How Successful Pastors Think

Last week, I took a first look at the habits of successful pastors. I cannot overemphasize the truth that the issue is not what they know or intend to do, but what they actually get done. Today I want to unpack how a successful pastor thinks. 

1. Successful pastors have an intentional walk with God. They have a disciplined intake of Scripture which is balanced and consistent. They get into the Word so the Word gets into them. Coupled with a disciplined intake of the Word is a consistent life of prayer. Jesus gave us a pattern for prayer in the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6 and 7. Paul taught us much about the importance of prayer as the alternative to worry. Be assured. God knows our needs, but often He waits for us to ask for His intervention. If something is big enough to worry about, it is big enough to pray about. If you have a need, take it to the Lord in prayer.

2. Successful pastors communicate on a variety of levels. Of course, their principal responsibility is to communicate the Word of God on a weekly if not daily basis. To do this effectively takes time, discipline, effort, and training. There is a price to pay to be effective in the pulpit. Aside from this, pastors need to communicate with staff, leadership, his congregation, and whenever possible to a larger audience. Successful pastors make use of social media and see themselves as agents of God's grace to a hurting world. If you study the Pastoral Epistles, you will find over 50 references to communicating in one form or another. Communicate!

3. Successful pastors evaluate everything in light of their concern for the church. No matter what the situation, every activity, every choice, every response, every decision, every allocation of time and money should be made in light of how it will affect their church and its witness. Before you do or say something you might regret, ask yourself "how will this affect my church's witness? Will this strengthen or weaken my church's influence for the cause of Christ?"

4. Successful pastors solve problems. Problem solving is looking at something in the past that either went wrong, did not work, or fell short of expectations. Then it asks, "what needs to be done to fix this situation?" Lay out the options, pray for discernment, and choose the best solution in light of the available resources. Successful pastors have learned to solve problems. Problem solving is oriented toward the past. It is looking back.

5. Successful pastors make decisions. This activity is present-tense in its orientation. It is looking at present resources of time, energy, and finances. Then, when options are seen clearly, it decides. Procrastination is often the enemy of effective decision making. Here is where deadlines are helpful. There is a time to gather information and there is a time to decide. Successful pastors and effective leaders know how to make decisions and then move ahead.

6. Successful pastors plan. Planning is oriented toward the future. Whether planning what to do tomorrow, next week, or next year, planning is essential if anything is ever to be accomplished. Successful pastors plan on a variety of levels. They plan their personal lives, they plan their work, they lead planning on behalf of their church and its ministries. Successful pastors and successful ministries, and successful churches are always asking, "God, what do you want us to do?" "What can we do that will make a difference for eternity?" "What can we do that will minister to hurting people?" "What can we do that will build up and equip believers for effective service?" Successful pastors are always looking down the road.

7. Successful pastors are life-long learners. Those who quit learning quit leading. It is as simples as that. Every successful pastor I know is a reader and a learner. So, what are you reading? And what are you learning? Who from the past and present is influencing you today? What 10 books have been most influential in your life and ministry? What magazines, journals, blogs, podcasts, and twitter feeds do you keep up with? Who is influencing you?

8. Successful pastors develop others. In Ephesians 4, Paul writes about the responsibility of pastors to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. It is incredibly important to equip and teach by example. If the one who is leading and teaching is not doing, or has not done, the work of ministry, how can they teach others? Pastor, how are you developing yourself, your staff, and your leadership? What are you doing to develop new leaders and ministers? What opportunities are you providing for potential leaders and ministers? What are you modeling for the purpose of developing others?

Next week I will wrap up this series of posts with a checklist of the successful pastor's perspective. What comes to mind when you think of a successful pastor? 

8 Habits of a Successful Pastor

Last spring I wrote about the characteristics of a successful pastor. Today, I would like to talk about what a successful pastor does. When the dust settles and time gives perspective, what a person does or does not do will in many ways determine whether or not they are successful. 

Successful pastors do the will of God. What does that look like in the life and ministry of the contemporary pastor's life? 

