Saturday, January 27, 2018

How to Prepare for a Pastoral Vote (Laypeople)

The early church drew straws. Some churches cast ballots. Others call the bishop. And a few have even resorted to fisticuffs in an effort to settle on a new pastor. Every church has a way of appointing pastors and periodically reviewing its relationship with them.

Many churches vote on their pastors periodically, and that can be an anxious time for both the pastor and the people.

I’ve experienced pastoral voting from the pastor’s side, yet I remember hearing from a close friend about the anxiety that accompanied a particular vote at his church. There was a deep rift between the leadership team and the pastor that he seemed unaware of. When a negative vote signaled the end of the pastor’s service, my friend had the unwelcome task of delivering the news. “He was in shock,” my friend reported. “None of us could believe that he hadn’t seen this coming.”

Thankfully, that happens only a small minority of the time. Most pastoral votes are positive. Even so, they are a valuable occasion for the congregation to review the status of its relationship with the leader.

Pastors have their own set of questions for reflection when preparing for a vote. Here are important things for members of the congregation to consider.

1. Do I have a clear sense God’s direction for the future leadership of our church?

Have I prayed diligently about this? Do I feel confident of God’s leading in the matter? If not, what can I do to gain clarity?

2. What personal biases may shape my opinion?

Do I have either a close personal relationship with or ill feelings toward the pastor that may hinder my objectivity? If so, what can I do to gain clarity?

3. How effectively has our church carried out its mission in recent years? 

To what degree has the pastor been responsible for that success or failure? To what degree is the congregation responsible? In what ways am I responsible?

4. Have we adequately communicated both affirmations and concerns?

In what ways has the congregation communicated with the pastor? Have I personally communicated both affirmations and concerns where appropriate? Are there any issues that should be addressed prior to the pastoral vote?

5. What is the status of the pastor’s relationship with our church?

Is there a good working relationship between the pastor and people? Are there latent issues that need to be resolved? If so, what action will I take to resolve them? Is our pastor fairly compensated? Does the pastor’s family benefit from being part of this congregation?

6. Am I prepared to accept the results of this process as an indication of God’s will?

If not, what accounts for my hesitation? From whom could I seek counsel on the matter?

What is the most important factor in voting on a pastor?




Friday, January 26, 2018

How to Prepare for a Pastoral Vote (Pastors)

Police were called to break up a brawl at a church in North Carolina on Sunday (1/30/11). Apparently, members were divided over the ouster of their pastor, and fighting broke out over whether a vote should be held to reinstate him.

While most pastoral votes go a bit more smoothly, the occasion always brings a bit of tension for both the pastor and lay people. If there are divisions within the congregation, they will certainly surface. Emotions can run high.

This year I am facing a pastoral vote of my own. In our system, congregations generally must vote to renew their pastor’s service periodically. While I don’t expect difficulty, I don’t take a positive outcome for granted. I use the time leading up to a pastoral vote to reflect on my calling to the particular place of service and my potential for effectiveness there.

Here are several questions I’m asking myself in preparation for this time.

1. Do I continue to sense that God is calling me to serve in this particular place?
\ Have I prayed diligently about this? If unsure, whom can I ask for counsel? If I no longer feel called here, in what direction is God leading me?

2. Do I continue to have a vision for effective ministry here?

Has my original vision changed? What new challenges or opportunities have arisen? Can I clearly state the outcomes that should occur in the next two-to-four years?\

3. Have I been faithful in my responsibilities?

Have I been diligent in exercising my spiritual gifts? Have I been persistent in praying for the people? Have I given adequate time to studying and teaching the Scriptures?

4. How effective has my service been?

What have been the results of my work? Do I sense that God is pleased with the outcome? Am I pleased with what has been accomplished? If not, what factors have hindered my effectiveness?

5. What is the status of my relationship with the congregation?

Are people united behind my vision for the church? Are there any unresolved issues? Do I have the confidence of the church’s leaders? Do I believe I am adequately compensated for my work?

6. What has been the effect of this assignment on my family?

Is my family thriving during this season of ministry? Does our involvement here have a positive effect on their spiritual lives? Do they feel called to continue this service?

