Have you ever heard these famous last words – “We’re just not going to go there!”? In a tense conversation between two people, “the issue” happens to come up, and one of the two blurts that out. “We’re just not going to go there!” Because, going there would result in a larger and longer conversation, (argument) that neither of the two want to engage in at the moment. So what happens? The issue gets tabled, swept under the rug, dismissed, until the next time it comes up, because it’s never gotten resolved. What issues are there in your ministry that you are not addressing? Are there disagreements that you ignore, or worse, deny? Are there issues in your 200church that have been put on the “do not talk about” list? You know, they have not gone away, you’ve just hidden them. And like unpaid balances, the longer you wait to pay them off, the more they will end up costing you.
What we are talking about this week at 200churches.com is disagreement among ministry leaders. In your 200church, you may be the only paid staff member, but you have ministry leaders, deacons, elders, volunteers, etc. What happens when one person wants to do it one way, and another person wants to do it another way? How does a situation like that get resolved? In too many churches, people try to keep the peace, so they shove it under the rug and forget about it. They agree to… nothing. They just avoid the issue because it might cause conflict, and that is not good in a church setting. (more on that next week!) But those disagreements ferment. They spoil. They strain relationships, squelch creativity, and foment discord. If left under the rug for too long, people walk on opposite ends of the rug and division is created. People may not resolve their disagreements because they are afraid or insecure. Often, however, it’s because they don’t know how. They've not seen it modeled in their homes, businesses, communities, or churches. So they punt. In Episode 27 of the 200churches Podcast this week, we talk about Ten Steps To Resolve Any Disagreement In Your Ministry. These are steps to take to pull the disagreement out from under the rug, and finally deal with it. Between today and Wednesday, would you do two things?
In episode 25 Jeff and Jonny are joined by Greg Atkinson, from Carthage, MO.
Greg is a writer, speaker, consultant and campus pastor at Forest Park, a multi-site church based in Joplin, Missouri. Greg has started businesses including the worship resource website WorshipHouse Media, a social media marketing company, and his own consulting firm. As a consultant, Greg has worked with some of the largest and fastest-growing churches across the United States. Greg’s latest writing project is his eBook Church Leadership 101, which has been downloaded by more than 20,000 church leaders around the world.
Greg is a Campus Pastor, so the weekend preaching comes via Forest Park in Joplin and Lead Pastor John Swadley. This gives Greg a unique advantage to pour himself into people, relationships, and leadership at Forest Park Carthage.
When Greg arrived at his church, he faced immediate challenges. He was the third pastor in 3 1/2 years at this multi-site location, and had to quickly earn trust and credibility. Greg shares the specific things he gave his attention to in order to create a turn around at his church. You can find Greg at www.gregatkinson.com, where you can also download his book for free, Church Leadership 101. Thirty years ago when I was a college freshman, less than 1% of college students owned a computer, actually, way less than 1%! It was a net positive if you owned an electric typewriter instead of a manual one. In my first church we did not have a screen in our facility and could not conceive of a computer in the church office. I don’t have to tell you that times have changed. But, for the better? Well, yes, of course for the better in the area of technology. However, while we can do things now in ministry we would not have dreamed of thirty years ago, there are also things we cannot do anymore because of technology. Here are at least five…
We cannot keep our people in the dark. Thirty years ago our people knew nothing of other churches, unless it was Charles Stanley’s church or Chuck Swindoll’s church. Those two guys were on the radio throughout the country. Other than them, our folks were in the dark as to what was going on in the church in America. All they had was Christianity Today or Moody Monthly, maybe a few others, but you get the point. Today, through the Internet, our people have every piece of information they could ever hope to want regarding the church in America – available instantly! We cannot be ignorant. As pastors, there is absolutely no excuse for us to stay ignorant for any amount of time on a subject we need to be informed on. While driving down the road, my wife and I often have a question, such as, How many people live in Poland? or What does supralapsarianism mean? or Who wrote Foxes Book Of Martyrs? or What is the temperature in Fairbanks, AK? With our iPhones either of us (her, if I am driving!) can find out instantly. There is really nothing we can remain ignorant about, with credibility. We cannot find a good reason to not communicate with people. Thirty years ago our phone line might be busy (the party line!) or we might not have been home when someone phoned or visited. Today, nope! Doesn't cut it anymore! We have no excuse to not be informing our people on what is up at our church, or to not be communicating with them regularly. There are actually too many options! We cannot tell our missionaries “see you in four years”. Again, with technology, we can communicate with virtually every missionary we support. For that matter, we can practically visit every one of them at one time or another. We cannot ignore new technology. If we ignore things like Facebook and Twitter, the Internet and smartphones, we are like the farmer who did not want a phone at his house, explaining “If anyone wants to talk with me, they can come right out here to the farm and see me!” The printing press made it possible to take the scriptures to the world, and the Internet makes it possible to share information instantaneously around the globe. If we ignore new technology, we are telling the world and the community we live in “we do not care about you!” This Wednesday, on Episode 23 of The 200churches Podcast, we talk about Five Technologies Every Church Must Engage With. Jonny also tries to bring Jeff up to speed on “The Facebook and The Twitter!” What is the single most significant way that technology has changed how you do ministry? |
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