8 Habits of a Successful Pastor

1. Successful pastors value their calling. They understand that the work they have set out to accomplish is God's work and not their own. And they understand that they serve a Master who has called them to a higher calling. They understand that they are to follow where He leads and to stay until He says "go." What they do carries eternal results and consequences. What they do is more important than making money and making a living. They are God's representative, God's ambassador, God's spokesman. As such, they take seriously the stewardship of responsibility. They do not sell themselves cheaply, neither do they sell themselves short. They understand the value of their giftedness, their training, their experience and their scars. They have an intrinsic grasp of their value to God's Kingdom and refuse to let the world discount that value.
2. Successful pastors grasp the task. Serving as a pastor necessitates the cultivation of numerous skills. Yet, all the skills in the world are worthless if you find yourself doing the wrong things. The calling of a pastor is primarily doing the will of God God's way with the ultimate goal of extending God's Kingdom. If the Apostles' work serves as a pattern, then that calling's tasks consist of leading, feeding, and interceding. Over the course of decades, the successful pastor works to cultivate these skills and abilities. This is a life-long endeavor. School is never out nor over.
3. Successful pastors live with purpose. Pastors should have purpose-driven ministries. Pastors should keep before them the purposes for which their congregations exist: evangelism, discipleship, worship, fellowship, and ministry. The pastor's work is to insure that these purposes in balance are the primary activities of the church.
4. Successful pastors live by priorities. An old adage says that "those who fail to prioritize find themselves in the thick of thin things." So what should be a pastor's priorities? First, his relationship to The Lord. Let's not be so busy in the wok of the Kingdom that we do not have time for the King. Second, his relationship with his family. Third, the ministry of the church. If these priorities ever get out of sequence, difficulties in ministry will be close behind.
5. Successful pastors manage their time well. Those who fail to plan, plan to fail. So what can you do to make the most of your time? First, work from a calendar and a day-planner. To know ahead of time what you must plan for is of critical importance and precludes you from getting caught off guard unnecessarily. I work off a "projects for the week" list on an ongoing basis. Second, prioritize what must be done first on a day by day basis. I suggest doing that the day before. Third, delegate what you can, and do what only you can do. Fourth, learn to say "no." You cannot do everything and everything is not worth doing. Finally, take time to take care of yourself. Burn-out is not a spiritual condition. 
6. Successful pastors work with diligence. When it is time to work, it is time to work. Determine what needs to be done, and get busy. As pastor, you set the pace. Planning and preparation will help you to be more productive. What is your schedule? What are you trying to accomplish? Write it down and check it off when the job is done.
7. Successful pastors compartmentalize. Too many times, I have seen pastors consumed with worry and fretting over "what-ifs," and consequently they are semi-paralyzed. Successful pastors know how to put things they cannot control into a box with the understanding that they can get to that subject later. Being preoccupied with too many "other things" can cause the pastor to be ineffective in the moment. If there is a concern, write it down, reflect on the alternative steps of action, and pray about it. Then, put it away. One reason our sub-conscience will not stop mulling over something, is because we are afraid we will miss or forget something. If we write it down, the sub-conscience will let it go.
8. Successful pastors guard their heart. They understand that their entire life's work is in the context of a spiritual war. Satan is out to destroy men and their ministries. Destruction too often begins internally with an unguarded heart. I challenge you to continuously monitor the state of your heart. Only clean vessels are useful in the hands of God.

Which of these habits is most challenging for you? How do you continue to grow in these areas? 

Looking for more about pastoral success? Check out 7 Pillars of a Successful Pastor's Attitude and What Successful Pastors Desire. 

The Parable of the Apple Tree: Year 2

This time last year we were enjoying apples from our tree. All totaled, we probably harvested close to 200 of them. This year, however, was different. We have one lone apple. 

Just one! 

We may have another hiding in the foliage but I doubt it. To what do I attribute this under performance? I could argue that God in His sovereignty decided to withhold His hand of blessing. But this leads me to observe that God often gets blamed for things He had nothing to do with. So what is the reason?

This past Spring started out just like the previous one. Beautiful green leaves came first then what looked like hundreds of little flowers. Each was beautiful in its unique way and each had the potential to grow and ripen into a delicious and mature apple. But I was busy and did not spray the tree this year for insects. Neither did I fertilize it. So between the insects, the deer that enjoyed the low hanging fruit, and the squirrels, by harvest season there was virtually nothing left. Who can I blame? Myself and no one else.

Jesus told a parable of a fruit tree that bore no fruit (Luke 13:6-9). In this instance it was a fig tree. It had the same problem my tree has had this year: no fruit. The gardener's solution? Give it one more year. I will dig around it and fertilize it, then we will see. If there is no fruit, then we will cut it down. But hopefully fruit will be present next growing season. The difference? Cultivation. In Jesus' case, digging around and fertilizer. In my case fertilizer and spraying. But the difference is in the cultivation.

