fascinated to observe the changes toward a more informal dress in many churches. When I became a member of my church ten years ago, about 90 percent of the men attending wore ties. Now I suspect the number is below 10 percent. Such changes may be a signal to you as a pastor that you can dress a bit more informally.
Lead change gradually. The pastor’s attire in a worship service can be a sacred cow for some church members. Don’t let the way you dress become a major divisive issue. For example, if you notice a more informal trend for dress in your church, you may want to move from wearing a tie all the time to leaving the tie off in the summer months. Gradual change can be better tolerated than radical and sudden change.
Don’t put your preferences ahead of your love for others. The biblical principle of the stumbling block (See 1 Corinthians 8) means that we put our own rights on the backburner for consideration of others. It is not a sin to dress without a tie and coat, but it can be a problem for others. The matter becomes sin when our own preferences become our idol.
Understand your members’ emotional attachment to certain forms of attire. I knew a pastor who was called to serve an established church in the South. Previous pastors had all worn suits and ties in the worship services. On his first Sunday, he wore jeans, an untucked shirt, and sandals. He had the shortest tenure of any pastor in the history of the church.
I welcome your input on this issue. Ladies, feel free to share about female attire for church staff as well. You are far more qualified than I to broach that topic.
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July 12, 2015
Pray for Middletown Christian Church
Location: Middletown, Missouri
Pastor: William Thompson
Weekly Worship: 10:00 AM Central
Fast Facts: Middletown Christian Church was established in 1837, and is actually the oldest Christian Church congregation in Missouri that has been continuously meeting since its inception. Middletown Christian Church is a small rural church, nestled in the quaint town of Middletown, MO. For the past 3 years MCC has hosted a Back to School Carnival, and this year’s event will be August 1. They will host a concert on July 31 to kick off the weekend. Please pray for the carnival and concert as well as that those in the church would fully recognize the need for outreach and evangelism. Also pray for the perseverance and stamina of the people in the church who do much of the work.
Website: MiddletownCC.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..
The post Pray for Middletown Christian Church appeared first on ThomRainer.com.
July 11, 2015
Notable Voices: July 11, 2015
What Vision Does for your Organization — Art Rainer
An organization without a vision is one that drifts from its mission, becomes disconnected from its audience, and loses sight of its goal. Art explains that an organization without a vision is one that will ultimately fail.
Four Hard Questions Pastors Should Continually Ask Themselves — Eric Geiger
Eric shares four questions pastors can use to continually evaluate their leadership in the local church.
4 Tips For Dealing With Procrastination — Tim Challies
I’m glad Challies finally got around to writing this post. 
July 10, 2015
Nine Encouragements for Pastors Who Want to Quit – Rainer on Leadership #140
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Today on the podcast we discuss a recent post about pastors and why they shouldn’t throw in the towel and quit.
Some highlights from today’s episode include:
It is rare that a “storm” hangs over a church indefinitely.
Leaders always get attacked the most. Critics see leaders as a convenient target.
Critics are often upset with the change more than they are upset with the leader introducing it.
Many of your church members are fearful of the cultural changes taking place.
Churches shouldn’t be anchored to methodologies. We should only anchor to the Word of God.
It is normal for pastors to want to quit at times, but remember He who called you will sustain you.
The encouragements that we cover for pastors who want to quit are:
Many storms pass quickly.
It’s probably not you.
The vast majority of the congregation supports you.
Remember your call.
Longer-term pastors see better days.
Hurting church members often hurt others.
It’s not better in other churches.
The changing culture frustrates many church members.
God is with you.
Sponsor
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 Autopsy of a Deceased Church.
Resources
5 Stages of Pastoral Tenure
The Green Grass Syndrome
The post Nine Encouragements for Pastors Who Want to Quit – Rainer on Leadership #140 appeared first on ThomRainer.com.
July 9, 2015
10 Fine Lines of Church Leadership Tension
By Chuck Lawless
Dr. Rainer recently wrote on “Nine Common Tensions Pastors Face.” Today, I add ten tensions to that list – tensions often separated by a fine line:
Vision vs. ego. I want church leaders to long for God to use them to do something significant for His glory. I want them praying for God to mark history through them so the nations might know His name. There’s a fine line, though, between “God, use me mightily” and “God, make sure the press knows how much You’ve used me.”
Full effort vs. self-dependence. Frankly, we don’t need any more lazy ministers of the gospel. We need leaders who give their absolute best – learning well, planning fully, working diligently, assessing honestly, taking their paycheck without shame. There’s a fine line, though, between giving full effort and depending on self rather than on God.
Faith vs. recklessness. Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). By faith, the heroes of Hebrews 11 did some phenomenal things – including dying for the sake of the gospel. There’s a fine line, though, between living by faith and making reckless choices that we claim as faith steps.
God-centered pragmatism vs. man-centered pragmatism. It’s right to ask the questions, “Is God using our church to make disciples – and if not, why not? Might we need to change something to do God’s work more effectively?” There’s a fine line, though, between asking these questions and making changes that lose a Godward focus.
