I’m a professor who doesn’t like course evaluations and a preacher who doesn’t enjoy sermon critiques. So, I’m leery of telling others how to improve their preaching or teaching. Nevertheless, here are 15 ways (some that are perhaps surprising) to improve your communicating the gospel:

1. Assume you need to improve. If you genuinely believe you have no room for improvement, ask others until you find someone who’s honest enough to help you (in fact, that person might tell you that you sometimes come across as arrogant).
2. Consider the last time you intentionally improved your approach. If your last intentional improvement occurred years ago, or if you can’t remember when it was, you may have become stagnant as a communicator.
3. Read the Bible and pray every day. This suggestion is basic, but it matters. Preachers and teachers who read the Scriptures only to prepare a lesson have reduced the Bible to a textbook for others. Those who communicate without praying regularly are operating in their own power.
4. Forsake sin in your life. Again, it’s foundational yet imperative. Sin drains our passion for God and robs us of our power for communicating the gospel. Open the Scriptures with a clean heart, though, and it’s pure joy.
5. Spend more time with your congregation. Your job is to teach the Word, but it’s more than that: it’s to teach people the Word. In fact, it’s a particular people: your class or your congregation. Know them so well that you can help them apply the Word to their lives.
6. Enlist a prayer team. Don’t assume others are praying regularly for you as you preach or teach. Enlist prayer warriors who will intercede specifically for your holiness, your preparation, and your teaching. Know you will be proclaiming the Word under the power of God.
7. Study preaching and teaching. Search for online preaching or teaching classes (e.g., my president at Southeastern Seminary, Danny Akin, offers a free course on “Interpreting and Teaching the Bible: http://goo.gl/4M6rtv). Read books about preaching and teaching (e.g., http://goo.gl/s4KAGH). Even veteran preachers and teachers can usually learn from reviewing these materials.
8. Listen to other preachers. If you think you preach or teach too long, listen to someone who is more concise. Learn the value of stories and illustrations by considering what you remember from a sermon. Take note of good introductions and conclusions. Absorb from others without trying to become somebody else.
9. Invite others to help you prepare. Enlist others to walk with you as you put together your sermon or lesson. Invite them to critique your exegesis and your proposed outline. Preach the sermon to them first. If time won’t allow you to take this approach each week, try it at least once a month.
10. Simply and clearly answer the “what,” “so what,” and “now what” questions. What does the biblical text say? Why does that truth matter? As a listener, what am I to do with this teaching? If you as the preacher or teacher can’t answer these questions, neither will your hearers.
11. Practice. Read your manuscript or outline again and again. Teach it in your head – or to the wall . . . or your infant . . . or your dog . . . or to the air – multiple times. Know the material so well that you can connect easily with your audience when teaching it.
12. Do immediate reflection. As soon as possible after teaching or preaching, jot down some notes. What worked well? What needs to be changed? Make notes while your teaching is hot in your mind.
13. Listen to and watch your own sermons or lessons. For the sake of communicating the gospel better, become the audience for your own teaching or preaching. And, if you discover no room for improvement, go back to suggestion #1 above and invite others to listen to your message with you.
14. Invite unchurched folks to listen to your sermons or lessons. Ask an unchurched friend or unbeliever to critique your teaching. Find out if he or she understands your points. Determine how often you use Christian jargon. See if your friend sees your teaching as applicable. Give it a try – your friend might even turn to Jesus!
15. Take care of yourself physically. Eat properly. Sleep well. Take your days off. Go on your vacation. An exhausted, out of shape preacher or teacher is not a good witness for the transforming power of the gospel.

What other suggestions would you make?

Chuck Lawless currently serves as Professor of Evangelism and Missions and Dean of Graduate Studies at Southeastern Seminary. You can connect with Dr. Lawless on both Twitter and Facebook.

The post 15 Ways to Improve Your Preaching or Teaching appeared first on ThomRainer.com.

If you are a pastor who has not considered quitting, you are likely in the minority. And certainly there are times when we should leave. But, if your desire to quit is the result of the typical challenges of pastoring, allow me to share nine thoughts that may lead you to reconsider.

