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What Does a Healthy Church Budget Look Like? – Rainer on Leadership #115

Podcast Episode #115

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Church budgets can often be the source of much contention and even more confusion. It doesn’t have to be this way though. Knowing the basics of the budget and communicating the budget well to church members can eliminate a great deal of contention and confusion. So today on the podcast, we tackle the basics of church budgets.

Some highlights from today’s episode include:

A church budget has to have clarity if it is to be healthy at all.
If you want a healthy church budget, make as much money available for ministry as possible.
Debt can be a tremendous hindrance to churches, but is often necessary for growth.
There is no reason even for a small church to not have some kind of budgeting software.
Quarterly church budget reporting is often the most effective practice.
Pastors should have help with church budgets, but also need to know the basics.

The seven topics we cover in this podcast are:

Budgets need to have clarity
Understand the three main categories: facilities; personnel; ministry
Understand the problem with percentages
Understand the impact of debt
There is a need for pastors and staff to understand budgets
Frequency of reporting depends on the church and polity

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 Things Church Leaders Need to Know about Ministry Finance

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Four Reasons the Pastor Should Hire Other Church Staff

In Jim Collins’ classic book, Good to Great, he notes the critical, if not obvious, importance of getting the right people in the right roles in the organization. But Collins describes this function as a leadership task. Simply stated, the leaders in the organization should have both the responsibility and the accountability for hiring their own team. The organization’s health depends on it.

Unfortunately in many of our churches, pastors have little input into the hiring of the staff that would report to them. Many times this role is handled by a search committee, personnel committee, or similar group, and the pastor is given little to no involvement in this process.

This approach is fraught with problems. Indeed, this process is often responsible for staff conflict, low morale, and lack of unity in the church.

There are four critical reasons pastors should hire other staff. These same reasons would apply to first level staff hiring their own staff in larger churches.

Chemistry. Only when two people spend time together, such as during an interview process, can each of them get an idea if they can work together. I have seen too many disasters where a highly qualified staff person was imposed upon a pastor. Both were competent people. Both were good people. But they just did not have good chemistry. A committee cannot hire the right chemistry without the pastor’s involvement
Loyalty. There is a natural tendency to have initial loyalty to the person who hired you. Without the pastor’s involvement in the selection process, you can only hope that the loyalty will evolve later.
Compatibility. Chemistry involves emotional connections. Compatibility involves cognitive connections. Pastors can best determine if prospective staff will be compatible in terms of the mission, theology, and philosophy of ministry. I once had a student minister on staff who was a great person. But our philosophies of ministry were significantly different. If I had been involved in the interview process, I would have asked that question at the onset, and we could have avoided a lot of pain.
Accountability. Like the issue of loyalty, a staff person tends to demonstrate accountability to the person or persons who hired him or her. Similarly, pastors may not feel as responsible for the development and success of a staff person if they were not involved in the hiring.

I am not suggesting all churches change their bylaws and processes immediately. I am suggesting, however, if a committee or group is responsible for hiring staff persons, they should involve the pastor greatly in the process. If the pastor feels that the new staff person was “their” choice, problems could arise quickly.

I would love to hear your perspectives on this issue, particularly as it is played out in your churches. Let me hear from you.

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Pray for Rocky Cross Baptist Church

Location: Middlesex, North Carolina

Pastor: Joshua Yates

Weekly Worship: 11:00 AM, Eastern

Fast Facts: Rocky Cross Baptist Church was founded in 1924 and serves a community outside of Raleigh, North Carolina. The church is seeking to reach out to the surrounding community and workplaces with the gospel. Rocky Cross has about 65-80 regular attendees and members and is reaching its community through regular outreach events, through the utilization of a community playground, and with student ministries as well as men’s and women’s ministries. RCBC is hosting revival services led by William Branch on May 3-6. Please pray that those from community will be open to invitations to hear the gospel and that this will be a time of reviving the mission of Jesus Christ for RCBC. Also pray for pastor Joshua Yates, youth pastor Mason Bridges and their families as well as the deacons and ministry workers at Rocky Cross.

