Make or Break your Church in 365 Days

A Daily Guide to Leading Effective Change

Abingdon Press

Contents

Introduction

Pastor Fred sat in his office on his first Monday morning as pastor of First Church. He, his spouse, and their two young children were settling in as he prepared to start his third professional ministry responsibility. They had already experienced the welcome dinner with many from the congregation in attendance. After preaching his first sermon yesterday, he and his family stood at the back of the church meeting and greeting many people from the congregation. Already some people were sharing their expectations for him. Some invited him over for a meal in the near future, others let him know of shut- ins who would like to meet the new pastor, and others hoped he would soon share his office hours so they could meet with him. A few even broached ministry areas with needs to be addressed soon.

This would be his second experience as a lead pastor. Upon graduating from seminary, he served two years as a youth pastor in a congregation that averaged just fewer than two hundred in attendance. He was responsible for both the junior and the senior high students. He felt he did a competent job of ministering to the young people. But he wasn't cut out to be a youth pastor. He saw little spiritual growth and no numerical growth in the youth department.

After the youth ministry, Fred became the solo pastor of a smaller congregation that averaged sixty each Sunday. He served there three years and initiated some growth so that the congregation averaged about seventy-five by the time he left. He recognized for that ministry to achieve more health and growth, some major issues would have to be addressed. He understood that he was not clear on what all those issues were and that he didn't have the real leaders behind him if he had wanted to implement significant changes. He was delighted to become the pastor of this new congregation since it averaged 120 in worship each Sunday. The job paid more, he had an assistant in the office, and the leaders told him that they hoped to hire a youth pastor, at least on a part-time basis, by the end of Fred's first year of ministry.

As he sat behind his desk, his books around him, his diplomas on the wall, his favorite lighthouse prints strategically placed, and his favorite sports team posters displayed prominently, he was filled with conflicting emotions. On the one hand, he was delighted to be in this new ministry. He felt that things had gone well yesterday. His wife and children seemed happy in their new surroundings. He was excited about the prospect of leading a ministry that would be healthy, growing, and not only touching those who came to the campus each week, but also reaching out and changing the community in which the congregation existed.

On the other hand, Fred was now wise enough to know that these feelings went with being in a brand-new situation, and most of his good feelings would be short-lived. He also felt a great sense of dread. Other than getting to know the people and the community in which he and his family now lived, he had no real understanding of what he needed to do to lead a healthy, growing congregation. As a result, he had no plans or strategies in place, even in his imagination. This knowledge almost paralyzed him. He knew that within a few short weeks he would spend far more time staring at the wall, and then more out of frustration than intention, he would keep busy with more and more care ministry that wouldn't lead the congregation to effective ministry. He realized it was Monday; Sunday would be coming in six more days. Within a week or two his days would be filled with tasks that would serve individual believers but not produce overall changes leading to health and growth. He knew that busyness and faithfulness didn't necessarily translate into fruitful, fulfilling ministry. These thoughts threatened to ruin the excitement of being new and having the opportunity to be a different pastor than he was in his previous charge.

Fred wondered whether his lot was to be that of many pastors in congregations across the nation: doing work but seeing little meaningful change, growth, and effectiveness happen. He was convinced God had called him to serve in the church as a pastor, and he wanted to be effective for God. He was honest enough with himself to realize that, rightly or wrongly, his significance was tied to his ability to lead a congregation to be effective, not just maintain or grow marginally. Yet he was also honest enough to admit he didn't know what to do. He was not sure how he would handle it personally and spiritually if his lot was to be that of most pastors he knew.

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LEADERSHIP: CREDIBILITY AND COMPETENCE

Many in the church of Jesus Christ, particularly in North America, are crying out for leadership. The leadership problem the church faces is no different from that in the rest of the culture. Everyone says we need more leaders. Bookstores are filled with whole sections on leadership and related topics such as management, administration, change strategies, and so on. One major difference between congregations and the businesses that these books target is that businesses exist to make a profit and pay employees whom they can hire and fire, while congregations are mostly volunteer organizations with donors. The lack of leadership in the church world is more obvious since people follow a leader only because they want to— not because they must.