All over the world, God has planted churches which, in agricultural terms, exist for the purpose of bearing a harvest. The fruit produced is both new believers and an increasing maturity on the part of its members. In John 15 terminology, believers are branches which bear the fruit which Jesus as the vine (He is dealing with grapes in this parable) produces and God the Father superintends as the Master Gardener. The life flows from the vine through the branches to produce fruit. 

From the human perspective, the key is still the issue of cultivation. Healthy trees, well tended, must produce fruit. If no fruit is forth coming, something is wrong. Every church with no new and maturing believers ought to consider that they might have a cultivation problem. I would encourage them, moreover, not only to acknowledge the problem but to take action. My apple tree next year, if I have anything to do with it, will be laden down with apples. Why? Because I intend to cultivate it and set it free to do what it was intended to do. Grow apples! 

How about your vineyard, your harvest field, your fruit tree? Are you cultivating the life and ministry God has entrusted to you? 

The test? Fruitfulness.

The Unspoken Tension Between (Some) Pastors and (Some) Laity: A Reflection And Commentary

I am speaking to the Great Commission Research Network meeting at Lifeway in Nashville on Wednesday and this blog contains part of the material I will share.

I recently read a blog and a response to it by two men for whom I have great respect, Thom Rainer and Rod Martin. Rainer wrote a blog entitled "The Unspoken Tension Between (Some) Pastors and (Some) Laity." Martin penned a response which contributed two additional insights to the discussion.

Rainer's thesis was that a growing tension exists between some pastors and some laity in churches across America. The tension, he maintains, is not pervasive but it is growing. He suggested that it is like a family secret that no one mentions explicitly, but many speak around it and near it. And, he concludes, this tension is growing. Then he observes, "this tension is one of the effective tools used by Satan to distract from those things that are of Kingdom importance." He then relates what each side is saying. 

Pastors complain of critical people: the silent majority which allows the problems, the apathetic members who do nothing, and the self-serving who take advantage of the situation. He then assesses that ministry is messy and pastors have to relate to imperfect people. Noting that the disgruntled crowd is usually small, he reminds pastors that God called them to love the unlovely unconditionally.

From the lay perspective, there are complaints of autocratic and abusive pastors, non-leading pastors, change-agent pastors who want to make too many changes too rapidly, non-pastoral care pastors, and pastors who are poor preachers. Rainer's ultimate solution is for everyone to focus on the needs and concerns of others rather than their own needs. And to be self-giving and sacrificial. He urges all parties to embody Philippians 2:3-5: “Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus.” 

Martin suggests that Rainer may have missed two icebergs crashing into our churches both centered in the pulpit. He suggests that many pastors do not understand the world we live in and as a result do not address critical issues especially from a soundly Biblical context. Coupled with that is the fact that way too many pastors refuse to call, especially the men, to anything that matters. How can men be change agents for the better in a corrupt and broken world? Pastors need to rise up and lead men to address these needs! 

I agree with what both of these men have written, but more can be said. In fact I can easily see one or more books addressing these issues.

My first thought when I read Rainer's blog was to blurt out, "better unspoken tensions than outright conflict." I pastored a church that went into a full-blown war, a "perfect storm" might be a better description. From my vantage point, here is what I saw. Maybe you can learn from my experience (nightmare might be a better word).

First, I believe three root causes were present. It started with unclarified expectations. During the conflict, I received a letter from one of my antagonists the heart of which stated, "when you came here, we wanted a preacher, not a leader." She said more than she meant to. After two decades we still were working off different assumptions and different expectations.

Added to that was the rapidly changing demographic of the area where our church was located. Ten years before the conflict, a demographic specialist told me that the demographics within the church's field of ministry were changing and we needed to change our ministry or change our location.  "If not," he cautioned,  "you will lose people to upward social mobility and you will be blamed for it." He was right. And that is the subject for another time.

A third root cause was an outdated and faulty Constitution and Bylaws. Ours did not have safeguards to preclude the unfolding disorder.

Coupled with the root causes was a complex mindset displayed by those that launched the attack. Here is my take.

1. A naive mentality was present. Music preferences were raised to conviction levels. When we started a contemporary service, I heard that we had let the devil's music into the church. These criticisms came from people who did not even attend these services.

2. I saw an owner's mentality. A small group, an old guard, most of whom lived around the church were dead set against us talking to a major business about the possibility of selling some of the church's land. They did everything possible to stop this proposal from coming to the church for discussion or vote. Their argument was "we don 't want to sell God's land." The truth is, that should have been a church decision. 

