Thom S. Rainer's Blog, page 279

Nine Concerns about Church Members Who Withhold Their Financial Gifts

The story is too common, but I hear such stories repeatedly. My most recent conversation was with a church leader where an affluent church member offered to make a large contribution to the renovation of the worship center. He had one stipulation: the worship center had to be named in memory of his late mother. The leader politely declined. The affluent member did not make the donation. To the contrary, he began withholding all of his gifts to the church.

Almost every pastor and church leader has some story about members withholding their financial gifts as an act of protest about the direction of the church and its leadership. I have never known such a situation that had any positive affect. Such is the reason I offer nine concerns about this practice.

It assumes that we are the actual owners of our finances. That is unbiblical thinking. God gives to us everything we have. We are the stewards of these gifts. Such is the reason we use the word “stewardship.”
No church is perfect. If every member protested about an imperfection in a local congregation, no church would ever receive funds. This selfish act is not the way to resolve concerns.
This practice is divisive. One of the most precious resources of any congregation is unity. The withholding of financial gifts is an act of disunity and divisiveness.
It is controlling. The church member who withholds financial gifts seeks to get his or her way. Such is not the spirit of Paul’s words in Philippians 2:3: “Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves.”
It is self-serving. When Paul penned 1 Corinthians 12, he emphasized how we are to function in the body of Christ. Our motive for serving is for Christ and others before ourselves.
It is demoralizing. Paul wrote in Romans 14:19, “So we must pursue what promotes peace and builds up one another.” This practice has the opposite effect.
It backs church leaders into a corner. Leaders have one of two options. They can yield to the church member and thus affirm a sinful practice. Or they can refuse to yield and continue the conflict that was started by the member. It is a lose-lose situation.
If the church member truly has serious disagreements with the direction of the church, he or she should pursue other paths. They can address their concerns with leaders in the church directly. If members still have serious concerns and no resolution seems possible, it may be best to go to another church. It is much healthier to give to another church than to withhold from your present church.
This practice never has a positive outcome. Even if the member gets his or her way, unity and trust are broken at many levels. The body of Christ is always wounded by this practice.

This topic is both sensitive and challenging. I certainly am not the fount of wisdom. Let me hear your thoughts and ideas.

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10 Keys to Finding a Job in Ministry — Rainer on Leadership #095

Podcast Episode #095

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Finding a job in ministry can be difficult if you’re just sending out resume after resume to church after church. Not only can it be difficult, it can be downright discouraging and frustrating. So today, we cover 10 tips for finding jobs in a ministerial context as well as a few resume tips. Many of them also apply to finding jobs in a secular environment.

We also answer the question: When should I tell my boss I’m looking at another job?

Some highlights from today’s episode include:

You should make any employment change a matter of prayer.
Don’t let your heart be in another job while you’re still in your current job.
Pastors often don’t realize how much the church website personally reflects on them.
If you include a picture with your ministerial resume, make it a professional one—not one with your dog.
When you are leaving a church staff, be positive and focus on the blessings you received while at the church.
Unfortunately in some churches, even looking for a new job can be seen a treasonous offense and might lead to firing.

The 10 keys for finding a job in ministry are:

Make it a matter of prayer
Don’t let the next position distract you from the present position
Do well where you are
Stay connected with others
Remember the “big three”: your sermon podcasts; church website; social media
Do your homework on other opportunities
Ask someone else to recommend you (but don’t overdo it)
Be highly responsive when someone contacts you
Get coaching with your resume
Leave well

Episode Sponsor
This week’s podcast is brought to you by RevitalizedChurches.com. Bringing together videos, books, and other resources from today’s top pastors, leaders, and authors, RevitalizedChurches.com is the premier online destination for Church Revitalization and online consultations. Visit RevitalizedChurches.com today for your free download of 114 Things You Need to Know About Church Revitalization by Thom Rainer.
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 Grass Isn’t Always Greener
Revitalized Churches – Church Website Video Consultation

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Seven Trends in the Offertory in Churches

For most Protestant churches, the offertory is the time of worship where church members make financial gifts to God through the church. It may be combined with special music or announcements, but the central theme is giving to God.

I am seeing seven major trends develop related to this aspect of worship services. The changes have been subtle but noticeable.

