Thom S. Rainer's Blog, page 72

8 Things to Do When You Wonder if Ministry’s Worth It

I heard a similar story again this past week. Another pastor was in a difficult situation in a difficult church. When you hear enough of these stories—or more specifically, when you experience one—you wonder if it’s worth staying in ministry. If that’s where you are, here are some suggestions:

Return to your calling. No matter what we face today, it’s usually hard to deny or ignore God’s calling in the past. Go back to the beginning for encouragement.Remember who the real enemy is. It’s not the flesh and blood people you’re dealing with. They’re sinners (perhaps, in some cases, in need of church discipline), but they’re still not the enemy. That’s Satan and his forces.Find at least one supportive prayer partner. Don’t walk through anguish alone; let somebody kneel next to you and join you in seeking the Father. If you don’t immediately have someone for this role, ask God to raise up someone for you.Invite your spouse to share your pain. Too often, we want to shield our spouse and family from our pain—but our spouses generally want to bear the burden with us. They really do love us with an undying love.Hold on to this truth: all churches are messy, but there are good churches out there. Out of hundreds of thousands of churches in North America, some are at least healthier than others. If you’re in a bad one, don’t assume every church is equally problematic.Cling to past life-transforming moments through your ministry. Ask God to help you see how He’s used you in the past and is still using you today. Just one or two of these stories of God’s hand will remind you that ministry’s worth it.Recognize bitterness for the idol it is. If you let bitterness consume you, you allow others to influence you negatively. Don’t let your pain become an idol that hinders your walk with God.Prayerfully consider if the Lord’s dislodging you from your current place of service. He might be—and sometimes He uses painful circumstances to move us in that direction. Seek His guidance.

If you’re a church leader wondering today if ministry’s worth it, you have many readers of this site who would love to pray for you. Let us know how we might pray. 

The post 8 Things to Do When You Wonder if Ministry’s Worth It appeared first on Church Answers.

Seven Reasons You Must Not Abandon Your Online Services

We are seeing the trends, and they are troubling.

As churches return to in-person gatherings, they are abandoning their digital and streaming services. At the very least, they are not giving them the attention they did during the quarantine.

It’s a mistake. It’s a big mistake. Here are seven reasons why we believe strongly your church must continue to emphasize and invest in digital and streaming services. 

It will grow slowly after it declines. One pastor wrote me: “We had 750 people view our online services the first week. Now it’s dropped to about five during the live streaming service. It’s really not worth our effort.” I get it. But the instant growth churches saw at the onset of the quarantine was an anomaly. Churches that are investing time and other resources in digital services are seeing slow but steady growth after the immediate declines. It is a great alternative for those who are physically unable to attend the in-person services. Some of your members and guests are homebound. Others are out of town. The digital service becomes their only alternative. And for those of you who are arguing that digital services will be an excuse for physically able persons not to attend, we are not seeing that reality take place. At most, any losses are more than offset by gains. It is a complement to the in-person service. Though it’s in its incipient stages, we are seeing digital services become a first step for people to come to the in-person services. They “test run” the church several weeks before they attend in-person. We are particularly seeing this trend among nominal Christians and non-Christians. It opens the door for ministry to the community. A church is not only supposed to be in a community, it should be a ministry to the community. Your church will have much greater visibility to the community with online services than most other alternatives. I am working with one church that is investing $20 per week on Facebook ads to send the services to those in the church’s zip code. It is beginning to show fruit. It is an incredible instrument for prayer. I am encouraged to see an increasing number of churches offer prayer lines through phone numbers and/or email addresses. A pastor recently told me that their email address (prayer@>) was growing in the number of prayer requests sent by the week. The church puts that email address on the lower third of the stream several times during the services. It is truly an Acts 1:8 ministry. Church leaders and members are excited to discover their reach is beyond the community to other points in the nation and the world. The early Christians had to travel the Roman roads to get the gospel from town to town. The internet has become our Roman roads. It can provide cohesiveness to a multi-site church. More churches are becoming multisite and multi-venue. A number of churches are beginning to open micro-sites. The streaming service can be a place for everyone to get information on what is taking place at all sites. One church takes the first five minutes of the streaming service to give a monthly update for viewing to all sites. It has become a great way for the different sites, venues, and services to all be on the same page. 

I am encouraged that more churches are resuming in-person services. Don’t let that be a reason or excuse to eliminate or minimize your digital services.

Your church would miss a great opportunity for ministry, gospel witness, and unity.

Let me hear your thoughts.

The post Seven Reasons You Must Not Abandon Your Online Services appeared first on Church Answers.

