Thom S. Rainer's Blog, page 387

Pastor to Pastor: How's Your Church Doing?

By Bart Barber

It’s such a common question. It’s the perennial question that pastors ask one another whenever we assemble. It’s the ministerial equivalent of “How about this weather we’re having?”

It’s such a versatile question. One person may ask it out of concern, having already been “read in” about an ongoing problem. Another person may employ it pridefully, salivating at the chance to answer the inevitable reciprocal inquiry. To a third it may be a completely empty question, asked with no expectation of a real answer just to build rapport and get the conversation going.

It’s such an important question. Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for it (Ephesians 5:25). Pastors give up less for their churches than Christ gave, but most pastors still sacrifice profoundly for the sake of churches. We pastors are sinners covered by the grace of God. We’re trying to overcome a lot in ourselves—some of us are battling avarice, lustfulness, arrogance, hair-trigger tempers, domineering personalities, dysfunctional families, ingrained insecurities, overtaxed intellects, or exhausted emotions. Our bewildering variety of personalities and temptations notwithstanding, I’ve never met a pastor whose soul wouldn’t delight in the satisfaction of being able to answer (truthfully), “My church is doing GREAT! Thanks for asking.”

This question being so prominent, it amazes me that I’ve so often been entirely unprepared to answer it in a thoughtful and biblical way. How is my church doing? How would I know? Is that the same question as “How many people attend these days?” or “Are you going to make budget this year?” or “How many did you baptize last week?” For some of the people asking the question I know how THEY measure a church’s health, but how does God evaluate my church? Isn’t that the important question?

And so, while pondering that question, I decided to search the New Testament looking for those occasions where God gave a report card to a church. I’m not just talking about places where the Bible describes a church or even places where God evaluates an individual believer in the Bible. I’m talking about places where the Bible explicitly gives divine evaluation of a church.

The most prominent passage in this category occurs in Revelation 2-3, where Jesus delivered His sometimes-scathing, sometimes-sympathetic assessments of seven churches in Asia Minor. When God grades churches, what does He consider? As we grade our own churches, here are some questions we might ask.

How well does my church endure hard times?
The emphasis upon perseverance, endurance, and faithfulness through times of trial is easily the predominant theme of these letters. In every letter but the ones to Sardis and Laodicea, Jesus issued commendations to those who had been found faithful in difficult times. “I know…[that you] did not deny your faith in Me, even in the days of Antipas…who was killed among you.” (2:13, all quotations HCSB)

From reading these letters, one might understandably conclude (wrongly) that these early churches knew nothing but hard times. In homage to Charles Dickens, we could say of the first-century church, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” It was an age of persecution in some churches, as these letters make clear. It was also a time of explosive church growth and geographical expansion for the gospel. I find it remarkable that Jesus had not one word to say about evangelism and missions—neither in praise nor in condemnation—when addressing seven churches during the most productive century of evangelism and missions that Christianity has ever known! There were plenty of good times to talk about, with so many people coming to know Jesus in Asia Minor, but Jesus chose to emphasize trials and endurance.

Might I suggest one possible reason for this? Maybe the health and character of my church is revealed more by the difficult times that we endure than by the good times that we enjoy. Dear pastor, the hard times your church is enduring right now are the test question, not the grade.

How important is sound doctrine to my church?
Intolerance is a virtue in Revelation 2-3—no, not intolerance itself, as though God had an undying admiration for the curmudgeonly, but rather principled intolerance toward a few things that, in Jesus’ opinion, it is imperative for believers not to tolerate. Jesus complimented the Ephesians: “you cannot tolerate evil.” (2:2) He chastised Thyatira because “you tolerate the woman Jezebel.” (2:20) Pergamum and Sardis He upbraided for being tolerant. The intolerance that these letters applaud is intolerance toward breakaway sects and deviant doctrine.

Has my church clearly identified doctrines that we will not compromise no matter what the cost? Are there things that we would not do or say even if doing them or saying them would double our attendance, pay off our note, and put me on a speaking circuit? Are we determined never to please men if it comes at the cost of displeasing Christ?

