I came by it honestly. My dad, a coal miner with a 7th grade education, was interested in everything. He read and learned and talked to us of all kinds of subjects.

In college, I changed my major from science (physics) to history because the professors in the science building were focusing more and more on tinier and tinier segments of the universe. But history deals with it all, every person who ever lived, every civilization, every lesson learned. Nothing is off limits to history.

That did it for me.

As I write–on a Saturday morning–I’m reflecting on the week just ended. Last Monday afternoon, I was among a busload of preachers and spouses from across Europe who spent several hours touring the ruins of Pompeii, the Italian city devastated by the eruption of Vesuvius in August of A.D. 79. It was truly unforgettable. So much so, that….

After my arrival home in New Orleans Tuesday night, the next afternoon I was in our public library reading up on Pompeii. I checked out a Robert Harris novel titled “Pompeii,” and finished it last night.

I feel like I’ve been living in Pompeii this week.

In my next trip to the library, I plan to see what is available on the Roman aqueducts, which was a major theme of the novel.

Why? Of what possible use is this in my ministry?

Answer: I have no idea. Maybe no use at all, maybe a lot.

A great curiosity is a wonderful thing for any Christian to have, but particularly for preachers. Why?

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And I don’t just mean buy a computer and start doing email. Unless you have been living under a rock somewhere the last decade, you’re already doing that.

I mean, start a blog. Your own.

This morning, less than a half-hour ago, while sitting at the breakfast table talking with Margaret about this day, my phone rang. The screen said, “Unknown.” When I answered, a lady with a British accent announced she was looking for me, and then identified herself as with the BBC in London. She is doing research for a program they are airing during the noon hour today on the Pope’s statements that the Cuban blockade should be lifted.

Why ask for my thoughts?

She had found an article on my website saying the church needs to stay out of politics, that we have more important matters on our agenda. So, did I think that about the Pope speaking out concerning Cuba? (I wasn’t much help. The Vatican is recognized as a state, the Pope is the head of that state as well as the head of the Catholic religion, thus he addresses both kinds of issues. I said, “So, if you’re looking for someone to take an adversarial position, I won’t be of much help to you.”)

I gave her the name of another minister she could call, and we ended the call.

One more example of the wide scope of the internet.

Two nights ago, I returned from ministering in Italy. It was the result of an American pastor serving in the northern part of that country reading an article I’d written–I have no memory of which one–and going to my website, seeing I was also a cartoonist, and feeling led to invite me to speak at the annual Leadership Conference of pastors and spouses of the International Baptist Convention on the Amalfi Coast of Italy. A once-in-a-lifetime experience I will never forget.

Thanks be to God. Thanks for the internet.

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A rope of three strands is not easily broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:12)

The last church I pastored went through a massive breakdown when a new pastor arrived and quickly announced a moral indiscretion in his background. Two groups exiting the church began new congregations, one group spread into the community and joined other churches, a fourth group went home and haven’t been to church since, and, after the pastor was terminated, I became the pastor of the remaining members.

That’s not a church split; explosion is more like it.

In analyzing the reasons for a great church’s near-complete self-destruction, one thing became clear: the members were united by one thing, the pulpit. And when the pulpit failed, they abandoned ship.

The line from Ecclesiastes assuring us that “a threefold cord is not quickly broken” gives us a clue on locking in our members so that a failure of one “cord” will not break the rope and destroy the whole system.

It’s all about redundancy–safeguarding the makeup of the church in more than one way. Three ways, to be exact.

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Think of this chapter as a template, a form (or pattern or framework) which may be laid over the entire 21 verses, and which depict a healthy church.

The word “church” is not used in Romans 12. In fact, it’s found only 5 times in the entire Epistle and all are in the final chapter. Yet, there is no question that the Apostle Paul is writing to all the Lord’s churches in general and His church at Rome in particular.

Likewise, there is not a single reference to Romans 12 being a pattern for a healthy church. Some things are so obvious it’s not necessary to spell them out. The healthy church description of this chapter is one such.

Why does this matter?

The health of the Lord’s churches in this 21st century is a major concern for everyone called to shepherd God’s people. So many churches that were once healthy and strong, vibrant in their witness and effective in their mission, have fallen onto hard times. Some came under the influence of corrupt leaders, some were hijacked by carnal power-brokers, and some grew discouraged and surrendered to the world.

The typical young adult called into the ministry today has never seen a healthy and strong church. He goes forth to fulfill a mission in the faith that there must be such a church out there somewhere and if not, he is to build one from scratch.

Here is a snapshot of such a healthy church

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…and what to do about them.

I am not a professional counselor, not an adviser of churches or denominations or pastors as such, and not an expert on problem-solving or conflict management. What I am is a retired preacher and a blogger who sometimes gets asked, “What is your take on this? What do you recommend we do about that?”

Out of that experience, and spurred on by the two most recent situations–one by phone last night and the other from an email this morning–here are three “case studies” or problem scenarios that occur with alarming frequency in our churches. And my suggestions on what the leadership should do in handling them.

As always, I do not claim to have the last word on any of this. But if it turns out this is the first word, something that gets readers to thinking deeply and acting courageously, it will have been worth the effort.

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The number one reason most church problems do so much damage is that the people in the know, those charged with leadership, have not anticipated these things and done the hard work necessary to head them off.

Good preparation will end most church problems before they arise.

Here are 10 rules–principles, suggestions, guideposts, lifelines, call them whatever you wish (except “laws”)–which, if implemented, can stop the next church split in its tracks and allow this healthy church to go chugging on down the tracks while the devil sits there scratching his head, wondering, “Wha’ happened?” (Old comic book image there)

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Evangelism and spiritual harvesting are not for everyone calling themselves followers of Jesus.

