History
Today in Christian History

April 4

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
<>
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31

April 4, 397: Ambrose of Milan, the most talented bishop of the early church, dies. Biblical exegete, political theorist, master of Latin eloquence, musician, and teacher, he brought Roman Emperor Theodosius I to his knees in repentance after the emperor ordered a massacre of his citizens (This marked the first time the state submitted to the church). But he is perhaps best known for teaching his most famous pupil,Augustine of Hippo (see issue 15:Augustine and issue 67:Augustine).

April 4, 636: Isidore, spanish scholar and archbishop of Seville dies. His most extensive and famous work was his Etymologiae (Etymologies), an extensive encyclopedia of early medieval knowledge that, unlike other such works, used liberal arts and secular learning as the foundation of Christian education. (Isidore did remark, however, that it would be better to be without the knowledge of heretics than to be misled by their comments.)

April 4, 1507: Martin Luther is ordained a priest in Erfurt, Germany (see issue 34: Luther’s Early Years).

April 4, 1541: Spanish ascetic and theologian Ignatius of Loyola is elected the first General of the Jesuit Order (or the Society of Jesus), which he had founded the previous year.

April 4, 1687: James II issues a Declaration of Indulgence allowing full liberty of worship in England. The government allowed Nonconformists to meet (though justices of the peace had to be notified), forgave penalties for ecclesiastical offenses and no longer required oaths of supremacy and allegiance for those in royal service. Thus the declaration severely threatened Anglican control of church and state.

April 4, 1742: Charles Wesley preaches his famous sermon, “Awake, thou that sleepest,” to the University of Oxford. The sermon soon became Methodism’s most popular tract (see issue 2: John Wesley, issue 69: The Wesleys and issue 31: Golden Age of Hymns).

April 4, 1968: Civil rights leader and Baptist minister Martin Luther King, Jr., is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.

History
Today in Christian History

April 3

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
<>
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31

April 3, 1593: George Herbert, one of England's greatest religious poets, is born in Montgomery Castle. After shocking the country by quitting his skyrocketing political life to become rector of rural Bremerton (a post he held for three years), "Holy Mr. Herbert" died of tuberculosis. But he gained great fame after his death for two posthumous books: The Temple: Sacred Poems and Private Ejaculations, and A Priest to the Temple, or the Country Parson.

April 3, 1897: German pianist and composer Johannes Brahms dies at age 63. Though not employed in a official ecclesiastic position, the devout Lutheran wrote extensively for the church. His German Requiem (1868) is considered by some to be the greatest major sacred choral work of his century.

History
Today in Christian History

April 2

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
<>
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31

April 2, 742: Charlemagne (Charles the Great) is born. When Pope Leo III crowned him “Emperor of the Romans” on Christmas Day, 800, Charlemagne announced, “Our task [as secular ruler] is externally, with God’s help, to defend with our arms the holy Church of Christ against attacks by the heathen from any side and against devastation by the infidels and, internally, to strengthen the Church by the recognition of the Catholic faith.” Indeed, within his kingdom he was far more influential in church affairs than the pope. Charles appointed and deposed bishops, directed a revision of the text of the Bible, instituted changes to the liturgy, set rules for life in the monasteries, and sent investigators to dismiss priests with insufficient learning or piety.

April 2, 1877: Fundamentalist Baptist evangelist Mordecai Ham is born in Allen County, Kentucky. At the end of his ministry, he claimed one million converts—including Billy Graham, who made a declaration of faith at a 1934 Ham meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina (see issue 65: The Ten Most Influential Christians of the Twentieth Century).

April 2, 1914: Three hundred Pentecostals meet at the Grand Opera House in Hot Springs, Arkansas, for a ten-day conference. Though originally intended merely to organize annual conferences, by its close, the conference had birthed the Assemblies of God, Pentecostalism’s largest denomination (see issue 58: Pentecostalism).

History
Today in Christian History

April 1

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
<>
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31

April 1, 1548: Parliament orders the publication of the Book of Common Prayer (BCP). Though Thomas Cranmer is rightly credited with the final form of the BCP, he worked with a committee of scholars, including Reformer Martin Bucer, to shape his famous liturgy (see Issue 48: Thomas Cranmer

April 1, 1745: David Brainerd begins his missionary work among the Native Americans of New Jersey, having previously worked in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. The New Jersey natives showed more interest than most, but Brainerd died of tuberculosis only two years into his work there. Still, his diary, published by Jonathan Edwards, became a major force in promoting missions work, inspiring missionaries like William Carey, Henry Martyn, and Thomas Coke (see issue 77: Jonathan Edwards).

Pastors

TIPS, TRENDS & RESOURCES

Anita Moreland

Although few look forward to them, business meetings are necessary for the ministry of any church. At such meetings, pastors are hired, budgets adopted, building programs started, and officers elected.

Because church business meetings are so important, they must be conducted in conformity with church and state regulations, according to Church Business Report (Nov. 1977). If you act illegally, every decision at a business meeting may be invalid and could subject you to a lawsuit.

Courts have pointed out the following danger areas for churches: 1. Only a person with authority can call a meeting. A layperson cannot call meetings unless statutes or rules provide for it. If this happens, any action taken at that meeting is void. 2. Church rules regarding the type of notice to be given to the congregation about meetings must be followed closely. Be sure, then, to always hold the meeting at the specified time and location. The minority of the congregation acting in accord with church rules may prevail over the majority acting in violation of rules. 3. Follow procedural requirements closely. Always strive to be fair in letting members discuss areas where there is a difference of opinion. In the absence of church rules to the contrary, it is best to observe standard rules of parliamentary procedure. 4. Strictly follow church and statutory requirements regarding who can preside at meetings. 5. A quorum must be present to transact business. Check relevant statutes and church rules for your church’s requirements. 6. Unless otherwise specified, every member of legal age can vote. Minors can vote where congregational customs or rules dictate that there is no age limit on voting. Courts have held that a lawsuit can be brought against a presiding officer of a religious meeting who maliciously refuses voting rights to any qualified member. 7. Slight irregularities in an election will not invalidate it unless it is impossible to determine which were the lawful votes. Because irregularities may result in lawsuits, it is best to follow all procedures to the letter. 8. The more important the issue acted upon at your church business meeting the more likely the courts are to require strict compliance with all established procedures.

Library

Resource

Possibilities

In these days of increased leisure time, it seems that television eats up most of those extra hours. Studies have shown, however, that more books and magazines are being sold than ever before. One important function of your church, then, is to be a Christian resource center to provide members with Christian forms of education and enrichment.

The most logical place to offer audio visuals, magazines, and books is in your church library. If it now contains only books that have been on the shelf for decades and a few out-of-date magazines, it is time to rebuild your library as a ministry to your congregation.

Dorothy Dahlman, executive with the Christian Education Board of the Baptist General Conference, has listed several suggestions in The Standard, Dec. 1979, for building a church resource center. 1. Look through Sunday school teacher manuals. Often books and other items are suggested for student enrichment. 2. Ask for recommendations from church leaders who know the needs of your congregation. These would include church staff, board members, Sunday school workers, and youth leaders. 3. Use denominational resources. 4. Current periodicals are good sources for reviews of recently published books. 5. Visit the library/ resource center of a church in your community that is known for its effective ministry. You can glean ideas by talking to their staff and noticing what is on their shelves.

Along with these practical steps, you will want to look at some of the periodicals written specifically for church librarians and leaders.

Media, Library Services Journal, provides information to inspire and guide you in establishing, maintaining, enlarging, operating, and utilizing libraries. Published by the Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, this magazine is written for church library staff, pastors, and church leaders. Subscription, $5 per year. Harvest Publications, 127 Ninth Ave., N., Nashville, TN 37234.

Librarian’s World, the publication of the Evangelical Church Library Association, features items on all aspects of setting up a library from a children’s corner to handling circulation problems. Subscription, $5 per year. Librarian’s World, Box 353, Glen Ellyn, IL 60137.

Stimulus, dedicated to initiating innovative church thinking, reviews programs and products for specific target groups. Lists seminars, dramas, audiovisuals, and many more ideas. Subscription, $6 per year. North American Baptist Conference, 1 S. 210 Summit Ave., Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60521.

For Your Church Library, a packet of helps on establishing a resource center, also has instructions on how to keep it going. Cost: $2. The Board of Christian Education, Baptist General Conference, 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60201.

The Library and Resource Center in Christian Education, a book by Betty McMichael, is a good resource book on understanding the functions of a church library. Moody Press, #4985-X, $10.95, 2108 Howard St., Chicago, IL 60645.

Looking for New Members?

Many pastors desire membership growth, but often they aren’t quite sure where to begin.

According to Robert Orr, pastor of Ness Avenue Church in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in American Church Growth, Sept/Oct 1979, a prospect file is a basic step toward church growth. Orr defines a prospect file as “a specific list of people outside the fellowship of the church, to whom a bridge exists through one or more laypersons in the church.” It is this list, then, that receives the primary attention of any church evangelism or local outreach program.

A prospect file is helpful for several reasons. It allows church outreach to be planned to meet the needs of the specific people you are trying to reach. It helps identify relationships between people in the church and those contacts on the list. And the list helps focus church concern and prayer on individuals rather than on a nebulous group of “unchurched in the community.”

Orr points out many sources of names for the prospect list: 1. Unchurched friends and/or relatives of church members. 2. Non-Christian family members of Sunday school students and club members. 3. Special-interest groups meeting in the church that include community people. 4. Those influenced by specialized ministries, such as the elderly or handicapped. 5. People contacted through short-term ministries, such as Vacationl

6. Those contacted through church-sponsored sports events. 7. Visitors to church worship services, or special holiday or musical programs. 8. Referrals from church members, funeral homes, and hospitals. 9. Contacts made with new residents through church visitation or surveys. 10. Non-Christian friends of new converts in the church.

