\n Joan Brown loves children. When Pastor Jim asked her to pick\nup three children in Greenwood Meadows for Sunday school, she was honored.<\/p>\n\n
\nOn the way to church, however, Joan ran a stop sign and was hit by another\ndriver. Joan and two of the children were injured. The church offered comfort\nand support to Joan, the children, and the families of the injured.<\/p>\n\n
\nWhat did the church get in return?<\/p>\n\n
\nTwo lawsuits claiming negligent hiring and negligent supervision.<\/p>\n\n
\nNo one knew that Joan was nicknamed “Indy 500 Joan” by the Motor Vehicle\nDepartment. No one knew that asking her to pick up kids fell under the same\nrules as hiring an employee. To their chagrin, no one knew the church’s insurance\ndidn’t cover these eventualities.<\/p>\n\n
\nIf they had viewed the video, How to Protect Your Children’s Ministry\nfrom Liability<\/em><\/strong> (Gospel Light, $49.99), they would have.<\/p>\n\n \nJ. David Epstein, an attorney, hosts this video, stressing there are two\nsituations the church can be held liable for: negligent hiring and negligent\nsupervision. He stresses that the answers are not complicated. He gives many\nhelpful pointers, but his two main concerns are: (1<\/strong>) that a church\nthoroughly know its volunteers, and (2<\/strong>) that all<\/em> children’s\nactivities have two adult supervisors.<\/p>\n\n \nThe video also gives helpful advice on church liability insurance. This should\nbe required viewing by all pastoral staff.<\/p>\n\n\n Michael E. Phillips, pastor \nRiverside Alliance Church\nKalispell, Montana<\/p>\n\n \n“Pastor, I’m gay, and I don’t want to be!”<\/p>\n\n \nSome pastors, after hearing such a confession, may mutter to themselves,\n“Great! Another situation for which I was never trained.”<\/p>\n\n \nTwo videos by Exodus International, the worldwide referral network of “ex-gay”\nministries, can help. In Recognition and Intervention for Adolescent\nHomosexuality<\/em><\/strong> (Exodus International, $19.95), Donna Hopkins and Tim\nRymel offer tips to identify teens potentially struggling with homosex-ual\ntendencies. Signs include: relational breakdown within the family; unhealthy\ncycles of rejection; shame, fear, or emotional dependency; and occasionally,\nindicators such as dress.<\/p>\n\n \nHopkins and Rymel advise the liberal use of confrontation, or “care-frontation.”\nQuoting theologian John Stott, they remind us that “Truth without love grows\nhard; and love without truth grows soft.” They also encourage workers to\ninvite students to maturity, stating that kids can and must be held responsible\nfor their choices, regardless of the complexity of their childhood.<\/p>\n\n \nIn Helping People Overcome Homosexuality<\/em><\/strong> (Exodus International,\n$19.95), Sy Rogers, director of a ministry to homosexuals in Singapore, states,\n“All pastoral workers who have been in the business for more than two months\nwill recognize that most of the problems coming to them will be\nsexual\/relational.”<\/p>\n\n \nYet Rogers admits, “The modern church falls into the trap of being right,\nat the expense of loving our neighbor.” He suggests the contempt for the\nchurch by the powerful gay lobby is at times justified: We have judged with\ncontempt and now are reaping contempt.<\/p>\n\n \nRogers’s goal is to help the church become a place of healing, without pastors\nand volunteers burning out in the process. He gives several reasons why\nChristians struggle with sexual and relational problems, including our God-given\ndesire for intimacy, and our freedom to make choices. For pastors working\nwith those wanting to break out of the homosexual lifestyle, Rogers cautions\nthem not to step out of their symbolic, authoritative role: “Client need\ncannot determine your response.”<\/p>\n\n \nTo order either video, call (415) 454-1017.<\/p>\n\n Bill Donelson, director\nAbba’s Heart Ministries\nDenver, Colorado<\/p>\n\n \nMost of us who started out to change the world wound up in a smaller church.\nI know speakers at pastors’ conferences don’t intend this, but they often\nleave me with the impression that most small churches should be left to bury\nthe dead.<\/p>\n\n \nSo what should the majority of us pastors do?