Thom S. Rainer's Blog, page 264
July 3, 2015
What Does Mediocrity Look Like in the Church? – Rainer on Leadership #138
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Today on the podcast we discuss a recent post from Chuck Lawless entitled 12 Signs of Mediocrity in a Church.
Some highlights from today’s episode include:
It is a sin to be good when God has called you to be great.
Churches should evaluate everything they do to determine how it can be done better.
Rather than doing several things poorly, do fewer things really well.
Without a clear strategy, you will likely not have effective discipleship in a church.
The essentials of a church’s vision: a specific plan for a specific church at a specific time.
The twelve signs of mediocrity in a church are:
No plans for evaluation.
Tolerance of mistakes.
Poor maintenance of the church grounds.
Poor upkeep of the building.
No records of attendance, growth, etc.
No clear discipleship strategy.
Toleration of sin.
No class for membership.
Lack of vision.
Little attention to the nations.
No new workers in place.
Lack of “healthy chaos.”
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.
Resources
Breakout Churches
I Am a Church Member
I Will
ChuckLawless.com
Bulletin Bloopers
Simple Church
The post What Does Mediocrity Look Like in the Church? – Rainer on Leadership #138 appeared first on ThomRainer.com.
July 2, 2015
13 Truths about Spiritual Warfare for Leaders
By Chuck Lawless
Over the past twenty years, I have studied, written, and taught about spiritual warfare. Based on that work, here are some warfare reminders for church leaders:
The Bible is not a book about the devil. The Bible is about God. This truth matters, as many people interested in spiritual warfare give the devil more attention than the Bible does. That approach simply distorts the biblical picture of warfare.
The enemy is real. Paul was clear that we wrestle against principalities and powers (Eph. 6:12). Peter knew an enemy seeks to devour us like a roaring lion (1 Pet. 5:8). No hermeneutical gymnastics can legitimately erase this spiritual reality.
The battle is not ours. David recognized that when he fought Goliath (1 Sam. 17:47). Jehaziel reminded Jehoshaphat of that truth (2 Chron. 20:15). God is our warrior (Exo. 15:3). He always has been and always will be.
People are not the enemy. Paul was equally clear that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. Even when people frustrate and anger us, they are not the enemy. When we remember this truth, we will love, shepherd, and pray for people differently.
Leaders are a primary target for the enemy. That truth shouldn’t surprise us. The enemy knows that when leaders fall, followers are wounded in the process. I doubt I need to spend time listing the prominent Christian leaders who have fallen in the last few years.
The enemy strikes at marriages. Satan sought to divide Adam and Eve (Adam turned on Eve and blamed her after their sin in Gen. 3), and he has attacked marriages since then. When marriages are destroyed, their witness to the gospel (Eph. 5:25) gets distorted – and, future generations are harmed in the process.
Self-dependence is evidence of the enemy’s work. Satan is not alarmed by church leaders who operate in their own ability. All of our training and experience is no match for the subtle schemes of the enemy.
Hiddenness is a warning signal. The enemy often operates in the darkness. He delights when we sin and choose to keep our sin in the secret places of our lives. In no way does he want us to confess our sin.
Leaders often fight their battles alone. Sometimes leaders must stand alone, but too often they have no close team around them to help them win spiritual battles. Loners are by nature vulnerable to attack and defeat.
Sometimes leaders take on the enemy with too little prayer. Self-confident leaders are like Jesus’ disciples who tried to cast out a demon without praying (Mark 9:14-29). They do not pray, pray only superficially, or pray only after the battle has been lost.
Even the best leaders may find themselves in non-stop warfare by God’s design. The Apostle Paul was God’s uniquely called apostle, but still he dealt with an ongoing thorn in the flesh (2 Cor. 12:7-10). God left Paul in the battle so he would always recognize God as his strength.
Spiritual defeat need not be final. Simon Peter failed miserably when he denied knowing Jesus (Luke 22:54-61), but the story was not over. Jesus welcomed him back into His band of disciples and then used him to preach the gospel to Jerusalem (Acts 2).
