Monday, December 27, 2010

FORMER SINNER OR CHIEF REPENTER?

Former Sinner or Chief Repenter?

This post is from the archives of Dan Masshardt's reflective blog CHOOSE TODAY (a blog often filled with provocative questions)This topic is worth reflection as you prepare to preach and teach -- as you presume to preach or teach. - Steve
 
Which are you?

Most of the time our sins and shortcomings are evident to everyone else, yet we are still reluctant to confess them to others.

As Christians, and Christian leaders and pastors in particular, we need to confess sin – not everything to everybody, but probably everything to somebody and something to almost everybody. (Did you catch that? :-)

People need to know that we too have temptations and weaknesses. They can become sin.

I’m not very sensitive to others feelings. Sometimes I am selfish and want my own way or I just want to do what I want to do (not activities that are sinful, but the attitude is).

I’m tempted to want to impress people, to compare myself to others. Sometimes (this is bad) I don’t mind when other people fail.

Sometimes I’m amazed at how sinful I can be. As time goes on, we realize that sin goes deeper than we thought. Not only our outward actions, but our thoughts and motivations.

My point? I’m in radical need of God’s grace, not just yesterday but today and tomorrow.

That’s confession. But we also need repentance. Do you want to change? Do you hate your sin? I hate my sin – and God is working on me and in me.

Maybe what’s preventing you from the intimacy with God that you seek is a failure to acknowledge your own sin.

So, do you portray yourself as a ‘former sinner’ or lead by example in being chief repenter?

Saturday, November 13, 2010

STORYTELLING

Great leaders are great storytellers, and they make sure that the great story is central in shaping the ethos of the community. One of the dangers in telling the individual stories in the Bible is to lose the ultimate purpose that drives the whole of God’s story. The story of the Bible is God’s intention to bring the nations to himself. Genesis gives us the context of the problem; Revelation gives us the hope of the ultimate resolution. The Old Testament shows God’s determination to reach the nations through a nation; the New Testament begins with God’s intervention in human history through the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ story unfolds as he pursues his purpose to seek and to save that which is lost (Luke 19:11), and then ushers in the revolutionary movement known as the church to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the very ends of the earth.

Our chapter of the story only makes sense when we tell the whole story. There are many subplots in this great story: lives are changed, marriages are healed, relationships are restored, broken hearts are mended, and shattered dreams are reborn. But it all happens in the context of the great story.
Preaching must be more than moving toward doctrinal soundness, more than simply calling people toward life application. Preaching must elevate the stories of God that draw a picture of what life can be like for everyone.

The Apostle Paul describes Christians as epistles, or letters of God, written on human hearts. With each story lived, the church becomes a place that is rich with God’s stories; and with each story, faith increases and deepens. What then happens is that those without similar stories begin to search for their stories. They begin where those who have traveled their journey recommend they start. The Christian experience becomes a journey of discovery and experience with God, and with each added story, the momentum of this life-transforming movement exponentially increases.
~Erwin McManus
 
Thanks to Nick Francis Stephens of Mosaic Lancaster for bringing this quote to my attention.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

DO YOU SUFFER FROM RELATIONAL ANOREXIA?

Thanks to a friend of mine Lucy Bloom of the National Center for Fathering, I came across a great blog by  Charles Stone that I believe would be very helpful for pastors in their self-care and leadership accountability. I have added this to the blog roll at the bottom of the home page. Here is a sample. - Steve