3. I saw an entitlement mentality. Sadly, the mindset was, "we have been here the longest. This is our church." For whatever reason, the notion that the entire church should have due deliberation did not matter.

Coupled with this was a Messiah mentality on the part of a few of their leaders. These people literally attempted to usurp leadership that God never gave them. And we had no way to stop this effectively.

I also saw a bully mentality. Repeated lawsuits, disruption of worship services, anonymous letters, accusations without facts, and a cheap-shot website with no owner (looped through a foreign country, with multiple anonymous blogs and articles) all added to the disarray. It is hard to disprove negative accusations.

A carnal mentality was also present. A rampant disregard for Biblical imperatives ran rampant. It was disheartening.

A gullible mentality ran with this as well. A small well-coordinated group master-minded the whole conflict. A lot of good but gullible people believed everything that was thrown out. It is sad when good people get manipulated and do not ever know or even realize what is happening.

Finally, I saw a small to medium-sized church mentality (using categories established by McIntosh and Kellar). I am all for small churches, but when a church grows, there comes a time when the management/leadership style has to change or the church finds it impossible to continue growing. One authority on church health noted that as churches grow, ministers must give up doing all the ministry and members must surrender making all the decisions. If this does not happen, the result is burnout for the ministers and chaos for the congregation.

Years after the conflict is over, the abiding question is "is the church better off?" I still have a sadness in my heart for what might have been.

Jesus Came to Build His Church

“And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” Matthew 16:18

This text is rooted in a play on words between "little stone" and "bedrock." Peter is the former and the truth of Who Jesus is constitutes the latter. Peter had just made the declaration, "You are the Christ the Son of the Living God." After Jesus' responsive affirmation of blessing--"Blessed are you Simon Bar Jonah for flesh and blood has not revealed this unto you but My Father in Heaven"--Jesus makes His magnificent declaration. "I will build My church and the gates of Hell (Hades) will not prevail against it."  Here is another reason why Jesus came...to build His Church!

The Scripture is not saying that the Church will be built by or upon Peter, but rather it will be built upon the truth of what Peter proclaimed. Peter had confessed Jesus' true identity. He (Jesus) is the foundation upon which the Church will be built. In the words of F.F. Bruce, "what matters here is not the stature of the confessor, but the truth of the confession" (see The Hard Sayings of Jesus, p.143). Peter declares Who Jesus is, and  Jesus declares that He Himself will build His Church.

Notice in this passage that not only is Jesus' true identity revealed, but His work is likewise unveiled. He will build His Church. This is the first time the New Testament mentions the word, "Church." This word in the Greek text, comes from combining two smaller words, "to call" and "out of." The word "Church" literally means "the called out ones." All those who have heard God's invitation and responded constitute the "Church." 

Jesus goes on to describe the Church's invincibility, "and the gates of Hades (or Hell) will not prevail against." Though some see this as a straight forward declaration that Jesus will not allow the devil and his forces destroy the Church, I believe Jesus is actually pointing to another and equally true reality. Gates are for keeping people and possessions in, or people and possessions out. "Hades" is the normal word for death and the grave. Here, Jesus is declaring that not even the power of death will be able to halt the building of His Church. 

True, God's intention is to build the Church upon Jesus, but He will use people all through history as His instruments. Can He use you?

4 Ways to Redeem Your Time

Photo Courtesy of Zorro1968

"Dost thou love life? Then, do not squander time. For that's the stuff life is made of." -Ben Franklin 

So, how do we maximize our use of time? Understand that everyone has the same amount of time, 168 hours a week. The key is what you do with what you have. In order to use our time effectively, we must do four things:

1. Understand our purpose.
2. Determine our priorities.
3. Establish our plans that reflect our priorities in light God's will for our life.
4. Then let our plans determine how we use our time.

What we are trying to do is learn to seize control of our time and in turn our lives. The key here is planning. Some people object to planning. Consider these 3 objections and my responses.

1. Objection: It can limit my freedom if I predetermine my course of action (plan). 

Response: Seneca once wrote, "if you don't know which port you're headed to no wind is the right wind." And Lawrence Peter observed, "If you don't know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else." My point? It is better to have a plan which reflects what you want to accomplish than have no plan at all. If your attitude is that you do not want to limit your freedom, and as a result you are unwilling to plan, you are planning to fail. What is it that you want to accomplish?

2. Objection: I’m so busy putting out fires that I have no time for planning. It is as though they simply run from crisis to crisis. I know people who appear to work that way. 

