Tagged: evaluation

Where’s the love in that?

I’ve noticed something in myself lately – in my past few blog entries too.  It’s very subtle, at least to me.  And what is really irritating is that it’s something I’ve seen all my life among people within the ranks of the Christian church and have loathed.  Yet, here I see it in myself – at least to some degree…

I’m so passionate about what I’m saying that I’m forgetting the love…

We (Christians) have the truth as God has communicated it in scripture.  Some pretty life-changing and eternal things are at our disposal and stuffed into our tiny little brains.  Things like Jesus being the only way to God, faith alone in Christ alone, God’s grace being greater than our failures, forgiveness being freely and readily available for all people, God’s help being available in our time of need, etc.  It’s the truth, no denying that (no desire to here).  Yet if we are not careful, we communicate those kinds of powerful truths with the tact of a 500 pound gorilla.  We come across as angry – or at least a bit irritated, when there should always be a sense, in everything we say, that God’s love is the motivator behind it all.

Isn’t that the point of 1 Corinthians 13?  We love that passage so much because it speaks so eloquently about what the nature of love really is.  Yet we fail to see what Paul’s point was in writing it.  In chapter 12  Paul does us a great service by helping us to understand the reality of the spiritual gifts that God gives to those who believe in Christ.  It really is an awesome chapter!  And chapter 13 is his great big CAUTION to us… don’t get so caught up in your gifts and the impact they can have that you forget about the importance of applying them with love!

So how does that relate to what I’ve been noticing?  Well, I’ve been writing a lot about what a Pastor should be… and about parenting… and about marriage… and as I re-read some of what I have written, I sound kind of angry to myself, and more importantly, not very loving or gracious.  While I believe what I’m saying to the very bottom of my soul, I don’t think I’ve done a very good job of applying Paul’s caution - at least to some degree.  I’ve come off the wrong way – and I don’t think that it’s a way that honors Jesus very much at all.

As I realize that and look at the way people often react to the church, it’s no wonder they label us as hate-mongers, condemning, judgemental, or exclusive.  While I know that some of those reactions are just rhetoric used to be inflamatory, I also know there’s a nugget of truth in it.  Some of those people are responding in that way because they’ve felt our anger and passion more than they feel our love and true concern for them as individuals.  I don’t believe that any one of us within the church really INTEND to be that way – but we get so carried away with the conviction that we feel about the truth of God that we forget to apply it with the love and grace of God.

That’s one of the most appealing things about Jesus that I want to learn more… how to love people, warts and all – and STILL be holy, stand for holiness, and move people toward it as well.  Jesus stood against sin, but He still attracted sinners.  I’ve got a lot to learn… 

What should a Pastor be? – Part 4

I’ve given it a bit more thought and I actually DID have more to say on this subject of what a Pastor should be.  Today, as I was reading through 1 Peter 5 in preparation for my next sermon at CCOL, I realized that it has a TON to say about what a church leader should be – and thankfully, my convictions mirrored what it was saying – so, I’ll babble on a bit more about this issue…

#4 – Humble

Let’s just walk through the passage from 1 Peter 5, shall we?

1 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve;

  • A shepherd was one of the lowliest positions in the society of that day.  Isn’t it interesting, from that perspective, that church leaders are referred to as shepherds?  Shepherding was not/is not a glamorous job (does that sound like the pastors you know?  Pastors who come off as celebrities scare me a bit…).  Shepherding was dirty, difficult, and demanding.  That sounds like the kind of pastoral ministry that gets in the muck and mire of life’s difficulties alongside the sheep – not staying aloof…as I’ve mentioned before…  it takes a good deal of humility to be involved with people to that degree.  It takes a great deal of humility to not care how the people of the church view you because you are getting dirty with the other, perhaps-less-than-desirable-sheep.
  • Did you notice that the flock is “under the care” of the shepherd?  Sounds pretty obvious but think of the implication.  The shepherd is supposed to actually care for the sheep.  People who are proud don’t typically care about others – their beliefs, concerns, feelings, attitudes, lives, etc.  How does that stack up against the Pastors you know?  I’m saddened to even have to imply that PASTORS perhaps don’t really care about those under their leadership – but it is a mournful reality in some cases.
  • Serving – he mentions it twice.  Servants serve, rulers don’t.  There’s such a subtle but important attitudinal shift in realizing that fact.  If a person, pastor or not, has trouble serving – then they are having an attitude that is more akin to that of a “ruler” or “dominant” person in the relationship.  It’s a pretty natural tendency for us humans – to want to be the top dog, numero uno, big kahuna, etc.  But that’s NOT to be the nature of leadership in the church.  Read on… there’s a good deal more to notice…

