Seven Ways Pastoring Has Changed in Thirty Years

We are out of clichés about change or the pace of change. Sometimes we forget how much particular vocations have changed in a short time. In fact, in thirty years pastoring has changed in ways we likely would have never predicted or imagined.

In early 1984, I began serving as a pastor for the first time. I would ultimately serve four churches as a pastor and nine churches as an interim pastor. In 1984 I was a young 28-year-old pastor without a clue. Today I am 58-years-old, and I’m still not sure I have a clue. So much has changed. So much has changed in pastoring in just thirty years. Let’s look at major ways the pastorate has changed in that time.

1. Thirty years ago, most people in the community held the pastor in high esteem. Today most people don’t know who the pastor is, nor does the pastor hold any position of prominence in most communities.
2. Thirty years ago, most people in the congregation held the pastor in high esteem. Though I cannot offer precise numbers, there is little doubt that church members as a rule don’t view pastors with the same esteem as they did thirty years ago. That is one major reason serving as a pastor is becoming increasingly difficult.
3. Leadership skills are required more today than thirty years ago. Thirty years ago, I could preach sermons well and care for the congregation, and I would be deemed at least an adequate pastor. The demands and the expectations of the pastor are much higher today. Many of those demands can only be met with at least decent leadership skills.   Continue at Thom Rainer

Porn and the Church Staff

If a church staff member is dealing with a porn issue, how should it be handled? The following is not a list or rules, so much as some pointers in how you can approach the issue when it comes up.

Plan to deal with porn

Every day, pastors and leadership boards have to make decisions on how to handle the discovery that a staff person is struggling with porn. Most people are not equipped to deal with this issue and, as a consequence, radical mistakes are made every day.

I believe it is critical for pastors and leadership teams to think through their response to sexual sin prior to circumstances that require a plan. We always do better when we are actively prepared, and I would rather be proactive than reactive in dealing with sexual sin. You can fly by the seat of your pants, or you can start talking and thinking about this now—it will be something you have to handle with one of your staff members soon.

Who condemns?

Two thousand years ago, the early church members didn’t have computers with internet connections and weren’t dealing with this exact situation, but there is much wisdom to be gleaned from Scripture and how it reflects the dynamic between law and grace.   Continue at Jake Larson

How to Run an Elders' Meeting

The apostle Paul never lost his sense of wonder and amazement that the Lord would call him out of the darkness of Satan's kingdom to serve the resurrected Christ. He called his ministry "grace" several times (e.g. Ephesians 3:2), and regularly ascribed his calling as an apostle to the grace of God: "By the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Corinthians 15:10). Paul knew he deserved the eternal condemnation of God for destroying God's church, and yet God by his grace gave him the privilege of building God's church (1 Corinthians 3:10). So it is today with the elders of a church. God by his grace has saved each elder, covering his sins by the blood of Christ and putting in his heart the hope of eternal glory in Christ. As if this isn't enough, God lavished on us a ministry of meaningful service to Jesus and his people as elders. Thus we are delivered from the emptiness of a meaningless life and called to build something that will last for eternity. Elders should be overwhelmed with thankfulness every single day for the great privilege of serving Christ in this way.

No elder is called to this task alone, for God has called elders to minister with other qualified men as a group in a local church. The plurality of elder leadership in every local church is established in Titus 1:5: "The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you." These men must lead the church in a harmonized way, with cooperation and collective wisdom.  In the real world, this requires a regular pattern of elders' meetings to discuss and pray over all aspects of church life for which they are accountable to Christ. The purpose of this article is to discuss practical elements of elders' meetings so that God may be maximally glorified by them. I will discuss the consecration of elders' meetings, their content, and their conduct. Briefly, by consecration, I mean that the elders should set themselves apart as holy to the Lord for this service, and should set apart their meeting times for his glory and the edification of the church by the ministry of the word of God and prayer. By content, I mean the actual topics of discussion and decision elders will entertain during their meeting. I will argue that there are four main headings:  Continue at Andrew Davis

Flattery Can Kill

She was a well-dressed middle-aged woman. She arrived early at one of my first services as senior pastor of Gages Lake Bible Church. Immediately my "new person" radar went up. All pastors have this sixth sense, but for young, first-time, small church pastors it is always at the highest levels of alert.

