I mentioned a couple of days ago that I would begin a series of posts on the ministry. Here’s my first entry. It’s really two posts – a little financial advice at the beginning and then the use of a bank metaphor for pastor credibility.
Before I make my point…
Okay, young preachers, listen to me! I’m going to give you two pieces of advice that you need to hear. They really have nothing to do with this piece, except in the most tangential way, but I’m going to say them anyway.
1) Debt will ruin your ministry. Student loans. Overbuying houses and cars. “Easy payments.” And those credit cards that come straight from the pit of hell. Debt is not sinful, but it is unwise. Manage it carefully. With compounding interest you can find yourself overwhelmed. Ministry is stressful enough without the added weight of a debt burden weighing you down. Take it from someone who has walked that road. DON’T!!!
2) Save for retirement! A week and a half ago, I was a young buck fresh out of the seminary who thought I would be young forever. Now, I’m an old codger who has saved inadequately for retirement. I wish I could go back and do it all over again! A small amount saved monthly when you are in your 20s has more value than the hundreds I’m putting in every month now.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, pretty please, with sugar on it, please young guys, will you take the advice of an old codger who has made a ton of mistakes and paid the price for them. Listen to me. Please. Stay out of debt and save a little bit for retirement. Just do it. Because I said so.
Now, on to the actual point of this post!
The First Security Bank of the Pastor’s Credibility and Authority
I am a pastor, yea verily a “Senior Pastor!” That title carries with it a certain amount of prestige, authority, and credibility – at least with some people. For others, it may engender hostility and suspicion. That will be a discussion for a different post. I’ve known pastors who seem to think that people should listen to them and do as they say simply because they hold the title of pastor. “I’m the pastor here. They should listen to me,” – as if the title ought to guarantee a certain level of power and authority in the church in and of itself. That works great in theory, but it doesn’t work very well in reality.
There is, in every church a Pastor’s Authority and Credibility Bank which contains the capital the pastor needs to lead the church – his pastoral authority, his credibility as a leader, his job security and his ability to cast a vision and set the direction of the church. Every day of his ministry the pastor makes deposits and withdrawals from the bank. The key to effective ministry is for the pastor to regularly and consistently make more deposits than he does withdrawals! (In essence, that is just another way of saying he is there to serve, not to be served.)
If you overdraw your account, you will likely be searching for a new place and a new bank account.
- NOTE: I believe ministry is a supernatural thing. Our primary job is to please God not to please people. In this post, I am necessarily focusing on the human aspects of ministry but please do not ignore the divine. It is God who sustains our ministry bank account with deposits of grace, power and his own authority. Remember when he made Moses’ staff bud as he was challenged by others who did not want to follow him? I never want to reduce ministry to psychological or human elements. It is spiritual effort, even warfare, and it is well to remember that even as I focus on the human.
Still, though ministry is a supernatural work, it is played out here on earth with real people in real places. Here’s how it goes.
Your Initial Deposit
The day you arrive on the job a deposit is made by your church into your account at the Pastor’s Authority Bank. Some churches, which have had a great experience with their previous pastors, make a large deposit. Other churches, having had contentious relationships with pastor after pastor, make a very small deposit. My dad went to a church that had run off six pastors in 16 years. At that church, the deposit was minuscule. (Dad stayed 12 years and the church was heartbroken when he left!)
You receive your initial deposit from the church when you walk through the door and sit behind the big chair in the office. You are the pastor and there’s a certain amount of credibility that attaches to that title. But from that moment on, all of your authority, credibility and leadership is earned. God gives grace but the authority and credibility you need to lead God’s people is won by your faithful service, your godly character, your perseverance and love. From the moment you expend that first small deposit of leadership capital, you must work for every bit of credibility and leadership you have in your church.
Your ministry will begin with that brief honeymoon period when you are spending the initial deposit. During this time you must begin to make deposits into your credibility account. The wise pastor works diligently and faithfully to build the balance in his Authority Bank account. Those first few months of a ministry are a key time in any pastorate. A wise pastor invests carefully during this time.
- He works hard to get to know his people and to let them get to know him.
- He proclaims the Word of God with clarity, boldness, and power.
- He prays consistently for his people.
- He gets to know the ministries of the church and understands how things work. Most churches have two sets of bylaws – the written bylaws and the unwritten ones. Get to know both! Study how the church operates, where the power lies, what the strengths and weaknesses of the church are, and where the ministry logjams and landmines are. Too many pastors forge ahead with trying to implement some agenda they’ve cooked up without figuring out the church and how it works. Suddenly, they break a rule which costs them a huge fine in the credibility bank, their account goes belly up and things are bad.