Orr points out, however, that just developing a prospect file is no guarantee that effective evangelism will take place or that the church will grow. The prospect list is simply a tool that must be used properly. Several guidelines should be kept in mind. 1. Gather as much information as possible about each prospect and become familiar with it. 2. Keep accurate records of each contact made.

3. Don’t allow prospects to become cold. Someone who visits a church may be a prospect for that week but will not necessarily be one the following month. 4. Train people to work with prospects. 5 Pray regularly and specifically for prospects on file. 6. Encourage active church programs into which prospects can be drawn when they are ready to become involved in the church.

Volunteers: Preserving A Vanishing Breed

As making a living, raising families, participating in community affairs and just plain living take more time, the church volunteer becomes more rare.

This scarcity may not totally be due to society’s demands, however. According to John and Paul Pearson, both full-time Christian executives, there are still people willing to volunteer who are willing, committed, incur few expenses, and provide a broader base for input on church programs. The problem is failure in defining volunteer tasks.

The Pearsons recommend in Moody Monthly May 1978, that four steps be taken before even approaching a volunteer about specific church jobs. 1. Know the exact job you want help with. 2. Prepare a timetable for the volunteer’s responsibilities . 3. Share a description of your desired results with the volunteer before he accepts the job. 4. Know where the volunteer fits into the church structure and explain to whom he should go for advice and progress reports.

Job description in hand, the recruiter must recruit responsibly. The job description, if written properly, will imply the type of person suited for the position. The Pearsons point out two principles that should underlie the recruiting process: 1. Do not overwork the most faithful people. Potential volunteers are often missed because they don’t aggressively campaign for jobs. 2. Recruit heavily. More volunteers means a wider base of support and communication, an expanded list for future positions, and an opportunity for leaders to observe and evaluate workers firsthand.

Once the recruiter has determined the number of volunteers needed and who will best fill the positions, several guidelines should be kept in mind: 1. Recruit volunteers personally. A letter or telephone call might work, but face-to-face requests usually get better results. 2. Don’t delay. When someone is asked to take on a project with the deadline looming just ahead, they usually think one of two things: either several people have already turned down the job, or church planning and procedure is poor and unorganized . 3. Don’t assume anything. Give a brief outline of your objectives, a history of the program, and long range plans. 4. Help the volunteer sense your enthusiasm for the job. 5. Emphasize his and the job’s importance to the church. Give an estimate of how much money the church saves by using volunteers, and indicate your awareness of his unique qualifications for the job.

Many make the mistake of putting volunteers into the program and then abandoning them. They must be aware of the staff’s concern for them and their jobs, and sense watchfulness but not direct control.

Mentioning volunteers in the church newsletter, writing personal notes of appreciation, and expressing verbal appreciation to the volunteers’ families are just a few ways to maintain an effective volunteer program in your church. After all-what would you do without them?

How Not To Run the Show

Many suggestions have been published about how to get the best results from meetings that you call. But rules are a little different when you are asked to attend a meeting someone else has convened.

The staff of The Effective Manager (Nov. 1977) has compiled a brief roster of things to keep in mind when you participate rather than preside.

1. Talk wears thin quickly. Within an established working group, the heavy talker falls into a stock role and may become a predictable joke. According to psychologists, more than 92 percent of all communication among people is nonverbal-a gesture, a tone of voice, eye contact. By simply giving someone your full attention, you can speak volumes.

2. Being prepared is a good way to show respect for others. Know the agenda and what you think about the subjects up for discussion. If you plan to fight for or against something, have data to back up your position. If you don’t disagree with the way the meeting is going, don’t feel obligated to make a comment.

3. There are several roles to avoid if you wish people to value your thoughtful participation:

a. Hemmer and Hawer. State your ideas clearly.

b. One-Upper. If someone comes up with a better idea than yours, support it wholeheartedly.

c. Comic. A little humor is good, but avoid playing the joker. Never put down someone else’s point with a smart remark.

d. Perpetual Reviser. There will be enough times when you have a truly worthwhile amendment. Avoid trying to add to every item discussed.

e. Legalist. If the meeting is not being run according to correct procedure, don’t feel obligated to recite Robert’s Rules of Order.

f. The Heavy. If you are the senior pastor or staff person, avoid giving lectures. Work through ideas with your competent colleagues.

How to Handle Criticism

Anyone in a position of leadership and decision-making will be the target of criticism-some justified and some not. Here are some suggestions from The Effective Manager (Dec. 1979) that can help you handle criticism without alienating the other person and ruining your working relationship.

1. Don’t listen defensively. It isn’t your responsibility to defend yourself against dispproval. It’s never easy to take criticism objectively, but if you make an effort, you might realize that the person has given a few good points.

2. Think independently and examine each remark on its own merit. Don’t decide the criticism is unjustified before you hear it, and don’t conclude that it is all correct. The criticizer could be wrong and so could you.

3. Look for the meaning behind the message. There may be more to the person’s message than you hear. To understand its full scope, listen to the speaker’s voice and watch his face.

4. Give a tactful response. While it is easier to give criticism than it is to take it, the person offering you advice probably has some anxiety about doing it, especially if he is honestly trying to be constructive. Be aware of his feelings and thank him for his consideration.

For Your Information

Christian Legal Society,

P.O. Box 2069, Oak Park, IL 60303, 312/ 848-7735;

Sponsors conferences related to Christian rights and responsibilities in society, information source for legal questions related to the local church.

EMIS (Evangelical Missions Information Service),

Box 794,Wheaton, IL 60187, 312/653-2158;

Publishes regular news releasesand research about missions worldwide.

Institute for American

Church Growth, 150 S. Los Robles, Suite *600, Pasadena, CA 91101, 213/449-4400; Church growth seminars, consultation, computer services and curriculum available.

Institute for the Study of American Religion,

P.O. Box 1311, Evanston, IL 60201,312/475-0601;

Information source for questions about religious trends and events in the United States.

Leadership Dynamics International,

5780 Peachtree Dunwoody Rd., NE, Suite #210, Atlanta, GA 30342;

Leadership skills training for Christians, traveling seminars.

National Association of Evangelicals’ Office of Public Affairs,

1430 K St., NW, Washington, DC 20005, 202/628-7911

Information source for background and status of legislation affecting the church and Christians’ rights.

Spiritual Counterfeits

Project, Inc., P. O: Box 4308, Berkeley, CA, 415/548-7947;

Information resource on major and obscure cults and religions in American society, regular publications available.

Copyright © 1980 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.

Pastors

BOOK COMMENTARY

Every Pastor Needs a Pastor by Louis McBurney Word, Inc., $5.95 Reviewed by Dennis L. Gibson, Ph.D., a practicing psychologist.

You sigh deeply. Not just once, but several times in the course of an hour alone. You can’t concentrate. You resist once again the fleeting thought of some other line of work. What is this weight on your chest?

Louis McBurney identifies such heaviness in the lives of pastors as “the burden of unrealistic expectations they have accepted.” He eloquently describes the burden with anecdotes that prompt the reader to say, “Hey, that’s me!” McBurney then shows how the burdens are unrealistic. With deft economy of language, he brings in the psychological concepts that have bearing on the choice of pastoral ministry as a career.

His key concept is that most pastors unconsciously cling to a plethora of expectations, spoken and implied, by persons to whom they have looked for approval over the years. McBurney cites five mistaken beliefs that chronically beset pastors:

I must be constantly available to meet all demands my people make upon my time.

I must be capable of meeting any need they bring to me.

I must tower as a paragon of sinless perfection.

I must have no spiritual needs of my own or chinks in my emotional armor.

I must never let on that I have anymaterial needs.

What keeps these absurdities alive in a pastor’s thinking? Of the many plausible psychological concepts McBurney could use to answer this question, he picks one cogent and straightforward one: unresolved conflicts about authority and dependency. He gives a good thumbnail sketch of ideal childhood development, and of the common parental mistakes that reverberate into the adult lives of their children.

One mistake is to demand more of a child than the child can perform, and to hinge the parents’ love and acceptance on the child’s performance. That’s rejection. So is the opposite extreme of overprotection. Doing for the child what he can do for himself broadcasts the unspoken propaganda “You don’t really have what it takes without someone who is more capable to help you.”

McBurney’s treatment of the authority- dependency relationship reflects a gentle, fatherly warmth that pervades the book. He uses his own three children as examples for the last part of his book. This fatherly heartbeat echoes as he writes about God as Father rather than as harsh, perfectiondemanding Cosmic Critic. Unlike many guides in today’s secular mental health field, McBurney does not regard authority as a dirty word. He recognizes authority as a responsibility parents exercise for the benefit of children, to fit them usefully into the kingdom of God.

The author explains four common problems originating in authority-dependency conflicts: loneliness and isolation, unexpressed hostility (including depression and anger), feelings of failure and inadequacy, and role confusion. His refreshingly simple explanations of the nature and root of these problems will probably move many readers to say, “Oh, so that’s what that feeling is. What a relief to know someone else has felt it, too!”

Having described the genesis, nature, and symptoms of the burden of expectations, McBurney proceeds to show common roadblocks to relief. They boil down to an unwillingness on the part of ministers to look in the mirror of self-awareness and see themselves as they are. Bridging into the section on cure, he seeks to allay fears of consulting a psychotherapist. Most of them, Christian or not, recognize and encourage one’s religious commitments as important strengths in the personality.

“. . . special knowledge of theology . . . is not absolutely necessary for a psychiatrist to be helpful. … Many of the techniques used . . . may be successfully employed regardless of the religious beliefs of the therapist.”

How are the shackled set free? Answer: Every pastor needs a pastor. That is, he needs someone to whom he can reveal his long-held emotional secrets. The key is to get them out of hiding. Express them, but do so in an appropriate, gradual sequence. Start with yourself; recognize your feelings. Name them; list them. Then mention them to God. Then share them with your spouse. “I want to share some feelings I’ve become aware of. Lately I’ve been really anxious, and I don’t understand why.”

