A Little Company

Anyone who has been involved with church planting on any level knows what a gargantuan task it is to plant and grow a young church. The handbooks for how to do it are as the sands of the sea, but the multiplicity of contexts for this missionary work makes them only marginally useful.

Likewise with church transformation. The task of taking a church from stagnation to genuine life is herculean at the least. A bit of simple and sound advice and encouragement according to Biblical patterns is welcome indeed.

I found such help in the timeworn and humble pages of Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary and it has helped clarify my vision. Here is what good Brother Henry said in his commentary on Acts Chapters 1:12-14:

"A little company united in love, exemplary in their conduct, fervent in prayer, and wisely zealous to promote the cause of Christ, are likely to increase rapidly."

Volumes spoken, few words employed.

Leadership or Management?

I found this great article by Pastor James Smith on the difference between leading and managing, and thought it would be worthy of our consideration.

Lead More Manage Less
by James Smith

Causing growth in a church and leading God’s people is a challenge. Looking through the scripture one quickly notices that no leader of God’s people found his role easy.

It often seems that our job as ministers is more reactive than proactive. It’s important to understand that while there will always be a needed degree of reactive management, there also needs to be a healthy measure of proactive leadership.

One doesn’t need to pastor long before he/she finds themselves becoming bogged down with the daily routine of managing a congregation. Your own list of duties preformed regularly would be very comparable to many other Pastors and church leaders. As I communicate more and more with church leaders around the globe, I am surprised to find that even though regions and languages may differ, there are often, very similar “People Problems” that Pastors have to deal with.

Managers organize. They report on what is. Their role is to assign and control people. Leaders on the other hand cast vision. They offer what could be. Their role is to align and motivate people. Notice the difference between these two leadership styles. One is managing what already exists and the other is moving the church forward into new growth and greater increase.

Nearly all pastors and church leaders perform both management and leadership roles. An imbalanced church is often one whose Pastor and leadership team has succumbed to one role or the other. It is the Pastor who has lost his zeal for growth so he simply manages what is already happening. Or it is the Pastor who constantly promotes growth and new programs, but does not provide constant management for the growth that happens.

Have I lost you? Are you already saying, “Now wait a minute. I can’t do it all!” You are right. You can’t. As much as you are talented, gifted, anointed and blessed, you are not Solomon. Moses couldn’t do it all and neither can you. In fact, the church leader that attempts to do all the management themselves will be overridden with the load of caring for God’s people.

This is why our Lord brings us other people into the church. Many Pastors overlook the people resources in their congregation. Since they lack the ability to trust others to a task, many Pastors fail to allow the talents of their congregation to become invested.

Moses had his captains of fifties and thousands. You too have been given certain individuals who can come beside your ministry to assist you in maintaining the growth from the vision you cast.

Do you find yourself routinely doing the job of the church janitor? Did you fix or repair something around the church lately? Are you the office manager? Are you the one who adds ink to the printer? Are you the only one visiting and praying for the sick? Who does the computing and tallying of numbers to record progress?

If you are the person doing any of the above or any question like them, you may be spending too much time managing and not enough leading. While God has called you to your place of ministry to create a well managed work, He did not intend for you to get so bogged down with the management process that your vision casting would be muted.

Without new growth and vision, a church will stagnate. Good management alone may be able to slow the tide of a church’s decline, but it will inevitably become idle without vision casting.

While many people are capable of management roles in the church, few are anointed as the Pastor to promote vision and growth. In fact in many small to mid size churches, he is the only one capable of vision casting. This should cause us to consider our significance as a leader of the congregation and begin to train others to manage it.

Some time back a Pastor of a church with over a thousand people told me that when he is absent from his church for any length of time, his presence is hardly missed. He attributed this to the team of leaders under him who do much of the management of the congregation. Even though he is gone for a week or even a month, his congregation continues to grow in his absence. This man has created such a network of managers within the church structure that his only management role now is to oversee the overseers. Now his full time job is to be the leader (Vision Caster) of the congregation. Would your congregation be better served with you doing less management and more leading?

cited at http://www.preachit.org/newsletter.cfm?record=63&mode=220

Climbing Through The Death Zone

The Death Zone is that last push to the summit of Mount Everest between 25,000 - 29,035 ft. above sea level - The highest place on earth!

