Thom S. Rainer's Blog, page 82

Ten Reasons Why Your Church Members Are Ornery in the Pandemic

There have been three consistent questions our team has received during the pandemic.

In the first weeks the question was, “When do you think we can return to in-person services?” 

As a number of churches began to regather, the question became, “When will more of our church members return to in-person services?” 

Today, a common question we get at Church Answers is, “Why are so many of our church members ornery?” 

The answer may seem obvious, that we are experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. After all, who would not be concerned, frustrated, and uncertain? But as we dug deeper talking with pastors and other church leaders, we began to understand there is no simple response to the latter question.

Indeed, we are finding the “ornery factor” to be more complex than it initially seemed. Here are ten of the factors putting your church members in a concerned and bad mood: 

They are weary. The cumulative toll of the pandemic is telling. Some are weary because loved ones and friends have COVID. Some are just tired because of the pandemic in general.


They are confused. It’s difficult to get a consistent story about COVID. Even the organizations of expertise don’t seem to be on the same page. 


They are fearful. It’s easy to tell a believer he or she should not fear. It’s a challenge to fight fear with the barrage of bad news we get every day. 


They feel like they have lost their church. In some ways, they have lost their church. It will not likely return to the way it was pre-pandemic. 


They are weary of the cultural fights. In one day, I counted fourteen different cultural issues in the news where one or more groups were fighting others. 


They are stressed because it’s presidential election season. The four-year cycle is here. It is always a stressful time even without a pandemic.


They see so much negativity on social media. Indeed, Facebook and other social media can be harmful to your mental and emotional health. Social media is a magnifying glass to negativity. It gives a voice to those who were rightly ignored in the past. 


They miss gathering with their friends at church. I know. The church is the people, not the building. I get that reminder daily. But the church is supposed to gather, and digital gatherings just have not sufficiently replaced in-person worship. 


They have lost their outward focus. One of the reasons for the orneriness is self-focus. When we are focusing on what is wrong in our lives, we are not focusing on reaching and ministering to others. A self-focused church is an ornery church.


They lament that their regular patterns have been disrupted. Even the most change-oriented of us need some type of routine in our lives. So many of our routines have been totally disrupted by the pandemic. 

If you sense your church members are getting a bit ornery, you are probably right. Indeed, you as a church leader may be struggling with some of these same issues. 

Let me hear from you.

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Making the Most of Time

Chaos creators and time wasters make life difficult for themselves and those around them. They misuse their own time and squander the precious moments of those who love and work with them. They are notorious for not returning phone calls, missing appointments, showing up late, misplacing important documents, and not being prepared for important meetings. Everyone misses things on occasion, but these individuals have turned it into an art form. They rarely take responsibility for their actions but routinely find ways to create chaos in every aspect of their life and ministry. At the core of the chaos is the mismanagement of the gift of time.

Last year, I had a small heart attack that required cardiac bypass surgery and it changed the way I looked at time and my ministry.  I reevaluated my pastoral calling and the way I invested or misappropriated time. I was not a chaos creator or one who wasted time haphazardly, but I needed to make some corrective changes to be healthy in body, soul, and spirit and to be more considerate of others with my time. Here are a few insights I gained:

Live by priorities and not by pressure.
Learn how to value planning.
Put people around you who are empowered to veto activities you should not be doing.
Create buffer zones and boundaries in your life so that you have better control over interruptions that steal your time and readjust your priorities. 
Evaluate your energy level so that you give your best when you are most alert, rejuvenated, and mentally focused. 
Develop systems to take care of things that you must do routinely like returning calls, checking email, etc.
Get rid of emotional clutter by resolving interpersonal conflicts quickly so that you do not carry the issue around in your head or heart beyond what is necessary.
Don’t allow yourself to take on assignments that belong to someone else. Support and assist without taking responsibility for what others are accountable for. 
Use your calendar to put deadlines on yourself and share it with someone so they can hold you accountable.
Assess your team to ensure you are able to delegate tasks to them. If not, you will need to train them or trade them.
Create a space in your work environment for everything and handle paper once. Put it in its place, in the hand of someone who can do something with it, or put in the trash can.  One of the greatest time wasters is looking for things we misplaced. 
Learn to say, “NO”!
Realize that God has given each of us the gift of time and we must use it wisely.  Ephesians 5:15-17 records, “Be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.  Don’t act thoughtlessly,  but understand what the Lord wants you to do.”.