Is my church hard at work?
Repeatedly Jesus opened the letters by telling these churches “I know your works.” (2:2, 19; 3:1, 8, 15) Jesus’ proposed cure to the church at Ephesus for having “abandoned the love [they had] at first” was that they should “do the works [they] did at first.” (2:4-5) The first-century churches were hard at work, and their hard work paid off in the rapid spread of the gospel. From the frequency and position of these statements, we must conclude that Jesus is paying careful attention to every church’s works.

No, works don’t earn salvation, but the price paid for our salvation certainly earns a little of our work. Apart from the discussions about “the works of the Law” and miraculous works, work is a recurring theme in the New Testament. Jesus implored His disciples to pray for workers to be sent out into the harvest. Oh, Father, make me a pastor who is the leader of a team of workers!

Is my church pounding the pavement? Do we undertake the hard ministries, the difficult mission assignments, and the labor-intensive challenges? Are most of my people mobilized for service?

Does my church know how to repent?
When is the last time that your church repented of something? The Southern Baptist Convention has repented of racism in the past, but how many churches have done so? All systems of church polity have this much in common: They put the church into the hands of sinners. And so every church, even good churches, winds up offending the Lord and harming people sometimes. Is my church capable of acknowledging responsibility, owning blame, and saying that we’re sorry?

How often does it happen that a church needs to repent of something? Jesus called more than half of these churches to repentance. Maybe that’s an indication to us that, the way Jesus sees things, it needs to happen more than it does.

Of course, with so many people poised to find fault in churches, one can hardly wonder why we pastors spend more time reminding people what’s going right with our churches than what’s going wrong with them. Nevertheless, I believe that the reciprocity of forgiveness and repentance is the lubricating oil of human interaction. I pray that God will keep me from being so much of an optimist that I cannot see my church’s sins—my own sins—and be contrite about them in repentance.

There are other important things in those letters: love, moral living, authenticity. I haven’t given us an exhaustive list, but each of these four themes figures prominently in the letters. It strikes me that my friends and I often grade our churches by different standards than the one Jesus uses in these letters. Seeing my church the way Jesus sees it encourages me in some ways and challenges me in others, but in every way, it helps to make me a better pastor.

Bart Barber is the pastor of First Baptist Church Farmersville, Texas. He and his wife, Tracy, are the proud parents of Jim and Sarah. You can follow Bart on Twitter at @BartBarber and read his blog at Praisegod Barebones .

Friday is for Freebies (April 27, 2012)

My giveaway this Friday is a three-pack of books from B&H valued at $65. They are part of the "Perspectives" book series which deals with differing views of various elements of evangelical thought and doctrine.

In counterpoint form, these books examine the mainstream views of their respective topics which have developed over the course of church history with a view toward determining which is most faithful to Scripture.

The three books for this week are Perspectives on the Doctrine of God, Perspectives on Church Government, and Perspectives on Christian Worship.

To be entered to win, tell us your favorite worship song.

The deadline to enter is Saturday evening at midnight.

Notable Voices - April 26, 2012

When Collective Vision Is Critical in a Crisis -- Sam Rainer

Wise leadership requires making decisions, and those in leadership roles are called to act. Our decisions and actions in the midst of a crisis situation often reveal our true leadership abilities. Sam examines the different decisions and leadership styles put into action following the two major tornado outbreaks of 2011 and shows how the differences in priorities hindered and helped Tuscaloosa and Joplin respectively.

Evangelical Leader Chuck Colson Dead at 80 -- Joe Carter

We lost a great leader last weekend in Chuck Colson. Joe Carter features a collection of writings from around the web in honor of Dr. Colson's life and ministry.

World Clock -- Poodwaddle

This past week, a link to a world clock came to my attention. You may be wondering why a world clock might be of interest. This is no ordinary clock. It is a running tally of population, death, illness, energy, crime, etc. The number that really struck me is on the "death" tab in the lower right hand corner. It's a running total of the number of deaths by abortion. It is a heartbreaking reminder of our continued need to act on behalf of the unborn.

