Category Archives: Ministry

Leading toward a Difference

Posted on by
Reply

Some new household rhythms have recently created a podcast-listening habit for this fellow.  One of my early finds has been the Andy Stanley Leadership podcast.  After two episodes (about 20 minutes each), I can only say, “Wow! Thank you, Andy.”

Concise, intelligent, well-balanced, insightful, and more.

I confess to possessing a measured cynicism toward anyone claiming to be an expert on leadership. That may be a result of having witnessed leadership styles that I have no desire to imitate; it may be a result of having witnessed leadership styles that I have no hope of imitating.  Whether excess of caution or shortage of confidence, it is never the wise move to shut one’s ears or close one’s mind.  Two brief podcasts have re-ignited my fire of desire to learn and grow.

Am I the leader I wish I was? Not today.

Have I maxed out my potential? Not a chance.

Will I take a step today to move from here toward there? I had better.

What might that step be? For this moment, keeping Andy’s podcast on my regular rotation is one easy move to make.

Here are some of the take-home chunks from a recent listen, entitled, “Making a Difference”  It began with talk of American politics and the polarizing force they often seem to exert among Christians in that country. I wondered if this podcast would be largely irrelevant to this Canadian.

And then the gems on leadership started flowing:

“It is more important to make a difference than to make a point.”

There is a weak form of leadership that is easily entered; it revolves around making a point rather than making a difference.  It is rooted in the desire to be right, and it typically revolves around words rather than actions.  To be sure, there are times when a point must be made.  But toward what end?  That answer better be “toward making a difference”, or we’re just playing games in our God-given roles.

“A leader should never risk his/her ability to make a difference by making an unnecessary point.”

Influence is too slowly gained and too quickly lost to make every issue a “go to the wall” item.  Some things matter greatly; others matter hardly at all.  The unwise leader can be sucked into making a statement about a second-rate issue (often at the prodding of critics OR those hoping a leader will agree with THEM) that goes on to undercut his/her from the big-ticket items he/she dreamed of impacting in the first place.

The churches in which I’ve grown up have often spoken of “majoring in the majors and minoring in the minors”.  This language displayed our awareness of this dynamic, but much of our history has betrayed our unawareness of just how much influence can be lost when we fail to live out this advice.

Organizationally or individually, influence is maximized (and guarded) when we release the desire to pound on unnecessary points.

“Don’t fear guilt by association.”

We cannot influence people that we refuse to associate with.  Whatever issue or movement I desire to move forward will be minimized if my ultimate objective is to guard my reputation.  Sprite may have overstated it in their “Image is Nothing” campaign some years back; however, the wise leader must be driven by forces far greater than image.  The difference he/she desires to make will determine the bridges that need building and the relationships that require cultivating, and within our fragmented world, bridge-building is a messy work, demanding feet to be planted in unfamiliar, sometimes downright uncomfortable, settings.

Jesus knew this, and his critics served him regular helpings of guilt by association.  Yet Jesus remained aware and convicted of the need for fences to come down and lines to be crossed, and leaders will be the first doers of such tasks.  But not leaders who are afraid of guilt by association.

“Influence is a stewardship.”

The responsible leader asks, “Why have I been given influence?” Surely, it isn’t to protect my number of church members or constituents.  At some point, the leader is required to risk his/her credibility for a purpose greater than maintaining that credibility.  Every competent leader will move from a state of less (say, influence, power) toward a state of more (say, influence, power).  It is sign of fear when the “days of more” are lived out in a protective manner, where that role of say, influence, and power is guarded rather than leveraged.

It may take wisdom and discernment to identify the cause or issue upon which one will stake everything.  Or it may be quite clear, as the reason one entered leadership in the first place.  Regardless, every leader needs to be governed by an awareness that we do not gather influence and build trust for our own sakes or satisfaction.  How does God expect you to steward it?  That’s a money question there.

“Don’t attempt to police the behaviour of people who don’t believe what you believe, to begin with.”