The enemy will not ultimately win. He will spend eternity in the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10). Whether planting churches or revitalizing established congregations, church leaders can know they are ultimately on the winning side. Hell will not defeat the church.
Take time now to thank the Lord for victory in the battle.
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.
The post 13 Truths about Spiritual Warfare for Leaders appeared first on ThomRainer.com.
July 1, 2015
Seven Key Reasons Your Church Attendance May Be Declining
My five-year old grandson asked me how old I was. When I told him I would turn 60 in a few weeks, he responded: “I didn’t realize people got that old.”
Indeed, in 60 years, like any of us who have lived a few years, I have seen change, lots of change. And I am seeing change in local congregations faster than any time in my lifetime. One of the most disheartening changes I am seeing is the declining attendance in a majority of churches. I am asked repeatedly to diagnose and help with these challenges.
Though addressing the issue of declining attendance cannot be covered in a brief blog post, I hope it will be helpful to share some high-level perspectives. See if any of these seven reasons apply to your church.
“Cultural Christians” no longer see the need to attend church. “Cultural Christian” is really an oxymoron. I refer here to those men and women who once attended church for social, political, or business reasons. Most of them no longer feel it is necessary to be in church to be a regarded citizen in the community.
Church members are attending less frequently. I have noted in other articles how I see this development as potentially the greatest contributor to attendance decline. Three decades ago, a very active church member attended three times a week. Today we call those who attend three times a month an active church member.
Expectations are lower for church members. One of the reasons church members attend less frequently is that very little is expected of them in many churches. If we expect little of our members, that is exactly what we will get.
Insufficient emphasis on groups. This reality may be one of the most neglected areas of church life. Groups of all kinds – home groups, small groups, Sunday school classes, life groups, and others – are key to assimilation and greater commitment. The importance of groups must begin with the pastor and all other key leaders in the church.
Inward focus. In too many churches, the emphasis is on “me, myself, and I.” Some members are more concerned about the temperature in the worship center than the eternal destinations of their neighbors. The “me-focused” church is on its way to decline.
No clearly defined process of discipleship. Eric Geiger and I reported on this issue in our book, Simple Church. Growing churches are much more likely to have a clearly grasped and implemented process of discipleship than declining churches.
No strategic plans for multi-venues or multi-campuses. As I noted in my article Monday, the trend of multi-venue and multi-campus churches may be the most significant in church practices in the past three decades. Even smaller churches are now planning for more than one site or venue. Those churches not making such plans are more likely to be declining.
Decline in church attendance cannot be defined in seven simple statements. But these reasons are at least broad explanations of what is taking place in many of our congregations. I would love to get feedback from you on these issues.
The post Seven Key Reasons Your Church Attendance May Be Declining appeared first on ThomRainer.com.
June 30, 2015
How Church Culture Changes – Rainer on Leadership #137
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Today on the podcast we discuss how church culture has changed, is changing, and will continue to change in the future. Our society is pressing in on the church and will change much of how church is done, but we must hold fast to the unchanging Word of God in the midst of any change.
Some highlights from today’s episode include:
Cultural Christianity is ending.
As people change, culture shifts.
Society is changing so rapidly that it’s confusing the church and confusing church members.
Some church members view outdated cultural realities as the way things ought to be, and that causes conflict in the church.
About 75% of churches are really resistant to change, but many don’t realize it.
The six keys to dealing with power groups in your church are:
Remember the simple truth that culture is people
Leadership sets the tone
Rapid societal change is normative
Discern what is (1) unchangeable, (2) negotiable, and (3) must-changeable
Grasp the church resistance scale to determine the type of leadership needed
Look at the Autopsy principles
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.
Resources
The Levity Effect
Six Reasons Pastors Should Not Quit Their Jobs on Monday
Autopsy of a Deceased Church
The Five Types of Change Resistant Churches
One church’s sunset means a new day for another
The post How Church Culture Changes – Rainer on Leadership #137 appeared first on ThomRainer.com.
June 29, 2015
Six Reasons Why Church Worship Centers Will Get Smaller
I am a product of the Baby Boomer big worship center era. For many of us old guys, the formula for building a worship center was straightforward. We would project the church’s growth many years out and build a worship center to accommodate that growth in a single service.