Religion, Values, and Politics Among College-Age Millennials -- Public Religion Research Institute

In our book The Millennials, my son Jess and I reported the movement of Millennials away from their childhood religious affiliation. The latest report from the Public Religion Research Institute shows similar results. If you are ministering in a high school or college context, this research can be essential to understanding the worldview of the students to which you minister.

Pastors: Keep Your “Gray” Areas Off the Stage -- Ben Reed

As a pastor, it sometimes becomes difficult to separate our personal convictions from biblical convictions. Elevating your personal preferences to that of biblical standard can both harm a ministry and splinter a local church. Ben Reed provides a great reminder of the possible alienation that can occur as a result of raising gray issues to the level of black-and-white.

The Most Intimidating Place to Lead -- Justin Davis

Being called to be the spiritual leader in the home might be the most important leadership calling for men. Ironically, it is often the most difficult area in which to lead. It typically requires more grace, patience, and communication than any other level of leadership. Justin provides four struggles and five challenges to leading in the home.

Leadership and Entitlement

In a very general sense, entitlement typically means that someone is due certain economic or similar benefits. The term is also used to refer to massive federal and state programs that guarantee citizens income or benefits.

The federal government, as the most obvious example, has 235 entitlement programs that cost the taxpayers over one trillion dollars every year. Those programs present the most serious challenges to the economic future of the United States. The three biggest entitlement programs are Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. In recent days, the annual reports of Social Security and Medicare were released. Both programs, the respective trustees of the trust funds said, are on an unsustainable path. Their very solvency is in jeopardy.

Entitlement and the Individual

Entitlement is often used in a pejorative sense when a person thinks he or she is owed favors by an organization, families, governments, or others. On a recent trip, I heard an irate customer of an airline screaming at the gate attendant because he had not been upgraded to first class. Though the employee of the airline calmly explained that he was on a waiting list given priority according to his miles traveled, he would not accept the explanation. After all, he said, he was entitled to first class.

Similarly, I recently heard of an employee in an organization express frustration because the organization would not give him more vacation time, despite the fact that he had seven weeks of vacation and paid holidays. He felt entitled to more.

In the world of clinical psychology, individuals with an obsessive sense of entitlement are diagnosed as having narcissistic personality disorder. Of course, narcissism is an inordinate fascination with oneself or excessive self-love. It is vanity at its worst. It is entitlement.

When Leaders Are Entitled

As a leader’s sphere of influence increases, he may feel that certain benefits and perks are due him. She may believe that those in the organization exist for her service and needs. Entitlement is a creeping sickness that often envelops a leader with such deceptive subtlety that the leader is often unaware of its control over him.

Frankly, I am embarrassed to admit that I have yielded to the temptation of entitlement myself. I am president of a large organization with thousands of employees under my leadership. Without going into detail, I admit that I have caught myself thinking that I deserve a benefit or a perk just because I have this position. I have to remind myself that the leadership given to me is a gift for which I have a huge stewardship responsibility. I should be giving and not expecting. I am stupid when I think I deserve something because of my position.

The Oxymoron of Entitled Leadership

The best and most effective leaders should never have a sense of entitlement. Great leaders are servant leaders, not entitled leaders. Many times in leadership, entitlement is like a malignancy. Untreated, it grows more and consumes more until it destroys the leader. Entitlement can lead to ethical and moral compromise. Leaders begin to rationalize that their immoral or even illegal behavior is okay, because they are entitled.

Is there a check for leaders to avoid the snares of entitlement? I think so. First, that leader needs to ask himself constantly if his leadership is truly servant leadership. Does he first seek the best of others before himself?

Second, the leader can check his behaviors to see if they are consistent with the fruit of the Spirit: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22).

It is my hope and prayer that more leaders will discover the true joy of servant leadership and avoid the follies of entitled leadership.

And I pray that I will be one of those leaders.