While this point may tie most fully into a discussion of how Christians should or shouldn’t attempt to wield political power in the shaping of their nations, it quickly transfers to discussions of how churches (even those with no deep political desires) carry and execute their desires to shape society as well.

Attempting to guilt people into behaviours based upon assumptions that are ours but not theirs–how do you see that working out? Yet Christian history is filled with examples of God’s people compromising their influence in this fashion.  If we’re feeling fired up about morality and purity, Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 5:12 would guide us well:

What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?

How many sermons have you heard on that passage?  For some reason, those within religious circles feel a strong temptation to take their evaluative skills outside the loop.  Paul’s advice?  Stay at home.  If people of faith took the policing of their own lives and their own communities as first priorities, we might be surprised to realize the weight of influence that could be had in our larger contexts as well.

And all that came from a twenty-minute podcast.  Again, I say, “Well done, Andy.  Thanks for sharing.”

YOUR TURN: Which point particularly resonates with your leadership journey?  Which idea do you “amen” or wish you’d discovered earlier?

Comment below, and become part of the conversation.

[You can subscribe to this blog via RSS or email, in the upper right corner of this page. As well, follow me on Twitter ( @JasonBandura ) for 3-4 tweets daily of insightful quotes or links to intriguing articles.]

A Pastor’s Private Thoughts

Posted on by
Reply

I enjoy my church.

I also enjoy vacations.

I especially enjoy going to church while on vacation. For this pastor, there is a particular pleasure to attending a service as a guest. Trading my pastor’s hat for my participant’s hat often serves up fresh experiences within a worship assembly.

There is a shallower level of experience too. It is the comparing and contrasting of how “church is done” in this new setting versus my home congregation.  This includes styles, logistics, tradition, and such.  A recent such experience was unusually impacting, moving dramatically beyond such mental note-taking of operational details from an unfamiliar venue. Such casual observation is typically comfortable and harmless.  But God was waiting for me on this particular day at this particular church, and neither comfort nor harmlessness was on the menu.

Imagine my shock when the path to God led through Satan’s playground.

All was normal for an abnormal Sunday.  My children were settled in alongside unfamiliar tots in a children’s service, my sermon was not waiting to be preached, and I was seated beside my wife with no duties to fulfill up front. We sang, we read, we prayed, we listened.

And one of us got to wondering.

This particular church was booming.

The website had described a few years of existence with rapid growth from tiny church plant to multiple building projects, one of which we had witnessed in the parking lot. If the building project needs a parking lot crack filling albuquerque nm, visit 109 Love Road SW, Albuquerque,NM or contact (505) 877-0380. A sense of optimism was evident. Life appeared to be flowing here. A casual observer like myself picked up an obvious focus and excellence within the structures and ministries supporting the congregation.

The truly marvelous thing about thought is its speed, isn’t it?  Nearly instantly, a process of private assessment regarding this church was unleashed, involving hundreds of thoughts within a second. “Speed kills” is nowhere more true than in my own head. It was the speed of the thoughts and the unforeseen, though quickly approaching, corner that blew my wheels off.

Don’t misunderstand: There is something quite natural about a pastor gauging a given church environment. We swim in such details everyday. We are always hunting for ideas, critiquing our status quo, aspiring toward better. Much of this is normal, like a mechanic intrigued by cars or a retail manager wanting to peek in shops’ back rooms.

But normal can mutate.

It does everyday. And when it does, it brings dysfunction and death.

Listening to Scripture proclaimed in a sermon can quickly become a thumbs-fest with Roger Ebert. Mark it down: Many pastors have a horrible time listening (I mean, genuinely listening) to preaching. Their time spent “behind the curtain” often robs them of the simple pleasure and power that can arrive with the Word of God falling like rain.

An entire worship service can become a wrestling match. Despite efforts to stifle this critic’s posture, judgments are snapped, assessments are made, variations are noted, and the one fatal worship-hijacking act is committed.

Comparisons are drawn.

Reasons to avoid this deadly movement are plentiful. You know them. I know them.

But still my mind embarked on the journey, innocently at first:

This is a sweet little church.