3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

  •  ”not lording it over” – Wow!  That’s a pretty strong mental image to me.  I imagine a dictator or tyrant, imposing his will or opinion on those who are under his control.  Does that sound familiar?  Any pastors in your past who would fit that description?  That is NOT to be the role, attitude, or method of a Pastor or other church leader.  If you ever hear church leaders saying something along the lines of “because I’m the Pastor” then an enormous, frantically waving red flag should pop up immediately!  A pastor is to serve the flock in humility – not imposing things or demanding things.  He should be working WITH people who need to be brought to a level of understanding or cooperation that may not be easy to get them to.  It’s kind of like what has to happen in parenting – somebody (the parent hopefully) has to be the adult and take the responsibility to work out things in the right way (not necessarily the easy way).  It’s no fun most of the time – but that’s what a pastor signs up for!
  • “entrusted to you” – the job of a Pastor/church leader is a trust, a stewardship if you will.  A steward is a manager, not an owner.  He is not to possess or control the trust for his own benefit or ego, he is to manage it for the overall good of the Master.  A proud person can’t do that – he’ll want his fingers in every piece of the pie… and his initials monogrammed on it… and a copyright for the recipe…
  • “being examples to the flock” – the implication is that the leader is to exemplify the way to handle relationships, leadership, teamwork, humility.  He’s not to put himself “above the law” or outside the realm of accountability.  I’ve known of pastors who would raise cain about a church secretary using the office postage meter to send out a few letters when he does it himself week after week – and thinks nothing of it.  The secretary was just doing what he had DEMONSTRATED was O.K. to do.  It shouldn’t be that way.  He’s supposed to embody what an everyday, average, common Christian is supposed to look like.  That’s a pretty tall order… but again, it’s what he signed on for…

 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

  • Jesus – our example – is spoken of as the “Chief Shepherd.”  We just can’t get away from that imagery, can we?  If He’s a shepherd then how can we purport or expect to be anything more lavish or extravagant as church leaders? 
  • Leading a church the way God instructs brings rewards on a God-sized scale.  We could (but won’t) debate if we’re talking about literal crowns here, but it should be enough to say that something big is ahead for those who follow the leadership guidelines that God has laid down…

Making it practical

We could talk about this all day and never really see our actions as church leaders change if we don’t stop and put these truths into some real-life situations so we can “try on” these concepts.  Here’s a couple from experience that come right to mind…

  1. Some of the sheep bite – what should a humble shepherd do then? – People can be petty, weird, complaining, devisive, even plain old mean at times.  It’s not that they are always being antagonistic on purpose – many of them simply haven’t had that particular piece of their flesh trimmed away yet.  A shepherd who hasn’t gotten the humility thing going yet will respond badly – and I mean BADLY when a little lamb bites him!  Defensiveness, anger, rage, retaliation, pettiness-in-return, none of it is beneath a Pastor who has too much ego on the line.  Chew on this one my fellow pastors:  If Christ has called you to this role and He has told you to shepherd this flock and He’s shown you the RIGHT way to do it - isn’t HE sufficient to take up your cause when necessary?  If so, then why should you?
  2. Protecting your position – is it really such a good idea? – I didn’t just start this Pastoral gig – I know that people can be vindictive at times and actually go for the Pastor’s job when he’s not done anything that would warrant such a response (nawww!!!)!  I know, hard to believe, but it happens sometimes.  A pastor who is too proud (can I say “full of himself” as opposed to “full of the Spirit?”) will begin erecting walls of defense to protect his position instead of humbling himself to learn, grow, and let the Lord use him – even in this difficult situation.  Sounds an awful lot like some Pharisees we are familiar with…  (Did I just compare a PASTOR to the Pharisees?  Hey, if the shoe fits…)
  3. Appearances become way too important – Again our Pharisees are a good example of this.  Jesus said they worried a LOT about how they appeard to people but inside were not the real deal at all.   That’s what a lack of proper humility does to us.  It makes us focus on what is not important (what people think about us) and neglect what is truly important (what is really going on inside of us).   When a church leader is humble enough to admit (yes, even openly to his church family) that he doesn’t have it all together, when he’s humble enough to share the credit for ministry successes, when he’s willing to listen to the ideas of others and (gasp) actually implement the ones that are good - then he’s not only being an example to the flock, he’s also growing in HIS faith.  Pastors need that too you know…

