In The Line Of Fire

Ready, Aim......

When you are a preaching pastor, you are in the public eye. Every week you stand up in front of a group of people - it could be 10 or it could be 10 000.

Because of who you are and what you stand for, your life is scrutinized and analyzed. People watch how you treat them, they watch what movies you go to, and what places you go to.

And people are needy - some people are very very needy - like needy for professional help. These types of people have unprocessed hurt, frustration and anger in their lives. And, these types of people tend to take out their hurt on pastors.

I think this is because people know pastors won't return in kind - because we are supposed to be imitators of Christ who never struck back. And that is true - not just pastors, but all Christians are not supposed to strike back at those who hurt us.

We want to. We want to throw the hurt right back at the person who hurt us. But, Jesus guides us and shows us that just like Him, it is possible to actually absorb the hurt of the other person.

In time, we gain the wisdom and insight to see that the person who is trying to hurt us, is actually tied up in all kinds of pain themselves. And that fact should help dull their jousts at us.

I write this, because in the past year, I have encountered rabid attacks from some people. Hurtful words, and people who end up leaving because I didn't do or say something the way they would have liked.

I would be lying if I said these words and actions of others didn't hurt. Of course they hurt - sometimes deeply, sometimes to the point where I can't sleep at night, or even worse I lash out at Felicia over something minor.

I remember what my former professor and friend, Stan Grenz told me: "Every time you encounter criticism, analyze it, see if there is any truth in it, take the truth out and learn from it. Also, always always - look at the source."

Wise words. And words that everyone needs to take to heart, because we live in a fallen world full of men and women whose particular wounding makes them lash out at innocent bystanders.

So, when you face criticism, the best response is usually no response - look at Jesus. He just stood before his accusers and let the accusations fly.

Focus on the Core

One of the biggest hurts a pastor can experience is when someone leaves their church. It is hard to not take it personally.

Over the past year we have had people come and go from our church. A couple that was involved in ministry at our church, have just recently left and are attending another church.

I was a little bummed about this, until I talked to another leader. He told me to not worry about it - this will happen - people will leave and people will be inconsistent.

But - in every church there will be a core of believers who will be heavily involved, who will give of their talents, time and resources towards the missions of the church. These are the people that pastors need to focus on.

There are a lot of people in our church that are sort of on the fringes - they are not very consistent in their attendance, they are not in home groups, they are not very involved and they probably don't tithe.

Now - these are good people, and are most likely followers of Christ, and would call our church their home church.

For a long time I was stressed about how to get these people more involved and more committed - what could I do to make church more desirable for them? I finally realized that I don't need to worry about that - I simply need to be consistent in my work, provide opportunities for people to plug in - but it will ultimately be up to them, wether they make any moves towards commitment and consistency.

In the mean time, I have an incredible core of believers in our church - many of whom are becoming very close friends to Felicia and I. It is towards this group, I need to devote as much time as I can, encouraging them, praying for them, helping them develop their gifts for the expansion of the Kingdom.

This discovery has been very liberating for me.

I should add that the other group pastors should be devoting a lot of time to are those friends that they have that are outside of the faith - this is a bit harder, as it is very difficult to develop friendships outside of the church. And it is here that pastors need to be very intentional. Things I have done are volunteering at the Vancouver Film Festival, joining a running club, and right now I volunteer at a local thrift store that raises money for programs for the poor in Port Moody.

So, that's another thing I have learned in this past year of ministry out here.

On Leadership

Last Sunday and this Sunday, I am not preaching. This is the first 2 Sundays in a row that I have not preached at church. I asked our elders board if I could have the first 2 weeks of July to do some thinking, praying and reading about the church. Primarily I had 2 goals:

1. Plan out all my sermons from Sept. 2009 - August 2010 - I have a good start on that, although there might still be a couple of changes to the preaching schedule.

2. Do some studying and thinking around the whole area of leadership and management, in regards to leading the church.

I have been reading books on leadership and management, and solicited some friends recommendations for leadership books. The 2 books that seemed to lead everyone's lists were:

In the Name of Jesus by Henri Nouwen and

Good to Great by Jim Collins

Incidentally you couldn't find 2 more different books! Nouwen is one of the authors I have read the most of, and I have read this particular book twice already - it is quite short and can easily be read in a few hours.

Good to Great is one of those books that have been on my radar for several years, but I never got around to reading. Last month I was at a friends house admiring their newborn son. I glanced over their book-shelf and noticed 2 copies of Good to Great. I asked, why they had 2, they said both had been gifts.

I then bluntly asked if I could have one! They said sure. So, I finally cracked it this week - man, I wish I had read this book much much earlier! The book is the compilation of a 15 yr. study of companies that had really taken off, while other companies in their same field stayed stagnant or actually declined. Collins and his team of researchers wanted to find out what the difference was.

This book is very easy to read - I started it yesterday, and will probably finish it tomorrow. His discoveries are very insightful, wise and practical. I am toying whether or not I will have the elders board read through it this year. I think instead, I might just present some of the findings over a leadership weekend away.

One thing I have discovered this past year is that leadership and management are both delicate art forms. Leadership can be learned, but a lot of it is inherent - you either have certain gifts in this area or you don't.

I have always felt I have had a gift of leadership - I have held student gov't postions from elementary school through to grad. school. But, I am finding that the art of management is basically having above par people skills, in navigating the intricacies of managing people.

Leadership is casting vision, and gathering a strong core who will rally around that vision, and then discipline themselves to get the job done. Managing is the daily grind of working towards the vision.

Anyways, its been a productive 2 weeks, and I am looking forward to preaching again next Sunday.

The Baby

Hats that Adam and Sophia made at Golden Spike Days at Rocky Point Park today.

Adam loves his.

Listening to the new Coldplay son, "Glass of Water" - It's awesome. I'm still pretty buzzed by that concert last week.

Felicia is having a baby. Unplanned, but not unwanted. I was pretty shocked when she told me, but have now warmed up to the idea of having a third little one running around, and running my life. I come from a family of 3, and it is fun having more than one sibling. I'm pretty sure Adam and Sophia will prove to be good older brother and sister. Adam will keep Sophia from poking the baby's eyes out or trying to break his or her arm.

I have a couple of weeks where I am not preaching - I have planned out all my sermons from Sept. 2009 - Aug. 2010 which is pretty cool. Now I am going to re-format oops - Sophie is crying.

Ok - changed her diaper, and her shirt - it was soaked with sweat, put some cream on her exczema, had a brief talk on the greco-roman hellenized world of first century judaism wherein the early church was formed in..... and now she's asleep.

Now I am going to re-format our leadership team - any books or resources on how to have an efficient eldership structure in churches, please send them my way.

Been really hot around here lately. Looking forward to buying a bike (mine got stolen). I think I am going to buy a used bike on craigslist, for the same reason I will always buy a used car - chepaer, and apart from the smell, I can't really tell the dif. from a new one.