Episode 54 - Are You Wired For Your Church In These 3 Areas?

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EPISODE OUTLINE
In Episode 54 we talk about being wired in certain ways for ministry. We unpack three areas of “wiring”:

1. Are you wired for your church? Are you wired for your church’s culture, context, congregational age, and demographic?
2. Are you wired for your staff/leadership? Sometimes two pastors will end up on the same staff and really not be wired to work with each other. What might be worse is if you are actually wired to work in different churches, in other words, you simply cannot work well together. (Think Paul and Silas!)
3. Are you wired to deliver a sermon/message in the way you were instructed to in Bible College or Seminary? Think about how you preach and teach, and maybe by thinking outside the box, you could be more effective if you delivered content consistent with how God has wired you. Maybe you are just not wired to "present" the way you were trained in seminary?
   

We talk about the difficulty we had in creating this particular episode. We had a very busy week, filled with unexpected events, and did not have much time to invest in preparation.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
We do not say this on the podcast, so we will say it now – we were able to navigate the past week because we have been preparing well and praying much. We had already committed our weekend plan to God, and had spent a lot of time preparing well for the weekend of ministry. Most of it did not go according to our plans, but we knew that God was answering our prayers for the weekend in his own way, so it was easy to roll with his punches!

We think that all of life should be preparation for ministry, and that if we are walking close to the LORD, he will accomplish his will in us and through us, even if it doesn’t look like our plans.

So this episode is for YOU! We hope that you are encouraged and challenged by two guys who are doing what you’re doing – ministry in a 200church. We aren’t perfect, but we depend on the God of the universe – so we’re covered, and so are you!

IMPORTANT NOTE:
As you listen to this episode, it might sound like we are questioning your call to your church, that we are saying to leave your church if you are not a fit, if you're not wired for it. No, No, No. We want to send the message that long term pastorates are the best for churches. BUT...

If you find that in all three areas that we talk about, you are dramatically wired differently, and not for your current context - then you should seriously question whether or not you might better serve the Kingdom in a different ministry location. That transition might take a month or two years, God can handle it.

If you are just wired differently in only one of the areas, and it's just a moderate difference, then you just need to consider how you might mitigate the difficulties in that area. Perhaps you need to get advice or counsel on how to handle that area in your context/culture. This is likely simply an opportunity for growth.

If you are dying on the vine - get help, get counsel, get advice, and if you need to - get out! So, that is your PASTORAL WARNING as you prepare to listen to this episode. We think after all the bluster... you'll like it! :)

We also mentioned resources, websites, and people. So… here are links to resources we mentioned in Episode 54:

Dave Jackson’s School of Podcasting site/podcast
John Lee Dumas – Entrepreneur on Fire site/podcast
Dan Reiland – Regular Guest on 200churches Podcast
Karl Vaters – Regular Guest on 200churches Podcast
Dave Jacobs – Pastor Coach & Regular 200churches Guest
Expository Preaching – Haddon Robinson
Communicating For A Change – Andy Stanley