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.
Today's podcast is Part 1 of a conversation between Jeff and Rob Tarnoviski. Rob is the Lead Pastor at Bethel Fellowship - The Church @ Franklin Mills, Philadelphia, PA. As you listen to this episode, you will likely be reminded of your own call to ministry, and the successes and missteps along the way to where you are today. The purpose of this conversation is to encourage you in your ministry, and remind you that you are not alone in your doubts and failings in your ministry journey. The key is to persevere, to not give up. You must keep moving forward in faith.
Rob's ministry at Bethel has only seen 17 years. To some of you that is a short time, to others, you can't imagine spending 17 years in your church. But those 17 years were lived one day, one week, one month, and one year at a time. You can do the same. It's always too soon to quit, and it's never quite time to give up. If you believe that the Lord brought you to where you are today, continue. Move past your fear. Move in faith instead. Faith in who God is, and who he made you to be.
You can find Rob's church online at www.fmchurch.net and follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pastorrobfm. We hope Part 1 of this conversation is helpful to you. Part 2 comes next week in Episode 39. Your leadership matters. Stay the course! You can subscribe to The 200churches Podcast and leave us a rating by opening iTunes here. 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!
We all know what it feels like to get some momentum going in our 200church. Things are going smoothly, we have buy in from our people, leaders are stepping up and making things happen. Life is good. Then, inevitably, something happens that distracts us. A squeaky wheel needs some grease. A fire gets started that needs to be put out. Right when we think things are going as well as they possibly can, distractions arise that threaten to knock us off course.
Sometimes, the distractions that come up happen because of the momentum. Some people don't like to change or move and they cause a little friction. But more often than not, the distractions are completely unrelated. Out of left field. Those distractions are the worst. When you're focusing your energy at moving toward a particular ministry or goal, the last thing you need is a peripheral problem dragging you away. So what can you do?
First, recognize that distractions are always people related. As pastors, our job is to care for people, so in some ways distractions are part of the deal. But we still have to be effective in our handling of those situations by not letting them fester. If someone has an issue in your church, the worst thing you can do is leave it alone and hope that it goes away. It never goes away. Deal with distractions quickly and efficiently, don't leave them for later. Second, don't waste time with sideways energy. We have to be decisive with our handling of distractions. Spending too much time worrying over them or plotting out how we might deal with them is just sideways energy that is being taken away from the momentum. Maintaining momentum requires the vast majority of your energy, so don't spend any more than you need to on dealing with distractions. Finally, remember that you're doing God's work. If you have momentum at your church, it's momentum toward something God has placed before you. That's too important for you to get distracted from! If these were your own plans or purposes it would be okay to pull back and slow down, but they're not! When God places something in front of us, we don't want to let distractions knock us off course. As 200church leaders, the responsibility is on us to maintain momentum. A church that is actively moving toward a mission is a beautiful thing and something we should never squander. It's hard work getting a 200church going, so don't let the distractions push you off course! Pastor Steve Spear just finished running from California's Pacific Coast all the way to New York City - for real! This guy ran one step at a time all the way across America. No marathon ending injuries, no one ran him over, no flooding swept him away, and no blisters halted his pace. He did this all to raise money for clean water for life in an African community of 30,000 people. "I hate running! I only had four goals: to hate running less each time I ran..." Yet, this man ran 120 marathons, coast to coast, with a goal to raise 1.5 million dollars to provide clean water for life to 30,000 people in Kenya! He's not there yet, but you can help... Perhaps others have done this, but not many. Steve is in an elite group. He just finished his foot trek a few days ago, having spent the entire summer running about 35 miles daily, taking only one day a week off, and wearing out ten pairs of Asics running shoes in the process!
We interviewed Steve on the 200churches Podcast. You can find that interview, and links to Steve and the organization he’s partnering with, World Vision, RIGHT HERE. If you skip over to our Podcast page by clicking the tab at the top of this page, you can download the mp3 of Episode 22 and listen to it anytime. (Right click on the "download the mp3" link and select "save link as...") Jonny and I want to say CONGRATULATIONS to Steve and encourage you to consider watching his story here, and giving to his cause – to provide clean water for life to men, women, and children in Africa. God bless you Steve. And… you da man! Today, Monday, August 26, 2013 we are going to interview Pastor Dan Reiland for a series of podcast episodes we will deliver to you through the rest of this calendar year. He has been an executive pastor for many years, leading other pastors as they each shepherd their area of the church. That is why Dan is the perfect guy to talk with about pastors raising up leaders in their local churches – he has been helping pastors of smaller segments of his congregation do that for over twenty years! Here is a brief video highlighting his book that will be the subject of our talks with him… On Wednesday, the first of five episodes with Dan will be released. The final four will continue to be released on the last Wednesday of the month, September – December.