Disciplemaking church vs. classroom. Few people would deny that several generations of church leaders have failed in discipleship. We’ve taught too little doctrine and expected too little accountability. There’s a fine line, though, between addressing this problem biblically and turning the church into a classroom where information transfer is assumed to be enough.
Burden vs. discouragement. I long to see church leaders who are broken over their communities. We need leaders who grieve the unreached living in their ministry area and around the world – leaders who cannot help but weep over the lost. There’s a fine line, though, between bearing that Great Commission weight and getting discouraged and defeated if few people respond.
Corporately evangelizing vs. not personally evangelizing. Here, I’m thinking primarily of preaching pastors. Gospel-centered preaching should always point to the cross and call hearers to respond in faith and repentance. There’s a fine line, though, between evangelizing through this means and granting oneself permission to ignore personal evangelism.
Contextualization vs. compromise. Contextualization may be as simple as speaking the gospel in the language of the hearers or as complicated as understanding the worldview of an unreached people group – and is, in my opinion, a necessary task in sharing the gospel. There’s a fine line, though, between legitimate contextualization and compromise to reach more people.
Building God’s kingdom vs. building our own kingdom. Building God’s kingdom includes reaching non-believers, equipping believers, and addressing social issues. “Success” might even bring legitimate opportunities for more godly influence in His kingdom. There’s a fine line, though, between using our gifts fully for God’s kingdom and thinking God’s kingdom needs us.
Global focus vs. “Jerusalem neglect.” I am deeply grateful for churches that engage the nations, pray for unreached people groups, and send their own to the ends of the earth on short-term or long-term commitments. There’s a fine line, though, between prioritizing the nations and ignoring the local community (and vice-versa, for that matter).
Here’s the point: we need to live on the fine line that separates these tensions. For example, the enemy would not want us on the line of vision vs. ego; he would want us to have no vision at all or be arrogant about our vision. He would want us to be lazy or self-dependent, faithless or reckless, unconcerned or discouraged. We counter his calls to the extremes by living on the line – and trusting God to empower us and guard us there.
What other tensions come to mind for you?
Chuck Lawless currently serves as Professor of Evangelism and Missions and Dean of Graduate Studies at Southeastern Seminary. You can connect with Dr. Lawless on both Twitter and Facebook.
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July 8, 2015
Eight Weekly Records That Every Church Should Keep
If you have an aversion to numbers, you may want to skip this post. I understand. There have been too many church leaders who see numerical realities as a goal. Numbers thus can become the end instead of the means.
But let’s not lose sight of the ways numerical tracking can help us. To use the parabolic illustration of Jesus, we can never know where the missing sheep are if we are not keeping track of them (see Luke 15:3-7).
The list of potential records to keep is long, but I am focusing on those eight records I have seen be most helpful to churches. They do not have to be arduous to track.
Membership. In many churches, this number has become almost meaningless. If a church has 900 members and an average attendance of 150, the gap is too large. Church leaders need to start taking membership seriously and, thus, the way they track it. While speaking at the annual assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church recently, I met a lady who told me she was a member of her Presbyterian church, but still on the membership rolls of two Southern Baptist churches.
Worship attendance. This metric is the most common among churches today. It is at least a general indicator of involvement. I do not encourage church leaders to try to account for individual attendance in worship services; it is too cumbersome and often invasive. An aggregate number is sufficient, and should include everyone on campus during worship services, including children who may not be in the worship center.
Small group attendance. Assimilation rates are very high in small groups. Connections are best made here, whatever the group name may be: small groups, Sunday school classes, life groups, home groups, and others. It is vital to keep track of this number, especially relative to average worship attendance. If I see a church with average small group attendance equal to at least 80 percent of worship attendance, I know that assimilation is likely very effective.
Individual attendance in small groups. It is at this point where I recommend churches keep track of the individual attendees of those in small groups. It can be a relatively easy process with a person responsible for keeping records in each small group, and a good, yet inexpensive, tracking software. I know of a number of churches that do an excellent job of following up on those who are not present in a given week.
Total undesignated giving. These are the funds that can be used for church budget needs. These totals are often lead indicators about the future growth or decline of the church.
Total designated giving. These funds include anything not given to undesignated giving. I strongly discourage reporting total undesignated and designated giving as a single number. It can give an impression that church stewardship is better than it really is.
Individual giving. This metric is required for tax purposes. I will have an article in the future on whether the pastor and staff (outside the one person keeping records) should have access to these records. I never did in the four churches I served as pastor.
Ministry involvement. This metric is kept in only about 10 percent of churches in America, but I think it is vital. I would attempt to account for the number of people involved in some type of ministry or volunteer activity in the church. This record could be an exception to weekly reporting. Most churches of which I am aware keep track of a single number quarterly. For example, if the number of different persons involved in a ministry increased by 50 from one year to the next, you can assume it is a trend toward greater assimilation and greater church health.
