Thom S. Rainer's Blog, page 363

Thirteen Issues for Churches in 2013: Issues 1-6

As the new year unfolds, it is always a healthy exercise to look ahead to key opportunities and key challenges. Certainly such an effort is in order for congregations in North America. I plan to look at thirteen of those issues in this blog and my blog on Wednesday.

This extrapolation is not an exercise in keen foresight or extraordinary mental acumen. I am simply looking at current issues that seem to be gaining momentum. These issues will present themselves unevenly to different churches. But I foresee that tens of thousands of American congregations will be impacted by each of them.

I am grateful to Sam Rainer for his recent post, “Looking Ahead to 2013: What Should the Church Expect.” Many of his seminal ideas are captured in these articles. Though I list the issues in numerical order, I am not attempting to assign any degree of importance of one over another.

The impact of the “nones.” The 2012 study by Pew Research rightfully garnered much attention. The percentage of the adult U. S. population that claims no religious affiliation increased from 15 percent in 2007 to 20 percent in 2012. That is an amazing 33 percent increase in that one category in a relatively short period. One implication for local congregation is the decrease of marginal church attendees, often called “CEO” (Christmas Easter Only) Christians. There is no longer much societal pressure to attend church. Those on the margins are thus falling off completely. There will continue to be a financial impact since these infrequent attendees typically provided some level of giving to their churches.


Migration back to small groups. For three decades, the key emphasis in American church life has been the corporate worship experience. Though that emphasis is not going away, there is an increasing emphasis on moving people to small groups of all kinds: Sunday schools; home groups; life groups; etc. There is an increasing awareness that those who are in groups have a higher level of commitment in almost all areas of church life. As the Sunday school movement swept the nation for a half-century through the 1970s, a similar groups movement is already underway and should gain even more momentum.


Accelerated closing of churches. The institutional church stubbornly resists formal closing. Even if only six or seven people attend each week, those few fight for the survival of their church. Those who were attending these very small churches are either moving to the “nones” category, or they are moving to larger churches. The primary stalwarts to keep the doors open are members of the builder generation, those born before 1946.  As that generation decreases at an increasing rate, more churches will close. Any guess to the number of closings in 2013 is speculation on my part. I wouldn’t be surprised, however, if the numbers reach the 8,000 to 10,000 level.


More churches moving to multiple venues. Membership in Mensa is not a requisite to have an insight on this issue. Just from an anecdotal perspective, the number of congregations moving to multiple venues is staggering. Indeed that issue may be the single greatest distinguishing factor in growing churches. The variety of the venues is increasing as well. Some churches have different venues on the same campus. Others move to multiple campus models. Some have an onsite preacher/teacher; others offer video streaming. Some churches have venues on Sunday only. Other churches have venues up to seven days a week. In the 1960s American congregations moved to multiple worship services in sweeping numbers. That same trend in multiple venues is taking place today. It should accelerate.


The growth of prayer emphases in local congregations. Though prayer is foundational in the life of New Testament congregations, it frankly has not garnered much attention in recent years in American churches. There was a subtle but noticeable shift in 2012. More and more church leaders and members realized that the power and strength of health in their congregations is not human-centered but God-dependent. I am reticent to predict a true prayer revival in our nation, but I am confident in saying that more local congregations will focus on prayer. It will be interesting to see how such an emphasis manifests itself in each local body.


Fickle commitment. In his post, Sam Rainer noted an overall decline in institutional loyalty. It is certainly pervasive in many American congregations. Indeed, the culture of the vast majority of American churches has been one of low commitment. That lower level of commitment is evident, paradoxically, in even the more committed members. Those members who once were present “every time the doors were open” may now be present, for example, 75 percent of the time. It is likely that decreased frequency of active attendees may be the single largest contributor to church decline in the past five years.

In two days I’ll share seven more issues for 2013. I hope you will return.

Pray for First Baptist Church Terre Haute

Location:  Terre Haute, Indiana

Pastor:  Bernard Jackson

Weekly Worship:  9:30 AM Eastern Time

Fast Facts:   This American Baptist Church is involved in a pastor search at this time and would greatly appreciate your prayers for God’s leadership as they seek their next pastor.

Website:    www.thfbc.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 your church to be featured in “Pray for . . .” contact Steve Drake, director of pastoral relations, at Steve.Drake@LifeWay.com.