1. Many storms pass quickly. I can remember times when I thought the world was crashing in on me. But, in a matter of a few weeks, the storm had passed. Many of the crises of the moment will become faded memories of the past.
2. It’s probably not you. Those critics and dissidents see you as a convenient target. They may not really be frustrated at you. But you are the most visible place to unload. It’s probably another issue, and not you.
3. The vast majority of the congregation supports you. I know. I’ve seen travesties where a pastor has been forced out by vengeful staff members and misguided personnel committees. But most of the time the minority does not have that power. Remember that the majority of the church members love and support you.
4. Remember your call. You likely have a clear recollection of the time God called you to ministry and to this church. Remember that call. At times, it’s what you need to hang in there.
5. Longer-term pastors see better days. Sometimes it takes years to earn the leadership trust of the congregation. One of the gifts many pastors need is the gift of perseverance.
6. Hurting church members often hurt others. Among those “others” are you, their pastor. Their grief and pain can unfortunately be directed at you.
7. It’s not better in other churches. Many pastors get the green grass syndrome. They move from church to church trying to find the church without problems, critics, and challenges. That church does not exist.
8. The changing culture frustrates many church members. They remember the “good old days” where almost everyone went to church and change was minimal. They are frustrated and fearful, and they often see you as the problem.
9. God is with you. I know you grasp this truth theologically, but you may need to pause to assimilate it experientially. God called you. God loves you. He will not abandon you.

While I focused on the pastor for these nine thoughts, it applies to all of you in vocational ministry. Serving a church can be tough. But you have been called to a ministry of service even to the “least of these.” And the least of these can include those who are giving you the biggest headaches.

What do you think of these nine thoughts? What would you add? Let me hear from you.

The post Nine Thoughts for Pastors Who Are Considering Quitting appeared first on ThomRainer.com.

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Today on the podcast we cover an often overlooked aspect of ministry: counseling. Most, if not all, ministers will be needed for counseling at some point in their ministry. So it is important to establish guidelines for counseling for the benefit of both the minister and those seeking the counseling. We also discuss premarital counseling and whether or not ministers should perform the weddings of those who do not go through premarital counseling.

• It is absolutely necessary to have safeguards in place for opposite gender counseling.
• Pastors should be available to counsel members because many issues are specifically spiritual in nature.
• Counseling is a great need in many churches.
• Counseling policies should be in writing for the protection of the church and the minister.
• Staff who enjoy counseling sometimes unknowingly neglect other duties by spending too much time counseling.
• Premarital counseling was required for all couples for whom I performed the wedding ceremony.

The eight guidelines for counseling we discussed are:

1. Be careful with opposite gender counseling.
2. Know your limitations in counseling.
3. Have a system of referrals for outside counselors.
4. Get to know other professional counselors in the area.
5. Know your local rules and regulations regarding counseling.
6. Know the boundaries of your counseling abilities.
7. Get to know other staff in the area to learn localized counseling issues.
8. If illegal activity is discovered, immediately go to legal authorities.

Episode Sponsor

Vanderbloemen Search Group is the premier pastor search firm dedicated to helping churches and ministries build great teams. They’ve helped hundreds of churches just like yours find their church staff and are uniquely geared to help you discern who God is calling to lead your church. Find out more about Vanderbloemen Search Group by visiting WeStaffTheChurch.com.

Feedback

If you have a question you would like answered on the show, fill out the form on the podcast page here at ThomRainer.com. If we use your question, you’ll receive a free copy of Autopsy of a Deceased Church.

Resources

• Lifeworks Counseling Center – Longhollow Baptist Church

The post Guidelines for Counseling in the Church – Rainer on Leadership #131 appeared first on ThomRainer.com.

In this post, I look at five types, or levels, of change receptivity in the church. Church leaders should attempt to understand where their church fits on this scale. The level of receptivity to change is directly related to the type of leadership needed to lead change best.