Finally, be candid and diplomatic with the church board and congregation about your feelings, your humanity. Chances are this will liberate many of them. If any of these are too difficult to do on your own, begin with a professional counselor who can offer expertise and confidentiality.

The last two sections of the book deal with the pastor’s first responsibilities: his wife and family. They show that when there is a healthy balance between the priorities of work and those of family, there is no need for neurotic attempts to fulfill psychological needs by exaggerated selfsacrifices.

The book offers no panaceas, but points in the direction of answers. Its strength is in bringing the problems to light, and announcing the good news that something can be done about them. In the well-organized, short chapters, the author shows that he knows and understands the pulse of a minister’s life.

The Pastor-Preacher by William A. Quayle Baker Book House, $6.95 Reviewed by W. Thomas Younger President, Western Bible College, Salem, Ore.

William Alfred Quayle (1860-1925) was a Methodist minister in mid-America. He served as a teacher and president of his alma mater, Baker University in Baldwin, Kansas, and pastored four churches before his election as Bishop of the Methodist Church in 1908, a position he held until his death. Bishop Quayle was best known and loved for his preaching and pastoring, a reputation confirmed by reading his 1910 work, The Pastor-Preacher. This 1979 edition, edited by Warren W. Wiersbe, has eliminated five chapters and some non-essential paragraphs. Wiersbe summarizes the Bishop’s philosophy of ministry: “Love Jesus Christ supremely, study hard, love people, always work, and be yourself.”

The book is divided into four sections: The Man, The Student, The Preacher, and The Pastor. In the first part, Quayle writes poignantly of the calling of the pastor-preacher, insisting on the greater importance of the man within the preacher.

The calling is not for the weak, but only for the strongest of men. He must be willing to spend himself, not save himself. Constrained by his love for Christ, he serves God and men. On one hand, the preacher is an appreciator of his brother-ministers; on the other hand he is stirring up the gift of God within him. He is a man of prayer. His calling qualifies him to be a mystic with feet solidly planted on the ground of reality. His sense of wonder causes men to actively listen for God’s message. His awareness of the present does not block out his consciousness that he resides in all eternity.

It takes more courage to be a preacher than to be a gladiator, or a stormer of fortresses, because the preacher’s battle is ever on, never ceases, and lacks the tonic of visible conquest. My favorite chapter in the first section is “Preaching-or Preacher.”

Preaching is the art of making a sermon and delivering it? Why, no, that is not preaching. Preaching is the art of making a preacher and delivering that.

Quayle emphasizes that the preacher is in control of his time, using it in haste but never hurrying. He addresses himself to those ministries that make a difference, and instead of just putting in time, he gauges work for its comparative excellence.

He differentiates between preachers who tell us truth that we hear, and others who tell us truth that we feel. He describes preachers who have “the blessed power of crowding men over to God’s side of the road.”

Every preacher ought to ponder the chapters on “The Sin of Being Uninteresting” and “Justification of the Sermon.” It is fallacious to think that because we preach God’s Word, being interesting is not important. And preaching is not justified just because it is sermon time.

Part four of The Pastor-Preacher is devoted to “The Pastor.” All of us who are caught up with our multi-layered church staffs and our seminars on management and delegation ought to ponder the Bishop’s contention that being a preacher and a pastor are not mutually exclusive. A pastor must be both. Many pastors have become ineffective in the pulpit because they have settled for working at their desks with books or administrative duties. They’ve neglected their roles as shepherds of their flocks. Effective pulpit men know not only the truth, they also know their people.

Quayle insists, “The supposition that a man is so important that he can not afford time to make pastoral calls is a piece of irreligious conceit which is intolerable in a man who is to be a servant of all.”

Bishop Quayle was a balanced man, able to give us valuable insight on how a pastor should minister to the sick, to children, and to young people. How beautiful that this book should end with the chapter, “The Search for Souls,” imploring preachers never to lose sight of the fact that men are lost in sin and need Jesus Christ as Savior.

Contemporary Christian Communications

by James F. Engel

Thomas Nelson, Inc. $12.95

Reviewed by Daniel W. Pawley, Assistant Editor, LEADERSHIP

“The audience is sovereign,” says Engel, “with complete abilities to accept, reject, and respond to messages. Our mission is to adapt the gospel message in ways that make it relevant to contemporary audiences.”

To “adapt,” Engel explains, does not mean that we should change the message. Rather, it requires that we focus concrete, biblical truth on contemporary issues. Simply stated, we need to know our Bibles, and we need to be aware of what’s going on around us. Once we’ve mastered this concept, we can effectively lead our audiences through a “spiritual decision process.”

The first step in this process is “need activation.” Engel claims, “people will not change until change is seen as beneficial to their basic needs and desires.” Dividing human needs into five areas-physiological, safety, belongingness and love, self-esteem, and self-actualization-he points out that higher orders of need, such as self-esteem, cannot be satisfied until lower levels, such as physiological needs, are satisfied. It is pointless, consequently, to preach to a poor and starving individual that Christ has power to bolster his self-image.

Engel advises Christians to “uncover” the needs of their audiences. For mass-evangelization he recommends distribution of questionnaires that effectively pull people’s deepest needs out. For personal evangelization he urges us to “feel around the rim of a life” until we come to points of need and hurt. This requires “building bridges of trust and friendship” and avoidance of “cold-call evangelism.” Finally, he warns that people have no interest in Jesus Christ until they see that he can be relevant to their life-styles and strivings-no matter how simple or how complex.

According to Engel, once a need for Christ is activated in an individual there’s an immediate search for information to satisfy that need. People go to the media-books, magazines, television-searching for relevant answers. As a media expert, Engel urges Christians to make better use of media in presenting the gospel. The book provides examples of effective, evangelistic media thrusts. For instance, a group of evangelical students thoughtfully marketed an evangelistic magazine, Breakthrough, to reach a segment of unbelievers in Hong Kong. A Chinese editorial staff was selected, and by applying their cultural knowledge to the basic gospel message, Breakthrough became one of the most successful Christian endeavors in Hong Kong’s history. Leaders of community outreach projects should pay close attention to this section: Engel tells what works and what doesn’t.

Later, the author deals with the formation and alteration of beliefs and attitudes-the final step in the spiritual decision process. He makes the point that all means of self-change, apart from Christianity, are ultimately fruitless. He urges pastors and lay people to constantly stress the uniqueness of self-change when it is accomplished by the Lord. About preaching evangelistic messages, Engel claims, “Certainly the historic facts about Christ and his life must be established, but it is more important to show how he and he alone is relevant to people’s needs.”

In a section dealing with evangelistic persuasion, the author warns about “manipulation,” which he defines as “any persuasive effort which restricts another’s freedom to choose for or against Jesus Christ.” His illustration is one of a pastor shouting out the altar-call while the choir sings “Just As I Am” for the fourteenth time. “This may be the last chance you have,” says the pastor. Counselors rise in large numbers giving the impression of a mass movement, and unbelievers are induced to act-not out of a decision for Christ but because of subtle pressure on them.

The book completes the evangelization process with in-depth discussions of freedom in Christ, the cultivation of new believers, and cross-cultural communications.

Engel, director of the Billy Graham program in communications at Wheaton Graduate School, applies impressive scientific research to the study of evangelism, and this may seem incongruous to some. However, as Engel argues, “The communicator is obligated to proclaim a message that has both biblical fidelity and audience sensitivity.”

Engel’s sources range from media theorist Marshall McLuhan to anthropologist Margaret Mead, and from Billy Graham to Bill Gothard. The book is easy reading, and contains many functional models and diagrams that illustrate the author’s theses.

Making the Small Church Effective by Carl S. Dudley Abingdon Press, $4.95 pb Reviewed by William G. Enright, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Glen Ellyn, 111.

Color me envious. In this book of Carl Dudley’s he writes, “Small churches can’t thrive where people keep moving. But there is a place for small churches in a world where people plant their own trees.”

Ah, to be able to sit and be, relax and enjoy, have people call me by my first name, and forget church growth statistics.

What is the small church? It’s the largest representation of Christian experience in the world. Small churches have always outnumbered large churches from Paul to present times. Small churches are people. But, according to Dudley, at the bottom line the small church is money-strapped budgets, burdensome mortgages, anemic benevolences, and underpaid pastors.

Feisty is the word for the small church. It doesn’t know when to quit. It’s tough, durable, resilient, even obstinate. It’s a unique breed.

Dudley is no geneticist. He does not offer a formula for the cloning of an effective small church. He is a sociologist with gifts of hard-nosed analysis and savvy insight who writes, “The small congregation can be best understood as a primary group.” Like a family, personal relationships can be “hot, cruel, petty, and irrational.” And in these primary groups people care! The small church is like a single cell where everyone knows and cares about everyone else in the cell.

Small churches are the most abused and misunderstood segment of the Christian faith. They exist to care, not grow; yet pastors are trained to make churches grow. Consequently, small churches have a tendency for short pastorates. They don’t need magnetic preachers or competent administrators; they simply want pastors who care.

His book brought back memories for me because I grew up in a small church. But more important, Dudley has reminded me that many of the strengths of the small church should be present in my own larger church.

“In a big world, the small church has remained intimate.

In a fast world, the small church has been steady.

In an expensive world, the small church has remained plain.

In a complex world, the small church has remained simple.

In a rational world, the small church has kept feeling.

In a mobile world, the small church has been an anchor.

In an anonymous world, the small church calls us by name.”

A stimulating book like this makes my mind explode, and Dudley is a potpourri of ideas. Worship, personal study, the church kitchen, the custodian’s closet, the stewardship drive, the new members’ class, the long-range planning committee-now all look different to me.

Pastoral Care in the Black Church by Edward P. Wimberly

Abingdon Press,

$3.95

Reviewed by Marvin A. McMickle

Senior Pastor, St. Paul Baptist Church, Montclair, N.J.