O.K., that’s enough for today… I look forward to your ideas… so feel free…

Don’t Judge Me!

judgeHow many times have you been in a conversation about someone’s “habit” or “problem” or “issue” (they may even have been the one to bring it up) and as you begin to express your opinion they say, “Don’t judge me!”… or something similar?  Sometimes they’ll even add, “Jesus said, ‘Don’t Judge or else you will be judged.’”  And while that truly is a quote of Jesus from Matthew 7:1, they (like so many people who quote the Bible) have quoted it verbatim, while being completely ignorant of its context!  What they are implying Jesus meant is not at all what He meant!

We live in a culture that is absolutely, positively, and in all other ways deathly afraid of judging and/or being judged!  We don’t want to upset anyone (therefore we try our hardest not to make judgements about anything) and we don’t want others looking down on us in any way (therefore we demand that they don’t judge us).  I have to confess, I’m kind of angry about this… Jesus never intended for us to avoid making right/wise judgements about sitautions or actions.  In fact, if you look carefully at His teachings along with the teachings of Paul, Peter, John, etc., they are full of judgements!  We Christians are even encouraged/instructed to make those kinds of judgements!  People nowadays have come to use that verse as a shield against any sort of criticism or evaluation.  Are we SO fragile that we can’t take a word of loving criticism?  Or is it perhaps that we are so guilty inside that we don’t want anyone looking too closely?

Let’s take a few minutes to look at what Jesus REALLY said… 

Here’s the entire section from Matthew 7, from which the oft-quoted-but-seldom-understood-accurately quotation is taken… (my comments interspersed)

1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 

  • First, something that is not obvious to the average English reader is this:  the Greek word for “judge” in this passage is more accurately translated as “punish, condemn.”  So what Jesus is saying is, “Don’t look at people in such a way that you condemn or punish them in your mind or with your actions.”  What He’s talking about is a self-righteous, punitive attitude toward people who mess up, or who are a mess.  That was not how Jesus (the only One who really had a right to look down on people) did things.  There’s no grace in it – and Jesus was/is all about grace…
  • Secondly, look at the reason we are not to “judge” in this way… because the same standard we use to judge will also be applied to us!  So let’s flesh that out a bit… If I judge a situation or an action or a person (yes, I said “a person”) according to Biblical standards, then that means that I too will be judged or evaluated by Biblical standards (presumably by God).  Not bad… I think I could live with that.  But if I judge (in a condemning way) by my own self-oriented, “you bug me” standards – guess how I’m going to be judged!!????!!!
  • But don’t stop there!  Context is everything!  Keep reading and see what Jesus says NEXT!

3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

  1. After saying “don’t judge” Jesus IMMEDIATELY gives an instruction TO actively judge… Only He shows a right and a wrong way to do it!  So He can’t mean “Don’t ever, never, ever make any kind of judgement about anyone or anything.”  If He meant that, He’d be contradicting Himself!  Look carefully at the example He gives…
  2. Don’t judge other people hypocritically or ignorantly - if you have problems in the same area, you need to: #1 identify them.  Then #2 - take care of business on your own end FIRST!
  3. And then comes the kicker!  Once you’ve done that – you can THEN SEE RIGHTLY to judge / help another person!  Jesus is not saying, “Take care of your own baggage and leave other people alone!”  He’s saying exactly the opposite – “Take care of your own baggage – then go help other people deal with theirs!”

 6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.