Change Resistance Scale

• R1. Fiercely resistant. These churches typically resist almost any noticeable change. An example might be a slight modification in the order of worship services. These churches need long-term leaders with the patience of Job and the skin of a rhinoceros.
• R2. Steadily incremental. For the most part, R2 churches are change-resistant. Members of these churches, however, will accept change if it is slow in developing and methodical. For example, they may be willing to add a second worship service if the leader prepares the church for around a year in advance.
• R3. Significant improvement. An R3 church will likely accept change readily if it is an extension or improvement of an existing ministry, program, or facility. Worship times, new small groups, and building programs do not meet resistance because they simply reflect improvement upon that which already is in place.
• R4. Substantive change. Members in an R4 church understand that much needs to change in order for the congregation to have an impact in their community and in the world. Though multi-campus models may seem strange to them, for example, they are willing and desirous to move forward if leaders explain to them the benefit of the change.
• R5. Leading edge. Members in an R5 church typically are moving faster than the leaders. They don’t understand why change is not happening at more vigorous pace. They have a firm grasp of cultural realities. Though they would not compromise biblical truth, anything else is up for change or replacing.

If you are a leader in a church, you must discern where your church is on the change-resistance scale. Many leaders lose their jobs because they lead the church like it’s a R5 church when, in reality, it’s an R2 church.

Though I am reticent to provide estimates, here is my best guess of the percentage of churches in each category.

• R1: 50%
• R2: 25%
• R3: 15%
• R4: 9%
• R5: 1%

Where is your church on the change-resistance scale? R1? R2? R3? R4? or R5? What do you think of my categorizations? Let me hear from you.

The post Five Types of Change Resistant Churches appeared first on ThomRainer.com.

Pastor: Bill Bozeman, Interim

Weekly Worship: 8:00 AM, 9:15 AM, 10:45 AM, and 6:00 PM, Eastern.

Fast Facts: FBC Springfield is currently going through a tough period of transition following the death of their senior pastor last February. They stand at a crossroads between revival and church decline. FBC Springfield recently celebrated its 167th anniversary, and has been a force for good in our community since its founding. They have encountered and overcome many trials during that 167 years, and with God’s grace they will overcome this time of transition. Please pray for the search for FBC Springfield’s new senior pastor and for the church leadership (both ministerial and lay) that they would be unified in mission and spirit.

Website: FBC-Springfield.org

“Pray for . . .” is the Sunday blog series at ThomRainer.com. We encourage you to pray for these churches noted every Sunday. Please feel free to comment that you are praying as well.

If you would like to have your church featured in the “Pray for…” series, fill out this information form..

The post Pray for FBC Springfield, GA appeared first on ThomRainer.com.

Many who find themselves in leadership often struggle with confidence. Art provides six reminders to leaders that will help build and maintain confidence as you lead.

5 Spiritual Dangers of Skipping Church — Nathan Rose

When we think about skipping church, we often go straight to the practical benefits which are missed. Nathan reminds us that it is spiritually dangerous for those who profess Christ to regularly miss worship with their church family.

Leaving Baptist in Your Church Name Won’t Scare People Away — Christianity Today

Fascinating findings here from a recent LifeWay Research project. In what may surprise a those of you who listened to yesterday’s podcast on the future of denominations, Baptist (61%) scored the most favorably among the denominational names surveyed.

Traditional Southern Baptist Church Sells Its Building to an Arab Southern Baptist Church — Washington Post

This story of a church near Nashville could be a page right out of Autopsy of a Deceased Church. A traditional church closed and sold their building to a local Arabic church looking for a place to meet in a community that was decidedly Arabic. The church now reflects the community more than ever.

4 Lessons Megachurches Can Learn from Churches of 50 — Tony Luhrman

There are still things large churches can learn from small churches. These are just four of many.

Four Reasons Why Pastors Should Quit — Mark Dance

If you’re going to quit as a pastor, you better have a great reason. These four would qualify as such.

The post Notable Voices: June 6, 2015 appeared first on ThomRainer.com.

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There are a host of positive benefits to denominations. But their reputations can often be less than positive with those outside of the denomination. We often unfairly ascribe issues in local churches to a denomination as a whole as well as larger denominational issues to local churches within that denomination. So today on the podcast, we discuss the place denominations have in our church culture and their future.