If a man or woman lived to be 78 years old and that life was represented on a 24-hour clock it means: a 10 years old person is at approximately 3:00am, 20 years old is at 6:00am, 30 years old 9:00am, 40 years old is at noon, 50 years old is at 3:00pm, 60 years old is approximately 6:00pm. At 60 there is less than 6 hours to midnight!

What time is it for you and are using it wisely?

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Hospitality is the New Apologetic

Maybe you’ve noticed that our society is just a bit divided.

Whether it’s political persuasions, social justice issues, or even the dreaded Starbucks vs. Dunkin’ debate, we’ve all become experts in drawing a line in the sand, circling our wagons with those who agree with us, and villainizing those who oppose us. Social media has produced social pariahs. Twitter has made us loud-mouthed twits. Facebook has become our platform to save face and refuse grace. 

Even if we’re not overt about it … even if we keep our opinions to ourselves and only use Facebook for pictures of puppies … we can confess that we do tend to hold tightly to our stance on political persuasions, social justice issues, or even the dreaded Starbucks vs. Dunkin’ debate. And that means we occasionally pray our own version of Luke 18:11: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers … or even like those who enjoy burnt coffee.”

Our Dilemma

In the church world, we’ve all heard the adage and accusation that we’re too often known by what we’re against rather than what we’re for. But what if we could change that? What if we were known as a people more interested in compassion than coercion? More interested in winning a friendship rather than winning an argument?

A New Way

I believe that in our incredibly divided society, kindness and hospitality can serve as a new apologetic. 

My generation grew up with youth pastors who taught us to defend our faith, argue from Scripture, and convince people why the way of the cross was the best way. And to be clear: I absolutely believe that Scripture should drive us and the cross should compel us. I believe that sin is real and salvation is provided through Jesus and Jesus alone.

But our unbelieving community doesn’t necessarily believe that.

And so beginning with “Thus saith the Lord” may not carry the weight that it used to.

But beginning with “How can I befriend this person?” just might. 

Jesus’ Example 

As I read the gospels, I find it fascinating that people who were nothing like Jesus really liked Jesus. He drew others in through dialogue instead of debate. He had dinner with sinners and gave grace to the broken. In fact, Luke 7:34 labels Jesus as a “friend of sinners.” That’s an incredible, nonsensical, counter-intuitive statement. Jesus was nothing like a sinner. He was 100% sin-free. Yet He befriended those at the opposite end of the spectrum.

Our Response 

For those of us in church leadership, re-discovering Jesus as “friend of sinners” leads to staggering implications. It means that our weekend services need to be planned – at least partially – through the filter of unbelieving guests: will they find judgment or grace? Systems to keep them out or processes to draw them in?

And it means that our weekday lives have to be lived with intentionality towards our unbelieving community, asking the question “How can I befriend this person?” rather than “How can I convince this person I’m right?”

Our society might well be divided, but let’s count ourselves among those who stand in the gap for others. 

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Listening When You Can’t Possibly Hear Everyone

As a leader, you should want to be at the ground level. All leaders should listen carefully, with the posture of learning. But you can’t possibly be with everyone all the time. If you lead a church of more than 75 people (the median church size), then it’s tough to listen to everyone. Even if you tried, decisions that should take weeks could end up taking years. You would become a poor leader because of an inability to steward time.

Some leaders use listening as an excuse not to make a decision. They hide their lack of vision, lack of discernment, or lack of courage to make a decision behind the guise of listening to people. But that’s not most leaders. Most leaders should listen more.

How can you listen when you can’t possibly hear everyone? 

Use discernment. Not everyone wants to be heard on every issue. At any given point, only a portion of people will have strong opinions. Some won’t have an opinion. Others may not have the expertise or experience to weigh in on a particular topic. It’s not necessary to get everyone’s take all the time. The best listening leaders know how to steward time.


Be accessible. You can’t be available to everyone, but you can be accessible. Constant availability is a trap. Available church leaders are in one spot, on demand and at the command of others’ schedules. Accessibility means you’re reachable and approachable. Accessible church leaders have an intentional strategy to be among as many people as possible, but on their own schedules.


