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A Culture of Trust – Rainer on Leadership #028

Podcast Episode #028

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Brad Waggoner joins us this week to discuss the importance of trust to the culture of a church or workplace. We also talk about changing culture, how the culture at LifeWay has changed, and how advances in technology impact culture. Dr. Waggoner also explains what trust and distrust looks like

When success comes
When we fail
In our work habits
In our spoken words
In how we use our money
In our friendships
In our relationships

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
How Many Hours Must a Pastor Work
A Culture of Trust (pdf)

Friday Is for Freebies: Operation Christmas Child

This week’s giveaway includes the moving story of one of the most influential ministries today as well as an HCSB Study Bible.

It was a simple idea that became the worldwide outreach of Operation Christmas Child—a project of Samaritan’s Purse—to minister to children in war-torn and famine-stricken countries. In just two decades it has inspired everyday people to provide more than 100 million gift-filled shoeboxes to needy children in 130 countries. This beautiful book written by Franklin Graham and Donna Lee Toney weaves the moving, God-saturated story of the Operation Christmas Child’s beginning with the soul-stirring, Christ exalting stories of lives that have been forever changed by a simple shoebox.

Also included is the black, genuine leather version of the HCSB Study Bible, a comprehensive, easy to read, and easy to use Bible, with features and formats specifically designed to enhance your Bible study experience. You can also go to MyStudyBible.com and dive right in for a complete digital experience.

This Bible has a retail price of $79.99 and features 15,000 study notes, 290 Hebrew and Greek word studies, 66 highly detailed book introductions, 62 maps, 27 topical articles, 20 charts, and 18 illustrations, all focusing on the most important topics and questions in Bible study.

To enter the giveaway, tell us what was the best Christmas gift you’ve ever given someone.

The deadline to enter is midnight CDT this Saturday. We will draw five winners (one book per winner) from the entries on Monday morning.

By entering, you acknowledge and accept the terms of the promotion.

Notable Voices – October 24, 2013

Why Pastors Neglect Managing — Sam Rainer

Pastoring a church is more than just teaching; it also involves executing. But execution does not happen without management, and all church leaders must manage.

 

3 Essential Ingredients for Every Leader’s Inner Circle — Carey Nieuwhof

Every leader has an inner circle. And the type of people who make up your inner circle often determine your success as a leader. Carey provides three keys to building an inner circle that will multiply your leadership, not diminish it.

 

5 Reasons People Aren’t Volunteering at Your Church — Michael Lukaszewski

I’ve never met a pastor whose church didn’t need more volunteers. Even the most simple of churches with relatively few programs still need volunteers. Mike shares five reasons why people might not be volunteering at your church.

 

The “Why” and “How” of Basic Internet Safety at Home — Brian Vinson

In a recent guest post here on the blog, Jay Dennis outlined the problems of pornography in America. In this article, Brian gives some practical steps to take to provide a safe internet environment in your home.

 

7 Suggestions for Hiring the Right Person — Ron Edmondson

Last week, Ron wrote on how to go about firing employees. This week, he shares what to look for when hiring.

Ten Traits of Joyous Pastors

It is no secret that I have a special love for pastors. Perhaps my years serving as pastor of four churches made me appreciate the hard work and long hours of pastors. But, even when I was a layman banker, I had this love for those who have been called to serve and lead God’s churches.

I recently wrote the names of 23 pastors that, at least from my perspective, seem to find the greatest joy in their ministries. While such an exercise is admittedly subjective, it was nevertheless enlightening and encouraging.

I then wrote down what I knew about these pastors: their ministries, their families, and their activities. It was amazing. When it was all said and done, I found ten correlated traits of joyous pastors. I bet few will surprise you.

They read their Bible daily. They are in the Bible for their own spiritual growth, not just sermon preparation.
They have a fixed prayer time. Sixteen of the pastors have shared with me about a precise time they set aside for prayer each day with few exceptions. That number could be higher since I have never specifically asked them.
They have the support and encouragement of their spouses. This issue was mentioned frequently.
They hold their families to a higher priority than church members. Children and spouses are first in life and in ministry.
They are personally evangelistic. Many of them pray daily for the opportunity to share the gospel.
They avoid petty arguments. You won’t find these pastors in arguments on blogs or other social media. And you won’t find them arguing with people in person over non-essential matters.
They have learned to deal with criticisms. Every pastor is the recipient of criticisms. A relative few have learned to put those criticisms in right perspective.
They have a long-term perspective. The problems of today therefore do not seem nearly as bad.
They spend adequate time in sermon preparation. With the demands of pastoral ministry, it’s tough to find time, but these pastors make it a priority.
They are involved in their communities. Their community is the mission field they love. They spend time there and are regularly involved.