• Some denominations have negative doctrinal reputations. Others have negative personal reputations.
• When it comes to denominations, the media often covers the nutty, the negative, and the naysayers.
• Millennials are less denominationally tied than any other generation.
• Many denominations see the redundancies and inefficiencies present in their structures and are changing.
• Denominations anchor churches in a clear, common doctrinal position.

The eight reasons people are leaving denominational churches for non-denominational churches are:

1. Denominational churches have a negative reputation. 
2. Denominations are known more for what they are against than what they are for.
3. There is too much infighting and politics in denominations.
4. The denominational churches are too liberal. 
5. There is a general waning of institutional loyalty in institutions such as denominations.
6. Denominations have inefficient systems and organizations. They are too bureaucratic.
7. Some of the respondents could see no perceived benefit to belonging to denominations.
8. Denominations are not good stewards of their financial resources.

Episode Sponsor

Vanderbloemen Search Group is the premier pastor search firm dedicated to helping churches and ministries build great teams. They’ve helped hundreds of churches just like yours find their church staff and are uniquely geared to help you discern who God is calling to lead your church. Find out more about Vanderbloemen Search Group by visiting WeStaffTheChurch.com.

Feedback

If you have a question you would like answered on the show, fill out the form on the podcast page here at ThomRainer.com. If we use your question, you’ll receive a free copy of Autopsy of a Deceased Church.

The post The Future of Denominations – Rainer on Leadership #130 appeared first on ThomRainer.com.

I suspect this post may offend someone, but that’s not my goal. I want churches to strive for excellence simply because our calling is to do what we do for God’s glory. I fear, though, that many congregations settle for mediocrity. As a church consultant, I’ve learned that these signs are often an indicator that the church overall does not strive for excellence:

1. No plans for evaluation. When I ask church leaders about their strategy for evaluating the worship service, the sermons, the programs, etc., they often have no intentional evaluations. Seldom does a church move far beyond mediocrity when no assessment occurs.
2. Tolerance of mistakes. Granted, no church is perfect. On the other hand, churches that repeatedly have mistakes in the bulletin, misspelled words in PowerPoint presentations, and confusion in worship services are sending wrong signals.
3. Poor maintenance of the church grounds. It’s easy for regular attenders to inadvertently miss the out-of-control bushes, the dying flowers, and the broken asphalt – but guests may not miss the same stuff. What they see when they enter the lot says something about the church’s commitment to excellence.
4. Poor upkeep of the building. Maintenance is a never-ending chore, but tasks like removing clutter, painting walls, and replacing light bulbs are not that difficult. To ignore these jobs is to settle for less than the best.
5. No records of attendance, growth, etc. I understand churches that don’t want numbers-consciousness to trump their God-centeredness, but my concern is the church that pays no attention to numbers. Seldom have I seen those churches strive to improve in many areas.
6. No clear discipleship strategy. Few churches have a defined strategy to lead new believers toward growth and maturity. The church without a plan will wind up with stagnant, non-growing believers (often even among leaders) – and that’s mediocrity.
7. Toleration of sin. The congregation that permits blatant sin to continue without steps toward redemptive discipline fosters a church that looks like the world. To ignore sin in the camp is to settle for less than God’s best.
8. No class for membership. Potential members should understand what membership means before they make a commitment to the congregation. Churches without a membership class are essentially inviting members to join with no expectations. Little zeal toward the church – mediocrity, that is – is often the result.
9. Lack of vision. Church vision statements are common – but so are the leaders and laypersons who don’t know their church’s vision. Churches that are not driven by a compelling, oft-stated vision are frequently stuck in the mediocrity of yesterdays.
10. Little attention to the nations. I admit my biased interest in reaching the world, but I am only reporting what I have seen: churches that do not have a global passion tend to be inwardly focused and self-protective. They seldom push themselves beyond the comfort of their norm.
11. No new workers in place. When all the church workers are the same ones who have worked for years (even when they’re excellent workers), something is amiss. The church may have seen no growth, or they may have no plan in place to move new members into ministry. Eventually, a lack of new workers will lead to tired workers who cannot give their best in every area of service.
12. Lack of “healthy chaos.” The healthiest churches I know are continually evaluating and stretching themselves while deeply holding to the Word and the truth of the gospel. A bit of chaos is the norm. Stagnation, on the other hand, is mediocrity lived out.