Response: When events are out of control, this is the time when planning is most needed. The presence of repeated crises, may well be a key indicator that planning has been neglected.

3. Objection: There is simply no time to plan. 

Response: Here is a fact. If more time is given to planning, less time (in greater proportions) is required for execution. It is not that you cannot afford to plan. The fact is, you can't afford not to plan.

Bottom line: if we do not plan, we will not control events. If we do not control events, we will accomplish nothing, or we will make matters worse.

For more thoughts along these lines check out my first post on redeeming the time.

Time to Move 2

                                     

Last week I wrote a response blog to John Barner's "When Is It Time to Look for Another Place of Ministry?"  I would like to continue my thoughts on that specific question. First, I want to share seven truths about God’s heart regarding ministry transitions and then I want to share four steps to knowing it is time to move.

7 Truths about God’s Heart

1.    God blesses faithfulness. Scripture teaches that the person who is faithful in that which is least will be made ruler over much. When a servant is diligent, disciplined, and determined, one should not be surprised that God honors that servant with greater responsibility.

2.    God always prepares us before He uses us. So, the question might be, how has God prepared you for your next assignment? What new work has He done in you? What new challenge has He taken you through?

3.    God takes us or calls us somewhere as a general principle. Only rarely does He simply takes us away from an existing set of uncomfortable circumstances. Yet on occasion, He does just that.

4.    God uses the usable servant. The question we must ask ourselves is "am I usable?" Is there anything in me that is prohibiting the Lord from using me, or you? Is there anything in us that The Lord is waiting on us to correct?

5.    Sometimes, God puts us into what appears to be a holding pattern because He is intentionally freeing us up to do something else which by hindsight is of great if not monumental importance. I think of Jonathan Edwards' termination at Northampton after serving the church for 24 years. In what appeared to be his exile to Stockbridge, he wrote some of his greatest works. He had time to think and write--something he could not have done had his unfortunate circumstances not transpired.

6.    If we will be faithful, God will be responsible to get us where He wants us. It is of great importance for us to be patient and to keep our eyes focused on God in whose hands our lives reside.

7.    Finally, pragmatically, we must ask ourselves the question, "Did I complete the assignment God gave me when I accepted my last responsibility? If not, why do we think that God will let us leave? Ought we not complete what we start? Now that does assume cooperation on the part of those God called us to lead.

How do you know God wants you to move?

1.    The first indicator that God wants you to move is that He places a restlessness in your Spirit that He is going do something new in you and through you.

2.    Next, when you have a peace that you are supposed to be somewhere else and the door opens, you can assume that God is orchestrating the unfolding events. Sometimes, however, He tests you to see if you are willing to go and it is not His will that you go. Recall Abraham's offering of Isaac. The issue was the heart and the willingness.

3.    When the church or ministry, for whatever reason, chooses not to follow your leadership, you do not need to stay. That from my perspective is an exercise in futility.

4.    Finally, you need to move on when your staying does more harm than good.

Remember this, you only have so many days of your life to invest in ministry. Do not waste what God has allotted to you. Remember Psalm 90:12. At the same time, do not leave until God tells you to go. How do you know? There is an overwhelming sense of peace that "this is the right thing to do." Caution, you may not emotionally want to go...or stay...still, the key is "peace" about what is "right." Recall Philippians 4:6-7. Trust God with all your heart and He will guide you!

Why Did Jesus Come? Part 2

Seven times in 1 John, we see the word, "manifested." That word means "to lighten, shine, appear,manifest, or to render apparent." It is the word which describes the phenomenon that “what was previously hidden has come to light.” That is, it is now perceivable.

In 1 John 3-4, we are told how Jesus "appeared" for three distinct reasons.

1. He appeared to "take away sins" (1John 3:5a). The word "take away" means to lift up, take away or to remove completely. It is the same word used by John the Baptist when he pointed to Jesus and declared, "behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).

In 1 John, He takes away "sins," while in John, He takes away "sin." In short, Jesus came to take away both the principle of sin and the practice of sin. He did this by taking upon Himself our sins on the cross. Just as sacrificial lambs represented sinful people and took their punishment  becoming  their "substitute," so Jesus was our substitute to take away our sins and our consequent punishment. We can be both grateful and confident that Jesus can deliver exactly what He promised.

2. He appeared to destroy the works of the devil (1John 3:8b). The word for  "destroy" suggests "destruction by undoing or dissolving that which forms the bond of cohesion.” Verse 10 points out two characteristics of the devil's children. First, they do not practice righteousness. And second, they do not practice loving their brothers.