In my research for my latest book, 5 Ministry Killers and How to Defeat Them, I discovered that pastors are often the loneliest people in the church, second perhaps only to their wives.
I interviewed Dr. Michael Ross, Executive Director of The Pastors Institute, who has worked with several thousand pastors in various capacities. He told me that the number one problem pastors face is isolation.
Gary Kinnaman author and former mega-church pastor and Alfred Ellis, author and founder-director of Leaders that Last, an organization for ministers, wrote, “Most people in full-time ministry do not have close personal friendships and consequently are alarmingly lonely and dangerously vulnerable.”[1]
Well known author, Steve Arterburn has observed that “the men in the church who are least likely to have friend connections are pastors.”[2]
Focus on the Family discovered that nearly 42% do not have any accountability partner with whom they meet.[3]
And the Alban Institute, an ecumenical organization that serves thousands of congregations through research and publishing, has learned that pastors tend to seek help from others only when they are in crisis, “rather than allowing these resources to sustain and nourish them consistently.”[4]
In other words, we don’t seek out safe people to help us process ongoing ministry issues until they escalate into major crises. Even then, many pastors suffer alone.
We’ve probably all preached that God created us for deep relationship with others. But just as anorexia (the word actually means “no appetite”) can cause a person literally to feel no hunger even though he is starving, relational anorexia can keep us from feeling our inner hunger for deep relationships. Henry Cloud and John’s Townsend’s Safe People lists these indicators that we might have relational anorexia.
  • I am uncomfortable with people and relaxed when alone.
  • I don’t get “lonely,” whatever people mean by that.
  • I spend time with people out of obligation, or for functional reasons (tennis partner, commuting to work, etc.).
  • My fantasies of vacation always involve my doing something fun by myself.[5]

The authors also posed several questions that may indicate major hindrances to healthy relationships. I’ve paraphrased them here.
  1. Do you tend to only be a giver in most of your relationships?
  2. Do others usually approach you only when they want something from you rather than to simply spend time with you?
  3. Do you find it difficult to open up to others?
  4. Do you most often choose to be alone to deal with your problems?
  5. Do you feel that only God really knows and loves you?
  6. Are intimate, two-way conversations with others rare?[6]
So, what should we do if we suffer from relational anorexia? I recommend that every pastor have at least one safe person in his (or her) life with whom they can be honest and with whom they can process their pain.
In my next blog entry I will suggest qualities to look for in such a safe person.
_____
[1] Gary Kinnaman and Alfred Ellis, Leaders that Last (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2003), 10.
[2] REV.org, “Steve Arterburn Interview: Open Season,” August 2007. http://rev.org/protected/Article.aspx?ID=2519.
[3] Focus on the Family, “Pastoral Ministries 2009 Survey” (of over two thousand ministers), http://www.parsonage.org/images/pdf/2009PMSurvey.pdf, 8.
[4] Michael Jinkins, The Alban Institute, Congregations, “Great Expectation, Sobering Realities: Findings From a New Study on Clergy Burnout,” Number 3, May/June 2002. http://www.alban.org/conversation.aspx?q=printme&id=3284
[5] Henry Cloud and John Townsend, Safe People (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995), 129.
[6] Adapted from ibid.
For more Help and Resources for Depressed Pastors and their wives, visit Pastor Stone’s main site.

Friday, November 5, 2010

EXTRA GRACE REQUIRED

 One of the tougher realities of ministry is that it tends to be 24/7 and every pastor has more than a few EGR people ... extra grace required.  Remember "What About Bob?" I saw this movie as a pastor and wasn't sure if it was a comedy.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

THE SPIRTUAL DISCIPLINE OF READING

Through Scot McKnight's blog Jesus Creed, I have discovered Karen Spears Zacharias.  I thought you find this posting from today to be a thoughtful challenge.

I couldn’t tell if he was making a confession or if he was bragging.

The man looked up from the computer screen from where he was surfing the net and announced very matter-of-factly, “I manage this bookstore but I don’t read.”

Why would you tell that to an author?

I try my best to be gracious to people. I didn’t cuss out loud.

“Have you never been a reader?” I asked.

“Nope. Never,” he said.

“How is it you came to manage a bookstore if you don’t read?”

“I’m a pastor,” he said as if that explained everything. 

I’d like to tell you he’s the first bookstore manager I’ve met this year who doesn’t read. In fact, he’s the third one. All were men. All had backgrounds in retail. And all three of them are running bookstores that cater to the Christian marketplace. I think there’s a message embedded in there somewhere but I haven’t decoded it yet.

