Thom S. Rainer's Blog, page 316

Notable Voices – February 27, 2014

5 Principles About Vision – Ronnie Floyd

Ronnie shares five principles about vision for pastors and Christian leaders alike.

 

Do You Treat Your Church Newcomers Like Cancer Patients? … I Hope So! – Charles Arn

Charles shares from his personal experience why a cancer hospital may not be the first place you would look for insights on welcoming church visitors and new members—but it should.

 

One Of The Things I Like Most About Being A Pastor – Jay Sanders

We sometimes tend to dwell on things pastors don’t like about their job. In fact some of the most popular posts here at ThomRainer.com have been on those topics. So it’s helpful for us to remember the things that are great about pastoring—the things pastors love.

 

Simple Church Epilogue – Eric Geiger

Eric is sharing an epilogue on our book Simple Church. In this post, he discusses the drift that often occurs in churches.

 

The Scarlet Thread Through the Bible – Pastors Today

The Gospel Project is giving away a free eBook comprised of W. A. Criswell’s sermon about the scarlet thread that runs throughout the Bible.

 

Groups Matter Twitter Chat

Tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. EST, you can join me, Ed Stetzer, and Eric Geiger for a Twitter chat about group life in the church. We will be giving away several free books and resources and providing a chance for you to give feedback or ask questions about how to effectively engage groups in your church. We have a landing page for you to watch the chat if you’d like, or you can follow along in your Twitter app by searching for the #GroupsMatter hashtag.

Pastors and Mental Health

The issue of mental health and Christians is finally getting some attention. Among the Christians who have challenges, many pastors struggle with depression. We hear too frequently about a pastor committing suicide. And many wonder how such a tragedy could happen to someone whose life was committed to serving the Lord.

I love pastors. Indeed I converse with pastors via a variety of means every day. I know many of them are struggling. Many of them are depressed. And, sadly, many of them are reticent to say anything about their depression lest they be viewed as unfaithful to God and unable to help others.

Possible Issues

I noted in an earlier post some of the issues that may cause depression or at least exacerbate it among pastors. While not all of them are unique to pastors, they are certainly pervasive among these servants of God.

Spiritual warfare. The Enemy does not want God’s servants to be effective in ministry. He will do whatever it takes to hurt ministers and their ministries.
Unrealistic expectations. The expectations and demands upon a pastor are enormous. They are unrealistic. But if one person’s expectations are not met, that person can quickly let the pastor know that he is a failure.
Greater platforms for critics. In “the good old days,” a critic was typically limited to telephone, mail, and in-person meetings to criticize a minister. Today the critics have the visible and pervasive platforms of email, blogs, and social media such as Facebook and Twitter.
Failure to take time away from the church or place of ministry. Workaholism leads to burnout. Burnout leads to depression.
Marriage and family problems. Too often pastors neglect their families as they care for the larger church family.
Financial strains. Many pastors simply do not have sufficient income from the churches they serve. That financial stress can lead to depression. Some pastors do not know how to manage the money they do have, leading to further financial strain.
The problem of comparison. Every pastor will always know of a church that is larger and more effective. Every pastor will always know of another pastor who seems more successful. The comparison game can be debilitating to some pastors.

Some Thoughts for Struggling Pastors

Pastors are often told that they need to stay in good physical health. Indeed, I documented my own struggle with obesity in a recent post. The message of good physical health does not need to wane.

But pastors also need to guard their mental health. Unfortunately, too many pastors have been unwilling to share their plight. Allow me to offer a few thoughts for both pastors and the congregants who love these servant leaders.

You are not alone. To the contrary, the problem is pervasive. I recently cited a study that shows depression among pastors to be higher than that of the general populace. Pastors should not think they are the outliers. There are many in this company of fellow strugglers.
You need not be ashamed. Mental illness is just that—it is an illness. If we have cancer, we freely acknowledge our physical illness. Pastors should not be ashamed to say they have a mental illness.
Get help. Get trusted recommendations of professionals who can help you. Most of the time, someone will also advise you to see a medical doctor to see if there are physiological reasons for your struggle. Others will counsel you about seeing qualified persons for those struggling with depression or other mental health issues.
Make the recommended changes. Once struggling pastors get help from professionals, they will be advised about next steps. Listen to them. Heed their advice. Make the necessary changes.