I could imagine attending a place like this if I lived here.

What is behind that positive feeling I have toward a place that I hardly know?

I wonder what tone people perceive when they visit my church.  What feeling do we give off?

That building project is impressive. People are obviously invested to make that happen.

They sure are dreaming of how they can impact their community.

Some of the staff sure strike me as impressive.

I wonder where they trained. How did they become “who they are”?

What would it feel like to work on a large staff?

I wonder if I could even qualify to work in such a setting.

It sure is great to see a church that is growing.

I wonder how they’re doing it.

I hope they’re not watering anything down.

My church hasn’t grown in years.

In fact, it’s shrunk during my time there.

I wonder how we are doing it.

I wonder how I am doing it.

That was where the pit really began to develop.  It’s slopes were subtle but steep.

Our family vacation was filled with fun. The pace was relaxed, the weather was pleasant. We walked and shopped. We played and ate. We lingered and toured. It was a perfect holiday for two parents and two small ones.

And I was present for most of it.

There was just a sliver of me that lived in that hole by himself.

He couldn’t get free of Sunday’s stream:

Why is my church shrinking?

Why do we seem stuck?

What is different about our church “culture” from those that appear to be thriving?

Can a church’s culture be changed?

Am I a part of the problem?

What if I am holding the church back?

Do we even want to grow?

Do I?

What our church really needs may be several things that I am not. 

What do I do with that?

How am I such a poor leader?

You’re making this too much about yourself.  It is God who brings the growth.

That is true, but what is keeping Him from bringing it our way?

Are we destined for nothing nobler than a slow decline?

Surely we are.

How do we get there?

Do I even know?

Sigh.

Comparison is a killer. I knew that, but I confess that I could not free myself from those jaws.   Eventually, the grip released, and I pulled myself home to lick my wounds.

And now six months later, I’m still licking.  The place of grace?

God found me on that tangent of a trail.  Satan may have queued the confusion and envy, but the inner turmoil led me a God who had a number more questions for me:

Do you think this is about you?

You think real fruit can be grown by your groans?

What is the place of your best-but-insufficient efforts in the building of my Kingdom?

Do you believe that I can make you into exactly what you need to be: You as a pastor, and your congregation as a church?

As has become my nearly standard experience of God, the message was astoundingly accurate in its tone: It was completely convicting and entirely encouraging (well, almost entirely).

When God met Jacob unexpectedly one night (see Genesis 32), Jacob departed the next morning with a lasting limp.

Over the past two years, I have felt a number of moves from God’s grappling arsenal.  He is amply able to get a hold on me, to confront with perfectly balanced fierceness and affection.

Along the way, a limp has certainly developed.  But I have a growing awareness that walking strong and straight was never all it was cracked up to be.  Divine strength flexes most mightily in human weakness.  Resurrection power only flows through the collapsed vessels of corpses.pa

Tuesday Trick: Preaching Christ from the Old Testament

Posted on by
Reply

 

In a change-up that would cause envy in any MLB pitcher, today’s Tuesday Trick detours a million miles from the typical tidbits about productivity or technology, all the way to the realm of biblical preaching.

From the Gospel Coalition comes this brief (maybe 10 minutes) interview with Owen Strachan, professor of theology and church history at Boyce College, on the challenge but importance of preaching Jesus Christ from the Old Testament.  How does one do it, while being faithful to the context and message unique to the Old Testament period and writings, while allowing Jesus to be the interpretive lens, the Logos, for God’s entire Story?

To the pastors out there, if you’ve ever wondered how to faithfully preach Christ from the three-quarters of Scripture that aren’t blatantly zoomed in on him, then THIS may be helpful.

 

Five Marks of a Dying Church

Posted on by
Reply

A few days ago, I highlighted a post on the observable decline among the Churches of Christ.  A few questions were raised, a few possible replies as well.

From Perry Noble’s blog comes this list: “Five Core Values of a Church in Decline”.