Those days are ending.
The more common approach today is to build a worship center that will accommodate growth with multiple services, multiple venues, and multiple campuses. As a consequence, there will be no need for a large, single-service facility.
How did this change take place? Let’s look at six key reasons.
The pervasiveness of multiple worship services. Two decades ago, the most compelling reason for going to multiple worship services was to accommodate growth until a new and larger facility could be built. Today, the most compelling reason for multiple worship services is to meet the schedule needs and desires of the congregants and guests. Very few church leaders today consider moving from multiple services back to one with a larger facility.
The growth of multiple venues. My specific definition of multiple venues is different worship services held on the same campus. For example, my church has the following services meeting simultaneously on Sunday morning: two English-speaking worship services, one Hispanic service, one Chinese service, and one service for the deaf. The latter three services have their own teaching pastors. The first two services include a live feed of the pastor alongside the in-person teaching of the pastor.
The unexpected growth of multiple campuses. I use the word “unexpected” for a reason. A few years ago, I saw clearly the trend toward multiple-campus churches. The surprise was the incredible growth rate of the multi-campus church movement. Many church leaders have decided to add a campus, often a leased facility or an acquired church, rather than build a bigger worship center.
The desire for perceived intimacy. The pendulum seems to have shifted from the desire to be an attendee in anonymity to a longing to be a part of a community of worshipers. This desire will result in the strategic building of smaller worship centers.
A greater emphasis on building stewardship. For many churches, the unused time of a worship facility is only exceeded by college football stadiums. The “occupancy rate” of the majority of worship centers in America is less than five percent. Biblical stewardship demands we make better use of these expensive facilities.
The Millennial generation is sensitive to the issues of stewardship and fellowship intimacy. As the largest generation in America’s history continues to assume positions of leadership and influence, these men and women will influence greatly the smaller size of worship centers.
There are at least two major implications for the trend toward smaller worship centers. First, there will be an increased demand to downsize current worship centers as well as building new but smaller facilities. Those leaders in churches and design/build firms who lead the way in this trend will be in great demand.
Second, it is critically important that church leaders find persons in design/build firms who are not only knowledgeable about designing and constructing a building, but who understand these pervasive and critical trends in congregational life.
I would love to hear your perspective on this issue. And I would love to hear also from those who have experienced or are experiencing the issues I noted here. It is indeed a fascinating development.
The post Six Reasons Why Church Worship Centers Will Get Smaller appeared first on ThomRainer.com.
June 28, 2015
Pray for Princeton Meadow Church
Location: Princeton, New Jersey
Pastor: Rev. Dr. Ken Smith
Weekly Worship: 10:00 AM, Eastern
Fast Facts: Princeton Meadow Church is a PCA church that has experienced some challenges in the past couple of years trying to finish a building project with a challenging local township. To make matters worse, they had extensive water damage to their new sanctuary last winter. They are growing but ministry in the Northeast can be very challenging. They are not located in an evangelical culture—more than over 90% of the people in the community are unchurched. However, they have a very large population from Asia and India which presents great opportunities to share the gospel. Please be in prayer for their summer camp program in July that they would reach unchurched kids for the Lord, that their ESL program would grow this fall, and that their children’s and student ministries would be able to grow and reach new families.
Website: PrincetonMeadow.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 Princeton Meadow Church appeared first on ThomRainer.com.
June 27, 2015
Notable Voices: June 27, 2015
Nine Financial Decisions Millennials Need to Make Right Now — Art Rainer
Millennials and money. The two sometimes go together like oil and water. For a generation largely in debt with student loans upon leaving college, financial decisions are even more important.
The Pastor’s Primer for Periscope — LifeWay Pastors
I love using Periscope. If you’re curious about the new app and are wondering how you can use it in your church, this primer lays out dozens and dozens of uses for the live video streaming app.
5 Pitfalls to Avoid in Sermon Illustrations — Michael J. Kruger
Sermon illustrations are great when used well. But they can really distract from a sermon if used poorly. Here are five cautions to heed when using illustrations.