What do you think of these ten traits? What would you change or add?

Being a Memorable Leader

By Chuck Lawless

I don’t often write extensively about my story, but it seems right to do so this week. One year ago, my father passed away at age 73. Frankly, I could not have written this blog five years ago, before he became a Christian. Now, though, I can write these words while celebrating the last few years of his life—a life dramatically changed by the transforming power of the gospel.

You see, my first memory is being a frightened three-year old as my father destroyed our home in a fit of anger. Now almost fifty years later, I remember that event as if it happened yesterday. I can still show you where the lamp is broken, the picture frames are knocked from the mantle, the chairs are overturned, and the door window is shattered. I also remember where my sister and I hid that day until our mom arrived home. I hated my father that day.

Alcohol was a factor that time, but my father’s anger remained long after he gave up drinking. Many are my memories of his losing control, hollering loudly, throwing something, and then quickly moving beyond the event as if nothing had ever happened. It was strange, actually, how rapidly his rage would erupt and then disappear. For years even as a pastor, I struggled with loving my father as I knew I should.

I do have other memories, of course. I remember his showing me how to bait my fishing hook. To this day, I can hear his voice when I’m playing baseball, “Keep your eye on the ball” and “Stay down when you’re fielding that grounder.” He taught me how to shoot a gun and play pool, both that I do left-handed (as he did) even though I’m predominantly right-handed. I always wanted him to be proud of me, even when I didn’t know how to love him.

There is so much more I wish he’d taught me—so much that I’ve learned (or am still learning) from other men in my life. How to tie a tie. How to love my wife. How to deal with peer pressure. How to say no to pornography. How to live by a budget. How to fix my own car. How to build a bookcase. How to be a godly man.

I try hard to focus on the good memories these days. A few years before he died, my father became a follower of Christ – and we saw the power of the gospel firsthand. My father told us he loved us. He hugged us and told others how proud he was of us. His anger dissipated. He began to read the Bible, almost as a child devouring the stories for the first time. The tough man became the grateful child of God. I suspect it sounds odd, but I learned to call him by the affectionate term “Dad” only after his conversion.

I miss my dad today. And, to be honest, I miss what could have been had he been a Christian as I was growing up. Please don’t hear me wrongly here. I am deeply grateful my dad followed Jesus, and I know I will see him again. I still, however, wonder how life would have been different if my father had prayed with me, taught me about Jesus, challenged me to live faithfully, and walked beside me in faith. My memories can’t go there, though, because I have no such memories.

Here’s my point. We are all memory makers, whether or not we think about that responsibility. The generations after us catch much more than we think, and they often remember more than we wish. Sometimes they don’t like what they see in us even while they want to be like us. They want to be loved, protected, and taught. They need to trust they’re more important than our jobs, our goals, our dreams, and our dollars. They need to know they don’t need an appointment to fit into our calendar. Our children and grandchildren need memories they will want to create for their own children.

Leader, you are a memory maker for somebody. Somebody will have good or bad memories because of the choices you make today.

Good memories don’t just happen. In God’s grace and under His leadership, we create them.

So, leader, if you need to do so today, push away from your desk. Close the computer. Turn off the phone. Cancel an appointment. Go, make good memories with the next generations. I assure you, they won’t forget.

Chuck Lawless currently serves as Professor of Evangelism and Missions and Dean of Graduate Studies at Southeastern Seminary.

You can connect with Dr. Lawless on both Twitter and Facebook.

The Millennials Are Rejecting Fighting Churches and Christians

“I went to a business meeting at that church. I’m never going back.”

His name is Kevin. He is a 29-year-old man from Kentucky. Kevin, by his own admission, is not a Christian. “Something made me visit that church,” he told me. “I’m not sure what it was, but I know now it was a big mistake.”