Dan Mazur says, "at least 200 climbers have died on Everest since the mountain was first successfully scaled in 1953." Some drop off ledges, their bodies lost forever. Mazur figures that even if oxygen masks limit their vision, most climbers will spot at least 10 corpses en route to the summit. "It's one of the most horrible, humbling experiences I've ever had, walking over those dead bodies. A lot of times you have to step over their limbs." Some bodies have been on the mountain so long that they've become landmarks, preserved by extreme temperature.

I don't want the church I pastor or the churches of Penn-Del AG, or any Christ centered church for that matter, to become mere landmarks frozen in time.

It is an amazing and sad thought that churches and leaders can stop climbing and fail to summit their "God-given Everest". Leith Anderson comments in his book "Effective Leadership", that most churches never see their 100th birthday, which would be similar to most people. He states getting a 75 year old church to grow is like trying to get a 75 year old ready to compete in the Olympics.

As I started writing this afternoon I thought of many of you and prayed for you before sharing this thought. I trust you are still hungry to climb? Still reproducing in your later years. GT turns eighty this year and I feel with God's help we can go for gold! We can reach the summit God has for us!

There is a motto climbers understand and must answer at the base of the Hillary Step, it is this: AT THE DEATH ZONE YOU HAVE TO DECIDE TO GO NO FURTHER OR KEEP MOVING. Deciding to climb our Everest is optional, getting down is mandatory! Guys lets keep climbing!!!

Mr Bean Goes to Church

This is my all-time favorite Mr. Bean clip. I hope this isn't what coming to church for the first time in Penn-Del looks like to anyone.:)

CPR in Preaching

It was one of those moments in time. I was preaching that morning on the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. The preparation in study and prayer was completed to the best of my ability, the message was going well and I was beginning to wrap up the message and bring it in for a landing to give the people an opportunity to respond to what God was saying to them. I became aware of a commotion to my right about a third of the way back in the sanctuary. A few people were responding to some issue that was developing and the congregation was being distracted from my "wonderful message" on the Holy Spirit by something, I knew not what.

As I observed, while attempting to continue to preach, one of our deacons communicated to me that "Betty," an elderly lady and longtime Sunday School teacher, was having a problem. She was slumped over onto the person next to her with no color left in her face. An EMT and a nurse were sitting close by and were there to assist in the emergency. Betty's heart had stopped, there was no pulse, and she was no longer breathing. As far as we could tell, she was gone. I had another emergency! Was my preaching on the Holy Spirit relevant for today or was it just good preaching?

One thing I have learned through the years is that when in doubt, pray. The congregation began to pray even while the ambulence was being called. We prayed! I prayed! "God, how could you let this happen while I am preaching on the Holy Spirit?" My apparent lack of faith was overcome by my desparation for Betty. The ambulence arrived, put her on the stretcher and was preparing to take her out of the church. Betty began to respond! She was asking what was happening. Where were they taking her? She remembered nothing of what happened except that she knew people were praying. She was fine. Actually, they admitted her to the hospital, did a series of test and dismissed her the next day. She left on vacation two days later.

I will never forget that day! Neither will I forget the lesson the Lord burned into my spirit. CPR means one thing to the EMT's. To me it reminds me that our preaching must be done with Clarity, Passion, and Relevance. Sometimes God provides an object lesson, but the power and presence of the Spirit are available if me choose to stop and pray and seek His intervention in our lives and ministries. Sunday's coming! Expect the unexpected!

Steve Tourville

How transparent are you?

