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Posts Tagged: pastoral ministry
September 22, 2009
Church Unity and Transformation in Five Easy Steps
The Liberation of Detrimental Systems of Belief
Churches are constantly faced with ethical or moral issues that seem to require total consensus. These issues and the sort of conversations and decisions that usually follow should not be taken lightly. More often than not they require an “official declaration” of position or stance that is delivered by the pastor or leadership. “What is our policy on this issue?” is the inevitable question that reverberates throughout the community and seems to demand an answer. Unfortunately, many members of the community think the answer or answers to such questions can only be found in unanimity; fortunately, the Kingdom of God thrives neither on static uniformity, nor exhaustive unanimity. Therefore, the role of any leader(s) within the community revolves around the need to raze the dividing walls of existing concepts of “like-mindedness” and then help community members see that like-mindedness can, does, and should include a divergence of opinions, convictions, and positions. Said differently, a Gospel-centered community can in fact be in agreement – or like-minded – as concerns the potential of divergent positions on any number of issues within the community. A community that embraces divergent opinions, stances, and positions is a “like-minded” community! We can agree to disagree on any number of issues and still be a unified community! Read more…
May 12, 2009
Ministry Life: A Tale of Two Emails
My personal headline for the week is: “A Tale of Two e-Mails.” Readers will understand the origin of this headline shortly, after I actually post the two e-Mails I received this week. Before we get to that, however, I must say something about the roller coaster that is ministry. There will always be a segment of individuals who not only hate what you and your community are doing and trying to do, but also express an inexplicable need to actually tell you so. I used to be one of those people. I’d relentlessly criticize people like Rick Warren, Joel Osteen, and Bill Hybels. In spite of all the work and fruit these men produced, I’d criticize them for not “doing it” like I’d do it. I still wouldn’t do things like they did, I’m just far less sure of the infallibility of me and my methods. And while I still would not try to copy what these guys do, I will not criticize them anymore because I am up to my neck in ministry and now I understand just how difficult it really is to be in the ministry. That’s the big difference between me then and me now. I am actually ministering! Usually, the loudest and most obnoxious critics know nothing about the difficulty that is ministry because they are not doing it. And let me be clear: Going to church and reading the Bible and becoming an armchair theologian isn’t the same as leading a ministry. Read more…
April 17, 2009
Congregational Contention as Virus
Peter Steinke, author of “How Your Church Family Works: Understanding Congregations as Emotional Systems,” bluntly calls contentious congregational clashes “viruses.” These viruses are usually found in unexpected places and are driven by deep and unexpected motives. Steinke offers a solution to system infection in field theorist Kurt Lewin’s famous formula b=f(p.e.). This formula symbolically represents the axiom: “One’s behavior is related both to one’s personal characteristics and to the social situation in which one finds oneself.” Read more…