More churches are moving the offertory to near the middle of the service, shortly before the preaching of the Word. This development is a change back to a practice that was most common before 1990. This approach has either an implicit or explicit theological belief that the offertory is a central facet of worship, and should be placed prominently in the service.
The second most common practice is to have the offertory at the end of the service. The typical rationale for this practice is more related to the flow of the service. The offertory is still deemed important, but the service has a more continuous flow if it is placed at the end.
Churches that provide the opportunity for online giving see an uptick in overall gifts. Obviously this type of offertory does not take place in a worship service, but it is deemed very important by leaders whose churches offer this option. I am not aware of any churches where online giving has replaced the worship offertory; it is simply another way to give.
Churches that mail offering envelopes to members also see an uptick in overall gifts. I have heard numerous stories from church leaders of the importance of this church practice. One church leader told me his church eliminated the practice, and offerings declined almost 20 percent. The church reinstated the mailing of offering envelopes pretty quickly.
Only a relatively few churches have offering boxes for member donations. Most of these churches do not have an offertory time in the service; members are asked to give as they leave the service.
More churches have some type of testimony or statement about stewardship to accompany the offering. Typically, this statement is about how the funds are used. Members are able to see through videos or testimonies the missional impact of their gifts (See the blog post with Pastor Mike Glenn’s example).
Relatively few churches receive gifts in their small groups or Sunday school classes. This practice was more common prior to 1990, especially in Sunday school based churches.

From my perspective, the most effective churches in stewardship make certain that items 3, 4, and 6 are common practices to accompany the church’s offertory. Let me hear from you about these seven trends, and let me hear what your church does as well.

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Pray for Community Baptist Church

Location: Spring Hill, Tennessee

Pastor: Mike Stalnaker

Weekly Worship: 10:30 AM Central

Fast Facts: Community Baptist Church is a vibrant, growing church just south of Nashville. Please pray for them as they prepare to move into a new larger facility in early 2015. Also pray for their upcoming evangelism emphasis in February. Finally, pray for their annual Family Fun Fest they will be hosting this June. Pray that they will be able to use that to reach those far from God and be able to share the love of Christ with them through this event.

Website: CBCSpringHill.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..

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Notable Voices: January 31, 2015

6 Signs That Silos Exist in Your Organization — Art Rainer

When I first came to LifeWay as president and CEO, silos were evident all over the organization. Much if what Art discusses could be seen in the company. It’s taken nearly 10 years, but we’ve moved away from much of the silo culture to what is a much more effective working environment.

 

500+ Preaching Resources — David Murray

Every pastor should have this bookmarked. What a list from David.

 

13 Ways To Sabotage Your Senior Pastor Search — Katie Fridsma

Throughout my 25-years of involvement with local church leadership, I have seen every one of these issues at least once. Many of them are pervasive.

 

6 Thoughts for Pastors on Personal Finances — Eric Geiger

Earlier this week on the podcast, I discussed what pastors need to know about church finances. In this article, Eric looks at what they need to know about personal finances.

 

What Does It Mean to Say a Bible Translation Is Faithful? — E. Ray Clendenen

If you want to get pastors or church members into a heated discussion, just bring up preferred Bible translations. But what does it mean when someone says a translation is “faithful?” Ray explains here.

 

When Your Church is In Trouble: Tell the Truth, Face the Future — Trevin Wax

One of the main points of my latest book, Autopsy of a Deceased Church, was that churches needed to face reality. This post from Trevin encourages just that.

 

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10 Distractions Regarding Worship Music – Rainer on Leadership #094

Podcast Episode #094

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Having weekly posts here at the blog from Chuck Lawless has been a huge blessing to me. Not only because it takes some of the workload off of me to come up with another article for the week, but because Chuck has such a great perspective on the Church and shares some incredible insights. We’ve covered some of Chuck’s articles in the past on the podcast, and in this episode we discuss a recent post on worship music distractions.

Some highlights from today’s episode include:

Millennials are looking for authenticity in the worship service.
The pastor is expected to have a well-prepared sermon. The music should be well-prepared as well.
Worship is more than just a sermon or just music. It’s the totality of how we glorify God corporately.
There should be clear planning between the pastor and music leader to tie in the music with the sermon.
Most worship leaders are gifted with different types of music.
When the music in a church service is too loud, it can distract from the act of worship.