Teaching Tools: Spiritual Disciplines

Research:

From The Shape of Faith to Come by Brad Waggoner

Only 16 percent of Protestant churchgoers read their Bible daily and another 20 percent read it "a few times a week."23 percent "agreed strongly" with the statement, "When I come to realize that some aspect of my life is not right in God's eyes, I make the necessary changes."Among evangelicals, 70 percent have identified their primary spiritual gifts through a class, spiritual gifts inventory or some other process.In the past six months, 29 percent of respondents said they shared with someone how to become a Christian twice or more, 14 percent once and 57 percent not at all.47 percent of Protestant churchgoers admitted to just "going through the motions" often during the singing and prayer portions of worship services. One-quarter strongly disagreed that they merely go through the motions.Fasting was perhaps the most neglected spiritual discipline, with 80 percent of respondents saying they had not fasted during the past six months.

Reading Resources:

Disciplines of a Godly Man by R. Kent Hughes Disciplines of a Godly Young Man by R. Kent Hughes and W. Carey Hughes Disciplines of a Godly Woman by Barbara Hughes The Life You've Always Wanted by John Ortberg

Quotable Quotes:

"A farmer is helpless to grow grain; all he can do is provide the right conditions for the growing of grain. He cultivates the ground, he plants the seed, he waters the plants, and then the natural forces of the earth take over and up comes the grain...This is the way it is with the Spiritual Disciplines - they are a way of sowing to the Spirit... By themselves the Spiritual Disciplines can do nothing; they can only get us to the place where something can be done." ― Richard J. Foster

"The greatness of prayer, involving as it does the whole man, in the intensest form, is not realised without spiritual discipline. This makes it hard work, and before this exacting and consuming effort our spiritual sloth or feebleness stands abashed." — E.M. Bounds

"To know Christ is the way to grow in holiness. Christianity is not a religion of rules. It is the religion of the divine example. Try to follow the blessed steps of the most holy life. Take His advice. Ask yourself, in the moment of perplexity or temptation, what would He do if He were here? Nothing else will so surely lead us into the way of holy living." — George Hodges

"The pursuit of holiness is a joint venture between God and the Christian. No one can attain any degree of holiness without God working in his life, but just as surely no one will attain it without effort on his own part. God has made it possible for us to walk in holiness. But He has given to us the responsibility of doing the walking; He does not do that for us." — Jerry Bridges

Video:

Randy Alcorn discusses spiritual disciplines and legalism

Book Excerpt:

Excerpted from Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald S. Whitney

The spiritual disciplines are those personal and corporate disciplines that promote spiritual growth. They are the habits of devotion and experiential Christianity that have been practiced by the people of God since biblical times…Whatever the discipline, its most important feature is its purpose. Just as there is little value in practicing the scales on a guitar or piano apart from the purpose of playing music, there is little value in practicing spiritual disciplines apart from the single purpose of that unites them. That purpose is godliness.

The Five Cs of a Healthy Vision Statement

There is no shortage of literature about leadership. Similarly, there is a plethora of material of why leaders must have a vision. It is with some reticence, then, that I offer any attempt to add a meaningful contribution to the discussion. What I am offering is more of an abbreviated synthesis of the existing literature plus a modest dose of my own experience. We know the critical importance of vision to the health of an organization, and it is possible to look at the components that comprise a healthy vision. For simplicity, I have noted five components that begin with the letter "C."

1. Concise

Brevity can be a relative term. But a healthy vision statement must be understood and articulated by everyone in the organization. Long and wieldy vision statements are rarely embraced by most people.

2. Clear

Brevity is not synonymous with clarity. A vision statement can be very brief and very muddled at the same time. Lack of clarity may be the single greatest failure of a healthy vision. Though it's not a vision statement, the simple system to evaluate diamonds provides a good example of clarity. The four Cs of cut, carat, clarity, and color help diamond neophytes like me grasped the basic fundamentals of a good diamond. A good vision statement will provide simple but powerful clarity.

3. Communicated

A vision statement can be concise and clear, but unless it is communicated well, it has little power. Leaders must continually seek to become more effective communicators. Many potentially powerful visions have fallen on deaf ears because a leader failed to communicate it well, either verbally or in writing.

4. Compelling

If the vision statement does not encourage or excite people to a greater goal, it is likely not compelling. You should be able to see clearly in the vision statement something that will naturally move people toward greater commitment and decisive actions.