Ten Common Things Church Members Communicate to Pastors

Pastors are like information sponges. If they aren’t studying, they are receiving a regular deluge of information from church members. I asked twenty-two pastors to share with me the most common items they hear from their church members. In the past, this information came in the form of letters, in-person conversations, and telephone calls. The digital age has made emails, texts, and social media more common.

Eleven of the pastors were above the age of forty, so an equal number were under forty years old. Here are their top ten responses in order of frequency.  Each response is followed by a quote from a representative pastor in the interview.

Requests for hospital visits and other visits to those who are ill. “If I said ‘yes’ to every one of these requests that I got, it would be a 60-hour a week job. I have to disappoint and even anger some folks, because I can’t get to everyone.”


Requests to attend events and meetings at the church. “I really wish I could be omnipresent. It seems like I’m supposed to be at every wedding, every church meeting, and every Sunday school class function. I do my best, but I sometimes disappoint some folks.


Criticisms. “The criticisms that bother me the most are those that begin with ‘I love you pastor but . . .’ The words that follow are usually anything but loving.”


Updates on someone’s health. “I have to say that I appreciate those in my church that keep me updated about how someone is doing. Now, some of them go overboard with the details, but it does help me set priorities to visit and call.”


Books a pastor should read. “I have learned that when a church member recommends a book to me, it’s usually a book about something he thinks I should be teaching or preaching.”


Encouragement. “Thank God for the Barnabases in my church. It seems like God uses them at key and critical times when they communicate with me. I hope I never take them for granted.”


Ideas on how to do things better in the church. “Some of these messages are from well-intending members. Others are from members who thinly disguise their criticism as a suggestion.”


Sermon suggestions. “I have a few members in my church who would be happy if all of my sermons were from the Book of Revelation. I’m glad this Mayan thing passed. I was getting inundated with those requests.”


Theological and biblical questions. “I love it when people have genuine questions about what the Bible teaches. That indicates that God is giving them a real hunger for His Word.”


Jokes/Forwarded Spam. “There are a few members in the church who feel like they have to forward me every joke or political issue they get in their email. Usually I’m one of 30 or 40 recipients, so I don’t feel obligated to respond.”

Interestingly, if we had just taken the responses from the under-forty group of pastors, “theological and biblical questions”  would have ranked fourth instead of ninth. The younger pastors seem to be encouraging and receiving biblical conversations.

If you are a pastor or staff member, what would you add to this list? If you are a layperson, do any of these items of communication to pastors surprise you?

Pastor to Pastor is the Saturday blog series at ThomRainer.com. Pastors and staff, if we can help in any way, contact Steve Drake, our director of pastoral relations, at  Steve.Drake@LifeWay.com . We also welcome contacts from laypersons in churches asking questions about pastors, churches, or the pastor search process.

Friday is for Freebies – Read the Bible for Life

My giveaway this week includes a copy of Read the Bible for Life and an HCSB Study Bible.

The goal of Read the Bible for Life is to improve biblical literacy in the culture and the church by simultaneously moving readers toward greater skill in reading the Bible well and toward a deeper commitment to applying Scripture to everyday life. Through a series of down-to-earth conversations with some of today’s brightest scholars, Dr. George Guthrie discusses the basic tools and attitudes needed to read the Bible more effectively. Chapters focus on the various types of literature in Scripture and how to read them well. For instance, how should we read a psalm differently than we read a parable? How should we read a story of the Old Testament differently than we read a letter from Paul? How can we engage these various parts of Scripture in a way that is truly life-changing? The book also discusses issues such as reading the Bible in context, choosing and reading a Bible translation, reading in times of sorrow or suffering, and reading the Bible with your family.

Also included this week is the genuine leather version of the HCSB Study Bible. 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.

Since it’s that time of year, to be eligible to win, share your New Year’s resolution. 

The deadline to enter is midnight CST this Saturday. We will select one winner from the entries on Monday morning.

Other Read the Bible for Life Resources Available from LifeWay

Free iPhone App – Includes videos, reading plans, and a sample chapter from the book.

Audio Podcasts – Get your daily reading delivered via podcast.

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Notable Voices – December 27, 2012

The Seven Habits of Spectacularly Unsuccessful Executives – Eric Jackson

We are extremely fond of wanting to do new things as leaders. But do we examine with the same fervor those things we already do that might be hindering our growth? As it says in the article “if you exhibit several of these traits, now is the time to stamp them out from your repertoire. If your boss or several senior executives at your company (or church) exhibit several of these traits, now is the time to start looking for a new job.”

