Churches We Can't Help

I heard a sermon on "People You Can't Help" several months back. Over the months the "Churches We Can't Help" has been stirring in my spirit. Being in ministry for 26 years, you see a lot of things. You see churches who are struggling, pastors who are struggling, and both are wondering why. Could it be that both are a little "closed minded" to how God desires to use them?

If we aren't careful we lose our edge because we become so comfortable in our ways. When God brings people across our path we don't recognize what God is doing because we are "set". When concrete sets it is not going to move unless someone uses a sledge hammer or a power tool to break it up. God help me to be a little more flexible than that!

As you read on I hope this speaks to you and challenges you to ask God if you are in one of these categories. My intent is not to condemn anyone, it is simply to try to stir our thinking up a little so we do not become "set" and comfortable in our ways.

We can't help a church who refuses to believe or accept they have a problem. When we look in the first chapters of Revelation we see churches that were doing what they thought best, but God had issues with them.

We can look around the United States and see many churches who were once powerful forces in God's Kingdom. They were alive and helping people get to know Christ and start relationships with Him. If we talk to people who were around during that time, they become excited just talking about all God did; but saddended because it is not happening today.

It is awesome how God moved upon men and women. He is so ready and willing to do that now...but we, the church, put too many guidelines on how we are to reach out to people searching for what we have to offer. What happened to God's grace? Until the church accepts that God's grace looks at the heart of an individual and not the outward appearance; until the church acknowledges that the methods of reaching generations has changed (not the message); until the church realizes and acknowledges it has a problem, the church cannot be helped.

Now, this next point may cause some readers to not read my blog anymore; but this point is so very important for the health of the church. Here it goes...

You can't help a churh that believes the pastor is the problem. Why? Because God gave that pastor to them as a GIFT. Ephesians 4:11 in the Message says, "He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher." God loves the church so much He gives them their leaders. When we give gifts to people we normally don't take the gift back. AND, if the person receiving the gift shows any hint of not liking and appreciating the gift, we get hurt and upset. Let that sink into our spirit for a moment.

God gave these leaders to the church to help the church grow and develop into mature Christians. We read on in Ephesians 4:12 of the Message, "...to train Christians in skilled servant work, working within Christ's body, the church, until we're all moving rhythmically and easily with each other..."

Now bear with me while I use my imagination. Imagine God looking down at His church here on earth. He sees congregations in North America, South Africa, Europe, Asia, Canada; wherever you live, and say, 'This is the man or woman I want to place in such and such city, town, or village." If God cares for us that much, who are we to try and undermine the pastor? Who are we to think we hear from God more than our pastor? If each church would allow their pastor's to implement the task God is showing he/she, our congregations would be overflowing with people hungry for more of God.

Didn't verse 12 tell us the reason for these leaders was to help the church move rhythmically and easily with each other? I don't know about you; but there are far too many churches not moving rhythmically and easily together. Now, please hear me out. This is not condemning anyone, please do not feel as if I am. I am trying to help us take a good, hard look at ourselves to see if we fit this categary. If we don't that's awesome. If we do and we recognize it, then that is awesome as well; because, that is the first step in change.

When we take a look at our church there could be a couple of reasons why we are not living these verses out. The first may be that the pastor may just be worn out and exhausted from his/her task; and the second could be the church is not trusting and following their pastor's lead. Sure, there have been pastor's who have taken advantage of churches; but they are few and far between.

If you are a member of a church in which that has happened, please remember that not everyone that way. God has a desire for you to forgive, forget and move on in your spiritual development. If you can't do that, then maybe God could use you better somewhere else. That is something to seriously consider and pray about. God may want to use you more elsewhere. Allow Him to grow you in that way.

This has become rather lengthy. I will post the other two points tomorrow. Have an awesome day!

Remember God Loves You!