Fruitbearing is for the obedient.

Believers aiming to obey the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-10) should not miss one huge fact: No one not living as a faithful disciple himself can make someone else a disciple of Jesus Christ. Only disciples make disciples. Only the faithful can bear fruit.

Put another way: No one can teach others to “obey all the things I have commanded you” who is not obeying those things himself.

The church which is rebellious or wayward or chronically immature or systemically sick has no business trying to convert outsiders to what they are doing and how they are living. (Note: “Systemically” is not “systematically.” When the sickness is throughout the body, we say it is “systemic.” The problem is not with one person or two, but throughout the body.)

The sick church should get well first and then it will be able to help others.

Here are several churches that have no business sending soulwinning/visitation teams into their community or hosting evangelistic crusades.

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I sometimes tease our young pastors that “in all the world, there are only three Baptists who enjoy change, and none are members of your church.”

It’s a common perception in our churches that the Lord’s people seem to be resistant to change. And there is certainly plenty of anecdotal evidence, as flockless shepherds step up to tell how they lost their pulpits when they tried to change a schedule or a program.

But, look around at the people attending our churches. They seem to handle change fairly well in other areas of their lives. They’re on computers, own X-boxes, play farm games on Facebook, send emails, and stay in touch with the world by their smart phones. No one at church drives a 1948 Packard because he doesn’t like change. No woman still wears the hair styles of the 1930s (as they did when I was a kid in the 1940s and ’50s). Their clothing is fairly up-to-date.

And yet, I can take you to an even dozen pastors right now who carry the scars of battles they fought trying to get the Lord’s people to make even the simplest of changes.

What’s going on?

Here is my take on why change is hard for God’s people. And the news, I have to say, is not good. The Lord who said, “Behold, I make all things new” (Revelation 21:5) is probably not very pleased with those who hold onto what He did in the past and refuse to accept the new thing He is doing today.

The Lord who repeatedly commanded that we “sing unto the Lord a new song” (Psalm 33:3; 96:1; etc.) is probably not impressed when we refuse to sing anything but the songs we grew up under.

Why Change is So Hard for the Lord’s Frozen Chosen.

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10. Pastors are human and more like you than you could ever imagine.

In a panel discussion, several pastors’ wives were talking about the uniqueness of their ministries. One lady, married to a well-known evangelist, said, “I tell my man, ‘Don’t get too uppidity for me. I have seen you without your pants on!”

Some of her hearers were offended by the remark.

I wasn’t. I know the point she was making: He is a flawed, fallible human like the rest of us, and not some saintly somebody unacquainted with temptation and failings.

Here’s a test you will benefit from: Find the journals of some “truly great” man or woman of God from a past generation, and read them. Notice the paradox: at the very time the world is acclaiming him/her for holiness and Christlikeness, they themselves are struggling with inner conflicts of one kind or the other. They appear to have a leg up on intimacy with the Lord to the rest of the world, but to themselves, they are babies in the faith barely able to walk spiritually and completely at the mercy of a benevolent God.

Far from refuting their holiness, the journal affirms it. But not in the way most people expect.

Friend, you do not want as a pastor someone who has never sinned, never messed up, and never known the mercies of God. If you get a preacher who is sinless, you may discover him to be harsh and mean-spirited toward the likes of you; you are a sinner in need of grace, whereas he meets God as an equal.

As Paul said, I speak as a fool.

9. Pastors are called by God to this work, otherwise they never last.

I used to hear of preachers who were “mama-called and daddy-sent.” In time, I met one or two. They didn’t make it. The work was too hard, the expectations too high, the rewards too few.

Pastors sometimes say, almost facetiously, “I’ve sometimes doubted my salvation, but never my call to the ministry.” (I suspect that’s because, as with me, I was saved as a child but called into this work as an adult.)

The work is hard. The expectations are through the roof. And the rewards? To be honest, the pay is a lot better these days (as a rule) than when I started in the early 1960s. The perks tend to be more plentiful, and the resources more abundant.

Even so, frustrations in the Lord’s work abound. Almost daily, I receive a phone call or email from God’s servants pouring out tales of misunderstanding, harassment, strong opposition, and even persecution. Frequently, the man of God will say to me, “If this was coming from the world, I’d expect it. But these are the Lord’s people doing this. It doesn’t make sense.”

Pastors reading this are shaking their heads. They know. Their biggest headaches come not from the tavern owners or casino managers, not from politicians or bigshot business types, and not from drug pushers and drunks. The men and women who sit in the pews and on church committees and boards tend to be the source of most headaches and heartbreaks of pastors.

Only one called by God and who knows he serves the Living God, only he will last.

And some of them, honesty forces me to admit sadly, don’t make it.

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The blue ribbon committee assigned to consider a name change for our Southern Baptist Convention has announced they are punting.

Okay, what they are doing is recommending that a) the basic name of the SBC remain unchanged due to the myriad of legalities involved in such a massive realignment, b) that we adopt “Great Commission Baptists” as a secondary or alternative name for our denomination, and c) that churches be “allowed” (my word) to use either name or both.

We knew they were a wise group; they’ve just proven it.

Personally, I think it would be a travesty to post the name “Great Commission Baptist” on some of the churches in our denomination which are anything but that.

This way, they get to decide for themselves whether they are.

From the Mark 2 story of Jesus’ healing the paralytic, here is my take on Five Ways to Tell If Yours Is a Great Commission Church.

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