Some of the most challenging and demanding forms of ministry fall to black pastors whose task and talent is to bring hope and encouragement to people living in the face of racism and on the periphery of society. Every facet of life for black Americans is conditioned by the realities of racism and discrimination. In his book, Pastoral Care In The Black Church, Edward Wimberly explores the methods and resources employed by black pastors to minister in the name of Jesus to those whom society has demeaned and excluded.

The book begins with a reference to the classical functions of pastoral care as presented by William Clebsch and Charles Jaekle in their book, Pastoral Care in Historical Perspective. These classical functions are healing, sustaining, guiding, and reconciling. These four pastoral functions serve as the backdrop against which Wimberly describes the approach to ministry employed by black pastors.

He contends that the main functions of black pastoral care have been only two of those four: sustaining and guiding. Wimberly rightly says that healing cannot be a function of black pastoral care because “racism and oppression have produced wounds in the black community that can be healed only to the extent that healing takes place in the structure of the total society.” Hence, because healing was not possible, in accordance with the Clebsch and Jaekle theory, sustaining methods were employed.

Wimberly then places the work of reconciliation under the methodology of sustaining. However, he does not approach reconciliation from the traditional theological basis in which reconciliation reunites man and God who have been separated due to man’s sinfulness. Instead, he says that “reconciliation must be viewed in the context of the oppression and powerlessness of black people. Because of oppression, union with God has meant uniting with the source of the power of the universe for the purposes of being supported and sustained in life. “

This forging of a relationship between a powerless people and an all-powerful God has been the major source of hope and comfort for black people in America. However, Wimberly commits a theological error when he refers to this forging process as reconciliation. First of all, the biblical understanding of the doctrine of reconciliation has always been believed in black churches. Second, liberation theology, which Wimberly employs as the theological base for all pastoral care, contends that God acts not in response to our sins, but in response to our oppression. This use of the doctrine of reconciliation in seeking to describe the relationship between God and black people could blind many of us to what is a critical component of religious faith among black Christians.

Another insight made by Wirnberly is that “pastoral care is a communal concept.” It is the task not only of the pastor but of the whole church: “Pastoral care is defined as the bringing to bear upon persons and families in crisis the total caring resources of the church.”

This is an important point because, as he suggests, many of the economic, educational, and socio-political resources of American society have historically been inaccessible to black Americans. As a result of this exclusion, a multitude of groups, programs, policies, and church offices were created within black churches. These aided black people in facing problems, gaining job skills, using their natural talents, and becoming members of a well-defined, social structure regulated by values and moral principles. Wimberly is correct when he says, “It is precisely in the mobilization of its support systems resources that the genius of the black church can be exploited.” Apart from the style of worship, the most distinctive feature of most black churches is the large number of clubs, choirs, and other organizations. Whatever their contribution to the local church may be, they serve primarily to bring a sense of belonging and identity to persons long excluded by society.

Wimberly is at his best setting the scene in which black pastoral care occurs. The weakness of this book is that in every case study employed to show the unique ways black pastors approach their work, the methodologies highlighted could just as easily be those used by any caring pastor of any color. Indeed, the whole book limps between what is common rnethodology for any pastor and what is unique to black pastors. However, since the historical analysis and the tips on proper pastoral care are both so carefully presented, this book is profitable for black or white readers alike.

Copyright © 1980 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.

Pastors

Caught in the Middle

Wayne L. Jacobsen

How can staff members be true to themselves and follow a leader with whom they disagree?

| have known:

-the helplessness of having something to share with the congregation and no opportunity to do so until the passing of time dulls the excitement.

-the anxiety of watching decisions being made that I don’t agree with, seeing how others may be hurt by them.

-the anguish of self-pity that tells me my contributions are going unnoticed as I see people giving all their appreciation to the pastor.

-the frustration of hearing from a secretary that a decision I made two days ago has been reversed.

And I’m not alone. Anyone who has ever served as a staff member of a church has known the same feelings. The staff member fills a unique position.

He leads without being the leader; he pastors without being the pastor.

While I was responsible for the administration of the church staff, a conflict that apparently had been brewing for months between two secretaries came to my attention. I sat down with them to talk through their differences. Over a half hour period each of them expressed the suspicions, fears, and dissatisfaction they felt toward each other’s behavior and attitude. When they finished, I laid out a course of direction to resolve the conflict.

One secretary didn’t like my solution and appealed to the pastor. After hearing only her side of the story, he implemented his own solution without consulting me. I felt shot down. Why had I even bothered with it? How could I supervise effectively when my plan was so easily overridden, and my contribution wasn’t even considered?

Experiences like this happen regularly. I’m constantly aware that many of the people I counsel would rather see the pastor. Even though I try to do my homework, many of my suggestions are tossed aside with little consideration. The ideas I’d like to develop often go by the wayside as more pressing matters get tossed on my desk. I have sat brokenly staring out my office window, wondering if being a staff member is really worth it.

I get caught in the middle. Jealousy, competition, miscommunication, and personality differences put me there. But more specifically, I feel caught between two forces. I must be true to myself and God’s call for my life while answering to the leadership of my superiors-whether it’s the pastor, the board, committees, or all three forces at once. My position doesn’t allow me the luxury of answering to only one of these pressures, and rarely do they all point in the same direction.

For example, a fellow staff member had just cleared his schedule with some non-urgent but important ministry responsibilities, when the pastor walked in with an assignment that “needed immediate attention.” The pastor had promised the local ministerium that his church would provide a volunteer group to minister at a downtown mission. “It shouldn’t be much trouble to find some people who will help,” he said. “Will you get them trained and then set up a rotating schedule for involvement?”

The staff member was caught between dual responsibilities. Though he’s expected to achieve certain basic ministry goals, he doesn’t have the authority to refuse implementing the immediate commitments made by his superiors. He’s torn between achieving the goals for which he was hired, and achieving his superior’s goals for which he has little expertise and interest.

In extreme cases, the staff member feels caught between what he knows will work in specific ministry situations, and the mindset of the fellowship. I know a youth pastor who was frustrated by the lifeless style of worship in his church. The congregation merely sat as spectators while all the action was on the platform. He suggested that more participation by the congregation in the worship services would encourage the young people to become as involved in services as they were in the youth group. But when his suggestion was constantly overruled, he felt trapped between telling the youth group that he was in conflict with the pastor about the worship style, and trying to head off the formation of a subcongregation of young people who despised the church services.

Can ministry flow from someone caught between his own insights and the decisions of others? It’s possible if the staff member realizes that he must adjust to points of ministry conflict and frustration. Every situation of external conflict must first be resolved internally, where it begins and develops. While there is so much that the pastor and the congregation can do to help a staff member function fruitfully, the search for a non-frustrating, productive ministry must begin in his own heart.

A Staff Member’s Priority

“He’s wrong! Dead wrong! And I’m going to see that it changes,” declared a frantic staff member over the phone. “What do I do? We have too many commitments now; I know we shouldn’t launch a television ministry, but the pastor’s going to do it anyway. I’ve talked to several others in the congregation who agree with me.”

I listened to this person’s anguish as he went on and on about the details. Feeling responsible as one of the shepherds of the flock, he was distressed over strapping another financial burden on the back of an already overloaded congregation. He had talked to the pastor and had gotten nowhere. Now he was rallying support in the congregation. Seeds of conflict had been sown by his conversations, and sides were forming. No matter how commendable his objective, his tactics rendered it worthless. He had violated one of God’s priorities for the church.

What is that priority? One only has to make a cursory reading of Philippians to catch Paul’s heart on the matter. “Make my joy complete by being of the same mind. Maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose” (Phil. 2:2). His utmost concern was that the church would find unity under the lordship of Jesus. Unilateral agreement on every detail was less important than whether people were getting along with each other. While he grieved over the mistakes and weaknesses present in the body, he hated factions and divisions. He knew that for a church to move cohesively, graciously, and effectively to share the love of God, it must move in unity. As the church develops, it will take on varying expressions to meet different needs and opportunities. Everyone won’t always agree on all issues because everyone is growing at a different rate. Paul knew that love must be the basis of unity.

The same priority must affect all staff relationships. The body cannot be united unless its leadership exemplifies unity. Any attempts to resolve conflict in the church must begin with this understanding. The temptation to ignore this foundational principle tugs at us from every direction. As staff members it’s easy to subtly seek perfection as a greater priority than unity. We struggle to implement our “good” ideas even when they create conflict. We so desperately want things to be just right that we unknowingly cross the bounds of unity. My friend who was struggling with a church television ministry is a case in point. He may have been right; but is creating a division in the body a valid means to accomplish his end?

Factions create a carnal framework from which nothing can be accomplished. Conflicting voices in leadership only cancel each other out, leaving each person more intransigent in his own position and the followers confused. Unity must have priority over perfection, for it is only through unity that righteousness will grow. As our love and respect for each other is compromised, we lose our ability to grow together. Change needs to be brought about by realizing that our relationships with each other are more important than who is right or wrong.

There are proper places to share our differences and we must take advantage of them. For staff members, the proper time is in staff meetings or private discussions. Controversy among the leadership cannot be paraded before the congregation. The place for resolution is with one another. Staff meetings need to be so designed that each one can openly voice convictions, even though opinions may be diametrically opposed. This can only happen if each person is committed to leave the meeting with undaunted respect and love for one another, and determined to support and implement the decision that was made.

For the staff member, this usually means supporting the decision reached by the pastor. It can be frustrating, for there is no place of appeal if your ideas are turned down. To bring protest to various segments of the body would only violate its unity. It is especially difficult to be supportive when others in the church ask if you agree with the announced recommendation. Should the new building seat 600 or the recommended 1000? If I think 600 is best and so does this person asking me, what do I do?-I become the best advocate of 1000 seats there is. Is that dishonest? Not if it comes from realizing that fragmentation is more harmful to the church than the eternally insignificant matter of 400 extra seats.

