The Cost Of Wearing The Pastoral Mask

photo from the-love-compass.com

Pastor Steve was on the brink of an emotional and physical breakdown. His health was not good and as he lay in a hospital bed after going through some tests, his mind traveled back to that first interview, fresh out of seminary, sitting nervously in a small church. Steve had heard that the church had been on a slow decline for the previous 5 years and had been searching for a pastor for over a year. He recalled how he sat wearing his best suit, displaying his super pastor image for a search committee of 7 elderly members, the remnant that held the church together. 

During the meeting, the committee had laid out their expectations: They wanted a man who could preach great sermons that would bring in lots of new converts. He was to lead the church in creating ministry opportunities, pastor the flock by visiting the sick and burying those who pass from this world. He was expected to bring in money to get the church out of debt. They counted on him to be a great teacher and administrator and of course, be above reproach and the example of what a true Christian should be and do. Steve convinced the church he was their man in that meeting and the church wanted to believe that this young man was God's choice and therefore would meet all of their expectations. 

For the past 7 years Steve had been wearing that same image. Looking back, he now wished he would never have put on the super pastor mask. He was worn out trying to live up to all of those expectations and felt foolish that he really believed he could do all of those things well.  He was ashamed and felt guilty of living a lie for the past 7 years as their pastor.  He felt like a failure in so many areas.

Steve was a good preacher and worked hard to please his members and to grow the church but it left him little time to handle the rest of his responsibilities.  Pastoring an elderly congregation, there always seemed to be a need to visit someone in the hospital or prepare for a funeral. He was a terrible administrator, he hated details but the church didn't have the budget to hire someone to handle the financial and business aspects of the church. 

Steve's family and marriage suffered because he just didn't have the time to give what they needed. He was working 6 days and 5 nights a week and there always seemed to be an emergency or meeting on his supposedly free nights. His spiritual life was running on fumes also. He knew things needed to change but what could he do? Admit that he was a failure, that he was a poser all this time as a pastor?

  

Coaching pastors, I find that Steve is not unique, unfortunately his situation is more of the norm. *This is the time most pastors begin to look for a way out, either leaving the pastorate all together or finding another church where they often begin the cycle all over again.  Steve was different. He broke down on a Sunday evening service and shared about his health and that he needed a break. He came clean about his feelings and guess what?  The congregation stepped up and agreed to take stuff off of his plate.  They seemed to understand and encouraged him to take a sabbatical in order to get healthy before returning.   

  

The problem is not all the fault of pastors. The American evangelical church has created the notion of super pastor that comes with unrealistic expectations and job descriptions. The truth is that most believers expect their pastor to have all five ministry giftings of the Holy Spirit; apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd, and teacher. But very rarely does any one person have three of the five much less all of them.   Most pastors excel in one and they try to manage the rest as best as they can. But before long you'll begin to hear the chatter among members, "Our pastor is a great evangelist but he is such a lousy pastor." Or, "our pastor is such a great shepherd but I wish he could preach!"

So how do we address the problem? What could Steve have one differently from the start?  Here are seven ways that may help a pastor avoid Steve's problem.  I'd love to hear any other suggestions also.  

1. Squelch the perception that the pastor is a super Christian. Two issues here are pride and expectations.  If a pastor never puts on the super pastor mask, he won't have to live up to it. There may be pressure to impress a church to get hired, but if you have to be "Jesus" to get the job, you don't want that job.  Be yourself from the start by being authentic and showing vulnerability. Talk about your strengths and your weaknesses, your struggles and failures. Remind the members over and over that you are not a "super Christian" but a human who sins and fails from time to time. I can only grow and succeed by the power, mercy and grace of Jesus. Stay grounded and resist the urge to be put on a pedestal.  
2. Take the ministry seriously but don't take yourself too seriously.  Joke about yourself and the boneheaded mistakes you make. Help others identify with you.  
3. Lead by casting a vision of unity and teamwork. Constantly remind the members that the church (members) should engage the world as a team.  The pastor usually plays the role of quarterback but unless everyone functions in unity doing their part, the church's goals and expectations will not be met.  
4. Set firm boundaries with your time for your own devotion, your family and free time. Communicate up front with your leadership the importance of those boundaries. Call on your leadership to hold you accountable to keeping those boundaries. Stand firm!
5. Work together with your leadership team to define your church's specific values.  Post those in a lot of places, preach about them, recognize and reward those who live out your values.     
6. Delegate, delegate and then delegate some more.  Give as much ministry away so that you as pastor can focus on leading, casting vision, and using whatever ministry gift that God has given you.
7. Don't isolate yourself.  Find a group of pastors from other churches that you can meet regularly with to play, pray and discuss your common problems. Make friends outside of your church that will allow you to get away from the business of your church.