Take time. If you need an extra month to track the pulse of the congregation, take it. Dragging out a decision for a year is indecisive leadership. Taking an extra week or month may mean the difference of respecting the voice of the congregation or not.


Utilize others. Use staff, elders, deacons, or other key leaders to be the—constant—eyes and ears. You can’t be everywhere, but you can have ears listening in many places for you.


Don’t hide. Leadership is a gift from followers. Don’t selfishly hoard it by hiding. Hold town hall gatherings. Attend committee meetings. Visit Bible study classes. Hang out. Simply be among the people and listen. Perhaps people will talk about how you listen.


Follow up. Lastly, one of the best ways to listen is to follow up personally with detractors. Winning them over can go a long way for future work, and it also makes a statement to the congregation that you’re willing to hear all sides.

You can’t possibly listen to everyone. But you can make sure everyone has a voice.

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Ten of the Most Influential Books on My Ministry

I recently hit the 65-year-old marker. In addition to being old, I have a lot of ministry years under my belt.

In a recent conversation with my youngest son, Jess, I shared with him a book that had a profound influence on my ministry. The conversation sent me down memory lane. I began to reflect on all the books that had influenced me. I wondered if I could distill them down to just ten books. 

Keep in mind, these are not necessarily the best books in their genre. Every one of you will wonder why I didn’t include a book you deemed worthy. These books, however, came at pivotal points in my life. I remember each of them and cherish them like long-term, trusted friends. Here are my personal top ten: 

Evangelism in the Early Church by Michael Green (first published in 1970). I’ve read this book around twenty times. It is a constant reminder to me that the church of today should be reaching people with the gospel no matter what. It is a great history of the first 250 years of Christianity. More importantly for me, it has been a powerful reminder where my heart and actions should be.
What the Bible Is All About by Henrietta Mears (1953). The influence of Henrietta Mears on my life is incalculable. God put this book in my path when I was a new Christian. For the first time, I understood the big picture of all Scripture, as well as grasping the essence of each of the 66 books of the Bible.
The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman (1964). The late Billy Graham described this book as one of the most influential evangelism books in history. Its thesis is simple: How did Jesus communicate His message to others and draw them to Himself? The thesis is simple, but the application is powerful. This book has been a WWJD guide for me as I seek to share the good news with others.
Good to Great by Jim Collins (2001). This book is one of two books from the business world that made my list. I wrote a book using the research framework as Collins’ book. The title of the book, with Collins’ permission, was Good to Great Churches. Then his attorney got involved and nixed the title (after I had recorded the complete audio book with the first title!). The book then became Breakout Churches.
The Book of Acts (New International Commentary) by F. F. Bruce (1988). This commentary has great historical content while dealing with the texts with precision. I have always been fascinated with Acts, so I had trouble deciding which commentary was my favorite. The Acts commentary by John Polhill was my runner-up.
Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J. I. Packer (1961). While Packer does a masterful job of addressing the issue of God’s sovereignty and the responsibility of believers to do evangelism, the book’s impact on me was more inspirational than theological. It motivated me to do evangelism. Then again, the motivation from the book came from its biblical foundations and theological insights. I have read this book around a dozen times.
The Interventionist by Lyle Schaller (1997). To my knowledge, this book was the first book ever written specifically about and for church consultants. Schaller wrote nearly 100 books, and his grasp of local church life has greatly influenced my life and writings. I have only written 33 books, so I will not get close to his prolificacy. My favorite question by Schaller was “What year is it?” It is his reference to understanding the time a church has contextually parked itself.
Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours? by Roland Allen (1912). Though the book was written over a century ago, this tome is reflective of one of the greatest church entrepreneurial minds ever. Allen refused to accept “the way we’ve always done it” as the way it should be done in church life. He compared the practices of local congregations to the New Testament churches started and influenced by Paul. He ruffled a lot of feathers in his day.
Leading Change by John Kotter (1988). This book is the second of two business books on my list and, like Good to Great, it is a classic. Kotter shaped my understanding of change leadership more than any one person. I used his framework and applied it to local churches in my book, Who Moved My Pulpit?
Understanding Church Growth by Donald A. McGavran (1970). This book was foundational in shaping the church growth movement that influenced so many churches in the second half of the twentieth century. Many critics of the movement have no idea what it really means as they often and wrongly think it’s the same as the seeker-sensitive movement. I would have rated this book higher, but McGavran was not a fluid writer. I thus use it more as a reference book rather than a book I read repeatedly. 

