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COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH PLAN (p. 22)Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Valley Community Church in Southern California, explains why it takes more than technique to lead a healthy congregation.
Why do you say health should replace growth as the focal point for pastors?
Because size is not the issue. Big isn’t better; small isn’t better. Healthy is better. If a church is healthy, growth will naturally happen.
If numerical growth is an unreliable indicator of health, how can you tell if your church is healthy?
It’s not unreliable, just inadequate. There are five ways to measure growth. A church needs to grow warmer through fellowship, deeper through discipleship, stronger through worship, broader through ministry, and larger through evangelism.
How do you cultivate health in a church?
Balance. Balance occurs when you have a strategy and a structure to fulfill every one of the five New Testament purposes for the church—worship, evangelism, fellowship, discipleship, and ministry.
How are the skills to grow a church different from the skills to grow a healthy church?
The skills may not be all that different, but growing a healthy church depends on the personal character of the leader. You can’t lead people further than you are in your own spiritual health.
SHADING THE TRUTH? (p. 30)Jim Abrahamson, pastor of Chapel Hill (NC) Bible Church, identifies subtle ways dishonesty may linger in a church—and how to overcome them.
By what isn’t said
A young woman who had been sexually abused told me her church pretended that abuse did not take place among God’s people. By not talking about real issues of life, churches can give an inaccurate impression.
By what is said
Inflated testimonies encourage others to subtly lie.
By what is promised
Churches can fall into promising too much. For example, some paint an idealistic view of the first-century church.
By what is attempted
God does not always take away our pain, so we must not give the impression that God or our church will.
Here are some ways I’ve found to create an atmosphere of honesty and safety:
In the pulpit
How a pastor talks about failures indicates how safe that church is to confess sins.
Among key leaders
Another way to create an atmosphere of safety is for a church staff to be honest with each other.
WHAT DOES A HEALTHY CHURCH LOOK LIKE? (p. 34)Leadership interviewed Christian leaders to find out how to identify and maintain a healthy church.
A matter of focus
Tracy Keenan, a Presbyterian minister in Pittsburgh, believes “Church health is a matter of a focus. A focus on Christ allows us to support one another, even in our differences.”
It’s the structure
Period. Ralph W. Neighbour, Jr., retired president of Houston-based Touch Outreach Ministries, says, “The American church is unhealthy because it has an unbiblical structure. Around the world today—far more so overseas—healthy church life is built around cells. The true cell church is a community of Christians numbering usually no more than fifteen who are the body of Jesus Christ.”
Honest to God
Steve Sjogren, pastor of Vineyard Community Church in Cincinnati, explains, “We equate health with authentic-ity. Healthy churches are led by pastors who tell their honest, heartfelt stories.”
The cause-driven church
Erwin McManus, pastor of The Church on Brady in Los Angeles, writes, “The early church existed with a dynamic tension, illustrated by two biblical images—the body of Christ and the army of God. The body of Christ is centered on community; the army of God is centered on cause. Healthy community comes out of a unified cause.”
Jesus’ surprising definition
Finally, Lee Eclov, pastor of Chippewa Evangelical Free Church in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, says, “In the second and third chapters of John’s Revelation, we find the Lord’s assessment of local congregations. He commends:
“holiness and dealing with sin.
“endurance—being ‘overcomers.’
“confronting incursions of evil and heresy into the church.
“exclusive love for Christ.
“corporate growth in ministry—’you are doing more now than before.’
“love for one another.”
EVANGELISM FOR THE ORDINARY CHURCH (p. 43)Steve R. Bierly, pastor of Cobblestone Church in Schenectady, New York, points that just because your people don’t like to evangelize doesn’t mean they can’t share their faith. To help them:
Redefine “target group
” Conferences urged me to target a specific group (baby boomers, Gen-Xers, etc.) and gear up my congregation to reach it. The people at Cobblestone had another target audience in mind: their friends, co-workers, and family members.
Don’t use the E-word
For many, evangelism is what Billy Graham does. Or it’s intruding into the lives of total strangers. So instead of holding an evangelism seminar, I offered classes on “How to Explain Christianity to Your Friends.”
Set a climate for sharing
Rather than telling shy, introverted people to lead their loved ones to Christ, I urge my congregation to invite their friends to church, where they can meet Christ. Even though we don’t have a seeker service, if I use terms unfamiliar to non-Christians, I define them.
Work to reduce conflict
Visitors can sense when something’s not right. If they do, rarely will they come back.
Get people to pray
Although pastors often hear, “Everything depends on leadership,” in reality, “Everything depends on God.” If you can get some people to pray for growth, you’ve done a lot!