*Average tenure for pastors at any one church is 5-7 years. http://www.gbjournal.org/8-82/
Here are other blog posts concerning this issue:

http://thomrainer.com/2014/06/dangerous-third-year-pastoral-tenure/

http://the-love-compass.com/2013/11/09/cultivating-authenticity-letting-go-of-what-people-think/

Miracles Continue at Honduras Orphanage

Living Water Children's Ranch, Honduras

This is an update on my post on my blog, Miracles on the Mission Field, about the miracles God has provided as we tried to build an orphanage in Honduras. You can read the fascinating story of its beginning here.  Since I wrote that blog, God has continued to bless our efforts and bring the ministry in Honduras to fruition and it has been fascinating to watch and see the hand of God in the process. 

Teresa Devlin, the missionary who helped find and secure the property and get the building built passed away in the fall of 2012.  She had suffered from scleroderma for years and became very sick in June of that year and had to be flown back to San Antonio.  She never fully recovered and went to be with God in October of 2012.

Teresa had been concerned for years about who would succeed her and be the one to oversee the orphanage. Two weeks before Teresa became ill, a young woman from Arkanas, Jennifer Zilly who had been referred to Teresa by a friend, flew down to Honduras to spend some time with Teresa in order to get a feel of the ministry and to see if working along side of her was a possibility.  

Jennifer, Darwin and 5 of the children at the ranch

That plan quickly changed while she was there, as Teresa became sick. With the timing of her visit, and Teresa having to leave Honduras, Jennifer was suddenly faced with a decision. Do I return to the states and forget about this opportunity or do I stay? She felt as if her timing was God's and that she was left to further Teresa's ministry. So instead of flying back home like most would have done, Jennifer stayed in Honduras and began to adjust and learn the Honduran ways. This young American, right out of college, found a job coaching girls basketball in La Ceiba, Honduras and made herself part of the community (that there was even a coaching position open is a miracle and another story).  Fairly quickly Jennifer adapted and over the year she began to pick up Teresa's ministry.

Today Jennifer is married to a wonderful Honduran young man, Darwin who was Teresa's main instructor at her music conservatory. They now live at and oversee the Living Water Children's Ranch, the orphanage we had been working to establish for several years. 

It hasn't been easy but they have 7 children living at the home now. The process of securing children for the orphanage is difficult and sometimes drawn out because they have to work with and through the Honduran government. So they take the children that God provides and wait for the next one.

Doing their schoolwork

What has been incredible is all of the ministry that they have started for the children and the neighbors around them.  Not only are they raising the orphans, but they have also started a school on the property for children in the neighborhood.  Darwin continues to teach music to children and oversee the music conservatory. And they have recently started a weekly Bible study for the families in the neighborhood with a surprising number attending. 

Jennifer is a prolific writer and she chronicles in a real and personal way their struggles with these very difficult children in this third world country.  She doesn't gloss over the ministry and you'll get a great up close and personal view of life as a missionary by reading her blog.
  

The interesting thing about the transition from Teresa Devlin to Jennifer Zilly was that I along with a mission team from San Antonio, met Jennifer that spring in Honduras during Jennifer's initial visit to meet Teresa. We didn't know how serious Jennifer was about moving to Honduras and working with Teresa, but most all of the team members did not think that Jennifer would be the permanent replacement for Teresa.  

However we were not in a position to make that decision, thank God, and a few weeks later we suddenly needed a person to fill in for Teresa and Jennifer was there.  We realized that she was God's choice!  

Darwin directing his choir

Jennifer is completely different from Teresa, in age, personality, life experience, etc., but what each have in common is a heart for God. Jennifer has turned out to be an incredible self starter, who has stayed as close to the word of God in her words and actions as most anyone I have ever met. She needs our prayers every day to continue the incredibly difficult and demanding work in Honduras. She has fought illness, difficult living conditions, an apathetic, uneducated and Godless people in which to minister.  In spite of all of this, Jennifer and Darwin are committed to reaching this community for Christ, and raising children with the knowledge of Christ so that they may choose an eternal home in His kingdom and may live productive, fulfilling and Godly lives as an adult.  

It is beyond my comprehension how God has provided every time we hit a wall with this project.  And not only did He provide, but God gave us more than we even imagined every single time.  So yes, I'm learning to accept God's will, wait on His timing and not try to control the process. He is infinitely wiser than his children.  Go here to read about the first children at the orphanage.

How Katrina dramatically changed a Texas church

10 years ago, Austin Christian Fellowship, a large congregation in an affluent area of west Austin, had big plans.  Their big vision was to raise enough money to build a 4,000 seat worship auditorium on a hill, the highest point in west Austin.  It would face Austin and the congregation would have a beautiful view of the hill country and the skyline of Austin, making it the premiere church of Austin, Texas. 

But a hurricane changed all of that. Hurricane Katrina came nowhere near Austin, but Austin felt the impact as hundreds of the New Orleans residents that were displaced from their homes by Katrina were bused into Austin. Most of those sent to Austin were housed in the Austin convention center, and churches all over Austin began to offer aid. AFC Pastor Will Davis, during a sermon this summer, told about how Austin Christian Fellowship responded and how it radically changed him and the church. 