7. Am I ready to accept the outcome of this vote as an expression of God’s will?

If not, what accounts for my reservations? From whom can I seek counsel about my hesitations?



In part two of this post, we’ll look at questions laypeople can ask in preparation for a pastoral vote.


Source:  Lawrence W. Wilson  

I blog about Christian faith and ministry. I've also written a few books including The Long Road Home and Why Me? Straight Talk about Suffering.

Thursday, January 25, 2018

FIVE WAYS PASTORS CAN REVERSE NEGATIVE SENTIMENTS IN A CHURCH

“There is so much negativity in our church. What can we do?”

Some form of that question has come my way many times. The negativity may be in the form of murmuring. Sometimes it is more overt criticism and personal attacks. Yet in other cases, it is a more ill-defined atmosphere of defeat and despair.

What can a pastor or church leader do to help move the congregation more positively? After hearing from pastors and church leaders, I can offer five suggested paths that have proved fruitful in other churches.

1.    Call for a time of prayer.

 “Our congregation was inwardly focused. We seemed to be constantly sniping at one another. I asked twenty people in the church to join me for thirty days of prayer, including fasting every seventh day. It was amazing to see attitudes shift so positively so quickly.”

2.    Lead a major ministry or service effort in the community.

 “We ‘adopted’ fifty first responders in our community. One family would seek to care for a first responder for praying for him or her, asking how we could help, or even babysitting their children. We saw our congregation move from an inward focus to an outward focus.”

3.    Ask for forgiveness. 

“We were in the doldrums. It was evident when we had a vote to call a staff member and he was barely affirmed. When I announced the vote to the congregation the next Sunday, I took responsibility for not leading well, and asked the church to forgive me. I really believe that moment was a turning point in our congregation.”

4.    Get a fresh perspective.

 “I called it ‘the congregational blahs.’ There was no major crisis in the church, just a sense that we were barely treading water. Another pastor told me about an affordable coaching ministry. It not only gave me a fresh perspective, it give me a fresh start in the church. The members followed my leadership with a reinvigorated attitude.”

5.    Make a commitment to stay.

 “Every time our church hit a bump, or when we would go through some times of struggles, I would think about leaving. No, I didn’t announce it to the church, but my attitude was not one of commitment. In my prayer time one morning, I asked God to give me a long-term perspective in the church. It was an amazing turnaround for me. From that point, I didn’t let the crisis or the problem of the moment tempt me to think of greener pastures. I had a renewed attitude and the congregation followed.”

Those are five stories of leaders who led their churches out of the doldrums to a renewed and reinvigorated spirit. Often the leaders saw the need to make adjustments with their own attitudes and leadership.

I know there are other stories in churches out there. I would love to hear yours.



Source:  Thom Rainer   

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

8 SIGNS OF EMOTIONALLY ANXIOUS LEADERS

My dad was an electrical engineer and filled his shop in our basement with the most amazing gizmos. Transistors, capacitors, transformers, electrical tools and every conceivable gadget lined the shelves and entertained me for hours.

My favorite gadget was a neon sign transformer. A transformer is a device that either steps up or steps down current. The metal green box in a yard down your street or the cylindrical container on a telephone pole near your house is a transformer that steps down high-voltage power to 220 volts that comes into your house. So what does a transformer have to with an emotionally anxious leader? Read on.

With my dad’s neon sign transformer, I made what is called a Jacob’s ladder. I attached two three-foot wires to the leads on each side, and bent the wires into a V. When I plugged it in, a multi-thousand volt spark started at the bottom of the V and arced to the top. In this case, the transformer stepped up the household current to over two thousand volts. My Jacob’s ladder created lots of really cool sparks that appealed to my geekish interests. And I got shocked by it only once.\

A leader is like a transformer. By his responses, he can either defuse an emotional setting like a heated board meeting or can act like a step-up transformer by reacting and increasing anxiety, thus causing lots of not-so-cool sparks, as we leaders often do. Through a calm presence with emotional people, a leader can act like an emotional step-down transformer, decreasing the group’s anxiety by letting it pass through him without getting zapped.
Sometimes as leaders, however, we can characterize emotionality and anxiety one-dimensionally as defensiveness. 