OUTBREAK! (p. 46)Peter Steinke, Lutheran (elca) minister and counselor, explains how church systems work, and how they can resist disease.
Can a pastor evaluate a church’s health before accepting the call to lead it?
The more specific and concrete the discussion about change becomes, the more likely that change can take place.
How does a church build a strong immune system?
By having a strong sense of vision and mission.
How long does it take for an unhealthy church to become healthy?
From two to five years. The biggest enemy of the healing process is to short-circuit the change or conflict or whatever is creating the acute phase.
How does a pastor survive the acute phase?
Remember that it’s not going to stay acute forever. And remember that everything that goes on is not about you, even though it gets focused on you.
TRADITIONAL VS. CONTEMPORARY (p. 50)A Leadership case study of how a church had to rediscover its identity when two styles of worship began to compete.
Wayne Brouwer, pastor of Harderwyk Church in Holland, Michigan, explains why the crisis came to the fore and how he, the council, and the congregation tried to resolve it. Veteran pastor David Fisher and consultant Speed Leas offer commentary.
IS YOUR CHURCH FISCALLY FIT? (p. 57)Contributing editor James D. Berkley explains how to assess a congregation’s financial strength.
No one set of statistical canons will measure the fiscal fitness of every church. However, there are general indicators.
Annual income
Schaller’s rule of thumb: “Multiply the average worship attendance times $1,000.” Or, compare this year’s receipts per attender to 1968’s figures. Between 1968 and now, the Consumer Price Index went up roughly 400 percent. Or, divide the church’s total giving by the congregation’s estimated earnings (average household income times the number of households). If the result is 10 percent, the church is a biblical lot! More likely it’s 35 percent.
Income history
Is income rising or falling? For how long? Why?
Sources of income
Does church money come from longtime givers or new ones? From which age segment? From a few generous people or a larger group?
Division of expenditures
How much of the church budget should be dedicated to total personnel expenses? (From 45 to 55 percent.) How much of the church budget should be given to benevolences? (Schaller recommends 15 to 16 percent.) What about the proportion of money going to building projects or debt retirement? (No more than 20 percent.)
Active, growing churches will constantly be short of money.
PASTOR’S PROGRESS (p. 78)Gordon MacDonald, pastor of Grace Chapel in Lexington, Massachusetts, writes of what he has learned from the dark moments of life.
As I look back, I can spot dark moments in which I’ve seen God at work in my life in a clear way. In each I heard a message in the midst of pain.
1. Escape is never an answer
I quit my first job at 24. While serving as a youth pastor, I discovered a note from a student criticizing my ministry. I resigned within fifteen minutes. This benchmark taught me: when the going gets rough, quitting is never the first option.
2. Conflict cannot be left unresolved
Many years ago, feelings of hate toward a person affected virtually every dimension of my life. Tormented, I cried out to God to help me to forgive. God supernaturally removed my hatred. I learned never again to allow a relationship to stray that far off course.
3. Emotions must be attended to
Early in my pastoral career, I read a book that tore open my belief systems. During that same period, I conducted the funerals of two homeless people and was struck with the absolute meaninglessness of their lives. And I was extremely busy, physically exhausted, with no time for spiritual activity.
As a result, my emotions came unraveled. I resolved to keep a record of my feelings. It’s helped me tend to emotions rather than let them accumulate until they cause problems.
4. Pain reduces us to our true size
In my early thirties, I experienced a spate of migraine headaches that came close to unbearable. “Ninety percent of my patients remind me of you,” said the headache specialist. “They’ve got some people in their lives with whom they have unresolved relationships.”
I knew exactly the unresolved relationships to which he was referring. In response, Gail and I began to pray together.
5. God cannot be boxed
About fourteen years ago, I was asked to be a candidate for the presidency of a major Christian organization (not InterVarsity). Gail and I felt God was saying, “This is going to happen.”
I gathered my staff on the evening when the phone call would come and told them how we felt God was leading us in this new direction, though we hadn’t heard the decision. The phone rang. The other candidate had been chosen.
My world fell apart. I doubted whether it was possible to hear God speak. I had to surrender to a much deeper and more mysterious God than I had known.
6. Enthusiasm is a choice
In the blackness of that time, I made a choice that led to moral failure, which resulted in the loss of my life’s work.
After I resigned, Gail and I moved to our New Hampshire home for almost two years. One Sunday morning, I flipped the television to Robert Schuller who said, “Today I’m going to talk about enthusiasm.” As I listened, I realized how unenthusiastic I had become. I apologized to Gail and told her, “I’ve resolved to become an enthusiastic man again.”
In every dark moment of my life, God had a message for me.