Sinful behavior and selfishness in relationships are characteristic of the devil's work. And Jesus came to destroy those dispositions instigated by the devil. Jesus wants us to be delivered from being identified with "our father the devil"( John 8:44). Another work of the devil is that "he blinds the minds of the unbelieving"( 2 Cor. 4:4). In every way, Jesus came to destroy the devil's work! That includes what the devil wants to do to us and in us! We need to pray as Jesus instructed us, "deliver us from the evil one" (Matt. 6:13).

3. Jesus also appeared so that we "might live through Him" (1John 4:9). When we receive Jesus Christ in simple child-like faith, the Bible teaches us that we are made alive with Christ. His life comes to live in us! We are made spiritually alive.

That is why Jesus declared in John 10:10, "The thief (the devil) comes only to steal, kill, and destroy; I (Jesus) came that they (all who by faith have entered into a relationship with Jesus Christ) may have life, and have it abundantly. Jesus makes it possible for us to receive His life to live in us! He gives us His quality of life now and the hope of eternal life forever with Him in Heaven!

So here are three more reasons why Jesus came: to take away our sins, destroy the devil 's work, and to give us His quality of life. Got Jesus? Anyone at any time in simple child-like faith can receive Him (John 1:12)!

The Church and Best Practices in Business: Ask the Right Questions

It is no secret that my favorite business gurus are John Kotter and Peter Drucker. Both have shared a wealth of insight on how organizations function effectively. The Five Most Important Questions You Will Ever Ask About Your Organization by Peter Drucker is one of the most insightful books on the subject of leadership. These five questions are important if someone desires to succeed in business. They are equally important for anyone who desires to succeed in ministry. Grasping issues related to change, leadership, and management are critical for leaders of any kind of organization. Every pastor and every minister, no matter what their area of responsibility, should ask these questions on a regular basis. Identifying the correct answers is critical if the church or ministry is to flourish. Consider these:

1. What is our mission? In other words, why do we exist? What are we trying to accomplish? After all the prayer and the  effort, what is it we want to see occur in our midst? The key, here, is that these need to be driven by Biblical imperatives. What does God want done here in this time and place? Another way to phrase the question is "what business are we in?" If the congregation's collective answer does not match the Biblical imperatives, and if the ministers' answers do not match the Biblical imperatives, the church or ministry has serious work to do, or it will necessarily face serious consequences.

2. Who is our customer? Drucker restates the question thusly: "who must be satisfied for the organization to achieve results?" In church life, this can be a touchy subject. I customarily would tell our church members that "we are the only organization in the world that exists for the sake of those who are not yet members." All the while, pulling against this was the mindset of many, "meet our needs!" Trying to balance these two sets of demands (polarities) is certainly not an easy task! By acquiescing to either one at the expense of the other can have detrimental effects in the church or ministry.

3. What do the customers value? This can only be answered by identifying who the customers are and by asking them questions that need to be answered. I tell my preaching students repeatedly, "don't preach sermons answering questions no one is asking." We need to ask both the church and the unchurched, insiders and outsiders, what matters to them. In the words of some, we are asking how can we create and add value to our customers? In the church, we should be asking, "what needs can we as a congregation meet?" "Where are people hurting?" That is the key.

4. What are our results? Drucker once said: "Success in any organization is simple. Find out how they keep score, and score." So, when all of our efforts are added up, what results can we show? It always astounds me when people who talk (or write) but have no results to speak of  in their labors are given additional responsibility. Did not Jesus himself say, "he who is faithful in that which is least, I will make ruler over much"( Luke 16:10)? When I read the book of Acts, I see a lot of emphasis on what occurred, on the results. In the ministries with which we have been entrusted, can we show any results? Another word for results in Scripture is "fruit."

5. What is our plan? In short, the plan is "a concise summation of the organization's purpose and future direction. The plan encompasses mission, vision, goals, objectives, action steps, a budget, and appraisals" (see Drucker p.65.) An old adage states, "for a plan to work, you must work the plan." It is of incredible importance in any organization and especially the church and Christian ministries to know and agree on the "plan." Of critical value is getting everyone in the organization to embrace the plan and then to execute the plan.

These five questions must be answered well if the church or Christian ministry is to flourish.

How to Handle Hurts in the Church

Fern and I recently got the pleasure of hearing one of my heroes, Jim Henry, speak at the Mega Metro Pastor’s Conference. He talked to us about how to handle hurts in the ministry. 

