Thom S. Rainer's Blog, page 398

With Thanksgiving for the Local Church

The local church in America gets a bad rap. And in many ways, the negative news is warranted. You've seen the dire trends and statistics. You've read about the moral failures of many church leaders. We certainly don't need to have our proverbial head in the sand about the dire state of our churches.

But it's time to give thanks for the church.

It's time to look at what is good about the local church. And it's time to focus on these positive attributes and build upon them. We don't need to deny the reality of the problems, but we do need to stop wallowing in the negative and move forward.

For These Things I Am Thankful

I am thankful that God's Word is preached faithfully each week in local churches. Lives are transformed. Sinners are convicted. Christians are encouraged. Disciples are made. God is glorified. The gospel changes lives.

I am thankful that the gospel is shared every day through the ministry of the local church. Millions become followers of Christ each year by the faithful witness of those in the local church. Evangelism is truly the heartbeat of many churches.

I am thankful that countless Christians become more devoted followers of Christ through Bible studies in local churches. Faithful teachers and students prepare lessons and come together each day throughout the week. Their time in the Word brings transformation to their lives.

I am thankful that sacrificial ministry takes place every day through the ministry of local churches. Church members care for the sick, bring food and clothes to the needy, visit those in prison, and offer hope and resources to heal and strengthen families.

I am thankful that local church members give sacrificially, not only for the ministries of the church locally, but for mission work throughout the world. Local churches in America both give to missions and send out missionaries.

For these things, and so much more, I am thankful for the local church.

My Gratitude is Personal

It seems like yesterday when Nellie Jo was about to give birth to our first son. When I first learned that Nellie Jo was pregnant 32 years ago, I made a decision to attend church.

I was a nominal churchgoer in my early teen years, but I dropped out completely when I turned sixteen. But when I learned that I was going to be a dad, I knew that I needed to make some changes in my life, and one of those changes meant leaving the world of the unchurched.

The local church I eventually joined took me in and loved me. My Sunday school class helped me to understand the Bible. Older and wiser Christians guided me toward becoming a better husband and a better father. And when God called me to vocational ministry, the local church was there to equip me, to encourage me, to support me and, ultimately, to send me.

For these things, and so much more, I am thankful for the local church.

Keeping Perspective, Keeping Balance

There is one viewpoint that refuses to acknowledge any serious problems in the local church. Though all the evidence is overwhelming, reality means little to these people. Protection of the status quo is paramount.

Then there is the perspective that readily sees and acknowledges the problems in the local church, but is too pessimistic to see anything positive. The situation is dire and there is no hope.

The healthy perspective, however, sees both the problems and the possibilities. It recognizes the struggles of the local church, but also sees God still working. It is a perspective of realistic hope. Certainly the church at Corinth had its share of problems, but the Apostle Paul refused to give up on the church. He still saw God at work.

The local church is God's instrument for His work. Millions of lives are transformed through the work of churches in America and around the world. I am one of those lives.

For these things, and so much more, I am thankful for the local church.

Talkback Tuesday: Should the religious/spiritual beliefs of a presidential candidate affect your vote?

Will the candidate's religious beliefs affect your vote? Let us hear from you.

Ten Influential Churches in 1990

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In 1990 Elmer Towns released a very popular book, 10 of Today's Most Innovative Churches. The ten churches featured in the book became models for future church leaders over the next several years. The selections were largely based on subjective criteria. Dr. Towns wanted to feature churches that were growing numerically and that represented a diversity of backgrounds and geographical locations.

But his primary interest was locating and understanding churches that had affected significant and cutting-edge change. These churches particularly were innovators that were well positioned to reach a huge demographic: the baby boomers.

Looking Back

It's been over twenty years since the book was released. It's a fun exercise to take a brief historical journey to see the most discussed churches in America two decades ago. I will share the list of churches with the pastor's name, and a quick description of why Dr. Towns considered these churches to be innovative.

The List in 1990

Three of the churches noted are in California and two are in Georgia; no other state has multiple representatives. Let's take our historical excursion and see what was considered innovative in 1990.

1. Skyline Wesleyan Church, San Diego, CA. Pastor: John Maxwell. The pastor has introduced many key leadership principles for growth to the church and has become a widely known expert on being a change agent.

2. Willow Creek Community Church, South Barrington, IL. Pastor: Bill Hybels. The church has become a pioneer in the seeker-friendly approach to reaching people. The leaders coined the concept "Unchurched Harry."

3. The Church on the Way, Van Nuys, CA. Pastor: Jack Hayford. The pastor has led the church to focus on a reformation of worship. He wrote the hymn "Majesty" which reflects his philosophy of worship.

4. New Hope Community Church, Portland, OR. Pastor: Dale Galloway. The church was one of the first in America to be built on cell groups, which numbered over 500 in 1990.