Top 10 Quotes from the Dissenting Justices on Same-Sex Marriage — Trevin Wax
Trevin shares a collection of quotes from the dissenting justices following yesterday’s landmark SCOTUS decision.
4 Ways Youth Pastors Can Weather A Tough Season Of Ministry — Eden Wittendorf
I often receive emails from youth pastors frustrated with the direction—or lack thereof—of their church. They are typically new in ministry and are ready to get things going but their church doesn’t have the same sense of urgency. Discouragement often follows. These four tips from Eden will help ease that discouragement when ministry seems bleak.
16 Great Examples of Church Facebook Posts — Jeremy Smith
Churches need to be active in social media. These post examples will help your church be more effective with its Facebook outreach.
The post Notable Voices: June 27, 2015 appeared first on ThomRainer.com.
June 26, 2015
Balancing Family & Ministry with Jackie Bledsoe – Rainer on Leadership #136
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Jackie Bledsoe joins us this week on the podcast to discuss ministry and family balance, technology, and his upcoming book, The Seven Rings of Marriage.
Some highlights from today’s episode include:
There are so many benefits to technology but we have to watch our use of it and eliminate distractions to our family.
Pastors basically have two families, and there is a natural tension between the two.
Our ministry at home is training ground for our ministry in the church.
Involve your family in ministry and use that time to serve and spend time together.
Looking for ideas for a date night with your spouse? Check out Jackie Bledsoe’s Date Night in a Box:
Churches often focus on men’s and women’s ministry while marriage ministry is relegated to just an annual retreat.
About Jackie Bledsoe:
Jackie Bledsoe is an Christian author and blogger based in Indianapolis, Indiana. He and his wife, Stephana, have one daughter, Jaicey, and two sons, Jackson and Joshua. Find out more about Jackie at his website JackieBledsoe.com.
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.
Resources
Platform makeover
Platform University
Date Night in a Box
Seven Rings of Marriage: The Model for a Lasting and Fulfilling Marriage
JackieBledsoe.com
The post Balancing Family & Ministry with Jackie Bledsoe – Rainer on Leadership #136 appeared first on ThomRainer.com.
June 25, 2015
How Not to Fix the Discipleship Problem in a Church
By Chuck Lawless
Church revitalization is a big deal today – as it should be. One reason we talk about this topic, though, is the church’s failure to produce disciples. When the church fails to disciple, the result is baby believers who never grow (even though they may be placed in leadership positions). Stagnation results, and revitalization is in order. That being said, here are some ways not to fix this discipleship problem.
Get angry with church leaders for not being disciples. It’s easy to do. Get frustrated at church folks and wonder how they ever achieved the position they now hold. Your frustration is likely valid, but here’s the issue: you may have inherited the problem. Somebody else gave these leaders their positions without questioning their discipleship. So, they’ve come to this place honestly – and deserve our guidance, not our frustration.
Focus only on content transfer. If discipleship is only about completing workbooks and classes, church members can do that on their own. Knowledge, while critical, does not itself make a disciple. Discipleship requires content + application + accountability. It requires life-on-life fellowship that must be intentional.
Neglect evangelism in the process. This is one of my concerns for the young generation of leaders who have recognized this discipleship problem: they are so committed to fixing this omission that they risk neglecting evangelism. If you don’t evangelize until you have the church in order, you’ll never evangelize.
Assume small group attendance + worship attendance = discipleship. Apart from Christian community under the teaching and preaching of the Word, of course, full discipleship does not occur. All of us know people, though, who are faithful to both activities but not really following Jesus. We need more intentionality – accountability through small groups and mentoring – to make disciples.
Plant a church in order to avoid the problem. I fear too many young leaders move into church planting simply to avoid the issues of the established church. They assume they can put a discipleship strategy in their DNA and never face an undiscipled congregation. It’s never that easy, though. Even church plants struggle with maintaining a strong discipleship strategy.
Avoid mentoring because it’s too complicated and slow. Mentoring is work. It can get messy because you’re dealing with human beings. On the other hand, we can name biblical examples of those who took this approach. Moses and Joshua. Jethro and Moses. Naomi and Ruth. Elijah and Elisha. Jesus and His disciples. Paul and Timothy. Even the seemingly best discipleship programs are lacking if mentoring is not a part.