This gnawing in my gut is more than indigestion — it’s the disturbing recognition that far too many pastors have abandoned the spiritual discipline of reading. And I’m not just talking about Bible reading, although I’ve heard my share of sermons this year that I suspect were pre-packaged and downloaded online.
I’m talking about reading a book besides the Bible.

I can count on one hand the number of pastors I’ve sat under in my lifetime that I know were avid readers. I remember them because their preaching had a depth and a substance that all others lacked. One of my favorites, Dr. Herb Anderson, would quote poetry from the pulpit. That was always a magical moment. It helped that Dr. Anderson lived in a university town. He had a lot of professors in his audience. They expected their pastor to be well-read. But out here in rural America where hardy people live and vote, pastors are more likely to quote a bumper sticker than they are to recite a poem they’ve memorized. 

A friend made the comment the other day that he thought the reason people liked the assistant pastor at his church better than the senior pastor is because they had no idea what the assistant pastor was saying  but they liked his style of delivery. It’s more flashy than the old guy’s.

That makes me laugh and wince at the same time. The way I did when the bookstore manager who claims he is really a pastor said to me that he doesn’t read.

One of the best writers of our times, Stephen King says: “People are just too damn lazy to read.”

I don’t know if King is right about that. Maybe people are just too busy to read. Used to be that we had time for stories in our lives. Now if the story takes longer than 140 characters, we don’t have time for it. Pastors, it seems, are particularly prone to the tyranny of the urgent. (That was an obscure reference to a pithy little booklet from another era).

John Wesley was an old preacher guy who lived a long time ago, back when online meant a person’s clothes were drying in the sun.  Wesley thought reading was an important spiritual discipline: “It cannot be that the people should grow in grace unless they give themselves to reading. A reading people will always be a knowing people. ”

Can a pastor who doesn’t read really lead a people? Or is he more like a blind friend with a map? Pretty ineffective at giving clear direction.

You can read more of Karen's thoughts at KAREN

Saturday, October 23, 2010

BRING THE HEAT

This post appeared on The Gospel-Driven Church and is written by Jared Wilson. - Steve


We must not equate passion with style. But we must have hearts aflame with passion. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones famously defined preaching as, "Logic on fire! Eloquent reason! . . . Preaching is theology coming through a man who is on fire."

The story is told that when W.E. Sangster was interviewing a candidate for the ministry, the nervous young man explained that he was quite shy and not the sort of person ever to set the River Thames on fire. "My dear young brother," responded Sangster, "I'm not interested to know if you could set the Thames on fire. What I want to know is this: if I picked you up by the scruff of your neck and dropped you into the Thames, would it sizzle?"

Never mind his eloquence; was he himself on fire?

-- from Christopher Ash, The Priority of Preaching (p.67)

When on Sunday morning, then, when you go out before their faces, we must walk up not worn out with misery but full of Christ, hot with Christ, on fire: burn them with the force of our belief.

-- John Updike, Rabbit, Run

Sunday, October 10, 2010

10 THINGS CHURCH HOPPERS SAY

My friend Dan Masshardt posted this from Will Mancini's blog THE CLARITY EVANGELIST.

Pastors, read it and keep your perspective.


From the archives of Will Mancini’s blog:

1. “But my old church…” This usually means they want your church to be like their old church.

2. “I just need time to be fed.” This means, “I don’t want to do anything. I’m here just to sit and see what I can get out of this church, so don’t expect me to serve in any way, shape, or form.

3. “I’m looking for a church that teaches the Word.” This means, “I’m looking for a church that dispenses lots of information without challenging me to do anything.”

4. “We came here because we are looking for deep teaching.” This usually means their last church focused too much on actually obeying the Word. They want a church that just talks about the Rapture, the Second Coming, who the Hittites were and the identity of Theophilus.

5. “I should know my pastor.” This means, “In my last church, I got to know the pastor, but when the church grew, and the pastor couldn’t have dinner with us every Tuesday night, I left and came here.”