- He honors the past while also building a vision for the future.
Basically, the wise pastor comes in and is a diligent, faithful pastor to his church for the first two or three years of his ministry before he attempts to make huge changes or implement his own agenda in the church. YES! I said two or three years.
An Error that Tears Churches Apart
I read a book (I did that once a long time ago) by Lyle Schaller called “The Change Agent” and he said one of the biggest mistakes that pastors make is trying to make systemic and thorough changes in a church in the first two or three years one is there. A pastor must invest himself in a congregation for three, four, even five years before the people will trust him enough to let him begin to fully implement his own vision for the church.
It is a mistake that is at the root of many church splits. Within the first weeks or months of entering a new pastorate at an established church, the pastor begins to pressure the church to do things his way, to mold the church after his image. Lo and behold, he generally meets resistance, often severe. And so he lashes out at the rebellious and disobedient people who rebelled against the vision God had given him. The church goes through a traumatic time and either splits or loses a few people.
It did not have to happen. Hear me pastor. You have to EARN THE RIGHT to mold a church according to your vision and preferences. You don’t get to walk in the door of a church that has been in existence 10, 20, 50 or 100 years and expect them to immediately abandon the way they’ve done things and immediately do things your way. You need to invest yourself in those people for three years, four years, five years and THEN you can start trying to change the way they do things.
Here are some facts as I have come to see them.
- People will not follow you until they trust you.
- You have no right to demand that a church change its established direction until you have invested blood, sweat and tears into that church.
- If you are only going to stay three or four years at a church, it is hubris of the worst form to demand to mold that church in your image!
You don’t start a building project if you have no money in the bank. First, you save and prepare. Your first two or three years of ministry (three to five if your church has been through a split or some other huge issue) need to be devoted to simply building up your savings account in the Pastor’s Bank of Authority and Credibility. Then, when it comes time to make those changes that absolutely have to be made, the people will listen to you, follow you.
How to Make Deposits
Certain activities we do as pastors make deposits in our authority and credibility bank account.
- Praying for our people. Remember, ultimately it is God who makes our staffs bud. Don’t forget the divine aspect!
- Preaching solid, biblical, Christ-honoring, gospel-focused messages on a consistent basis. People love to be fed well. At Dallas, a prof gave us a piece of wisdom I’ve found to be true. When you feed your people well, they will tend to overlook some of your other faults (if they aren’t too awful). An underfed people will often be more prone to trouble.
- Being there for people in hard times and tragedies. Who is teaching some of these young preachers that visitation is not their job? Here is Iowa drop-in visitation is not a part of ministry, but when someone is in the hospital or when someone dies, we try to be there for them. Pastor, there is no better time to make deposits in your credibility account than by being there and ministering well in these times.
- When people sense that you are serving them and not asking them to serve you, the bucks go in the bank! Jesus came to serve, not to be served. Too many pastors today view the church as their personal fiefdom and the people as tools in the building of their “brand.”
- Endure hardships. Look at biblical history. Every person who followed God’s will in the Bible encountered horrible opposition and hardships. It was when they endured hardships in faith that God blessed and used them. But what happens in churches today when pastors encounter hard times? We log on to sbc.net/jobs and see if there is a church that has more cooperative (and godly) people who won’t resist “what God is doing.” But when a man of God walks through the fire, when he stands strong through hard times, through opposition, through insult, without becoming angry, arrogant, without striking back in vengeance, when he stands in humility and grace even when opposed – that raises his credibility dramatically. Strength through suffering!
Simply put – preach the Word and serve the people. Its not that hard. Be kind and compassionate. Practice what you preach. Be real. All of that. As you faithfully minister and serve over time, through good times and bad, and as you walk in the fullness of the Spirit daily, you will find your authority and credibility account balance growing!
When Withdrawals are Needed
Certain ministry activities require us to make withdrawals from our account. This list is, of course, not exhaustive at all.
- When you must confront sin in the life of a member, especially if that member is either powerful or well-connected.
- When there is some form of conflict in the ministries of the church and you must deal with those who are behaving badly, failing in their ministries or not following procedures.
- When the structure and ministries of the church need to change. People tend to resist change and if you begin a process of change, you better have quite a bit of a balance in your account (hence the admonition not to start change in your first year). Ever remodeled a house? It cost way more than you thought, right? Remodeling a church will be more expensive than you imagine it to be as well. Make sure it is needed, that you renovations are biblical and that you have the savings in your authority and credibility account to see the project through. Many a pastor started a church remodeling project with inadequate savings and ended up either looking for another church or another job!
