Three Questions For Pastors/Church Leaders – Part One February 9, 2010
#1 – How is your emotional health—REALLY?
Ministry is draining…it always has been and always will be. You know you are beginning to be drained emotionally when…
- You find yourself in a constant state of anger with the people who work with you for petty reasons…or no reason at all.
- You continually have imaginary arguments with people in your mind over things that really do not matter…but seem to set you off for some reason.
- You begin to not like the people you are actually called to minister to.
- Your marriage is strained and you can’t quite figure out why.
- You have zero time and energy to give to your kids at the end of the day…and you see them as more of a burden and not a blessing.
- You often have thoughts of quitting ministry altogether.
- Your thoughts about/struggles with immoral/unethical issues begin to become more frequent.
- You can’t sleep at night and have a hard time staying awake during the day.
I could go on…but I am sure by now you get the point.
SO…if you are struggling emotionally how do you snap out of it? Let me share three ways…
First – you have GOT to tell someone. You cannot go on pretending that everything is great with you while you are actually dying inside. Get your leadership team together, your elders, your board…SOMEONE…but do not buy into the lie that you MUST bear that burden alone.
Second – you’ve got to begin to have some fun in your life. Pastors often struggle with this because they think that going out and doing something “fun” while there is so much to be done is sin…but I KNOW from personal experience that when I allow myself to disconnect and do something that I enjoy I get my batteries recharged…AND…it is during those times that I usually come up with some really great ministry ideas.
Third – you MAY need to seek professional help! I’ve heard it said that there are two types of people in the world…those that go to counseling and then everyone else that needs to go to counseling.
For a really long time I thought I could battle burnout with prayer and minor changes…and THAT mentality nearly killed me. Finally Jud Wilhite, a great friend of mine told me about John Walker and the Blessing Ranch…and so this past October I spent a week out there…and I cannot describe how God used that experience to rock my world and pull me out of a pretty insane cycle. (BTW…I also took my wife…which I would HIGHLY recommend if you do this sort of thing.)
Some of you reading this need to take THAT step! (Here is the link for the Blessing Ranch. Yes, it does cost money…BUT some of you reading right now can’t afford NOT to go!!!)
Pastor…no one is going to take charge of your emotional health. You are responsible…and if you flame out then you have no one to blame but yourself.
So…do what it takes…take charge…you are way too important to be another ministry casualty!
His Commands OR Their Demands? February 8, 2010
I can’t get Galatians 1:10 out of my head…Paul writes something that every leader (and every follower of Christ) should aspire to be able to say…that he is not living to please men…but rather to please Christ.
We ALL say this…and yet it is SO easy to slip back into a people pleasing mode. After all, THEIR demands seem more real that HIS commands at times.
So how do we not just preach on Galatians 1:10…but REALLY live it?
I think the key is in Galatians 2:20 where Paul ALSO writes that he is crucified with Christ, that he no longer lives BUT it is actually Christ living in him…in other words, Paul claimed to be a dead man!
Paul was living for a higher purpose than the praise of men, he was aspiring to hear the applause of heaven. He wasn’t concerned with “them,” but he was obsessed with HIM!!!
We will never accomplish the Galatians 1:10 mindset until we have also embraced Galatians 2:20 on a personal level.
Sunday Night Reflections February 7, 2010
A few thoughts here on Super Bowl Sunday (not completely excited about either team…but PUMPED about the commercials!)
- We saw over 50 people come to Christ today…and…you guessed it, that NEVER gets old!
- We were honored to have Christine Caine with us today…and she BROUGHT IT!
- I LOVE her passion for the local church!
- LOVED having LOS lead in worship at the Anderson campus…and I think he liked it, even though people were calling him “Daruis Rucker!” :-)
- Next week Christine will be speaking about human trafficking and what the churches responsibility is in regards to it…CAN’T WAIT!
- Some of the things she said today that really stuck out to me were…
- “We do not want our church to one day be a monument of what God used to do.”
- “Passion deficiency syndrome has hit the church.”
- “Did you see the movie, ‘The Passion of the Christ.” Did you notice it was not called, “The Boring Religious Obligation of the Christ.’”
- “I am not a product of time, I am a product of eternity!”
- “We often times prefer to visit with God on Sunday rather than have Him invade our lives.”
- “Fishers of men is who Jesus said He would make us to be. (Matthew 4:18) If we are going to follow Jesus then our hearts must beat for the lost.”
- “We (the church) have a HUGE responsibility – we are here because we are personally responsible for the evangelization of the entire world before the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ.”