ACF was one of several churches that worked with the city and state officials in a coordinated effort to provide basic essentials for those displaced by Katrina. But Will explained that he felt God telling him to become personally involved.  So he went to the convention center and found a displaced family from New Orleans and took them to dinner. The encounter moved Will to such an extent that ACF not only helped the family find housing but assisted 20 other families also.  The whole experience radically changed the pastor, the leadership and the congregation's mindset for missions and passion to serve. 

At the time of Katrina, Pastor Will explained, ACF was giving about 1% of its budget to missions, local or global. This encounter so changed the mindset of the staff, leadership and congregation that the "big vision" of building a giant auditorium now seemed very small. That goal of building a massive worship center was replaced by a vision of serving their community and planting churches. Instead of growing vertically, ACF would make its impact through missions and growing God's kingdom horizontally. Since the encounter with the refugees of hurricane Katrina, the church has increased its giving every year to where they now give over 50% of their annual budget to local and global missions. They are planting churches throughout the city and sending mission teams all over the world. 

Isn't it amazing how God uses many things, events, people, and even a hurricane, to change hearts, minds and attitudes? Whether you are a pastor, deacon or member, perhaps the greatest way to change yourself and your world is to take a step of faith and join God in what he is doing.  When you "go" incredible things happen.  Go here to watch Will's entire sermon as he shares the story of how Katrina changed him and the church.

The life cycle of a church: Is your church a movement, monument, museum, or morgue?

James Shupp has recently published an interesting and informative novel, Who Killed My Church, about a dying church and its pastor's last efforts to turn it around. This is a fictional story yet you'll recognize the problems as the plight of hundreds of churches across the country.  And Shupp writes from his own experience as a pastor of a once mega church trying to reclaim its glory and significance in the community. 

With humor and great storytelling, Shupp takes the reader through the fictional Green Street Baptist's struggle to reclaim its purpose and mission.  If you have been involved in a church for any time at all, you'll probably swear Shupp used members of your church as his characters and just changed their names. 

In the story, the church hires a consultant to help the leadership come up with a plan to revive their church.  Shupp lays out the seasons of a church, starting as a movement, slipping into a monument, then becoming a museum and finally dying at the morgue stage. As the consultant cleverly explains this to the leadership of Green Street Baptist,
"All churches that began as a movement have a way of getting stuck in a moment.  When this occurs, they transform into monuments that do little more than honor the past.  Nostalgia can roll through a house of worship like a heat wave on a summer day.  A church that collects too many of these monuments ultimately becomes a museum.  There are pastors and staff all across America who feel more like curators of a museum than men and women of God with a fire in their bones.  If this trend isn’t reversed, these churches will ultimately become morgues.  The frozen chosen are always the last ones to turn out the lights.  Don’t let this happen to you.”

I've experienced the slow transition from movement to monument while on staff of churches and have coached churches that were in the museum stage. So I can attest that although the book is fictional, the the story is relevant, compelling and inspirational.

Check out the chart from the book, Who Killed My Church? See if you can identify which season your church is in.  If your church is a monument or museum can you return to being a movement?  If so, how?  See how it's done in this wonderful book, Who Killed My Church?

Rethinking the idea of our "Calling"

I am all about living out my "calling" as my blog title infers. So I would like to share a perspective on living out our calling that maybe somewhat different than the general idea that I was taught when I was first getting into ministry.  This is not gospel, just observations on my part that I think will help us to live out our calling with freedom, joy and passion. 

I was brought up to believe certain things about finding my "calling". Looking back now I see that they were a flawed or limited view of the idea of God's calling in one's life.  

Myth # 1 God will always communicate your "calling" in a dramatic, supernatural or clearly spoken way.

Many have responded to a sermon or an altar call to go into the ministry and believe that is the way it generally happens. God tells me what I'm to be or do and I say yes. But, I don't believe one has to hear an audible directive from God to have a "calling".  All believers have a "calling", and I believe as Ephesians 2:10 says that God has already prepared the way for us to do good works. But discovering that calling comes about in all kinds of ways, often developed through our unique experiences in the church and through ministry and life in general.  

I got very involved in the church during my high school and jr. college years. I never intended to go into the ministry but was involved in ministry as a volunteer even while I pursued a career in broadcasting. I followed the doors God opened for me and eventually switched careers. I can look back now and see how God was laying the foundation for my "calling" in my teenage years.  There is no cookie-cutter method of discovering our calling. The process of finding my 'calling' was unique to me. God works differently in each person's life. If you wait for God to tell you just what to do in the way that others have said will happen, you may be missing out on what God has prepared for you. 

Myth #2  I must have a career in the ministry if God has "called" me.  