- When conflicts arise between members, you will spend from your account. It doesn’t seem fair, but its true.
- When church discipline is engaged, you better have a healthy sum in your account. Christians agree with the concept of church discipline but the implementation of it is uniformly messy.
- When your sinful nature surfaces (and it will), and you say something or do something wrong, you will cost yourself credit from your account.
On and on it goes. Every difficult, challenging situation that you encounter in your church in which you deal with sinful people doing sinful things requires a withdrawal. Ministry is a matter of working in the power of God to build up the authority and credibility needed to have the resources to face the challenges of ministry.
Fines and Fees
As with any bank, there are fines and fees as well. Some sins cost us our jobs – and they should. But other sins may not get us fired, but they cost us all of our moral and spiritual authority, cost us credibility and make it tremendously difficult for us to
- When a pastor gets caught telling a lie, his account immediately goes to zero. Credibility and authority are drained by dishonesty.
- Any kind of mismanagement of money is a major fine as well. Follow the church’s policies and procedures. Stay within the rules. don’t stray into gray areas.
- And, of course, moral impurity brings heavy fines. If they find stuff on your computer that shouldn’t be there, an off-color joke, an inappropriate comment, a suggestive glance – these drain your account quickly.
I was only 20 when I started seminary and 23 when I graduated. I often think I’d have gotten more out of it if I’d gone a few years later. But I do remember these wise words from one of my professors.
Men, there are a lot of things that will hurt your ministry. There are two things that will cost you your ministry – money and women. Don’t mess around with either!
The Pastor’s Bank of Authority and Credibility levies severe fines against pastors who fail to maintain the highest levels of integrity in financial and moral matters!
In Summary
Pastor, when you walk into your church, you have an account with a small balance of authority and credibility. It’s not going to sustain your for long. If you want to make a difference in your church, if you want to minister effectively, you have to faithfully serve God’s people, honor Christ, walk in humility and in wisdom. You have to build up the balance in your Pastor’s Authority Bank account before you attempt to go for major stuff.
You have as much authority and credibility in your church as you earn by faithfully serving Christ in the midst of his people.
So, my pastor friend, go thou and make deposits!
Thanks for sharing, a couple of seminary profs I’ve had have said: It takes 5 to 7 years for a church to truly start viewing you as pastor and not just the dude that preaches; and then 7 to 10 to really make major changes in most cases. Yet, on average we stay in one place less than 5 years.
Also to your debt statement: That’s one place I actually listened to my parents. I had college debt but paid it off quick; made it almost to 35 and have never had a credit card, and only buy a car I have cash on hand for. I never had a car with fewer than 100,000 miles, but one of those I had for 10 years and drove it until it wouldn’t drive anymore… 🙂
The time frame is very fluid. But I think any pastor who tries to make systemic changes to his church in less than 4 or 5 years is probably making a serious mistake.
He’s asking people to follow him before he has earned their trust.
If he wants it all his own way, he should go start a church!
Or,..start a church and not have it all your own way. That is even better!
The whole, “Things have to be done my way” thing is a whole nuther post!
Btw, if you’re looking for future topics, I have a suggestion based on a discussion from a pastor’s round table I went to a couple of weeks back:
As a more seasoned pastor, if you had it to do all over again, 1) what’s the one thing you would do the same, and 2) what’s the one thing you would do differently.
And I forgot to mention in my prior comment: To your “pray for them”, I’d add: “and let them know”–in a more tangible way than just generally saying it… Send them a handwritten note, text, Facebook message, etc.
The “things I would do the same” list is pretty short – preach the Word.
The “things I would do differently list is LONG series of posts!
What bought me a large amount of “spending money” was publicly apologizing to someone I had gotten loud with. I was right in everything I said to the man, but it got loud and others overheard, so I apologized before the entire congregation for not handling the sutuation properly. The guy feasted on this, everyone knew he was bullheaded, but the act of humbling myself really was the moment I became pastor. The situation soon resolved itself in a good way and we’ve been moving forward ever since.
Sometimes just being a flawed human being in front of people with humility allows them to embrace you as much as anything. And we can never expect others to do this if we don’t
Good point, Jeff.
Most mistakes are fixable if the pastor has the humility to apologize, repent and rebuild relationships.
Jeff P,
Good, wise words.
David
This is very good, Dave. Thanks.
Thank you, sir.
Great post. Let me add the dastardly over-looked mine field of ‘numbers’.
