Thom S. Rainer's Blog, page 384

Notable Voices (May 31, 2012)

Why Americans Are Becoming More Pro-Life -- Ashley McGuirer

I have remained active in the cause to save unborn children through different ways over the years, and I am grateful to God beyond measure for the opportunity to speak about the incredible value of life in my role as president of LifeWay. Seeing statistics and articles like this both encourages me and compels me to continue to speak on behalf of the unborn. Every life is beautiful.

Gospel Hospitality -- Jeff Vanderstelt

In the hustle and bustle of our culture, hospitality has taken a bit of a backseat to efficiency. While efficiency is still important in many respects, hospitality-- going that extra mile, taking that extra amount of care-- within both our culture and the local church has fallen flat in many respects. Jeff examines the biblical root for hospitality and three ways to make your church more hospitable.

13 Gospel-Centered Catch Phrases and 29 Bible Verses that Support Them -- Eric McKiddie

A lot is being said in the church context about gospel-centeredness. To some it may seem like the use of that phrase implies things which have come before weren't gospel-centered, but that is assuredly not the intent. Eric provides an extensive list of phrases and the biblical context in which to more fully understand their meaning.

Today Was Supposed to Be My Wedding Day -- M. Connor

Marriage is under attack in our nation from both cultural and political forces. However, this article is a refreshing change of pace in the current conversation and tells of the power of Christ to rescue a broken marriage before it even began. M. Connor's story is one of grace, goodbyes, and the gospel. And like many marriage stories, it's one with an happy, although unexpected, ending.

The Most Comma Mistakes -- New York Times

I've written before regarding my penchant for using correct grammar. This article from the New York Times provides nearly everything there is to know about comma usage and how to avoid errors.

Maybe Parents Actually Are Happier Than Non-Parents -- The Atlantic

Following up on yesterday's post on happiness, a recent study showed parents to be happier than non-parents. In my personal experience, I've found that grandparents are happier than the parents as well.

Happiness, Harvard Business Review, and the Church

A recent issue (January/February 2012) of Harvard Business Review caught my attention. The cover featured a smiley face and several articles under the larger title of “The Value of Happiness.” Indeed, I was intrigued why a premier secular business periodical was devoting most of the issue to happiness. It did not take me long to discover that their thesis was that happy employees in businesses were productive employees.

Happiness is, therefore, good for business. The problem is that there seemed to be no consensus on a definition of happiness.

More Than Money or GDP

To the credit of the authors of the various articles, they did not limit happiness to pure economic realities. Justin Fox presented a great overview of attempts to measure happiness from a secular perspective. He showed the data of the United Nation’s Human Development Report, and its rankings of countries by income. My speculation is that most of you would not have guessed all ten countries.

Top Countries by Income

Qatar Liechtenstein United Arab Emirates Singapore Luxembourg Kuwait Norway Brunei Hong Kong Untied States

The happiest people were not necessarily in the highest income countries. So he looked at more data from the United Nations, this time by quality of life.

Top Countries by Health, Longevity, Knowledge, and Income

Norway Australia Netherlands United States New Zealand Canada Ireland Liechtenstein Germany Sweden

Even after adding such factors as health, longevity, and knowledge to income, there was no conclusion that these variables created a precise formula for happiness. The rankings did, however, make me want to visit Liechtenstein.

Getting a Bit Closer to the Church

Daniel Gilbert, Harvard psychology professor and author of the 2006 bestseller, Stumbling on Happiness, shared some of his findings in the issue of Harvard Business Review that made me think of the church and its role in the lives of its members. His research certainly did not have a religious or Christian foundation to it, but its conclusions can certainly be applied to the local church.

For example, in one revealing quote, Gilbert says, “If I had to summarize all the scientific literature on the causes of human happiness in one word, that word would be ‘social.’” The strength of our social network, those in our families, friends, and other places, largely determines happiness, according to Gilbert.

Another major common factor, he says, is altruism. The more we do for others, the happier we are. Finally, Gilbert notes that our happiness is also related to the frequency and consistency we are altruistic, or the frequency and consistency we participate positively in social networks. It’s a pattern or lifestyle, not just a one-time event.

Back to the Church

I was struck by the theme of the various articles in this issue of Harvard Business Review. Most of what the authors describe as being conducive to happiness is what the church should be doing every day. Christians should develop bonds with each other individually and in small groups. They should also expand their social networks to nonbelievers in order to have a gospel witness.

