Jonny and I were talking this week about how different mentorship is today from thirty years ago. I had listened to a podcast episode on Entrepreneur On Fire, episode 467. John Lee Dumas talks with Norm Bour about how the generations interact. It’s a fascinating conversation that you could listen to here. As I listened to it, I thought of Jonny and me. I am a baby boomer, and he is a millennial. We have forged a wonderful partnership. We both have strengths and weaknesses. Hopefully we complement each other, at least generationally. He has an understanding of his culture and a desire to change the world. I have experience and wisdom, and a desire to change the oil every 3K miles. Okay, and the world!
But seriously now folks… there are some very obvious differences between mentorship today and mentorship thirty years ago. Here are three: The first of the obvious differences in mentorship between today and thirty years ago is the ability for mentoring to go both ways. When I was twenty, my mentor would tell me what was up. He would tell me how things were, what I should think, do, say, and how I should act. He told me what to believe and, if I was lucky, why. I was the mentee, the newbie, the greenhorn, the Mr. Wet-Behind-The-Ears. I was just supposed to listen, and learn. Today, millennials can mentor up. We allow that. We let them. The boomers know that they don’t know everything, and they allow the millennials to mentor them in areas where they themselves are sharp. This humility on the part of the mentor is a very good thing. It allows both parties to go, as Andy Stanley says, further faster. A second difference is that we don’t expect millennials to be perfect. We want them to make mistakes. Doggone it, we expect them to! We know they will, and when they do, it’s okay. And they don’t expect us as mentors to be perfect either. It’s all good here – we learn from each other’s successes and failures. It’s okay, we don’t even have to take a chill pill! Thirty years ago weakness and failure was a bad thing. You wanted, and needed, to get it right. That kind of pressure is much less today. A third difference is that the Internet has leveled the playing field. We both have enormous access to unlimited information. We don’t have all the special tapes, workbooks, and handouts in our office waiting to let them out piecemeal to our mentees. Nope. They have it all already. It’s all online. So the playing field is quite level in terms of information access and appropriation. So, mentoring goes both ways, neither of us has to be perfect, and we both have unlimited access to information and growth. How about your mentoring relationships? Maybe you don’t even use the “mentor” vocabulary, and that’s okay. How are you doing training and raising up the next generation of leaders? Can I encourage you to engage the millennials? Get to know them, work with them, and learn from them. It’s truly a great partnership – one that will keep your 200church from stagnancy and complacency, and if you're like Jonny and me, it will provide a few fireworks as well! This week we have tackled the topic of the pastor's soul care. And, this week, I (Jeff) have experienced the proverbial "death by a thousand paper cuts" in regards to my ministry soul. More than a dozen comments and conversations that, by themselves, would be fairly benign, have all landed in this week, and bundled together have dragged my soul down and caused my ministry enthusiasm and passion to wane. I realized this was happening today, and I consciously determined I should figure out what to do about it. How could I restore my soul to a place of energy and passion in my pursuit of shepherding the flock - loving, leading, and teaching the people in my church? I realized tonight that I used 5 ways to nurture my pastoral soul:
1. I talked about it. This morning I had a significant conversation with my wife. After that, but just prior to Jonny and I having our final major prep session for our Sunday message, I shared my thoughts with him. It worked. My thoughts did disentangle themselves as they passed through my lips. My wife and my associate helped me to make sense of them as well. I was not crazy alone, I had two others join me! 2. I prayed about it. Talking to God allowed me to have some perspective on those "thousand paper cuts." Prayer reminds me who I am serving, who I am loving, who is helping and empowering me in ministry, and that I really should never rely on my own abilities or strengths - but his. 3. I disconnected those dozen comments/conversations. When all clumped together, they seem formidable and ugly, like a pack of wild dogs intent on taking me down. But when I mentally disconnect them, separate them, and put them into perspective, they lose their power. It's not as bad as I thought it was. His comment was hardly so caustic, her email not as biting. 4. I remembered why I was in ministry in the first place. God called me. He wired me for this. He promised to always walk with me through ministry. He pulled me out of an unlikely upbringing, and set my path on serving others, loving God, and giving my life for the Gospel. Sometimes you just have to live the "good news" in the form of patience, long-suffering, humility, and even just being willing to be dumped on now and then. God called me to love people and share truth. Oh yeah, that is why I'm in ministry. It's good to just remind yourself once in a while... 