Again, these are the books that shaped my life and ministry personally. Admittedly, it is an eclectic collection. But I was introduced to each book at key and pivotal points in my life.

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Four Immediate Effects of COVID-19 on Your Church’s Communication

There’s probably not a single ministry in your church right now that is not feeling the effects of COVID19. Whether it’s your media ministry learning how to live-stream or your small group leaders learning how to lead on Zoom, everyone is learning to do ministry differently. 

One area that I would imagine has felt the most impact is your church’s communications. It may be your social media, your website, or your weekly email to your congregation. There is a tremendous amount of pressure to communicate more effectively than ever before. 

In this post, we’re going to look at four immediate effects of COVID-19 on your church’s communication and how you can retool your communications to adapt. 

Your church does not have everyone’s full attention. 

One of the advantages of Sunday morning worship is that you have your audience’s full attention. Of course, people still look at their phones or daydream during worship, but for the most part you have their attention. 

However, when you remove that weekly ritual of coming to a physical location and instead replace it with a screen (i.e., live streaming of worship), your audience’s attention will inevitably be fractured. So you’re now in a situation where you may get a few minutes here or there, but not a full hour like you would on Sunday morning. 

A fractured attention span will require you to think in “micro-moments.” By “micro-moments,” I’m referring to thinking of small moments through which you can connect to keep the audience’s attention. Instead of thinking of our sermon as one 30-minute monologue, think of how you can break it up into ten 3-minute segments. Yes, it will still be one cohesive sermon, but consider how you can keep the audience’s attention for each segment since their attention is fractured. 

You’re now on equal footing with every church on the globe.

In a pre-COVID world, people typically judged churches on how big their buildings were or how large their attendance was. If you had excellent facilities and a growing audience, then you could, in turn, attract more people. 

However, when we move to everything being in a purely digital space, every church is equal. Sure some churches have more resources, but they all have the same platforms at their disposal. Websites, emails, and social media platforms are available to every single church. This availability means that every church has an equal opportunity to reach people in their community. 

The worship service is no longer your primary method of communication.

I’ve long been a proponent of shaping your social media around the worship service. I pushed for this because the worship service was the one communal event that a congregation shared. The other advantage was that the worship service was a prime place to communicate your top priorities to your congregation. 

However, as I explained in point #1, your congregation’s attention is fractured. You’re only getting a small sliver of their attention. This means that you’re going to need to find new ways to communicate your key messages to your audience. 

You can only provide your audience with one call to action.

We’ve all seen those church bulletins that are filled with multiple events, Bible studies, and mission trip opportunities. But we’re now in a place where either worship service is online, and you can’t physically hand someone a bulletin; or you’re currently meeting in person, and you can’t hand anyone a bulletin for fear of spreading COVID. 

The lack of a physical handout is going to require you to pare down your messages to a single call to action. What is the one thing you want your congregation to do? When they leave the worship service either in your building or online, would they know what the next action is? These questions will need to be a primary driver when you’re planning your worship services.

Final Thought

While we’re all hoping that we can return to some sort of normal in the next few months, there’s a high probability that some of these effects will be permanent. The challenge will be for your church to be agile enough to adapt to these changes and propel the church into the future. 

 

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Leading When You Are Not the Leader

I love learning about history, particularly about WWII. I find the stories of the greatest generation inspiring and extremely thought-provoking. Some of the greatest leaders in the last century came out of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. Recently, I finished two fascinating books about Presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1944) and Harry S. Truman (The Accidental President). 

One of the most striking observations of both presidents was their ability to lead when they weren’t the leader. Of course they were the clear leaders of the United States, but they were equals during negotiations with other world leaders. Both FDR and Truman knew they must be disciplined to listen and be personally fit to lead.

As disciplined listeners FDR and Truman took the time to clearly understand the explicit and implicit goals of their peers.