Local churches should likewise lead Christians toward opportunities to minister to others, what Harvard Business Review called “practicing altruism.” After all, that’s what the Great Commission and the Great Commandment are all about.

I appreciate the fine research and writings of this periodical. But I am frustrated that many churches fail to lead their members toward the true joy that comes with connecting to others and doing for others.

Somewhere in the span of local church history, we have turned our focus to activities, programs, and even entertainment as the unstated purposes of the church. In doing so, we have yielded our right to speak with authority about that which brings true joy. The consequence is that the church is being replaced with a new secular religion that is defining happiness for us.

It is time for our churches to get back to being churches.

Then, and only then, will people discover true gospel-centered joy.

Teaching Tools: Worship

Worship holds a unique place among other spiritual disciplines. In a sense, one could hold worship as the crux of any list of spiritual disciplines. For the Christian, worship is both the result of one's growth in Christ as well as the catalyst for further growth. Our study of Scripture and personal prayer time should lead us to worship. At the same time, worship should fuel our passion for missions, evangelism, fasting, and other disciplines.

Quotes on Worship

"If we are going to worship in Spirit, we must develop a spirit of worship." — Michael Catt

“The more you pray, the less you'll panic. The more you worship, the less you worry. You'll feel more patient and less pressured.” ― Rick Warren

“I can safely say, on the authority of all that is revealed in the Word of God, that any man or woman on this earth who is bored and turned off by worship is not ready for heaven.” ― A.W. Tozer

“Many Spirit-filled authors have exhausted the thesaurus in order to describe God with the glory He deserves. His perfect holiness, by definition, assures us that our words can't contain Him. Isn't it a comfort to worship a God we cannot exaggerate?” ― Francis Chan

“Human beings by their very nature are worshipers. Worship is not something we do; it defines who we are. You cannot divide human beings into those who worship and those who don’t. Everybody worships; it’s just a matter of what, or whom, we serve.” ― Paul David Tripp

“You will never cease to be the most amazed person on earth at what God has done for you on the inside.” ― Oswald Chambers

Excerpt from Isaac Watts' Letter to My Children (1685), point #5

Know this, that as you must worship God, so it must be in his own way, with true worship and in a right manner: that is, according to the rules of the gospel, and not according to the inventions or traditions of men. Consider, that idolatry and superstition are both abominable to God. Now idolatry is the worshipping of idols, images, pictures, or any creatures or representations, as the heathens do; or crucifixes and consecrated bread, as the papists do. Either to worship these as God; or to worship God by and under them, as the children of Israel did the molten calf; or to worship God in a false manner — is idolatry; and no idolaters must enter into heaven. Superstition is to make additions of ordinances or ceremonies to God's worship more than he hath appointed, though they have ever so fair pretences for them. Take heed, my children, of these things. It is not enough to say that such things are not forbidden in scripture; but you must see whether they are commanded there, or else obey them not.

Resources

LifeWay Worship Blog

Join the LifeWay Worship team online for new resources, videos, giveaways, and more.

Indescribable
Louie Giglio

Indescribable, by pastor Louie Giglio and songwriter Matt Redman, takes readers on a journey through the vastness of outer space and into the depths of the soul. They intertwine devotional insights with remarkable scientific facts that awaken both mind and spirit. Above all, Indescribable is a call to worship, an invitation to know and be known by the God of all creation and to become more passionate worshipers of Jesus Christ.

The Unquenchable Worshipper
Matt Redman

This book is about a certain kind of worshipper. Unquenchable. Unstoppable. Undignified. Undone. On a quest to bring glory and pleasure to God, these worshippers will not allow themselves to be distracted or defeated. They long for their hearts, lives and songs to be the kind of offerings God is looking for. At life's apex or at it's lowest ebb, an unquenchable worshipper is one who rests in an underlying trust in God and worships before an audience of One. Enter the place where your fire for God cannot be washed away. Become an unpredictable, undivided, unquenchable worshipper.

Five Reasons to Take Memorial Day Seriously

Most historians point to a memorial service held in Charleston, South Carolina on May 1, 1865, as the beginning of Memorial Day as we know it today. The service followed the assassination of Abraham Lincoln by just a few days.