Preaches FAR TOO OFTEN toss numbers around lightly: “I drive from city A to B in 4 hours (A is 300 miles form B): So, You must ‘average’ 75 MPH and that means that much of the trip requires driving 100 mph, to make up for the ‘in city’ leg(s).
Legal personnel totally will conclude that you are completely lawless.
Technical personnel will conclude that you are a liar.
You just lost both groups and all you doing was a bit of ‘rambling’.
And it gets worse if your ‘numbers’ relate to money, ‘attendance’, etc.
Hell is gong to be full of honest (precise) men, who were driven away by ‘ministerial speak’.
You’re welcome,
Dale
Numbers? Those are our playthings, right?
preachers see the humor in your reply- you likely don’t appreciate how many lay folk don’t think it is funny.
Dale
I often “count” our congregation in my sermons. I will estimate the crowd at about 10 times the actual attendance. They just kind of smile at me.
I never make a big deal of numbers – perhaps I should make a bigger deal – so when I joke about it, it’s obvious and no one gets too upset.
I think it is safe to say that in 35 years of ministry I’ve tried never to intentionally inflate numbers (except as an obvious joke). There’s another name for that. It’s called lying.
I don’t find anything funny about intentionally “fudged” numbers.
Just saying, since number freaks seldom become preachers; those who do preach, are more likely to devote 10,000 words to point 4 (or 5 or x) of Calvinistic interpretation, etc. etc. etc.; than to any numerical precision. And perhaps, than to wondering why techies walk away.
Not picking on you, most ministerial brethren can’t count.
” There are 100 types of people; those who understand binary and those who don’t.”
” There are 100 types of people; those who understand binary and those who don’t.”
So, what about the other 10. (For those who understand binary.)
Dale,
Sorry, but I just don’t understand this comment AT ALL! 🙁
Can someone explain it please? It is a math joke? Is it supposed to be funny or serious?
I guess I’m missing some inside information.
-confused reader
Is the point simply, “If you are using an illustration in your sermon that has numbers, make sure they are accurate and make sense.” ?
Exactly- Dave’s 10X comment would not be offensive
because it is obviously a joke. Guilding the numerical lilly ‘just a bit’ does offend and becomes a club to batter preachers/Christians with.
Yes it is a computer math joke: 0100 is the binary code for the number ‘2’.
Hate to be critical of someone being critical of numbers but last I checked of binary:
1 – 1
2 – 10
3 – 11
4 – 100.
I will, however, second Dale’s criticism of numbers, and examples in general. People in the audience are checking on your illustrations. You need to make sure they are accurate, and so to a reasonable degree of precision.
🙂
Yeah, I totally didn’t get that one either.
1000 = 1
0100 = 2
0010 = 4
0001 = 8
and 1100 = 3, 1010 = 5, etc. etc.
pretty straight forward binary, hexadecimal; but this was just a joke (as noted)- nothing to do with numerical integrity in ministry.
Dale: You have them backwards. Binary 1000 is 8.
1 is the same in binary and decimal.
So, Bill Mac, you are telling us that Dale B., who was scolding pastors for numerical accuracy, was wrong on his numbers?
Interesting….very interesting…..lol.
David
If we are going to continue to do math on this blog I am going to cancel my subscription.
There is a very easy solution to a preacher’s use of numbers in a sermon: have the preacher’s wife sit on the front pew and correct him in real time.
My family of faith simply overlooks my math-challenged illustrations and listens for my wife to correct my dates, quantities, etc.
This is why so many evangelical traditions believe that a pastor should be a married man. That, and many smaller churches also need a piano player.
Thanks for this, Dave. I think it’s helpful for young and old alike. Good reminders.
Some of this advice was gleaned from some pretty painful lessons!
Very encouraging – thanks!
Dave, I think your first two talking points should be a post all its own. Far too many young seminarians are saddled with debt (student loans/credit cards) and far too many young pastors don’t believe they can save any of their income for retirement. Both of these issues will cause extensive hardship in their lives and their families.
Most Seminary’s (at least mine) did not teach enough in the area of money. They probably needed to read the Gospel’s more; Jesus talked about money all the time.
I want to echo Dave’s plea: Get out of debt and start saving for retirement. Personal financial responsibility/stability will give you a voice into the life of the congregation.
Too often, we come to this wisdom at my age.
If you work for me, you are enrolled in the Guidestone retirement plan. No debate. One young guy with about a million kids fought me hard. We have an agreement. When he retires he has to come kneel on my grave and apologize for the junk he thought about me and said to me!