  • Jesus doesn’t really care about pearls and dogs and pigs – He’s giving an illustration to show what often happens.  We work hard to sensitively and carefully give truly valuable and “right” help to someone and they simply disregard it, “trampling it under foot.”  Or, even more common due to our culture’s unhealthy fear of judgement and evaluation, people oftentimes respond negatively (you don’t say!)!  There are many of us who have experienced that last part – being torn to pieces simply because we tried to help…
  • A caution here:  If you’ve been one who’s tried to help someone else and they did in fact turn on you in anger – don’t take that as a sign that you shouldn’t have said anything or that you “did it wrong.”  And don’t let it cause you to shut down and vow never to try to help someone again!  We NEED those who care enough to warn, admonish, and exhort their brothers and sisters!  Don’t let the fallout from one negative response keep you from benefitting others!  You don’t know what the result of your words will be – somewhere down the line God is likely going to bring your words, coupled with those of many others, to convict and change that person.  You are may never hear about it, but God seems to speacialize in those kinds of “long-term” projects.  We have to take the long view on this… 

Why is this so important to understand?

  1. Because we can’t live an effective Christian life if we don’t judge things, situations, people, circumstances, etc. by Biblical standards.  We’d hang out with the wrong crowd, allow ourselves to make the wrong choices about entertainment and leisure time, we’d willingly get involved in immoral or illegal things that seem profitable at the time, and on and on and on…  And perphaps most importantly, we’d be raising kids who have no moral compass or Biblical framework from which to evaluate the world around them.  Without making right judgements, life becomes a mess…
  2. Others NEED you to make right judgements… None of us are ever able to locate and do something about our blind-spots unless someone else, who took the time to make a judgement, points them out to us.  They call them blind-spots for exactly that reason – YOU CAN’T SEE THEM!  The church as a whole is supposed to be growing – but it does so as each part of the body does it’s work (Ephesians 4:15-17) – speaking the TRUTH, in a loving way and with love as our motivation!  If we neglect that – we as the church are suffering – in fact, we are going backwards.  Lack of growth and maturation is a sign of illness, not health…

To wrap it all up – WE NEED right judgements to be made within the church!  We have to have it for our good and for our growth!  Solomon said it best when he said…

The lips of the righteous nourish many,
but fools die for lack of judgment.

The next time you hear someone in your circle of friends mis-use Jesus’ words – take the time to re-think what they are saying, and maybe even re-educate them on what Jesus really meant.  But let me warn you – people get pretty upset when you take away their defenses…

Top 10 suggestions for Pastoral Search Committees

The author of this article is available for consultation with search committees and pastoral candidates.  Please contact if interested…
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A second post on this topic can be found HERE

I’ve been on the “candidate” end of the Pastoral Search process far more than I like to think about.  I searchthink it was all in God’s scheme of things (of course it was) but I’m quite tired of the process and hope and pray to never go through it again.

But in those times I’ve seen TONS of things that I wish the Search Committee folks (all good people) would do differently.  It sure does help to walk a mile in the other guy’s shoes – so here’s my suggestions for those currently engaged in working on a Search Committee, or considering what the entire process should look like…

1. Don’t advertise your opening until you are REALLY ready!

Unless you’ve organized your committee, clarified what you are looking for, developed a call-back/contact system, etc. – you are going to be SWAMPED with the process and want to give up sooner rather than later.  AND you are probably going to take a lot longer at the process than you ever dreamed.  It’s not uncommon for committees to get over 100 resumes for 1 position!  Be ready before you actually begin or the process will overload you from day one!  Trust me on this…

2. RESPOND – TO EVERYONE!

There is nothing more frustrating to a potential candidate than to spend a ton of time putting together a good resume, mailing it out, copying sermon CDs, etc. and then NEVER HEARING PEEP #1 FROM THE PLACES HE’S SENT HIS STUFF!  Have some common Christian courtesy and develop some sort of way to respond to ALL candidates in a timely fashion, even if they really had no business sending you a resume in the first place.  In my thinking that’s about as rude as picking up the phone when it rings but refusing to say “Hello.”

3.  Be very clear about your process.

Once you start talking on a bit more serious of a level with a candidate, verbally walk them through the steps that you plan on taking in investigating a possible fit between your church and the candidate.  Candidates are in need of some timeframes – remember, they may have sent out numerous resumes and be talking with numerous churches at different levels at any given time.  Their response to you will be better – and more helpful to you – if they know where you’re going and how long you think it will take to get there.  When things change, let the know that too.  You’ll all be much happier with the way things go…

4. Let EVERYONE know the outcome.

Do you like to be left hanging????  Neither do candidates who have taken the time to send in a resume.  Type a quick e-mail and let everyone know of your final decision.  Divide it up among your committee members so it doesn’t take so long – but do it.

