Category Archives: Church Leadership

Reminders church leaders need on a regular basis

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“Remind them of these things….” (2 Timothy 2:14)

We think of the church leadership as mature, Godly, and self-starters.  They read the Bible for themselves and do not need to be spoon-fed. They know how to pray, have the confidence of the membership, and are able to counsel others.

However, church leaders need something which only the pulpit can give, and that is a regular diet of the staples of ministry. Those staples–the essentials–include the following:

1) Leaders need to be reminded of the holiness of the Church.

The church is the Body of Christ, the Bride of Jesus, and the one institution on earth to which He has committed His gospel.

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7 questions from a bi-vocational pastor

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“And because (Paul) was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working; for by trade they were tentmakers. And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks” (Acts 18:3-4).

Paul was a bi-vocational preacher. A self-supporting apostle.

He received occasional help from the churches he had begun, and he taught that the minister of the gospel has a right to be supported by those to whom he is ministering. (Those who insist otherwise would do well to read the Bible before pontificating on it.) But, it would appear that mostly he paid his own way.

A bi-vocational pastor is one who holds down two full-time jobs, the one at church and the other one which pays most of the bills.

Either his church is small and cannot afford to pay him a full salary, or he has started the church himself and it has not grown to the point of self-sufficiency, or he feels called to a bi-vo kind of ministry.

Don’t miss that: “he holds down two full-time jobs.” That’s not a typo.  Ask any pastor trying to do this.  They know.

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Can the Lord trust you?

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(Variation of this title: “Has the Lord trusted in you for your salvation?”)

“….for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that day” (2 Timothy 1:12).  “Guard through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you” (2 Timothy 1:14).

Listen to the typical Christian witnessing and you’ll hear him ask “Are you trusting in Jesus?”  “Have you trusted in Jesus for your salvation?”  Or some variation of that.

It’s a good question. It just doesn’t go far enough.

Even if the witnessee assures that “Yes, I’m putting my trust in the Lord Jesus Christ,” there is still an issue to be settled.

Is He putting His trust in you?

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How tiny churches do things

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Not long ago, I was worshiping with friends in a small, rural and very old church not far from our family home in North Alabama.  The building was erected in 1857 and has been used by various congregations over the decades. Presently, it’s a Baptist church. The members, mostly retirees, treasure its quaintness and its unpainted exterior and try to keep things natural.  The building has no electricity, no nursery, no cushioned pews, and no frills of any kind.  A few kerosene lamps can be seen here and there, and out back are the toilets.  Since the church activities consist of one service each Sunday at 8:30 am, I’d be surprised if the facilities are ever used.

The members don’t demand a lot of their church and appreciate what they have found, the fellowship. (Some go on to other churches in town later in the morning.)

The pastor of that little congregation is a retired minister only a couple of years shy of his eightieth birthday. But he’s still sharp and energetic and it seems to be a good union.

While I was there, they did something most unusual.

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Choices we have to make in life

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“If you extract the precious from the worthless, you will become my spokesman” (Jeremiah 15:19).

Theodore Roosevelt was asked by a newsman if he could not control his then 17-year-old daughter Alice, who was gifted with a penchant for stirring up matters.

He said, “I can control Alice or I can be president of the United States. But I cannot do both.”

He was making a joke, but he was making a point.

He had to make a choice and he opted to run the country rather than his daughter.

The business section of your local bookseller will offer plenty of selections on how to become a multi-millionaire, rise to the top of one’s profession, or “make your mark before you are 40.”  But almost all will point out that in order to achieve such a lofty goal, one must sacrifice a lot of other things in life, including recreation, hobbies, and quality family time.

We make our choices.

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Things no pastor should ever have to worry about

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The title might be a little misleading. To not “worry” about something does not mean the pastor does not know about it.

A good staff will handle the minutiae of the ministry–the problems that arise that they are able to address without the involvement of the shepherd himself–in order to free up the pastor for his major assignment of church leadership.

The pastor who tries to micromanage his church is attempting the impossible and choosing to desert his post.

A wise pastor–who has the resources–can bring on staff capable and trustworthy assistants to free him up to do the three big, big things in his ministry:  Preach/teach the Word, give direction to the entire church program, and care for his flock.

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Why the pastor is the last one who should deal with personal attacks

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Someone–Sister Dee Structive or Brother Big Shott–is stirring up dissension in the church, accusing the pastor of this silliness or that foolishness.

On the surface, their criticism appears to be nonsense, and yet some people will believe anything negative. The congregation is disturbed by this business and outsiders are looking around for other churches to visit.

Somebody ought to do something and do it quickly.

We have said on this website that when someone in the church attacks the pastor and is stirring up strife in the church, a small group of Godly members should visit the troublemaker and do two things: a) ask “what’s going on?” and then b) listen to their complaint.  If they have a legitimate beef, or if it appears they may have one, the members of the task force return to the pastor and, with his involvement, begin the process of dealing with it.  However, if the individual does not have a sound reason for what they are doing, the visitors kindly but firmly ask them to “cease and desist.”

“Sister Structive, we are asking you to stop this now. It should end.”

To my surprise, several readers went found much to disagree with in this approach.

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A creative pastor will find ways to teach his people

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(This is a followup to the previous article: “The ability to teach.”)

That pastors should teach their people is a no-brainer. It’s explicit in the Scriptures and implicit in our  being called “shepherds.”

A wise pastor will be creative in finding ways to teach his congregation, recognizing that many who will listen to his sermons are not coming to any class or small group, no matter how he browbeats them or how enticing he makes it.  He will have to find other ways to teach them.

That’s what this is about, finding ways to teach the Lord’s people.

1) Pastors will teach in sermons, of course.  But they should work at doing it well.

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Ignorance plus arrogance? Move back and give it some room!

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“A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.” (Is that in the Bible? It ought to be. Smiley-face goes here.)

Here’s one that is: “I am also convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able also to admonish one another.” That’s Romans 15:14, and we sure wish we knew whether the Apostle Paul had tongue firmly planted in cheek when he said this or was dead serious.  It appears to us that the recipients of this Roman letter, as with so many of the others Paul wrote, were deficient in some areas of knowledge of spiritual things. We’re glad they were, of course, because in addressing these issues for them, Paul ended up instructing us.

One wonders what it must be like to be “filled with all knowledge.”

After all, “knowledge puffs up” (I Corinthians 8:1).  Modern translations say, “knowledge makes arrogant.”

Ignorance does too, oddly enough.  In fact….

Ignorance coupled with arrogance makes for a deadly combination.  When you see that monster coming down the road, get out of the way because it bloodies everything it touches.

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How to tell if you’re ready for the next level of service in the Kingdom

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“Now, the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things, and they were scoffing at Him.  And He said to them, ‘You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God'” (Luke 16:15).

The director of missions (a local denominational leader, for readers unfamiliar with Southern Baptist terminology) told me about a visitor he had one day, a fellow making himself available to pastor a church.

The DOM (I’ll call him Will) said, “Tell me about your present church involvement.”

The visitor said, “I’m not actually involved in a church at the present time.  I’m just visiting around.”

Will: “How long have you lived here?”

The man: “Five years.”

Will said, “May I ask why you haven’t joined a church and become active?”

The man said, “Because my presence would intimidate a pastor.”

Will said, “My friend, I would never recommend you as a pastor of a church.  Not in a million years.”

The visit ended quickly.

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