6. “We want a church that’s focused on discipling people.” This means, “I want a church that’s focused on me, not people who are lost.”

7. “I wish you wouldn’t focus so much on what people need to do.” This means they don’t like commitment, they don’t like to be told the Bible actually tells them how to live and follow Jesus. They want to come to church, live in their sin and have no one tell them this is wrong.

8. “I wish you wouldn’t talk about money.” This is the best way to tell a pastor “I don’t give.”

9. “My old church/pastor was…” The way people come to your church is how they will leave. If your first conversation with them is all about their last church and pastor, that is how they will leave your church and how they will go to their next church.

10. “Pastor, I’ve been talking to a lot of people and they all say…” Translation: “Me, my spouse and my mother think…” If they start this way, 99.9% of the time they have no one else who thinks this way, it is just the best way to complain. If someone has a complaint and uses this line with me, they need to list all of the names or my best assumption is they talked to the same person 10 times.

Friday, October 1, 2010

GRACE LIKE RAIN

POWER IN THE PULPIT

Thom Rainer posted this excellent article on his blog recently. For more Thom's excellent insights into the church and its leadership, go to THOM

In my last post I spoke to church members about things they should and should not do or say to their pastors.  Today, I would like to speak to the pastors about what people in the congregation need from the person behind the pulpit.  After all, ninety percent of formerly unchurched individuals cited the pastor and his preaching as the key factor in their entering the ranks of the churched.  So, what was it about the pastor that kept them coming back for more?

Truth and Application

What may surprise some is that folks are not looking for a “feel good” message.  A superficial reading of Scripture is not enough.  People are drawn to in-depth teaching.  They are not afraid to learn.  In fact, many long for a deeper understanding of the Bible and Christian doctrine.

On the other hand, they also want to know how the truths of the Bible apply to their daily lives.  It is possible to have deep expository preaching coupled with life application.  The ability to combine the two is the sign of a gifted preacher.

Authenticity and Conviction


I have mentioned it before but it is worth repeating.  Genuineness is essential.  Whether it is a long time church member or a first time guest, people desire authenticity.  Though described in a variety of ways, the authenticity of the pastor was noted over and over again by the formerly unchurched.

In addition to being “real,” it is vital that the pastor be a man of conviction.  Those hearing a message must know with certainty that the preacher really believes the truth of his message.  People are hungry for truth and are drawn to those unafraid to address the tough issues of Scripture.

Communication and Leadership

In an effort to be the next big thing in the church world the importance of communication skills is often overlooked.  An effective pastor must be able to communicate well, not only from the pulpit, but on a one-on-one basis as well.  It is also important that he be able to connect with people from different generations and backgrounds.

Coupled with a desire for good communication skills in a pastor is a need to see strong leadership skills.  Those in the church need to know that their pastor has the ability to lead them with purpose and determination.  People need to hear their pastor clearly communicate his vision for the church and then trust in his ability to lead them in that direction.

A lot of pressure is placed on pastors.  They are expected to be “on” all the time.  People often look to them to instinctively know and be able to meet every need.  These characteristics are simply those mentioned by others as being instrumental in their desire to return to a specific church or learn more about the truths of the Bible.  It is not meant to serve as a checklist for the perfect pastor.  People do not need perfect pastors, which is good because there aren’t any.

It is important, however, that preachers preach the hard issues of Scripture and that they do so with authority.  It is vital that they be people of authenticity and conviction.  They must also have communication and leadership skills.  And they must use all of these skills to point others to the cross.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

SHEPHERDING HELPS THE SHEPHERD

Darren Patrick, in an article, 5 Ways Shepherding Helps a Pastor Grow says that it helps you prepare for living when you .......

* deal with the sin of others, you become more aware of your own sin.
* shepherd the stubborn, you see your own stubbornness.
* shepherd the selfish, you see your own selfishness.
* shepherd the broken, you inevitably see your own brokenness.
* see others obey, you want to obey.
* see others use their gifts effectively, you want to use your gifts effectively.