Has Your Guest Services Culture Turned Toxic?

Poison can wreak havoc on biological systems, but it also can kill cultural systems. Take your guest services culture, for example. Apply the poison of a toxic greeter, and the deadly effects will soon spread throughout the attitude and actions of every volunteer. Tap into the toxicity of an unhealthy approach – for example, not having a plan for serving guests – and soon your church’s growth and health will stagnate, decline, and die.

So how can you spot a toxic guest services culture? Like poison, it’s often unnoticeable until it’s too late. But there are three attitudes that might indicate toxicity amidst your team:

1. Implementing a guest services plan is a necessary evil.

We’d never say that. Nobody in their right mind would formulate those words and force them off of our tongues. Of course we want guests in our churches. No guests mean no growth. But the way we plan for, resource, and maintain our guest services culture may very well reflect our core belief that this is more trouble than it’s worth. Caring for guests interrupts the status quo, because suddenly it’s not about us and what makes us comfortable. And while the above statement may never be articulated, it’s assumed by heavy sighs and eye rolls every time you bring up the need for a plan.

2. “We’ll do anything to bring ’em in.”

I refer to this as the “shock and awe” plan. We want guests to like us enough that they want to come back a second time, so we pull out all the stops when they show up the first time. We go way beyond inviting environments and assault the senses with a sense of desperation. Our all-encompassing goal is to get first-timers to take notice of our church, yet we fail to help them take notice of Jesus. And by the way…this is often an accusation lobbed at megachurches, but small churches can overdo it too. It feels a little like the single male seminary student who uses the “God told me to marry you” line…it’s too much, too soon, and it’s off-putting.

3. We don’t need a team, because we’re already friendly.

I’ve been in a lot of churches, and I’ve yet to find one that’s not friendly. A quick five minute glance around the sanctuary or Sunday School room reveals people who are freely trading hugs and high fives, catching up on the news of the week, and even praying for each other’s needs. But there’s the rub…most church people are friendly to each other…to those we already know. It takes a great deal of intentionality to move beyond friendly to each other in order to be friendly to “others.” And if that intentionality isn’t intentionally installed, it’ll cause the culture of welcoming guests to shrivel up and die.

The post Has Your Guest Services Culture Turned Toxic? appeared first on Church Answers.

Essentials of a Great Ministry Resume

It’s a common question from people I am coaching and mentoring. What should I include in my ministry resume? There are definitely some dos and don’ts.  I’ve listed below a few essentials of a great ministry resume.

Keep your resume to two pages. A one-page resume is too short and connotes a lack of experience. Anything longer than two pages is unwieldy and not likely to be read in full. In some cases, three pages may be necessary for those with a lot of ministry experience, but three pages should be the maximum.

Put your ministry goals and objectives in a cover letter, not on the resume. Those receiving your resume assume you are pursuing a ministry goal that matches the available position. We do recommend a short cover letter describing why you are pursuing the position. Also, we’ve seen too many resumes that forgot to update the ministry goal and objective for each position. For example, you don’t want readers in Florida to see that you are pursuing a different position in Texas as well. 

A doctrinal statement needs to be in a separate document. Many resume readers will want a written doctrinal statement. Send it separately if requested. Some may have a questionnaire for you to fill out. Others may want to ask doctrinal questions over the phone or in a face-to-face interview. 

Include your picture on the front page of the resume. If you can, it’s better to include a picture of you with your family on the front page. In most professions, a resume picture is considered a faux pas. However, most churches like to see a picture and are drawn to the resumes that include them. One caveat: Make sure the picture is of professional quality. Do not use a Facebook picture taken with your cell phone. Hire a professional photographer to take the picture. The extra cost and time are well worth it. 

Place your education and ministry experience first. Some suggest putting your personal information first, and their reasoning is it demonstrates how family is a priority. However, including a picture of you and your family accomplishes this goal. We recommend placing your personal information last, just before your references. It’s more professional and creates a better flow for readers of your resume. If you choose to put your personal information on the front page, make sure the entirety of your education and ministry experience also appear on the front page. 

Tell a story about your ministry. The readers of your resume should feel your love for the local church and also gain an understanding of your accomplishments. Don’t simply list your churches as places of employment. Rather, include a brief description of what God did (not you!) at your churches. Stay positive. You can explain any negatives in an interview if necessary. 

Never use the phrase “references available upon request.” Always put your references in the last section of your resume. You do not want to add an extra step for resume readers. Some may want to call your references first without contacting you. Also, make sure you have permission from all your references. It is quite unprofessional for one of them to get a surprise phone call. 

