Volume 1, Number 16
IN THIS ISSUE
¯ Setting the Leadership Agenda
¯ Magnificent Opportunities in This New Day
¯ A Holy Recklessness—Ray Kratzer
¯ The Price of Lay Ministry
"Rich advent preaching resources prepared for Nazarene ministers can be found in Preacher's Magazine and online at www.preachersmagazine.org. "
—Dan and Neil
SETTING THE LEADERSHIP AGENDA
Leadership is necessary, period. Pastors are called to lead the flock. Pastors have the chance to shape the leadership conversation, to define what will be viewed as successful and the way influence is exerted in their local church. Creating teams of lay leaders to assist in the process is an excellent way to fulfill this responsibility. Jesus is our model.
“Whenever the twelve asked questions concerning position, power, or privilege, the Master quietly changed the discussion to service, sacrifice, and self-forgetfulness.”
How do you make that switch happen in your church?
¬ In the leadership group setting, ask the question, “What can you do to enable and encourage those who will lead this ministry?” Continually shape leaders into servants. Don’t forget to see yourself as the chief enabler, servant of all.
¬ Bring groups together informally for decision making. Rather than exercising your authority to make decisions in isolation, discuss your opinions with others. Allow group thinking to shape your opinions.
¬ As a leader, speak a new language. “We” should replace “I” and “our” should replace “my.” You may even want to reexamine some of the choruses you sing—are they “Me” centered or do they express your understanding of people as a community?
— DEW/NBW
ADVICE FROM AN ESTEEMED MENTOR
Something like the Apostle Paul’s letters to Timothy, Dr. Raymond Kratzer (Northwest District DS) wrote monthly letters about ministry to the District Team. Here’s a timeless excerpt written more than 30 years ago.
A Holy Recklessness
When we go all out for God, refusing to be licked by momentary setbacks, the Holy Spirit will infuse us with new life, help us to develop challenging plans, and thrill us with amazing progress. Barren altars, diminishing attendance and losing statistics will be reversed. A holy recklessness is sometimes needed that produces a planned attack on lethargy, on mediocrity, and on deadly formalism. Oh, let us get excited, become red-hot for God, and see the tide rise in our beloved Zion.
MAGNIFICENT OPPORTUNITIES IN THIS NEW DAY
Recently, several former students, now my colleagues in ministry, asked me what I yearned to see happen in the church at the start of this new century. After considerable thought, I made my list. Why not create your own list? Then use it as both a prayer list and a checklist for your future ministry.
I long to see churches become an extended family. In an era when so many relationships are fractured, I believe the family of God can become an extended family for persons who have no family or whose extended family lives hundreds of miles away. It may be that our Christian families and churches can show needy people what grace does in relationships.
I long to help the crying children. Our society does bad things to children. I want to take seriously Jesus’ command to bring children to Him. I propose a plan to assign three mentors to each child in the church and neighborhood: (1) a Sunday School teacher, (2) an adult friend like a big brother or big sister, and (3) a prayer partner who prays daily for the child by name and keeps in touch by phone or mail.
I long to communicate the gospel to secularists. Masses of people seek acceptance, a way to start over, release from guilt, hope for tomorrow, and a message of grace. I pray that the church can show them how Jesus offers all this and infinitely more.
I long to help kindle mission passion for North America. Missions have come home to America. The church can find Christian immigrants and commit to helping win their people for Christ. If North America is really a mission field, as I believe it is, let’s get passionately involved in winning the world next door with the same do-or-die fervor we have for winning Africa, Asia, and India.
I long for ministry to shape me into a Christ-quality person. Ministry can seem a frazzling, unending list of duties. But it is a privileged life that immerses me in Scripture and prayer. A former student wrote, “In ministry I get paid to study, pray, and love people. What a deal!”
I hope to challenge every believer to become a person of prayer. Starting with myself, I want to make prayer an engaging experience. In place of scolding people for not praying, I want God to make me into a man of prayer so that people around me have only to watch me to see how important prayer should be.
I long to experience a renewed sense of the supernatural. I pray that God will send a renewed dependence on Him throughout the whole body of Christ. I dream about renewal that seeks a holy anointing for preaching, holy presence for pastoral care, a holy humility in the exercise of ecclesiastical power, and a holy direction for administrative/leadership strategies.
WHAT PASTORS HAVE TO GIVE UP TO IMPLEMENT LAY MINISTRY
Choosing Team ministry as a leadership model means there are things pastors will need to sacrifice. Wise pastors know the results are worth the price. What will it cost?
Being a Hero: The limelight is a great feeling, easy to enjoy. But when teams do ministry, there are no heroes—just members of a winning team. . . . beginning to work with and through a team can be extremely difficult for a pastor.
Elite Status: Everyone likes to be told they are special and super-talented. But these delightful comments can become a millstone. To believe you deserve elite status is to buy your eventual downfall.
Enjoyable Ministry: Satisfaction for pastors often comes from doing those parts of ministry they most enjoy. So we must ask ourselves whether we are willing to allow others to do phases of ministry we enjoy. Sometimes the issue is that we know we can do a particular phase better than anyone else. . . . But since we were able to develop the skill, others may well learn it also.
Exclusive Pastoral Care: Pastoral care has to be shared if a church is to grow and if the laity are to develop similar bonds with those they serve. I believe the balance comes from helping others learn how to do pastoral care . . . but to never completely give up on doing some pastoral care yourself.
The Center of Attention: Many pastors stand at the center of everything in the church and are unwilling to move. Often without fully realizing its effect, the pastor’s attitude toward church life is one of keeping a tight rein and controlling everything. Such a practice undermines ministry. This attitude might be the single most limiting growth factor in thousands of smaller and mid-sized churches.
—from Building Teams in Ministry, Dale Galloway (Beacon Hill)
While reading for this edition we came across this quote from E. Stanley Jones:
“It is easier to melt a block of ice than to
break it up by smiting it with a hammer . . .
Melt people, don’t maul them.”
Your friendship in the gospel of our Lord Jesus is important to us,
Dan and Neil
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