<\/p>\n\n \nIn Help for the Small-Church Pastor<\/em><\/strong> (Zondervan, $10.99), Steve\nBierly tries to help us understand better the situations to which we’ve been\ncalled. He mixes plenty of anecdotes to demonstrate why<\/em> small church\npastors succeed and fail. He also offers the practical: Instead of bringing\nin an outside expert to tell the congregation how to minister, why not equip\nthe congregation to develop its own plan for growth? After all, members know\nthe history of the church and the community better than an outsider.<\/p>\n\n \nSince the book grows from the small church soil where Bierly has pastored\nfor eleven years, the book doesn’t read like a public relations brochure\ntelling us why small is better. Bierly knows the hard realities of small\nchurch dynamics, such as why seniority is valued above character when it’s\ntime to vote for leadership positions.<\/p>\n\n —Clark Cothern, pastor\nTrinity Baptist Church\nAdrian, Michigan<\/p>\n\n \nMinistry had ganged up on Marv.<\/p>\n\n \nThe week started slowly, leaving plenty of preparation time for sermon and\nservice. But a funeral, child in the hospital, and an elaborate wedding left\nlittle time for last-minute details. The sermon needed . . . something. Scurrying\nto his Pentium, Marv opened his Logos Library System.<\/p>\n\n \n“I still need a closing illustration,” he remembered. Popping open the\nBaker Illustration Library Volume 1<\/em><\/strong> ($59.99), he searched under\nspiritual warfare<\/em>: twenty-one choices. He chose the most appropriate\nselection. He then opened the Hymn and Scripture Selection\nGuide<\/em><\/strong> (written by Donald Spencer; $39.99). Choosing Ephesians 6:13,\nhe located “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” Marv copied illustration and hymn\nto the clipboard, pasted the illustration in his sermon in WordPerfect, and\nthe hymn into the Order of Service in Word for Windows.<\/p>\n\n \nNow he can enjoy dinner with the family.<\/p>\n\n \nMarv was using several products of Baker Bytes, a family of software add-ons\nto be used with the Logos Library System 2.0. Also available is the\nEvangelical Commentary on the Bible<\/em><\/strong> (edited by Walter A. Elwell;\n$59.99). A one-volume work, it is precise and theologically sound.<\/p>\n\n \nAll three require Windows (3.1 or higher), at least a 386 processor, a\nCD-ROM, and 8 MB of\nRAM. If you are familiar with database applications, then\nyou will be pleased with the Logos engine. All menus are customizable, and\nthe screens cascade well. Searching is simple, as is the setup.<\/p>\n\n \nAs for Marv, the congregation’s assessment, as always, was “Good job, Pastor!”<\/p>\n\n Michael E. Phillips, pastor\nRiverside Alliance Church\nKalispell, Montana<\/p>\n\n \nSeveral churches have created web pages on the Internet. Your computer needs\na modem (9600 baud or faster) and a way to access the Internet, such as through\na commercial online provider like CompuServe or America Online (which you\ncan order through Leadership: <\/em> 1-800-413-9747, ext. 174021).<\/p>\n\n \nYou can type in a web site address, or use a browser (searching tool) like\nWebcrawler or Yahoo. In surfing for these web pages, prepare to spend more\ntime than you anticipate. Here are three churches I virtually visited:<\/p>\n\n \nWillow Creek Community Church<\/em><\/strong>\n(http:\/\/www.willowcreek.org\/)<\/p>\n\n \nThis web page introduces both the church and the Willow Creek Association.\nA sidebar allows you quick access to their church history, notes about upcoming\nconferences (you can even register online), newsletters, biographies, and\nmost important, resources. Once you click on “resources,” you are transported\nto a page that allows you to search all of their resources, including drama,\nmusic, and sermons. You can filter your search by speaker and type of service.\nI immediately found two resources to accompany my current sermon series,\nwhich I ordered and paid for the old-fashioned way-by credit card.<\/p>\n\nUnderstanding the small church<\/h2>\n
And why small church pastors fail or\nsucceed.<\/h2>\n
High Tech for High Impact<\/h2>\n
New software makes preparing for Sunday mornings\neasier.<\/h2>\n
Virtual Pastors’ Conference<\/h2>\n
The web sites of three churches provide info for\nyour leadership.<\/h2>\n