LIKE!!!
I’ve always liked the bank account metaphor. Thankfully, I’ve never emptied my account but I’ve made a few sizable withdrawals. In recent days I know of a few cases where the account was zeroed out or worse:
1. Public explosion of temper. This may not end ministry at the current church but will change how members see the pastor. Better get this fixed.
2. Inappropriate actions regarding opposite sex, short of adultery. If you think you can drive through the neighborhood just not stop and partake, you probably need to find another occupation. Ask wife if this is OK with her.
3. There was the guy who forgot, forgot a funeral. Didn’t show up. His account was kaput. Showed he didn’t care. Did I say he happened to be on the golf course when he got the call asking where he was?
Debt and finances should have a number of separate posts.
I like Dave’s point: “When people sense that you are serving them and not asking them to serve you, the bucks go in the bank! Jesus came to serve, not to be served. Too many pastors today view the church as their personal fiefdom and the people as tools in the building of their ‘brand.'”
Megachurches put a lot of folks into the pastoral ministry. Problem sometimes is (and I suppose it is to be expected) that they start out thinking they are megapastors, just punching a couple of tickets until they get the megachurch.
Oh, the pastor who empties his account by stealing sermons…and being found out. Don’t my high tech colleagues understand that there is almost always someone sitting in the pew who will google sermons?
I wonder if the average church member cares that much about that issue.
I consider it a big problem. Not sure the pew-sitter does.
I agree. Might add that a lot of pastors don’t seem to think it’s a problem.
It still bothers me when I forget to properly cite a commentary. Preach someone else’s sermon? That’s insulting to me. I went to seminary to learn how to do my own research and put a sermon together. I don’t get it.
Great post, Dave, particularly the meat of the article about leadership principles. In my experience, most pastors nod in agreement with the advice to take things slowly, but then many turn around and make all kinds of impatient decisions anyway, like it doesn’t really apply to them or something. I guess its more likely they think “this won’t be a big change” when they’ve completely misjudged the situation.
This kind of stuff needs to be drilled into pastors’ heads – go slow and choose some non-controversial, easy wins to tackle first. And over-communicate.
Good post Dave, I look forward to reading more like this.
Bravo, David! I would put this post as one of your best I have ever read. It is biblical, practical, and experientially based. I remember one of my professors in a class on dealing with churches. The students would walk out, fussing about what the man had said. Having had almost four years of pastoral experience, I recognized that he was speaking from experience, a very common sense approach based upon his many years of having served as pastor at the then largest rural church in the state. The whole situation moved me to say, “Hey, fellows, the professor is simply telling you what he has found that works in dealing with a church as the pastor.” Your advice, David, is like his, based in every day dealings with the people from the scriptural perspective (and it was more than you might have imagined at least as I gather from what you have written. By the scriptural perspective, I mean you dealt with the people from the stand point of prayerful caring and affection, being ready to render them assistance as they indicated a need for such.
Like you we will all make mistakes, but, if the people are persuaded that you care for them, they will continue to work with you. There are those churches where the people have a great deal of patience with, and affection for, the person who occupies the pulpit of their church.
the readiness to respond to the needs of the people effectively, when they are made known, will go a long way to cementing the relationship between pastor and people. I remember the people I served at my third church saying, “He beats the ambulance to the emergency room.” Well, that was not true, but I did get there as soon as possible. God alone was responsible for that relationship which lasted for eleven years, but it was the financial situation that drove me to look for another situation (this was a rural church without much potential for growth at the time). To help our situation I had to be bivocational, and that moved me to try to attend one of our seminaries that offered a doctorate in counseling, an EDD at that time. Unfortunately, for some reason, I did not get admitted. The reason, I suspected, had something to do with the controversy going on in the SBC (1984). Anyway, I got to my fourth church, and later enrolled in a Master’s in Counseling at Liberty, but that is another story. Anyway, your post on the blog is really one of your best, and I commend you, David.
“Simply put – preach the Word and serve the people. Its not that hard.” There is the nugget! And it is so true. Serve, Serve, Serve, Serve and then Serve some more! And when you get tired of serving, Serve again! Definitely preach and teach often during the week, but don’t hide behind the pulpit as a Sunday only endeavor. Serving will remove any “cover” of the pulpit. So, Serve!
Good post, Dave Miller.
I agree strongly with you about pastors needing to establish trust (a four or five year task in most cases) before instituting change.
And very few do it!
Cause of so much trouble!!
This is a little sobering since SBC pastors move, on average, every (what’s the latest figure? I recall 3 years).
