Dave Jacobs, our pastor coach friend from Rogue River, OR joins us for a very helpful and fun podcast episode on the topic of being misunderstood in ministry. If you've never been misunderstood, just wait, next week is coming!
Communication is the name of the game for small church pastors, and wherever communication abounds, misunderstandings do much more abound. Well, at least sometimes. The worst is when they come at you out of the blue - out of left field! Dave and the guys give some great suggestions for handling those misunderstandings, and even reducing the frequency of misunderstandings in your pastoral ministry with your church family. As we say in this episode, Dave Jacobs is a great resource for small church pastors. Why die on the vine and suffer alone? Why miss out on the encouragement and coaching that Dave can give you? Check him out on SmallChurchPastor.com or send him a personal message at Dave@smallchurchpastor.com. In this episode, Jeff revealed that he'd never heard of Barry White before! Can you believe it?! Jeff must live under a rock! Here's the guy he never heard of - the inimitable Barry White!
In this episode, Jonny and I discuss the challenge of speaking truth into each other's lives. We specifically talk about one of the many times we have had to challenge each other - and in this instance, Jonny comes to me to talk about a couple of my recent messages...
He has some "concerns". We hope that this episode encourages you to redouble your efforts to create an environment in your small church ministry where the truth is spoken in love, even when it hurts! Enjoy! I attended a large church yesterday. It wasn’t a mega church, but it was large, probably around 2,000 people. Is that a mega church?? It might have been twenty years ago, but not today. Anyway, I attended a large church yesterday! There was a large parking lot, greeters at the door, and the next door, and the next door. There was a very spacious “welcome mall” with great signage and helpful volunteers stationed about here and there.
There was helpful literature with great graphics and cool flat panel monitors broadcasting all manner of helpful pictures, video, and promotions. In the auditorium there were well padded seats, a kickin’ sound system, colored stage lights, fog machines, a very cool worship team with awesome music, an amped up well-worded introduction to the morning theme, a series intro video, casually dressed staff and a casually dressed pastor presenting a very dynamic, but down to earth, message. Oh yeah, and he had a very cool bar stool to sit on, with a padded round seat that could really spin! I knew the message would be soft pedaled and light on Scripture. I knew it would be interesting, but not too convicting, funny, but with enough content to make a person think, short, but long enough to validate a pastoral paycheck. I knew it would be church-lite, Bible-lite, and God-lite. Okay, not really. I didn’t really know these things about the message. But, here’s what it was really like… It was unbelievably excellent and effective! The message was from 1 Corinthians 6 and contained about the most straightforward warning against sexual sin one could present. It was Andy Stanleyesque, in the very best sense. The pastor used story, and self-deprecating humor when necessary, to draw the congregation in. He asked the questions out loud that they were thinking silently. He piqued their interest for an answer to the question “Why?!” Why in the world would God demand that people in the 21st century live by an antiquated and prudish notion that sex should be reserved only for marriage?! He politely asked for 30 minutes of their attention and then assured them at the end that if they would commit to living by God’s design for sexuality, they would be so glad they did! The service concluded with a very powerfully played “Forever Reign” which includes the lyrics: Oh, I'm running to Your arms, I'm running to Your arms. The riches of Your love Will always be enough Nothing compares to Your embrace Light of the world forever reign It was one of the most powerful conclusions to a service that I have ever experienced! At this large church, we were given a very powerful, focused, culturally needed biblical message, wrapped in a winsome and gripping delivery, wrapped in a very crowd-appropriate musically dynamic service. It was an amazing experience. I walked out hating my small church and my life as a small church pastor. Wait a minute! No, I didn’t!! I walked out thankful to God for a church like this that will reach a lot of people and connect them to their loving God. I was thankful for the pastor and staff that God has equipped to do their Kingdom work. And, my friends, I walked out so thankful for my 200church! In my church, it’s different. Not better or worse, just different! I am so thankful for the people at my church, and the opportunity we have in our community to reach people, join them to God through the Gospel of Jesus, equip them to serve God and others, and connect them in meaningful and healing relationships with each other. I was challenged and encouraged yesterday morning in a number of ministry areas, areas where I can up my game, and attempt just a little more for the Kingdom in my own 200church. Dan Reiland wrote a Pastor’s Coach article a while ago that talked about the three dangers that large churches face:
This Wednesday on the 200churches Podcast, episode 63, Dan joins us for the entire episode to talk about those three dangers. It’s a great, personal, and free-wheeling episode that is sure to encourage and challenge you, and of course, make you laugh! You should attend a really large church sometime when you are able. It was fun. It really was. And I lived to tell about it!
Our gratitude goes to Dave Jackson, from the School of Podcasting, who took the time to talk with two podcasting newbies and offered encouragement, support, and affirmation. We only include a third of our conversation with Dave, which lasted almost an hour and a half. Dave spent the time to get to know us, coach us by giving us some podcasting tips, and just generally converse on small church ministry, life, and all things podcasting.
This is a very fun conversation that we think will encourage you in your life and ministry. He offers a critical analysis of the difference between his large church and small church experiences - so we say - "let's learn from what he says and seek to be better pastors, period." His evaluations really apply to churches of all sizes as we seek to love people, connect them to God, and graft them into Kingdom community. Thanks Dave, for being a real friend to so many in the podcasting and Christian communities. You can also find Dave at www.feedingmyfaith.org as he shares his spiritual journey with his listeners on the Feeding My Faith Podcast. Here is the latest episode of Feeding My Faith at the time of this posting. And... you can find him as the co-host, with Ray Ortega, on The Podcaster's Roundtable, a video and audio podcast where Ray and Dave are normally joined by Daniel J. Lewis from The Audacity to Podcast, as well as one or two other Roundtable podcasters they invite to talk with them. Here is their Podcaster's Roundtable YouTube Channel with all of their video shows. Episode Note: Jonny was late joining Dave and I in our conversation, so I, as usual, mock him just a bit when he shows up. The real story is that he was being a good husband and father while Dave and I were shirking our responsibilities! :) No blah blah blah content from us today, just a personal video message wrapping up our Creative Communication theme for the week - then a peak into a very exciting podcast for next week, just below the video... Next week Dan Reiland joins us as we pepper him with questions about his book, Amplified Leadership. We've asked Dan onto the 200churches Podcast because we believe his book speaks very practically to pastors of 200churches.
Dan is not on a book tour, so this will not be a promotional event. Instead, we are going to unpack the content of his book with him, applying it all along to your church and our church - 200churches! Having said that, we would not have him join us if we didn't believe in him as a leader, and appreciate his track record of over 30 years of ministry leadership. So, we would encourage you to get his book, in the real universe, where you hold it in your hand, or on a Kindle - but you have to READ IT. Trust us, it's really practical and will be very helpful to you. Here is Dan's bio - and have a great weekend! Dan Reiland is Executive Pastor at 12Stone® Church in Lawrenceville, Georgia. He previously partnered with John Maxwell for 20 years, first as Executive Pastor at Skyline Wesleyan Church in San Diego, then as Vice President of Leadership and Church Development at INJOY. Dan is best known as a leader with a pastor’s heart and a coach’s instincts. He truly loves the local church, and is described as one of the nation’s most innovative church thinkers. His passion is developing and empowering leaders who want to grow, are willing to take risks, and enjoy the journey. Dan is married to Patti, and they have two kids, Mackenzie and John-Peter who are both college students at Indiana Wesleyan University. Dan is a lover and collector of fine guitars and in a previous life is pretty sure he was a lead guitarist in a rock band.
We have what we think will be a very helpful and encouraging podcast for you with Episode 32. Even as we share this with you, we are working on creative ways in our 200church to share a new series over the next two weeks, and then the following nine weeks. We're excited!
Creative Communication Methods. Wow, that's a mouthful! Why should you embrace creativity in your 200church? Is there really any benefit to communicating "creatively" in your current context? Does it really make a difference when you keep things fresh and flexible in your church?
The short answer is YES! You owe it to yourself and your congregation to communicate in new and fresh ways and to really seek to be creative in the way that you present the Gospel.
Here's a few reasons why:
So what do we mean by "creative communication"? Some examples that we've used in our own 200church include:
We are really excited for the plans we've developed for this fall's message series. We think it will be the best one we've perhaps ever shared with out people. What are some creative things you've done in your own 200church? Have you struggled to keep people engaged in the past? We'd love to hear your feedback in the comments! Well, this is an easy one, right?! Just make sure that at some point during your message, three armed police officers interrupt your service to arrest, handcuff, and lead away at least one person in the front row. That’s it, no more boredom! But alas, there is one reason why that can’t happen… no one sits in the front row! Okay, so let me suggest something else. The fear of the majority of pastors is that they will bore their people when they preach or teach God’s word. Why, it’s inevitable at some point. The guy in the third row is sound asleep, people check their watch, or their smartphone. Even you or I get bored once in a great while during a message. But there is hope.
I’ve been preaching and teaching for thirty years now, so let me share a few presuppositions, then a few ideas. Presupposition #1 – God changes hearts with his holy Word. The Holy Spirit of God uses his word, to do the work. He can use what we might think of as the most boring sermon or lesson. Presupposition #2 – We do not use presupposition #1 as an excuse to bore people. Presupposition #3 – The listener must have a pulse. What I mean by that is the listener must have at least an entry level intention and willingness to listen, hear, and be changed. If not, we could explode, and they would still yawn. Presupposition #4 – Boredom is as much in the mind of the listener as in the actions of the speaker. Presupposition #5 – Content should trump presentation style. Content is most important. Without it, the presentation style is meaningless. Presupposition #6 – Presentation style should deliver content, not overshadow or obscure it. Now, here are some ideas for how not to be boring. We will share more in our podcast on Wednesday, Episode 32 – Why You Should Explore Creative Communication Methods In Your 200church, and in our post on Friday. This is “Communication Week” at 200churches! Idea #1 – As the preacher, we MUST be close to God ourselves. Be close to Him through prayer, intimacy with Scripture, and personal heart devotion to our Father, our Savior, and our indwelling Holy Spirit. There is no shortcut to OUR intimacy with God – the source of power in preaching! Yeah, I know this one is not a "silver bullet" that is easy to do - but it's the truth and there is no substitute for it. Idea #2 – Be close to our people. Our love for them, and our knowledge of them, will be both our motivation and our direction in our preaching. We are not preaching or teaching a crowd every week, but our friends, the people we love. While I prepare my messages, I am thinking about the lady who just lost her husband, the student struggling with alcohol and parties, the man addicted to pornography, and the parents whose teenage son shot himself in the head in their family room... and died. Our relationship with our people certainly influences our messages. Idea #3 – Variety! We can change how we deliver the message. Stand, sit, speak, point, loudly, softly, onstage, off stage, video, handout, object lesson, story, list, challenge, action step, lectern, table, whiteboard, pulpit, no pulpit, images, art, music, interview, team preach, personal story, etc. etc. We must use creativity and variety. It is good for our people to wonder what might come next. Idea #4 – Let’s be ourselves, not someone else. You have likely heard it before – God doesn't want another Billy Graham or Francis Chan – he wants YOU. God created us to speak to our people, love our people, and teach our people. We can trust him that he has given us the personal, intellectual, and creative resources we need to get the message across. Let’s just be ourselves. Well, that’s a good start! Wednesday’s podcast will expand on this, get you thinking, and hopefully inspire you to seek that “next level” in your ability to communicate God’s wonderful word. What was the most creative thing you ever successfully pulled off in a sermon? It’s amazing that in our connected culture, it might be easier than ever to be isolated as a pastor. I knew a pastor who felt that all his ministry time could be spent in his office. He rarely ventured out of the church facility to visit with church members, let alone community people. His vision dried up. He began spending more time in planning, preparation, study, administrative tasks, and ministry stuff, not realizing that the central focus of true ministry is people. And people necessitate relationships. In this week’s podcast we talk about what drives us to do what we do with 200churches, the podcast and the blog site. We talk about the nitty gritty of ministry, and in the conversation, we touch on isolation in ministry. I wonder if you are reading this, and realizing that you have become somewhat isolated as a pastor.
Here are five ways to tell if you are isolated in ministry.
If at least three of the above five situations apply to you – YOU are becoming isolated. That’s a bad place to be. You need to talk with someone this week about it. Find someone you trust, someone you can confide in. If you have no one, contact me or Jonny – me, if you’re an older pastor, or Jonny if you’re hip and “with it”! Our email addresses are on the contact page of 200churches.com. We’ll touch on this in the podcast on Wednesday, then on Friday, we’ll share some ideas to climb out of that isolation. God wants us to connect with the body of Christ, and with the world he so loves. He wants us to do ministry in community. He wants you to get your life back too! What are some other clues that a pastor might be isolated in ministry?
Conflict is not a four letter word. Maybe you read the title of today's podcast and thought "the last thing I want to do is encourage conflict on my team!" Conflict has a bad reputation, especially in the church, but there's another side to conflict, and the benefits are important for 200church pastors to recognize.
This week's podcast is based on an article titled "Managing Conflict for Church Boards and Committees" that highlights upsides of conflict and tries to put away the myth that all conflict is negative. It's a great article and we highly recommend that you check it out. Here are some of the lessons we learned about conflict:
-200church pastors should encourage conflict The reality is that most growth happens in tension or struggle. If we are constantly peace-mongering and never allowing conflict to arise, we are limiting the growth of people we are serving with. Conflict is necessary if we want to move forward. Churches will always default to the status quo and it requires conflict to push them forward. -200church pastors should control conflict The reason conflict gets a bad reputation is because too often it's not controlled. Conflict is ultimately about truth-seeking, and when opposing ideas of truth run into each other, some sparks are guaranteed to fly. Containing these points of conflict to specific meetings and times and basing our conflict on ideas rather than people and personalities, allow the positive effects of conflict to shine while minimizing the inherent dangers. -200church pastors should expect conflict If you're creating an environment where conflict is encouraged, don't be surprised when it happens. Too often as pastors we try to keep the peace at all costs and we can begin to be lulled into believing our own fairy tale. Just because you've swept it under the rug for a long time doesn't mean the disagreements are not there, so expect some conflict when you open those doors.So have you been peace-mongering at your church? Limiting conflict and forcing consensus? Its time to set your people free and start the tough work of finding truth through tension. Wednesday’s podcast dealt with conflict resolution, and the steps to take when there is an ongoing disagreement. Today we would like to share with you four benefits to taking action. What good things happen as a result of stepping up and dealing with problems head on? BENEFIT #1 – Resolution! Something that had been nagging on you for a while is now resolved. The problem is no longer a problem. You can breathe easier. Like unpaid bills, unanswered email, or unreturned phone calls, unresolved interpersonal problems, whether they are disagreements or full on conflicts, just zap your energy and your positivity. When they are finally resolved, and successfully, it just feels so good!
BENEFIT #2 – Relationships restored! Often when there is disagreement, there is a strain on a relationship. The free-flowing joy of community wanders away and there is a tension in the air. Especially if it is another staff member or leader that you see often, it takes more energy to converse and work together when there is “a thing” between you. If you walk into the tunnel of chaos, there is a restored relationship on the other end. Referencing something Bill Hybels wrote about, Pastor John Miller, from Abundant Life Church in Stephen’s City VA, in this blog post, said: According to Bill Hybels in his book, "Axiom", real community can’t take place until you face your fear and deal with the unspoken issues. Chances are the other person or people are just as uncomfortable faking it. But until someone has the guts to say that “this isn’t working; what went wrong?” then nothing will change. Hybels calls this entering the tunnel of chaos, because working through issues between two people can be scary, messy, and downright ugly. But when both parties are committed to working it out, the end result is a stronger, truer relationship. We come out on the other end of the tunnel to brand new light. That “committed to working it out” piece is an important one. If the commitment is there, then enter the tunnel and have at it – it’s wonderful on the other end! BENEFIT #3 – Personal growth! When we stretch ourselves and go where we are uncomfortable, there is going to be growth. Growth occurs in the tension, never in the slack. We don’t get stronger in the living room, we get stronger in the weight room. Here are three areas where you will see personal increase and growth: Increased faith and trust in God – We step out and risk, and see God come through for us. Increased confidence – We did it! We are likely to do it again and again, thus succeeding. Increased interpersonal skills – We learn things in the exchange, and get better with people. BENEFIT #4 – Growth in others. When we engage in resolution of disagreements and conflicts, others grow too. They grow from realizing they are cared for enough that you would risk rejection to engage them and restore your relationship. If you do a good job communicating, they grow by understanding you, themselves, and the situation better. People just grow when others are concerned about them, when others do difficult things in order to make things right with them, and when others simply take the time to care. Too many people leave conflicts and disagreements unresolved, and people feel ignored and undervalued. Are there disagreements or conflicts that you need to address? Why wait? Get started. Begin to work through the ten steps we outlined in this week’s podcast. There is joy on the other end! Next Week: Next week we talk about why we as leaders should encourage conflict on our leadership teams and how to create “safe conflict zones” in our ministries. We hope that you are challenged in these posts and podcasts to step out with courage in your 200church to lead and care for the people God has given you. Remember, your leadership is what? What is it? That’s right… HUGE – in the kingdom of God! Finally, what other benefits can you think of from engaging problems and disagreements head on? |
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