Recent discussion has had me thinking about the very fine line every pastor walks between being transparent and being guarded. I want to be "real" before my congregation, and I want them to see me as transparent, rather than as some crudely painted caricature of what the "perfect pastor" is supposed to be like, act like, or talk like. But, there are certain areas of my thinking, my theology, or my activity, that even though I am comfortable with my stance, I am not necessarily comfortable with sharing those thoughts, or demonstrating those actions, due to concern (dare I say fear?) of what some people may think, or the conclusions they may draw from their momentary observations.

Perhaps I am over-sensitive to this issue, since I had in times past allowed myself to be very transparent, bringing about reaction that I had not anticipated. That was followed by my being fairly guarded, which likewise brought about some negative reaction.

How "transparent" can we actually be, without it compromising our ability to effectively pastor? Or, how guarded do we need to be in order to maintain effective pastoral relationships.

At my church, WFA (Wilmington First Assembly) we did something fairly creative this past summer for our midweek services. Following a time of food and fellowship, each week we conducted a special "Hot Topic" discussion on a variety of very emotional and relevant subjects, a different subject each week. My staff and I, as well as a few other individuals, made up a panel, which would begin the discussion of that week's "hot topic." Following the panel discussion, the floor was opened to comments from all others. We included the teens as well as the children on many weeks. The interaction was marvelous. But, as I served as the "moderator" of the panel, it gave me the opportunity to express some thoughts and ideas, posed in the form of questions to all, that I would never have dared share in the context of preaching a sermon.

It was quite interesting to hear the responses of the people. At many points, I grew so comfortable with this new level of freedom, that I would pose deliberately "edgy" comments and questions, simply to see what responses would be evoked.

What kind of comments am I referring to? Well, as an example, one night's "hot topic" was "Pro-Life and the Christian." Some at first thought the subject to not be necessary, because they believed that all Christians should necessarily be pro-life. When I shared that although I consider myself to be pro-life, I am certain that there are many "hard core" pro-lifers that would not think me to be pro-life at all. I mentioned that there is a big difference between being pro-life and being anti-abortion. I could go into greater detail, but you get the general idea.

I was amazed at how transparent I had become, perhaps because I was not taking a position of "pontificating" before a congregation. But, each week, the folks gathered together that evening likewise were quite transparent.

Some random observations I have made from all of this:
(1) The people were as comfortably transparent as I modeled for them.
(2) There was no negative reaction at all, even when I shared some fairly bold thoughts. I believe this was due to the fact that I was perceived as simply sharing thoughts and asking questions, rather than being "preachy."
(3) People truly appreciated being able to express their honest opinions, and received the opinions of others in a far greater way than I would have ever expected.
(4) I am fairly certain that some folks disagreed with me at certain times. But, in spite of my concerns and fears, it didn't affect my pastoral ministry or position with them.
(5) I have pastored here for seven years now. Perhaps I have earned the right to be more transparent than I have been before.

Are you transparent with your people? It is wonderfully liberating. Are you willing to "let your guard down" and allow people to see you for the real person you are? They will appreciate it, and I believe they will respond to your ministry in a much greater way.

"Tenured bigots" not making it any easier

Barna's revelations regarding evangelicals' abysmal reputation among the young is bolstered by the fact that a recent study found similar views are held by most college faculty members.

"In a recently released scientific survey of 1,269 faculty members across 712 different colleges and universities, 53 percent of respondents admitted to harboring unfavorable feelings toward evangelicals."

This study was not funded by a group of right wing "nutjobs", but by a Jewish group looking for anti-semitism! The study found that faculty harbor ill feelings toward Jews only 3% of the time.

See complete article at Thefire

Most of us have known that strong anti-Christian sentiment exists in the ivory towers of academia, but now there is proof. College campuses remain a chief battleground for the hearts and minds of our most precious commodity- the young.

Another example comes from my alma mater, Lehigh University in Bethlehem. This now secular campus was founded on Christian principles, but their most promoted project for 2008 is a week-long religious seminar taught personally by the Dalai Lama! In addition, all incoming freshmen were required to read the Dalai Lama's autobiography. Though alumni fight bravely to restore some vestige of her proud Christian heritage, hope grows ever more dim.

