A “No” For Now Anyway

September 24, 2010 by admin

“Just so you know, I have other plans for next Sunday morning. So I won’t be going with you to church.”

This was the second time in as many months when someone who is not a believer had gone with me to church and subsequently let me know that after a visit or two, enough was enough.

It could be the sermons were not all that relevant. In one of the situations, however, I felt certain that both the sermon and the service were right on target for where my guest was coming from.

Were the people of the church unfriendly? It would be closer to the truth to report that few went out of their way to greet my visiting friends. But I don’t really think that was a factor in the decision either person made not to come back.

The truth is, I don’t know why these two different individuals made it a point to clearly let me know that more church was not in their immediate plans. I have since provided both people occasions to tell me where they are coming from, but they have chosen to keep their feelings to themselves.

I have contented myself to say that maybe the Holy Spirit was speaking to them and they found the experiences to be too intense. Of all the explanations I have come up with, that’s the one I am feeling the most comfortable with.

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Finding A Role That Works – Part 4

September 23, 2010 by admin

I’m continuing to address the question, “How does a pastor go about finding a role that works?” To provide a foundation on which I plan to build some structured, positive suggestions, I am sharing some of my own experiences at the time I began my ministry within the church as an assistant pastor.

I’ve been describing the first two churches where I served as an assistant pastor. So, please let me continue my description of the second church

No one could accuse these people of being ambiguous about what they considered important when it came to church. Their single burning desire was to get people “saved.” No matter what topic was preached, every service ended with an invitation to receive the Lord Jesus Christ.

I remember one man who had made a covenant with God to lead someone to the Lord every day of his life. Sometimes he had to walk the streets late at night to make his contact and keep his oath! Once I asked him if any of these people had, after having made such a decision, started to attend the church. He responded that even though none had, he anticipated great joy in Heaven when he discovered what had happened to each one of the converts.

This man’s sincerity was unquestionable. Yet, it seemed to me to be sadly out of balance. I, too, believe in conversion. But, I hold that it must always be carefully presented in the total context of changing one’s pattern of living. I don’t believe it is possible for a person by good deeds to accomplish his own salvation. Neither, however, do I think it feasible to ask God for forgiveness while having secret reservations in regard to being willing, with God’s help, to radically change one’s lifestyle.

Interaction would have been very profitable for the total congregation at this point. The imbalance could have been corrected had the people been more adept at talking openly about such aspects of their faith. But, the mindset was such that this was simply not possible. They interpreted someone’s saying the same thing in a new way as bordering on heresy.

I’ve been using these most recent blog posts to help construct a foundation onto which I can place some suggestions to help pastors go about finding a role that works in their particular church. To do this, I’m sharing my own experiences at the start of my ministry in the church with you. I will continue to address this issue—finding a role that works— in the next few blog posts. I invite you to come back to this blog and read more.

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Sunday’s coming. Do you have your sermon ready? Is it relevant? Will it effectively motivate your congregation to walk more in step with the Master? What about that Sermon Series you’ve been thinking about? Or, what will you preach for your Easter Sermon, your Advent Sermon, your Christmas Sermon? David Mains and Mainstay Ministries can help you learn how to create better Bible Sermons and how to turn Sermon Ideas into Sermon Outlines, and then into effective, meaningful Sunday Sermons. Just click here to visit David Mains’ website.

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Finding A Role That Works – Part 3

September 22, 2010 by admin

In your church, dear pastor, how do you go about finding a role that works? That’s the question I’m addressing in this series of blog posts. I am drawing on my own experiences when I began my ministry within the church as an assistant pastor. I’m hoping that through my experiences, I can offer you some encouragement and suggestions.

I’ve been describing the first church where I served as an assistant pastor.

I remember one conversation with a church leader who was knocking the “fundamentalists” for preaching so often against smoking. “Though no one mentions it here,” he continued, “I can only think of one or two who attend who smoke. And, I don’t recall ever seeing a cigarette butt on the floor of the church, the vestibule, front stairs, or even in the parking lot.”