5.  Talk about salary, benefits, moving expenses, etc. EARLY in the process.

Believe it or not, Pastors have to make a decent wage too, and for many candidates God’s leading quite often will come through the knowledge of whether or not their family can live on what your church is able to offer.  You will save yourself time, energy, frustration, and a lot of pointless consideration of candidates who were never a possibility (and most importantly, not God’s choice for your  position), if you reveal your financial particulars way up front.  And if you decide not to do this and a candidate asks about the financial piece of the puzzle, don’t assume that he’s materialistic and corrupted by “mammon.”  Like I said, sometimes God shows His direction by whether or not the position will provide for the needs the Pastor’s family has..

6. Be honest about your church’s baggage – and don’t think your church doesn’t have baggage.

Whoever your new Pastor turns out to be, he’s going to do a much better job from the start if he has a “heads-up” about the problems he’s inheriting.  For whatever reasons, some churches feel that they should they hide those things throughout the candidation process.  Maybe they think they will have a better chance of getting the “right guy” if they don’t scare him off with all the messy things going on in the life of the church.  Or it could be that they are simply embarrassed by the mess things have become.  Let me turn that around for a minute – Don’t you think it’s more likely that the “right guy” will show up if he knows all your junk, dysfunction, and needs, and COMES ANYWAY???  And don’t think your church doesn’t have any baggage either.  Churches that think that are usually the ones who have Visa and Passport stickers ALL OVER their baggage, cause they’ve taken it with them everywhere they’ve gone!

7. Don’t have outlandish qualifications or requirements for your position.

While I’m not naive or stupid enough to think that just anyone can lead a church (or a large one for that matter) I also don’t think God limits Himself to the things we often do.  It makes me kind of crazy when I read a posting for a ministry position that says, “Must have 3 to 5 years experience leading a church of 3000 or more.”  or this one’s even better – “Must have at least 5 years leading a small group program of 200 or more groups.”  (I actually saw that one).  If you set up these kinds of “requirements,” that means that probably 98% of the candidates out there DON’T fit your expectation.  Said another way, You are LIMITING your pool of fish to the top 2%, which are the biggest, most experienced, most well-paid, and probably the most content already!  Consider this:  There are some greatly gifted, Spirit-controlled, fresh NEW leaders out there that God is raising up for ministry to this and the next generation.  Do you want to set yourself up to not even consider those up-and-coming tools God has in His toolbox?  Think about it; Chuck Swindoll, Billy Graham, Bill Bright, Andy Stanley, Bill Hybels – they were once the leaders whose name nobody knew.  Are you willing to take a chance that the next one God has those kinds of plans for, may be in that stack of resumes on your desk?

8. Talk to the candidate’s spouse somewhere along the way.

It has always bugged me that the most important person in my life, the one who knows me and my ministry better than anyone else, has often not even been asked one question in the search process.  Does that make much sense?  I’m not saying you need to interview the spouse as if she’s being hired too – that’s not my point and is a wrong approach. But you do need to get a sense for how supportive the spouse is, what her opinion of the guys is, how healthy their marriage is, what type of relationship they have with their kids, etc.  Those are some HUGE areas that trip up many pastors.  Don’t you think you should find out what problems there are on the front end instead of hiring the guy and going to church some Sunday only to discover that that Pastor Smith’s wife never has been happy that her husband is a Pastor?

9. Don’t let one “negative” response from an isolated reference ruin the “positive” responses of many  others.

Candidates naturally give you the names of people that they think will speak highly of them.  That’s just how the process goes.  But sometimes, unbeknownst to the candidate, stuff happens that sours one of those people on them.  If you’ve called 5 references, 4 of which were outstandingly positive, and then one of them seems to be disgruntled with your candidate – consider this:  If the candidate is all THAT bad, why would 4 out of the 5 be saying otherwise?  It could be that something that happened in the way the candidate left his last position was not to that person’s liking.  It could also be that there’s a misunderstanding between the two of them that the candidate has no clue about.  If you get the negative 1 and the positive 4, call back the 4 and ask them specific questions about the concerns of the 1.  You’ll be glad you did.