He began by sharing some of the painful experiences he had in the ministry. If you are in the ministry very long issues will arise and people will take a cheap shot at you. It comes with the territory. It is just a matter of time. So the issue is not if but when these things occur, how do you respond? Jim's notes apply not only to those in leadership but also to anyone who may experience hurt by others in the church.

1. Face reality. Painful situations hurt. To pretend they do not simply compounds the problem.

2. Pray the Word of God. This is specially a time to stand upon and claim the promises of God. He shared that this one discipline got them through many times.

3. Do not respond too quickly when you are hurt. Sometimes a knee-jerk reaction or a word spoken too soon simply compounds the problem. Make sure you are prayed up and prayed through before you respond to anything. 

4. Remember that it is better to confront an issue than to brush it under the rug. Too often failing to address an issue simply gives it time to get worse. 

5. Try to be noble and respond with grace as best you can. How would Jesus respond in this situation is a good question to ask.

6. Get alone with God and seek his mind and assessment of the situation and how you should respond. Crises and difficult times, unfair accusations and attacks of the enemy never catch the Lord off guard. Remember this, when there is a situation and the church knows about it, you cannot hide. These things almost never go away on their own.

7. Seek wise counsel. There are godly people whom God will bring into your life who will help give you honest feedback and an objective assessment.

8. Compartmentalize. There are times when you simply have to put these things down and take care of other business. If you do not compartmentalize, it can lead to a paralysis of action. By compartmentalizing, I mean, just shut part of that world out for a time. 

9. Remember that people are watching you. By your actions and reactions, you are giving them a life lesson.

10. Understand that a crisis will often make you as a shepherd-leader. What someone meant for evil, God will have meant for good to prepare you for the next leg of your journey.

Let me add a few things that I, too, have learned from difficult situations.

First, no matter what happens, forgive. Do not hold a hurt done to you over someone's head. You can forgive without forgetting. Forgiving is a choice. A heart unwilling to forgive is a heart unable to receive the life-sustaining grace of God.

Second, refuse to be preoccupied with the past. Be grateful for what God is doing now and look forward with anticipation to what He will do in the days ahead.

Third, understand that no matter what happens to you, God either permitted the circumstances, or He will override the circumstances. At times, He caused the circumstances to prepare you for your next assignment in life. Do you think Moses ever fretted during his 39th year in the wilderness or if he had any idea that God was preparing him for his greatest assignment?

Finally, never forget, our lives with all the twists and turns, are in God's hands. He is God and we are not. He is ultimately the one who rights all wrongs and it is sufficient to leave these things in His hands.

At some point you will be hurt by someone in the church. How will you respond? 

7 Steps to Becoming Spiritually Prepared to Preach

It was said of Charles Spurgeon that he was more concerned with preparing himself than his sermon before he preached. Today I want to address the issue of preparing yourself and your congregation so that the Lord can use you to maximum effect. What should you do by way of preparation?

1. Be studied up. Paul wrote to Timothy,"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed accurately handling the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15). When you stand to speak, are you confident that you have adequately prepared? That is a spiritual matter!

2. Be prayed up. James 5:16b declares, "The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." Have you prayed over your message, your people, your prospects, against the devil's work, pleading with God to move in the hearts of the people? We even prayed for decent weather. If something is big enough to worry about, it's big enough to pray about!

3. Be confessed up. No preacher in their right mind expects God to use a dirty vessel. We get cleaned up as we confess up! John wrote,"If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness"(1John 1:9). Let's do what God said and trust Him to do what He said! We cannot preach with power if we are holding on to unconfessed sin.

4. Be filled up. Concerning the early Church, on the heels of persecution and prayer, Scripture records, "And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word with boldness." Paul instructed the Ephesians to, "be filled with the Spirit." To be filled in both of these contexts means to be controlled by the Spirit. This requires intentional surrender and submission. "Lord, I surrender myself afresh to you today" is our hear's cry!

5. Speak up. Again in the early Church, the Disciples proclaimed, "for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:20). And earlier, we read of Peter asserting,"let this be known to you and give heed to my words" (2:14b). When you stand to preach, act like you own the place. You represent the One who does!

6. Look up. Hebrews 12:2 instructs us to "fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith." I remind you that Jesus Himself promised, "And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive" (Matthew 21:22). And again from Hebrews, "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him" (11:6). When we preach, it is absolutely necessary that we hold to a confident expectation that God will move. He will do what He said! "Lord, I thank you and praise you in advance for the people who will be saved and the lives that will be impacted today" is our constant cry of faith!