5. Perimeter Church, Atlanta, GA. Pastor: Randy Pope. Perimeter became a model for churches with multiple campuses and locations well before the concept was popularized.

6. First Baptist Church, Jacksonville, FL. Pastors: Homer Lindsay, Jr. and Jerry Vines. These co-pastors led an old downtown church toward revitalization and growth when most downtown churches were dying or relocating.

7. Central Community Church, Wichita, KS. Pastor: Ray Cotton. This church made multiple changes when many churches were having difficulty affecting one change. Among those changes were dropping the denominational name and relocating from downtown to the residential suburbs.

8. Second Baptist Church, Houston, TX. Pastor: Ed Young. Many pastors would point to this church as a model for strong and visionary pastoral leadership. The church became known as "the fellowship of excitement."

9. Horizon Christian Fellowship, San Diego, CA. Pastor: Mike MacIntosh. The ministry of this church was very successful in reaching youth immersed in the drug culture in Southern California.

10.Mount Paran Church of God, Atlanta, GA. Pastor: Paul Walker. One of the first churches to popularize the phrase "one church, two locations." This church became a model for multi-campus churches of the future.

Twenty Years Later

So what have we learned from these churches, either positively or negatively? How does this list compare with ten of the most influential churches today? How have churches changed in twenty years? What changes do you see over the next twenty years?

I do hope to hear your perspectives.

Friday is for Freebies (November 11, 2011)

My giveaway this Friday is the new Christmas CD by Keith and Kristyn Getty, "Joy: An Irish Christmas." The Gettys sang some of the songs from the CD recently in LifeWay chapel and we were really blessed. Keith and Kristyn are two of my favorite artists and two of my favorite people.

We will give away two CDs and each has been signed by Keith and Kristyn. All you have to do is tell us the name of one of your favorite Christian songs or hymns. You can enter as many times as you like through the comments, but only one song per comment please. If you enter more than once, you must name a different song.

The deadline to enter is Saturday at midnight, CST. I will announce the winner of the drawing on this blog on Monday morning.

Protect Our Children

Those who have read my articles or heard me speak probably know at least two things about me: I'm an avid college football fan, and I am devoted to my family. I have always respected the football tradition of Penn State. But the university's sexual abuse scandal has saddened and angered me, because it is everyone's job to protect our children.

In Coach Joe Paterno's case, he reported the alleged abuse to his "chain of command," and apparently absolved himself of responsibility. But those to whom he reported apparently chose to protect their university and themselves rather than the child involved. If that is the case, it's wrong -- and something churches must avoid

It doesn't take a football fanatic or a genius to figure out the right thing to do -- in all cases -- is to protect our children. It is inconceivable to me that someone could witness sexual abuse and then simply report it and leave it to their supervisors. The right response is to intervene by force at the moment, and with the police immediately thereafter

I write for church leaders, not ESPN. So let me say clearly that church leaders are responsible for protecting all the children who come into our places of worship. It's our job to teach them about Jesus' love for them, and we must also protect them from potential predators.

The National Sex Offender Public Website (nsopw.gov) reported in 2009 only 30 percent of cases are reported to authorities.

Pastors, youth leaders, lay leaders: if you suspect, or if someone reports to you, the possibility that one of your workers or volunteers is or has abused a child in your care, stop reading this article and immediately contact your local police. I understand how difficult that might be for you, for your church, for those involved, but your first concern should not be for yourself or even your local church, but your charge is to protect our children. It's not your job to determine the validity of a claim of abuse. That's the job of the police. It's your job to call them. Immediately.

Protecting children also means preparing for their protection by taking some simple but absolutely necessary steps that will avoid problems before they occur.

1. Conduct a background check on every current and future worker. LifeWay partners with BackgroundChecks.com to offer this service. Never involve someone in ministry without a background check.

"Of all the crimes against children in the U.S. every year, thousands will occur within the walls of churches and youth centers," said Matthew Robbins with BackgroundChecks.com. "With crime and abuse at an all time high, churches must develop hiring programs that work to prevent dangerous situations before they occur."

2. Implement a 6 months/2 people rule. This simple policy states that anyone working with children or youth must be an active member of your fellowship for at least six months before assuming a position of leadership, and that there will be at least two adults in the room with minors at all times. This rule extends outside the walls of where you hold your services, to include no unescorted car rides home. As inconvenient and radical as this approach may sound, these two guidelines show predators your children are not easy targets at your church.

3. Conduct regular mandatory staff and volunteer training. Bring in experts to educate you and your workers about safety "to-dos" and how to recognize the signs of a predator. Almost every denomination has resources available to help fight the scourge of sexual predators

4. Require all volunteers to submit an application to serve. This process may seem like a formality, but a proper workflow ensures that the right staff sees every application before placing the responsibility and safety of our children into someone else's hands. This simple step should be followed up with a face-to-face interview. Churches hold auditions for their worship team. Why not do so for your children's ministry volunteers?