10. Give your candidate an opportunity to respond to the negatives you hear from references.

There are always two sides to a story and the truth is usually somewhere in between.  If you only take a  negative report from one reference and don’t allow the candidate to respond, you are probably doing yourself and the candidate a huge disservice.  Often the issue the reference is upset about is one that the candidate can adequately explain.  And he’ll likely be able and more than willing to provide you the names of other people who know about the situation the reference is upset about, who you can talk to in order to get a more fully-orbed picture of what the truth is.

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I’ve recently published my first book – “The Elder Training Handbook” that covers one method of identifying, assessing, and training men for church Eldership.  If you’d like to get a copy for yourself, go to the FREE tab at the top of this blog.  There you’ll find options for the free E-book download of the ETH, as well as an option to buy a hard-copy and have it shipped to you.

What should a Pastor be? – Part 3

aloofA question James asked after the last post prompted this one – thanks James!

Number 3. A Pastor should lead the way in being authentic and genuine with those in his congregation.  In other words, Pastors should work hard to make sure they are not “aloof” from the people they are leading.

A huge part of the Christian message is the reality that we are sinful human beings, in need of a Savior.  Pastors are the same – no exceptions.  Too often a Pastor will work to keep himself in a place where he’s perceived as “having it all together” – when we all know better.

I don’t deny that many Pastors ARE in fact, much farther down the road of spiritual growth and maturity than those in their congregations (they should be – right?).  That’s a good thing.  That’s the very REASON they have anything to offer the people they lead – they are more mature.  But to come off as if you are somehow “above it all” and have it all figured out is another thing.  Authenticity goes a very long way towards establishing credibility and respect – it’s humility in action.  And Jesus said that in order to be the greatest (a leader) we would have to become the least (a servant)…

Another way this can be manifested is in a Pastor separating himself from the congregation – not socializing with them, not interacting except on a “professional” level, not being available outside of office hours.  Some people may be thinking, “What?  Pastors actually do that?”  Yep, quite a few do.  It’s a method of “self-protection” that is wrong, but somewhat understandable.  Pastors get hurt.  Pastors get hurt by people IN THEIR CHURCH!  Sometimes intentionally so!!!  So, often Pastors will respond by withdrawing.  BAD CHOICE Rev. So-and-so!

It’s EXACTLY in those times of hurt and pain that people need to see a leader trust God, even with the emotional hurts that may be on the way, and CONTINUE to be real, interactive, and genuine.  Faith is not just for the “easy” times – the times that feel good.  Faith is most important in the times when our instinct IS to be self-protective.  If we Pastors can get beyond the defensive reactions we naturally gravitate towards and trust God with the pain that’s inflicted on us, we might have a better chance of helping the people we are leading to actually see what it means to persevere, to love without conditions, and to live in a forgiving way.

What should a Pastor be? – Part 2

Continuing with what I’ve come to believe a Pastor should be, Biblically speaking…

     2.  A shepherd, not a CEO.

This one is perhaps the most difficult to figure out simply because the size of some churches requires a more CEO oriented mentality.  I mean come on, a 2000 member church (or larger even) is so much like running a corporation that it’s not even funny!

In a church that size there HAS to be organization, strong leadership, compelling vision and direction – all the things a CEO would be the one to do were it a secular organization.  And people within a church naturally look to the Sr. Pastor as the one to do those things.  I’m not denying those needs at all.

Compound that with trying to apply the notion that a Pastor needs to “shepherd the flock” (a more personal idea) when he’s got a group of 2000 people to shepherd!  Even a shepherd has help when his flock gets that large!  He’s at least got a couple of dogs to help round up the strays and keep the group together!

Then throw in that many pastors, especially some of those who lead larger churches, are not “pastorally” gifted.  They are dynamic leaders, strong personalities that people naturally follow, great communicators and motivators – just not shepherds.

These are only some of many pertinent reasons that many pastors of larger churches have become CEO-mentality leaders.  I don’t deny the reality of the issues/needs that force them to that position.