I walked up to her and briefly chatted before the service began. I learned that she had driven a great distance and had listened to a few of my sermons online before deciding to check us out.

After the service I purposely singled out the new lady (we'll call her Rose). Rose was overflowing with compliments. "Wow! I haven't heard preaching like that in a long time. You're a breath of fresh air in this community." I offered some preacher speak like, "No, it's all God."

But inside my heart was dancing the two-step. Rose's flattery seemed a balm to my restless soul. Pastoring was new to me, and I was pretty insecure about my preaching. I had yet to find my voice. Here was a seasoned believer whose opinion mattered to me. She'd probably been attending church longer than I'd been alive.

The flattery continued. "You're the only church in this area that preaches the true gospel message." I was pretty sure this wasn't at all true, but I let that go. Why spoil a good thing? Maybe every other evangelical pastor in town embraced a full-throated heterodoxy. I had yet to develop relationships with any other local pastors, so her assessment seemed as good as any.  Keep Reading >>>

How to Have a Church Prayer Meeting

A little over a year ago our church began devoting one Sunday evening service a month exclusively to prayer. Honestly, I wasn’t sure it would take. But a year into the switch I think our people are growing to appreciate the prayer service more and more. We don’t get everyone to come back for prayer, but it’s roughly the same size we get for our regular Sunday evening service (around 125 people, or about 1/4 the size of Sunday morning).

Here are seven things we’ve learned about having a church prayer meeting.

1. Pray. Don’t make your “prayer meeting” a time for 5 hymns, a short message, sharing requests, and 10 minutes for prayer. Get down to business and pray.

2. Start on time and end on time. This may not be true for every culture, but in America punctuality helps. People know what to expect. We will pray together for one hour.

3. Plan. If you are praying with a few mature, seasoned pray-ers, you may be able to get by with little preparation. But leading a church-wide prayer meeting takes, well, leadership. You have to think through what you are going to do. Recently I planned the prayer service around the fruit of the spirit. At other times we’ve prayed for different ministries in the church. We’ve used prayer books and lots of Scripture. We’ve borrowed from ancient patterns of prayer. We’ve even walked through the building to pray. The point is you can’t wing it with 100 people. You have to prepare.   Keep Reading >>>

See Also: Sample Prayer Service

10 Keys to Being A Healthy Pastor

1. Let God restore your soul daily.

• Psalm 23.  Matthew 11:28.

• Worship.  Prayer.  Solitude.  Listening.  Bible reading.

Averill quote: I pray for you to know the REST of Jesus in all things.  The enemy will deceitfully persuade you that you have many things to accomplish in order to keep things running.  I am all too aware of this temptation.  Simplicity in Christ leads us to only one thing to do- let Christ do it.

2.  Give your marriage priority attention.

• A bad marriage ruins the rest of life.  (Remember the Proverbs.)

• A good marriage fortifies you for the rest of life.

• Is your home a tunnel of chaos or an oasis of rest? Keep Reading...

I’m a Complementarian, But… Women Are Missionaries

Read all about it HERE

Handling Criticism While in Leadership

A "Stained-Glass Ceiling?" A Clarifying Look at a Controversial Question

We live in a society that considers itself pledged to equality as a basic principle. We also live in a society that is, indeed, marked by many prejudices that are evidence of human sinfulness, pure and simple.

Nevertheless, those who believe that the church is an institution established by Jesus Christ and who believe that the Bible is our sole final authority for belief and practice must obey what the Bible teaches. This means that we must also follow the pattern set out in the Scripture as the pattern set out by God himself.

Men and women are indeed equally created in the image of God, equally in need of the Gospel, and equal in terms of salvation. Both men and women are called to lives of discipleship, service, and witness. Mary Zeiss Stange is surely right when she suggests that churches depend upon the dedicated service and faithfulness of women. But this does not mean that the pattern for the church set forth in the Bible is to be rejected in light of current conceptions of gender equality. Those who believe that the Bible is indeed the inerrant and infallible written revelation of God are obligated to perpetuate and honor the pattern of leadership ordered within the text of Scripture. (CBMW)

Women in the Church (1 Timothy 2:11-14) - Part 2