In the for-profit world and in the nonprofit world where congregations exist, people are much more willing to follow someone who is perceived as credible. People are looking for leaders who know who they are and what needs to be done and have a good idea of how to implement their ideas. In any culture people follow not because they want to keep their jobs but because they want to.

Most pastors are not natural-born leaders. They lack either the gift or the talent of leadership. Pastors are like most people since the majority of the population lacks the gift or the talent for leadership. Pastors, however, whether they desire it or not, are in a position of leadership. Even the majority of pastors who admit that they are not leaders and don't want to be leaders recognize they are spiritual leaders to some group of individuals. (A shepherd is a leader who leads sheep.) To be a pastor means that to hold a leadership position is unavoidable.

All pastors, including those who don't have the gift or the talent of leadership, must at times practice leadership behavior. Yet in the majority of congregations pastors don't see themselves as leaders, the congregations don't see them as leaders, and often key leaders in the congregations don't want their pastors to lead.

When pastors lack credibility, they don't see themselves as leaders, and congregations don't want them to be leaders. In most cases this lack of credibility is not related to character. Rather it is related to the key ingredient in gaining credibility: competency. People follow those whom they believe to be highly credible, and competency is key to being perceived as credible. The relationship between followers and leaders is based on trust. I won't follow someone I don't trust unless I'm forced by conditions beyond my control, whether those conditions are perceived or actual. The more credible (read: competent) the leader, the more followers trust the leader, and they demonstrate this trust by their willingness to follow.

Too often congregations have watched pastors come and go, each having varying levels of competency, but overall congregations recognize that most of them didn't know how to be competent in leading a congregation in the twenty-first century. I find that many pastors are like Fred in our story, who wants to make a difference, wants to lead, and wants to see changes that would produce effective disciples and effective ministries within the congregation and to the community, but doesn't know what to do and how to go about accomplishing such results.

Often I hear rants from pastors: "I attend all the 'insider' seminars, read the right books, and go to all the good websites recommended by other lead pastors, and yet when I walk into my office on Monday morning, I've no idea what to do. Not only do I not know what to do, I'm not sure where to begin, I don't know what will make me more effective, and I'm not even sure how to schedule my week. I learn and read really good stuff and have no idea how to translate good ideas and concepts into my life, my personal wiring, and my particular ministry. Also ministry is so complex I don't know where to start. All the stories the experts share neither work in my context nor seem to fit my context."

Of all the professions, pastors are probably least trained to be competent for the tasks of leadership for which they are responsible. This is not their fault, since seminaries or Bible colleges are not doing it (and let me say, seminaries can't do it or be expected to do it). However, it is the pastors' problem.

Pastors need training. We have seen a miraculous transformation in the congregations of our region, now named Growing Healthy Churches (GHC). God enabled us to plant an average of ten new congregations a year for the past eight years, many of which are now more than two hundred in average worship attendance. Baptism of new disciples improved from less than eight hundred a year to more than four thousand a year. One major reason for these results is that we are constantly training pastors (of both new and established congregations) to be competent in their roles. Such competency produces credibility that enables our pastors to be leaders whom people willingly follow, even though nothing requires them to do so other than the motivation of the Holy Spirit.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this book is to help pastors become more competent at their tasks of leading congregations, day in and day out. I answer two questions. First, what must be done in the first 365 days of tenure to eventually lead the congregation through systemic transformation? Second, what should be done each day of the week to accomplish necessary tasks during the first year as the pastor, and in all the following years, in order to stimulate systemic transformation?

Often I ask pastors two questions. First, how would you like to be called or sent to a congregation new to you, and the very first Sunday after you preached, the lay leader of the congregation says to you, in front of the entire congregation, "Pastor, we are delighted you are here, and we have made a covenant for the first two years to do whatever you tell us, with no questions asked"? The laity commits to carry out your mandates and ideas with all of their strength, minds, and will. Every pastor wants to know where this church is, realizing it doesn't exist anywhere in God's creation. Second, if you experienced such a congregation, would you know what to do next? Most pastors respond to the second question by saying they wouldn't know what to do.