His point was that outsiders were not likely to take advantage of this open-minded silence on the matter. I had never seen a cigarette butt in these places either. My point was: their very absence was not symbolic of the outsider’s respect, but of his or her disdain for our exclusiveness.

Transferring to downtown Chicago after little more than a year, I became assistant pastor of a ministry “known around the world” where, at that time, there was no senior pastor. The auditorium alone seated over four thousand. And, though the church had been declining, there was still an average attendance of close to nine hundred on Sunday morning.

A strong tendency existed for the people to go back to “the good old days,” when even the balcony was filled and “the best speakers from around the world” stood in the pulpit. Their great craving was that someday a strong-voiced “deliverer” would come and boldly lead them back to yesterday! They were not interest in making plans, even of a temporary nature, until “Moses” appeared on the scene.

In addressing the issue of how a pastor goes about finding a role that works, I’m painting a picture for you of my own experiences at the start of my ministry in the church. I’m doing this, so I can lay the foundation for some very practical suggestions that I have to help you in your place of service to Christ and His Kingdom. I will continue to address this issue in the next few blog posts. Please plan to come back to this blog and read more.

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You can learn how to develop highly relevant Sunday sermons that grab the attention of your congregation and help your listeners respond effectively to the deep truths of God’s Word. David Mains and Mainstay Ministries have a whole range of helpful solutions. Do you need to prepare a Topical Sermon, an Advent Sermon, a Christmas Sermon, an Easter Sermon, a Sermon Series, or any other Sunday Sermon? You can find help on how to create better Bible Sermons and how to turn Sermon Ideas into Sermon Outlines, and then into effective, meaningful Sunday Sermons. Just click here to visit David Mains’ website.

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Finding A Role That Works – Part 2

September 21, 2010 by admin

In private, most pastors will admit that they continue to struggle with finding a role that works. In order to offer some help, in this current series of blog posts I am sharing some of my own experiences in finding a role that works.

Let me continue describing the first church where I served as an assistant pastor.

Prayer meetings were well attended. But, the spirit of them did not reach my expectations. I was used to the prayer meetings of my Youth for Christ days when together, on our knees, arms encircling one another, we pleaded for God to sustain our very existence. Somehow, the oft-intoned reminders of missionaries around the world (in spite of a very active missions program), unsaved relatives, and the physically ill seemed manufactured. Rarely, if ever, as I remember, were there requests that bared the open agony of a Christian in desperate need.

In those prayer meetings, few seemed to be speaking from that precarious ledge called faith—striving in ministries, personal or congregational, so far above their familiar abilities that they required God’s hand to keep them from falling. As a result, prayer became cursory.

There was also a tendency for the group to be extremely in-grown. I taught a series in the couples’ class (thirty-to-forty-year-olds) emphasizing the principle of developing non-Christian acquaintances—again another idea that para-church evangelistic groups have developed and stressed. It was quite a shock to learn that not only did these warm, gracious people not have non-church friends, but that I, myself, since leaving Youth for Christ, had become such a part of the church that I had not been developing these relationships either! The activity calendar had conspired against all of us.

I’m addressing the issue of how a pastor goes about finding a role that works. In the next few blog posts, I will continue to address this issue. I hope you will come back to this blog and read more.

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Pastor, when “sermon prep day” rolls around each week, do you face the task of preparing another sermon with a frown on your face? If so, you’re not alone. Many pastors literally dread preparing their Sunday sermon. There just doesn’t seem to be an easy solution. The good news: David Mains and Mainstay Ministries can help, whether you need to create a Topical Sermon, an Advent Sermon, a Christmas Sermon, an Easter Sermon, a Sermon Series, or any other Sunday Sermon. For more information on how to create better Bible Sermons and how to turn Sermon Ideas into Sermon Outlines, and then into effective, meaningful Sunday Sermons, please click here to visit David Mains’ website.

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