What other signs of mediocrity have you seen?

Chuck Lawless currently serves as Professor of Evangelism and Missions and Dean of Graduate Studies at Southeastern Seminary. You can connect with Dr. Lawless on both Twitter and Facebook.

The post 12 Signs of Mediocrity in a Church appeared first on ThomRainer.com.

One of the more frequent conversations I have deals with momentum. The discussion typically goes in this direction: “We were doing so well, then it was like the brakes were hit. We have not been able to recover since then.”

I will then ask the obvious question: “What happened?” My question is straightforward because I know most church leaders will identify a singular event that precipitated the momentum reversal. In this article, I identify seven of the most common “momentum stoppers.”

1. Firing of the pastor. Unfortunately, this issue is the most common among momentum stoppers. It can take churches years to recover from firing a pastor, especially if significant segments of the membership and the community view the firing as unjustified.
2. Moral failure of a leader in the church. This leader could be a pastor, staff person, elder, or lay leader. The impact is immediate and often prolonged.
3. Unhindered church bullies. I wrote a recent article about church bullies, and I’ve been surprised at the number of responses we have received. Church bullies are toxic to a church. When church leaders do not confront church bullies, those bullies are even more toxic.
4. Significant community changes. The pastor wrote me a forthright email: “Our community is dying.” The major employer in town shut down. Other ancillary businesses closed soon thereafter. In just eight months, the community lost one-third of its population, and many of the remaining residents are unemployed.
5. Comfort. When the preferences of the church members become greater than their passion for the gospel, the church is already dying.
6. Power plays. The story is sad but true. A church staff member worked with a key group in the church to make some major changes not supported by most of the members. Trust has disappeared and morale is low. Momentum is gone.
7. Poor pastoral transition. A change in the senior leadership of the church can be either a time of great opportunity or a time of difficult challenges. When a pastor leaves, and another pastor arrives, great and intentional care must be exercised in making the transition positive. Otherwise momentum can come to a grinding halt.

Certainly there are other factors that can hinder or stop momentum in a church. You readers always have good insights. Let me know what you think of these seven factors, and let me know what you would add to the list.

The post Seven Factors That Stop Momentum in a Church appeared first on ThomRainer.com.

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Today on the podcast, we discuss many of the issues involved in moving to or from multiple worship services. In most cases, it’s not just about adding an hour of programming. There are logistical issues almost at every turn, and communication and foresight are key parts to a successful transition.

• Churches hold multiple worship services for various reasons: seating capacity, worship style, convenience.
• The most successful moves to or from multiple worships come when the pain point is obvious to the congregation.
• Volunteer needs in a church change dramatically when adding a worship service.
• Many churches who over built a decade or two ago are now contracting the size of their worship space.
• Churches need a breathing period to adjust to the new normal when they add a worship service.

The seven things you need to know about moving to or from multiple worship services are:

1. Know your attendance numbers & capacity
2. Start sowing the seeds with leadership early
3. Think about logistics
4. Consider volunteer needs and demands
5. Make the move when the pain point is obvious
6. Stay positive but be honest
7. Move forward with the new normal

Episode Sponsor

Vanderbloemen Search Group is the premier pastor search firm dedicated to helping churches and ministries build great teams. They’ve helped hundreds of churches just like yours find their church staff and are uniquely geared to help you discern who God is calling to lead your church. Find out more about Vanderbloemen Search Group by visiting WeStaffTheChurch.com.

Feedback

If you have a question you would like answered on the show, fill out the form on the podcast page here at ThomRainer.com. If we use your question, you’ll receive a free copy of Autopsy of a Deceased Church.

Resources

• Cosco & Associates
• Revitalized Churches

The post Moving to or from Multiple Worship Services – Rainer on Leadership #129 appeared first on ThomRainer.com.