But chronic anxiety, the low level anxiety we seem to never shake, fuels emotionality and shows up in eight ways that I call “the eight Fs of chronic anxiety.” It manifests itself differently in different people. As you read the list below, consider which F tempts you the most.

Fight: Emotionally reacting and becoming defensive (how we usually describe emotionality)

Flee: Emotionally or physically cutting off from others in anxious situations

Freeze: Not knowing what to do, thus not taking a position; offering no opinion and/ or staying neutral when you should take a position

Fuse: Losing your identity by glomming on to others’ wants and desires, compromising convictions, seeking unity at all costs and/ or trying to force everybody to be one big, happy family

Fixate: Easily getting triangled into unhealthy relationships and conflict

Fix: Overperforming to fix somebody else’s problems or doing for others what they should do for themselves

Flounder: Becoming passive, underperforming, or giving up

Feed/ fornicate/ finances: Inappropriately yielding to base impulses by turning to food, illicit sex/ pornography or inappropriate use of money
When we are tempted to deal with our anxiety with one of the 8 F’s, we must look to Jesus.

Jesus experienced the full range of human emotions. He wept when he heard that Lazarus had died. He became angry at the temple moneychangers. He felt a heavy heart in the garden of Gethsemane. Yet his behavior reflected anything but anxious reactivity.

Jesus’ response to his enemies throughout his trial and crucifixion, as 1 Peter 2: 23 illustrates, continues to amaze me.

“When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.”
Every time I recall this verse, I stand in awe. Although Jesus possessed God’s power to destroy his detractors, he didn’t. Rather, he leaned into his heavenly Father to respond appropriately to hardship. Likewise, as we lean into our heavenly Father, he gives us what we need to say no to reactivity and dealing with our anxiety in unhealthy and sinful ways.

The Bible tells us that the Lord has given us everything we need to live a godly life. Second Peter 1: 3 is so powerful as it encourages us with these words.
“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”

God has crafted our bodies and brains, our souls and minds, and our regenerated hearts with the capability to cool our emotions in the midst of emotionality. Acting calmly when tempted to do otherwise glorifies him.

What has helped you deal with anxiety that ministry often brings?


Used by permission. Stone, Charles (2014-01-01). People-Pleasing Pastors: Avoiding the Pitfalls of Approval-Motivated Leadership (Kindle Locations 2415-2432). InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.

Charles Stone is the senior pastor of West Park Church in London, Ontario, Canada, the founder of StoneWell Ministries and the author of several books. This post was originally published on CharlesStone.com.

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

You’re Not a Good Leader if You Never Say “I’m Sorry”


You are not a good leader if you never tell people you are sorry. There are a myriad of issues in the heart of a leader who never apologizes. If you never apologize, at least one of the following is also true:






You reveal you think you are infallible.

If you never apologize, if you never say, “I was wrong,” you show people you actually believe you are always right. You reveal your foolishness, not your wisdom, if you never admit to being wrong. People are hesitant, as they should be, to follow someone who thinks he/she is always right. There is only One who is faultless, and it is not you.

You are never having difficult conversations.

If you never need to look at someone on your team and say, “I am sorry, but…” then you are ignoring difficult conversations that would make the person and the team stronger. If you talk about people instead of to people, you are not a good leader. If you work around deficiencies instead of confronting them and providing opportunities for growth, you are shirking your responsibility.

You are afraid of making mistakes.

If you take risks and try new things, you will make mistakes. And wise leaders own those mistakes and learn from them. If you hate saying you are sorry, if you hate ever being wrong, you will be much more risk adverse and unwilling to try new things to advance the mission.

You are never repenting.

Most importantly, a leader who never apologizes is a leader who is not repenting. Great leaders repent. Tertullian said, “We were born for nothing but repentance.”

The first of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses is “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent’ (Matthew 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.”

If you never admit your wrongs and ask for forgiveness, you have an elevated view of your holiness and a woefully incomplete view of His.



Source: By  Eric Geiger

Monday, January 22, 2018

Things Pastors Cannot Do



Pastors are, in my judgment, amazing people. They faithfully serve Sunday after Sunday, often with no desire for recognition or fame. In faith, they can do a lot—but here are several things they can’t do:





1.    Read minds. Everybody knows that, but many church members hold pastors accountable for unstated expectations.

2.    Be everywhere. No human being can be every place at once, yet some members still get angry when pastors have to say “No.”