There are implications for our evangelistic efforts in the months and years ahead. We have yet to see any "method" for reaching the young rise to the top of the heap, but there is hope. Fervent prayer, coupled with strategic evangelistic efforts by persevering saints will win them one at a time. Commitment to a creative, humble and power-filled presentation of the Gospel is ground zero.

Young Americans Can't Stand Evangelicals

There is no doubt about it--young, non-Christian Americans can't stand evangelicals.

A Barna survey just released says, The new study shows that only 3% of 16 - to 29-year-old non-Christians express favorable views of evangelicals. Here is a related news story.

Is this a problem for our evangelism efforts? What is the root cause? What is the cure?

I hate disappointing people

I hate when I cannot get all the emails returned, or friend's children counseled, or all the right people informed all the time. I hate it when I can't support every missionary that calls, (let alone call them all back) or mentor each staff member with as much time as they feel they need.

I am basically okay with the notion that I am in an earthen vessel, and will disappoint people. I think I've got some basic comfort with that idea. And I understand a little about delegating what I cannot get done myself.

Yet, every time one more person complains of one more place where I fell short of their expectations, it messes up my day, and takes me some hours to work through.

I wonder how much that was on the heart of the greatest leader of all time, as he took his final steps toward a grisly death. I wonder how much He had to resign Himself to the idea that He would never meet all the expectations of the people who had marched him into the city one week earlier, shouting his coronation, and boasting about His power?

The same city that had shouted his praises, showed up to shout 'crucify him"? How fickle is that? And his 12 best friends ran, not into the burning building of his false accusations as a fireman would run into a fire, and as you would expect. They ran away, right when he needed them most.

But he did it to show that it could be done, and with dignity. If he did it, surely I can, in the strength He gave. God help me grow up a little, get some thicker skin, and keep my dignity even when people complain about my lack of ability to meet all their expectations.

Key Factors In Effective Coaching P1

It's exciting to see this new blog community launched. I am grateful to be part of it.

Since many of the contributors are leading Catalyst Groups, I thought I would theme my first few posts along the lines of our roles as leaders: COACHING.

Coaching is taking responsibility for the improvement of the life and the leadership of another.

It begins with a genuine commitment to someone's success. Barnabas was a great example of this in the book of Acts. He was committed to the success of Paul. He believed in him when others feared him. He gave him his first opportunities in ministry. He even stepped aside to let Paul become the front-runner in their missionary team.

This is the foundational motive of an effective coach. It's not saying, "I know more than you--so come sit at the feet of my great learning!" It's saying, 'I care about you and want to contribute whatever I have to your success.'

When a person shows that genuine commitment to your success, it is highly attractive. This is especially true of the person committed to you is older, more experienced, or more skilled in an area that could really help you.

Questions: Who is unconditionally committed to your success? Are you unconditionally committed to the success of those you are leading?

He should have stayed home?

Sometimes we go to church and it's just church, nothing remarkable happens, but it's still good. Then there are other times when the day at church impacts someone very deeply, sometimes it impacts all of us very deeply. The awesome part for me is that, as pastor, I get to be in the middle of it.

We had a missionary today. His name is Jeff Friedman and his calling is to the Jews of the world. He traveled almost three hours after sundown on Saturday night after observing Yom Kippur in Philadelphia to arrive here in our little coal town.

When he showed up early for Sunday school and started setting up I asked him how things were going. He said things were okay, as he struggled to piece together his display which had somehow come unglued.

Then it happened. He said that yesterday, Yom Kippur, his mother-in-law had died. I immediately thought to myself "what is this man doing here?" So I asked him why he did not call and cancel. He explained that his wife was already in Alabama where the funeral will be held, and that he would be going with his children tomorrow. His mother-in-law was a believer so there was a certain amount of peace, but you could see the weight upon him.