The 10 distractions are:

Incomprehensible choir or praise team words
Unsmiling faces leading worship
Poor musicians or singers
Unprepared singers
“Preachy” music directors
Songs disconnected from the sermon topic
Difficult songs to sing
Weak use of media for lyrics
Poorly done blended style
Introducing new songs without teaching them

Episode Sponsor
This week’s podcast is brought to you by the Autopsy of a Deceased Church. Whether your church is vibrant or dying, Autopsy of a Deceased Church will walk you through the radical paths necessary to keep your church alive to the glory of God and advancement of Christ’s Kingdom!. Find out more at thomrainer.com/autopsy.
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

Don’t Waste Your Christmas
LifeWay Worship

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The Most Frequent Burdens Pastors Face

By Chuck Lawless

In my years of church consulting, I have spent hours talking to local church pastors. Much of the conversation revolves around church structure, vision, etc., but seldom does the conversation stay at that level. Pastors, it seems, long for someone to listen to them. They want someone to share their burdens, even if only for a few minutes.

Listen to the topics of pain I often hear, and take a minute to pray for your church leaders.

Declining church growth – No pastor I know wants his congregation to be plateaued or in decline; however, the majority of churches in North America are in that state. A pastor may put a hopeful veneer on that truth publicly, but I’ve wept with pastors who grieve privately over their church’s decline.
Losing the support of friends – Losing the backing of a Christian brother or sister is a unique pain. God-centered relationships are a miraculous gift, the melding of hearts at a level the world cannot understand. When those bonds are severed, particularly over matters that are seldom eternally significant, the anguish is deep.
Grieving a fall – Pastoral love is not a guarantee against failure. In fact, even Jesus had close followers who fell into sin and rebellion. When our pastoral calls for repentance go unheeded, it’s difficult not to take that rejection personally.
Sensing that the sermon went nowhere – For many of us, our ministry is centered around the Sunday sermon. Ideally, hours of preparation end in focused exposition that leads to life transformation—but that result doesn’t always happen. Few pastors have a safe place to express candid concerns about their own preaching.
Losing vision – A pastor who has lost his vision for the church is leading on fumes. To admit that condition, though, is risky. Not to admit that reality is even more dangerous. Little will change until that pastor can honestly share his lack of focus.
Being lonely – Pastors bear others’ burdens, but they do so confidentially. They share both the struggles and the joys of life, from birth to death. Sometimes, previous pain has made it difficult for them to open up to others. Consequently, they carry the weight of many on the shoulders of one.
Dealing with unsupportive staff – Facing contrary members weekly is hard enough, but facing unsupportive staff every day is an ongoing angst. Correction is difficult, and firing can be agonizing. Some pastors simply hope for change while not knowing the best next steps to take.
Remembering failures – Not many of us easily forget that disorganized sermon, that rotten counseling advice, that disruptive team meeting, or that hasty staff hire. Perhaps we can laugh at some of yesterday’s failures, but others still haunt us because we never want to fail God or His people.
Dealing with death recurrently – Few responsibilities are as serious as officiating at a funeral. Even when burying a believer, pastors, too, grieve the loss of friends. Burying someone who was apparently not a believer is even more gut wrenching. Ministry amid such pain without becoming calloused is difficult indeed.
Facing personal jealousies – I wish no pastor dealt with personal or professional jealousies, but I know better – both because of my own sinfulness and my pastoral conversations. Coming to grips with the rawness of our depravity is never easy.
Balancing family and ministry priorities – No pastor sets out to lose his family. Few leap into the inattentiveness that often precedes adultery; instead, they almost imperceptibly slide into sin. One reason for that failure is their lack of mentors and colleagues who help them prioritize family while fulfilling ministry responsibilities.
Responding to criticism – Continual criticism is wearying. Learning how to hear any sliver of truth in criticism while not growing angry is challenging. We can indeed be better ministers through healthy criticism, but few of us learn that truth in the midst of controversy.

I love pastors. I have been a pastor. I would return to the pastorate with excitement if the Lord so called me. Accordingly, I challenge us to pray for pastors 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.

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Seven Reasons Churches Are Too Busy

If local churches were humans, most of them would experience burnout. Many congregations are too busy to be effective. Many have a hodgepodge of seemingly unrelated activities.

As a consequence, there is no clear plan or process of discipleship in these churches. Members are often confused about what they should do and how active they should be in the disparate ministries and programs. And some members pull back their involvement altogether in a sense of frustration and often guilt.

So how did churches get so busy? How did their calendars fill up so quickly that it left no breathing room for members and staff? There seems to be seven major contributing factors.