When people hear someone say they have found their "calling" in life, they automatically think of vocation. That I believe is a limited view of "calling". A better perspective is to view a "calling" as the same as our purpose. Another way to define "calling" is the means in which we live out our purpose and mission in life. I like to view our "calling" as both the vision and the means. Our primary calling is God's purpose for our life and our secondary calling is our occupation. Our occupation (secondary calling) is the means by which we fulfill our primary calling.  So we could be a pastor, children's coordinator, doctor or whatever job that gives one the opportunity to live out his or her primary calling.  There are a myriad of ways to live out your "calling" other than being a minister. But many theologians will argue that you must have a specific "call" from God to be a pastor, that it is much like the priesthood of the Old Testament.  My denomination holds to the "priesthood of the believer" doctrine developed from 1 Peter 2:4-10, that all believers are priests in Christ.  Yet even in our denomination many believe the uniqueness and difficulty of the pastorate demands a specific call from God. I'd love to hear what you believe.  

Myth #3. God will always call us to go and do things that we would never want to do.  

I find it interesting that we say, I have "surrendered" to God's call, like I'm going to prison or off to a lifetime job that I'll hate for the rest of my life.  God's "calling" should allow us to serve Him with a passion and joy, doing something that we love.  I expect to sacrifice material and physical things and go to places I may not choose to go on my own. But my calling is lived out serving with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, doing what God designed me to do well. Yes, he often pushed me out of my comfort zone, challenged me to do things I didn't think I could do, but I never dreaded following God's leading.  Following His call should be a great adventure, experiencing God in incredible ways as God helps us overcome the trials and disappointments of life to glorify Him. 

Myth # 4. Once you are called, you are called to do this for life.  

I was told that if God called you to be a youth minister, you were always to be a youth minister, that you were abandoning your call if you changed ministry positions.  I don't think this was the prevailing thought but many believe a call is to a lifetime sentence. This thinking happens when you mistake your primary calling with your secondary calling.  As I stated in Myth #2, our primary calling is our purpose and our secondary calling is our occupation.  Your primary calling (purpose) will never change, but your secondary calling, the way you live out your primary calling, may change many times over the course of a lifetime.  

A friend of mine was a high school football coach for years until he retired and then moved to Ireland to serve as a missionary. His job allowed him to use his skill to fulfill his "calling" to reach kids for Christ.  Now he is using those same skills in Ireland, to reach young men for Christ. He is still pursuing his "calling" but now in a different setting.  

I love this quote from Brian Schroller;  There is a glorious life and we merely need to grab hold of it and help others do the same.  Give a man a clear sense of the larger story, (primary calling), help him determine his uniquely created role to play (secondary calling), and teach him to walk in conversational intimacy with the Father.  Now you've really got something!

As we seek to find the best pathway to living out our calling, we discover that God will provide the opportunities and direction if we seek Him first. The best way is to seek God in everything we do.  Jesus then becomes our life, our passion, and He uses our unique abilities to accomplish His purposes in His Kingdom.  

Rethinking bi-vocational ministry

20 years ago the prevailing thought was that if you were a bi-vocational pastor, you were just not good enough to be a full-time pastor. Most every pastor's goal was to be full time.  After all, the job of a pastor, no matter the size of church, required more than 40 hours a week. For many the pastorate was viewed as a vocation, where one could make a better than average salary doing what you loved to do.
  
You went to seminary, got your degree and credentials and sent your résumé to potential churches.  Not much different from any other job.  You started out in a small church or a lower staff position to gain a little experience, then moved to a bigger, better church, with better pay and a better position.  You explain to your congregation with each move that God has called you to a new location. If you were fortunate enough and good enough you could eventually be called to a large church with a high paying salary.  Pastors changed churches (especially in the Baptist world) like college teams change coaches, working their way up the clergy latter.   

Today, the landscape of the clergy has radically changed.  More churches are struggling financially and full-time staff positions are becoming increasingly harder to find. Those going into the ministry today know that the big salaries of the past is not a reality anymore. And the perception of the bi-vocational pastor has also changed as the view of the pastorate has evolved into more of a calling than strictly a job. Those going into ministry have a purer motivation, sensing a calling much like a missionary would.  The church planters that I work with certainly don't start a church with the idea of ever becoming wealthy.  All of them struggle making ends meet, many sacrificing for their family, most having to raise their own support or be bi-vocational.

  

Many of our Missional Association church planting pastors are bi-vocational and there are some advantages to being bi-vocational.

  

1) A bigger percentage of the budget for missions and ministry

A few actually have chosen this course over a full-time pastor as a strategy to allow more of the church's budget to go to missions and ministry.

2) More members involved in ministry  

Having pastors who are bi-vocational also removes the stigma of the professional pastor who is paid to do the work of the ministry while the members come to be ministered to.  A bi-vocational pastor has to delegate, train and trust his members to do the ministry.  The pastor actually has to spend most of his time equipping the saints for ministry instead of doing it himself.  This is actually a good thing as members take on more of the ministry and feel a real ownership and fulfillment by using their gifts to grow God's kingdom. 