This week’s episode will deal with Part One of Dan’s book, Amplified Leadership – Five Practices to Establish Influence, Build People, and Impact Others For a Lifetime. Part One is all about establishing a relationship with people, connecting at the heart level, and appreciating people for who they are. We will be talking about selecting potential leaders in your 200church. How do you think about your pastoral leadership? Do you think in terms of “How can I accomplish everything I have to do – how do I get it all done?” Do you attack your task list and your schedule with vigor every morning, excited to be involved in the “work of the ministry”? We would like to suggest a slightly different way to think about it. What if you thought... “Who can I raise up today to join me in the work of the ministry in our church?” What if your focus was on not what, but WHO? Who can I encourage today? Who can I unleash today, with their unique Spirit-given gifts and abilities? Who can I lift up today in leadership in my church? Who can I invite onto our team of servants? What volunteers can I equip, encourage, and support today? WHO is just waiting to be asked, invited, recognized, encouraged, or inspired to serve Jesus today? And… When we think WHO, let’s also remember that our people’s influence and ministry does not happen only in our church facilities – far from it! The ministry impact of our people is felt every day in their homes, neighborhoods, families, workplaces, schools, businesses, and circles of influence. We do our people a disservice if our mindset is that their ministry is limited to the four walls of our facilities. The impact of our church is so much greater. This week we are going to begin a conversation about amplifying our leadership so that we are not solo or lone ranger leaders, but so that we lift others up to achieve their full potential in the body of Christ. Now, that is exciting! Why You Should Listen We want to reiterate that this is not the usual book promotion interview – at all! His book has been out for over two years. We are going to dive deep into the content of the book, as it is extremely practical for us as pastors – dealing with the nuts and bolts of ministry leadership. Over the course of five podcast episodes – over two hours – we will try to cover the teaching of the book so that we will all be better leaders and shepherds, for Jesus, and for our congregations. Dan Reiland’s mentor, John Maxwell, once said “It is wonderful when the people believe in the leader, but it is more wonderful when the leader believes in the people.” God wants us to believe in our people, because they are the body of Christ, called, gifted, and empowered by his Holy Spirit to do amazing and marvelous things in service to the King, Jesus. We get to be a part of it. That is how we want to think about our pastoral leadership! We love you pastors of 200churches, respect you, and pray that our conversations with Dan will be an encouragement to you, and an affirmation and recognition of your leadership significance in the Kingdom of God. That Apostle Paul guy was quite bold. In Acts 9 where he makes his big debut, and while he was still Saul, it says he was “speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.” Wow. Quite a start! How about us? Do 200church pastors speak and lead with boldness? Are we bold? Or… do we pander, hedge, spin, and dodge the issue? Are we confident enough as leaders to be bold in our leadership, confronting doubters and worriers? Do we shrink back at the first sign of opposition or discouragement? In Episode 26 of the 200churches Podcast this Wednesday, we talk about being bold and, if we have to, creating a stir! Our people are looking for bold leadership and bold faith.