With unity as the priority, differences are resolved in line with the way the church is structured. What I do with the differences of insight and opinion is determined by the place I have in the fellowship. That is why it is so important that staff members have a clear understanding of their place of ministry. Learning to function “caught in the middle” only comes by understanding the parameters in which they labor.

A Staff Member’s Place

At a staff luncheon recently, the pastor asked us to pray for him as he reevaluated the biblical role of elders in the church. This prayer request spawned immediate and spontaneous discussion on the matter. We talked about some of the problems we faced with our elders and some of the questions that Scripture raised about their role. Whenever any staff member made a concrete suggestion or proposal, it was casually passed off. As I watched it happen I began to feel frustration. Here we were, the pastoral leadership of the body, trying to cuss an important problem, and we weren’t getting anywhere. Finally, we went on to other things. On the way back to the office another staff member expressed the frustration of knowing that none of us had been heard. Knowing that I wasn’t alone in my feelings, I asked the pastor about it the next time we were together. Did he really want us to just pray, or was he desiring our input? He told me that he wasn’t looking to us for answers; he did, how ever, strongly desire our prayers as he worked his way through the Scriptures.

No wonder we weren’t being heard! He wanted to come to his own conclusion. My frustration was put into perspective Failing to understand my place, I had generated a lot of unnecessary frustration . Once I realized and accepted the place I was being given, there was no feeling of “put down.” I may have wanted to have greater input, but that’s a completely different matter.

The pastor and staff member must work together to make sure that clarity exists between them. Though it is the pastor’s responsibility to provide an effective plan for his staff, the staff member shares the responsibility for clarity.

It is important to note that the pastor determines the way things will be, and the staff member must learn to deal with things the way they are. I may want to have more input to the decision that is being made concerning eldership, but that doesn’t change things. Many staff members waste valuable time and effort worrying about how things should be or how past decisions should have been made. Outside of sharing his feelings with the pastor as opportunities permit, the staff member has no other responsibility. To wallow in frustration only serves to detract from his ministry.

Though clarity should be established when a staff member is recruited, it must constantly be worked at as long as the relationship exists. No matter how much effort is put into defining a job description, rarely does it cover all the bases. Some things are inadvertently omitted, others change with time, and still others are indefinable. A comprehensive understanding of a staff member’s role will continually unfold. A staff retreat every six to twelve months is an excellent way to maintain sharp clarity, but it will not remove the necessity of daily communication.

Two areas must be examined in providing a base for clarity: first, the formal job description, and second, the informal relationship that exists between a staff member and the pastor. The most important ingredient for this clarity comes from an understanding of the responsibility the staff member is to fulfill. Inherent in this understanding is the guiding pastor’s perception of what is needed. Is he looking for an assistant to do the things he can’t or doesn’t want to do? Is he looking for a trainee who can eventually take on larger responsibility? Is he looking for someone with proven expertise in a given area such as children’s ministry or counseling, so that he can delegate that responsibility? Or, is he looking to free others, in accordance with their calling, to touch the body in a variety of ways?

A staff can be structured many different ways but most are a mixture of the above. The pastor’s perceptions may not be the same for every staff member, for some of your peers may carry greater responsibility than others.

The best way to come to grips with a staff position is through a job description. A good one will include at least the following items:

A. The structure of the church organization and where the staff position fits in it.

B. The specific roles and responsibilities that need to be performed. Care must be taken to distinguish between roles and responsibilities. Counseling can be a role that is assigned, demanding an 8-to-5 schedule. Caring for the needs of the flock is a responsibility that defies any semblance of regular hours.

C. The levels of authority and lines of communication that must be understood for the execution of these tasks.

Clarity demands that the job description conform to the pastor’s perceived needs. A person employed to oversee Christian education shouldn’t be constantly asked to pick up the pastor’s “go-for” duties.

Understanding the church structure will help you settle into your niche. Be sure you have answers to the following questions:

A. Is the church run by one man, a board, consortium of leaders, or is it a democracy?

B. Who hired you-to whom do you answer- who has the authority to change your responsibilities or relieve you of them?

C. What duties must you perform-weekly, monthly, continually? What responsibilities do you carry alone, and which are shared?

D. What decisions need approval, and from whom?

E. When must you consult with others, and where are you free to function on your own with the insights you have?

F. From whom do you receive work and to whom can you delegate it?

G. If you are dissatisfied with the decision of another staff member that affects your area, when and how do you appeal it?

The clarity of a job description cannot be minimized, for it provides freedom for all concerned. Not only does it help solve problems, it prevents them from arising.

Not long ago our church started home fellowship groups to maintain closer contact among the people of the congregation. I was assigned to initiate and develop the program and then turn it over to another staff member to oversee. After the authority had been transferred, the pastor asked me if I would continue to make contact with the program and provide input where I thought it might be valuable. Mistakenly, the other staff member had not been informed though I assumed he had. Whenever I went to his office to talk about the fellowship groups and offer suggestions, I was met with an air of increasing tension. It continued to build over a period of months. Every time we were together it felt like a sparring match even though we tried to be tactful with each other. I thought he was trying to freeze me out because he didn’t want me to be involved. He, on the other hand, thought I didn’t regard him as competent. Our respect for one another began to diminish and affected our total relationship. The truth came out one day. Piqued with frustration I blurted out, “What’s wrong with you? Why are you being so stubborn?” The discussion became more intense as charges and countercharges were made. We finally uncovered the root of the problem. I told him what the pastor had said to me and he was shocked. He had never heard that before. We arranged to sit down with the- pastor and straighten everything out. Lack of clarity caused a series of conflicts that need not have happened.

The informal relationships that exist beyond the job description are important to understand, for they set the environment in which our task is performed. This cannot be objectively established; it must be subjectively observed and worked out. Its primary indicator is personal relationships with other leaders in the body, primarily the pastor. Does the church lean toward impersonal organizational patterns, or are personal relationships encouraged? Are you pressured by formal structures and procedures, or is there more of an informal team spirit? I doubt that a staff can be strong without healthy, informal personal relationships. Pastor and staff members need to relate to each other beyond church business and professional encounters. If you’re facing problems, does your pastor care to hear about them, or does he want you to resolve them alone? Is he concerned about you as an individual, or is he only concerned about your performance? Are problems discussed and resolved only in an organizational framework, or are there opportunities for prayer together?

Such questions might help the staff member to uncover the informal structure in which he serves. I have known staff members who have craved an intense, personal relationship, but have found that their pastor is coolly professional. The more they tried to create such a relationship, the more frustrated they became, for the pastor did not want to carry such a relationship.

The value of close, informal but professional relationships cannot be overestimated. A staff which lacks personal involvement with one another usually grows further apart, each one becoming more concerned about his own task and losing sight of the value of cooperation. A bureaucracy develops where no one can represent or support another because no one knows what anyone else is thinking Unity, clarity, and strong personal relationships are vital to a growing, effective ministry. All other ways pale in comparison.

A Staff Member’s Posture

Having embraced unity as God’s priority for the local church, and having discovered the place you are to fill, what should your posture be when conflicts arise? The answer comes not by looking at all the things you could do, but by concentrating on the things you can do. Where do you have opportunity to serve? Then serve there with all your heart. It’s the only way to avoid frustration. Jesus is our prime example. He took upon himself the limitations of time and space in his habitation of flesh. He couldn’t be everywhere at the same time; he couldn’t spend a long time with everyone he met; he couldn’t enjoy the vantage point of heaven while he walked among us. Yet he could still say to his Father when it was over, “I have accomplished the work which Thou hast given me to do” (John 17:4). With all these limitations, he was still able to fulfill the will of God. He was free to function in the reality of his circumstances. He wasn’t preoccupied with all he might be able to do, but with what he could do.

I talked with a young pastor recently from another congregation. He was bothered by the prejudices he saw in the people under his care which made them cold toward new people coming to his class. In one of his sessions, he attacked the problem at its most obvious point-the strong denominational ties that bred suspicion and intolerance. Though he may have been right, he was, not surprisingly, called before the board. “What should I do?” he asked me. Then he added gallantly, “I can’t live with that kind of censorship.”

“Isn’t there some other way you could have approached the problem?” I asked. “If prejudice is the problem, aren’t there other ways you could have approached it without attacking the ‘sacred cow’ of denominationalism?” As we talked, we concluded that showing how the love of God reaches others, regardless of their background, would have effected a better result. If that message hit home, it would spill over on their denominational pride. A class session on love and openness would have gained the favor and blessing of the pastor and other influential members of the congregation. It’s surprising to see the amount of ministry that can be accomplished and appreciated if we’re not preoccupied by our limitations to see our opportunities.

But suppose the problem is so severe that to yield to it would compromise your integrity? Should you press for change?

Self-assertion is neither an effective nor a proper tool for resolving controversy. If it is your place to bring change, try and develop it through love, not force. If love doesn’t accomplish it, there is no other recourse. As said earlier, the only place to resolve differences for staff members is in private consultation with the leadership.

If, however, you can’t function with the limitations imposed on your ministry, then it is time for you to leave-quietly! Gallant, last-stand actions or “I left my job because of principle” statements have no room in the church unless it concerns gross immorality or obvious heresy. This is not without biblical precedent. I know of two men who in doing what they felt the Lord wanted them to do had to go their separate ways. One felt John Mark was an excellent brother to use in the ministry; the other didn’t because of a past failure. However, Paul and Barnabas could go their own ways, each fulfilling their ministries without running down the other. But if every point of limitation became an excuse to leave, there would be no staff members.

There is another alternative. It’s apparent in Scripture that God will sacrifice a lot of form to preserve ministry. After the church had declared that circumcision was not necessary for Christians (Acts 15), Timothy allowed himself to be circumcised so that he could effectively minister to those who might be offended. His freedom led him to endure the weaknesses of others in order to touch their lives. The staff member may have to lay down his rights and freedoms so that he may still serve the body in which he’s been placed.