5. This may sound old-fashioned, but I consciously counted my blessings. I have so much to be thankful for, and when I focus on those things more than my "thousand paper cuts" of critical comments and conversations, my attitude changes and my soul is refreshed. In fact, I have EVERYTHING to live for, give thanks for, and get moving for. The question for me is - what am I going to focus on, some critical comments and conversations, or the really important stuff of life? So those are the five things I did to nurture my ministry soul back to vibrancy today. I talked about it, prayed about it, tried to put things in perspective, reminded myself of God's calling on my life, and specifically counted my blessings. How are YOU doing Pastor? Jonny and I hope you are doing well. We hope that you are being reminded again this week that your pastoral SOUL is so important - it's YOU. It's who you are on the inside. It's that beautiful person that God made you to be, to care for his wonderful, precious sheep that he's herded over to your pen for protection and provision. Your soul is the reservoir, the repository, of your ministry energy, pastoral care giving, and preaching/teaching content. Feed it, nurture it, and prioritize it. Take time to sit in wonder of God. Allow him to love you and enthuse you with his grace and power. May your soul bask in the sunlight of the Spirit, and be filled to overflowing with the love and heart of Jesus. Pastor - for this weekend, leave all your talents, gifts, and abilities at home. Go and preach and teach in the power of the Holy Spirit, the heart of Jesus, and the love of the Father. See what God is going to do through you in the lives of your congregation. No matter the size of your church - YOU and YOUR PEOPLE matter huge in the Kingdom of God!
We are one week away from Christmas, so... Merry Christmas to all!! In today's podcast we listen to a short, three minute, leftover clip from our conversation with Dave Jackson, from SchoolofPodcasting.com. Jonny tells Dave how 200churches started almost one year ago. We began in January, and in December we are going strong - and that is a rockin' feelin!! In this podcast, and in light of starting a new year, we talk about things we should start, and things we should stop...
We talk about two things in this podcast that we want to link to:
A blog post from January that talks about the Lone Ranger... well, after looking, it actually does not mention the Lone Ranger, but it does talk about getting others involved through delegation! A YouTube video with Bob Newhart called: Stop It!! Here is an outline of today's episode, but as usual, there is so much more in the actual audio! What to START, and what to STOP! 1. What do you need to STOP in the New Year? so that you can ask the second question... 2. What do you need to START in the New Year? Let's think about the FIRST question, What do you need to STOP in 2014? How will you stop it? (You need to define "it")
UPCOMING PODCAST EPISODES: Christmas Day - Part 5 of our conversation with Dan Reiland on the message of his book Amplified Leadership. Dan will be joining us every last Wednesday of the month throughout 2014. Dan brings very practical leadership teaching for pastors of small churches. Dan is the "Pastor's Coach" and writes a newsletter by that name for Injoy and John Maxwell. Read a recent Pastor's Coach article called "Big Ministry In Small Churches" Here is how Injoy.com describes the Pastor's Coach Newsletter: Pastor's Coach is designed to refresh, encourage, and equip pastors as they rise to the challenges in the church. Written by executive pastor and leadership development specialist Dan Reiland, Pastor's Coach addresses the thorny issues facing ministry leaders, and offers valuable advice to help pastor's lead effectively. Pastor's Coach puts pastoring in perspective, and offers a much needed reminder as to why ministering in the church is such an admirable calling. At INJOY, we have a deep respect for pastors and an appreciation for the care they provide. Pastor's Coach is one small way we can say thank you! You can sign up to receive Dan's Pastor's Coach digital articles for free here! New Year's Day - On the first Wednesday of every month we will be joined by Pastor Karl Vaters from NewSmallChurch.com, and Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in Fountain Valley, CA. On January 1, 2014 the topic of the podcast will be on chapter one of his book, The Grasshopper Myth - Big Churches, Small Churches, and the Small Thinking that Divides us. We will talk about the importance of how we view ourselves as pastors of small churches. Hey, are we really okay with that??
This, is a no-holds barred, very honest, tête-à-tête between three, not two, pastors! We talk about the things that rattle a pastor's personal cage. These are things that we wish we had a handle on, and they all revolve around self-care and soul-care. How do we take care of ourselves? Better, do we?
Dave Jacobs from SmallChurchPastor has spent almost 30 years in ministry and today, from his home in Oregon, works full time coaching pastors and boards, mostly from small churches. Dave works with pastors of all size churches, but he specializes in small churches.
When we found Dave, we quickly invited him to join us on the podcast, because we knew he would share a ton of encouragement with all of you, our 200church pastor friends! So this "post" is very short, because we want you to enjoy this, our longest episode yet. Listen to it in two or three segments, but listen to it - because we know you are going to be both challenged and encouraged! Finally, be sure to check out SmallChurchPastor.com, because Dave has a ton of resources, some free, and some too good to give away! I especially like the resources he uses as he works with church boards to help you as a pastor in your leadership. This website is a treasure trove of help for pastors of small churches - take a look! We are not affiliate marketers for Dave, we're just smart - we know a good thing when we see it! Links that are all about Dave! www.davejacobs.net www.smallchurchpastor.com Dave's Church Board Training Modules My Best Leadership Training Curriculum dave@smallchurchpastor.com Twitter: @thinkmonk Books by Eugene Peterson that Dave references: The Contemplative Pastor - Returning to the Art of Spiritual Direction Under the Unpredictable Plant: An Exploration in Vocational Holiness Working The Angles - The Shape of Pastoral Integrity Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work Me. I actually thought of leaving it with just that one word – “me.” Yeah, a one word blog post. Kind of appealing, actually. If you were honest, I bet you would have the same answer to that question – “What is your biggest leadership challenge?” This is the last week of the month, and so this week on the podcast we have Part 3 of our conversation with none other than The Pastor’s Coach himself, Dan Reiland. We talk about a number of local church leadership issues in this podcast that will be sure to challenge you in one or more areas of your 200church leadership.
Part 3 is based on chapters 5 & 6 of Dan’s book, Amplified Leadership – 5 Practices To Establish Influence, Build People, and Impact Others For A Lifetime. If you don’t have this book, we encourage you to pick it up on Amazon, either in paper or on Kindle. The principles in this book fit very well with the leadership challenges of 200church pastors. Back to my biggest leadership challenge - me. If I could control what I do every day, I could control my destiny. Sounds easy enough, right? Sure thing. All I need is discipline. John Maxwell said “The secret of your success is found in your daily agenda – what you do every day.” Isn’t that the truth! But isn’t that also the problem? Because –
So – what is the answer? Well, if I had the answer (other than what the 482 ministry leadership books already written say) I could, as they say, make a lot of money! I know this – part of the answer is to 1) Be truthful about our struggles and challenges, and 2) Stay in the game. Be honest with one other leader you trust, and who cares about you unconditionally. We need another we can be totally open and vulnerable with! Oh yes we do! Too many pastors are on the solo route, avoiding that personal, fully transparent, face to face encounter with rationalization after rationalization. As Bob Neuhart said, “Stop it! Just stop it!” Make it happen – if you are having problems, get help. Do. It. Now. And, for the Kingdom’s sake, stay in the game! Don’t quit. Take time off, go on a retreat, sleep in, get counseling… but stay in the game. It’s always too soon to quit. (I know, I know, hyperbole yes, but you get my point…) So, are you your greatest ministry leadership challenge? Don’t quit, and seek out someone you can talk to. Ministry leaders fail in isolation and loneliness. Don’t be that woman or man. If you’re going to be your greatest ministry leadership challenge – then also be your greatest ministry leadership asset to meet that challenge. We’re looking forward to meeting you on Wednesday’s podcast, Episode 42 – with Dan “the Man” Reiland. Dan Reiland Part 1 Episode 33 Dan Reiland Part 2 Episode 37
Today is the second and final segment of Jeff’s conversation with Rob Tarnoviski who is the Lead Pastor at Bethel Fellowship - The Church @ Franklin Mills. We think you will find it transparent and refreshing as they openly discuss the following topics:
As pastors, we have to balance two competing agendas: 1) those on the inside, and 2) those on the outside. The challenge is that the agenda for those on the outside of the Body of Christ will never be brought to the table, unless ministry leaders bring it for them. When they do, they are often opposed by those inside the church, seeking the insiders’ agendas. Rob talks about how he has created a culture in his church that thinks about the outsiders. This is a balancing act we have to maneuver all the time as pastors. We must feed the sheep, and we must leave the ninety-nine to find the lost sheep. We have to serve the body of Christ, while at the same time reach out to those who are far from Christ. In the last half of the 20th century, so many churches created climates where Christians were encouraged to separate themselves from unbelievers and segregate themselves into Christian schools, Christian social clubs, and Christian communities. Even mega churches created a one stop shop for all of the needs of a Christian family. They increasingly removed the need for the church to associate with the world. Next week we are going to hear the conversation that Jeff and Jonny have with Jim Powell, pastor of Richwoods Christian Church in Peoria, IL. He is the author of the book, Dirt Matters - The Foundation For a Healthy, Vibrant, And Effective Congregation and the founder of the 95Network. We will talk about how the culture of the church matters! His book compares the culture of a church, to the soil that plants grow in – and he surmises that dirt matters. The composition of soil is foundational to how well things grow. In the same way, the culture of a church is foundational to how a church grows. In today’s and last week’s podcast, Pastor Rob essentially talks about the culture of Bethel Fellowship. It is a solidly outsiders oriented culture. They think intentionally about those who aren't there… YET! Bethel has had staff members who have stayed on for many years, and the stability of the church is to their credit!
How about you and your church?
We wonder what kind of culture your church has? What kind of church culture are you trying to create? If you listed the things that bother you most about your ministry, you would see how the culture of your church is causing those very challenges. As you listen to today’s and next week’s podcasts, consider your church culture, and think about how you might begin to shape it intentionally into a culture and environment that will accomplish the very things which comprise the vision of your church. Finally, if you know of other 200church pastors who could be encouraged by the 200churches Podcast, pass along the website to them: www.200churches.com. If you want to share a topic you would like us to spend a week on in the near future, use the speakpipe pop-out on the homepage and send us a voice message, or email either of us at jeff@200churches.com or jonny@200churches.com. YOU are so important to the people who are your church. These are the ones God has called you to care for, feed, love, and protect. Do it with diligence and love. This week on the podcast we share a conversation between Jeff and Rob Tarnoviski, Lead Pastor of Bethel Fellowship, The Church @ Franklin Mills, in Philadelphia PA. They've known each other for 30 years, and have shared countless life experiences together. You’ll get a chance to listen in on the conversation of two friends talking about their life’s passion: ministry. Rob and Jeff have gone in very different directions in ministry. Jeff left home, Rob returned home. Jeff is in his third full time ministry location, Rob is still in his first. Jeff has moved churches in directions of change and transition. Rob’s church was focused philosophically when he got there. Rob finished a graduate degree early on, Jeff is just finishing his.
But they have also gone in very similar directions. Both have been focused on ministry. Both have invested heavily in their friendship. Both have never stopped learning and growing. Both have failed miserably and succeeded greatly. Both have wives and kids who enjoy(ed) living in a ministry family. Neither has stayed the same, both have grown, changed, transformed, and moved on. Neither would espouse many of the doctrinal and ministry philosophies they were educated in thirty years ago. Jeff talks with Rob about his journey of beginning in a church of 80, and over 17 long, wonderful, and difficult years growing with that church to see it today at almost 1,500. Rob is a 200church pastor who never stopped, who outlasted the critics and quitters, and who is just too stubborn or stupid to think that his church can’t reach more people in his community! Rob’s story is not one of meteoric growth. It is one of faithfulness and consistency over time. His story is one of sacrifice and commitment to a community, a staff team, and a body of believers who were willing to join the team, and buy the vision. Rob grew his church in the first 15 years by about 5 people a month. Modest growth by any means, just over a long period of time. In 2013 America, most of us pastor types want rapid, exponential growth over a very short span of time! We are not patient to wait for results, we want them quickly. If we do not enjoy immediate results, we are too ready to jet, to fly, to bounce. Jeff’s conversation with Rob is about plodding, slow, hard ministry over a long stretch of time. We hope that it encourages you to think about your own ministry and what your expectations are… Are you ready to quit? It’s probably too soon. Ready to bounce? You’re likely jumping the gun. Looking up U-Haul’s phone number? Don’t do it quite yet. Life, ministry, and results just take time. Don’t quit. Stay put. Love your people. Depend on God. All easy to say, right? But harder to DO. Who ever said ministry was easy? Yeah, that’s right – no one who ever did ministry! Finally, what’s it all about? It’s about Almighty God – our Creator and Maker. We serve him. It’s about our Lord and Savior Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the Living God. The coming King, and current King of the Kingdom. We follow him. It’s about the Holy Spirit of God, the one who lives within us, counsels us, comforts and empowers us, and gifts us for ministry. We live with him. Our lives in ministry are about GOD. He doesn't call the fit, he fits the called. We’re the called. Called to love and serve. Called to make a difference in the lives of others and expand the Kingdom of God. We get to do this! We’re blessed! We hope that this week you are encouraged personally, and vocationally in your ministry. Your leadership, and shepherding in your 200church matter HUGE in the Kingdom of God! You’ve heard it before: you can’t just accumulate followers, you must also develop leaders. How true that is. If we only accumulate followers, we will wear ourselves out. Followers have needs and demand attention. The more followers we have, the more energy we must put out. In order to build our ministry and multiply our efforts, we must develop leaders. It sounds strategic, businesslike, and difficult – but it need not be! The reason why we want to develop leaders is to gather a team to help us in the work of ministry. When Jesus fed the 5,000, he had them sit down in groups of hundreds and fifties. He then had his disciples help him pass out the fish and the loaves. There were doubtless leaders in each of these groups of people, who stepped forward and assisted in the serving of the meal.
You had Jesus, his disciples, volunteer leaders in the groups of fifties and hundreds, and then the people themselves (followers). If every pastor of a 200church developed a dozen leaders who would oversee portions of the ministry, so much more pastoral care, ministry training, and outreach could be accomplished. If you are going to develop a team of leaders, you want to make sure you start with people who have potential. How can you determine who has potential? Here are four qualities to look for when searching for leaders to develop: Spiritual Interest – A man or woman could have outstanding credentials and abilities, but unless he or she also has an interest in their own walk with God, they will not pass the sniff test of leadership in the church. Too many church leaders are organizationally equipped on the outside, but unspiritual on the inside. Look for a spiritual person who loves the Lord and desires personal spiritual growth. Personal passion – This is not the same as an outgoing personality. Any personality: a phlegmatic, melancholy, choleric, or sanguine can be passionate. They will reveal their passion in different ways. Passion is about drive and determination to reach a goal or desired outcome. It is about someone believing in something so much that it pushes them to do whatever it takes to get it done. Passion picks up when energy runs out. Natural or spiritual gifting – There must be some natural or spiritual gifting present for ministry to be effective. Ideally a person would have gifting aligned with their desired ministry involvement. An instrumentalist on a worship team would be helped by some natural musical gifting. A worship leader would be more effective if they truly worshiped, and were about to relate well to a crowd of worshippers. Don’t confuse willingness with gifting. What a person wants to do is not always what they are gifted to do. Mission alignment – Look for leaders who want to take a ministry in the same direction that the church leaders want to take it. Their philosophy should align with the mission of the church. If the church’s mission is to reach lost people, a youth worker who only wants to work with churched youth will not be a fit. Their interests, passion, and gifting should align with the vision and mission of the church. What leaders are you developing right now? Could you immediately write down three names if you had to? Do those people have the previous four qualities? If you are not developing any leaders right now, could you write down three names of prospective leaders? We would challenge you to develop leaders who could team up with you to work on the ministry of your church with you! Part of pastoring a 200church is to raise up leaders who can join you in the work of ministry. If we equip people to lead, we can accomplish so much more with them, than if we tried to do it all alone. Develop leaders to multiply both yourself and your ministry! How are you developing leaders in your 200church? So again, here we are, 200chuches, all about encouraging pastors of smaller churches – and this week we've been talking about how to break the 200 barrier. Head scratcher, right? Well, no, not really. Because if we are a 200church only because we never realized that we could start another service, or work on any of those other practices that might help move us beyond the 200-stage, then that’s not good, right?! We need to stretch and grow. If we’re not willing to, then maybe that’s a conversation for another post… But, what if we just aren't equipped to handle the complexity that comes with a 300, 500, or 1,200 member church? What if we’re only 26 or 34 years old, fairly inexperienced yet and we can’t do it? Should we quit and move on, hoping our church can find the “right guy” or the “right lady”? That’s where we say NO.
This is where faith comes in, and a self confidence that comes from believing that God has created you, just the way you are, to serve your church, just the way it is, at just this time in history! None of us is as good as the people who are better than us. (Now, that is a profound statement that you just might have to reread!) Really, we aren't. And that’s okay. My wife did not choose the most handsome hunk of a man for her husband – she did not choose the best guy in the county. There were better. But she chose the guy God created to be her husband, for the rest of her life! Yes, that would be ME! Thank you very much. Your church does not have the best pastor in your denomination, or in your state. They don’t. But they chose you, and better, God chose you to serve and love the people who make up your church. Should you do the best you can? Of course! Should you also rejoice that God created the person of YOU to be the pastor to THEM at just this time in all of their lives? Yes! This is another case where it is a yes and yes. Yes you should get better and be passionate for reaching people in your community with the Gospel! And yes you should accept who you are, serve to your potential, and trust God with the rest. Just do your best, and trust God with the size of your church. For whatever reason, God chose guys named Jeff and Jonny to love and serve the people of our church for just this time in the life of our church. We GET to serve! We LOVE serving! And we are accepting of our weaknesses, and undulating in our abilities at the same time. (you might have to look that word up!) Pray this prayer with me, would you? “God, thanks for making me just like I am. I accept your wisdom in my calling here at my church. I also trust in your power in me to shepherd these people, and reach out to this community. My calling is from you and I commit myself to you and these people – in ministry and Kingdom service. Use me. I love you. Amen!” Last thoughts: We are so excited with the upcoming episodes we have to share with you! We have some great guests lined up, and great content and conversations we know will encourage and inspire you as you pastor a phenomenal 200church! If you haven’t yet, subscribe to both our blog and podcast, and we would be honored to walk alongside you in ministry. There it is! The question we shouldn't ask at 200churches, right? After all, we celebrate the small church on this site don’t we? Well, yes and no. We celebrate a small church when a small church has reached its Kingdom potential. But if there is something that is keeping your church from reaching and growing disciples, then we would love to help you discover what that is, so you can continue on your way to whatever is your church’s Kingdom potential! On this week’s podcast we are jumping off an article by Timothy Keller – Leadership and Church Size Dynamics: How Strategy Changes with Growth. We are talking specifically about the content of pages 7-9 which deal with the character of a 200church, and what it takes to cross the 200 barrier to the next size category.
Jeff and Jonny get into a little conflict on this subject regarding leadership gifting versus leadership capacity. Jeff contends that some pastors simply do not have the leadership capacity latent within them to grow a church past 200 members. Jonny rather sees gifting as the issue, and views some pastors gifting more as shepherds than leaders, and resists the concept of capacity limitations. You will have to decide for yourself when you listen! Today we would offer two suggestions: 1. You should read Timothy Keller’s article. It is a fantastic and revealing read, that every pastor should take in and consider in light of their leadership. 2. Ponder the concept of a “single cell mentality” in a church, maybe yours? This concept was communicated by Jim Powell from the 95Network. in one of his coaching sessions titled “Breaking the 200 Barrier.” It’s very insightful. Maybe Jim will be offering more free seminars in the future. Basically the single cell mentality in a church is where the people believe they all need to meet together, at the same time, and in the same room, so that they can all see each other and get to know each other. They mostly view multiple anything as divisive and harmful to the unity of the church. They also thing that if the church doors are open, they need to be there, so they need to participate in most everything. If they are forced to choose between two equally good ministries occurring on the same night, they are frustrated and wonder why the church is double-booking events. If they have to say “no” to something, they feel guilty and can get angry for being put in such a position. This single cell mentality is one of the paradigm shifts a church needs to make (says Keller), in order to move past the 200 barrier. So, read the article and grade yourself as to your acceptance/rejection as a church of the “single cell mentality.” Then, listen to the podcast on Wednesday, and referee the fight between Jeff and Jonny. They both think they are right! Your leadership in your 200church is a blessing to your people and makes a huge difference in the Kingdom of God! |
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