The Holy Spirit reveals sin, empowers obedience, and imparts gifts. Both the Greek and Hebrew words for “spirit” mean “air” or “breath.” The English word “spirit” comes from the Latin spiritus, which also means “air” or “breath”. This is where we get words like respiratory (breathing) and expire (no more breathing). It is also where we get the word inspire. It’s as if when the Spirit is at work in those whom we counsel, we pastors are, by the same Spirit, inspired to repent, believe, and obey with the best gifts we have.

 For more on this topic go to RESURGENCE

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Friday, September 24, 2010

A DIVINE SLAP IN THE FACE

Perry Noble is the senior pastor of the New Spring Church in South Carolina. I came across his blog via Rick Warren. (Perry's blog is now on our blogroll).  I thought this post from today would be helpful and I would encourage you to check out his blog for more great articles by a local church pastor. - Steve

"To say that God “rocked my world” last week would be an understatement…it was more like a divine slap in the face and a sobering reminder that lost people really do matter to God!

Here’s the way it happened…

Charisse (my three year old daughter) and I went to get ice cream last Friday night.  (One of her favorite things to do!)  There is a place near our home called “Yogo Express” that has become one of her favorite places…you go in, get a cup, put the yogurt in it, THEN go to the toppings area and put your toppings on and then you pay…by the ounce.

When we walked in the place was slammed, there were people everywhere.  So…I held her hand and we walked together to the area where we got our yogurt cups…she wanted chocolate yogurt with mint chips for her topping, so, I put all of that in her cup and then got ready to get mine.

BUT…when I looked down to tell her that hers was ready…she was GONE!

GONE!!!

I looked around and didn’t see her anywhere.

She had been right by my side five seconds before that…

I panicked!

Seriously…the scenarios that can run through a parents mind in a short amount of time are unbelievable.
I began calling her name…and I literally was plowing over people…trying my best to control my heart as it was literally about to explode out of my chest.

Then, after only about seven seconds (seemed like an eternity though) I saw her…she had gone to get napkins for us but had not told me.

I scooped her up and hugged her…and I can’t explain to you the overwhelming joy that shot through my body as I knew that she was not lost!  (If you are a parent and this has happened to you…you know exactly what I’m talking about.)

I kept her close to me for the rest of the night…and when I put her down to bed I hugged her a little longer and and little tighter…I thought she was lost, gone…but she wasn’t, and for that I was (and AM) so thankful.
However, later on that evening I felt the Lord say to me, “Now you know how I feel about lost people.”

BAM!

Seriously, I have preached on the importance of evangelism for a long time.  In fact, one of our core values here at NewSpring Church is, “Found People Find People.”  However, I had NEVER viewed the importance of evangelism through the lenses of a father who is obsessed with the lost…not like that!!!

The feeling God allowed me to feel for seven seconds was one of the deepest, most intense feelings I’ve EVER felt…and because of that Luke 19:10 has taken on a whole new meaning!

God is PASSIONATE about reaching lost people…and HIS followers SHOULD BE AS WELL!

 Evangelism is not an option for those who say they are followers of Jesus…it is a COMMAND!  AND…read through Luke 15 and notice that in each of the three stories something is lost, what is lost is found…and because of the lost being found a party/celebration begins!!!

Lost people matter to God; therefore, they should matter to HIS church! 

One more thing…NewSpring Church, let’s keep doing this…let’s keep doing ALL WE CAN to reach out to people who are far from God!  Let’s share our faith with them…let’s get them to church THIS Sunday…and let’s continue to BEG God to give us a harvest of souls unlike the world has ever seen!!!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

KEEPING PERSPECTIVE

A low attendance Sunday, a day when you are constantly interrupted by the trivial, a sleepless night, a negative church council meeting, a sermon that seems to have touched no one, an overscheduled day that leave you exhausted ..........

This are things that try a pastor's soul.  Tim Hansel once said, "The problem with life is that it is so daily."   And I might add, a pastor's life often includes one or more of the above list (or its kin) on almost a daily basis.