HOW TO BE HEARD (p. 86)In this Leadership Classic, Fred Smith offers expert wisdom on the overlooked fundamentals of communication.
The key to poise and eloquence in the pulpit is focusing not on the dazzling techniques but on the fundamentals.
Establishing a friendly atmosphere
Most of us know you don’t want to start on a negative note, like “I’ve had a cold all week.” I want to communicate openness, that I’m here to serve these people. Also, before I speak, I pick out certain people and smile at them.
Encouraging participation, not observation
Our goal is to have people’s minds actively engaged by our subject matter. If I’m making a controversial point, I’ll say something like, “I can tell by your faces that you really don’t agree with that.” They’re thinking, He understands. And they want me to continue the conversation.
Ensuring I’m believable
You can establish your authority by being a researcher, a Bible scholar, or a collector of scintillating anecdotes. But whatever your authority, be careful of extrapolation—taking a principle from an area you know and applying it to an area you don’t.
Making my voice inconspicuous
Audiences will listen to a poor voice, as long as there’s fire in it, because as soon as the audience realizes the voice is real, they adjust to it.
Using gestures effectively
The key is to make sure they’re spontaneous and represent your voice and mind.
Remembering my limited knowledge
I leave open the possibility that someone may be there who knows an awful lot more about the subject than I do. That tempers many remarks I’ve been tempted to make.
SAFE AT CHURCH (p. 98)Writer Beth J. Lueders offers practical strategies for protecting children from sexual abuse.
No one likes to think about sexual abuse of children. But the potential damage to the child and to the church—not to mention the possibility of wrenching lawsuits—has caused many churches to take steps to protect its children.
1. Develop clear policies
“Churches need a clear policy that says you can’t work here if you are going to act this way,” says one expert. “This itself is a strong prevention mechanism.”
2. Screen workers carefully
Ask specific questions about criminal record, particularly convictions for sexual abuse or molestation. Finish with a statement for the applicant to sign, certifying that information is true and complete.
One of the easiest screening methods—and one that doesn’t cost money—is to require volunteers to be associated with the church at least six months before they can work with youth or children.
3. Set supervision guidelines
For example, provide an adequate number of adults to supervise youth events, especially overnight activities. “The highest risks,” writes attorney Richard Hammar, “involve male workers in programs that involve overnight activities.”
4. Check your insurance
Review your church’s liability insurance policy to determine whether you have coverage for molestation, and whether that coverage is limited in some way.
5. Talk about it
“The most important thing the religious community can do to prevent sexual misconduct is acknowledge and learn about the reality of abuse in the church,” explains one leader.
THE PRICE OF PASTORAL LEADERSHIP (p. 105)Rich Nathan, pastor of Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Columbus, Ohio, writes about the hidden costs of being a leader.
The price of people’s projections
Some people will project onto us negative feelings from authority figures in their past.
The price of being a lightning rod
As leaders, when we make decisions, people may become angry with us.
The price of displeasing people
If we live to please people, we become slaves of our people. Instead of one master (Jesus, whose yoke is easy), we end up with numerous Pharaohs.
The price of unrealistic expectations
Leaders will face unrealistic expectations, both others’ and our own.
The price of fatigue
Following a conference or weekend of ministry, I will be subject to spiritual attack and feelings of depression.
For ministry to go forward, some people must be willing to say, “I will pay the price of pastoral leadership.”
PASTORING WITH INTEGRITY IN A MARKET-DRIVEN AGE (p. 108)Increasingly, the American church operates in a highly competitive environment. Many people church-hop till they drop. Leadership discussed the problem with Brian Larson, bi-vocational pastor of a congregation of thirty-five; church consultant Lyle Schaller; and large-church pastor Kent Hughes.
Most pastors say, “We don’t compete with other churches for members; we’re interested only in the non-churched.”
Schaller: Forgive me, but that’s not quite the real world. In 95 percent of churches, the majority of new members received last year identified themselves as Christians when they walked through the door the first time.
Can the smaller church compete in this environment?
Larson: Even if our church can’t provide a single program, we can offer community.
So who are churches really competing for?
Schaller: For the folks who have moved from one stage of their spiritual journey to another. If their church no longer speaks to that stage, they feel free to go to another.
Is there any benefit to this new competition?
Larson: Competition has forced me to say, “Am I depending on the Holy Spirit every moment of every day to lead me into fruitful ministry?” I also think this competition has forced me to be a stronger leader. Hughes: I have had to wrestle with the whole matter of success, trying to define it from the Bible. I defined it as loving God with all my heart; faithfulness; a foot-washing heart like Jesus’ in John 13; a holy heart; a prayerful heart; and a heart with a positive attitude.
1997 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. For reprint information call 630-260-6200 or contact us.
