Thom S. Rainer's Blog, page 265
June 23, 2015
Dealing with Power Groups in the Church – Rainer on Leadership #135
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Today on the podcast we discuss power groups—both positive and negative groups. I also found out something about Jonathan that I did not know before.
Some highlights from today’s episode include:
I don’t think any pastor has ever served in a church where there wasn’t some form of a power group.
Gaining power for power’s sake is a problem.
Every power group thinks they are doing good for the church. Many times they aren’t.
Most power groups in the church are trying to return the church to an era that no longer exists.
When a negative power group exists in a church, align yourself with positive people.
Before confronting a negative power group in the church, ask for counsel from those whom you can trust.
The six keys to dealing with power groups in your church are:
Discern if the issue is really power
Try to understand motives
Grasp the “berry bucket” theory”
See if a direct approach will work (Matthew 18)
Develop key alliances
Determine if a work around or a confrontation will be best
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
Five Stages of a Pastor’s Ministry
The post Dealing with Power Groups in the Church – Rainer on Leadership #135 appeared first on ThomRainer.com.
June 22, 2015
Anatomy of a Sick Church – 10 Symptoms to Watch
There are certain metrics and issues physicians check when we go to the doctor. They want to check our blood pressure and temperature. They do blood tests to see if there are any warning signs. They are looking for symptoms that might indicate real problems exist.
After working with churches for thirty years, I too look for symptoms that might point to greater concerns. The symptoms are not necessarily the problem; they simply provide warnings or cautions of potential issues.
While there are many potential symptoms of a sick church, I have found ten to be consistently common. These ten are not listed in any particular order:
Declining worship attendance. Surprisingly, the majority of church leaders do not monitor worship attendance. I advise leaders to compare each month’s average worship attendance to the same month of previous years.
Decline in frequency of attendance of church members. This symptom is the number one explanation for attendance decline in most churches. Members are not as committed as they once were. Their waning love for their church is reflected in their declining frequency in worship attendance.
Lack of joy and vibrancy in the worship service. Obviously, this symptom is subjective. It is still, however, very important. Most people can sense when a worship service is vibrant, lukewarm, or dead.
Little evangelistic fruit. As a general rule, a healthy church will reach at least one non-Christian for every 20 in worship attendance. A church with a worship attendance of 200, for example, should see at least ten new Christians a year.
Low community impact. In my consultations, I attempt to find clear indicators that a church is making a difference in its respective community. I ask both church leaders and community members for clear examples and indicators.
More meetings than ministry. A sick church will meet about what they should do rather than do it. Some churches have more committees than conversions.
Acrimonious business meetings. Christians can and do disagree. Sick churches have meetings where the disagreements reflect obvious bitterness and anger.
Very few guests in worship services. A vibrant church will attract guests. A sick church will not.
Worship wars. Yes, they still exist in many churches. Those wars are indicators of an inward focus by the members.
Unrealistic expectations of pastoral care. Sick churches view pastors and other staff as hired hands to do all of the work of ministry. Healthy churches view pastors as equippers for the members to do most of the ministry.
None of these symptoms are good, but churches do go through periods where they demonstrate a few of them. The key is to recognize the symptoms and respond early and quickly.
Here is my own subjective health analysis according to the number of symptoms:
1 to 2 symptoms. Normal for most churches for a short period of time. Not an indicator of poor health, but the symptoms should be addressed promptly.
3 to 4 symptoms. The church is sick and needs immediate attention.
5 to 6 symptoms. The church is very sick. If significant changes are not made, the congregation is in danger of moving into the phase of terminal illness.
7 to 10 symptoms. The church is in danger of dying in the next five to ten years. While it is possible for a church to recover from this level of sickness, it is rare. Intervention must be quick, intense, and dramatic. The amount of change necessary is often more than most leaders and members are willing to bear.
Give an honest assessment of your own church by these symptom indicators. What do you see? What should you do if there are a number of symptoms? Let me hear from you.
photo credit: Come in and take a pew via photopin (license)
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June 21, 2015
Pray for Crossroads Church of Dunwoody
Location: Dunwoody, Georgia
Pastor: Chris Jordan
Weekly Worship: 10:45 AM, Eastern
Fast Facts: Two years ago, North Peachtree Academy and Christ Church of Metro Atlanta merged to form Crossroads Church of Dunwoody. There are 82,000+ people who live within a 3 mile radius of the campus, and 50,000 of them (many of them minorities) do not know the Lord. Crossroads Church is an aging congregation that loves the Lord, but is also somewhat resistant to change.