If you need one, here is a template. It’s taken from my own resume, but I’ve changed the information to be fictitious. I also included several tips in the template resume.

The post Essentials of a Great Ministry Resume appeared first on Church Answers.

Six Reasons Why Many Pastors Will Not Leave Their Churches

There is a lot of conversation about pastors dropping out of ministry or, at the very least, leaving their current churches. Yes, there are good reasons for these conversations. Among the reasons is the toll COVID has taken on these leaders and their churches.

But I have been hearing from pastors who are determined to stay at their current churches. In fact, some are more determined than ever to stay right where they are. Here are the six most common reasons we are hearing from pastors. 

The pastors are called to their churches. This reason was the dominant explanation we received. God has not released these pastors from where they are currently serving. In many cases, they have sensed an even greater affirmation from God to remain at their churches.Their families love their churches and their communities. Most pastors have families. Their spouses and their children are not only happy where they are, but many are also making a gospel difference in their churches and their communities. In many ways, their call to stay is as firm as the pastors’ call.The pastors love their communities. A call to serve in a local church does indeed begin with the congregation itself. But a call is also a call to live in, serve, and evangelize the communities to which they belong. The communities become the sticky factor for many pastors. The pastors don’t have a stepping-stone mentality. More than any point in my lifetime, I see the fading of the greener-grass syndrome among pastors. Bigger is not necessarily better. And though the possible extra income and staffing could provide relief from their current situations, these reasons are not sufficiently compelling for pastors to leave the churches they serve.Many of the pastors have great relationships in the church. One pastor told us his friendships in the church were the closest he has had in his life. Another pastor shared that many of his church members pray for him daily. He could not imagine leaving the prayer coverage provided by these members.Sometimes, the pastors have no credible alternatives. This reason is not as positive as the others, but it is a reality for many pastors. They have no other churches inquiring about them. Or their training is totally in vocational ministry, and they have no other marketable skill sets. At least they perceive that they could not do other vocations. 

To be clear, we still see the next few years as a time of heavy turnover among pastors. But we also wanted to be clear that not all pastors are looking to leave.

Many are indeed more determined than ever to stay.

Let us hear from you.

The post Six Reasons Why Many Pastors Will Not Leave Their Churches appeared first on Church Answers.

The Sermon Prep Breakthrough Moment

I may be totally alone in this, but my guess is that there are other pastors out there that look for this moment each week.

It’s what I call the sermon prep breakthrough moment.

It’s that moment when everything begins to click. It’s the moment where the main idea of the passage aligns with the main idea of the sermon. It’s the moment where the supporting points align with the main idea of the sermon. It’s the moment where a key illustration comes to mind. It’s the moment where a big call to action begins to take place. It’s that moment where my heart is stirred personally.

Everything seems downhill in my sermon prep after I reach this breakthrough moment. For me personally, it takes a lot of work to get to this moment. My best guess is that about 2/3 of my time in sermon prep is working to get to this breakthrough moment, even though I write my sermon almost entirely in the final 1/3 of my sermon prep.

So, how do I arrive at this breakthrough moment?

Pray. Sermon prep has to start here. You can’t prepare a sermon without complete dependence on the Holy Spirit.Read the passage over and over again. I love to print out the passage on a single sheet of paper. I read it over and over until it seeps deep into my heart.Study and research. There are many smart people who have either studied or researched so much of the Bible. I know I don’t know it all, so I love to learn from others.Spend time alone with God meditating over the passage. I love to go on a run with the idea of simply hearing from God about my sermon. My wife will often ask when I return from my run, “What did God tell you while you were running?” I love spending time alone with God while reflecting on the sermon passage.Write down as much as possible. That single sheet of paper that I mentioned above is where I write everything down. I always have it close by throughout my week because I never know when another piece of the sermon might come to mind.Pray some more. Just because you pray first doesn’t mean you don’t pray again. Pray some more.

What about you?

Am I alone in this breakthrough moment? For those who prepare sermons, is this something you see each week? If so, how do you get to this breakthrough moment?

The post The Sermon Prep Breakthrough Moment appeared first on Church Answers.

Why You Can’t Do Social Media Alone

When I first joined my current church staff, I was assigned the task of overhauling our digital communications. This meant everything from the website to online worship and social media. The church was behind in all three of these areas. 

My first inclination was to start building our presence on social media. It seemed as if this was the easiest way for us to get a win. So I dove head first into the task. However, I made a crucial error. I decided that I alone would handle our social media. I put everything on my shoulders and eventually ran into three problems. 