I wonder if this leads to short tenure.
Pastor comes into church and tries to implement change the church in his image immediate.
Church resists.
Tensions rise.
Pastor leaves.
Sir Miller,
I do think that leads to a short tenure – I also wonder if many pastors do not actually (perhaps secretly) prefer ease and comfort and deference over faithfulness?
I think these attitudes, when things do get a little bit uncomfortable in the church, leads them to start looking for “Gods call” somewhere else – perhaps many times – though certainly not always – the short tenures of pastors has more to do with them than it does with their church – because I think that often times church people are willing to work through issues with pastors and it’s the pastor who is not willing to change.
I think in conversations like these sometimes we pastors want to automatically assume – not saying that you’re doing that – that short tenures are “caused” by churches – and sometimes they certainly are – but as I look around and see a lot of pastors (Young/old/in between) who seem to Act a bit prima donna – thinking that they don’t have to deal with “unruly church issues” they can just go somewhere else where it will be “easier”.
This is my own observation, but I don’t think forcing change is the primary reason for short tenure.
Entertainment.
We are an entertainment obsessed culture. And I think the pastor leaves when the congregation stops being entertained. That sounds harsh but I really think it is true. Pastors try to deliver good sound preaching and doctrine, but they also try (rightly) to be interesting and funny (when appropriate). Well, anyone who preaches regularly can tell you that week in, week out that is very difficult. Pastors know when the congregation has lost interest, and they start looking elsewhere.
Of course, I could be completely wrong.
While I’ve already certainly seen what Dave describes (attempted change, tension, leave), even among those at my own young age…AND, I’m sure what Bill Mac describes sometimes happens (congregation gets bored with preaching).
I also wonder how much of the 3 year average is thrown off by those who simply don’t stay in the ministry long term. (not saying it’s a good thing)…BUT…If a younger pastor has 1 or 2 of those short, bad experiences, possibly self-caused…many of them may simply not return to ministry.
Depending on your studies, some say as many as 90% of those entering ministry will retire in some other field. Others say maybe 50%. Some say 50% (or even 85% i one study) drop out in the first 5 years…
I don’t know how accurate these are, but let’s be super optimistic and assume 50% will leave early and pursue other careers…
I wonder what the average tenure of a pastor is for those pastors who remain in full (or Bivo) ministry their whole lives…I would expect it to be quite a bit longer, perhaps averaging 6-10 years.
That is perhaps pessimistic about those who drop out, but optimistic about those who stick it out.
I simply find it hard to believe that large numbers of pastors stay at 10-11 different churches for 3-4 years each!
Dave,
My 27 years says amen to this post. There are some exceptions to the time frame on change but caution and MUCH prayer must go into determining those exceptions of they are on God’s timetable to be implemented.
Applying the wisdom here can help lead to long term ministry instead of 1 800 Mayflower every 3 to 4 years. And don’t forget the damage that constant moving does to the Pastors own family!
There are exceptions, of course. Generally, if a church is in a state of emergency. But they have to be careful.
Excellent Post, Dave!
I’m a youngish (34) associate pastor, and I’m not so much concerned about retirement (yes, I have money going in)…I’m more concerned about my kids college than my retirement. I have no idea how I’m going to save that kind of money in the next 13 years! :-). I suppose If I can convince one of them to become a plumber or electrician, they’ll make more money than many college grads anyway…definitely more than me as a pastor!
The 3-5 year wait time is very wise advice, and young pastors need to realize even then, it doesn’t always go easy. Our church’s pastoral team of 3 staff pastors has been here coming up on 8 years this spring…less than a year ago we decided it was time to make a substantial change to our structured gathering times, and even after 7.5 years there were bumps in the road, and we are still figuring out how to make things work …but as you said, after that amount of time, people had questions and concerns, and told us about them, but at this point nobody doubted that we were doing what we thought was best for the church. (they just thought we were sincere, well-intentioned, but wrong…. but not selfish, or sinful in our leadership decisions). 🙂
I agree with the 3-5 year time period- from experience, painful experience- but I think it’s sad. The church should be flexible, open to change and shift as ministry dictates.
When I planted the church I now serve almost 11 years ago, we worked really hard to build in change as a core DNA strategy. We saw it a lot in the Acts church, because the times were so tumultuous. Considering the pace of change in the community we serve today it was a good decision.
I’m not saying we should just change for the sake of change, but that we should teach our people to expect change because we are trying to reach a people who are constantly shifting in their means of communication, styles of learning, and methods of connection. The message of the Gospel is our plumb line, but the means of communicating it, methods of encountering people, and other non-Gospel areas should be nothing more than tools- easily modified, retrofitted, or discarded as the culture shifts.