You need to realize that it is God who is responsible to release your ministry. If it can’t happen in your present location, then God has the responsibility to remove you. Don’t seek leaving as a way out, but neither should you stay too long. If you can’t adjust, don’t keep griping-leave. Being part of a growing church, having a stable salary, and finding receptivity with a lot of people should not prevent you from moving on when the time is right.

As a staff member, being caught in the middle presents two possibilities: unending frustration or effective service. The determining factor is the ability to deal with internal conflicts before they become external problems that erode ministry and leadership. Where problems exist, they must be identified and corrected. Prolonged crises only lead to frustration and eventual futility.

By the very nature of the role, you, as a staff member, are caught in the middle. You needn’t try to change that. However, you can learn to function in the middle with freedom and joy, touching the lives of many people with fruitful service.

Copyright © 1980 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.

Pastors

When the Alligators Are Snapping

Ben Patterson

Dealing with conflict that threatens to tear a small church apart.

Oakland A's manager Billy Martin has a formula for managerial success which he expressed in a recent issue of Sports Illustrated. "You'll have fifteen guys who will run through a wall for you, five who hate you, and five who are undecided. The trick is keeping the five who hate you away from the five who are undecided."

There have been times in the past four years, four months, and twenty-two days—precisely the period of time that I have been a pastor—that I have felt like a graduate of the Billy Martin School of Church Management. To be honest, trying to write this article on conflict has been a bit like not having enough time to read the marvelous book on time management I bought six years ago. I feel that I must know a lot about conflict because I have been so involved in it. But I can't seem to get out of it long enough to reflect on what I think I must be learning. As the saying goes, "When you're up to your posterior in alligators, you don't think about draining the swamp."

This may be more true of a small church than a large church. Large churches may have all kinds of different groups and individuals in conflict with one another, but they often have a way of absorbing it all; or as some would say, they can co-opt conflict. Like old man river, they just keep rolling along. Small churches, on the other hand, have too many opportunities for the conflicting parties to keep meeting one another, or colliding, as the case may be. And their conflict has much greater potential to rend the tender fabric of the body. For the small church, it is much harder to keep the five who hate you, or it, away from those who are undecided.

How then is the small church to regard conflict? My Old Testament seminary professor once suggested that someone should attempt to write a theology of conflict. At the time his suggestion sounded foolish and superfluous to me. But not now. What follows will hardly qualify as a theology of conflict—it's those alligators again—but perhaps it will serve as a little pump at the edge of the swamp.

First, what do I mean when I use the word conflict? I mean a protracted struggle, clash, fight, opposition between personalities, ideas, and interests. Key here is the word protracted. Differences, even clashes, between parties in a church do not in themselves constitute conflict of a destructive kind. They can be signs of vitality in a congregation. It is when they defy peaceful resolution and become protracted and entrenched in the life of a church that they become sinful and destructive. It is in this latter sense that I use the word conflict.

Second, why is there church conflict in the first place? It's because we church people are sinners. "What causes wars, and what causes fightings among you?" asks James. "Is it not your passions that are at war in your members? You desire and do not have; so you kill. And you covet and do not obtain; so you fight and wage war" (James 4:1). Church conflict will always find its roots in our passion to make ourselves-our needs, our opinions, our group, our goals, our theology-the center of the universe.

Clarence Jones, a basketball player for Tulane, recalled a high school basketball game against Darryl Dawkins of the Philadelphia 76'ers. "We were lined up for a free throw and Darryl turned to me and said, 'If you get the ball I'm going to smash your head against the backboard.' I didn't get the ball," said Jones. There's a childlike simplicity in Dawkins straightforward statement. It gets right down to theological basics. We have all approached God and other people in the same way Dawkins went for the ball; some of us perhaps more subtly and symbolically, but nevertheless in ultimately the same way. The wages for that style of play may be high in the NBA, but they mean conflict and possible spiritual death in the church.

The roots of conflict are also planted in our cultural soil. A significant part of that soil is our demand for instant gratification and the immediate solution of problems. As we American Christians have been reminded ad nauseum, we live in the "now" generation. At McDonald's we buy fasffoods and at Sears we buy microwave ovens or television sets whose weekly programs pose great human dilemmas and mysteries, all to be solved in 60 to 90 minutes, excluding commercial breaks.

All of our buying can be done on little plastic cards that promise instant credit, instant gratification, the satisfaction of all needs, the killing of all boredom. And lest we feel a little tongue-tied in the face of all this, there are signs telling us "Just say, 'Charge it.' " To all this the media adds its weekly opinion polls and 45-second "in-depth" analyses designed to evoke instant responses and quick decisions.

Behold now the local; church with its garden-variety mixture of sinners saved by grace, all representing various needs and points of view that must be brought into the harmony of the Spirit and the unity of the body of Christ through committees, commissions, boards, and sessions. Real-life conflicts here, as elsewhere, are not solved by just saying "Charge it," nor will they be solved in ninety minutes. On the contrary, such a mentality ensures

that the conflicts will not be solved, but will be exacerbated. The perseverance and tenacity required to resolve differences will be just another irritant in the already irritating situation.

Many American Christians respond to this situation by loving it or leaving it, shutting up or going to another church; or better yet, starting up their own church. "We sleep in separate rooms, we have dinner apart, we take separate vacations," says comedian Rodney Dangerfield. "We're doing everything to keep our marriage together." That seems more and more to be Love, American style; and it certainly characterizes Christian unity, American style. As loyalties narrow and our capacity to tolerate pluralism diminishes, new Christian groups proliferate. Ours is the age of single-issue politics and single-issue churches. Here in Southern California it is a buyers' market in churches. What are you "into"? Look long enough and you'll find a congregation "into" it too. If your tastes are extremely discriminating you can start a house church in an 800-square foot condominium. It's sure to be big enough. Conflict? Who needs it? Just move out West, young man.

In the space of one week last fall, I met with one person who was leaving the church because I was too liberal, and another who was leaving because I was too conservative. I suggested that both start carrying shopping lists in their Bibles when they go church hunting. While I am convinced that I'm doing something "radical" by staying in a so-called mainline denomination, splitting off and forming another group when differences arise would be as American as apple pie.

What we need is a new mindset toward conflict. Paul calls it the mind of Christ. What he is referring to is not so much an intellectual system on how to deal with conflict or a manual for church fights; he exhorts the church to look at what Christ did when he laid aside his rights as God's equal, emptied himself, and lived the life of a servant in our midst. Paul writes, "So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any incentive in love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy" (Phil. 2:2–4).

What the apostle is saying to these people is that the next time they find themselves squaring off in a fighter's stance they should switch to a servant's posture. For that is what the mind of Christ is more than anything else—a posture, kneeling and washing one another's feet. It's loving and giving as we have been loved and given to.

Paul clearly thinks that this will do wonders for dealing with conflict in the church. For if they are trying to out-do one another in servant love, they won't be doing one another in over differences of opinion or lifestyle.

We American Christians need to hear this at least as much as did the Philippians. But since we are so suspicious of anything that smacks of kow-towing or slavery, perhaps the best way to approach the subject is by way of negation.

There are at least three things this attitude of a servant does not mean. It does not mean that conflict is resolved in a Christ-like manner by one party becoming the doormat for the other. To be a servant like Christ presupposes that you have a high view of yourself. He was by nature God. He knew it, but did not regard equality with God a thing to be clung to. Instead, he let go and poured himself out and became a servant, even to the extent of dying. It was because of this, not in spite of this, that God so highly exalted him. The resurrection and ascension of Christ were not simply God's reward for a dirty job well done, but were his supreme vindication of the things that Christ did. God gave his stamp of approval. He said, in effect, "This is the way I get my work done!"

Christ's ministry was a living demonstration of his teaching that the man who loses his life is the one who finds it. The point here for us is that in a conflict situation we need not fear that we will be swallowed up if we adopt a servant's posture, and perhaps relax our grip on our point of view. In this we may achieve the larger end of preserving the unity of the church or to encourage a brother or sister to love Christ more deeply. We serve as Christ served from a position of strength, not weakness. "We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak," says the apostle Paul. "Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to edify him" (Rom. 14:1, 2). I wonder how many conflicts in churches are never peacefully resolved due simply to the basic insecurity of the parties involved?

The attitude of a servant also does not mean that the truth of the gospel be compromised. A few verses later, Paul, after having urged the Philippians toward the unity of mutual servanthood, speaks of the Judaizers and says, "Look out for the dogs. Look out for the evil workers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh" (3:2). Those are hardly kind words, but they are the words of a servant; for to be a servant of Christ and his church must mean to preserve the integrity of the gospel. The trick for us is to know when to cry "Look out for the dogs" and when to keep our mouths shut and let sleeping dogs lie, so to speak. I am afraid we have historically been paranoid about dogs. "Unity in essentials, liberty in nonessentials, love in all things," reads the dictum. Could it be that our list of essentials is longer than the New Testament's?

To have the attitude of a servant is not to be afraid of differences of opinion. Indeed, it is servants who can most tolerate differences because their potential for conflict has been diffused. To adapt a phrase by Henry Steele Commager: Churches, like democracies, must have criticism to flourish. To function, they must have dissent. The alternative is cultism. For many Christians "one mind" has been the group-think of Orwell's 1984. The one mind Paul speaks of is the mind of Christ, which laid aside his prerogatives in order to be a servant. You can't rock the boat if you are rowing. But you can speak out in dissent as one wholeheartedly committed to the boat and to the integrity of its course, and stop rowing only as a last resort.

I think it's significant that one symbol for the church is that of a ship. It is a ship much bigger than its individual passengers, bigger even than the sum total of them put together. It belongs to its captain and it is ultimately his responsibility to bring it safely into port. That ought to help us all relax a bit and stop thinking that our opinions and determinations are all that important. It's presumption to do otherwise. It's hubris of the first magnitude to take our response to the gospel and begin to confuse it with the gospel itself.