I just don’t think it’s the PASTOR who should be taking on that role…

The very word “pastor” has the shepherding concept inherent in it.  It’s a more personal, nurturing, caring sort of imagery we’re talking about here.  How can you do that when you’re running things like a business?  How can you do that when you think of yourself as the Chief Executive Officer?

There is at least one distinct reason why I believe this is important…

  • People’s lives are changed when someone (a Pastor?) takes the time to be WITH them, to walk through the junk with them, to DEMONSTRATE care on a tangible level.

Remember how Jesus trained His 12?  He was WITH THEM for an extended period of time. Every opportunity became a teaching opportunity – every day became a time to demonstrate what He was teaching.  And if we continue down that path to follow the example God sets for us, it is in the DEMONSTRATION of love that the real significance and power of it soaks in to our minds and souls (i.e. Romans 5:8).  I think the people of the church need to SEE the Pastor ministering in this way so that they can learn to imitate the same mindset and lifestyle.  It’s one of those things that doesn’t work very well if the Pastor is only saying, “Do what I say, not what I do.”  It’s basic human nature – people will not follow and example that is only encouraged, but not demonstrated.

What is the answer?

I think there are many approaches…

  • Many larger churches, to their credit, have hired on an “Executive Pastor” or some such similar position.  This person takes on the CEO responsibilities (in theory), leaving the Pastor to be mindful of the spiritual health and direction of the church and actually BE more of a “shepherd” (in theory).
  • I think one of the better options is for larger churches to give a good deal of consideration to multiplication – on a church-wide level.  Imagine the impact a church of 2000, in a major metropolitan area could have if they would send out groups of 200 to 300 people, with a strong Pastoral leader to establish new churches throughout the city.  BEGINNING a new church with 200 people – think of the possibilities.  Established givers, already in place.  The ability to start with momentum.  I think there would be greater impact in the long run on a greater number of people.  I know – there are all kinds of kinks in this one (people who are loyal to a certain leader and refuse to go to another group, etc.)  Yep, problems will come up – but I believe the Spirit of God will lead, even in them…
  • Many pastors of larger churches, to their credit, have taken a serious look at this issue and have become “shepherds to the shepherds.”  Following Jesus’ example they are building into their paid staff or volunteer leaders as their “primary” flocks.  These people in turn, shepherd those within the greater church family.  It’s a good approach and very Biblical.
  • Some church leaders simply need to take a long, hard, Spirit-guided look at their gifts in comparison to the shepherd’s role that a Pastor should be engaged in.  If they don’t fit, they need to listen to that tension and begin taking steps to do something about it – for the good of the church and the kingdom!  God has designed every person, Pastors included, to function within the body in a specific way.  Misplaced members need to be open to re-assignment.

In the end, I feel that if a Pastor is not being a shepherd, our congregations will not learn to shepherd each other.  Typicall, people only do what they see done in their leaders’ lives.

What should a Pastor be? – Part 1

After 16 years of full time pastoral ministry, I’ve walked through many situations – both difficult and easy.  I remember early on I began with some pretty naive and “idealistic” notions about being a pastor. (more about idealism later)  But through it all I believe that there have been quite a number of things impressed on me about being a pastor that are of great importance.  This is “Part 1″ of I don’t know how many parts, because I know that I have a lot to say about this…

  1. A Pastor should hold some of the highest personal standards in his church

What do I mean by this?  Well, it all goes back to the idea of being an example for the flock – and whether you feel like that kind of terminology is offensive or condescending or whatever – just remember that it’s the terminology Jesus used to describe a spiritual leader  – a shepherd.  We who are in positions of spiritual leadership in the local church are shepherds, like it or not.  As such we have to set an example worth following.

What does that entail?  Not perfection, that’s for sure.  But a consistency and growth and increase in personal holiness that is evident.  We can’t expect the people of our churches to live in ways that honor God if we are not carefully monitoring our own lives to make sure that OUR lives are!  It may have to do with what we allow ourselves (and our families) to engage in, in terms of entertainment.  It may have to do with the way we speak – avoiding things that might be misconstrued like sarcasm, cutting remarks, or course joking.  Does that sound a bit “over the top?”  If so, let me ask you THIS simple question… can you picture Jesus, our model, doing those things?

We’ve got to remember who’s standard we’ve been called to preach and uphold – it certainly isn’t our own.