#1 – Laziness – Most people/churches are not “stuck” or in decline because they do not know or understand what the Lord wants them to do…God speaks very clearly in His Word and through His Spirit.  It’s just that God’s work always requires people to take a step of faith!  Remember, God promised the Israelites the “Promised Land,” but they actually had to go in and fight the battles.  A church that refuses to do whatever it takes and embraces laziness will eventually settle in the desert until that generation dies off.

#2 – Fear of Man – God has called His people to set the world on fire; unfortunately, too many church leaders today waste their time trying to put fires out and make people happy!  Scripture pretty much sums it up in Proverbs 29:25!  If your first question is always, “what does our biggest giver want” and “not what does God want” you church is stepping into the casket!

#3 – Pride – When a church and/or it’s leaders are not willing to admit a mistake OR that a method that used to work just doesn’t work anymore…it’s over.

#4 – Staff Abuse – This is something I’ve written about a lot lately…but I will say it over and over again, when a leader cares more about what his staff does than who they are becoming then he will begin to push them to put in 70-80 hour weeks on a consistant basis…and when they begin to show signs of being pushed too hard he will accueses them of being “disloyal” or “not bought in enough to make things happen.”  When a leader begins to do this (and other “leaders” sit by passively and watch it happen) then the quality of staff members the church is about to attract and keep will decrease significantly.

(One note on this…many times a pastor/leader who leads like this is lazy!  They often wait until the last minute to do things and then expect the entire staff to change and rearrange everything they are doing to accomodate his lack of planning.  Changes DO happen in ministry, heck, we had to switch up our entire Easter services at the last minute.  BUT…this should be the exception and NOT the norm.  AND…when it really is the exception the staff will always respond with passion and excitement because there is a consistant track record of loyalty TOWARDS them!)

#5 – Loss of Focus – When a pastor/leader (or group of leaders) become more obsessed with their “ministry platform” and begin to dive into other “ministry opportunities” and do so with such frequency that they cease to love the people that Jesus has called them to minister to…disaster is right around the corner because the church will become nothing more than a resource for the pastor to promote himself rather than a group of people whom God has brought together and given him responsibility over to love and lead.

No doubt the list could be longer than five, but perhaps this handful covers a lot of mileage.  Any key characteristics you feel were missed here?

For those readers in Churches of Christ, do any of these apply to the questions we raised a few days back?

For the rest of you, which of these marks describe churches you’ve observed, attended, or led?

Churches of Christ in Decline

Posted on by
4

If you follow me on Twitter (@jasonbandura), you may have seen this link already.

For the rest of you (after you go find me at Twitter ; ) ), below is an excerpt from an article posted by Michael Hanegan, preacher at the Central Church of Christ in Chandler, Oklahoma.

Here’s a sampling:

The Christian Chronicle recently released an article detailing the specifics about losses both in membership and congregations among Churches of Christ from 2003-Present. Their conclusion? In the last ten years we have lost one out of every sixteen members are have closed three congregations every two weeks for the last ten years. These numbers should be sobering. In the time that I have been at the Central Church of ChristI am personally aware of four congregations that have closed their doors, and know of a number of congregations that are barely hanging on numerically (not to mention other churches that are teetering on the edge of fracture and collapse).

But why?

The comments section on the Chronicle article are fascinating. Allow me to summarize some of what I heard from those who have responded publicly on the Chronicle website.

  • Good! God is finally cleaning house in his church! This is the purge we have needed to keep the church pure and the false teachers away.
  • If we were more evangelistic then we would experience growth like we used to (hear here the 40’s and 50’s).
  • Well if we weren’t so legalistic and addicted to patternism and John Locke we wouldn’t have this problem.
  • This is just terrible. What can we do?

If you wish to see the entire Christian Chronicle article allude to (and its comments section), it can be seen HERE.  The rest of Michael’s reflections can be found HERE.

A number of my most regular readers share with me a heritage in the Churches of Christ.  What do you say?

Why are Churches of Christ across North America in decline?

Please leave your comments below, and let the conversation begin.

(If you desire a greater challenge, hit me over on Twitter and give you reply in 140 characters or less!)