3) Pastors interact more with the secular world

Having another job working outside the church gets the pastor out of his office and among the secular world.  They will have more of an opportunity to share the gospel with non believers and they'll have a better understanding of what the members experience in the working world.   

The downside is that pastors seldom give away the ministry.  They often continue to work their 40 hours as a pastor and add their part time job on top of that.  Their families suffer and their health takes a tremendous toll.  A pastor transitioning into bi-vocation told me that since he was not full-time at the church, he feels out of the loop, like I'm losing control.  Maybe that's a good thing also.  A need to control is often the reason a church does not grow.

So if you are bi-vocatioal please don't consider yourself inferior in any way.  You may actually be in a better position to do what God has called you to do and your church may be healthier because you are bi-vocational.

For more on this, read David Wheeler's excellent article on the change in ministry from full-time to bi-vocational pastors.   David Wheeler's article

Do we love things more than people?

I heard a powerful quote the other day which sent my mind in all kinds of directions, "People are created to be loved. Things are created to be used. Many of our problems stem from us getting this backwards. We love things and use people".

Wow!  This is so true and can be a problem in so many areas of our lives, from family to politics. We so often take advantage of people to get the things we love!  It is also a real problem in the church and is one of the main reasons people leave the church, never to return. When pastors use and manipulate their own members in order to get the things they think they need to be successful as a church or as a pastor, members of the church can sense that they are being used.  When that occurs, it's not long before they will be heading to another church or to never set foot in a church again. 

It may be one of the most common complaints I hear from Christians these days. For example, I was recently told, "I just feel so disconnected from the pastor and the church staff.  I am constantly asked to give money to this or that at the church and exhorted to participate in this campaign or this program but I can't remember when I was asked about me personally or even how I am doing spiritually."  

I had a conversation with a young man that had recently returned from a two year term on the mission field. He had grown up in the church that commissioned him.  He told me that he was very disappointed that once he got overseas, it was as if his home church had forgotten about him. No one ever sent a care package and there were no emails of encouragement. The only time he heard from the church staff was when they needed his help with a mission team they were sending his way. When he returned, many asked him where he had been. Most of the church never knew he had been sent on the mission field. He said wasn't expecting much but what he came away with was the feeling that he was being used, not loved or cared for. 

Leaders must be very careful not to love things more than people.  Especially in the church, we can get so caught up in leading, planning, preaching, evangelizing and sending missionaries, in order to make our goals, to grow our church, that we neglect the shepherding part of the ministry. And when we get word of a member's discontent, we often just dismiss their feelings as being selfish.  We have forgotten that the greatest commandment is to love God and to love people. If you fall into the trap of using your people to build your own kingdom, you can significantly damage the faith and the trust of those you are called to disciple.  

That is not to say we must not exhort and challenge our members to give, grow and be involved in ministry.  I also realize as the church grows, each member's voice can become smaller and it becomes impossible to stay closely connected to everyone. That is why it is so important to delegate the ministry and train up other leaders to minister to the members, in small groups or through ministry teams.  Creating community within the larger church is critical.

It really comes down to motive. What is my true motive for ministry?  Am I driven to succeed for the sake of success? If so, you'll probably use people to get there.  Or do I serve in ministry from a heart of loving people.  Will it help if I remind myself fairly often, that people are more valuable than any possession I may desire, including success and are to be loved and not used?  Search me oh God and help me not to love things. Grow my love for you and give me a heart to love people. 

The Foundation of All Discipleship

I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.  John 15:5

Yesterday during our Missional Association church planters luncheon I was reminded in a very strong way that the essence of all we do as pastors and Christ followers is rooted in this verse.  If all we do and who we are, is not abiding in Christ, our works, our ministry, our life is nothing.  Our day, our Christian walk must start out with this basic principle, abide in Christ.  

When we reproduce disciples, do we reproduce ourselves?  Or do we reproduce Christ?  Do we reproduce workers?  Or do we reproduce others who also abide in Christ?

When making disciples we must live and lay down this foundational truth found in Jesus' words of John 15. It is such a simple truth that we often overlook the significance of it in our lives.  In our busy days with so much to do and so much to teach, we breeze past it.  Yet everything rests on this principle of abiding in Him, all doctrine, every aspect of the Christian life. We cannot undervalue this aspect of the Christian life and cannot focus on it too much.  

What does abiding in Christ look like in your life?  

I've posted two other blog posts about discipleship and bearing fruit that speak to this.

The Art of Discipleship  

True Fruit 

Is good enough, good enough?

Recently I read the book Deliberate Simplicity by Dave Browning of Christ the King Church which argues the point that good enough is good enough in ministry, that the pursuit of excellence that many pastors and leaders pursue in churches may actually be a stumbling block to ministry.  Now that's a new one.  And it really got me thinking.   