 

Premarital Counseling: Things to Cover – Ron Edmondson

Nellie Jo and I celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary last week. A few days later, I saw this post from Ron and couldn’t agree more with his seven tips for premarital counseling.

 

What Advent is and Why We Should Celebrate – Dan Darling

Dan provides a quick overview of the Advent season. We’ve seen a resurgence of interest in Advent over the past few years, and I think that is a good thing. Preparing our hearts for the coming of the Christ Child is something we should all do personally—whether it is emphasized in our denominational tradition or not.

 

23 Reasons to Be Joyful – Paul Tautges

In this quick overview of Philippians, Paul provides 23 scriptural reasons for joy.

 

Who’s on First? – Late Night with Jimmy Fallon 

Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s on First?” routine is a classic. Last week on his show, Jimmy Fallon and some friends provided this unique sequel to the original.

Seven Lessons on Leadership I Learned from My Garbage Service

It may be strange to hear, but I absolutely love my residential garbage service. When I moved to Nashville over seven years ago, I asked my neighbors to recommend a service. Their recommendations were so effusive that you might have thought they were talking about a beloved physician.

Nope. They were excited about their garbage service. And now, seven years later I understand fully. This family-owned company is called Music City Disposal. It’s located in Franklin, Tennessee, a southern suburb of Nashville.

The first time I called Music City Disposal to begin my service, the wife of the owner greeted me. Her pleasant disposition was but a foretaste to the great service I would receive over the next seven years. Indeed, the workers in this small company have taught me several lessons on leadership. I’ll share a few.

Put others before self. When I ask for some extra help from the folks at Music City Disposal, they never act like they are being inconvenienced. To the contrary, they always seem happy to help.
Have a healthy work ethic. Many of us may not be attracted to hauling garbage in all kinds of weather. But this company never misses a day. They are as dependable as any organization I have ever known. They are some of the hardest workers you’ll ever see.
Do something extra for someone. In 2010 many homes in our neighborhood were partially underwater from the biggest flood our city has ever known. When we were permitted to return to our homes to begin the arduous cleaning process, guess who was there on their own initiative? That’s right, the folks at Music City Disposal pulled in my driveway and asked, “Mr. Rainer, can we haul something away for you?”
View your work as a gift. Some people whine about their work. Good leaders are grateful for their work. Think of all the possible complaints a garbage hauler could have. I have never heard anything but positive words from Music City Disposal about their business.
Maintain a pleasant disposition and smile a lot. It’s amazing how contagious smiling and happiness can be. I know that one of the reasons my garbage service is so successful is that their disposition attracts and keeps customers.
Have an attitude of gratitude. On a few occasions, I’ve left the workers a small tip for their extraordinary service. One might think they had received an inherited fortune by their responses. But that’s just how they are: always grateful, never complaining.
Find a way to say “yes.” From time to time, I make special requests of my garbage company. They have never turned me down. They always find a way to say “yes” even if they have to make some adjustments to my original request.

Music City Disposal is a multi-generational family company. Over a year ago, I met the retired patriarch of the company. In his own down-to-earth fashion, he told me: “I taught my son to listen to people first and then try to serve them. I told him if he did that, he would be successful in whatever he tried.”

“In whatever he tried.” Including garbage.

Great lessons on leadership.

Great lessons on life.

Twelve Christmas Gifts I Received This Morning

Christmas day. I love the excitement. The anticipation. The joy.

I still have a lot of kid in me on Christmas day.

This Christmas is incredibly special. I received twelve gifts. Twelve unbelievable gifts. Twelve precious gifts.

I don’t deserve any of them, but I am thankful for all of them. More than just thankful. Overwhelmingly, exceedingly, and abundantly thankful.

So let me take a few minutes of your time to share with you my gifts. Like the twelve days of Christmas, I received twelve gifts. I think you will understand why I am so excited and so grateful.