As our nation began to see greater value and more reasons in remembering our soldiers killed in battle, the day became an unofficial observance across our country. For most of its early history, the day was known as Decoration Day, since many services were held in cemeteries while the graves of those killed in war were decorated with flowers. By 1882 the current name of Memorial Day became the more common identity of this unofficial holiday.

The day became an official American holiday in 1967. The next year most federal holidays, including Memorial Day, were moved to Mondays to allow for an extended weekend.

Who Do We Remember?

The purpose of Memorial Day is simple but profound. We are to remember, and to hold in memory, those who gave their lives in battle for our nation. Since our nation’s founding, 1.5 million men and women have died in military action. Their sacrifices are not to be forgotten, because they did not give their lives in vain.

While the explicit purpose of Memorial Day is to remember the fallen soldiers on the battlefield, we should also remember those who were wounded in war and those who are still missing in action. The total number of wounded warriors is now 2.5 million, and another 38,000 soldiers have been classified as missing in action.

A True Memorial Day

There is certainly nothing wrong with enjoying a long holiday weekend. And no one should be castigated for viewing Memorial Day as the unofficial beginning of summer. But we must ultimately remember the true purpose of Memorial Day. Why then do we remember? Allow me to share five reasons.

The soldiers we remember gave their lives for their country. They paid the ultimate sacrifice because they believed in the purposes and the ideals of this great nation. We would not have the freedoms we have today without the sacrifices of these men and women. Indeed, we may not even exist as a nation had not these wars and battles been fought. We owe so much to these men and women. The majority of families have some connection with a fallen or wounded soldier. We should honor those families who gave their sons and daughters, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers for the sake of this nation. My uncle, Spurgeon Keller, was one of the early casualties of World War II. My father, Sam Rainer, fought and was wounded in the same war. Though Memorial Day is explicitly set aside to remember the fallen soldiers, don’t ever forget the 2.5 million men and women who were wounded in battle. When we honor the fallen soldiers of earlier battles, we honor the men and women serving in our armed forces today. They deserve our honor. They deserve our recognition. They deserve our respect.

Remember This Memorial Day

I do hope your long weekend has been rewarding. And I do wish for you a joyous summer. But I also hope you take time this day to remember those who have given their lives for you and me and the rest our nation.

We remember the fallen soldiers. We remember the wounded heroes. And we give thanks and praise for those serving in our military today.

It’s what we should do.

It’s the least we can do.

Seven Keys to Preventing Pastoral Burnout

I have the incredible opportunity to interact with pastors regularly. In recent conversations, I asked two questions. First, have you ever experienced burnout in your ministry? Second, what do you do to prevent pastoral burnout?

Interestingly, every pastor with whom I spoke had experienced some level of burnout. And so they spoke from the voice of experience when they shared with me what they do to prevent burnout today. I aggregated their responses to seven keys to preventing pastoral burnout, not in any particular order or priority.

Remember your call. Ministry can be tough and dirty. It can be frustrating and confusing. But if we remember Who called us and Who sustains us, we are able to persevere. We understand that we are not doing ministry in our own power. Pray for your critics. Criticism in one of the most frequently mentioned causes of burnout. Pastors on the other side of burnout told me that they have learned to pray for their critics almost every day. It has given the pastors a fresh perspective. A few pastors even noted significant change in their critics shortly after they started praying for them. Wait a day before responding to critics. Somewhat related to number two above, some pastors shared that ministry began to take its toll when they engaged their critics negatively in writing, in person, or by phone. Now these pastors wait a full day before responding, and they are amazed at how differently their responses take shape. Be intentional about down time. Pastors need it. Their families need it. Every week. Don’t skip vacations. Go on occasional retreats. Don’t lose your family by trying to save your church. Find a friend to share your burden. For some pastors, it was another pastor. For others, it was a retired pastor. Some mentioned that key confidants in the church had become their best friends. Pastors need someone they trust to whom they can unload their burdens. Do not neglect your prayer life. Pastors told me repeatedly that, as their prayer life waned, their burnout increased. Prayer was first ongoing conversations with God. But it was also a time for spiritual refueling. Do not neglect your time in the Word. We heard similar stories from pastors who began neglecting their time in the Bible. As that time waned, burnout increased. All the pastors noted that time in the Word was time beyond sermon preparation. It was a time of personal devotion and study.

