Experiences In Church Transformation

Beyond Our Scope

One of the valuable aspects that I have found as I engage in transformational ministry is the insights that I can gain from non-church resources.  While the church has often looked to the business community to provide insights and resources in administration and financial approaches, I think that we often overlook the resources that can be found in regards to understanding inviduals and communicating a message.

As I have read books and articles from sources that are not in the scope of church writers, I have found that there always are valuable tidbits that I can apply to the ministry I am currenlty engaged in.  It has helped me to look at individuals and situations from a different perspective.

I feel it is vital for church leaders to explore outside our usual realm of information.  Not only can we gain different insights and perspectives, but we can also gain understanding in what is being discussed and/or debated in the world at large.  This provides us a richness that helps us to minister more effectively to those outside and inside our church walls.

So my challenge to you would be, read something that you normally would not read.  You never know what message the Lord may have for you in a different voice!

I'm Back

Hey everyone.  Sorry for the long hiatus.  I was on vacation for 10 days in August and then when I returned we had huge internet issues at the church and I am just starting to get caught back up.  So stay tuned for more consistent blog posts.

Success

Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ. The definition of success according to the dictionary is: “1. The gaining of something desired, planned, or attempted. 2a. The gaining of fame or prosperity. b. The extent of such gain. 3. One that is successful. 4. A result or outcome.” Now some of you may be wondering if my goal is to give you a vocabulary lesson. Let me assure you that I have a much different thought in mind than a vocabulary lesson. But I feel that it is important for us to cognitive of how the world defines success as I share with you a matter that has come to me recently.

A few weeks ago, I engaged in a conversation with a friend about a decision that Jamie Pollard, the Athletic Director at

Iowa

State

University

made a few months ago. Many of you know that he decided to offer tickets to the Iowa/Iowa State Game only to season ticket holders at Iowa State. I am not going to debate the decision that he made but instead want to respond to a comment that my friend made in regards to that decision. In the midst of our discussing the merits of the decision, he indicated to me that “no matter what, you must admit that he was successful because this is the highest season ticket sales in a long time and that was his goal.” That comment made me think about what it means to be successful. My friend was right, the Mr. Pollard had increased season ticket sales and therefore the revenue generated. However, I had to wonder at what cost. I am not sure that there will be an immediate cost that is noticeable other than some grumbling by Hawkeye fans and even some Cyclone fans but that does not mean that there is not some lasting cost.

All of this made me think about what people are willing to do to be “successful”. Many years ago, I realized that the way we major success does not always take all matters into consideration. Jamie Pollard made a decision that will look favorable on his next job review but what cost were paid in regards to relationships in the state. What costs were paid in regards to what might be considered “fair and equitable”? The actions that we take must be measured not only in terms of visible impacts but also in the way that it impacts people. To me that is what Jesus tried to communicate to his disciples and anyone who would listen. Our actions, while they may bring us immediate rewards and levels of success, do have much deeper impacts that we must consider.

This has led me to the following conclusion: Just because something is successful, does not make it right.

May the Lord guide you in all your decisions!!!

Sharing Ideas Can Cause Growth

Recently I have been sitting down with one of my colleagues in town to learn from each other.  It has become something that I have found extremely enjoyable especially since he is the pastor from a faith tradition that I have limited knowledge about.  Today we met for lunch and as we discussed things that were happening in our respective congregations and faith traditions it became apparent how much we have in common.

I share this because I think it is vital for all of us to remember the importance of sharing ideas with one another.  The Lord created the church to be a faith community in which ideas are shared, questions asked, and growth takes place.  I would challenge all of you to remember the importance of regularly connecting with others that are in and are not in your faith traditions to share ideas.  Through this experience I believe your personal faith will grow.

Audience of One

In their book, "Lead Like Jesus", Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges point out that as Christian leaders (and I believe Christians in general) we need to remember that we have an audience of One - the Lord.  This is an important concept for us to grasp and to live by.  There is probably not one of us that feels at times we are pulled in multiple directions with multiple demands and priorities upon our lives.  It seems that there are more than enough people who are willing to tell us what we should be doing and how we are to be doing it.  Blanchard and Hodges remind us that we only have one who should be directing our lives - GOD. 

When we start to live with this concept as our guide, it can make dramatic impact upon our lives.  Anyone who has tried to provide leadership knows that when you work with a multitude of people, there is absolutely no way, no matter what you do or don't do, to please every person.  Someone always can point out a better way you could have done something or a better decision you could have made or a better way you could have used your time.  A person could go insane if we tried to follow everyone's directions.  However, if you adopt an audience of one approach to what you do, then you are no longer running around in circles but instead are striving to listen for the Lord's voice and direction and honor that.

Another benefit to this philosophy is that you are being faithful to Scripture.  Jesus shows over and over again that our primary objective (or primary directive for you Star Trek fans) is to follow the Lord's direction and call for our lives. 

The potential difficulty with adopting this philosophy for our lives is that some times people will be upset with us.  The reason is that we are no longer catering to their opinions and whims but instead listening to the Lord of our lives.  On occasion the Lord will direct us to say and/or do things that will not be popular.  But if we are striving to place the Lord as our audience of one then Jesus points out that our reward will be greater than anything that may be offered to us during our time in this life.

So I encourage all of us to be faithful to our audience of one and share this concept with others!!!!

Responsible Freedom

As we prepare to celebrate our nation's 231st anniversary of independence, I thought it would be important to remember another independence - our independence from sin and death.  Both of these privileges of independence did not come without a price.  For our nation, men fought and gave their lives to secure and to maintain our independence throughout the years.  For us as individuals, Jesus Christ gave his life to secure our independence from sin and death.