Website: RockyCross.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 Rocky Cross Baptist Church appeared first on ThomRainer.com.

Notable Voices: April 11, 2015

To Keep or Not to Keep the Minister’s Salary Public? — Art Rainer

Art tackles one of the most frequently asked questions related to ministry finance in this excerpt from his new book, The Minister’s Salary: And Other Challenges in Ministry Finance.

 

Debunking Ministry Myths — Mark Dance

I’ve heard all of these at some point over the past few decades. If you’ve been in pastoral ministry any time at all, you’ve probably heard them too. Mark takes down some of the most popular myths about the pastorate.

 

Technology: Ignoring it in Church Leadership Could be Detrimental — Jack Wellman

In a recent podcast episode, we discussed nine areas of technology that all churches should consider. In this article, Jack provides more of the “why” to our podcast’s “what.”

 

Church Planting or Church Revitalization? — JD Payne

While there are some similarities in planting and revitalization, JD rightly points out that they are apples and oranges.

 

Sex, God, and a Generation That Can’t Tell the Difference — Chris Martin

Chris explains the recently released PRRR research on “How Race and Religion Shape Millennial Attitudes on Sexuality and Reproductive Health.” As Chris shares in the post, the data on abortive rights both disappointing and surprising.

 

Why You Need to Sing Loudly in Church — Keith Getty

I’ve really enjoyed getting to know Keith and Kristyn Getty over the past few years. In this article, Keith shares five of the many reasons we should all sing passionately in church this—and every—Sunday.

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9 Major Areas of Tension Every Pastor Experiences – Rainer on Leadership #114

Podcast Episode #114

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Pastors likely face one or more of these tensions every week, and sometimes on a daily basis. Most of these tensions are not between good and bad choices, but between two good choices. But the tensions exist regardless. And how a pastor handles them can be critical to the amount of effectiveness and satisfaction a pastor finds in ministry.

Some highlights from today’s episode include:

Bivocational pastors and church staff are my heroes.
Pastoral ministry is a 24/7 vocation.
Most pastors rarely are able to say “no.”
Ministry in the community by pastors and church staff is rarely seen by church members.
How much time a pastor spends in the office vs. the community is always a tension.
Sometimes we neglect the “best” because we are busy doing the “good.”
The time most often neglected for pastors is that spent with non-Christians in the community.

The nine tensions every pastor faces are:

Family time versus church time.
Office time versus time in the community.
Being a people pleaser versus being a good steward.
Visiting for crisis needs versus visiting for commonplace needs.
Counseling versus referral.
Spending time with church members versus spending time with non-Christians.
Local church ministry versus other ministries.
Being prophetic versus being positive.
Long-term perspective versus short-term perspective.

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

10 Tips for Pastoral Care Visits
Nine Common Tensions Pastors Face

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12 Reasons Churches Don’t Practice Church Discipline

By Chuck Lawless

Some years ago, I conducted a study and wrote a book on membership classes in local churches. Many of those churches included teaching church covenants in their membership class, but they talked very little about church discipline. That is, they established expectations but did not always talk about accountability. Since then, I’ve conducted an ongoing informal survey to see why churches don’t do discipline. Here are the primary findings, in no particular order.

They don’t know the Bible’s teaching on discipline. I can only guess what percentage of regular attenders in evangelical churches even know that the Bible teaches the necessity of church discipline. This topic is one that some pastors choose to avoid.
They have never seen it done before. Some of the reticence to do church discipline is the result of ignorance. Frankly, I admit my own ignorance when I began serving as a pastor 30+ years ago. If you’ve never been part of a church that carried out discipline, it’s easy to let any of these following reasons halt the process.
They don’t want to appear judgmental. “Judge not, lest you be judged” takes precedence over any scripture that calls for discipline, especially in a culture where political correctness rules the day. Judging, it seems, is deemed an unchristian act.
The church has a wide-open front door. Church discipline is challenging to do if membership expectations are few; that is, it’s difficult to hold someone accountable to standards never stated in the first place. The easier it is to join the church, the harder it is to discipline people when necessary.
They have had a bad experience with discipline in the past. For those churches that have done discipline, the memories of poorly done discipline seem to last long. They remember confrontation, judgment, heartache, and division – with apparently no attempt to produce repentance and reconciliation.
The church is afraid to open “Pandora’s box.” If they discipline one church member, they fear establishing a pattern that can’t be halted as long as human beings comprise their congregation. To put it another way, they wonder how many members will remain if they discipline every member with unrepentant sin.
They have no guidelines for discipline. For what sins is discipline necessary? At what point does church leadership choose to make public a private sin? Rather than wrestle with tough questions, many churches just ignore the topic.
They fear losing members (or dollars). We hope no congregation makes decisions based solely on attendance and income, but we know otherwise. Sometimes churches tolerate sin rather than risk decline.
Their Christianity is individualistic and privatized. Particularly in North America, believers often fail to understand the corporate nature of the church. We gather together on Sunday, but we do so while sharing life with no other believers. Discipline seldom happens if accountability doesn’t matter.
They fear being “legalistic.” Legalism can quickly become rules-centered bondage marked by joylessness. Church discipline assumes some standard to which believers are held accountable—and that standard can become legalistic if unchecked.
They hope transfer growth will fix the problem. Most churches are accustomed to members coming and going as congregations “swap sheep.” At times, a church is willing to confront a member in his sin – but only enough to encourage him to move his membership to the church down the road.
Leaders are sometimes dealing with their own sin. When church leaders are hiding their own sin, they’re less likely to engage others about their failures. To discipline others would be to bring conviction on oneself.

What have you seen? Why do churches not practice church discipline?

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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Five Ways Church Members Hold the Church as a Financial Hostage

Do you know any church members who have made demands based upon their financial giving to the church?

Okay, that’s probably a rhetorical question because most of you readers certainly have experienced that discomfort. I asked a number of church leaders to share with me how this “hostage taking” usually takes place. Here are the five most common responses:

“If you don’t do what I want, I will stop giving.” In reality, this quote was not often verbalized. Members just stopped giving when things did not go their way. After I left a church, I found out that the chairman of the finance committee did not give a penny the entire time I was pastor. I don’t think he liked me.
“You better be careful; I do pay your salary.” I’ve heard this one a few times. And the leaders with whom I spoke heard it many times.
“I am going to give all my money to ____________.” The blank is a designated fund in the church. The member does not want his or her funds to go the general budget needs, so the check is written with stipulations.
“Build what I want or you’re not getting my money.” One pastor shared the story of his church who was in dire need of more parking spaces. He attempted to lead the church to acquire adjacent land, but the biggest giver in the church led a counter move. She wanted a new worship center that the church did not need. She was willing to give significant dollars to the building fund, but only if it included her pet (and expensive) project.
“I am starting a designated fund for my project.” This hostage attempt is similar to number three but, in this case, the member starts a new designated fund. One example shared with me was “The Caribbean Mission Fund.” Basically, this fund paid for a trip to an exotic island where the group sang one time in a local church on the island. The other ten days were spent on fun and touristy events. The members of the group gave their money to the designated fund. It became a tax-deductible vacation, not to mention it was both unethical and illegal.

Hear me clearly. Most church members give to their local churches freely, joyously, and without stipulations. But almost every church has one or more members who attempt to use “their” funds for their own needs and preferences.

The biblical reality is that we do not possess these funds; we are stewards of what God has given us. They are never “our” funds.

How would you add to my list of five items above? What are your perspectives on this topic? Let me hear from you.

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Ministry Training in the Local Church – Rainer on Leadership #113

Podcast Episode #113

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The world around us is constantly changing. The Word of God, however, is not. We are still called to identify, raise up, and train the next generation of leaders in our churches. So today, we look at ministry training in the local church and how it is changing and becoming more and more accessible to both those pursuing vocational ministry options as well as all Christians looking to grow in their faith.

Some highlights from today’s episode include:

There is a false perception that theological education is only for vocational church staff.
Every Christian should be theologically trained.
One of the main purposes of small groups and Sunday School should be theological education.
Seminaries and traditional, formal theological education are still very valuable.
Churches—not seminaries—should be producing vocational ministers. Seminaries should then be training them.
Raising up the next generation of ministers and missionaries is the responsibility of the church, not seminaries.

The seven topics we cover in this podcast are:

Theology is important for all Christ-followers, not just church staff
Sunday School and Small Group Discipleship is a regular form of theological education
Special extended seminars and training are commonplace (Secret Church & others)
Online education has made theological education more accessible to laity
Seminaries are partnering with local churches for on-site teaching
Pastoral apprenticeships can train both theologically and methodologically
Local churches should seek to raise up the next generation of theologians and ministers

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 Gospel Project
Ministry Grid
Liberty University
Criswell College

The post Ministry Training in the Local Church – Rainer on Leadership #113 appeared first on ThomRainer.com.

Five Organizational Reasons Many Churches Hit Attendance Plateaus

In a recent post, I noted that 90 percent of churches in America will not go beyond the 350 attendance barrier. I also said that one key reason is organizational challenges. A lively discussion ensued in the comments of that post.

For many years, leaders have moved away from the discussion of numbers and organizational issues. To many, such issues seem unspiritual or secular. Indeed, if the numbers become an end in themselves, such arguments have merit. I fear, however, we are throwing out the baby with the bath water. In our zeal not to seem numbers-focused, we are often failing to be good stewards of our God-given resources.

As I have noted in other posts, the number one reason for declines and plateaus in churches is declining frequency of attendance of church members. Though there are many possible explanations for this reality, some of the reasons are in the category of organizational issues. Let me note five of them.

The church does not keep good records of attendance of worship services and small groups. Do not neglect this stewardship. You will not begin to know the nature of the problem until you have this data on an ongoing basis.
The church’s small groups are not an organizational priority. Those in small groups are five times more likely to be active in the church than those who attend worship services alone. Leadership in the church must give fastidious attention to small groups and Sunday school classes.
The church does not organizationally have some method of action reminders. For example, I know of one church that contacts anyone who has been absent from a small group for two consecutive weeks. The leaders shared with me that it has given them great insights into pastoral needs and hurts before the members drop out of church life.
The church is not organizationally a high expectation church. I have written and spoken on this issue many times. The best way to address member expectations is through a required new members’ class.
The church does not have organizational accountability. For example, a small group leader should be accountable to someone to make sure anyone in his or her group is contacted if they miss consecutive weeks.

At the risk of redundancy, let me again emphasize: The number one reason churches are declining or hitting plateaus is the declining frequency of attendance of church members. I have noted five organizational issues in this post. There are many more we will discuss later. In the meantime, let me hear from you.

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Pray for The ROK Church

Location: Conway, Arkansas

Pastor: Charles E. Simmons Jr.

Weekly Worship: 11:15 AM, Central

Fast Facts: The vision of The ROK Church is to be a transformative biblical church that produces radical life change and life renewal. Their mission is to make followers of Jesus Christ through a four step growth track—Believe, Belong, Build, & Become. The ROK is located in Conway Arkansas and is a vibrant church full of energy and young people. Outreach and relational community are at the heartbeat of the church, so resources to continue to serve their community are vital. They have a target area of about 10,000 people within the church vicinity in a city of about 60,000 people. The ROK also hosts several block parties but has always borrowed the equipment, so they are praying for a trailer to house bounce houses, generators, and other things to make the block parties successful. Finally, please pray for resources to put up proper signage outside and inside the facility the church is currently using for services and also for a 15-passenger van to offer transportation to those who are positively affected by our outreach initiatives.

“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..

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