I've grown up with the mindset that we should always strive for excellence in our work for the kingdom, citing Colossians 3:23 "whatever you do unto the Lord, do it with all of your heart", as my reference verse.  I recall being asked the question several years ago, why would anyone come to our church over the one down the street.  My answer was that we do things better, with excellence.  As I look back now I realize that is certainly one way to attract people to your church but probably not the Biblical way.  Now I agree with Browning that excellence should not be our goal after all. 

It is a very real struggle to keep up with not only the world, but also churches in our neighborhoods, to always come up with the bigger and better.  And there should always be a tension and desire to do things better with "all of our heart".  We shouldn't ever do anything half-hearted for Jesus.  The church has been notorious for lacking quality in ministry, doing it without creativity, imagination and inspiration.  But should excellence be the goal of the church?

As I look back on my thirty years in ministry, even though I thought I believed in the concept of doing everything with excellence, I didn't do ministry by that standard.  Not until I read the book, Deliberate Simplicity, did I understand that excellence was never my goal.  What I desired all along was transformation and it does not take excellence to transform someone.  Actually the pursuit of excellence in ministry often times becomes a stumbling block to transformation.  Rick Warren wrote, "You have heard it said, 'if it can't be done without excellence, don't do it'.  Well Jesus never said that.   The truth is almost everything we do is done poorly when we first start doing it - that's how we learn.  At Saddleback Church we practice the 'good enough' principle.  It doesn't have to be perfect for God to use it and bless it.  We would rather involve thousands of people in ministry than have a perfect church run by a few elites."  

Doing things with "all of your heart" in Col. 3:23 does not mean with excellence.  It is a motivation to do things with a heart for Christ, not to please people or reach some man imposed standard of how things should be done. When my motivation is transformation to Christ-likeness, then when I am putting together a mission trip, I am more concerned with having a team of individuals that need transforming, that are willing to be transformed and those that can help transform those in which we are  ministering to.  I'm not trying to put together the perfect team that will get the task done with excellence.

A worship leader struggles with the tension between excellence and good enough every week.  Do I limit the team to just the three or four best singers, or do I include others who don't quite meet the excellence standard?  If you are more concerned with the sound than with transformation of your team members, allowing them to grow and use their giftedness for Christ, then you will exclude those who don't measure up.  It is ironic that it is easier using only the top singers each week, not having to develop less than great talent.  

An unhealthy focus on doing everything with "excellence" can take your focus off of relationships and put it on the task.  It can cause volunteers and staff to avoid risk, to avoid taking chances and innovative things.  We seldom do things quite as well the first time.  It will limit the number of people who are involved in ministry because we are prone to do it ourselves or use the experts and paid staff.   This is a real issue in churches.  Pastors and staff must deal with the tension between effective ministry and "excellent" ministry on a regular basis

In a new church plant, with limited resources, you try to stretch every cent as far as it can go to reach people for Christ.  Most new plants worship in less than excellent spaces, use less than excellent sound systems, have less than excellent children's and youth ministries.  And yet  church plants have a much better evangelical effectiveness than large, churches.  Excellence has no bearing on the evangelical effectiveness and that is the point.

Should you always "do your best"?  Of course, but with the proper goal in mind.  We can't keep up with the world's insatiable demand for bigger and better and we don't have to, if we keep our focus on the true prize; transformation into the likeness of Jesus. Then we can let go of the burden of "excellence" and be satisfied with good enough.                    

                                                                                                

Not sure if you are doing a good job at work? You are not alone.

As a chaplain for businesses with Marketplace Ministries, I get to talk to a lot of employees and hear their issues and concerns. Recently one shared that she was very stressed out about her workload.  As I asked a few more questions one issue surfaced that may have been the source of her stress.  She explained that she never really knew whether she was doing a good job.  She just went about her job everyday trying to stay on top of everything.  I could tell that she had very high standards, maybe a little bit of a perfectionist in a job that was difficult to measure success and impossible to be perfect.  She explained that although the company had yearly reviews, she had never received any sort of commendation or even a pat on the back.  The review process mostly focused on what went wrong and the mistakes that were made. 

The conversation sparked an interest in finding out how typical her experience was. I began to ask employees in other companies whether they felt much satisfaction and reward from doing their job and how much positive feedback they received from their supervisors.  I was surprised that most of those I talked to said they received little to no positive feedback and they didn't feel much of a sense of accomplishment in their job beyond a paycheck.  One confided that he just tried to survive until the weekend when he got a couple days off.    

I asked a company's CEO the same question and he confided that it was really difficult to measure success in his job on a daily basis. So, to get immediate satisfaction he would go home and do tasks like chopping wood for firewood. It gave him a sense of accomplishment that he didn't receive at work.  Isn’t it sad that he couldn’t feel good at the end of a day about the work in which he had dedicated his life? 

We are created to be responsible. (Genesis 1:26). We all feel better when we have responsibility and when we take care of what we are responsible for.  And we are happiest when we feel we have done a good job.   Watch this Andy Stanley video concerning our need for fulfillment in our work.  We all have a great need for fulfillment in our jobs and this was confirmed in my informal survey of employees. Almost all said it was extremely important having a feeling of accomplishment and knowing that they were appreciated for the work they did. 