Kevin told me how he one day on a whim decided to go to a business meeting in the church he had visited for four weeks. He also told me how he was “blown away” by the petty disagreements and harsh language in the meeting. He was saddened to listen to one man speak in deep anger to someone else. That man was his small group leader.

“I felt like I was at a playground fight with six-year olds,” he told us. “Boy did I make a mistake visiting a church.”

The Mediating Generation

My son, Jess Rainer, and I did a massive research project interviewing 1,200 Millennials. We shared our research in a book called The Millennials. While the interviews were done by a large team, we did get to speak to many in this generation. And we did look at all the interview results. Keep in mind that this generation is the largest in the history of the United States, almost 80 million in number. They were born between 1980 and 2000. Kevin is one of those Millennials.

But this generation is rejecting Christianity in large numbers. They are also rejecting churches in large numbers, particularly divisive and fighting churches. By our estimates based on this research, we approximate that only 15 percent of Millennials are Christians.

But many of them are walking away from our churches, and more of them are not attending at all, when they witness or hear about negativity and divisiveness in those churches. They want to see unity among Christians, and they are often disappointed.

Do We Compromise Doctrine?

The self-evident statement is that we should never compromise our doctrine to try to reach anyone. Interestingly, the Millennials rarely expressed concern about churches and Christians that stayed true to their core convictions. They understood that, though they did not use these words, the atonement, the resurrection, the authority of Scripture, and even the exclusivity of salvation through Christ, are what defines who Christians are.

“I would not expect a church to compromise its beliefs to accommodate me,” said Rebecca, a Millennial from Michigan. “To be honest, I am intrigued by their beliefs, and that’s one of the reasons I’m visiting the church.”

When Christian Unity Becomes Evangelism

The issue for the Millennials was not an expectation of Christians and churches to compromise their doctrine. They simply are attracted to Christians and churches where unity is real and evident. For almost all of the Millennials in our study, 97 percent to be precise, mutual respect was a critical issue in any relationship. And 64 percent of them expressed these feelings strongly, higher than all the other attitudes we measured.

It seems, therefore, that Christians and churches will win the right to be heard by Millennials when those Christians and churches demonstrate love and unity among themselves. And the early reporting from the Millennial generation about this issue is not too encouraging. We Christians and the churches we represent may be one of the biggest stumbling blocks to reaching the largest generation in America’s history.

Shortly before He went to the cross, Jesus told His followers these words: “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35 HCSB).

That’s what is important to the Millennials.

And more importantly, that is the command of Jesus Himself.

Pray for Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church

Location: Harrisonville, Missouri

Pastor: Malachi O’Brien

Worship Time: 10:45 AM and 5:30 PM Central Time

Fast Facts: Pleasant Ridge celebrated their 145th anniversary in September. They are a rural church in the midst of revitalization and replant. During the last two years the church has experienced a revival from God. The church has grown from 40 to 120 in attendance and has started a student ministry, kids ministry and prayer ministry.

Please join Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church in prayer as they consider launching a second campus. Also pray as they host the Consumed Conference this month, focusing on revival and prayer.

Website: www.pleasantridgebc.net

“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 Habits of Highly Effective Church Staff Meetings

I confess.

I used to hate meetings.

In fact I was very vocal about meetings being a waste of time. In most meetings I attended, I daydreamed about a dozen other ways I could be spending my time more productively.

Over time I would discover the problem was not the meeting per se, but the way the meeting was managed. Today I am a shouting proponent of meetings, at least the productive ones. And I have found that church staff persons, whether full-time, part-time, or volunteer, are among the most notorious for having bad staff meetings.

Over the past decade I have been on a quest to find highly effective church staff meetings. I have been fortunate to observe several, and I emulate them in my own staff meetings. Though all of the good meetings have several diverse characteristics, I found seven characteristics consistent in the highly effective meetings.

