This Friday video contains two points regarding moving people toward ministry... 1. Some people just need to be asked - MAKE THE ASK! 2. Some people are eager to get involved - GET THEM INVOLVED! Have a great weekend! 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? Last week I attended the Willow Creek Association Global Leadership Summit. Sounds impressive, right? Well, I almost didn't attend. Full disclosure – I had forgotten how helpful those things can be. Here’s what happened to me on Thursday morning of the first day of the Summit… I woke up and remembered that my wife needed the car on Thursday afternoon for an appointment in Sioux City. We live 45 minutes away. So, instead of going to the Summit, and then driving back at lunch time to pick up my wife (an hour and a half round trip!), I decided I just wouldn't go on Thursday, but maybe go on Friday.
Then I got the tweet. The tweet with a Bill Hybels quote – sent out in real time. He said this: “everybody wins when the leader gets better.” In that instant, my decision changed. I knew I needed to set aside my plans for the morning and go get better as a leader. I asked my wife how quickly she could be ready to go, we hopped in the car, and I arrived during the lunch break. The afternoon speakers were extremely challenging and encouraging to me! So, “everybody wins when the leader gets better.” If you’re a pastor, you’re a leader. How are YOU doing Mr. or Mrs. Leader? Are you better or getting better? Before the afternoon sessions started, I jotted down four areas I need to get better in as a leader: Differentiation – this means that I can take a well-defined stance on an issue, position, or decision – even when followers of my leadership disagree, and still stay connected in meaningful relationships with them. I do not have to be controlled by their anxiety over change or direction, but can actually be a non-anxious presence that diffuses the anxiety of others. If I am well differentiated, I am not controlled by another’s judgment or opinion of me, but can differentiate myself from them, while still remaining relationally connected to them. I am not drawn in to their drama, but help to create stability and progress. I can always be growing in this area. If I do not lead myself first, I abdicate the control of me to others, and thus lose my leadership influence and effectiveness. Spiritual Health – I think that most of us can improve in our spiritual health. Do we ever really arrive spiritually? Probably not. I would like to at least always be in a state of arriving. The alternative is to have the car parked in the garage and not even be on my way yet! I want to love Jesus with all my heart. I want that authentic and genuine friendship with him. I want to grow in my obedience to him as well. I want to be getting better spiritually, and be influencing everyone around me in the same direction. Prioritization – I want to become a better prioritizer of my time, resources, and relationships. I think of the four quadrants that Stephen Covey talks about in his book, First Things First. I need to get better in Q2 – the area where things are not urgent, but they are important. The important things in life that are not urgent, often get overlooked. Things like relationships, exercise, sleep, financial investing for the future, planning ahead on projects, reading and learning, etc. In this area, I want to get better. Self-Awareness – Why do I do what I do? What makes me tick? Why do I have the problems and challenges that I have? Why am I good at the things that come easy to me? What is the very next thing for me to do in order to get better? I want to be better at understanding me. Only when we understand the why, can we change the what. There are so many more ways I want to be better as a leader, so that everyone around me will be better. Those are just a few. How are YOU doing Pastor? What is the very next thing you need to do in order to be better, in any or every area of your life? Hybel’s quote, tweeted out, shook me up! It caused me to move, to act, and get better as a leader. As we lead and serve, and love and shepherd in our 200church ministry, we get to make everyone around us better. You and I can grow as pastors and leaders. We need to, because our church, no matter the size, matters HUGE in the Kingdom of God! Do you dare to share the one area you need to get better in? Let us know… The third post this week is coming on Saturday, not the usual Friday. See that?! You did not even notice. But, we hope you notice the great encouragement/instruction in this post! This week we've talked about isolation. Now we want to share with you three things you can do to put a lot of distance between yourself and isolation in ministry. Here we go… Understand that you are in a deep rut. If you are isolated, it is because over time, you have decided to sequester yourself from others. Area by area, piece by piece, you have cordoned your life off from significant people who would otherwise give input to you on your decisions, actions, behaviors, etc.