Please be in prayer for two special events coming up in the next few weeks at Crossroads Church:
June 22-26 — Crossroads Church is hosting a Backyard Bible Club at an apartment complex right around the corner from their campus. The complex is majority hispanic. Pray they will see fruit from their labor.
July 6-10 — They are hosting a sports camp at the church. This sports camp is put on by UW Sports which is a Christian agency. Basically it runs like a VBS incorporating sports to drive home the gospel message.
Also pray that God would increase their influence with the 82,000 people that live within a 3 mile radius of the campus, and that God would change the hearts of the congregation to be willing to reach the 50,000 who are unchurched, many of whom are a different nationality than our current congregation. Please pray that God gives them a spirit of faithfulness to be sharing the life changing message of the gospel with everyone they come in contact with.
Website: CrossroadsDunwoody.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 Crossroads Church of Dunwoody appeared first on ThomRainer.com.
June 20, 2015
Notable Voices: June 20, 2015
Millennials Search For Religious ‘Authenticity’ — Gracy Olmstead
We discovered this in our research for The Millennials. If authenticity is lacking, Millennials won’t hang around. They won’t make time for something that is fake or manufactured—especially in churches.
7 Tips for Hiring the Right Person for the Church Staff — Ron Edmondson
As Jim Collins says, you’ve got to get the right people on the bus and in the right seats. Ron provides seven suggestions for churches to get those seats filled correctly.
Five Basic Qualifications for Church Revitalization — Bill Henard
Bill Henard has an excellent new book out on church revitalization. In this excerpt, he shares the basic qualifications for those looking to undertake revitalization in a church.
Women in Leadership: For Such a Time as This — Faith Whatley
Women have more influence than ever before, so it’s important they steward it well. Faith is one of our leaders at LifeWay who does just that.
How Younger Preachers Can Help Their Hearers — Eric Davis
Eric shares eight tips for young pastors looking to engage and inform their hearers. Number eight might be the most important one for young pastors to remember.
7 Words of Advice For The First-Time Pastor — John Powell
First-time pastors will make mistakes. So will pastors who’ve been pastoring for a while. But for first time pastors, this advice is important because it can set you up for the best possible pastorate to begin your ministry.
The post Notable Voices: June 20, 2015 appeared first on ThomRainer.com.
June 19, 2015
Six Keys to Breaking Financial Barriers at Your Church – Rainer on Leadership #134
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Today on the podcast we discuss financial barriers and budgets in the local church. As we mention in the podcast, if you want us to examine an item in your church budget, email jonathan.howe@lifeway.com.
Some highlights from today’s episode include:
Both browbeating people about giving and completely ignoring it are not healthy for a pastor.
The church should lead by example in good stewardship.
Zero-based budgeting is often the best budgeting method for churches.
Offering envelopes are antiquated—but they work to increase giving.
Millennials want to know the money they give is being spent well.
Millennials have little patience for waste when it comes to church budgets.
The six keys to breaking financial barriers in your church are:
Preach on stewardship
Live within your means as a church
Use powerful stories around the offertory time
Provide various means of giving
Use testimonies during the time of giving in the church
Understand the mindset of Millennials
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
FIFA Corruption
The post Six Keys to Breaking Financial Barriers at Your Church – Rainer on Leadership #134 appeared first on ThomRainer.com.
June 18, 2015
12 Questions for a Six-Month Spiritual Checkup
By Chuck Lawless
At this time last year, I wrote a post on “10 Questions for a Six-Month Spiritual Checkup.” If you haven’t done a spiritual self-reflection yet this year, I encourage you to take time to read those previous questions and analyze your spiritual life today. Then, review the questions in this post to look at your life at an even deeper level.
Do you need to forgive someone? Jesus is clear that if we don’t forgive others, the Father does not forgive us (Matt. 6:14-15). So, while we may think our anger is justified, it only hurts us to stay bitter. The cost, in fact, is serious as it harms our relationship with God.
Does your daily talk reflect godliness? It’s hard to read Ephesians 5:4 (“Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving”) without evaluating our daily conversations. If other believers heard everything you said last week, would your witness be strengthened or harmed?