We Are Available

My team and I are not professionals in this area. We readily admit we are not equipped to help with some of the more serious needs pastors have both emotionally and mentally.

But we also realize some readers who really need help may be visiting this blog. We want to be available to get you help. Please let us know. We will do our best to get you help. Just email Jonathan.Howe@LifeWay.com. He will work with our team to find you the help you need.

Thank you for serving Christ and His churches, pastors. Very few people outside the pastoral ministry world understand all you do and all you experience. I hope we can minister to you as well. You deserve nothing less.

10 Questions for Leaders to Ask Each Week

By Chuck Lawless

At the seminary where I teach, we are planning now for the end-of-the-academic year faculty evaluations. Annual evaluations like these are helpful and necessary. They push us to ask how we might improve over the next academic year.

Most leaders, though, would benefit from more regular evaluations – particularly self-evaluations. Even daily and weekly self-evaluations merit our consideration if we want to lead well, regardless of our position.

Listed here are ten questions to help you evaluate your life and leadership at the end of each week. Plan now to consider these questions on Friday or Saturday of this week.

Have I decreased, and Jesus increased during this past week? By looking at your schedule, activities, conversations, thoughts, and priorities, whose kingdom have you sought to build this week– God’s or yours? Are you more conformed to the image of Jesus this week?
What do I know about God and His Word I didn’t know last week? If you’ve learned nothing new, it’s possible that: you haven’t sought God through study this week; you’ve studied, but it’s been routine and non-transforming; you’ve been a Christian so long you don’t think much about any needed growth; and/or, you’ve stopped growing. None of these possibilities should mark a godly leader.
Would someone want to pray like I’ve prayed this week? Jesus’ disciples watched and listened as Jesus spent intimate time with His Father — and they in turn wanted to pray like He did. They longed to experience what He experienced in prayer. Knowing your prayer life this past week, would you be pleased for someone to model his/her prayer life after yours?
Would my family say they are my priority based on this week’s activities? You can’t answer this question, of course, on your own–but you can take the risk to ask it. How would your spouse answer this question? your children? How much of your undivided attention did they get this week? What or who would they say is most important to you?
With whom did I attempt to share the gospel this week? Some evangelistic attempts do not result in your proclaiming the whole message, but we are never given permission to do less than share the Word with others. Did you at least make legitimate attempts to do so this week? With whom? Are you praying for those persons?
Who will walk more with Christ next week because he/she learned from me this week? This question hits at your disciple making work this week. If no one learned from you in an intentional mentoring relationship, I doubt it’s because no one wanted to walk with you. More often it’s because we haven’t prioritized mentoring like Jesus did.
Did I hide anything this past week (and, more pointedly, am I hiding anything now)? The devil works in our secrets. He delights in our darkness, even when our outward Christian walk appears to be solid. Godly leaders, on the other hand, know that nothing less than honest confession and heartbroken repentance bring our sin under the light of God’s forgiveness.
If I were to step out of my leadership role today, would the work continue well without me? You may be new in your role, but even new leaders must quickly seek to improve their organizations. If the work you lead would be seriously stymied by your departure, you may not be leading the organization well. In fact, you may be committing idolatry of the self if you are the center of the work.
What would my immediate reports say about my leadership this week? It’s likely they see you most closely. They hear your words, watch your reactions, and examine your life. They know when you say one thing and do another. They recognize when you lead reactively rather than proactively. Your reports can probably tell you whether you’ve been a good leader this week.
What are my plans for leading better next week? An evaluation without an intentional plan for improvement is an exercise in futility. What will you do differently next week? What steps will you take to improve? Who will hold you accountable to these plans?

Which question above most challenges you? What other questions might you add to this list?

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.

Six Major Issues Regarding the Digital Church

A point of clarity is in order. In this article I am referring to “the digital church” in a very specific way. I am not referring to the many uses of the Internet available to churches: church web sites; social media; and a plethora of training tools. Instead I use the phrase to refer to those churches that view a significant part of their constituencies to be online rather than in person.