Pastors are burning out every day. Many are leaving the ministry as a result. It is a real and immediate problem with many pastors and many churches.

Pastors and other staff: Do you have stories of burnout and recovery? What lessons can we learn from you?

Laypersons: What can you do to help pastors prevent burnout?

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: 10 Who Changed the World

My giveaway this week is a pair of books from my good friend Danny Akin. Many of you know Dr. Akin as the president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC. He is a man of strong biblical conviction with a heart for missions.

His latest book, 10 Who Changed the World, is a powerful tribute to the transformational work done by some truly inspiring Christian missionaries. With each profile, he journeys into the heart of that gospel servant's mission-minded story and makes a compelling connection to a similar account from the Bible.

"The Ten" Akin profiles are:

David Brainerd George Leile William Carey Adoniram Judson Lottie Moon James Fraser Eric Liddell John and Betty Stam William Wallace Jim Elliot

I'm also including a copy of Dr. Akin's commentary on 1, 2, & 3 John which is part of the New American Commentary series.

To enter today's giveaway, tell us where you have traveled on a mission trip in the past.

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

Notable Voices (May 24, 2012)

Hire Staff Proactively, Not Reactively -- Eric Geiger

Earlier this week on the blog, I mentioned an opportunity for you to ask questions of me regarding church staffing. While I'm still taking your questions for use in a future blog post, Eric has written an excellent post about hiring proactively versus hiring reactively.

Kaitlyn Stetzer Recuperating at Home -- Ed Stetzer

In last week's edition of Notable Voices, I mentioned Ed's daughter was in the hospital. She has now been released and is on the mend.

5 Inconvenient Truths about the Writing Life -- Daniel Darling

Authors, both new and seasoned, sometimes have unrealistic expectations when it comes to being published. Unfortunately for many first-time authors, reality comes crashing down like a ton of bricks, and they leave the experience downtrodden and discouraged. Dan provides wise counsel for potential authors that will help recalibrate expectations and provide a more enjoyable writing experience.

Why the Leadership Movement Is Leaving Your Church Leaderless -- Mike Breen

Church leadership is a topic very dear to me. Mike really gets at the heart of the matter when he says "Christian leadership is about listening for vision from God within community and then being given the authority and power to execute that vision."

Classical School Reading List: Grades 1-8 -- Justin Taylor

While classical education is rapidly growing in popularity across the country, any child, regardless of education style, can benefit from this list. With summer upon us, now is a great time to get started on a summer reading list.

5 Ways to Keep Church Discipline from Seeming Weird -- Jared Wilson

Church discipline has been making its way into online conversations quite a bit lately. I even featured it in a Teaching Tools post a few weeks back. Jared provides five pre-emptive tools for church discipline which will help make it more natural and more accepted when needed.

Six Considerations for Leaders Who Are Not Steve Jobs

The death of Steve Jobs engendered a plethora of articles, presentations, and books, most notably the impressive biography by Walter Isaacson. Indeed, I was among those writers with my article on ten lessons from Steve Jobs. Though Jobs will never disappear from the annals of business history, the buzz since his death has subsided noticeably.

As I reflected on the life and contributions of this enigmatic man, I was struck by a sobering reality. We can write about Jobs’ successes and genius. We can offer leadership lessons learned. But the fact is most of us will never attain the genius nor the notoriety of this man. Are there really lessons from his life and leadership that we can apply in our seemingly mundane lives? As I reflected and read through the posthumous literature, I indeed learned six lessons for the mostly ordinary rest of us.