Does your budget reflect a commitment to God’s work? I know it sounds trite, but what we give toward God’s work really does have eternal dividends. Any sacrifice so others may know Jesus is no sacrifice at all. Would your checkbook show you prioritize God’s kingdom?
Do you know your neighbors and co-workers? It’s easy to be so “on the go” that we know our neighbors and co-workers on only a superficial basis, if we know them at all – which makes it difficult to share Christ with them. Even our prayer for them is surface-level if we don’t know them.
Do you pray regularly for leaders? Regardless of our political positions, we are mandated to pray for those in authority (1 Tim. 2:1-2). Think about those for whom you might pray: school officials, bosses, mayors, governors, the president. Obedience here is especially important in this election season.
Do you read more blog posts than you do the Bible? Obviously, I tread softly here, as I’m deeply grateful you’re reading this post. On the other hand, what bloggers have to say is nothing compared to the Word of God.
Do you pray only when you have to? Many of us pray more reactively than proactively. Prayer is not in our DNA; it is only our response when we face something we can’t handle. That kind of praying misses the point of being in a relationship with God.
If you’re married, does your marriage reflect the love of Jesus for His church? Do you love your spouse sacrificially (Eph. 5:25), to the point of being willing to die? Would your spouse agree with your response to that question?
Are you hiding anything? Hiddenness is usually a sign the enemy is winning in one’s life. Then, the anguish of such sin is only deepened by the efforts we expend trying to keep it covered up.
Do you really love God’s church? Paul thanked God for the Corinthians at the beginning of his letter to them (1 Cor. 1:4-9) and expressed his love for them in his closing (1 Cor. 16:24). In between, though, he described them as a mess. Only God can give us this kind of love for His bride, especially when the church is problematic.
Are you ready to quit? Maybe your church role has drained you to the point you wonder if it’s worth the effort. If your faith is being stretched to its limit, I encourage you to gather prayer partners and talk with friends before giving up.
Where do you most need to strengthen your walk with God for the rest of this year? Reading this post will make no difference unless you make an intentional plan to change. Tell us what commitments you are making, and give us the privilege of praying 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.
photo credit: stethoscope via photopin (license)
The post 12 Questions for a Six-Month Spiritual Checkup appeared first on ThomRainer.com.
June 17, 2015
Five Frustrations Pastors Have with Pastor Search Committees
I write frequently at this blog about pastor search committees. Sometimes I write from the perspective of the pastor; on other occasions I write from the perspective of the search committee.
Allow me two caveats before I go further. First, not all churches call pastors through the pastor search committee method. Denominational authorities appoint some pastors. On other occasions, a different group, such as elders, has the pastor search responsibility.
Second, most of these frustrations apply to the search process for church staff other than pastors. I will use the pastor label for simplicity.
Based on my most recent conversations and interactions with pastors, I am hearing five common frustrations about search committees. See if you identify with any of these.
The search committee lacks follow-up and responsiveness. This comment is the most frequent I hear from pastors. They will be contacted by a search committee, and then never hear their status again. The pastors are making prayerful and mental plans for a major upheaval in their lives, but the search committee goes silent.
Search committees are very slow. Search committees typically work in units of a week, sometimes even a longer period. Whereas a secular organization may be making daily decisions, search committees can make painfully slow progress every week. One pastor told me a search committee contacted him a second time to let him know he was their final candidate. Unfortunately, he had moved to another church 18 months earlier.
Search committees can ask questions with no context. It is not unusual for a search committee to seek a pastor who corrects the perceived mistakes of the previous pastor. But a pastor candidate may have no idea of the context of the question. For example, two pastors told me they received a similar question from two different search committees: “Do you like office work?” The first church was trying to correct the perceived problem that the previous pastor was not in the office enough. The second church felt like their previous pastor was in the office too much, and not visiting others sufficiently.
Some search committees have not done their homework. A recent example from a pastor illustrates this reality. The pastor sent the resume just as the search committee requested. On one part of his resume, he clearly noted that all of his sermons in video for the past five years can be accessed on his current church’s website. The first comment from the committee chairperson was, “We need to get you to send us some tapes of you preaching” (Yes, tapes. Not DVDs or streaming video content. Tapes.).