Well, can this be done? Is it possible to "be angry but not sin" (Eph. 4:26)? Last year I sat across the room from one of the elders of the church I pastor. We were glaring at one another and I was trembling with rage. We had disagreed and disagreed. During the session meetings we slipped automatically into adversary positions toward one another. That evening I had gone to his house to try to improve the situation. But our talk quickly degenerated into another verbal sparring match and I was ready to turn it into a physical one.

What could be done? There seemed no place to go but to start the First Church of Ben Patterson, corner of Sectarianism and Schism. I don't remember which one of us asked the question, but it was like a shaft of light in a dark cave; "Can we set aside our egos in order to serve the Kingdom?" The tension began to drain out of my body. Bruce Larson is right. He says we people in the church are like porcupines in a snowstorm. We need each other to keep warm, but we prick each other if we get too close. But there is One who can stand between us. Bonhoeffer is also right. He said Christ is the mediator between not only God and man, but between man and man; and, I would add, man and his opinions. He has taken upon his own body the wounds we would deliver to one another. In Christ I no longer have immediacy with anything or anyone, not even myself. The blows and hostility I deliver must pass through his heart before they reach my brother. The opinions I cling to so tenaciously must be in him, through him. Is anything worth rending the body of Christ, his church?

Were it not for his presence in our midst, the call to peace and unity, to "do nothing from selfishness or conceit," would be an intolerable burden to bear. In the musical The Sound of Music, Maria teaches the children how to overcome their fears in the midst of a violent thunderstorm. She tells them to remember their favorite things, things like "raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens." When she does this she loses her fear and her sorrow. It works for the children too. Later on, Maria leaves them because she is frightened and confused over her love for their 4 father. The children are inconsolable. One day they try to cheer themselves up by singing once again their "favorite things." They get a few lines into the song and the smallest girl speaks up. "It only makes me sadder to sing without Maria here."

So it is with God's call to unity in Christ. Passages like Philippians 2 and Corinthians 13 are lists of God's favorite things. And were it not for him with us, they would drive us to despair. As Lewis Smedes puts it in Lore Within Limits the love of God is not an ideal but a power. He would enable us before he obligates us.

Copyright © 1980 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.

Pastors

LETTERS

We haven't decided yet whether or not we'll have a regular letters section-but we couldn't resist showing you at least a page of the response to our first issue. By actual count, the mail ran more than fifty to one highly favorable. We figured you wouldn't mind, therefore, if we ran just the following selected kudos:

"It's nice to know we're not alone. LEADERSHIP not only described our ministry situation, but gave us workable solutions from those with more experience."

Mr. and Mrs. Steven R. Doerr | St. Paul, Minnesota

"I rarely read a magazine from cover to cover. However, I was so encouraged, helped, and stimulated by LEADERSHIP that I had to send you a word of sincere thanks."

David D. Allen, Jr. | Richardson, Texas

"We have ordered subscriptions for all four of our staff members. That decision communicates my reaction to your quarterly."

Bruce Bell | Wichita, Kansas

"The cartoons are superb. I can conceive of a publication years hence entitled The Best of LEADERSHIP Humor."

Peter Veltman | Wheaton, Illinois

"My wife hasn't laid the first issue of LEADERSHIP down long enough for me to read it. She's usually not interested in magazines for the clergy, but LEADERSHIP is different. It scratches where you itch."

G.L. Johnson | Fresno, California

"I have marked and underlined my copy. It would have been great to have had such a journal thirtytwo years ago when I first entered the ministry."

J. David Schmidt, Sr.

"I've just reviewed the first issue of LEADERSHIP. I m excited. It has the feel of a management book."

Robert A. Crandall | Winona Lake, Indiana

"Someone "stole" my copy of LEADERSHIP. Would you please send me another?"

Leighton Ford | Charlotte, N. Carolina

"LEADERSHIP is the best practical magazine I've ever read."

Bill Messer | Lawrenceburg, Kansas

"Your promise was fulfilled in the first issue. Theological education isn't enough to prepare us for a thorough understanding of power and authority-the warp and woof of pastoral life."

David C. Fisher | Bloomington, Minnesota

"Thanks for the interview with Fred Smith. I first met him thirteen years ago at a Laymen's Leadership Institute. I'll never forget his definition of hell. He said, 'Hell is having God show you all of the opportunities you missed.'"

Wilbert Eichenberger | Garden Grove, California

"The cartoons are terrific. Are they available to be purchased? I'd like to put them on our bulletin board."

Judson Baldwin | Stuarts Draft, Virginia

"The first issue came while I was out of town. My son saw it first and immediately read "Reflections of a Preacher's Kid." Then my wife saw it and read "Ministers Wives: The Walking Wounded." Finally I got to see it. Thanks for ministering to my family."

Dwight W. Bland | Flint, Michigan

"The first issue is terrific! Enclosed is a check for six more copies."

A. F. Volmer | Los Gatos, California

"Frankly, LEADERSHIP exceeded my expectations-and they were high indeed!"

Ted Engstrom | Monrovia, California

"Every article was well-written and useful. Your format resembles the Harvard Business Review. Excellent!"

Peter T. Simeone

"I'm a charter subscriber to Christianity Today and happy to be the same for LEADERSHIP."

C. Orville Kool | Sioux City, Iowa

"I was so impressed by The Ministry's Gordian Knot that I had excerpts typed up and stenciled for all of our church leaders."

Ron Swafford | Melbourne, Florida

"You have encouraged me to keep LEADERSHIP on my shelf as a permanent reference volume. Keep up the good work."

Max E. Anders | Fayetteville, Georgia

"LEADERSHIP is a publication whose time has come. Solid leadership is greatly lacking in our time and I feel you will help fill the void."

Jim Smoke | Tustin, California

"I hate waiting three months for another issue."

John Records | Oshkosh, Wisconsin

"A busy pastor must decide what materials merit reading time. LEADERSHIP has easily made its way into my schedule."

Forrest N. Stroup | Brandon, Manitoba

Copyright © 1980 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.

Pastors

Building Trust Between Pastor and Congregation

Roy C. Price

What can be done about the fact that in many churches a pastoral crisis occurs about every 18 months?

I had been in the church only a few weeks when the message was as clear as a highway billboard with flashing spotlights: “We don’t trust you.” Not everyone felt that way, but I knew I was on trial. The next three years were among the most agonizing I’d spent in twenty-two years of pastoral work. The attendance dropped each year, and with it, a loss of receipts. Two years in a row yielded red ink reports. There was little visible response to the messages-our traditional barometer. I became aware that one leader wanted to find another pastor.

For the first time in my ministry, I chose not to run from the problem. But, the inner agony I experienced was tremendous. Doubts of all sorts flooded my mind. Did God call me to this church or did I act . impulsively? Was I called to pastoral work at all? Maybe I ought to throw in the towel and take up another field of work. Everything I tried to do seemed fruitless. Evangelism programs brought literally no results. For every new person gained it seemed two left.

During this period of time I had to ask one of my staff members to find another place to serve, a task I never imagined I’d face. The church board had agreed to allow me to buy a home when I first discussed a call with them. They later reversed that decision, citing low attendance and finances as reasons. All of this came as a personal ego-blow and a challenge to my ability to lead. At the root of the problems was a lack of trust in me. I had failed to evoke trust on the interpersonal level and as a pastoral leader.

Why don’t people trust their pastors or church leadership? Many times it’s simply because they have been burned. Dishonesty heads the list of culprits. It covers a large scope of things from withholding information to manipulative techniques. For example, one pastor claimed a vision from God to validate a fund raising idea. His laymen had difficulty refuting the plan. They didn’t like the idea, but they submitted with a wait-and-see attitude- how could they fight God? It did not take long for them to realize they had been manipulated and trust was undermined.

That wasn’t the kind of thing I was doing. I was not pulling tricks out of a hat or pursuing amorous delights. Nor was I aware of possessing a Napoleonic complex. But I was new. They did not know me and I did not know them. Thus they didn’t trust me.

One day I mentioned to a woman my frustration over not being trusted. She said, “Do you really expect people to automatically trust you because you were called here?”

“I thought that came with the job,” I said.

“Some of us have been burned and we need time to get to know you,” she responded.

Nearly four years later I learned the story behind her statements. Her husband was a PK. The presbytery where his dad ministered became dominated by a leftist group of seminary professors and pastors. He battled the issues as an involved layman. He watched with anger as his father’s stand for conservative theology was gradually discredited.

A few years later this same PK went through a hellish nightmare with a close neighbor. The neighbor had been very active in a local church; he had gone to bat to get the pastor a significant salary increase and actively supported pastoral programs. Then he found that the pastor was carrying on an affair with his wife. My friend not only spent hours with his neighbor helping him through this traumatic crisis, but he had to battle his own feelings of antagonism toward clergymen. While I was not involved in either situation, they affected his attitude toward me. Others had destroyed trust in the clergy that I had assumed was already mine.

I have come to some conclusions about how trust is developed between people. It parallels man’s relationship with God. Trust is defined as “a firm belief in the honesty, truthfulness, justice or power of a person or thing.” The Greek word for faith is similar. Pistis is a “firm persuasion, a conviction based upon hearing.” Why can we trust God? Because he is honest. Because history has proven the reliability of his Word. There are two bases for this confidence. One is the holiness of God’s character. The other is his faithfulness. Fulfilled prophecy, the history of Israel, and the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ combine to emphatically state that God is faithful. He can be trusted to do what he says he will do. Knowing this, I hope for a future of blessedness. As A. W. Tozer said, “The tempted, the anxious, the fearful, the discouraged may all find new hope and good cheer in the knowledge that our Heavenly Father is faithful.”

Holiness and faithfulness are qualities we too can share. God commands us to be holy. Since holy means “to be whole,” it is a synonym for integrity. Moral wholeness means keeping our promises, being honest in all personal and business transactions, and maintaining moral purity.

Why can’t our word be as good as God’s? Isn’t that what Jesus meant when he said our yes should be yes and our no, no? We need not swear by heaven or earth. To promise to remember someone in prayer just to acquiesce to a request is not honest. We must be faithful to our commitments: in ministry, finances, conversation, and with our family.