5. Pray for your workers. Pray for your children. And, pray God will provide the right people.

No church, no ministry, and no denomination is exempt from the risk of predators seeking to harm those who are most vulnerable. It's our responsibility as leaders to decide foremost to protect our children.

So, let your first impulse be to protect children, not reputation. When that is the priortiy, all else is secondary. Penn State missed that and more children suffered. Make sure your church never makes the same mistake.

When Great Churches Fall

The names of the churches stare back at me.

There are 876 churches in all. Most of them have their names written in my books. They are Effective Evangelistic Churches, High Expectation Churches, Standout Churches, and Breakout Churches. Three books were written on these churches. My teams did hundreds of hours of research.

Though quantification of church health is difficult, we attempted to look at health from several perspectives. Evangelistic health. Discipleship health. Doctrinal health. Fellowship health. Worship health.

We know that our measurements are fallible, but we still think we identified some of the greatest churches in America.

But now some of the names stare back at me. Not all of the names. Just some of the names.

From Great to Mediocrity

The names I am seeing right now are churches that are no longer great. They have fallen from the lists. They no longer meet the criteria.

We found some of the fallen churches from statistical follow-up. We found others in consultations, and still others from familiarity with the churches. Some people told us that other great churches had fallen on tough times. And some people even questioned if our studies had validity since those churches had fallen from greatness.

Again, we make no claim of infallibility in our research. But we do believe that our research is sound. The studies that we did, however, were mostly "rear-view mirror" studies. We looked at churches from the past several years to the present. But past accomplishments are no guarantee for future health. Churches can reverse their positive trends.

It's those churches whose names are staring at me.

Hubris, Denial, and Nostalgia

Of course, the single word question that disturbs me is "Why?" I am tempted to lead another study, this time on fallen churches, but I do have sufficient information for now to see how the fall begins. I classify the reasons into three words, and they are not mutually exclusive.

Hubris. The word means pride or excessive self-confidence. Here it refers to church leaders who have seen great days at their churches, and who are convinced that their churches are the models for others to emulate. They talk about the methods they used, instead of the biblical principles and passions behind the methods. Since theirs was such an effective church in the past, the leaders see little need to do things differently today.

Denial. It's a characteristic of church leaders of fallen churches. They simply don't want to face the facts. The church is not as evangelistic as it once was. People are not growing in the Word as in the past. Expectations are lower, and so is morale.

Nostalgia. Most churches have a period in their history that stands out above others. But some churches still live in that period though it's long past. Nostalgia is fine if it is simply the act of fond memories. Nostalgia is sinful if it keeps the church from moving forward in Great Commission obedience.

What Now?

Where do these churches go now? Is it possible to move from mediocrity to greatness back to mediocrity and then back again to greatness?

Absolutely. All things are possible through God.

The first step is repentance, a confession of any sins of pride or self-sufficiency.

The next step is a reality check. Instead of living off the past of recognitions and accolades, it's time to have a hard look in the mirror. A church can't get well if it's unwilling to admit it's sick.

Then the church needs to learn its community again. Make no assumptions that the present is like the past. Get accurate information. Live incarnationally. And then contextualize for the new realities, not those of the past.

Finally, move toward radical obedience. This life is too short to play church games. Time is running out fast.

And then, the once great church can, in God's power, be great again.

Sacrificial Leadership

I recently met with one of the leaders in the organization I serve as president. This leader's words caught me a bit off guard: "Thom, please make one promise to me. The moment that you see that I'm not effective here, tell me and I will leave immediately. I hope I see that moment before you do, but please tell me if you see it. This organization is much more than me and my needs."

I consider this person a great leader, indeed one of the great leaders in our organization. So I guess I should not be surprised at the conversation we had.

Learning to Lead Like Jesus

Many have written articles and books about learning leadership principles from Jesus. While we can never replicate the character of a man who is God, we can learn truths and principles from Him. And the one principle that seems to represent the greatest level of leadership is a willing to sacrifice. Again, I realize that Christ's death on the cross is unique in time and space, and only God can atone for sins through His sacrificial death.

But there is much to learn from Jesus that we can apply to our lives. Indeed, the more we put ourselves last, and the greater our willingness to sacrifice, the more likely we are to become a great leader.

Sacrificial Leadership in All Areas We Lead

A husband who is a great leader will always sacrifice for his wife. He will always seek to put her first. A parent who is a great leader will always put his or her children first. Great parents will seek what is best for their children.

It's not too difficult to apply sacrificial leadership principles in the marriage or parenting relationship. Why then do we not hear more about sacrificial leadership in organizations?