The meetings begin with prayer for the church and her members. Effective staff meetings have core to their purpose the need to pray for the church. These prayers are not quick and perfunctory, but sincere and well thought. The staff comes prepared to pray for members’ physical, spiritual, and family needs. They pray for their members to be a witness in their homes, communities, and workplaces. They pray for unity in the church.
The meetings take place routinely. Effective meetings can make a huge difference in the leadership and life of the church. They are regularly scheduled, weekly if possible.
The meetings have a fixed and predetermined length. Don’t intrude upon the staff’s busy schedule by having a meeting go longer than planned. Efficient staff will already have plans after the meeting. Don’t impose upon that time. People tend to become restless if they don’t know when a meeting will end.
The meetings have an agenda prepared ahead of time. Each staff member submits his or her agenda items ahead of the meeting. Those items largely determine the content and the length of the meeting. It should be a rare and exceptional occurrence when someone brings up non-agenda items. And generic agenda items should not be allowed (for example, “update on student ministry”). If no one has real agenda items, the meeting probably is not necessary. Don’t meet for the sake of meeting.
The meetings focus a great deal of time on alignment. Are all of the areas of the church in alignment together? Do they fulfill or complement the vision of the church? It would be better to have no staff members than having two staff members whose work and ministry go in opposing directions.
The meetings start on time and finish on time. They begin on time and they end on time or earlier. I begin meetings on time even if others are late. I actually began one meeting when no one showed up on time but me. I made a lot decisions without opposition. The staff will learn if the leader is serious about the meeting by the prompt beginnings of the meeting, and by the leader’s own punctuality.
The meetings conclude with action items. As a meeting ends, the leader, presumably the pastor, notes what is to be done after the meeting, who is to do it, and what the timetable for completion is. The pastor makes certain that everyone is in agreement with the action items.

Do you meet regularly in your organization? What do you think of these seven habits? What would you change or add?

 

5 Stages of Pastoral Tenure – Rainer on Leadership #027

Podcast Episode #027

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For more than two decades I have studied, contemplated, and written about the tenure of a pastor. Why is pastoral tenure relatively brief on the average? Does that tenure contain common and distinct stages? Is there a particular point in the tenure when more pastors leave the church?

The more I study the phenomenon of pastoral tenure, the more I am convinced there are distinct stages with clear characteristics. Certainly I understand that there are numbers of exceptions to my delineations. I am also fully aware that the years I designate for each stage are not precise.

Year One: The Honeymoon
Years Two and Three: Conflicts and Challenges
Years Four and Five: Crossroads (part one)
Years Six through Ten: Fruit and Harvest
Year 11 and Beyond: Crossroads (part two)

In this episode we address these stages of tenure and how best to lead through them.

Listener Question

Will asks: If a church votes to vacate the pulpit and miss the required amount of 2/3rds but receive the majority should the pastor resign?

Episode Sponsor

This week’s podcast is brought to you by Ministry Grid, a leadership training platform which will launch on 11/12/13. Ministry Grid will feature over 1,500 videos, including more than 200 free videos, and will be fully customizable to the needs of your church with the option for you to add content, create tracks for different ministries, and track the progress of participants. Ministry Grid will offer training for all areas of ministry from the parking lot to the pulpit. It’s training made simple. For more information and to check out dozens of free videos or to visit our blog, go to ministrygrid.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 autographed copy of I Am a Church Member.

Resources

I Am a Church Member
Five Stages of a Pastor’s Ministry

Friday Is for Freebies: I Am a Church Member & an HCSB Study Bible

This week’s giveaway is a signed copy of my latest book I Am a Church Member.

Based on an idea originally taken from this blog, I Am a Church Member discusses the attitudes and responsibilities of church members. I address in detail what congregations should really be focusing on—praying for church leaders, being a functioning member, treasuring church membership, and more.

Six chapters with these titles include study questions to guide the discussion:

I Will Be a Unifying Church Member
I Will Not Let the Church Be About My Preferences and Desires
I Will Pray for My Church Leaders
I Will Lead My Family to Be Healthy Church Members
I Will Be a Functioning Member
I Will Treasure Church Membership as a Gift

Also included is the black, genuine leather version of the HCSB Study Bible, a comprehensive, easy to read, and easy to use Bible, with features and formats specifically designed to enhance your Bible study experience. You can also go to MyStudyBible.com and dive right in for a complete digital experience.

This Bible has a retail price of $79.99 and features 15,000 study notes, 290 Hebrew and Greek word studies, 66 highly detailed book introductions, 62 maps, 27 topical articles, 20 charts, and 18 illustrations, all focusing on the most important topics and questions in Bible study.

To enter the giveaway, tell us what your least favorite food is.

The deadline to enter is midnight CDT this Saturday. We will draw five winners (one book per winner) from the entries on Monday morning.

By entering, you acknowledge and accept the terms of the promotion.