- “I believe the church is about to checkmate the devil!”
- “John 17:14-18, Jesus prayed that His followers would not be taken out of the world…but too many of us are trying to do just that! IT IS VERY HARD TO CHANGE A WORLD THAT YOU ARE NOT IN!!!”
- “Christianity is not a behavioral modification program.”
- “We don’t need to FEAR the darkness but rather dominate it!”
- I could go on and on…you should listen to it on Tuesday at a web service OR download the podcast.
- REALLY looking forward to being on the West Coast tomorrow with this crew…can’t believe I get to be here!
- There are only around 100 tickets left for Unleash (we opened additional seats in a video venue, I blogged about it here.) And folks…once they’re gone…they’re gone! (I CAN’T WAIT!)
- This morning this thought hit me, “HE SAVED ME!!!” And seriously…I could not get past it! I was blind but now I see, I was lost but now I am found, I was dead and now I am alive…ALL BECAUSE OF HIM!!! I’ve NEVER gotten past the cross…and am BLOWN AWAY because HIS GRACE REALLY IS FREAKING AMAZING!!!
I love you NewSpring Church…I am amazed that I get to do what I do…and I cannot see what happens next!
Five Tests A Church Planter Will Face – Part Two of Two February 5, 2010
Continuing yesterday’s post…
#3 – The Faith Test
Hebrews 11:1 says that faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God.
SO…if your vision seems “impossible,” if failure is absolutely certain unless God somehow gets involved…then I would say that you are probably on the right track.
(Please remember that there is a fine line between faith and stupidity…which is why it is SO essential to make sure you have heard from God and didn’t just eat some bad pizza!)
AND…church planter…the further along you get in the process the larger the steps of faith He commands us to take. Don’t EVER make the foolish assumption that one day the decisions somehow “get easier.” If we are walking with God He will always lead us to the place where we are desperate for Him!
#4 – The Commitment Test
There is a HUGE difference between a group of people who LIKE your church and then those who are actually committed to it…and sooner or later (usually better if you do it sooner) you’ve GOT to ask for commitment.
So many pastors are scared to do this because of a fear that they might scare some people away. Let me make you a promise…YOU WILL! BUT…as pastors and leaders in the church it is not our job to DO all of the ministry…but to train and equip the body to serve the body (see Ephesians 4:11-12.)
Too many professional church attenders are used to going somewhere where they “have their needs met” rather than being involved somewhere that allows Jesus to use them to meet the needs of others. Don’t be afraid to ask for a commitment early and often…Jesus wasn’t! (See John 6) Yes, He did lose some…but the ones who stayed with Him were able to see more happen and accomplish more than they ever dreamed possible. (See the entire book of Acts!)
#5 – The Focus Test
As the church grows there will be a temptation to do “more.” Questions will begin to arise such as…
- “When are we going to start a mid week service?”
- “When are we going to start a school?”
- “When are we going to start a mens/womens/singles ministry?”
- “When are we going to (FILL IN THE BLANK.”
For some reason church world has fallen for the lie that as a church grows it needs more programs and activities…which is why SO many churches get stalled out and stop growing. NOT because these programs are necessarily evil…but because they are simply not in the vision of what God wants for that particular church.
Every church planter/pastor needs to ask themselves this question, “Can God trust me with success?” BECAUSE…having success in ministry often leads to people completely losing their focus and they lead the people into being busy rather than being godly.
That is why a church planter has to KNOW what God has called him to do before he ever launches…because EVERYONE who walks in the doors of a church plant has a vision for it…and if you don’t KNOW what God wants (or if your scared to say no) then your vision will get hijacked and you will eventually be the pastor of a church that you hate!
He saved you…He called you…He has equipped you and He will sustain you…so focus on HIM and do what HE says!
Hey NewSpring, This Weekend… February 4, 2010
Hey NewSpringer’s…a few quick hits about this weekend…
- Anderson Campus…remember that we will not be having our 6:00 service THIS WEEKEND ONLY! There is a slightly popular football game on (that would be the Super Bowl) and so we are asking everyone who normally attends our 6:00 service to come at 4:00 (yes, there will be extra worship) OR one of the morning services.
- (The 6:00 service will resume the following week, February 14th!)
- Christine Caine from the A21 campaign will be joining us this weekend…trust me, you DO NOT want to miss. She is one of the most gifted and passionate communicators I’ve ever been around…and is SERIOUS about the church mobilizing to rescue people from human trafficking! (She REALLY is one of my favorite speakers!!!!)