The “digital church attendees” likely view the worship services online. They may be in some type of online small group. They have the ability to minister to others via the Internet. And they can support the church financially online as well.

Some churches now view these persons as integral participants in the life of the church. A small but growing number are willing to grant them membership. And many churches see the digital church attendees as an extension of the ministry of the church, even if they do not have full membership status.

This phenomenon is not transitory. It will be with us for the foreseeable future. As I speak with pastors and other church leaders across America and beyond, here are the key issues being discussed.

There is a lively debate regarding the status of the digital church attendees. What are the ecclesiological implications of the digital church attendees? Are they really a part of the church? Is physical presence necessary to be connected with a church? Should they be granted membership? Should they participate in communion/Lord’s supper?
Many churches are using a “both/and” approach to the digital church. They have worship services and small groups where people gather and meet in person. But they also have an extension of their ministry that includes the digital church attendees. Some church leaders have shared with me the particular effectiveness for homebound persons and military persons deployed around the world. Only a small number of churches today are digital churches only.
The digital church movement is growing. My information at this point is anecdotal, but I hope to have some good data from LifeWay Research in the future. Still, I have little doubt that the movement is growing and will continue to grow.
Church leaders are struggling to find meaningful metrics for the digital church. Do such metrics as pageviews or unique visitors have any meaning for the effectiveness of the ministry? Do donations from digital attendees have any implications for the health of the ministry? What metrics are possible and also meaningful?
Many digital church attendees are faithful financial givers to the church. I’ve been somewhat surprised to hear from church leaders about the financial support the church receives from the digital attendees. From my conversations, I’ve learned that the financial support is proportionate to the effort the church expends in connecting to digital attendees.
The digital church is rapidly evolving. In a few months, much less a few years, we will know more about the digital church. For now, we know it is both growing and changing. This movement, for better or worse, may be one of the most significant in churches across the world for years to come.

I almost always ask for feedback from the readers of this blog. For this post, I particularly hope to hear from you. I know that many church leaders will be looking to this particular article to get insights from others. Please take a few minutes to share with the readership any insights, experiences, or opinions you have about the digital church. You readers are incredibly bright. I look forward to hearing from you.

Image credit

Pray for Liberty House

Location: Killeen, Texas

Pastor: Kenny Rawls

Worship Time: 10:30 AM Central Time

Fast Facts: Liberty House was founded in the fall of 2013 and meets in a local elementary school near Fort Hood. Please pray for their continued outreach to both Fort Hood and the Killeen area. Also be in prayer for those who attended and for the follow-up efforts from the women’s conference they hosted this weekend.

Website: LibertyHouseKilleen.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, download this information form and return it to the address on the form.

Seven Occasions When You Should Not Hire More Church Staff

I recently received a Twitter request to provide guidelines for hiring additional church staff. Not too long ago, you could add staff according to a clear formula, typically one full-time minister for every 100 to 200 in worship attendance.

Unfortunately, it is usually not best to approach adding staff in a formulaic fashion today. Most churches do not add staff according to a programmatic approach. You could, in the past, know that the first staff was a pastor, followed by either music or education, and then followed by age-graded ministers such as students or children.

Today, the decisions are much more fluid and much more contextual. I must have an extended conversation with a church leader before I can even begin to suggest additional staff. So, instead of answering the Twitter request directly, I will approach it inversely. I thus offer seven occasions when a church should not hire additional staff.