Some search committees are not forthright. Most pastor candidates would like to know why the church is no longer considering them. Most search committees do not give specifics. They simply say they didn’t feel led to continue. It would help pastors greatly if they knew the specific reasons for the decline. They may be able to correct that issue with another church.
I know. The frustrations can run both ways. In an upcoming post, I will address some of the greatest current frustrations of search committees about pastors and staff. In the meantime, let me hear from you.
The post Five Frustrations Pastors Have with Pastor Search Committees appeared first on ThomRainer.com.
June 16, 2015
Trends in Worship Service Times – Rainer on Leadership #133
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Today on the podcast we discuss a recent post on trends in worship service times.
Some highlights from today’s episode include:
Psychologically, when a church service goes past noon, it feels “too long” for many.
Early services are growing in popularity with young families and Boomers.
There is not rapid growth in non-Sunday worship services. The growth is steady, but slow.
Saturday night worship services in the South often struggle because of the popularity of college football.
The seven trends in worship service times are:
Churches with multiple Sunday morning services will soon be in the majority
The 11:00 am worship service is no longer the designated time for a majority of churches
Earlier Sunday morning services are gaining in popularity
The growth in the number of non-Sunday primary services is steady but slow
The number of churches with concurrent worship service times is small, but will continue to increase
The most popular worship times start between 9:30 am to 10:30 am
Worship wars over service times will continue to wane
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 Trends in Worship Service Times – Rainer on Leadership #133 appeared first on ThomRainer.com.
June 15, 2015
Six Simple Things a First-time Church Guest Likes
I have written rather extensively on first-time church guests at this blog. Even more importantly, I have received hundreds of responses from church leaders, church members, and church guests about this issue. I took the opportunity to look specifically at the comments from first-time guests. After completing this exercise, I was surprised to find that the preferences of these guests can be categorized into six simple groups.
Keep in mind, you are hearing only from the self-identified first-time guests. Each category has one or more direct comments I received. Here are their six simple requests.
Be genuinely friendly. “I can tell when someone has a genuine smile and a genuine concern for me.” “I don’t like the stand-and-greet time because it seems like many of the members are forced to be friendly.” “I love churches where people are smiling.”
Don’t put me on the spot. “Don’t ask me to raise my hand.” “Don’t stand up and greet each other while I’m asked to sit down.” “Please don’t ask me to introduce myself before the entire church.”
Provide clear directions. “Make certain your websites have the church address and the times of worship services on the home page.” “Have clear signage in the parking lot when I enter.” “Please have clear signage once I enter the building.”
Please be empathetic. “I am a single mom with four young children. Please understand it’s a struggle to get to church.” “I am an introvert who is scared to death when I visit a church. Please don’t invade my personal space too much.” “I can’t afford the clothes many people can. Please don’t look down on me.”
Show joy in your lives. “I came to church expecting people to have obvious joy in their lives.” “Your ushers look like grumpy old men and women.” “There was something intangible about the third church I visited. I never went to another church after that.”
“Don’t be rude.” “Don’t tell me I’m in your seat. If you do, I will be happy to get up and never return.” “Don’t make me walk over you to get to a seat.” “Why did they tell me I didn’t look like I belonged here?”
I wonder what it would be like if all of our first-time guests found our churches joyous, courteous, informative, and friendly. Think about how God might bless them and us. It’s really not that difficult. These first-time guests are only asking for basic courtesies and considerations.
I always look forward to your comments and interaction. Let me hear from you.
photo credit: via photopin (license)
The post Six Simple Things a First-time Church Guest Likes appeared first on ThomRainer.com.
June 14, 2015
Pray for First Baptist Haw River
Location: Haw River, North Carolina
Pastor: Jonathan Jenkins
Weekly Worship: 11:00 AM, Eastern
Fast Facts: FBC Haw River has a rich history of faith and recently launched a new vision strategy: “Know, Grow, and Go all while Encouraging in Jesus’ Name.” Please pray for FBCHR as they rebuild the foundations of that legacy of faith and remember the vision that Christ has called them to. Also pray for the follow up to their Saturday Bible School, a one-day, VBS-style event they held this weekend. Finally, be in prayer for their youth as they head to camp next month.
Website: FBCHawRiver.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 First Baptist Haw River appeared first on ThomRainer.com.