- Carlos Whitaker will also be at the Anderson campus this weekend as well…I LOVE this guy and his passion for Jesus and can’t wait for him to hang out with us!
- For those at Greenville campus…Howard will be doing some interpretive dance this weekend and some ribbon dancing as well…you WILL NOT want to miss it!
- The above sentence is totally not true…I am sorry for the disturbing images that it may have caused!!!
- Hope you guys are still pumped about the 30 day reading the Bible challenge…if you haven’t started yet then today would be a great day to do so.
- We had a team leave for Kenya today…keep these guys in your prayers!!!
- Can’t WAIT to hear about what God does in Columbia this weekend…you guys had a GREAT recruiting class so the atmosphere SHOULD be great! :-)
- And Florence, can’t WAIT to hear what happens there this weekend as well. I LOVE what God is doing down there in our student ministry…and the best really is yet to come!
That’s it…pray and ask God to do BIG things this weekend…can’t wait!
Five Tests A Church Planter WILL Face – Part One of Two February 4, 2010
I love being able to chat with/dream with church planters…and one of the questions often asked by them is, “What is the one thing you would have wish you had known before you started?”
My answer is simple…I wish that someone had told me that the decision to launch the church was actually going to be the easiest decision in the process, that during the next year or so I would face five critical tests that I believe every church planter goes through…and failing these tests is NOT AN OPTION if I really wanted to see the church achieve its maximum potential.
Test #1 – The Financial Test
I believe that God tests every church planter when it comes to money within the first 12-18 months. I cannot tell you the number of conversations I’ve had with people who have said, “Things were going great until the biggest giver in the church got upset…and now I don’t know what to do because what he wants isn’t the direction I feel that God is leading the church…but he gives a huge percentage of the budget.”
First of all–EVERY church planter/pastor needs to understand that GOD IS THE BIGGEST GIVER IN YOUR CHURCH! If it’s God’s will then it is God’s bill…He knows how to take care of what belongs to Him. AND…if you sell God out and put your trust in a dude with a HUGE checkbook (and usually an ego to match) then you are nothing more than a prostitute. (Someone who is paid for a service in order to make another person feel good.)
We faced a financial test EARLY on when we started NewSpring Church. The people who were literally giving 65% of the budget and who were fully on board at the beginning began to back off as the vision of what we were going to do as a church became more and more clear. One night they asked me to come to their home, shared their feelings with me and let me know that they were no longer going to be a part of the church. (BTW…they did this in the godliest way possible, there were no hard feelings and verbal jabs on either side…and I still highly respect them to this day! AND…another btw…we hadn’t even had our first official church service yet!!!)
I would be lying if I said I didn’t have an “Oh crap” moment while hearing them share their hearts; however, I had made a decision early on that the vision of what God had placed in my heart was not for sale…it never has been and never will be.
Unfortunately, I’ve seen so many pastors fail this test because they depend on people way more than they depend on God. When your biggest desire is to keep the biggest givers in your church happy you have ceased to lead and are actually being led!
Test #2 - The Critics Test
One of the verses that has always amazed me is found in the book of Nehemiah.
Nehemiah is a guy who gets broken by God…who gets full of vision and passion…who risks everything to do a great work for God and provide help to a group of people who had all but given up. He wanted nothing more than to see the “impossible” happen and people have their hope restored…and yet some people had a problem with it! (See Nehemiah 2:10)
Dear church planter…you are foolish if you actually believe that everyone thinks that what you are doing is a good thing. SO…you had better learn early to develop thick skin and not lead through reacting to everything but rather by being proactive and moving on with what God has said…no matter what “they” say.
Your dream will be criticized…early and often. BUT…if God has set your heart on fire then DO NOT let those who have never actually done anything for Him define what they believe you can or can’t do in His name!
Seven Thoughts I’m Wrestling With February 3, 2010
#1 – Why is the church so content with being normal when God has promised the supernatural?
#2 – Why are some in the church obsessed with obtaining information but have no desire to live out the transformation that Jesus brings?
#3 – Why do some in the church excuse non excellent standards by saying phrases such as, “well, after all…it’s just church?” Our standards of doing things should not be lower than the worlds…they should be higher; after all, what the church does matters!
#4 – Why do we claim to follow a God who changes things…and yet often times we refuse to change things?
#5 – Why do we set our expectations on the lives that Jesus wants us to live so low when Scripture sets them so high?
#6 – Why does the church always try to control people when Jesus died so that we could be unleashed?
#7 – Why is it that so many church leaders would rather lead through imitation (becoming just like someone else) rather than revelation (listening to God and then doing what He says?)