There are prerequisites to boldness though. Pastors and leaders aren't just automatically bold. Certain things have to be present in us, and practiced by us. On that note, here are 7 ways to be bold in our ministries: Walk with God. Isn't this the bottom line? Is this not what brings us integrity and power in leadership? Walking with God by faith and by communing with the Holy Spirit is essential to boldness in ministry. Complete reliance on God for wisdom and ability in pastoral ministry is where it all starts. How are you and God getting along? Confront sin in your own life. If we maintain willful, hidden sin in our life, we will lack the boldness to speak and to lead with authority. We can be sure that sin will ultimately bring our ruin, or at the least, hamper our effectiveness for God. How are you and sin getting along? Poorly, we hope! :) Be full of the Book. That’s one of the “basics” we talked about in last Friday’s post. When we are consuming large quantities of scripture, we are full of God’s truth. Daily intake means it is within arm’s reach of our minds all day long. Biblical truth coming in is a prerequisite to boldness. How are you and the Bible doing? Rely on wise advisers. In the multitude of counselors there is wisdom. (Proverbs 11:14; 15:22) John Maxwell says that “those closest to us will determine the level of our success.” He calls that the Law of the Inner Circle in his book, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. We will never know it all. We should be talking to people, listening, learning, and borrowing all the brains we can. Got advisers? Listen to critics. Our critics are never all wrong, and rarely are they all right either! Critics will point out the flaws in our thinking, the gaps in our processes, and the weaknesses of our plans. When we listen to them, and learn from their insight, we can be more confident, having been strengthened by their scrutiny. We then will move forward with more boldness, enjoying clearer direction. Are you paying attention to your critics? Plan ahead. You've heard it, “if you fail to plan you plan to fail.” How true that is. Boldness and uncertainty do not occupy the same space well. If we have not planned well, thought through the potential problems, and predicted the unintended consequences, we usually won’t move forward boldly. Instead we are hesitant, halting, and indecisive. Boldness comes from quality planning. Do you have a plan? End by giving it all to God. When we are done preparing, processing, and praying, we move forward boldly, in FAITH. Our faith is in God alone, not any of the above steps or processes. God is the one who has filled us, and commissioned us to serve him by making disciples. Boldness comes when we drive the car, but God holds the Title. It’s his game and he’s already won, we’re just moving across the board in faith. Can you say "In God I trust"? You see, boldness in ministry is not the result of a microwaved process. Vision by sound bite doesn't go very far. There needs to be completeness about our ministry in order for us to have boldness in ministry. No shortcuts to the above 7 prerequisites. Want to be bold?
How are you doing in these seven areas? Which area do you need to work on the most today? Maybe you need to take action in order to become more bold in your ministry. Go for it! Do it! On Wednesday’s podcast, we are going to talk about some very practical tensions that may preclude us from being bold in our ministries, and encourage you to go ahead and be bold, and perhaps “create a stir”!
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.
In Episode 20 of The 200churches Podcast, Jeff and Jonny are joined by Rob (not his real name), a recent attender to their church. Rob has a bunch of new-fangled ideas as a twenty-something pastor’s kid who got very disillusioned with the church, and walked away from it.
In this episode he talks about why he left the church, how he thinks twenty-somethings think about the church’s relevance in our society, what attracted him back to the church and why he actually wants to be a part of it now, and what his generation hopes the churches of today would do in their communities – what excites them about the Kingdom of God.
This is a very revealing conversation outlining some alternative thinking about the Kingdom of God, the church, and the society we live in. We hope you enjoy the podcast. Please leave any comments below, we’d love your feedback! Also subscribe to the podcast on iTunes by simply searching for 200churches, or click on the link on our About page.
No leader wants to admit that their church is selfish, but unfortunately many churches out there are. A selfish church is one that is inward focused, always worrying about internal issues and situations, completely forgetting the surrounding culture and their Biblical mission to be the hands and feet of Jesus into the world. Selfish churches are scary places and most of the time have a toxic environment. Luckily, there's an antidote.
This week on the Podcast we talk about the mission trip that Jonny led to Des Moines last week, and how service projects and mission trips are pivotal to moving a church away from being inward facing to being outward facing. We broke the types of projects that a church can do into two categories that, although different, should be integrated with one another: social and evangelistic.
Social projects or trips are primarily focused on serving a person or community without any explicit evangelism. Evangelistic projects or trips are focused primarily on sharing the good news of Jesus. We at 200churches believe that churches must be focused on BOTH of these missions and we believe that Matthew 25 and 28 point us in that direction. We must make disciples, but can't forget physical needs in the process. So why aren't more churches focused on missions? We believe the answer is that changing a culture feels like too daunting of a task! To go from no service projects or missions trips (aka being a selfish church) to being an outward facing church is a big jump, right? Well, not necessarily. - |
Welcome to the 200churches blog! We have hundreds of posts covering every issue imaginable. So pull up a chair, pour a cup of coffee, and stay awhile.
|