One of the best ways I learn from churches is to hear from leaders and members in those churches. Let me know what your perspectives are on these eight metrics, and let me know what you track in your church.
photo credit: 150521-spreadsheet-pencil-mechanical-eraser.jpg via photopin (license)
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July 7, 2015
Seven Keys to Recruiting Volunteers in Your Church – Rainer on Leadership #139
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Today on the podcast we tackle a problem every church has in some form—recruitment of volunteers. Whether you need teachers, small group leaders, ushers, or nursery workers, these seven keys will help you activate and retain volunteers in your church.
Some highlights from today’s episode include:
Too many times, we bring members into a church without letting them know the expectations of membership.
When looking for volunteers, talk about the “why” and the people impacted by the ministry.
Recruiting volunteers needs to be done one-on-one whenever possible.
If a church does not have an emphasis on small groups, it will be an unhealthy church.
The key to success in any organization is to get the right people and get them in the right place.
One of the reason we lose volunteers is because we have them doing things that make them miserable.
Find places for volunteers that match their passions and talents.
Many times it is helpful to have a point person in charge of all recruitment in the church.
The seven keys recruiting more volunteers in your church are:
Recruiting must begin at new membership or before
Recruiting must have more “why” than “what”
Recruiting is best when it is individual
The most effective recruiting takes place in small groups
Consider recruiting with definitive termination dates
Consider recruiting with alternating assignments
Get the right people on the bus, and the right people in the right seats on the bus (gifts and passion)
Episode Sponsor
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 Autopsy of a Deceased Church.
The post Seven Keys to Recruiting Volunteers in Your Church – Rainer on Leadership #139 appeared first on ThomRainer.com.
July 6, 2015
Six Warnings for Leaders of Growing Churches
The metaphor has been called the “Berry Bucket Theory,” but I prefer the “Tipping Scales Theory.” Imagine a scale like the scales of justice (pictured above). On one side of the scale are tokens that represent members who were at the church before the present pastor arrived (PPMs, pre-pastor members). On the other side of the scale are tokens that represent members who came to the church after the current pastor arrived (APMs, after-pastor members).
When the pastor first comes to the church, the scale is completely tilted toward one side because everyone in the church is a PPM. Over time, however, the PPM side can only become lighter. You can’t add to the members who came before the pastor arrived. But the APM side usually grows.
When the APM side of the scale starts getting close in weight to the PPM side, problems can develop. The church is changing to the point where the newer members will soon be in the majority. The scales are tipping, and that reality engenders fear in some members.
With that metaphor in mind, let’s look at some possible troubles for church leaders. I call them warnings for leaders of growing churches.
Growth brings change that can engender fear and discomfort. A pastor was getting a lot of resistance from the former chairperson of the search committee that called him. The church was growing and change was inevitably taking place. When he kindly reminded the search committee chairperson that she said she wanted to see the church grow, she responded, “Well, I didn’t know these new people would cause so many problems.” The “problems” she noted were actually just simple changes.
Power groups are threatened. Church members in informal power groups can sense the reality of the tipping scales. It threatens their power base, and they often don’t respond well.
Staff resistance can take place. As a church grows and changes, it often requires church staff to change and learn new skills. Some church staff may resist any attempt to change their roles or improve their skills. An executive pastor led a coup against the pastor as the church grew. He later commented, after the church declined precipitously, that he was more comfortable with a smaller church.
The per capita giving may decrease. It is not unusual for new members not to give as generously as the existing members. Some may be new Christians who have not yet learned principles of biblical stewardship. Some may be from younger families with lower incomes than the existing members. Members can become agitated because “these new members aren’t paying their way.”
Space can become limited. A growing church in the Midwest no longer had space for Sunday morning Bible study groups. A church staff member approached a senior adult class about moving to a smaller room. They had nine attendees in a room that could accommodate 50 people. The church staff member was quickly asked to leave the room with a reminder from the class that “we pay the bills in this church.”
People outside the church may become jealous. Members and leaders of other churches may speak disparagingly about a growing church in the community. They may even question the motives, doctrine, and ethics of the leaders of the growing church.
If we are obedient to the Great Commission, we will see more men and women become followers of Christ, and our churches are likely to increase in numbers. But in the midst of such blessings, your church may get opposition from both the inside and the outside. Such is the nature of the tipping scales. May these six warnings be used to provide greater awareness, to seek more intensive prayer, and to persevere in obedience when in may seem easier to coast.
Let me hear from you.
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July 5, 2015
Pray for Edgewood Baptist Church
Location: Mebane, North Carolina
Pastor: Darrell Moser
Weekly Worship: 11:00 AM, Eastern
Fast Facts: Edgewood Baptist Church has been in the Mebane area since 1952 and features services that are traditional but have a good blend of music. Also during the school year Edgewood offers Awana to the children and has several from the area who visit the church through this ministry. They are at a place where they need prayer because they are seeing the need to reach the lost in the community more than ever. Edgewood is in the process of getting out on Wednesday nights and prayer walking in the community around the church. Please pray for the leadership of the church as well as the prayer walks in Mebane.
Website: EdgewoodBaptist.com
“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..
The post Pray for Edgewood Baptist Church appeared first on ThomRainer.com.