First, I started to run dry on content ideas. There were only so many ways I could spin small group invitations or summer camp announcements. I never got the point to where I was out of ideas, however, my ideas no longer seemed fresh or new.

Second, our social media was starting to sound too much like me. My writing style is direct and sometimes curt. That may work for social networks like Twitter, but Facebook (where a lot of our female audience is) needed more of an outgoing, cheerful tone.

Third, our social media was being built around my personal preferences. I prefer Twitter so I spent a good portion of my time there, however, the majority of our audience is on Facebook and Instagram.

So how do you avoid making the above mistakes? Well, I think the solution is to include others in your social media. By “others” I’m referring to your staff or volunteers who are willing to help you run your church’s social media. This can be anyone who’s willing to help you brainstorm, cover events, or monitor accounts. I’ve found that by including others we’ve seen three huge benefits to our social media.

1. Your Social Media Will Be Well-Rounded

As I said above, my second mistake was that our social media was sounding too much like my voice. However, when we brought in Morgan Comer to run our social media. The tone changed to warm, friendly, and inviting. (It also helps that she’s an extrovert.)

2. It Lets People Play to Their Strengths

Again, keep in mind social media is still part of my job, but sometimes my introverted nature prevents me from being as outgoing as we need to be. So when Morgan runs our social media, those moments play to her strengths. When we need to be quick and direct (i.e. sermon quotes or announcements), those moments play to my strengths.

3. It Helps You Avoid Burnout

Every month our communications team comes together for our monthly content meeting. It’s where we review our content calendar and brainstorm ideas for the next month. This time is extremely valuable for us because it allows all three of us to speak into our content. When one of us is feeling burnout, usually the other two can help compensate.

What If You’re a Small Church?

Okay, so you may be thinking “That’s great, but what if I’m at a small church?” If you’re at a small church, you have to rely on volunteers. There’s no easy way to get around it. You don’t necessarily need to have them run your social media accounts, but you can meet with a small team every month to help you brainstorm your next month of social media and help identify your weak spots. 

Don’t make the mistake I made by thinking that you can create and maintain social media by yourself. You can’t. Instead, use other people’s gifts to speak into your church’s content and give it new life. Your content will be better and your audience will be grateful for the variety.

The post Why You Can’t Do Social Media Alone appeared first on Church Answers.

An Example of a Brief Church Covenant

I recently posted an article that gave an example of a covenant pastors can make with their churches. It is what the pastors use at my church.  

Several commenters pointed out it was a one-way covenant, which is true. What was not included in that article was how all church members, pastors included, covenant with each other. My church has two covenants. The first is between all members, pastors included. The second is a commitment pastors make to the church. 

The example below is our first covenant, one between all members. It is intentionally brief. The purpose of the covenant is to make clear our seven expectations of membership. The “I will” statements are important because they make explicit the actions and behavior expected of members.

Since it is specific to our church, many of you may not agree with every part of every point. But if you are looking for an example covenant as a starting point for your church, you may use this one. 

As a member of West Bradenton Baptist Church, I will fulfill the following expectations:

I will worship the one true God with other West Bradenton Baptist church members for as long as I am physically able. The goal of my regular weekly worship is to give God glory. I will grow spiritually through regular involvement in groups and classes at West Bradenton Baptist Church in addition to regular personal devotional times. I understand the purpose of these groups and classes is building community with other believers and holding each other accountable. I will serve Christ through the mission work of West Bradenton Baptist Church. I am created to serve others through good works. I am commanded by God to make disciples of every nation, tribe, people, and language through the local church. I will support the church’s mission to share the gospel from the local neighborhood to the ends of the earth. I will give to God abundantly and joyfully, recognizing God as the owner of all things. Giving my tithe and time to God brings me closer to Him. I will seek unity with other church members. I recognize God’s design for the church is unity in diversity, and I will put the interests of others above my personal preferences. I will guard the reputation of the church and submit to discipline for any sin problems in my life. I will pray for and submit to the leadership of West Bradenton Baptist Church. I will pray privately and with the church corporately. I will pray for people to accept Christ, and I will pray for more disciples to grow in their faith. I will share the good news of Jesus with others. I will make my attitude that of Christ and, through humility, make the gospel my priority through selfless, good works and evangelism.

With Christ as my Lord and Savior, being baptized by immersion after my salvation, being led by the Holy Spirit, and being in agreement with West Bradenton Baptist Church’s covenant, doctrine, and leadership, I joyfully unite with the church and commit myself to God and the other members.