We are married to a Message not a method.
Good words Dave.
Great article, Dave. I’m taking notes here.
Something that I would add: the withdrawals may come out of your account at first, but they can also be seen as investments in a healthy long-term growth fund. That is, when you withdraw wisely and people come to see that you are handling difficult situations in a godly and helpful way the value of what you withdrew to handle to situation can return dividends for years to come.
There’s a refinement of one point you made that I’d like to offer: You wrote, “When people sense that you are serving them and not asking them to serve you, the bucks go in the bank!” This is a good point. It’s also helpful here to recognize that bucks can go in when you enable people to serve using gifts they already have who aren’t serving because they don’t feel they have a place for their gifts. I’m not saying to start a clown ministry on Sunday mornings because you have someone who can ride a unicycle and juggle, but if you have a lady who bakes killer cakes, or example, but doesn’t want to step on the toes of the hostess who has angrily cornered the market on the church kitchen for 4 decades, then you might consider expanding the hospitality ministry in some way so that the hostess would be glad to have the help. Bringing cakes to give to each of the people you visit might boost your deposit in two areas, for example. People need to feel needed.
I’m just one of those old grandma’s in the pew, the one bringing as many children as she can with her.
Another way to make a deposit in your account is to listen. We want to follow you. We really want to trust your judgment, and truly are willing to consider doing things differently than we’ve always done them.
So if your first 3 or 4 suggestions of change are met with us doing our dead level best to follow you, even if we don’t see the need for the change, please listen if we DO flat out refuse to try number 5.
It might be we know something about our people, our community, our culture, or our church history that you do not yet know. Maybe you are flat out wrong about that particular church doing that particular thing. Maybe your idea will be a great one but we have to prepare some folks for it first. (Like if you suggest putting playground equipment up for the children. Might be we have a family who lost a child in a fall from that type of equipment. Or you want to start a cowboy church a month after our best roper was thrown and killed. Or you moved to inner city Minneapolis from Muleshoe and are gung ho to start a southern gospel service. I’d be there, but not many Oles will be.)
What I’m suggesting is give and take. Let us learn from you. Stretch our minds and habits a bit. But be willing to learn from us. And to stretch your mind and vision a bit also.
Good advice.
Dave,
Very good and wise post, right here. I wish EVERY young Pastor in the SBC would read it, AND take it to heart. Maybe Lifeway will do a 6 week study course on it! 🙂
Seriously, there’s really good advice in your post, and in a lot of the comments section. I’ve been in the ministry since 1981, so I’ve been in the ministry for 34 years. I was on a Church staff for 4 of those years, and then I have been Pastoring Churches for the past 26 years. (I sure do hope my numbers are exact after reading Dale B.’s comment) But anyway, from a fella, who has been around a few years, and who has made his share of mistakes, as well, I just want to say that there’s a lot of very, very good advice in this post and comment section.
One of the best statements was “You have to EARN THE RIGHT to mold a church according to your vision and preferences.” Boy, have I seen a lot of young guys not do this, and it turn into major troubles.
David
Volfan,
“One of the best statements was “You have to EARN THE RIGHT to mold a church according to your vision and preferences.” Boy, have I seen a lot of young guys not do this, and it turn into major troubles.”
That is a very good and wise statement by Sir Miller indeed – but I would say to you that I too have seen many an “older” pastor not do this as well.
I am not sure that *all* the sage advice given by Sir Miller can be relegated to one generation over the other. (I realize that some of the advice was offered specifically to young men – but again – I think the statement to which you refer is “omnigenerational” (I do not think that is a word – but I like it…LOL)
Dave, very good post. Great advice to start with. Let me repeat it for emphasis: stay out of debt–save for retirement.
The rest of the blog is splentacular. Unfortunately, it reminds me of an ancient bit of wisdom from a native American chief: “We get old too soon and wise too late!”
Good job! Thanks for taking the time to share something so important. I am posting this with a prayer that some younger preachers will read and heed!
Your advice about saving for retirement is spot on. Our Tennessee Guidestone representative told me that the average Tennessee pastor has $100,000 in his Guidestone account at retirement. If that pastor draws 5% a year, his retirement benefit will be $5,000 per year. That is slim pickins. Don Spencer, long time Guidestone representive in Kentucky often said,”To have a secure retirement you need time or money. The more you have of one, the less you need of the other.” The moral of this story is to start paying money into Guidestone at a young age, even if is not a large amount each month. Enrolling in the state convention’s Guidestone program also provides disability benefits and survivor benefits for the pastor’s family, should a tragedy occur. I’m 65 now, and I’m glad someone taught me this 40 years ago.