We can lead by asking questions. Jobs made most of his decisions by asking questions repeatedly. His two favorites were “Why?” and “Why Not?” We too can become leaders by talking less and listening more. It is amazing what others will teach us when we ask challenging questions. We can treat employees and others with respect. For the most part, Jobs abused people verbally and emotionally rather than treat them with respect. He did get away with it because people accepted his negative interpersonal skills to embrace his genius. We have no excuse for treating people poorly. We can learn here by doing the opposite of Jobs. We can make meetings strategic. Jobs hated meeting for the sake of meetings. He hated any meeting that did not have a clear and strategic purpose. So should we. Time is one of the most valuable resources we have. We should not waste our time or anyone else’s time. We can build passionate teams. If you worked in Steve Jobs’ organization, you had to be sold out to the cause. He understood that intellect and experience were not enough. You had to have passion. Indeed Jobs said that the organization should be one where its employees have the opportunity to change the world. We should build passionate teams, not just competent teams. We can be family-focused leaders. Except for the latter part of his life, Steve Jobs was notorious for neglecting his family. His work and his world always came first. He learned this lesson later and seemed to have regrets about his placement of priorities earlier in his life. We should not have those regrets. We can improve our presentation skills. So much of the Jobs’ mystique was tied to his charismatic public presentations. The introduction of a new Apple product was an event to rival the Emmys or the Oscars. We may not be able to replicate his presentation skills, but we can learn the leadership importance of improving ours every day.

I imagine we will be reading tomes on the life and leadership of Steve Jobs for decades to come. Admittedly, it can be frustrating to be a leader who is not as smart, strategic, or charismatic as this iconic figure. But that does not mean we who are more common cannot learn from him. I hope that I will view Jobs as a great leader in many ways. And I hope I will be encouraged rather than frustrated that I can apply some of his leadership lessons in my more common life.

What has Steve Jobs taught you about life or leadership?

Church Staffing: Ask Your Questions

During any given week, I receive dozens of requests from pastors or other ministers for ministerial advice. I try to respond to as many as possible, but often find myself without the sufficient time to answer them all.

So in an effort to better serve local churches, I'm starting a new feature here at the blog. Every few weeks, I'll post a topic for discussion on my Facebook page. Then in a future blog post, I'll answer the questions and attempt to provide direction and clarity in doing so.

The first topic we will address is church staffing. In my time as a consultant with Rainer Group, one of the most important aspects we noticed in healthy churches was the staffing of those churches. In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins places a great importance on the need for businesses to have the right people on the bus. Churches are no different.

So whether you have administrative questions (personnel policies, position requirements, etc.) or just need advice on how to handle certain situations in a ministry context, the floor is yours. Ask away.

You can access the discussion on Facebook and ask your questions here.

If you have a church-specific question and anonymity is absolutely needed, you may ask your question in the comments below. If not, please use the comments section at the Facebook page.

Five Keys to Innovation in a Non-innovative Organization

The organization I lead is 121 years old. My sons tell me that the company is about my age. The organization has experienced many successes in its history but, like any company with a lengthy history, it tends to gravitate toward status quo. Innovation thus becomes the exception rather than the norm.

Though I would never say we have “arrived” in our cultural innovation, I must say that I have never been more encouraged. The present is healthy and the future is very promising.

The past six years have been a journey toward greater innovation. I am still learning many lessons, but I have five key lessons I have learned thus far.

Speak to the need to innovate often. I keep the need for innovation as a constant issue before our organization. Our particular company has been particularly impacted by the move from print to digital. We could not and cannot afford not to innovate. Give concrete examples of innovation barriers. The organization does not merely need to hear about the need for innovation, it needs to hear specific stories of barriers to innovation. For example, the silo structure of our organization has been an impediment to cross-divisional cooperation and innovation. Though we still see great value in the strategic business unit model, we now form teams across divisions on major projects. Thus the organization sees clearly the old barriers and the new opportunities for greater innovation. Articulate a preferred future. Those few words are often used to describe the casting of a vision. In our innovative future, I speak often about our becoming the leader in providing digital content in our industry. The more I speak about that preferred future, the closer I see it to becoming a reality. Embrace existing innovation. There have always been several pockets of innovation in our organization. Each time I heard of such activity, I tried to share the story with others. My storytelling lifted up the value of innovation by verbally rewarding it. Open the doors to innovation throughout the organization. One of many things I learned in my six years at the helm is that there are thousands of very smart employees in this organization. We, therefore, recently launched an online portal that provides all employees a mechanism to share innovative ideas. We have established some initial rules and boundaries, but I am amazed already at what is taking place. Some of the ideas are incredible. Time will tell if this vehicle is our best approach, but I am greatly encouraged thus far.

The organization I lead and serve has a great history since 1891. We definitely have our challenges but, in total transparency, I must say I am incredibly excited about our future. Innovation is fast becoming our norm.

On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being the highest), how does your organization fare as an innovator? What are some of the challenges you see? What has been done to move the organization toward greater innovation?