What are the explicit goals? In most churches this is the mission statement posted in your bulletin or the words posted on the walls around your building. It is important to have explicit goals giving your church purpose. Many of the people visiting your church will be drawn to a place that has clear purpose for them and their community.
What are the implicit goals? Sometimes these goals aren’t as easy to communicate. Implicit goals are not plainly expressed and could take a staff member or regular attender months to uncover. Often implicit goals are a reflection of your culture. In some cases the implicit goals overrule the explicit goals.

Leading personally means you are F.I.T. to lead:

Feel – How do people feel about you when you walk into the room? It is important to cultivate a positive chemistry with the people around you.

Integrity – This is closely related to how people feel, but think is very important to differentiate. You can have a ton of integrity, but if you are a jerk no one will follow you. Integrity speaks to your character and if you are someone who is disciplined to make the right decisions even if it means you have to admit you were wrong.

Talent – You don’t have to be the most talented person in the room, but you do have to understand amongst the team where your talents are best used. People want to know that you are competent, dependable, and ready to do your part. Some of the best leaders are the ones who are willing to acquire new talents when the task demands them to.

Leading when you aren’t the leader is hard. I believe you become a more effective leader when you understand the explicit and implicit goals of the people and churches or organizations you are leading. Individually, we also should strive to be F.I.T. leaders that people want to follow.  

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Why the Way You Leave a Church is More Important than How You Came

As a layperson or a church staff member, it’s likely you’ve left a church at some point – or will leave a church in the future. When that happens, I hope you’ll remember the points of this post.

People will remember how you leave. They’ll forget even the most miraculous works of God to bring you to the church if you leave in a negative way. Even a few weeks of negative can erase years of positive.
Those who remain may be wounded if you leave poorly. Especially if they’ve loved and respected you, they may not understand why you’ve suddenly changed. Long-term friendships can be broken.
Your family can be scarred by a bad ending. You might try to shield them from the pain, but few of us do that well when we’re wounded.
Poor closures usually color future ministry opportunities. Once you’ve been hurt and carry wounds, you’ll always wonder if more wounds lie in the future.
Division left by bad departures can destroy a congregation’s unity. This sometimes happens when departing members challenge others to take sides on the issues.
Good departures make ministry a celebration. Rejoicing over victories is always better than battling over remaining disagreements.
Healthy closure paves the way for the next leaders. One of the best ways to help the church’s next leader is to leave in joyful response to God’s calling – not in anger.
Leaving well fosters long-term friendships. Moving to a different church doesn’t have to harm relationships if the departure is handled well.
Good leavings promote Christian unity. Regardless of where we serve, we pray for and love other congregations when we’ve left well. Good memories promote harmony between churches.
People will remember how you leave. So, I repeat #1 above, but with a different flavor. Leave in a positive way, and churches often forgive years of negative. 

What would you add to this list? 

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Fifteen Characteristics of Genuinely Friendly Churches

As churches begin to regather for in-person services, some areas of guest friendliness will change, at least for the short-term. For example, for precautionary reasons we likely will not be giving guests physical gifts.

As I have consulted with churches over the years, I have assembled data on what I called GFCs, genuinely friendly churches. I set certain parameters for GFCs; then I attempted to measure the guest return rates for those churches. A guest return rate is simply the percentage of guests who will return to the church for at least a second visit.

Here is the simple but profound difference I found in GFCs and all other churches: A genuinely friendly church has a guest return rate six times greater than other churches.

Did you get that? If a church meets the guidelines to be a GFC, the probability of a guest returning is six times higher than all other churches! Sadly, only about one of twenty churches meets the criteria necessary to be a GFC.

When I began as a consultant, I had 10 criteria, and the church had to meet at least eight of those criteria to be a GFC. I have since expanded the list to 15, and require churches to meet 12 of the 15 to be a GFC. Here are the 15 characteristics of genuinely friendly churches:

They are intentional about being friendly. Warmth and friendliness are clear values of these churches. They are articulated regularly. All organizations, including churches, naturally drift toward an inward focus unless they are otherwise intentional.
The leaders model warmth, humility, and friendliness. The friendliness is not contrived or phony. These leaders have prayerfully become genuinely friendly men and women.
The leaders are clear that genuine friendliness is more than a brief stand and greet time in a worship service. The efficacy of a stand and greet time has been debated extensively in a previously published article. Regardless of a church’s decision in this practice, leaders in GFCs were adamant that true hospitality and friendliness extends beyond a two-minute welcome time.
GFCs utilize a secret guest at least twice a year. One small church of which I am aware budgets $100 a year for a secret guest. They pay the guest with a $50 gift card to come to the church and provide feedback on their experience. I call this process “looking in the mirror” because it gives the church a real opportunity to see itself as others do.
GFCs had a guest friendly website. The website typically set the tone for a guest. If it did not have obvious information for a guest, such as worship times and addresses, the guest came to the church with a more negative disposition.
The church has clear signage. Far too many churches lack this signage. They assume that everyone knows where everything is. First-time guests know nothing about the church or its different facilities.
GFCs have a well-organized greeters’ ministry. They have greeters in the parking lot, greeters in the entrances, and greeters in other strategic locations inside. Many GFCs utilize newer members in this ministry.
These churches have clear information places. It may be something as simple as a well-marked table manned by a member of the church. The signage points clearly to the information table, booth, or kiosk.
GFCs have clean and neat buildings. It is amazing how much a clean facility adds to the positive mood of a guest. It is equally amazing how few churches pay attention to this issue.
They have a guest feedback process. To the best of their ability, GFCs follow up with guests to get feedback on their experiences. They also encourage the guests to be open and frank in the feedback.
The children’s area is clearly safe and sanitary. Don’t expect young parents to return if the church does not give clear attention to this matter.
The majority of church members in GFCs are involved in the community. They thus exude genuine friendliness in the worship services because they are regularly connecting with non-church members other days of the week.
Small groups are highly intentional about reaching people beyond their own groups. Thus when these group members are in a worship service, they are already accustomed to reaching out beyond those with whom they already have relationships.
GFCs have new member classes that emphasize the responsibilities and expectations of church members. Members are thus more apt to look beyond their own preferences to serve others. That attitude shows up in the worship services.
GFCs demonstrate an awareness of and sensitivity to COVID-19 concerns. This issue will likely be around for a while.

Give your church an honest evaluation of these 15 items. See if you can give an emphatic “yes” to at least 12 of them. If not, what should your church change?

This post originally appeared in November 2014. It has been updated to reflect changes related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Six Things You Inherit as a New Pastor at an Established Church

Welcome to your new church. Most everyone is excited to meet you. Few will remember your first sermon, but many will tell you it was great. If your church is going to vote on you, then the percentage of “yes” votes is likely to be high. The reason is simple. The vast majority of church members want to follow a good leader, and they want their church to thrive. But be careful. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking every day will be like the first.

You’re at an established church, which means there are a few things already in place. During the leadership honeymoon, you’ll begin to figure out exactly what you are inheriting. You will want to tweak something. Some of your church members may think you are moving too quickly. Some will put you on a pedestal. Most will go with the flow. The “new” label will drop from your title.

Considerate pastors understand what they are inheriting before people stop introducing them as the “new pastor.” Here a few examples of the things you inherit as a new pastor of an established church.

You inherit people. Don’t miss this. You lead people, not processes. There will be plenty of established processes to discover, but you should know the people first. And if you don’t love the people where they are now, then you don’t deserve to lead them now or later.
You inherit a culture. Some people will be new. Some will be long standing members. Others will show up your first day and stick with you. Others will leave your first day. The culture of your church, however, is likely deeply rooted. Culture is created by people, but it’s also bigger than any one person. No individual—including the pastor—will change the culture quickly.
You inherit a staff. It’s important to understand the influence of the staff on people and culture. A newer, younger staff is often less influential than a long-tenured staff. And the culture of the staff may be quite different than the culture of the church.
You inherit a schedule. At one church I pastored, the second service began at 10:55am. I asked a few people, “Why the extra five minutes?” Every answer was different. No one agreed on why, but everyone agreed on what. The service started at 10:55am.
You inherit expectations. If your new church has 400 people, then you have 400 different sets of expectations about you. These expectations are an amalgamation of ideals, previous leaders at your church, personal preferences, and favorite pastors and church leaders in culture.
You inherit traditions. Some things stick for generations because they are good for generations. Other traditions need to go. Figuring out which traditions are good, bad, and ugly can take time. Don’t assume your gut reactions to church traditions are correct. Take the time to learn why they exist.

Your new church will welcome you. The first day, first week, first month, and perhaps the first year will go well. Use the time to understand better what you are inheriting.

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