I woke in this morning in a free country. No it’s not a perfect country, but it is a great country. What a gift.
I have the gift of a great place to do ministry and to work. I do not take the opportunity God has given me to lead LifeWay for granted. I love this place. I love my fellow employees in ministry.
God gave me the gift of friends I don’t deserve. I pray that I will never take their friendships for granted.
I am blessed to be a part of a wonderful church. I thank God for the gift of Brentwood Baptist Church and my pastor, Mike Glenn.
I get to celebrate the Christmas season with five healthy and happy grandchildren. What incredible gifts I have in Canon, Maggie, Nathaniel, Harper, and Bren!
It is an amazing gift to know that my grandson Will is in heaven. I miss him so much and wish he were here with us. But that’s selfish of me. His Christmas day is with the Savior Himself.
For years I prayed, if it was God’s will for my sons to get married, that He would bless them with three godly wives. He did. Beyond measure. This morning I woke to thank Him for the great gifts of my daughters-in-law: Erin, Sarah, and Rachel.
I cannot imagine any better sons than Sam, Art, and Jess. What incredible gifts. What incredible blessings. All of my sons have surpassed their father in every good way.
What a precious gift it is to have a godly wife. For 35 years, Nellie Jo has stood by my side and loved me unconditionally. She has sacrificed greatly for her family. She courageously fought an aggressive cancer, and she is here with me today, alive and well. An incredible gift.
I have the gift of being able to speak and to listen to the King of Kings Himself. Prayer is a gift beyond measure. I pray that I will never take it for granted.
It is an amazing gift to hear God’s Word directly, anytime I want to. I thank Him that He gave us His Bible, and that I can read and study it anytime I desire. I am able to hear directly from my Lord.
The greatest gift I received is the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. It has been a gift I have cherished each day since I received it as a teenage boy.  I am redeemed. I am forgiven. I am saved. Indeed I am greatly blessed.

Now you know why this Christmas is so special to me. I have received twelve of the greatest gifts in the world.

Merry Christmas to all of you.

May God bless you abundantly with His gifts.

Newtown: Silent Night, Holy Night

Christmas Eve.

I am in my nice home in the joyous presence of my wife. It is our thirty-fifth Christmas together as husband and wife. All is well.

We both anticipate with excitement the arrival of our three sons, three daughters-in-law, and five grandchildren. We rest with the assurance that our sixth grandchild is in heaven. All is well.

We will attend a Christmas Eve service at our church. We will sing carols, light candles, and greet one another with sincere joy. All is well.

In Newtown

But in Newtown, Connecticut, the townspeople recently concluded their saddest week in history. The news need not be repeated here. You know the stories about the 26 who were killed. You know about the 20 children who were massacred. You know the story. I am not here to repeat it. I am here to talk about Newtown on Christmas eve.

While I am comfortable, while I am at peace, while I wait for Christmas with excitement and anticipation, so many families in Newtown are in shock and devastating sorrow. Many gifts have been wrapped, but they will not be opened. Many plans have been made, but they will not be fulfilled. Many dreams and hopes have been articulated, but they will not be realized.

I Cannot Fathom . . .

I cannot fathom the grief you are experiencing Newtown. I don’t pretend to know your sorrow and pain. I cannot imagine the devastation caused by a lone and crazed gunman.

No, I cannot begin to pretend to know what you are going through. I feel deep sorrow just trying to imagine your own sorrow. But I cannot come close to feeling the depths of your pain.

These I Can Do

But on this Christmas eve, Newtown, there are some things I will do. I will pray for you. I will pray for God’s comfort for you. I will pray for God’s strength for you. And I will pray that God will give you the assurance that your little ones are with Him now. I’m not trying to sound cliché, but I do pray God will reveal to you somehow and someway that your children are in a much better place.

No, that will not remove the pain. In some ways, that pain will always be with you. But I pray the pain will not be one without hope, that you will understand His presence and His promise on a night such as this.

Silent Night, Holy Night  

I will not forget you Newtown. Long after the news story is old, and long after the media has departed from your historic town, I will remember you.

This Christmas Eve is a silent night for you. I cannot imagine what it is like not to have those joyous and excited voices around. I cannot imagine the emptiness.

But it is my prayer that something else will happen for you on this day: I pray the night will also be a holy night. As we celebrate the anticipation of the birth of the One who was a child, I pray you will grasp His presence tonight. I pray you will know that Jesus, the One whose birth we celebrate, is taking care of your precious children on this holy night at this very moment.

May the silent night also be a holy night.

May we all be Newtown.

May we pray for our friends there with fervent prayers.

May we never, ever forget.

Silent night. Holy night.

Your children are truly in heavenly peace.

Pray for Riverchase United Methodist Church

Location:  Birmingham, Alabama

Pastor:  Dr. Jim Savage

Weekly Worship:  8:45, 9:45 & 11:00 AM Central Time

Fast Facts:   After building three separate buildings for children and youth, mission headquarters, and Hispanic worship, Pastor Savage covets your prayers for filling the facilities to capacity and seeing many people come to Christ.