7. Gear up. When Jesus fed the multitudes, he had the Disciples prepare for the distribution as well as the collection of leftovers "so that nothing will be lost" (John 6:12b). Jesus demonstrated a confident expectation of the increase and conservation of the Father's answered prayer. If you had 5,10, or 50 responses to your message the next time your folks gather to worship, would you be prepared to conserve what the Lord gave you? Perhaps He would give us more fruit if we were geared up and prepared for His harvest.

Let's be spiritually and organizationally prepared for God to use us! A holy and prepared man is an awesome instrument in the hand of God!

Dr. Sutton is the author of A Primer on Biblical Preaching. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

Principles of Effective Communication

Over the next few weeks I’m going to share some aspects of what I have taught in preaching classes and included in the textbook I wrote called A Primer On Biblical Preaching. If you are a Liberty Theological Seminary student, you may recognize it as the Homiletics textbook. These principles are beneficial to anyone who has to speak for a living. Of course this applies to ministers but should also prove beneficial to teachers, business leaders, and anyone else who has to stand up in front of a crowd and say something constructive.

One principle I stress repeatedly is the necessity of preparation. I do not believe anyone can be over-prepared before they speak. Besides being the antidote to fear (in speaking, the less prepared you are the greater your stress and fear), preparation is also the pathway to excellence. (I wrote some more thoughts on preparation here.) Why anyone would settle for mediocrity when they can strive for excellence escapes me.

Preparation for a preacher or public speaker comes in two packages, the macro and the micro. The macro package is how we plan for the year. I encourage my students to plan their preaching a year at a time. When I was a senior pastor, I would plan my January sermons in September or October so we knew ahead of time where we were going. Then, I would take a week some time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s to plan out the rest of the upcoming year's messages. In preparation for that planning week, I would keep a file folder of interesting articles or notes that I accumulated over the year. If it was interesting, I would save it in my file. Sometimes I would shoot or scan something of interest on my smartphone. Do not be afraid to tear out articles from magazines or newspapers. Evernote is a fantastic tool for this. I would also keep a notebook of observations and insights that I would consult. In my planning week, I would take my calendar, determine how many weeks I would have for a series, then schedule a new sermon series beginning on major breaks.

In my planning week, I would mark resources that I knew I would need in next year's preparation. For example, all New Testament sermons would have a photocopy of the Greek text, AT Robertson's Word Studies for that text, and Reinecker's commentary on the Greek text. Coupled with that were a few select commentaries and any articles I considered helpful.

I would create a file folder for each sermon I intended to preach in the upcoming year. Each would be labeled with the date, series title, sermon title, and the text. By the first of the year, I would have a complete set of files for the entire calendar year. By doing this, I would work smarter, not harder. By taking this approach, I would have better series, better sermons, and better services.

Please be reminded that it is easier to deviate from a plan than to have no plan. Even with a plan, you can be flexible when necessary.

This is a snapshot of my macro approach to preaching. If you will incorporate a model like this, you can save time and preach more effective sermons. Next week, I will address the micro package. What can you do on a week by week basis to be more effective?

My #1 Advice to Young Pastors

It was over thirty years ago. I was still teaching Evangelism at Southwestern Seminary and had just accepted the invitation to become Wedgwood Baptist Church's Senior Pastor. Taking a few minutes to browse in the school's bookstore, I ran into one of my favorite professors, Dr. Tom Nettles. At that moment I got a chance introduction to a gentleman who would subsequently heavily influence my life. Dr. Jim DeLoach, Senior Associate Pastor at Second Baptist Church in Houston was up on the "Hill" for some meetings.

Dr. DeLoach asked me if I'd like to come down and spend the day with him at Second Baptist. This began a mentoring relationship that lasted several years.

As the pastor of a growing and exciting congregation, I had many more questions than answers. So, I would spend a few months of ministry writing my questions down as they came up, then travel down to Houston. There, I would spend the day going question by question, page by page. I would write down Dr. DeLoach's wise counsel. That mentoring relationship was of incalculable value to me. The many insights and lessons he taught me are still with me to this day. No doubt, many of the things he taught me, I have passed on to others over the years.

I hope that if you are a young minister, you have someone to turn to for guidance and support. If you need help, the best thing you can do is ask for it. May the Lord bring a Dr. DeLoach into your life! On the other hand, if you have some miles of ministry under your belt, maybe you need to keep an eye out for somebody who needs you! Often God's solution to our challenges is not a "something" but a "someone."