3.    Change hearts. Only God can do that.

4.    Know everything. Most pastors study hard, but nobody can answer every question somebody asks.

5.    Please everybody. Even Jesus couldn’t do that.

6.    Live sinlessly. Nobody can. Including you. And me. We’re all sinners.

7.    Grow churches. If the church does grow, it’s because God does it.

8.    Multiply dollars. That’s too bad, too, since some churches don’t pay their pastors well.

9.    Escape mistakes. All of us will mess up sometime, often unintentionally and even unknowingly.

10.  Avoid favoritism. Pastors minister to everybody, but having better (and best) friends is natural.

11. Reveal everything. No matter how much you may want to know the details, pastors may not be in a position to tell you.

12.  Ignore sin. Pastors must address this issue, even when it’s not popular.

Say a prayer for your pastors today. They have a tough job. And, come back tomorrow, when I’ll address things that laypersons can’t do.



Source: By Chuck Lawless

Saturday, January 20, 2018

Who are we to Dismantle Church?

I wonder if our lack of a well-informed, biblically-shaped, Jesus-centered theology of the church is due in no small part to the Evangelical/Protestant over-emphasis on the individual over against the community?
I wonder if we have come to define Christianity almost exclusively as a privatized spirituality, that either ignores the central role of the church in the life of every Jesus-follower, or pushes it to one-side, utilized only when convenient?
However, spiritual gifts only make sense in the midst of a community. Likewise, spiritual fruit, i.e., love, kindness, faithfulness, patience, etc, only make sense in the midst of a community.
Community gives both meaning and meaningful context to the church’s gifts and fruit. From a New Testament perspective, there is no room for individualism in the church. In fact, individualism and church lie at opposite ends of the biblical spectrum.
The gathered community of the church is a fellowship of people called and enabled by God, through Christ, by the Spirit to actively identify and participate together in God’s kingdom dream to and for the world.
Jesus came to inaugurate and build his kingdom, and the church lies at the center of this work. He did not come to establish a new privatized spirituality that separates people from one another, but a new community (Jew and Gentle) called together for the sake of the world, showcasing to the world that is what it one day can become – a fellowship of differents (Scot McKnight).
It would do us all well to remember that the church is God’s idea.
And, I wonder if we have allowed our contemporary definition, understanding, and experience of the church to be shaped more by the post-modern impulse of individualism and self-centeredness, than by Christ’s and Paul’s emphasis on the gathered community from every race, tribe, and tongue?
If so, we need to re-listen to the biblical story that finds its fulfillment in Jesus and re-orient our focus from ourselves to the other; a focus taught and emulated in Jesus’s entire life and witness, and furthered by Paul’s ministry to and for the church of his day.
If the church is God’s idea, who are we to dismantle it?
Nothing grieves the Holy Spirit more than when the unity he works so hard to create and sustain is jeopardized. We need to work in tandem with the Spirit’s gathering initiative, rather than work against it. We can do this by re-emphasizing the community focus of the New Testament witness in our own lives and in the community he came to establish.

Source: 
 Jeff Clarke (website: JeffKClarke.com)

Thursday, January 18, 2018

2018 Clergy Tax Update


President Trump recently signed the tax reform bill into law, and it makes major changes to the U.S. tax code for both individuals and corporations. In fact, the bill represents the most significant tax changes in the United States in more than 30 years.

While many deductions are remaining under the new tax law, there are several that didn’t survive. Gone for the 2018 tax year are the deductions for:

  • Casualty and theft losses (except those attributable to a federally declared disaster)
  • Unreimbursed employee expenses
  • Tax preparation expenses
  • Other miscellaneous deductions previously subject to the 2% AGI cap
  • Moving expenses
  • Employer-subsidized parking and transportation reimbursement
Republicans were unsuccessful in their efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, in 2017. However, the tax reform bill repeals the individual mandate, meaning that people who don’t buy health insurance will no longer have to pay a tax penalty.

It’s worth noting that this change doesn’t go into effect until 2019, so for 2018, the “Obamacare penalty” can still be assessed.