Website:   www.riverchaseumc.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 your church to be featured in “Pray for . . .” contact Steve Drake, director of pastoral relations, at Steve.Drake@LifeWay.com.

Showing Up

By Mike Glenn, Senior Pastor, Brentwood Baptist Church, Brentwood, Tennessee

Sometimes I ‘m not sure members of our congregations understand how difficult Christmas can be for pastors and staffs of churches. Not only do we have to deal with the holiday craziness in our families (buying presents, dealing with travel logistics, etc.), we usually add more services during the Christmas season. That means we have to be at church a lot more nights than we normally do.

Add to that the unique pressures the holidays bring to the families of our churches – everything from college kids who are coming home to having to see relatives we’ve tried to avoid the rest of the year. That usually means a couple of emergency “counseling sessions” to help our friends get through the holidays without committing a felony while their family is in town.

But there’s another pressure that rarely gets mentioned. Pastors won’t even mention it to their spouses or closest friends. Can you guess what it is? For some reason, the holidays are the time when we evaluate our ministries and lives. Maybe it’s because the winter days get darker faster or maybe the end of the year is just a natural time to think about such things. And honestly, this is a hard process for most of us.

Most of us got into the ministry because we believed God wanted to do something great in our lives. When we look back, even if we’ve had a “successful” year, many of us are disappointed. There’s been no great revival, no magnificent healings, no crowds crowding around the door to hear us preach…we really thought there would be more. In most surveys, pastors confess disappointment in the way their ministries have turned out. To be fair, some of the expectations we pastors carry around aren’t fair. I know that, but most of us still think we signed up for more.

And so it’s to these guys I write today. And yes, a little bit to myself as well. I want to celebrate your success.

What success is that?

You showed up.

Hey, don’t laugh. I’m serious. You showed up. Sunday after Sunday, in good times and bad, through grief, heartache, criticism, and downright rejection, you still showed up.

Woody Allen said 98% of success is simply showing up. The only reason the shepherds are in the Christmas story is they showed up. Sure, the angels came and sang to them, but to their credit, the shepherds got up and went to see the Child. That’s it. That’s all they did. They showed up.

And you showed up. Sunday after Sunday, sermon after sermon, you took your place, opened your Bible and, as best you could, told the people there about the love of Christ. Then, you came back and did it the next Sunday…and the Sunday after that.

In showing up you reminded your people that God hadn’t given up. God is still faithful. Our presence—just showing up—is sometimes a vital and rich message about the faithfulness of God, in and out of season.

In World War II, the Germans launched a surprise attack in the winter of 1944, catching the allies by surprise. The battle that followed changed the war in Europe. We call it the Battle of the Bulge. One historian wrote that the real heroes of the battle will never be known. They are the soldiers, cut off from their units, who found other soldiers in villages and crossroads history has forgotten. They didn’t win the battle and most of them lost their lives – but here’s what they did. They made the Germans slow down and fight. Sometimes it would be an hour or two, sometimes a day or so, but these little skirmishes and battles slowed the German advance long enough for the Allied generals to launch a counter attack.

That’s us.

Every week, we stand up against impossible odds and fight just a little longer. We’re not worried about winning the war. Christ has done that. We just want to hold the line one more Sunday.

It may not matter to anyone else. But it matters to our people. It matters to us. It matters to the Kingdom.

Like the shepherds, we show up and tell our people Christ is here. We’ve seen Him. Remember, Paul didn’t say he had won the good fight, only that he had fought it. He didn’t say he had won the race, only that he had run it and by doing so, he kept the faith.

So, grab your Bible. Open it up. Sunday will be here shortly, and you’ll need to have something to say. Your people will be showing up and Christ will be there too—just as He promised. Be sure to show up. Sometimes, in the wonder of it all, showing up is enough.

Merry Christmas

In addition to serving as the senior pastor of Brentwood Baptist Church, Mike is a frequent speaker and prolific author. His latest book is  The Gospel of Yes . You can read his blog at www.MikeGlennOnline.com.

Pastor to Pastor is the Saturday blog series at ThomRainer.com. Pastors and staff, if we can help in any way, contact Steve Drake, our director of pastoral relations, at  Steve.Drake@LifeWay.com . We also welcome contacts from laypersons in churches asking questions about pastors, churches, or the pastor search process.