String enough of these together and a pastor begins to question his capability and doubt his call.  In fact, it seems ironic that it is often the accumulation of many small things over a long period of time that causes pastors to either resign themselves to a joyless ministry, or quit the ministry.

I have a friend who used to say he quit every Tuesday (Monday night was church meeting night) but managed to re-up in time to be in the pulpit on Sunday morning.  I know that in almost 40 years of ministry I have resigned mentally or in written draft many times.  Only once in the ministry have I resigned myself to resigning from the ministry (selling insurance if need be to support my family), and a very wise daughter told me, "You can't do that. You are a pastor."

She provided me some perspective that day that drew me back to my calling and gifting from God, reminding of the passions of my heart.  I will always be grateful for her helping me to rediscover some perspective in a dark and dismal time.

However, there is something far more important to which I need to anchor my life and the ministry God has given me.  It is the fact that God works.

Paul was no stranger to the burdens, the distractions, the defeats that often seemed to accompany ministry.  And he wrote these words--first to the Church of God at Rome, and then on to us, and I believe, in particular for those of us who have made vocation of serving the Lord as pastors in churches.

 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,who have been called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28

God is at work in all things ... even distractions, troubling council meetings, sermons that seem a failure.
God is at work for the good ... God's kingdom purposes are at work in all of those things and He is ultimately the one who is responsible for the outcomes.
God is at work for those who love him ... the problems of ministry don't make you stop loving Jesus.        God is at work for those who are called according to his purposes...God called you. Your job is to be obedient and faithful. His job is to make you fruitful.

It always helps to keep perspective.

(C) 2010 by Stephen L Dunn

Saturday, September 18, 2010

A BAD DAY AT GOLF IS BETTER THAN A GOOD DAY AT THE OFFICE

I am blessed with a pastoral partner in ministry. His name is Barry Sellers.  Barry is a second career pastor. Before joining me on the staff of the Church of God of Landisville, he spent 25 years teaching business and serving as the head of his department at an area high school.  His journey to ministry took form while he served as an elder at another congregation.  That journey brought him to serve with me.

Barry serves as Associate Pastor. In our church that means he fills many of the roles of traditional pastoring: visitation, teaching, counseling, leading worship, and at times preaching.  He spends a lot of time filling the role of shepherd, especially to the more senior members of our congregation.

Barry absolutely loves the pastoral ministry. Not only was he called to it out of the public schools but he was made for it.  When God put together his SHAPE (as Rick Warren calls it) that "shape" was spelled P-A-S-T--O-R.  The persons of my church, especially those raised in more traditional settings where they had a personal, intimate, daily relationship with their pastor find him a constant anchor and encouragement.  In doing his job, he frees me to do work of leading the church, being its chief preacher and vision-caster, guiding its evangelistic mission, coaching its leaders, spending serious time in prayer, helping the church impact its larger mission field.

Barry thrives as a pastor. The church thrives as well because of his work.

Barry and I share a common love of golf. The difference between the two of us is that he is good at it. I just play the game.  If our links prowess defined our roles - he would be the Lead Pastor (and I'd probably be his caddy.)  One Friday we were playing with several men from the church. I had just come back from Disney World and was wearing a hat that read "A Bad Day at Golf is Better Than a Good Day the Office." 

Spying my hat and its message, he said, "Not true.  Nothing is better than a good day the church."

Wow! Talk about a rebuke (although it wasn't intended as one).  My hat was just a piece of fun; but Barry didn't want it to belittle the truth.  He loved the pastoral ministry and he loved being a pastor.  He was in his sweet spot, the spot the Spirit had created him for. That didn't mean he was naive or insensitive to its burdens, its stresses, its hurts and failures.  But it did mean that none of that could separate him for the joy of knowing that he was doing what God had called him to do.

"Woe unto me if I do not preach the gospel," declared Paul.  My life is out of God's will and my joy is gone if I abandon that to which Christ Jesus has called me.

My prayer each day is that I do not let my circumstances or my sheep take my eyes off of what God is calling me to do.