The standard deduction has roughly doubled for all filers, but the valuable personal exemption has been eliminated. For example, a single filer would have been entitled to a $6,500 standard deduction and a $4,150 personal exemption in 2018, for a total of $10,650 in income exclusions. Under the new tax plan, they would just get a $12,000 standard deduction.

It’s important to point out that most of the changes to individual taxes made by the bill are temporary — they’re set to expire after the 2025 tax year.



Sources: I.R.S.; House Ways and Means Committee | Proposed deduction amounts are comparable to the current 2017 levels and would increase with inflation in 2018.

Source:  Clergy Tax. com

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

5 Things Every Church Leader Should Unlearn in 2018


5 Things Every Church Leader Should Unlearn in 2018 (If You Want to Stay Relevant)

So you likely have some learning goals set for the year ahead. That’s awesome. But the best leaders don’t just learn new things, they unlearn old things that are holding them—and their teams—back.

Unlearning a few things might be one of the best things you can do this year, especially if you want to be able to reach the next generation.

This is true not only of reaching them with the message of the Gospel. It’s also true of any leader who wants to build a staff or volunteer team of young adults.
If you want to reach the next generation, you should unlearn some things that keep you from connecting with them.

Don’t get me wrong, every older leader brings wisdom and life-experience that’s invaluable, but often our methods interfere with our message. Our strategy and assumptions sabotage our intentions.

This post is aimed at helping you do a better job as a leader in leading that change. Unlearning what’s wrong is as critical as learning what’s right. With that in mind, here are 5 things every church leader should unlearn in 2018:

1. What Used To Work Still Works

In an age of massive disruption (which arguably we’re all in), it’s easy to cling to what’s known because so much feels unknown. As a result, most of us naturally cling to things that used to work hoping they will work again in the future. Maybe you had an approach to leadership or preaching that resonated a decade ago but for some reasons just isn’t anymore. Or maybe you had a program that used to be standing room only that currently has a lot of empty chairs.

It’s so easy as a leader to think that you just need to pour more gas on the things that used to work to bring them back to life. The truth is, gas only lights if there’s a spark. And the flame left those things a long time ago. If you’re pouring more effort into something with diminishing returns, it’s time to rethink everything.   Why?

Because leaders who cling to ineffective methods ultimately destroy the mission. Here’s an example. I have a fairly widely-listened-to leadership podcast I host. Leaders often ask me, “So will you always podcast?”
My answer is “No.”
Why?
Because podcasting is the method, not the mission. My mission is to help leaders thrive in life and leadership. Podcasting is currently a very effective method of helping leaders do that. But I’m sure the day will come that people take out their earbuds and something else comes along that’s even more effective. On that day, I’ll ditch podcasting and jump on whatever else helps leaders thrive in life and leadership.

On the other hand, I’m also in the final stages of writing my next book. I think I’ll be writing books years from now. Why? Because the method (book writing) has been around for millennia and the book industry, while changing, is expanding rapidly. It’s also the best way to ensure your ideas get broad distribution over many years…sometimes even over decades. But again, if that changes, it will be time to ditch the method to fuel the mission.
Most leaders resist change.

And that’s their demise. The way you’ve always done it, should never be the way you always do it. More specifically, the next generation, who is attracted to the mission, will always look to join a team that’s flexible in its methods. You did when you were young. Just because God doesn’t change doesn’t mean we shouldn’t.

2. Flex Workers And Remote Workers Are Lazy

I’m hearing this question more and more from leaders who are struggling to adapt to a rapidly changing work culture: what do I do with (young) team members who want to work from home, from coffee shops and have flex hours?”  My answer: embrace it.

There’s a myth that still persists that team members who want to have flex hours or who want to do remote work are lazy. They’re not lazy. They’re living in the 21st century. We have this thing called the internet these days, and it’s changing everything. Gone are the days when you needed a central location that everyone reported at a set hour to do set work. Sure, if you run a factory that produces widgets, you probably still run that kind of a business.

But if you work in a church or in an office, arguably, you don’t anymore. If you run reception, sure, you need set hours and a set location. Ditto if your job requires some form of manual labor or production. But beyond that, if you’re an information or knowledge worker, you don’t.