5. Contagious

The vision statement should be something that makes the organization proud. It should be a recruiting tool to bring others into the organization. There should be something about the vision statement that fosters conversation and excitement. A healthy vision statement should truly be contagious.

Of course, these five categories are not mutually exclusive. One "C" obviously impacts the other. If I were force to rank them in levels of importance, I would deem "clear" as the most important. Clarity seems to be the area where I struggle the most, and it is the element for which I get more questions from other leaders. An organization will struggle to move forward if it does not hear clearly from the leader where it should go. In that sense, an unclear vision statement can actually do more harm than no vision statement at all.

Pastor to Pastor: Help Us Get Started

By Steve Drake, LifeWay Director of Pastoral Relations

Let me first say I feel very honored to share this space on the Saturdays at ThomRainer.com. The idea to begin this targeted post came from a desire in Dr. Rainer's heart, a desire fed by many years of efforts to assist pastors and local churches in their work.

In these Saturday posts, we want to do more than the post conversations about current issues germane to the pastor's life and work. We also want to provide a place where we can all hear from a wide range of pastors in different settings, some small others large, some urban and others rural--pastors of every description and location.

We are all members of a unique group, all called by God, all pursuing a common goal, all relying on Jesus to lead our steps, and all needing each other to share the joys and struggles we experience. We hope the insights and digital fellowship we share in these conversations will be a blessing to you.

Help Us

So how can you help? Talk to us; we need to hear from you.

What issues do you face in your church? What hot topics interest you?Are there resources you are using that are making a real difference in your ministry? Are there resources you need that don't exist yet? What effective study habits have you employed? How are you doing on time management? What does your wife need to help her in her role as a pastor's wife? Do your children handle their identity as a "PK" well or do they struggle with it?

You get the idea; we want to know you better. Dr. Rainer and I both look forward to your comments.

We Want to Be a Resource for You

In recent years, LifeWay Christian Resources has endeavored to become more and more effective in identifying and meeting the needs of believers and their churches. Reaching out to you, the pastor, in this way will help us in this task.

The Saturday Pastor to Pastor series is one part of our desire to engage you on a more personal level, but there is more. I want you to consider my office, Pastoral Relations, as your portal to LifeWay's resources and/or a brother whose intention is to be an encouragement to you. Whatever the need might be, I want to hear from you. Email me at steve.drake@lifeway.com. While there are many questions I may not be able to answer, there are not many questions for which I won't know where to go and find an answer. If your email does not include a question about some resource, but is instead the sharing of a burden or trial, be assured that we can talk and pray and together seek the wisdom of God for you.

Looking Forward

Dr. Rainer and I are both looking forward to hearing from you. Until then, consider what my pastor told me when I announced my call to ministry. He said "Steve, always remember this: a pastor must have a heart as tender as a lamb and a hide as tough as a rhino. The difficulty comes from toughening one of them without toughening the other."

Friday is for Freebies: Breakout Churches & Those Who Must Give an Account

My giveaway this Friday is a pair of books on the church which I mentioned in posts earlier this week. The two books are Breakout Churches and Those Who Must Give an Account.

Breakout Churches was the topic of my post on Wednesday and examines a study of the chrysalis factor showing why a select number of little-known churches have made the leap from being good to becoming great churches that are impacting lives and entire communities. Those Who Must Give an Account was highlighted in my Teaching Tools post about church discipline on Tuesday.

Since eReaders and digital books have been in the news quite a bit lately, to be eligible to win, tell us if you own an eReader (Nook, Kindle, Kobo, etc.) or a tablet (iPad) or not, and, if so, let us know which kind.

The deadline to enter is Saturday evening at midnight..

Notable Voices - April 19, 2012

7 Dangers of the Proud Leader -- Ron Edmondson

"Pride goes before destruction." We all know of leaders who have whose pride has led to their eventual demise. Ron lists seven dangers of proud leaders and how to recognize them in yourself to avoid being derailed as a leader.