Pastors should know their goals for the first year of ministry (particularly in congregations on a plateau or in decline). Pastors should also know how to function day by day in order to see the Holy Spirit lead congregations to willingly follow their pastors' lead (shepherds lead) and implement the mission the Lord Jesus Christ gave to his church (a community of disciples), which is to make new disciples on a regular and consistent basis.

ASSUMPTIONS

I should disclose some assumptions about pastors, congregations, and the perspective from which I'm writing. In preparation for this book I interviewed a number of effective pastors to see what made their pastoral experience so different from the current norm in North America. These pastors served in a variety of settings, including rural, suburban, and urban. Their congregations have been different sizes, but most of them were beyond the two hundred barrier in attendance, which the majority of congregations never break through. (Most of these pastors were leading congregations that were under the two hundred barrier when they started.) The congregations being led by these pastors reflected varying philosophies of ministries, and the pastors themselves were of different ages, ranging from thirties to sixties. Many of the assumptions are based on what I learned from the pastors I interviewed, ministries I observed through hundreds of congregational consultations, and my own experience as a pastor, a seminary professor, and a mentor to pastors.

Some of the assumptions present parameters for the kinds of congregational contexts I address in the book. I hope that many of the concepts I share will fit into most situations, but some tactics or strategies may not relate to every situation due to the idiosyncratic nature of ministry. Most of the time the issues being faced by pastors in local congregations are broad in nature, but when that is not the case, I make distinctions. However, I know from experience that I won't be able to think of all of the situations that pastors encounter.

Assumption One—Everyone Needs a Place to Be Bad

The successful stand-up comedian has perhaps the most challenging communication task for any speaker. The stand-up comedian is alone on stage attempting to be funny for people who have paid to be entertained. As a great comedian once said, every comedian needs some place to be bad in order to become good. The same principle is true for effective pastors. I had the good fortune of preaching in nursing homes all the way through high school, which was great since most of the people couldn't hear me. Every pastor I spoke with told me of failed ministry experiences before achieving some degree of pastoral success. Also, everyone said to me, "If I could go back even where God has blessed and do certain things differently, I would."

There are two good places to be bad. The first is a ministry position on the staff of a large, effective, growing congregation. This experience can be enhanced if the senior pastor and key staff members are willing to take on mentoring and coaching roles with you. If you can find such a position (as an intern or part-time staffer) while in seminary, extend your studies in order to be more involved in ministry than in academia. In such a position, you can learn the failures and successes of ministry where you will be mentored and protected. You also need to take the initiative to interact with the senior pastor and other effective staff members to learn why they have behaved in certain ways and how they have achieved effectiveness in their respective areas of ministry.

The second place to be bad is a solo pastorate of a really small congregation (usually one that can't afford a full-time pastor) while in seminary. In this setting you learn how to conduct ministry and behave when the congregation sees you as its pastor. You learn what often causes sheep to bite and act mean. You also begin to learn which hills you need to die on and which ones can wait for another time to be climbed. There is usually no pressure on you to promote growth and change. These congregations often exist as small places because they won't change. One of the best learning experiences is to try to lead change where nobody wants it.

Perhaps one of the worst places to be bad is a position, while in seminary, as an intern or part-time staff member in an unhealthy congregation that is not growing. You will likely observe a pastor who doesn't know what to do, does nothing, or does it incorrectly. Yet you don't have to live with those failures because you aren't the pastor. This common practice of sending an intern to a dying congregation is like sending a medical resident to watch a pathologist do autopsies.

Regrettably for many pastors, the first place they get to be bad is their first full-time role as a solo pastor. If this is your case, realize that it is a learning experience, and serve as well as you are able. Don't become discouraged. If you learn from your mistakes, you will be a far more effective pastor when you are called to lead your next congregation.