As the day unfolded it became more and more clear that, although it was counterintuitive, Jeff Friedman belonged with us today. We are in the middle of our missions emphasis and his message was very timely and something we needed to hear. But Jeff Friedman needed to be in our church because God wanted to bless us by allowing us to bless and comfort him. The blessings just kept coming.

Ours is not a wealthy church, but this is an old coal mining town and our people are known to respond to genuine urgent needs. We normally take a benevolence offering on the third Sunday of the month. Today the Lord led me to receive this offering for Jeff Friedman and his family as I sensed that the financial burden for six people to fly to Alabama and back would be very heavy. The people responded as I knew they would and we raised enough to pay for several plane tickets. But there was more.

As I spoke about the offering I watched as this dear brother put his head in his hands and wept. You see, he was fulfilling an obligation, maybe by rote, by coming to our church, but I think he was a little surprised that God showed up too. But there was more.

After service I spoke to the elders about the possibility of taking Jeff on for monthly support. I mentioned a monthly amount but they thought it was too low. So Jeff left with not only a cash gift, but healthy monthly support too. But there was more.

I was able to give him several gift items including a book from my library, and he also got a few "Pentecostal handshakes". But there was more.

At the Chinese buffet restaurant after service we filled him up real good and he was getting ready to leave. Just then our Sunday school superintendent walked in and called me to the side. She asked if it would be all right if the Sunday school gave an offering to Jeff Friedman. I said amen, but noticed that she gave him two checks not one.

During the Sunday school hour at the beginning of the day Jeff Friedman told our people that God blesses those who bless the Jewish people. It was so easy to bless this man today. The Lord has already blessed us back by knowing that we eased our brothers burden, and made his trial a bit easier.

Next time I'm thinking about staying home I hope I remember Jeff Friedman.

PS- For those who hate to type. This blog entry was written without the use of a keyboard using Dragon Naturally Speaking voice recognition software. The keyboard was only used to make minor corrections.

Rich Earl, Coal Township

Welcome to Catalyst Leadership!

Welcome to a new collaborative ministry weblog.

It's called Catalyst Leadership (we couldn't think of anything catchier, so I hope that doesn't negate everything we say from now on.:))

Catalyst Leadership will give you the opportunity of a new online resource that has roughly 30 (!) potential contributors. All are leaders in the Pennsylvania-District Council of the Assemblies of God, and they have a wealth of realtime experience and creativity to share. Why limit them to only what they can share verbally? Why limit our Superintendent to one message per year?

From sermon ideas to recommended books to review of conferences attended to thoughts on current ministry trends to sharing ministry victories--it is our desire that you will find fresh material on this site as well as an opportunity to interact regarding the matters of ministry that affect you the most. We want to help catalyze innovation and creativity in an electronic and easily accessible/interactive format. It's like being able to ask questions of the author of an excellent article in the A/G minister's magazine, Enrichment.

I hope that you will choose to make this one of your internet "favorite places."

While all of the present contributors are Assemblies of God leaders, we will stay away from denominational speculations and internal denominational issues, as relevant as they may or may not be. There are other websites for that purpose.

On the other hand, we will not shy away from real ministry issues/trends, whether it be Emergent, 5-fold, or other somewhat sensitive issues. It is our hope that we will post and monitor comments in a way that advances the dialogue in a way that honors the Lord and His Church. Contributors and commenters alike are invited to make their best case for the ministry issues that fire their passion.

So, stay tuned! Contributors will come online gradually (some are still in weblog tutorial mode:)), and we should pick up pace by the end of this year. Who knows, after we get going for a bit, we may even have some guest contributors from outside Penn-Del and even outside the A/G.

Blessings on you all and on the Body of Christ!

Paul Grabill, Assistant District Superintendent of the Pennsylvania-Delaware District of the Assemblies of God (we couldn't think of a longer title for me, either:)), and the Penn-Del C3 Catalyst Coordinator (a real resume enhancer:)).

P.S. Thanks to Tom Rees and his elves for doing the heavy lifting to facilitate this. Tutor on, Tom!