This has happened over time, and probably almost imperceptibly to you. All of a sudden, you wake up one day, and read something, or listen to something, which causes you to realize that you are quite isolated. You are not connected in meaningful ways with others. You are, in effect, alone – alone with your worries, fears, cares, dreams, and needs. You are also alone with your secrets. You need to share your secrets with someone. Rick Warren has made the following phrase well known: “You are only as sick as your secrets.” You absolutely will never get out of your isolation if you do not share your secrets with someone. You need to find someone you can trust, or, who is legally obligated to keep your secrets. :) Find a counselor, therapist, or another pastor who will keep confidences. It is amazing how the headlock those secrets have on you is released when you share them. Yeah, I know, it's hard. Who can you find? There isn't anyone you can trust. You can't afford a counselor. I know, if it was easy, you would have already done it. How badly do you want to grow, to get better, to get away from isolation? Again, we can’t stress this enough – you HAVE TO share your secrets with another person! When you do, their power over you, and the isolation they force you into – is gone. Once you realize you are in a rut, in a prison of isolation, this is the first thing you must do, find someone with whom you can share your secrets. Change your habits, one at a time, by replacing them, one at a time. You have habits of isolation that you have formed over time. Habits that keep you at a distance from others, either physically, relationally, or emotionally. Take some time to identify those habits, and one by one, change them. You can’t change them by just getting rid of them; you must change them by replacing them with new habits. For example, you have a habit of not connecting with people by phone – so make a new habit of calling one person a week, just to talk personally with them. Not for ministry purposes, or to help them, but just to talk about how they are doing, and how you are doing. Make the call. Or, you may have developed the habit of not sharing certain information with your husband or wife. Maybe you have secrets about how you feel about what they just said, how you are handling the finances, or what you like or dislike around the house. Make a new habit of talking to your spouse! When those times come, when you would normally say nothing, and even hide something from them, begin to open up, talk with them – and stop keeping secrets. I think that’s enough for today. If you can realize and act on these three things, you will get a long way down the road from your isolation; a road that leads to relational health and wholeness. Next week, we are talking about our strengths and weaknesses, and how they are BOTH important in shaping our ministry. We have a great podcast for you next Wednesday on this subject that we think will really inspire and encourage you. 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? This week we've been focusing on how to encourage the members of your 200church. We have looked at various ways to stay encouraged as leaders and how to pass our encouragement on to the people that God has given us to serve. But how can you tell when people need to be encouraged the most? What are some signs and symptoms that your volunteers and members need a pep talk that only you can provide? 3 Signs Your People Need Encouragement
1. Volunteers seem to be burning out left and right Have you noticed that some Sunday school teachers have been asking to "take some time off" lately? Have greeters been coming up with excuses to limit the number of Sunday's they're available? Maybe it's just a busy time of year, or maybe your volunteers are running on fumes. Take these natural cues and give people serving a break, but also take some time to encourage them! Buy them lunch, take them out to coffee, send that thank you note. No matter how simple the gesture is, it can go a long way to someone who is feeling low. 2. You're having Difficulty Retaining Visitors Nobody can sniff out a discouraged congregation faster than a visitor. People are dragging, the glass is half empty, even the coffee seems extra bitter. If you are having a lot of people visiting, but not many people returning, your people probably need some encouragement! This is an opportunity for you to get relational with people, spend some time with families in your church, or even start a new sermon series focused on God's promises to His people. Take a cue from your visitors and build your people up! 3. There's Little Interest in the Business of the Church Having low attendance at services and events? Can't get your elders to show up on a monthly basis? There's a good chance that your people are feeling discouraged about the future and direction of your church. When that happens, the vocal minority will always step in and push the agenda in their direction. As leaders of 200churches, we desire for the majority of our congregations to care about and invest in the future of the church. Take some time to talk up the mission and purpose of your church and cast a clear vision for the future. Encourage people by letting them know that your church is going somewhere and God is at the helm. The business of the church is God's business and should be ours and our members' as well. Get intentional about communicating direction to your congregation and build back their interest in your church's future. It truly is an honor to be called by God to serve in a 200church and to encourage the people that God has given us to serve. We hope that this week you've been encouraged by our blogs and podcast and that you can pass that encouragement to your volunteers and members. Have a great weekend! This week’s podcast was about plastic pastors. If you haven’t listened to it yet, do so, it will send you into some soul searching. Here are three more ways to not be plastic, to add to the five from the podcast… Spend as much time out of the office as you do in it! This may seem impossible, but honestly, if you are spending most of your time creating stuff in your office, you will find you don’t have the relational bridges built to deliver those “creations” anyway. Sermons, lessons, administrative and strategic plans, programs, and even written devotionals – are all delivered best in a relational context.
People really don’t want to know what you know, if they don’t really know you, but when they know you, they want to know what you know, and if you don’t care about sharing what you know with them then just don’t bother to get to know them or allow them to know you… :) Determine quotas for personal visits, meetings, and conversations. How many personal conversations do you need to have with people, church members/attenders, new people, friends, etc. every week? How many face to face meetings do you need to have to develop and maintain good relationships with your leaders? How many homes to you need to be in every week, to stay connected to your people? You should know these numbers, set them as goals, and then execute! If you get tied up in the office or the coffee shop too much, and don’t get enough face time with people, especially your church family, you will begin to plasticicize in your pastoral responsibilities. Yes, that is really a word. Now. Talk with another pastor or leader about it. Develop an ongoing conversation with another pastor where you talk openly about the dangers of becoming plastic in ministry. Talk about your heart, your struggles, your challenges, your temptations, your failures and your successes, your joys and your sorrows. You can talk about these things with another pastor, when perhaps you are not able to with one of your church members. It’s a healthy practice. I get together at least monthly, and often more, with another leader in my community and we talk about everything going on in our lives. It is simply a relationship of sharing, discovering, asking, confessing, encouraging, and caring. He is not a member of my church, and we have no official authority into each other’s lives. But just spending the time over lunch being completely real with another leader, that is gold for me. It has to be the right person too. If you do not have that person, ask God for him or her. Don’t stop asking God until you find him or her. Plastic only counts with water guns and whipped cream bowls – it has no place in the heart of a pastor. Keep your skin in the game… no plastic!
Sickness has befallen the 200churches staff this week!! We had to skip our usual Monday blog post, but we are back with our weekly 200churches Podcast. We are in our fifth month hosting this podcast for pastors of smaller churches, and we have learned a lot in the process, about podcasting, but most importantly, about pastoring in a 200church. 60% of the churches in America are under 100, so there is a large group of pastors who lead, shepherd, and feed smaller churches all across America, and this podcast is for you!
This week we are on the topic of plastic pastors. I bet you never even knew such things existed did you? Well, they do, and sometimes you or I actually fill the role quite nicely. That is not the goal, so today we want to share with you five signs of plasticity in pastoral ministry, and then some suggestions as to how we can find our way back into our own skin, and be the kind of pastors our churches really need.
Here is the outline of our podcast today, but as always, there is much more material in the audio podcast… Five signs that you’re a plastic pastor and how to get back into your own skin: 1. Your spirituality is more professional than personal
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