Great by Choice

One of my favorite writers on leadership and organizational behavior is Jim Collins. He has authored two blockbuster books on organizational greatness: Built to Last and Good to Great. His latest tome, Great by Choice, will undoubtedly engender similar praise. In his latest book, Collins unleashes his top-flight research team to discover why some companies thrive in chaos and uncertainty while most do not.

One of the principles gleaned from the research was that great leaders, what he calls "10xers," have clearly discernible leadership traits. And one of the great differentiating traits is that of sacrificial leadership. One of the most compelling quotes from the book is powerful and succinct: "[10xers are] ambitious, to be sure, but for a purpose beyond themselves, be it building a great company, changing the world, or achieving some great object that's ultimately not about them."

Looking in the Mirror

Collins for sure does not pretend to write from a Christian worldview. Nor does his research point to the One who gave the ultimate sacrifice. But his words are nevertheless compelling. They forced me to look in the mirror, to check my motives, and to ask myself a number of questions.

Do I lead my organization sacrificially? Am I more concerned about the good of the organization than my own needs? Would I sacrifice my paycheck and financial security if it were best for the organization? Am I driven to do something greater than meet my needs? Am I driven, no matter the cost to me personally, of leading an organization to greatness?

These are the types of questions and struggles I have daily as a leader of a large organization. These of the types of questions I should have asked myself more when I was a pastor. And these are types of questions I should continue to ask myself today as a husband, a father, and a grandfather.

Great leaders are sacrificial leaders.

Even if the sacrifice we are compelled to make is ourselves.

Friday is for Freebies (November 4, 2011): The Biggest Giveaway Yet

The Friday Freebie is the new version of WordSearch 9, a DVD-ROM that is compatible with both PC and MAC. The library has a retail price of $499.95 and includes 226 reference works, 22 Bibles, a Greek New Testament interlinear Bible, and 32,000 illustrations, quotes, and anecdotes. I am really in a generous mood! This resource is an incredible set of tools for Bible preachers and teachers.

To be eligible to win, let us know what you are currently reading and why. We will draw one winner from the entries, and you are free to enter more than once as long as you don't use the same book each time you enter.

The deadline to enter is midnight CDT this Saturday. Come back to this blog on Monday to see if you won!

Notable Voices (November 3, 2011)

10 innovation myths. Thoughtful and accurate!

4 words that change everything. Wherever you are right now, in any situation, these words really do change everything.

How long should you attend a church before pursuing membership? "If you can answer in the affirmative to all 4 of these questions, it is a good possibility you have found your next church."

3 characteristics of an educated man. Simple, and true.

HarperCollins buys Thomas Nelson. Very interesting and important acquisition. Big implications for the company I lead as CEO.

The Lifecycle of Pastors

Almost twenty years ago, I began to note that the tenure of a pastor often follows a predictable pattern. Now, almost two decades later, I still see many of the same patterns, though I have refined the categories and time spans a bit.

I fully understand that these categories are not definitive, and there will certainly be exceptions to the rule. Nevertheless, I offer this lifecycle as a guide that I hope will prove useful to both pastors and congregations alike.

Honeymoon: Years 0 to 1

The new pastor is perceived to be the answer to all the needs and the problems of the church. He is often viewed as a hero because he is not his predecessor. Though some of his faults begin to show during this period, he is often given a pass. Expectations are high that he will be molded into the image that each congregant would like to have.

Crisis: Years 1 to 3

It is now apparent that the pastor is fully human. He has not lived up to the precise expectations of many of the members. This phase includes a number of conflicts and struggles. Indeed it is the most common time that pastors choose to leave the church or they are force terminated. This single epoch of a pastoral tenure contributes more to short tenures than any other time.

Realignment: Years 3 to 5

The number of crises begins to abate, though they do not disappear altogether. It is at this time that more and more new members come under the tenure of the new pastor. Some of the dissidents have left the church or the community. There is a realignment of loyalty and expectations of the pastor. Thus he is able to lead more effectively, and began to see some more productive years as pastor of the church.

Growth: Years 5 to 10

Not all pastors have productive and joyous ministries in this period, but many do. It is not unusual for the congregation to begin to appreciate the pastor more and to follow his leadership with greater enthusiasm. Many of the battles have already been fought; and many of the conflicts have been resolved. The pastor and the entire congregation are ready to move forward in more productive ministry for the glory of God.

Mystery: Years 10 and Beyond

There are relatively few pastors and congregations that continue their relationships beyond a period of one decade. Thus any perspective I have of long-term pastorates is inconclusive and limited. I am confident, however, that if we see more and more pastors entering their tenth year of ministry and beyond, we will see more productive and fruitful ministries in local churches across the nation.

The Quest Continues

The topic of pastoral tenure fascinates me. I see significant correlation between ministry effectiveness and longer pastoral tenure, though there are certainly exceptions to the rule. I do hope that we will do a more comprehensive and objective study of this important issue in the future.

What is your perspective of pastoral tenure?