Recently, my associate paid me the highest compliment I have ever received. “If there’s one word I would choose to characterize you,” he said, “it would be integrity.” I asked him why. He cited these instances: When he candidated for the position of associate, I was quite candid about the problems in the church. I did not conceal my personal struggles or the church’s deep needs. He felt I could have “snowed” him with the positive and sidestepped the negative, but to him that would have diminished my integrity.

In contrast, he told me about a pastor who always talked about the great things in his church until my associate would be subject to feelings of personal failure. But when he talked with the assistant pastor, an entirely different picture emerged. It’s that flat dishonesty that hurts a man’s integrity.

My associate also pointed out how I relate to people whom I know are dissatisfied with me. Although I’m friendly, I don’t pretend we’re best friends. He called it “warmth with reserve.” To him it was better than pretending there was no dissatisfaction.

The last thing he mentioned was my transparency to him and the congregation regarding my strengths and weaknesses. Well, I was feeling pretty good by this time. Then he said that if I were to preach on hospitality in the home, he would inwardly react by saying, “Wait a minute, Roy. You need to be a better model before you exegete that subject.” I have hidden behind various justifications; my wife’s work helps pay for college costs (two of them) and she doesn’t have the time or energy for entertaining many guests. I think our reasons are legitimate, yet his observation is equally valid.

Submission to authority is a part of integrity. When the centurion came to Jesus for his servant’s healing, he asked the Lord to just speak the word and it would be done. Referring to his own authority as a commanding officer, he said he could assign a man to a task and it would be done. What was the source of his authority? He was in submission to the one over him. “I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me.” He knew Jesus had an integrity that came from submission to authority. The result was a power in ministry that the centurion recognized.

I recently asked the board for permission to lead a tour group to Israel. On my own I had booked the tour and had begun recruitment when I became aware of a board member’s reservation about it. I reacted. I was reimbursing the church for all postage, stationery, and clerical time, and I was taking vacation time to go. Why should I bring it to the board? Because it is over me.

I submitted.

Later, I learned that a leading pastor in our city had developed a large tour business a few years ago. The press had picked up on it and made it front-page news. Later, I learned that though he had done it with full board approval, the matter was not adequately communicated to the congregation. My board member was only seeking my protection. The lesson was simple: be open and trusting with your board and it will protect you.

Integrity is not a one-shot transaction. Consistency makes integrity active day after day. When I ran into problems in former churches, I conveniently found God calling me to other places of ministry. By sticking it out this time, I have won the confidence of the congregation. Several members have written encouraging notes expressing appreciation for my perseverance. Sensitive and supportive people exist in every church. One anonymous note read, “I appreciate your courage and persistence during a time of great stress.” I needed that.

Lewis B. Smedes said, “Personal integrity in a minister is an indispensable quality, yet it comes only with great struggle. … Dulling the cutting edge of honesty is really very easy. Masks get comfortable very soon. Roles are learned terribly fast.

Ministerial cosmetics go on quickly.” A pastor who keeps to the basics will earn respect and trust over the long haul, while the magnetic smooth-talker fumbles his way to another parish.

Southern Baptists have found that a pastoral crisis occurs about every eighteen months of ministry. An interesting corollary is that S.B.C. pastors move on the average of every 18-20 months. In the Alliance church the average pastor only stays between three and four years. Inconsistency is a large part of this crisis.

Most pastors like to change existing programs and introduce new ones shortly after beginning a new ministry. I’ve found that you can only effectively change things after your consistency has laid a solid base of trust for you. Without that base, the congregation can become alienated and create a pastoral crisis for you.

A lay leader took me to lunch one day. While talking about the concerns of the church he opened my eyes when he commented, “Pastor, let us get to know you before you try to change things.” He was pleading for the development of trust so that change could be understood and accepted. Instituting adult electives, reorganizing the executive board, and launching a remodeling project had been too much, too soon. Concern about the changes was the outward manifestation of the problem. Trust was the real problem. Could I be believed? Was I a leader who knew what I was doing? Was I willing to slowly demonstrate my integrity?

These questions emphasize a parallel truth. It takes time to build trust because it takes time to know another person. Those of us-and I include myself emphatically-who do not have enough close and personal contact with our congregations face tremendous obstacles in developing trust. Lack of time, escalating transportation costs, and too many responsibilities are obstacles that must be overcome in developing a trust relationship with people. The PK I mentioned earlier waited for a respectable length of time before he committed himself to me. Time was needed. He has since become a close friend and confidant. Had I been a short-term pastor, the relationship would never have developed. How unfortunate that just when people and pastor are getting to know each other, he often terminates the romance.

Another contributing factor to building trust is transparency. Empathy aids transparency. People need to know that they matter and that their pastor cares about what is going on in their lives. Aloofness will not get a pastor into the heart of his people. It takes more than just understanding them. Jesus is a great high priest because he is touched with the feeling of our weaknesses. We trust him with our problems because we know he cares.

I am strongly committed to the Scripture as having directive answers for the needs of people. Yet, I have learned that helping is more than preaching and preaching is more helpful after listening. My chance to preach comes regularly; opportunities for the congregation to express their burdens and frustrations come only in personal conversation.

My wife and I were sitting in the living room one night. I laid down a book and we just talked. All evening we talked. When it was time to flick the light switch she said, “Thanks for listening.” It stunned me. This article is not about marital communications but I don’t know a better comparison to a pastor and his congregation. I’ve slowly learned to listen.

I listen in the foyer when greeting people and try to ask about something I am aware of in their families, jobs, or personal lives. I listen at committee meetings. I listen in personal conversation. I listen in counseling. By listening, I’ve nurtured trust. If the trust level is high enough, any suggestion or support I lend will likely be well received.

Respect for the rights and integrity of other people strengthens transparency. Am I consistently acknowledging the self worth of others? We must ask ourselves this question constantly if we are to encourage transparency in others.

Genuineness is fundamental to transparency. A. W. Tozer wrote of the disease of artificiality: preachers intoning their sermons with an unnatural voice or speaking with vagueness, and avoiding anything that might backfire on them. Tozer demanded: “Every man who stands to proclaim the Word should speak with something of the bold authority of the Word itself. The Bible is the book of supreme love, but it is at the same time altogether frank and downright. Its writers are never rude or unkind, but they are invariably honest and entirely sincere.”

Finally, genuineness requires that we lay aside our super-spiritual masks, our pseudo-superior roles as the clergy, and be what we are-people redeemed by the blood of Christ. Many will want us to play “the role,” and it is often safer to do so than it is to disclose our struggles. One study has stated that “appropriate self-disclosure has a large number of benefits: increased trust, increased liking (and often, loving), increased attraction, and increased mental health.” But those results carry the risk of rejection and loss of control over others.

Recently I became aware of the basic difference of temperament and style between my predecessor and me. He was a warm, fatherly, person-centered pastor. Acceptance, kindness, and understanding were readily communicated. I’ve always seen myself as friendly and somewhat extroverted. Only recently have I understood that I am task-oriented rather than people-oriented. I work hard on research and sermon preparation and have a gift of teaching. A few meaningful friendships satisfy my social needs.

The difference in our counseling ministries has made this apparent to me. Whenever I’ve talked with him about the church, he has frequently made reference to the heavy counseling load that he had It’s the exact opposite for me, a matter that has generated some criticism. There is less demand for my counseling here than any other place I’ve ministered. I wondered why. One evening I was talking with a psychologist from the congregation about this matter of trust and some of the struggles I’ve gone through. Though he had heard the former pastor only once, he not only described me, but contrasted the two of us with uncanny accuracy.

Those attracted to the former pastor must have at first found me distant and aloof. Under such conditions trust is smothered. Had I understood those dynamics earlier I might have avoided a great deal of trauma and introspection. I may not have behaved differently, but I would have understood the dynamics going on between the congregation and myself.

It’s not just pastors who are at fault if trust does not develop. Simply stated, pastors too, have been burned by their people. Insensitive, callous remarks about preaching style and content, or personal matters have driven many people from pastoral work. After fifteen months in my first pastorate I was just another statistic, fully washed up.

I had been criticized for “not preaching with enough love,” for poor sermon construction, for not visiting enough, and for not being an effective administrator. One evening as I parked the car I prayed, “Lord, let me get through this board meeting without some hint of criticism.” At the closing prayer I sighed with relief. While I was preparing to leave, two dominant leaders of the church stopped me and in effect said, “Pastor, don’t you feel your wife could be more outgoing?” They were sincerely trying to help a 24-year-old new father and his wife, but criticism wasn’t the way to accomplish their purpose. I slammed the file cabinet shut, angry enough to fight.

“I hope you don’t feel we’ve been too hard on you,” one said.

“Too hard?” I replied, “I certainly do. You men have criticized about every area of my work. In criticizing my wife you’ve gone too far.”

I resigned. I had no place to go. I was broken in spirit, confused, and crushed in heart. Eventually, God brought healing and led me back into pastoral work.

That experience, joined with other events, caused me to become more withdrawn and distant. I have been wary of church boards, fearful of rejection, and hesitant of self-disclosure ever since. Obviously, my attitude has not been an aid to building trust. But there is something to be said for a man’s accepting what he is and working within that. If God shaped the events of my life, perhaps he could do through me what he could not do if I were a different type. If that is so, then I must accept that an intimate counseling-centered ministry is not for me. I still need trust, though Integrity and faithfulness aren’t built upon temperament. They are built upon trust.

Trust is a two-way street. Integrity and faithfulness are fundamental to pastor and people alike. Absent in either party, trust languishes. Present- or at least developing-in both, trust flourishes. The benefits are cooperation, peace, and a freedom of relationship that is contagious.

Who is responsible to see that trust is developed? The pastor is-if you’re a pastor. The layman is-if you’re a layman.

Copyright © 1980 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube