The other night I was awakened by a dream. That happens from time to time, but always before, it was when I had a nightmare. Usually, I wake up just as I am falling off a high cliff or a ladder (or stage), but this time it was different. The dream woke me up, not because it was scary; in fact, it made me feel good … kind of puzzled, but good.
Here’s what happened in my dream.
I was with a group of people who had been in my youth group when I first started in the ministry. We were all the age we are now. One of the women had brought us all together for some kind of reunion and it was a lot of fun. We gathered round a fire at the close of the celebration to sing some songs we sang in church and youth group in the old days. I awoke when we sang,
My life, O Lord, I give to Thee,
My talents, time, and all;
I’ll serve Thee, Lord, and faithful be,
I’ll hear Thy faintest call.
I lay there for several minutes thinking about the dream and the song in particular. The words were familiar, but at first I couldn’t remember which song they were from. As I thought about it, I began to remember the words to the verses and recalled the song as one of the songs often used at the close of worship. It was part of the invitation to receive Christ as Savior and Lord. It went along with the theme of much of what Pastor Jones talked about. Over and over he told us, “God has something He wants you to do, and you have to find out what it is.” He was all about total commitment to following Christ. That little chorus brought back the times when I decided to accept Christ as Savior, to invite Him to guide me, and to use my life for His purposes. In other words, this was one of the songs that the church was singing when I fell in love with Jesus. I hadn’t heard it or thought of it for years. I love contemporary music, but some of the old songs like this one, also hold deep meaning for my life.
I spent the day thinking of the dream, the song, and what it might mean. I had never before had a dream that I thought meant anything. (Except, perhaps, that I should keep myself from falling.) Was the Lord trying to tell me something through a dream? I know He sometimes speaks to people that way, but not me, at least not before now. When I sang those words as a youth, I meant them. I heard His call—to go to a private Christian college and seminary, to youth ministry, then pastoral ministry, later to church planting, then back to pastoral ministry. This last year and a half I have been trying to figure out what God wants me to do with the next chapter of my life. I have applied for several jobs that I thought fit my gifts and calling, and I turned down some that didn’t. I was disappointed when the position I really thought I wanted, and for which I was best suited, was given to someone else. Let me admit that I have been confused, frustrated, and sometimes felt sorry for myself. Through this dream God reminded me of the commitment I made to Him as a teenager. I think He is asking me if I still have that same trust in Him. So now I am renewing my commitment to do whatever He wants me to do. I’m not going to try to make something happen on my own, but I am going to be open to whatever He brings my way. Right now, I am enjoying my work as the administrator for Tina Houser Ministries. Basically, my role is to make it easier for her to do her workshops, be her traveling companion, sell her books, and take care of her website. In addition, I am speaking wherever I am invited, and writing this blog. I remain open to whatever else God lays across my path to do. Will it be a full-time ministry position of some kind? Part-time? I don’t know, but I will do what is set before me. Also, I am listening for His further call, if He has something else, or something additional He wants me to do. “I shall be wholly Thine.”
By the way the little chorus comes from the song “Consecration” by Andrew L. Byers and Mildred E. Howard. Below are the lyrics for the entire song. They move me still.
Since Jesus gave His life for me,
Should I not give Him mine?
I’m consecrated Lord, to Thee,
I shall be wholly Thine.
Chorus:
My life, O Lord, I give to Thee,
My talents, time, and all;
I’ll serve Thee, Lord, and faithful be,
I’ll hear Thy faintest call.
I care not where my Lord directs,
His purpose I’ll fulfill;
I know He ev’ry one protects
Who does His holy will.
My home and friends are dear to me,
Yet He is dearer still;
In my affection first He’ll be,
And first His righteous will.
My all, O Lord, to Thee I give,
Accept it as Thine own;
For Thee alone I’ll ever live,
My heart shall be Thy throne.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Hope for the Church (Part 6): The Church must show Christ to the World
More than anything else, if there is to be hope for the plateaued or declining church, it must clearly show Christ to the world. That sounds like a no-brainer, but surveys are finding that, while Jesus is very popular, the church isn’t. It seems people want to know Jesus, but don’t want to know the people who represent Him. We have to find out what we’re doing that turns people off. What do we do that blocks, rather than magnifies the love and hope of Jesus? People crave love. They desperately desire hope. They want relief from the guilt and pain they carry, and they want to know that their lives have purpose. Jesus offers all of these things to everyone, but the church is often the last place people go to find them. What is it that congregations are doing wrong? Why don’t people realize that we want to share what we have found? Here are four common reasons that must be overcome for the church to turn around or get unstuck from a plateau.
1. Churches often seem irrelevant to people living in the 21st century.
The message of Christ is for every generation and every kind of person, but many people don’t believe that. To tell you the truth, in many cases I don’t blame them. Many congregations and some denominations are stuck in another century. For some it’s the 18th or 19th century; even if a church is still acting like it’s living in the 20th century, it’s passé. Congregations get hung up on traditions and appearances. These are things that only the members care about. A world that needs love, hope and salvation, doesn’t give one wit about worship or music style, and can’t figure out why it’s such a big deal to the church. If and when they show up to worship, they simply need to be able to understand the message. A congregation that puts its preferences for any kind of style over its desire to communicate the Gospel is asking to be considered irrelevant.
2. Congregations keep to themselves.
Declining churches talk about being a family, and perhaps they are, but not the kind of family Jesus envisioned. He declared that we would be an open family, always welcoming the new brothers and sisters that our Father adopts. Declining and plateaued churches are often great families to each other, but they are closed families. If you ask them if their church is friendly, they would say, “Oh yes.” More often than not, they are very friendly … to each other. They don’t realize how hard it is for a new person to become more than a guest. They aren’t prepared for new people. They don’t think about new people joining them. In the abstract they say they would like new members, but in reality they fear that new people would upset the way things are. New people can make the old-timers feel uncomfortable, and perhaps, dilute the old-timers’ position of power within the congregation.
3. Too many congregations present an angry face.
Unchurched people are repelled by congregations that show anger at people. God hates sin, but he loves sinners so much He sent His Son to be an atoning sacrifice for their sin. Some pastors and congregations seem to have forgotten that. They’re always against “this” or up in arms about “that.” It’s scary for people who aren’t part of their group and it doesn’t attract people to join. Don’t get me wrong. Sin is abhorrent, and Satan’s schemes should make us angry; however, we must not repel the very people who God loves and wants to save from sin. We do that every time we are perceived as hateful people. The face of the church should be God’s love. His judgment and wrath should not be hidden; they are parts of the story, but it was God’s love that drew Him down from heaven to bring the lost to Him. Love was the hallmark of Jesus’ earthly life. Churches that are plateaued or declining need to find ways to be seen as places where His love is shared.
4. Internal dissension turns unchurched people and new Christians off to the church.
Finally, the people God wants to reach often resist becoming involved in a congregation because of church fights and disagreements. Some people who have called themselves “Christian” for a long time seem to think (and some say it openly) that their role in the church is to be the “devil’s advocate.” Folks, the devil needs no advocate, particularly in the church. He does just fine advocating for himself. I have actually heard people say they wanted to make sure that someone kept the pastor in check. In other words, they thought that someone in the church should make sure the pastor didn’t get his way. If the pastor’s intention is to make disciples, and he is not proposing anything heretical, why does the church need someone to get in his way? If, in fact, the pastor’s way is the way God wants the church to act, these people are in God’s way. The Apostle Paul had an opinion of those who cause dissension in the church, “Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy” Romans 13:13 (NIV). Look at that! In Paul’s opinion, dissension is a sin on par with orgies. I think many church dissenters would be offended to be lumped in with orgy participants. If that is the case, they should quit dissenting and get with the program. The earthly consequence of this sin is not merely frustrating the pastor, it also turns prospective Christians away from becoming part of the Lord’s work in your congregation.
There is hope for the church! Even for churches that are plateaued or declining. That hope comes from the Lord and will become reality when pastors and congregations are willing to pay the emotional and financial prices, choose making disciples as their top priority, become willing to adopt new methods, organize for agility and growth, and become known as communities of God’s love that both want and expect newcomers to join with them.
(If you are interested in having Ray present the "Hope for the Church" series, or any other blog topics as a conference or sermon, you can contact me at ray.houser@gmail.com for scheduling information. If you are interested in seeing Ray speak, go to Vimeo.com and put Ray Houser in the search box. You will find several of my sermons there.)
1. Churches often seem irrelevant to people living in the 21st century.
The message of Christ is for every generation and every kind of person, but many people don’t believe that. To tell you the truth, in many cases I don’t blame them. Many congregations and some denominations are stuck in another century. For some it’s the 18th or 19th century; even if a church is still acting like it’s living in the 20th century, it’s passé. Congregations get hung up on traditions and appearances. These are things that only the members care about. A world that needs love, hope and salvation, doesn’t give one wit about worship or music style, and can’t figure out why it’s such a big deal to the church. If and when they show up to worship, they simply need to be able to understand the message. A congregation that puts its preferences for any kind of style over its desire to communicate the Gospel is asking to be considered irrelevant.
2. Congregations keep to themselves.
Declining churches talk about being a family, and perhaps they are, but not the kind of family Jesus envisioned. He declared that we would be an open family, always welcoming the new brothers and sisters that our Father adopts. Declining and plateaued churches are often great families to each other, but they are closed families. If you ask them if their church is friendly, they would say, “Oh yes.” More often than not, they are very friendly … to each other. They don’t realize how hard it is for a new person to become more than a guest. They aren’t prepared for new people. They don’t think about new people joining them. In the abstract they say they would like new members, but in reality they fear that new people would upset the way things are. New people can make the old-timers feel uncomfortable, and perhaps, dilute the old-timers’ position of power within the congregation.
3. Too many congregations present an angry face.
Unchurched people are repelled by congregations that show anger at people. God hates sin, but he loves sinners so much He sent His Son to be an atoning sacrifice for their sin. Some pastors and congregations seem to have forgotten that. They’re always against “this” or up in arms about “that.” It’s scary for people who aren’t part of their group and it doesn’t attract people to join. Don’t get me wrong. Sin is abhorrent, and Satan’s schemes should make us angry; however, we must not repel the very people who God loves and wants to save from sin. We do that every time we are perceived as hateful people. The face of the church should be God’s love. His judgment and wrath should not be hidden; they are parts of the story, but it was God’s love that drew Him down from heaven to bring the lost to Him. Love was the hallmark of Jesus’ earthly life. Churches that are plateaued or declining need to find ways to be seen as places where His love is shared.
4. Internal dissension turns unchurched people and new Christians off to the church.
Finally, the people God wants to reach often resist becoming involved in a congregation because of church fights and disagreements. Some people who have called themselves “Christian” for a long time seem to think (and some say it openly) that their role in the church is to be the “devil’s advocate.” Folks, the devil needs no advocate, particularly in the church. He does just fine advocating for himself. I have actually heard people say they wanted to make sure that someone kept the pastor in check. In other words, they thought that someone in the church should make sure the pastor didn’t get his way. If the pastor’s intention is to make disciples, and he is not proposing anything heretical, why does the church need someone to get in his way? If, in fact, the pastor’s way is the way God wants the church to act, these people are in God’s way. The Apostle Paul had an opinion of those who cause dissension in the church, “Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy” Romans 13:13 (NIV). Look at that! In Paul’s opinion, dissension is a sin on par with orgies. I think many church dissenters would be offended to be lumped in with orgy participants. If that is the case, they should quit dissenting and get with the program. The earthly consequence of this sin is not merely frustrating the pastor, it also turns prospective Christians away from becoming part of the Lord’s work in your congregation.
There is hope for the church! Even for churches that are plateaued or declining. That hope comes from the Lord and will become reality when pastors and congregations are willing to pay the emotional and financial prices, choose making disciples as their top priority, become willing to adopt new methods, organize for agility and growth, and become known as communities of God’s love that both want and expect newcomers to join with them.
(If you are interested in having Ray present the "Hope for the Church" series, or any other blog topics as a conference or sermon, you can contact me at ray.houser@gmail.com for scheduling information. If you are interested in seeing Ray speak, go to Vimeo.com and put Ray Houser in the search box. You will find several of my sermons there.)
Monday, August 8, 2011
Hope For the Church (Part 5) The Church Must Organize Itself for Growth
If there is to be hope for a plateaued or declining church to get back on track and become a place where people find Christ, it needs to be organized for growth. To get a church going and growing the congregation’s decision-making process needs to be nimble and able to make adjustments quickly to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves. Here are six questions for the congregation to ask itself about its structure:
1. Is the church over- or under-organized?
Many churches are over-organized. The decision-making process takes so long and goes through so many steps that a new idea doesn’t have a chance. If it makes it through the bureaucracy, approval often comes so late enthusiasm has waned. Sometimes the opposite is true. Some congregations are so unorganized that no one feels they have authority to make a decision. Everyone is waiting for someone else to get the ball rolling; consequently, nothing happens. Because no one knows who is in charge, things just keep going as they have been, until they are stopped by inertia. There is no vehicle for change. For a church to do its mission of making disciples, it needs to be organized in a way that encourages new ideas and finds ways for ministry to take place. Some congregations seem to be organized to prevent ministry instead of facilitate ministry.
2. Do the committee meetings enable ministry to happen?
In many established churches members think that sitting on a committee and going to meetings is doing ministry. Committees, task forces, teams, or whatever they are called at your church should be seen as necessary to make the ministry in their charge happen. For example: the meetings of the Christian Education Committee are not the ministry of the Christian Ed. Committee. Its ministry is Sunday school, small groups, teacher training, etc. Team members should meet to find ways to organize, fund, and publicize ministry. They should work together to remove obstacles so the ministry can be more effective. There is no need to have a meeting for the sake of having a meeting. Meetings should be about receiving exciting reports about what is happening in the ministry and making plans for more great things.
3. Is the pastor a leader?
Another leadership problem in a lot of declining and plateaued churches is that the pastor doesn’t lead. This usually happens for one of two reasons. 1.) The pastor doesn’t know how to lead. He doesn’t have leadership gifts, has not been trained to lead, or is lazy and doesn’t want the responsibility of leadership. 2.) The pastor does not have the freedom to lead because he is constrained by the by-laws, the traditional way of doing things at the congregation, or someone or some family has control issues. If church is going to get unstuck from a plateau or turn around from decline, it is imperative that the pastor be a leader and has the freedom to lead the congregation. In some denominations leadership has not been a gift that was considered important in pastors, nor has it been rewarded. However, the word “pastor” means shepherd. Many churches see their pastor (shepherd) as a caretaker of the sheep (church members). Actually the biblical shepherd, (pastor) was first and foremost the leader of the flock. He also protected and cared for the sheep, but the main emphasis of his job was to lead them to pasture and water; and away from danger. See Psalm 23 for a description of the shepherd’s job. It was not by accident that this word was applied to the God-called leader of a congregation in the New Testament church.
4. Is the pastor doing everything?
In some churches one of the things that holds a congregation back from doing the mission God gave it is that the pastor does everything, either because he hasn’t learned to delegate and doesn’t trust others to do ministry; or because the people either don’t understand that each of them have a ministry to perform, or they refuse to perform it. The pastor can’t do it all. If he tries, the church’s growth is limited by his capacity. Besides, that is not the way God intended for the church to function. For a congregation to become what God intends it to be, the members must see themselves as workers, not spectators, ministers, not consumers.
5. Do the pastor, the board, the staff, and the members know their jobs?
A congregation should be organized so that the pastor can cast a God-inspired vision that the board endorses. The pastor, with the counsel of the church’s leadership, then sets measurable goals and objectives that will enable the church to fulfill the vision. In other words, the pastor’s job is to lead. Then board’s job is to hold him accountable to meet the goals in a Christ-like way. The staff’s (paid or unpaid) job is to manage the ministries that are necessary to meet the goals and objectives. And the job of church members is to do the ministry of the church. This is an accountable and measurable way of doing God’s work (often referred to as the governance model).
6. Are newcomers intentionally asked to get involved?
Finally, a church that expects to grow by bringing people to Christ must be intentional in getting new people involved in ministry. Declining and plateaued churches often make it difficult, or have no path to help people get involved. Leaders need to find out what new people are interested in doing and match them up with things that fit their gift mix. If there is nothing for new people to do, then the church needs to try some new things. New people may well also be the source of new ministry ideas. Encouraging them to discover and use their spiritual gifts and talents is the first, and possibly the most important step. The most exciting thing in the world is to discover and do the work that God equipped and called you to do. All church members must be challenged, encouraged and expected to somehow be involved in ministry.
Is your church’s structure helping or hindering your work of making disciples?
1. Is the church over- or under-organized?
Many churches are over-organized. The decision-making process takes so long and goes through so many steps that a new idea doesn’t have a chance. If it makes it through the bureaucracy, approval often comes so late enthusiasm has waned. Sometimes the opposite is true. Some congregations are so unorganized that no one feels they have authority to make a decision. Everyone is waiting for someone else to get the ball rolling; consequently, nothing happens. Because no one knows who is in charge, things just keep going as they have been, until they are stopped by inertia. There is no vehicle for change. For a church to do its mission of making disciples, it needs to be organized in a way that encourages new ideas and finds ways for ministry to take place. Some congregations seem to be organized to prevent ministry instead of facilitate ministry.
2. Do the committee meetings enable ministry to happen?
In many established churches members think that sitting on a committee and going to meetings is doing ministry. Committees, task forces, teams, or whatever they are called at your church should be seen as necessary to make the ministry in their charge happen. For example: the meetings of the Christian Education Committee are not the ministry of the Christian Ed. Committee. Its ministry is Sunday school, small groups, teacher training, etc. Team members should meet to find ways to organize, fund, and publicize ministry. They should work together to remove obstacles so the ministry can be more effective. There is no need to have a meeting for the sake of having a meeting. Meetings should be about receiving exciting reports about what is happening in the ministry and making plans for more great things.
3. Is the pastor a leader?
Another leadership problem in a lot of declining and plateaued churches is that the pastor doesn’t lead. This usually happens for one of two reasons. 1.) The pastor doesn’t know how to lead. He doesn’t have leadership gifts, has not been trained to lead, or is lazy and doesn’t want the responsibility of leadership. 2.) The pastor does not have the freedom to lead because he is constrained by the by-laws, the traditional way of doing things at the congregation, or someone or some family has control issues. If church is going to get unstuck from a plateau or turn around from decline, it is imperative that the pastor be a leader and has the freedom to lead the congregation. In some denominations leadership has not been a gift that was considered important in pastors, nor has it been rewarded. However, the word “pastor” means shepherd. Many churches see their pastor (shepherd) as a caretaker of the sheep (church members). Actually the biblical shepherd, (pastor) was first and foremost the leader of the flock. He also protected and cared for the sheep, but the main emphasis of his job was to lead them to pasture and water; and away from danger. See Psalm 23 for a description of the shepherd’s job. It was not by accident that this word was applied to the God-called leader of a congregation in the New Testament church.
4. Is the pastor doing everything?
In some churches one of the things that holds a congregation back from doing the mission God gave it is that the pastor does everything, either because he hasn’t learned to delegate and doesn’t trust others to do ministry; or because the people either don’t understand that each of them have a ministry to perform, or they refuse to perform it. The pastor can’t do it all. If he tries, the church’s growth is limited by his capacity. Besides, that is not the way God intended for the church to function. For a congregation to become what God intends it to be, the members must see themselves as workers, not spectators, ministers, not consumers.
5. Do the pastor, the board, the staff, and the members know their jobs?
A congregation should be organized so that the pastor can cast a God-inspired vision that the board endorses. The pastor, with the counsel of the church’s leadership, then sets measurable goals and objectives that will enable the church to fulfill the vision. In other words, the pastor’s job is to lead. Then board’s job is to hold him accountable to meet the goals in a Christ-like way. The staff’s (paid or unpaid) job is to manage the ministries that are necessary to meet the goals and objectives. And the job of church members is to do the ministry of the church. This is an accountable and measurable way of doing God’s work (often referred to as the governance model).
6. Are newcomers intentionally asked to get involved?
Finally, a church that expects to grow by bringing people to Christ must be intentional in getting new people involved in ministry. Declining and plateaued churches often make it difficult, or have no path to help people get involved. Leaders need to find out what new people are interested in doing and match them up with things that fit their gift mix. If there is nothing for new people to do, then the church needs to try some new things. New people may well also be the source of new ministry ideas. Encouraging them to discover and use their spiritual gifts and talents is the first, and possibly the most important step. The most exciting thing in the world is to discover and do the work that God equipped and called you to do. All church members must be challenged, encouraged and expected to somehow be involved in ministry.
Is your church’s structure helping or hindering your work of making disciples?
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