This whole time line for change confounds me. I pastored a dying church for 3 1/2 years. When I was interviewed by the pastor search committee they talked up being ready for any kind of change. The church was in bad shape with only 7 people in regular attendance. Within a year that number had grown to just over 30 in regular attendance. Some changes were implemented in the worship and an effort was made to start and grow a children and youth department.
Suddenly these folks who said they championed change and desired growth revolted and it was a very rocky road from that point forward. Things continued to grow more and more heated, and finally after realizing I could not fix the problem, and after much prayer I resigned. The church shrunk back to it’s handful of members. The local association came in and tried to help them make some changes to grow, but they totally resisted. Six months after I left, the church closed its doors. The whole thing breaks my heart. No 5-7 year time frame was available as I see it. Something had to happen quick or the church was going under. Unfortunately it did anyway. What do you do in a situation like that?
former,
Something I’ve learned from experience….just because a Search Committee says that they’re ready for change, or that they want to do what it takes to grow, don’t really mean it. They like the idea of it, as long as you’re not wanting to change things that they like, and as long as you’re reaching the people that they like to reach.
So, just as Dave’s post said….you started changing things too soon. This crowd still needed for you to earn their trust. You were only there for 3 years. They were down to 7 people left in the Church for a reason. And, they went back down to that handful of people, for much of the same reason.
My old, Seminary President and Prof, Dr. B. Gray Allison, used to stress, over and over and over again, for all of us, newbies, to not change ANYTHING for a year. He told us to just preach the Bible, win the lost, and love on our people. And then, after that year, walk softly as we LED the Church to make much needed changes.
David
As has been mentioned above, there are exceptions.
A church on life support would be one of them. But what you experienced is far from unusual. People say, “Yes, we want to change.” Then, when the changes come, they don’t like it.
I went to a church that was in deep trouble and we saw explosive growth in a short time. I didn’t make systemic changes, but the church just began to grow. But within about 2 years, everyone on the search team had left the church. Why? when you boil it down, the people that told me the church needed to change and grow really didn’t want the church to change at all.
We just had to move on.
A lot of small, struggling churches are the way they are because, while they never will admit it – that is the way they want it!
There is a small group of people (family?) who likes meeting together and is not welcoming to outsiders.
There is a person who is in charge and won’t relinquish power to anyone (including a pastor).
There is a complete unwillingness to change in any way, even to accommodate growth.
Many churches are small, struggling and dying because they WANT to be that way.
Very true Mr. Dave! Churches that are built on certain “family” values tend to remain that way, until that family can grow out of the “Corinthian effect”. Unfortunately, you are correct, some never can remove themselves enough to decrease the quenching of the Spirit.
Also, the depth of faith is not deep enough to embrace the kind of sacrifice that real growth requires.
That’s probably implied in your list but it helps clarify the matter in my own mind.
Sometimes a church just needs solid, faithful preaching.
Sometimes?
😉
All the time, definitely, Tarheel.
Sometimes a church is simply malnourished and the first best thing a new pastor can do is nurse her back to health by feeding the Body carefully from the pulpit.
I knew what you meant – I was just teasing you.
I know. I saw your smiley face. I might have put a winky face back on mine, but Dave hates the smileys.
I know – that makes it more fun to do them.
😉
😉
Sorry- I was thinking Hexadecimal and said binary.
There are 100 types of people; those who understand Hexadecimal and those who don’t.
Hex 100 is 256 decimal.
I think we often mistake that our education and alleged expertise makes us more righteous and more able to determine God’s will than some folks’ lifetime of devoted service to the same church. Just because we can parse Hebrew and Greek and know more history than everyone in the building does not make us more holy than the folks who have been changing diapers and emptying trashcans in that church for decades.
We have to be present and demonstrate that it is our love for the Lord and the church, not our “employment” status that is driving our efforts. Plant trees, not squash.
Another “time” guideline: if you have not done a wedding, a funeral, a baptism, and a baby dedication (or at least one of these!) you probably haven’t been there long enough to rearrange the whole schedule or restructure the bylaws to end business meetings. They need to see that you are committed to the body–committed to the call to that church, not just to “your calling”–and being there through life events matters. I know some churches (the down to 7s, and so forth) may not have those events but many churches will. Preach the Word, be faithful, be present.