I'd love to hear from others about their work experience.  

As an employee;

• How often do you receive praise or positive feedback?  
• How valuable is it to you to get a pat on the back?
• Does receiving positive impact motivate you to do better?

As an owner, manager, or supervisor;

• How valuable is it to have employees who are happy or fulfilled in their work?  
• How do you measure success beyond the bottom line?  
• How often and how well do you acknowledge your employees or church volunteers for a job well done?
• How do you celebrate success?

So You Want To Be A Super Pastor?

I have never seen a pastor preach in a superman's outfit, but for many it would be appropriate.  Pastors are often looked up to and expected to be supermen, able to evangelize hundreds of thousands to the Lord, motivate thousands to live righteous lives, counsel hundreds off the brink of despair, shepherd the flock 24/7, break down the Word to help us understand it with remarkable clarity, and visit each and every member when they are in the hospital.  

After all, pastors are super righteous and super spiritual.  They are what we all aspire to be.  The sad truth is, that is what the church has been led to expect.   The problem is, this is a lie and the bigger problem is that pastors oftentimes perpetuate the myth.  The congregation is eager to put the pastor on a pedestal and many times the pastor is willing to climb up there.  

It's not just a problem that the pastor is a poser, leading others to believe they are something they are not, but also that the pastor has to then work to keep up the charade.  This brings an inordinate amount of stress to a job that is stressful already.  It also affects a pastor's spiritual and emotional well being and sets up the pastor for a moral failure or spiritual and/or emotional meltdown.

You see this manifested when a pastor feels as if he is the only one who is able to do the work of the church.  After all, I am super pastor and if I don't do the job, then it won't be done quite as well as it should be done.  The pastor does all the preaching, baptizing, and teaching.  I recently attended a worship service where the pastor led the worship, made the announcements, welcomed the guests and then preached a 45 minute sermon.  What happened to equipping the saints for ministry?

It's understandable that pastors to want to prove themselves to their new church members and so they take on almost everything in their young church, sometimes by necessity.  I've counseled several church planters who were on the verge of a mental and physical breakdown between year 1 and 2 because they were doing so much without much help.  They each shared with me that they felt like they were carrying the church on their shoulders and in reality, they were! When you put yourself on the pedestal and become super pastor, the rest of the flock will be more than willing to sit back and let you do everything.  The ministry won't grow past what you can do or control.  So the stressed out pastor, who is at the end of his rope, knows the church is stagnant and needs to grow but knows he can't add anything else on his plate.  He sees no way out except to give up and close the church.

What's the answer?  Resist the urge to be regarded as super pastor.  Don't allow your congregation to put you on a pedestal.  Be real in your preaching and transparent with your leaders. Be transparent and share your hurts, habits and hangups.  We all have them and by being honest and open, your congregation will be able to identify with you better. You'll be more appealing to those who are searching.  Sure, you may scare away the super righteous ones.  But, like Jesus, those shouldn't be the target of our ministry.  

I counseled each struggling church planter to go to their leadership and church and share how you feel. Admit that you can't do it!  Because you can't do it without God and without the assistance of your church members.  Tell them you desperately need their help.  In every case, when the pastor honestly shared how he felt to his members, the church was excited to step up and help. There was even a sense of revival in some of the churches as a result of the pastor's honesty.  

I quote from the movie, The Devil's Advocate, "Pride is the devil's favorite sin."  It has brought down many men and many good pastors. It can be so subtle but It may be the biggest stumbling block for young pastors trying to grow a church. So many believe they must emulate their super pastor of their past. Recognize your pride for what it is, resist the temptation to put on a cape, and release your members for the ministry.  Train, equip and mentor your leaders and you'll find that many can do the ministry much better than you.  That is the way to grow a healthy and dynamic church and avoid the burnout that so many fall prey to.  

Is this critical element missing in your preaching?

A mediocre person tells. A good person explains. A superior person demonstrates. A great person inspires others to see for themselves." - Harvey Mackay

I came across this quote the other day, which I quickly put into my most favorite quote folder.  It made me think of the former great football coach of Baylor University, Grant Teaff.  Teaff was an incredible motivator who turned that football program around in the 70’s leading them to the Southwest Conference championship with the miracle on the Brazos in 1974.  His inspiring stories and coaching moves are legendary and considered the key to his greatness as a coach.  I was fortunate to be a student athlete at Baylor when we won the conference.  

One legend was how he used the illustration of eating a worm to inspire his team to victory.  Coach Teaff wanted to emphasize taking care of details so he shared the ice fisherman’s secret to catching fish.  Coach Teaff said the secret was to keep the worms warm.  He explained that the ice fisherman would keep the worms in his mouth until it was time to put them on the hook.  Warm worms attracted the fish and that small step was the difference between catching a lot of fish or coming home without any.  The coach then pulled out a big long earth worm and put it in his mouth, saying the difference between winning and losing was taking care of the small details.  The players went berserk, ran out on to the field and pulled off an incredible upset. 