So this year as we celebrate the independence of the United States of America, let us not only give God thanks for the privilege of living in a free nation but let us also give thanks for being freed from sin and death through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Not Separate But Equal

I just had lunch with some friends and a discussion ensued that caused me to take a step back.  During the course of the conversation we began talking about a local grocery store and their practices.  One member of the group made the observation that he wished this business was open on Sunday.  I indicated that I was thankful that they were not.  We then spent a good deal of time talking about different points of views in regards to businesses being open on Sundays.

The point which caused me to take a step back is when an individual made a statement along these lines, "Faith is a separate matter from other things in life."  I responded immediately that I felt that was one of the problems many Christians have.  I believe that faith in Jesus Christ should be a very integrated part of life.  As believers, our faith should guide and direct all other aspects of our life.  Too many people make a strong effort to separate faith from the other aspects of their life and this disconnect is the cause of many struggles in the life of the church and the individuals.  While I realize that this is a difficult reality to obtain at times.  I believe that it is a reality that everyone of us who claims Jesus Christ as Lord should always strive for.  If we fail to integrate our faith into our life, how can we have integrity in our witness to others?

So let me take a stand of not accepting a concept of separate but equal when it comes to the relationship of our faith with the other aspects of our lives!!!

Support Community

A few months ago the Winterset Ministerial Association adopted a new mission statement.  We made a definitive move from being an organization that was about "doing" programs and toward a support group for those who are in ministry in the area.  I was concerned that there would be a limited level of trust among the members of the association so that the level of support would be weak at best.  What I found was surprisingly different.  This is now one of my greatest support groups and I am excited about the opportunity to share and to listen to my colleagues.  We are finding how much we truly have in common and who each person truly is.

This has led me to once again ponder the importance of support networks for all Christians.  God designed the church to be exactly that --- a support network for believers.  Unfortunately, human sin has even tainted this perfect design of the Lord.  Many people have come to find the church anything but a safe haven.  Because of this reality, we have lost a very important tool that all believers truly need.  Following the Lord is far from easy, without a group of individuals to help us and to celebrate with us, we feel alone and often find ourselves turning away from the very things Christ calls us to be and do.

I want to urge all of you to be diligent about finding a group of individuals that you can openly, and safely, share your joys and struggles with.  If you are in leadership in the church and/or actively serving as a change agent in a congregation, this is a survival tool that is vital.  We need to have people that we can bounce ideas off of, and to share the realities of our lives with.

Planning For Success

Why is it that many Christian leaders seem programmed to expect failure?  If it were just Presbyterians that I have noticed this trend in, I would attribute it to our Calvin upbringing.  However, I do not feel that it is only limited to a denomination.  I believe that this trend can be seen any many Christian leaders.  Maybe this is a defense mechanism that has been ingrained because so many times we see our hopes and dreams dashed or falling short way too often.

Maybe the reason that we have experienced failure as Christian leaders is that we forget a primary reality of what it means to be a CHRISTIAN leader --- We follow the Lord's lead.  Maybe if we examined where we have found shortcomings, the key thread is that we have pursued our own dreams and plans rather than striving to follow the Lord's dream and plan.  This reminds us of the importance of spending the time to discern the Lord's will.  We must ask the question, "Lord, what would you have me (us) do?"  If we truly are listening for the Lord's voice, I believe that we would find ourselves achieving much more than we often do.

A good friend of mine, Phil Barrett, has on occasion reminded me and others that we need to plan for success within the church.  To me the starting point for this planning must be discerning the Lord's will.  It is great for us to have ideas, dreams, and hopes but if these are not in alignment with the timing and plan of the Lord, we will experience marginal success, or even failure.

Let's plan for success in the church..... always beginning with a dialog with the Lord!

Proper Perspective

I recently had a discussion with a good friend that caused me to pause and think about how Christians should respond to the events of the world.  He indicated to me that he had been listening the previous day to some individuals on talk radio.  They indicated that if our attempts of establishing peace in Iraq were unsuccessful our world would be forever unsafe.  As we discussed this concept, I raised a couple of points to him. 

The first point was purely historical, I challenged him to look over the history of the last couple of centuries.  If you do that, you can see that there always seems to be a challenge to the safety of people in the world, the challenge just changes faces.  I recall when I was growing up there always seemed to be great fear about planes being hi-jacked.  I remember news story after news story of a plane being hi-jacked.  Today, that threat seems to have been greatly reduced.  You hardly hear of a hi-jacking any more.

The second point that I made is more from a Christian understanding.  As a Christian, I have the joy of the knowledge that God is in charge!  I have read the book and I know how the story ends ---  GOD WINS!!!  While it may be true that my existence on earth may be brought to an end by human action, the true end of the story is that I am victorious in Jesus Christ!  Now I am not advocating that we go about life in a reckless manner, nor am I arguing  that we do not strive for justice and peace in our world, I do not believe that those who would cause harm can ever be declared to true victors.  The battle of the greatest significance has already been won and those who believe in Jesus Christ are already declared the victors.

It is very easy when we look at all the strife within our world to succumb to the "Chicken Littles".  But if we truly take heart in the Gospel, we quickly realize that there is no other victory than the one achieved in Jesus.  This leads to a life not lived in fear but with wisdom and great joy in the knowledge of the true WINNER.  So I encourage all believers to continue to share a message of assurance and to help others find peace in the reality of the victory won.