This past week I had the privilege of hearing some awesome speakers at Wave Conference in Virginia Beach. It was a powerful time in every session. Sunday was an awesome day in church as we were blessed by At Boshoff from South Africa. During the prayer time in the morning service there was an overwhelming sense of God's presence and His love. It was so powerful I felt that God wanted me to share this on my blog. If you are a pastor, wife of pastor, or know a pastor who needs this I pray it encourages you...

"Pastor, God loves you...right where you are. He loves you...you need to believe it, not just know it. Believe it in your spirit. The circumstances around you do not dictate His love for you. He loves you. It does not matter the size of the church or where you pastor. You are loved by God because of who you are to Him...His child, not what you have accomplished. Remember, God loves you."

I thank God daily that I am loved by Him and it doesn't matter if anyone else loves me or appreciates me; it is all about Him and who He is in my life. We can do so much and go so much farther when we allow that to sink into our innermost being.

Blessings in all you do,

Effectively Passing the Baton

As leaders we each have a desire to "pass the baton" to the next generation...or at least we should. I have been thinking on this quite often lately. In order to effectively pass the baton we need to have a passion for ministry...a passion for leadership...but what supersedes it all is a passion for more of Christ. That is the key to being effective at passing on the other two.

We can easily get caught up in our various ministries and trying to lead others, that our passion for those two things overshadow our passion for, just simply, getting more of God. It may seem super simple, but it is so very important to stay on top of this issue. As a minister I like to observe other leaders and how well they are doing at their calling. Now, please do not get me wrong, I am not judging others, I am simply observing how they are representing their calling.

I can speak from experience. A few years ago I was just going through the motions of ministry. It seemed as if everything I was trying to accomplish was being "shot" down by others. Eventually I allowed all that to get to me. Ministry was the last thing I wanted to do. It was too difficult...so I just began living really with no purpose.

We have to be so careful because satan will do whatever he can to discourage us and keep us from the calling God has on our lives. After a year or so I began to feel renewed in my spirit; but, at first I did not want to have anything to do with ministry, or church for that matter. It was hard to pray because I felt as if God had abandoned me. I tell about this in more detail in my self-published book, "Shattering the Glass Walls of the Woman in Ministry."

I thank God continually for the church we were led to attend. The teaching coming out of the church was exactly what my husband and I needed to renew our passion and sense of calling in our lives. Why was this church so different from other churches we attended during the searching period?

To sum it up in one word...PASSION. Everyone was excited about their relationship with God. They were excited about their leadership. They were excited to volunteer. They were excited to be part of the ministry and reaching people. People were accepting Christ in EVERY service and Sunday night services were packed. No cancelling Sunday night service...people wanted to come.

Why? Because the core leadership of the church, not just pastoral leadership, had a passion for what they believed.

Pastor's and leaders can easily become discouraged when it seems as if the people who are following their leadership do not want to get on board with anything they desire. If we are part of a church and we are one of the ones that do not want to get on board with our pastors, we need to ask ourselves the question, "Why?" God has placed this man or woman as our leader and we need to get behind them. They are God's gift to you to lead you.

If we cannot get behind them we are in essence telling God we don't trust His decision for the leader He placed in our midst. We could be adding to the discouragement that could eventually lead to the decision to leave pastoral ministry altogether. (see previous post)

Passion for God is one of the keys to great leadership. When we are excited about what we are doing people will want to get on board.

If we are in a church that cannot get on board and has the attitude, "They're young. Just wait, the excitement will subside," pray for God to give you direction in how to handle the situation. Do not allow this attitude to kill your passion. If you have found yourself in this situation a ministry is being set in place to help you, the minister, so please contact me. We have a desire to help you succeed and continue in your passion for ministry.

It is awesome to serve God! There is no greater fulfillment than to see others grasping hold of the passion of God along with you. God has placed you where you are and will be with you all the way. As ministers we need to "be there" for each other. If you do not have someone in whom you can confide we have resources to help you.

May God bless you as you faithfully serve Him and pass the baton on to generations...a baton of passionate leadership.