Expect everyone else to be a disciplemaker. If you want your church to be a disciplemaking church, you cannot stand on the sideline and cheer for others to do it. Your church’s discipleship approach can be stronger today if you choose to invest yourself in 2-3 other believers.
Focus on the growth of others only. Leaders who themselves stopped growing don’t worry much about discipleship. Those who don’t regularly pray and read the Word seldom challenge others to do so. Those who no longer fight sin don’t stand in the battle beside others. If an honest assessment shows you’re not growing in Christ, your attempts to help others won’t last long.
Don’t train parents to be disciplemakers. The primary disciplers in the home ought to be parents. Our churches are to come alongside, support, and train them, but parents must take the lead. When we don’t challenge them or train them to do so, our disciplemaking strategy will be lacking.
Obviously, these “bad” fixes help reveal some positive approaches to dealing with the discipleship problem. Build a strategy of mentoring, small groups, and corporate worship. Include structured accountability. Teach content, but do life-on-life. Never stop evangelizing in the process. And, leaders, keep growing while you invest yourself in somebody today.
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.
The post How Not to Fix the Discipleship Problem in a Church appeared first on ThomRainer.com.
June 24, 2015
Eight Thoughts about Hiring Church Staff When You Have No Money
One of the more common concerns I hear from church leaders is the lack of funds to do ministry or to hire staff. The concern is often expressed as, “Our church is small; we can’t afford to do that.” But that sense of scarcity is not limited to small churches; I have heard the similar concerns from leaders of large churches.
Many church leaders would love the ability to hire more staff, but their perception of limited resources hinders them from doing so. Do alternatives exist? I believe so. Let’s look at eight thoughts about this issue.
Church leaders should adopt an attitude of abundance instead of scarcity. Do we really believe God will provide all the resources we need? If the answer is yes, we need to act from a posture of abundance instead of scarcity. That does not mean we make foolish decisions; it does mean we look at ways to make it work rather than give up.
Churches have more funds than most leaders realize. On a trip to Uganda, I spoke with a pastor in Kampala whose church was doing an incredible work in the community. He spoke with joy about the abundant resources his church had. The best I could discern the church had a budget of less than $500 U. S. dollars a year. I rarely see a church budget that can’t find some funds for new initiatives. The problem in many churches is the unwillingness of leaders and members to change current spending patterns.
Many people will gladly work as a non-paid church staff person. You can probably find some persons in your church or community who would be delighted to do so. In my first two churches, our worship leader was not paid. The student pastor made $25 a week in the second church.
Consider some small level of compensation. I recommend churches find at least a small amount of funding for staff persons. Even a small stipend engenders accountability and demonstrates tangibly that a person is indeed part of the church staff leadership.
Consider a one-year trial. One luxury you have with an unpaid (or modestly paid) staff person is that he or she does not depend on the pay for livelihood. You can thus offer a one-year trial to see how the ministry situation works for both parties. Neither party feels like they are making an irrevocable decision.
Look to local Bible colleges and seminaries for staff. Many churches are located within an hour or so of a Bible college or seminary. Those schools typically have required internships as part of their training. And a number of the students would be willing to serve in a volunteer position for the experience.
A good staff person will pay his or her own way. Forgive the economic crassness of this point. But the topic is about affording to pay staff. And the reality is a good staff person will create efficiencies and/or attract others to the church. It is not a stretch to believe the net effect of their ministry can be financially positive.
Bi-vocational ministry is a growing reality for the future. For many reasons, there will be more bi-vocational ministers in the future. The supply will be plentiful for those churches that cannot afford a full-time minister. Watch this trend closely, and seize the opportunities it affords.
I have no doubt budgets are tight in many churches. Indeed, I understand clearly when a pastor or other church leaders lament their inability to hire new staff. There are, however, ways to make it happen. Focus on the possibilities instead of the excuses. You might be amazed what God can do through you and your church.
Let me hear from you.
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