If I were to give what I thought is the most important thing for a pastor to strive for outside of being Biblically sound, it would be to inspire his flock.  When you prepare a sermon, Bible study, lecture or testimony, think about what you want to accomplish.  Shouldn’t you always have a goal to inspire others to change.  What sets the great preacher apart from the good is inspiration.

When I walk away from a great sermon, I'm motivated to change.  As I thought more about the significance of inspiration, I could see how important it is for all those who want to make a difference in the world.  Whether you are preaching, teaching, coaching or parenting, inspiration is such a critical ingredient to helping others change, and yet so many miss the opportunity.

Preaching today often is either all intellect and no inspiration or all hype and no substance. There is a trend in many churches today to emphasize teaching and imparting information in the name of discipleship. The goal is to dump a lot of information and hope some of it sticks.  The problem is that without inspiring others to own it, apply it, and share it with others, the information is just that.  Inspiration is what separates the mediocre from the superior communicator.   We can criticize the preachers who preach to thousands each week for their lack of deep content but what most every one of them has in common is that they do a great job of inspiring.

Whether you are a preacher, coach, parent, teacher or mentor, to be great, you must consistently inspire others.  Aim to inspire. 
Watch this great film about Grant Teaff and a game in the 1973 season

The C.O.R.E. Essentials To A Growing Church

It's been an interesting transition from being on the staff of a church for the past 30 years to life on the outside.  As a chaplain to businesses, and coach to church planters, I am still doing ministry, it's just not within the walls of an established church.  Now I'm the pastor so to speak for a lot of people, many of whom don't go to church.  It's given me the opportunity to ask some why they don't go to church and their answers say a lot about our churches today.  

I've heard everything from the typical answer of "all they want is your money", to "I'm just too worn out from work to go."  But two recent responses got my attention.  One was from a twenty someting male who said his family had moved to San Antonio several months ago and just had not found a church yet.  He was content to watch the services of his former church in Oklahoma on tv.  Another lady in her early thirties said she grew up Catholic and considered herself a believer. She said she would like to go but just didn't want to go to the Catholic Church anymore and considered herself more of a non-denominational type.  Yet she wasn't going to church anywhere.  

Both indicated they would like to find a church but just hadn't been motivated enough to find one on their own.  They both live near many great churches of all styles, sizes and denominations and yet they have not found a church they want to attend.  What is missing here?  I couldn't help thinking that if one person in their life invited them to their church, they would accept the invitation.  

These two must represent so many others who are open to going, yet never make that first step because there is not a compelling enough motivation to go.  Thinking about what gets people to church and what keeps them going, I've listed what I believe are the C.O.R.E. essentials, to a growing church.  At Grace Point, these are our "values", but they are the essentials that motivate a member to go and become involved in church.  

COMMITMENT TO A HIGHER CAUSE...Commitment to Christ, longing to connect and commit to something bigger than oneself is a reason many look to the church. Therefore, the key to motivating any new attender or believer to making the church part of their life is to clearly communicate what it means to be a committed follower of Christ in an inspirational way on a consistent basis.  If you can help a seeker or new believer to grasp that they are created with a purpose given from God and have been equipped with tools to accomplish that purpose (spiritual gifts and Holy Spirit), and can best accomplish that with and through the church, then you'll be much more inclined to get a long term commitment. A pastor must inspire on a consistent basis!

OWNERSHIP...If people want to be part of something significant and to use their gifts, then we must have a way to assimilate them into ministry quickly.  If one has no ownership in the church they attend, no part in the ministry, if all one does is attend, then he or she is more likely to stop coming when anything displeases them.  The failure of a pastor and staff to equip the saints for ministry is one of the biggest reasons a church does not grow.  If your church has no way of recruiting, training and assimilating new people into ministry, you'll have a difficult time getting anyone to stay.  How does your church assimilate the flock into ministry?

RELATIONSHIP...Many people join churches and most stay because of relationships.  It is critical that newcomers get connected into a life group or ministry team as soon as possible.  It's also critical that you consistently communicate, teach, train and inspire your members to be relationally evangelistic.  One of our greatest needs is to be relationally connected and yet today more people complain about how isolated they are.  Many come to church and feel even more isolated in the midst of tons of people. This is just wrong. How do you facilitate relationships within your church?   

ENCOURAGEMENT... People want to feel encouraged when they leave church.  If the message is not uplifting, motivating and inspiring, then you'll have a difficult time getting any newcomers to return. There is nothing more encouraging than the message of the Gospel so it shouldn't be difficult to communicate it in a way that people will want to hear again and again.  And encouragement does not start and end with the pastor.  If the members don't encourage others especially the newcomers, not many will want to return.  How well do you and your members do on the encouragement scale?

There are numerous reasons why people go to church and why they don't.  But if your church fails in any one of these four areas, the chances of growing diminish quickly.