When it takes ministry away from the laity. There has been a tendency in a number of churches to bring on staff as ministry hired hands. The laity thus pay the staff to do the work of ministry. That approach is both unwise and unbiblical. A new staff minister should demonstrate that he or she will actually increase the number of people who will do the work of ministry.
When you add staff according to the way you’ve always done it. Church practices are changing rapidly. Communities are changing. Technology is advancing. When a church is considering adding new staff, the leadership should see it as an opportunity to reevaluate what the needs in both the church and the community are.
When it’s not a smart financial decision. There will be times when a church should take a step of financial faith to add a staff person. But that doesn’t mean that such a decision is done without prayer, study, and good stewardship. Make certain you are comfortable that the resources for the new staff will be available.
When a particular group in the church pushes its own agenda. It is not unusual for groups in a church to want their “personal minister” to take care of their needs. Make certain that the addition is best for the entire church, not just a select few who might have influence or money.
When a friend needs a job. Don’t hear me wrongly on this point. I am not saying that a church should never bring on a friend of the pastor, staff, or some church member. I am saying that an addition should not take place only on the basis of that friendship.
When it’s just to copy another church. I’ve seen it many times. A church, usually a large church, has a new and creative way of adding and naming new staff positions. It won’t be long before I see churches all across the country making identical decisions. Certainly it’s okay to emulate a church if it’s best for your church. But don’t add staff just because another church is doing it.
When you are unwilling to deal with a current ineffective staff member. Here is the scenario. A current staff member is obviously ineffective in his or her current role. So that person is moved to another role, sometimes a role that does not add true value. Then a person is hired to fill the role once held by the ineffective staff member. This workaround results in a bloated personnel budget and, usually, poorer morale among the effective staff. Be willing to make the difficult decisions before adding new staff.

I would love to hear from you about how your church makes staff addition decisions. I always learn more in these posts than I offer to the readership. I look forward to learning from you.

Seven Paradigm Shifts in the Church – Rainer on Leadership #043

Podcast Episode #043

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In a blog post earlier this year, I listed seven paradigm shifts facing the American church, This week, Jonathan and I expand on and explain those shifts which we are seeing on a daily basis.

From senior pastor to lead pastor.
From trust to trials.
From denominational to quasi-denominational.
From solo preacher to multiple teachers.
From attractional to incarnational.
From geography to affinity.
From low expectation to high expectation.

Episode Sponsor

This week’s podcast is brought to you by Pastors Today. This weekly newsletter provides pastors with resources and information from around the web written specifically for pastors. For more information and to subscribe, visit lifeway.com/pastors.

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 autographed copy of I Am a Church Member.

Resources

I Am a Church Member
High Expectations: The Remarkable Secret for Keeping People in Your Church
Ministry Grid
Southeast Christian Church
Tony Merida Podcast Episode
Three Business Books I Recommend to All Pastors

Friday Is for Freebies: Exalting Jesus in Matthew

This week’s giveaway includes a pair of pastoral resources. First is Exalting Jesus in Matthew. This is the second volume in the commentary series and is solely authored by David Platt (best-selling author of Radical). Edited by David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, and Tony Merida, this new commentary series, projected to be 48 volumes, takes a Christ-centered approach to expositing each book of the Bible. Rather than a verse-by-verse approach, the authors have crafted chapters that explain and apply key passages in their assigned Bible books. Readers will learn to see Christ in all aspects of Scripture, and they will be encouraged by the devotional nature of each exposition.

Also included is a two-tone simulated leather version of the HCSB Minister’s Bible. This newly designed edition is ideal for pulpit use with its large type, wide margins, and extensive ancillary notes from many of today’s top preachers and church leadership voices.

Some features of the Bible include:

Where to Turn When . . .
Plan of Salvation
Four-color presentation page
Various wedding and funeral outlines by Jim Henry
“8 Traits of Effective Church Leaders” by Thom S. Rainer
“21 Essentials of Authentic Ministry” by James T. Draper
“Four Kinds of Expositional Preaching” by Ed Stetzer
“30 Keys to Giving an Invitation” by O. S. Hawkins
“Leading a Child to Christ” by Bill Emeott
“Reaching Students with the Gospel” by Lynn H. Pryor
“The Importance of Baptism and Communion” by Rick White
Commitment Counseling
The Christian Year and Church Calendar
The Apostles and Their History

Enter this week’s Friday Is for Freebies giveaway

To enter this week’s giveaway, fill out the form below. Entries will be closed at midnight Saturday night. We will contact the winner via email on Monday morning. Names and addresses are deleted each week and are just used to select a winner.

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After submitting your entry, you will be directed back to the ThomRainer.com homepage. By entering, you acknowledge and accept the terms of the promotion.

Notable Voices: February 20, 2014

What Pastors Owe Their People – Daniel Darling

As Dan points out, pastors owe it to their congregants to preach the whole counsel of God—including the tough passages.