Ashamed and Disappointed -- Tim Challies

Author Tim Challies writes about his recent trip to Louisville where he stayed near an abortion clinic. His disappointment that he hasn't done more for the cause of the unborn is one I have felt, and something I know many others share as well. May we be a people of action and do more for the rights of the unborn.

A Challenge for Dads on the Way Home Today -- Michael Kelley

It's easy to bring home your work woes when you leave the office. However, Michael Kelley provides a great reminder and a challenge for dads to bring home a positive word to their wife an kids.

Are Pastor Search Committees a Sign of Great Commission Failure? -- George Robinson

A few weeks back I wrote on new trends within pastor search committees. George Robinson examines a different trend-- and one that would likely lead to healthier changes in leadership within local churches: hiring from within. His point is valid, and one which should be sincerely contemplated by local churches. We should strive to become churches who raise up leaders and equip them for the Lord's work.

How Should You Meditate on God’s Word -- Tony Merida

As Christians, our greatest resource is the Bible. Meditating on the Word of God is one of the most beneficial activities a person can engage in. Tony provides four specific benefits of Scripture memorization as well as a pair of suggestions to get started.

Discipleship in Groups -- The Gospel Project

From a recent roundtable discussion group hosted by Trevin Wax.

Seven Common Traits of Breakout Churches

I have been a student of American churches for thirty years. That statement really means two things: I’m old, and I’m a slow learner.

In those thirty years, one of my most fascinating learning ventures has been the discovery of breakout churches. Simply defined, a breakout church is a congregation that has experienced at least five years of decline followed by at least five years of growth. While numerical growth is not the inerrant barometer for church health, we researchers must use numerical gauges for much of our objective data.

The Common Factor

As my research team began sorting and analyzing the data of some 50,000 churches, we found a common factor in many of the breakout churches: the breakout took place when the church got a new pastor. While that finding is helpful from a research perspective, it’s not very helpful to many churches. And it’s certainly not helpful to the pastors of struggling churches.

So our research took a new twist. We only looked at churches that experienced breakouts without changing pastors. I was encouraged by our findings.

The Seven Traits

The breakout churches, almost without exception had seven common characteristics. Though I list them numerically here, for sequential purposes, I am not assigning priority by the rankings.

The pastor had a “wake-up” call. He stopped denying that his church had a challenge. He became determined, in God’s power, to lead the church to growth and greater health. He would no longer be satisfied with mediocrity in God’s church. The church, under the pastor’s new leadership, developed clarity in its purpose. Most of the churches were previously activity focused. They were busy with the “what” without addressing the “why.” The pastor began assembling the right team for a new era of leadership. That team would include either paid staff or unpaid laypersons. The pastor developed a spirit of tenacity. He knew that the turnaround would not take place overnight. He followed a prayerful plan for the long haul. One of the early moves in these churches was to focus more ministries outwardly. The wake-up call noted above included an awareness that most of the ministries of the church were for the comfort and desires of the members. The leaders began to change that reality. The pastor and other leaders in the breakout churches had deep biblical faithfulness. They saw their mission emanating from God and written in His Word. That faithfulness was the push that moved them forward even in the midst of challenging times and potential discouragement. The pastor invested more time in the preaching ministry. He realized the centrality of the preached Word, and gave it more time and emphasis than any point previously.

The Hope Present in These Churches

Our quest to discover breakout churches that did not change pastors became an exercise in hope for our research team. We first saw how many leaders transitioned from a lackadaisical attitude to one of enthusiasm and possibility. Some of the leaders told us that their change was more dramatic. They described it as moving from hopelessness to great hope.

Of course, the other great encouragement in this project was discovering the story of entire congregations moving from a inwardly-focused lethargy to an outwardly-focused Great Commission mindset. By the time our research team saw these churches in the “after” mode, we found it hard to fathom they were once lifeless and discouraged.

If I found a single message in the scope of this research, it is simple but profound lesson for churches and their leaders: Don’t ever assume that your congregation has little or no hope. We found that many of these churches were once in despair, and many members confessed they had no hope. Then the breakout came. Then God showed He was wasn’t done with their church.

That story could very well be the story yet to be told of your church.