Many church leaders fail to ask the “why” questions when starting a new ministry. Why are we starting this ministry? Why should we continue it long-term? Why are we asking people to be involved? When a church has no clear and compelling purpose for a new ministry, it becomes just another activity.
Churches often have no process or plans to eliminate ministries. Thus ministries continue even if they are no longer effective or needed. They become analogous to the clutter we often have in our homes.
Some ministries are started just to please people. Sometimes church leaders take the path of least resistance and allow new ministries to be added just because one or a few church members wanted them. The ministry may not be the best for the church, but church leaders are often reticent to say no.
Some ministries have become sacred cows. Their impact on the church is negligible. Very few people are involved. But any mention of eliminating them is met with stiff resistance.
Ministries in many churches operate in a silo. So the student ministry has its own plans. Adult small group ministry has its own calendar without regard for the church as a whole. And the missions ministry makes extensive plans, but does not ask how they tie in with the rest of the church. So the couple who has teenage children wants to be involved in all three areas, but the calendars and activities conflict with one another.
Some church leaders have a philosophy of always saying “yes” because they desire to see all people unleashed to do ministry. Such a philosophy is admirable in its motives. But it can devolve into confusion and chaos as countless and disconnected ministries are added to the church’s activities.
Most churches have no process to evaluate ministries each year. When ministries continue with no evaluation to their effectiveness, they are likely to be on the church calendar well past the rapture. One of the roles of church leaders is to evaluate ministries every year. There should be some criteria to determine if their continued existence is good stewardship.

I recently met with a pastor whose church is emblematic of the hyper-busy congregation. Morning worship attendance is steady at 350, but Sunday evening worship had declined in a decade from 160 to 40. The pastor suggested the church consider eliminating the Sunday evening service, an act that required a majority vote in a business meeting. Over 300 members came to the business meeting and voted by over 80 percent to continue the activity. Of course, hardly any of those members ever came to Sunday evening service before or after the vote.

Our churches are just too busy. Is your church one of these busy congregations? Let me hear from you.

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Five Things Church Leaders Need to Know about Ministry Finance — Rainer on Leadership #093

Podcast Episode #093

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Ministry finance is an area many pastors and church leaders lack adequate training. So today, Jonathan and I discuss five areas of finance of which every minister should be aware.

Some highlights from today’s episode include:

Churches shouldn’t be focused on money, but without it, there will be no ministry.
Pastors should at least know the broad parameters of the church budget.
It’s one thing to know what the budget is. It’s another thing to know if you are meeting budget with receipts.
Debt (or the lack of it) can radically change how a church can (or cannot) fund ministry with its budget receipts.
If there’s one financial ratio pastors need to know, it’s the weekly per capita giving.
Church leaders should stop being so shy and discuss stewardship of money.

The five things to know about church finances are:

Know the church budget
Know actual receipts
Know personnel expenditures
Know facility costs
Know weekly per capita giving

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

Next: Pastoral Succession That Works
Seven Reasons Pastors May Need a Virtual Assistant
EAHelp
Weekly per capita giving = (Total annual receipts ÷ 52) ÷ average weekly attendance

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Three Major Trends in Sermon Length

The opinions about the “right” sermon length are varied, but they are typically intense. Several months ago, I conducted a social media poll to find out the preferred sermon length of preachers. Since that time, I have been observing pastors’ preaching on podcasts and in person. I have also been asking them directly about their sermon length.

I found three dominant schools of thought about this issue. I have also been able to see some specific parameters that were not as clear in my previous post. Allow me to list them in order of their magnitude

The most frequent preaching length is 20 to 28 minutes. This preaching preference is not only noted among the greatest number of pastors (and church members as well), it appears to be the fastest growing segment. A number of pastors who were preaching longer sermons are now in this category. The most frequent rationale for this length is that it is received best by our culture of shorter attention spans. I find it interesting that 30 minutes as a sermon length is rarely mentioned. Many pastors are fastidious about keeping their sermons at least a couple of minutes shy of 30 minutes.
The second most frequent length is 45 to 55 minutes, but the number of pastors preaching this long is diminishing. Indeed, I wish I had considered this issue as one of my 15 trends for 2015. The longer sermon is still advocated by many pastors, but there are fewer of these pastors every year. The most common rationale for this longer sermon is that good exposition cannot take place in 30 minutes or less. One needs at least 45 minutes to do justice to the text.
The third most frequent length is one of no time constraints. This category of preaching is relatively small compared to the first two, but it has some strong advocates. Indeed the number of preachers and church members who are proponents of this view has held steady around 10 percent. The rationale for the “no time constraints” position is that we should not dictate how God might work in a sermon. If God leads the preacher to preach 10 minutes, so be it. If the sermon is over an hour, that is fine too.

I am watching these trends in sermon length carefully. A lot of my input and feedback comes from you readers of this blog. I look forward to hearing from you for a lively discussion!

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