 

7 Ways the Leader Sets the Bar – Ron Edmondson

Your team will rarely outperform the bar you set for them as a leader. So as a leader, you must constantly be the one raising the bar not only for yourself, but for the entire organization.

 

30 Key Movements Happening in the Christian Community – Brad Lomenick

Brad has put together quite a comprehensive list of the influential movements he’s seeing in the Christian community. From my personal viewpoint, it’s encouraging to see so many LifeWay partners on this list.

 

The Dangers of Entrepreneurship in Pastoral Ministry – Matt Svoboda

Matt shares how we sometimes use the wrong measurements when determining success as pastors and reminds us that a pastor’s primary calling is that spiritual leadership, not entrepreneurial leadership.

 

Infographic: Top 10 Reasons for Choosing a Paper Book over an eBook

Seven Traits of a Successful Employee: Lessons from Kenny Washington

It was not one of those days that I expected. Indeed, my schedule included several items that I have done more than once in my eight years at LifeWay. One of those was our “Pursuit of Excellence” chapel, where we recognize several outstanding employees.

Our executive vice president, Brad Waggoner, called each name before a packed chapel. The employees in the audience had a brochure with photos and accomplishments of the recipients of the award. As the names were called, those in attendance expressed appreciation with hearty applause.

Then it happened.

Brad called the name “Kenny Washington,” and the place went crazy. It was not simply applause but screams of delight. I had never heard anything like it in my days at LifeWay. Brad and I looked at each other, and we mouthed the same question: “Who is this guy?”

We would soon discover more about this incredible employee named Kenny Washington.

A Man Named Kenny

Brad and I took Kenny to lunch recently. On the one hand, we wanted to honor him for his service to LifeWay. On the other hand, we wanted to learn from him. There was something about Kenny our employees understood. We in the executive office needed to learn that as well.

I hope Kenny didn’t view our lunch as an inquisition. I just had to learn more about this man.

Kenny was born the eighth of nine children to Christian parents, though his mother had the greater influence. He came to LifeWay almost 25 years ago and works in mail services. He also serves in the National Guard reserves. His most recent deployment was in Afghanistan. We got to hear incredible stories of his diving for the bunker as rockets sailed over his head.

But my question focused on his work as an employee. Simply stated, Kenny Washington is one of the most incredible employees I’ve ever known. Here are his “secrets” to work success.

Keys to Being a Successful Employee

In the course of 90 minutes, Kenny shared with us a wealth of information. Though I am the president and CEO of the company, I was really the student learning from the teacher. Here are the seven lessons I learned:

View your work as a gift. Kenny has absolutely no sense of entitlement. He views his opportunity to work as a gift from God, and he treats it as such every day.
Seek to serve your fellow employees. Because his job is in mail services, Kenny gets to know a lot of fellow employees in LifeWay’s corporate offices in downtown Nashville. He sees his work as an opportunity to serve others. Indeed, he takes every opportunity to do for others on a daily basis.
Have a great work ethic. When Kenny described his work ethic, he made me tired! He said he never gets tired because he finds so much joy in what he does.
Do more than your job requires. Kenny told me about saving the organization money when he found a way to cut one division’s postage costs. You won’t find that assignment anywhere in his job description. He is always looking for areas to serve beyond what is expected of him.
Accentuate the positive. This man does not have his head in the sand. He knows there is no perfect place to work, including LifeWay. But he chooses to focus on what is good rather than complain about the negative. That outlook makes his disposition positive, cheery, and optimistic.
Accept responsibility. I bet Kenny Washington has never blamed a co-worker or a boss for his work. I bet he has never succumbed to the victim mentality. His entire perspective is that he is responsible for his work, and he must do it with excellence.
Seek to improve your skill set. Kenny has seen a lot of change in the world in 25 years. He’s seen a lot of change at LifeWay too. He knows that he must constantly upgrade and improve himself to remain a successful employee—and he does.

Lessons Learned

As my dad used to say, “He really schooled me.” Kenny Washington taught me so much. He inspired me so greatly. He motivated me so powerfully.

Thank you, Kenny. Employees can learn so much from you. Employees in the secular world. Employees in churches. And employees at LifeWay.

Including one employee who happens to have the title of “president and CEO.”