Tag: Pastoring

Ministry

Explaining and Teaching During Services (Removing Roadblocks to Experience)

Chris

Have you ever wondered what seekers feel when they come to your church? One of the most common reasons people give as to why they will not attend a service is because they don’t know what to do or feel like they will not know what is going on.

As preachers and worship leaders, we can help make it easier for people to overcome that hurdle. Sometimes all it takes is an explanation for 30 seconds or less. Doing so opens the door for acquiring the small bit of knowledge to launch a seeker into a participant.

Years ago I learned a very important lesson about preaching: Don’t assume the people listening know what you are talking about.

Whether we consider our time as the post-church era or recognize how many people have little to no history within the Church or knowledge about the Bible, to understand the knowledge divide between the pulpit/platform and the pew is essential.

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Ministry

You can’t be “Pastoral” with Everyone

Chris

When you are a pastor, there are two primary elements of your ministry you and the people agree on. You study the Bible and you tell people about it. Whether you preach, teach, or write, most people understand these basic parts of what you do.

Another element of pastoral ministry is counseling. Real counseling isn’t just listening and being a friendly ear to hear about people’s problems, though some who go to a pastor’s office think of it like that. It also involves sharing biblical guidance for problems and situations.

As a result of all of this talking about the Bible, the impulse for a pastor or Bible teacher is to try and speak into everyone’s life as a pastoral influence. But we do not have permission to be such a voice into every life we are connected with or bump into.

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Ministry

Six Tips to Remember Before You Speak the Hard Truth

Chris

Life isn’t perfect and rosy. It’d be nice, but it’s alright to be honest. Stuff happens. Sometimes there are a lot of pieces to pick up and put back together, or to scrap in favor of something new.

But fixing troubles isn’t easy, either. It gets worse depending upon the number of people involved in the situation, and how long the trouble has gone on. Eventually someone has to step up and tell the hard truth, to tell it like it is so the group can move on to what is possible.

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Ministry

Better Think Twice: Be Responsible with the Power of Influence

Chris

Every pastor and teacher wants to be able to get through to their audience. A lot of work goes into preparation and presentation. To present a message and declare it to be the word of God for a specific people at a specific time and in a specific situation takes confidence in hearing from God and putting all of the pieces together in just the right way.

Some pastors have it easy. The congregation hangs on their every word and their people pledge ever to walk the path their leader shines before them. I don’t know if that is normal, but it doesn’t seem to be. Instead pastors agonize over the message, hoping to reach someone with the power of the Word of God for their lives.

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What a great day when the connection finally clicks. Not a cultish type of following, but a simple desire to hear the direction of God through His anointed messenger. You finally have their attention. They truly desire to learn from you and follow your example.

Having earned such a place in their lives there is something we pastors have to keep in mind. We have reached a position of influence. How careful are we to protect that influence as we control what we put in front of those who are looking to us to lead?

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Church Life

Open Up Your Hearts: Cultivating the Most Important Relationship for the Health of your Church

Chris

Jesus said the World would know which people were HIs followers because of their love for one another. The Apostle Paul called love the greatest of the threesome that would endure beyond time. Scripture declares, “God is love.” Love is truly a vital element of our life in Christ.

We talk so much about how we are to love God. Even in our church I recently preached on God’s desire that we should love Him with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength, and also to love Him above all else. Another common thread is the importance of loving one another.

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But I would dare to say that there is a love that is almost completely ignored, and certainly isn’t spoken about. Once a year we get close but never make the full leap. It is one of the reasons churches continue to struggle on for years, watching pastors and people leave in regular rhythm. Adding this love just might save our churches.

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Ministry

Are You Afraid to be Known as a “Small Church Pastor”?

Chris

As pastors we joke about those awkward encounters at annual conventions and conferences where we are asked how our church is doing. If the question comes from someone we know, someone we relate with, it is an easy question. But if it comes from a pastor or leader we are meeting for the first time, it is a way to evaluate the future of your new friendship.

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We could talk with a lot of superlatives about how great our worship times have been, how powerful our prayer services are, and how anointed we have felt in the pulpit. But most of the time the real answer people want to know is better related to the question, “So, how many people are in your church?” If you are like me, you do not want to answer that question. It is a terrible question. The size of a congregation puts thoughts into a person’s head about ability, value and sanity.

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