Learning to Think in New Ways

  

     This whole Consecration Sunday campaign has got me to thinking. (see previous post) The topic of stewardship has moved from a back burner in my mind to a front burner. As a result, I have already begun making plans for more emphasis on stewardship in 2008.

During January, I will be forming a small group that will meet for 30 days during the season of Lent to read and discuss the book Holy Smoke–Whatever Happened to Tithing. This book examines tithing from a Wesleyan perspective. Once the 30 day study is complete, the participants will be asked to continue on for another 10 weeks of study. The goal is to help persons become aware of giving and the role that it plays in their lives.

    Ideally, lives will be changed by this study and it will be offered again in the fall for a new group of persons to take. If lives and attitudes continue to be changed, the goal will be to offer this course twice a year to new groups of people. Within a few years, all of the congregation will have been given an opportunity to participate in this small group learning activity.

    I will be picking 8-12 persons to be in the first small group. If you want to be one of those persons, then please contact me sometime by mid-January 2008. We also ask that the church be in prayer for this first small group and that the group might become a blessing for the church as it meets and learns.

 

It’s Time to Train the Leaders

 ”God gives us the boat and the oars, but then tells us, ‘It’s up to you to row.’ Making ‘positive acts of faith’ is like training this faculty; it is developed by training, as the muscles are developed by gymnastics.”

–From Letters from the Desertby Carlo Carretto

This passage got me to thinking about the training that the church provides to persons that are it’s elected leaders. In the past I have thought that training would be good, but also felt that I didn’t want to impose it upon members of the various church boards and committees. My mind has changed on this issue. I cannot assume that just because the Charge Conference elects a person to a leadership position that he or she has any knowledge as to what he or she is supposed to do. Using the quote above, it would be like putting them in the boat (giving them the job) but then not giving them the oars and asking them to steer the church in a certain direction. Sure they could put their hands in the water and try to painfully pull the boat along, but how much easier would their job be if I had given them the oars!

  As the new crop of leaders is announced, I will begin providing them with materials that will help them better understand what they have been called to do in their leadership role. For pastors that might be reading this blog, I encourage you to check out www.buildingchurchleaders.com I have used material from this site for years. However, I have never fully utilized the training capabilities of the material found on this site. I will be utilizing this material in the months that lie ahead.

   For my church members reading this blog. I want you know that I have new expectations of the leaders of the church. I expect them to show up and take an active role in their ministry area. I further expect them to take the time to learn what they have been called to do and will provide them with material to make this learning possible.

 

How would YOU be willing to serve…

    There’s a dictum that goes with church life. It says 20% of the people do 80% of the work. In most churches I have served, I would have to say that this is correct. Every pastor knows who the 20% are that will jump in and get the job done. It’s the other 80% that puzzle most pastors. We often wonder, “What keeps most people from getting involved more than just during the worship hour on Sunday mornings?” There is no clear cut answer to that question. However, through the years, here are some answers that pastors often hear:  

• I’m too busy at work.
• I’m too busy with the kids.
• I’m too busy at home.
• I’m too busy taking care of family.
• I don’t have any gifts or talents.
• I don’t feel called to serve.
• Nobody has asked me to do what I want to do.
• Nobody has asked me to do anything.
• It takes too much time.
• The meeting time is not convenient with my schedule.
• The meetings are boring and a waste of my time.   

   I could go on, but, perhaps, you begin to get the picture. If I haven’t listed the excuse that you are most likely to use, then please feel free to share it with me. I write about all these things because it is time to begin selecting officers and leaders for the coming year. The Committee on Lay Leadership is the only committee that is chaired by the pastor. I intend to ask the members of the committee to cast their nets wider this year. The 20% have been faithful. It’s time for the 80% to get involved.

     So, if you are contacted by a member of the Committee, don’t just offer an excuse that’s been heard before. Seriously think about what you are being asked to do. We will be praying and making some serious decisions. Your name won’t be simply thrown into the pot for consideration unless we truly think that you have the spiritual gifts and graces to succeed in what we ask you to do. We are going to ask you to pray about our request and we are going to let you and God struggle with what is the correct response to offer back to the Committee.

    In the next few weeks, the invitations to service will be offered. I hope you will respond in a prayer filled manner to the request that might come your way.