The post An Example of a Brief Church Covenant appeared first on Church Answers.

A Challenging Word of Encouragement for Hurting Pastors Today

You might feel you’re pastoring the church at Corinth today, and your heart’s hurting. A quick look at that church shows they were about as messy as a church can get. They were, among other things: arguing and divided, living carnally, tolerating sin, suing each other, abusing their spiritual liberty, observing the Lord’s Supper wrongly, battling over spiritual gifts, and denying the resurrection. Surely this was a church any sane pastor would want to avoid.

Nevertheless, I’m struck by the way Paul began and ended the letter of 1 Corinthians. Before the apostle ever hammered away at their vices—and that he did—he began by letting them know he always thanked God for them. He saw them as a uniquely gifted congregation, called into fellowship with the Son who would complete His work in them (1 Cor 1:4-9). If we stopped with these verses, in fact, we would see the Corinthian church as a glowing one. 

Then, Paul ended this letter with one of the most intimate closures of any of his New Testament letters: “My love be with all of you in Christ Jesus” (1 Cor 16:24). He truly loved these people, and he wanted them to know that fact so well that he closed this letter with these words. So, Paul thanked God for them in chapter 1 and expressed his love for them in chapter 16—and in between, he essentially said, “You’re an absolute mess!” Somehow, Paul was able to see God’s hand in His church despite all the apparent victories of the enemy.

Here’s my point. None of the churches we pastor is perfect. The folks we lead are sinners. They still fight. They don’t always exhibit the strongest theology. The enemy still wins in their lives far too often.

Yet, our churches are also still made up of God’s people. Still, He has gifted each of them in some capacity. Still, God will complete His work in them. 

And, still, we must thank God for our congregations and love them—even when they drive us crazy. In fact, we earn the credibility to speak into their messes when our gratitude and love for them are genuine and obvious. 

If you’re a hurting pastor, I encourage you to pray these prayers today:

“Lord, bring me to the place where I can thank You for Your people.”“Give me a love for them that’s undeniable and deep.”“Grant me wisdom to know when and how to address their messiness.”

May God use you today, pastor!

The post A Challenging Word of Encouragement for Hurting Pastors Today appeared first on Church Answers.

Five Moves Churches Are Making in the Second COVID Spike

Many areas are seeing a COVID spike a second time, some even greater than the first spike. We have been communicating with hundreds of pastors each week who contact Church Answers with questions and information.

When COVID became known and pervasive, most churches immediately ceased all in-person activities, including worship services. The most common responses included establishing digital worship services and digital small groups. This time, the responses are different. Of course, we understand that every church and every context are different. Still, we see five common themes among most of the churches in their latest responses to the pandemic. 

Continuing in-person services with less participation. This time, most churches have decided to keep the in-person services open. But the leaders have encouraged those with health challenges, the elderly, and those with any exposure to COVID patients and victims to remain at home and watch the services virtually. Obviously, worship attendance has been hit again by this move.Renewing emphasis on digital services. Churches in general have gone through three phases with digital services. First, they moved to digital with enthusiasm and effort. Second, as they returned to in-person services, many churches gave much less attention to streaming services. Now, in the third phase, churches are renewing their emphasis on digital services. More church leaders are realizing they should not have decreased their emphasis on digital services at all.Making adjustments to the budget. Many church leaders were pleasantly surprised to see giving stay strong in the early stages of the pandemic. There was a sense that church members were rallying to a cause. The stimulus funding by the federal government helped as well. Then, the giving began to wane in many churches. We anticipate giving to be down around 20% in 2021, even with the second round, and possibly a third round, of stimulus funding.Many small groups returning to digital. Some churches have moved all of their small groups back to digital. Other churches have a mix of in-person and digital small groups. The churches that have maintained their emphasis on small groups, whether digital or in-person, are typically among the healthiest congregations today.More staff transitioning to co-vocational. There is a clear and definitive trend of vocational ministry staff moving to a co-vocational role. Some of the moves are by financial necessity. These staff are typically called bi-vocational. They have two paying jobs, one at the church and another in secular ministry. The church does not have the resources to pay the person full-time. More are moving into co-vocational roles by choice, either coming from secular vocations or going to secular vocations. The “tentmaker” ministry may be among the biggest changes in church life in 2021. 

We will keep you updated as we get feedback from the church leaders we serve at Church Answers. And we would love to hear from you about the steps you are currently taking at your church.

Thank you for serving. Let us hear how you are doing.

The post Five Moves Churches Are Making in the Second COVID Spike appeared first on Church Answers.