Bryan Miles has become one of my favorite leaders to listen about the changing work culture. He and his wife Shannon have built a large, rapidly growing company that’s entirely virtual, and last year was voted by Inc. magazine as having the #1 workplace culture in America.
Bryan has a new book called “Virtual Culture: Why The Way We Work Doesn’t Work Anymore“. You may want to put it on your reading list.

Bottom line?

Remote workers aren’t lazy. Lazy workers are lazy. If you have a lazy team member, deal with it. If they don’t improve, release them. But embrace remote work and remote workers. What you’ll discover is that productivity actually increases (often dramatically), costs go down and you begin to attract some of the best and brightest talent out there.

Will you need some set hours where everyone’s together? Of course. Many organizations have common days where everyone’s in the office but give freedom on other days. So how do you evaluate people then if you can’t see them? Well, first, being chained to a desk rarely improves anyone’s motivation or productivity.

And second, evaluate on them on results, not process. NOT producing is entirely different than how they’re producing. If you focus on the outcome, not the process, you usually get a better outcome.

By the way, I’ve been working with flex and remote teams for years and love it. Several of my team members are from Bryan’s company, BELAY Solutions, and I love it.

3. Online Engagement Happens By Lazy People In Their PJs

I literally heard this again this week from a leader. It drives me crazy in the most polite Canadian way. Two of the seven church trends I identified for 2018 deal with the relative decline of church-in-a-box (as I call it) and the rise of digital church. You can read about those trends here.

But underneath it all is an attitude that people who engage church online are lazy and only watch in their PJs. Does that have a shred of truth? Of course. I’m sure there are thousands of Christians who are too lazy to go to church and watch in their PJs instead. And maybe online church has been a back door for that group. But…and this is what leaders keep missing…Online church has a far bigger front door than back door.

The online world isn’t for lazy people, it’s for people. And if you want to reach people, stop ignoring the online world where ALL the people alive today are. You shop online. You don’t make a physical purchase without checking it out online first. And you don’t drive anywhere new without jumping online.
Life has moved online, so ministry has to as well. If you keep thinking online engagement only happens by lazy people, you’ll miss 99% of people you’re trying to reach. 

4. I’m The Leader Here, So Listen Up

A generation ago, being in leadership for many leaders meant you (finally) got to call the shots. Leaders loved the authority their position gave them…too much. The top-down model of leadership ruled, and essentially leaders thought everyone else should fall into line. That model of leadership is still far too alive in too many churches. The best leaders know that any large, growing church is hardly ever a one-person show.

In the same way work is being de-centralized, so is leadership. The best way to keep smart, engaged people on your team is to value, respect and empower them. Leaders who continue to rely on their authority will find themselves with less authority.

True authority comes from respect, and respect has nothing to do with a title. It has a lot to do with humility, with a willingness to serve your team, and honestly, with results. Leaders who serve their teams well, who exemplify deep character and who produce results will rarely have a shortage of other great leaders around them.

As studies have shown, people don’t quit companies. They quit bosses.

5. The Business World Has Nothing To Teach The Church

I probably take more heat on this idea than almost anything I write about, but I would love to see church leaders unlearn this idea in 2018. Is the church a business? No, of course not. We’re a body. The body of Christ. But just because the church is not a business doesn’t mean we have nothing to learn from business. Many churches are exceptionally poorly run and led.

What you effectively say if you have this attitude is that nothing good happens in the corporate world. They’re not smarter than you on teams, management, technology, people, change management, marketing or anything else.

You know what that is, right? That’s arrogance. Hardly a fruit of the Spirit.
Does everything that the business world teaches you work in the church? Of course not. But that doesn’t mean nothing does. So let me ask you: who are advancing their mission faster, businesses in your community or your church?
There’s a very good chance that if your church is growing as fast or faster than most businesses, you don’t have to unlearn the idea that the business world has nothing to teach your church. Most growing churches have figured out that they can take learning from almost anywhere, run it through a theological filter, and put it to work.

A final note: If you struggle with seeing what you can learn from business, just know that one of the reasons you have almost no high capacity leaders volunteering at your church might be directly related to this attitude. If you continually convey to business leaders that you’re opposed to learning anything from business, don’t lie awake at night wondering why no business leaders serve at your church.


Or why none attend.

This article originally appeared here