Church and Ministry

I have had an on again-off again relationship with Gordon MacDonald. As a young associate pastor in the mid-eighties I read his best seller, Ordering Your Private World (which is still in print). A couple of years later I read his book, Renewing Your Spiritual Passion. Although it was twenty-five years ago, I vaguely remember spiritually profiting somewhat from those books, although if I were to re-read them now, I might have a different opinion. However, the fact that he has admitted that he was involved in an extra-marital affair while writing those books kind of soured me on him. I did not read his Rebuilding Your Broken World or anything else by him. (That may be more of a reflection upon my former Phariseeism than his restoration.)

Gordon MacDonald has been a pastor and author for more than forty years. He has also been the president of a couple of well-known parachurch organizations, and is currently an editor at large for the magazine Leadership. He and his wife of almost fifty years live in New Hampshire.

This book first caught my eye a couple of years ago when it came out in hardback. I skimmed it a couple times at the bookstore, but didn’t want to pay the hardback price. However, when I eventually saw it in paperback, I plopped down my money. I am glad I did.

The subtitle of this book is “What to Do When the Church You Love Tries to Enter the 21^st Century.” It is a fictional tale told in the first person. MacDonald writes as a pastor of an imaginary New England congregation of a few hundred people. The church has had a proud history and is part of an unnamed denomination. The sixty-ish “Pastor MacDonald” has been at the church for several years and has overseen the last of a series of changes designed to attract younger people. Not everyone is on board with these changes—especially the aging “boomer” generation. Plus, there are more changes on the horizon. A proposed $150,000 initiative to upgrade the sanctuary’s technology did not get the expected congregational approval. This has brought the change issues to a head. Also being debated is a proposed name change for the church.

By James Rickard. Reprinted with permission from the Baptist Bulletin Jan/Feb ‘09 issue. All rights reserved.

In the mid-1960s as a young accountant, I began helping my pastor prepare his state and federal tax returns. I was surprised at his meager salary, lack of fringe benefits, and inability to provide financially for his future. His family lived in a church-owned parsonage totally controlled by the church; they couldn’t even paint a wall without committee approval. It was a large farmhouse that was difficult to maintain and expensive to heat. I remember visiting that parsonage and finding his wife in tears over the frustration of living under those conditions. And I remember thinking, This is not right. Little did I know how that experience would begin to sow the seeds for the Stewardship Services Foundation, a ministry that would allow me to devote my energies to counseling pastors regarding finances, helping them prepare their personal income tax returns, and teaching church boards how to structure pastors’ salary packages within the limits of IRS tax law. As a result, in 1977 the Stewardship Services Foundation ministry was born.

A church board needs to know about salary packages and their proper application in the budget process. The most important issue when it comes to this subject is the board’s attitude—a proper understanding of the salary package issue and the desire to meet the needs of the pastor’s family with a spirit of generosity.

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This article was first published in the Baptist Bulletin (March/April 2008) and appears here unedited. Used by permission. All rights reserved. See also What Churches Owe Their Pastors by the same author.

Two thousand years ago the apostle Paul, church planter and pastor par excellence, declared that he was a debtor to those to whom he ministered. He sensed an obligation to discharge, a duty to perform, and a debt to pay—both to the unsaved and to the saints in Rome (Romans 1:11–15). Ministers today are expected to labor with that same sense of indebtedness to their congregations. Why are they so obligated? The answer lies in an understanding of the dual calling of pastors.

A dual calling

First, there is the calling by God to this specialized ministry of shepherding a local congregation (Ephesians 4:11). Being a pastor is the most notable vocation known to man. Paul expressed this initial calling by testifying, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry” (1 Timothy 1:12). One of the primary reasons for the recruitment of an ordination council is to determine whether the candidate is actually called and equipped by the Lord for this lifework. The certainty of such a special calling also provides the motivation for an effective and enduring ministry.

Second, there is the calling by a local congregation. According to Baptist polity, each church is congregationally governed and autonomous. So each church must, by the vote of its members, call the man of their choice, believing that the Lord is actually involved in the placement of the man of God. Pastors consequently experience a dual calling, and for these two reasons, they are under obligation to a given congregation. How then is this obligation discharged? In addition to the normal ministerial responsibilities of including his wife in ministry (and she needs to keep herself involved as well), keeping confidences, maintaining regular office hours, and providing the membership with clear goals and plans, there are four Scriptural ways to fulfill this calling.

Yesterday evening I checked my mailbox. Junk mail. As usual.

But this time, one of the advertisements caught my eye. It was a postcard from a church in my area—an invitation to their special Easter services. The front of the advertisement read: “We’re nearly as harmless as, well…a bunny.” Followed by a picture of one of those marshmallow “peeps.” I kid you not. I flipped the card over and read:

Does the thought of going to church make you uneasy, even a little queasy? Maybe you’re worried about what to wear or what others will think. At ______, we’ve worked really hard to make your experience non-threatening, beneficial, and even fun. We have a no-pressure, laid-back style and everyone is welcome! Stop by one of our ten Easter Services… it will be more than you expected and everything you’ve been looking for. Wear whatever you want, just be yourself. We’ll have the coffee ready for you.

Now, I’m not aware of a single church that wants to come across as threatening, miserable, and a waste of time. I have no problem with churches that work hard on being welcoming. And I really appreciate good coffee. But something about their whole presentation seemed, frankly … a bit pathetic: “Don’t be scared of us! We’re not that bad! We’re ‘harmless’! We’re nicer and more comfortable than all those other stiff, meanie churches.”

I know there are many “Christians” who have done horrible things in the name of Jesus. I know there are countless individuals who have been hurt by churches. Those situations are sad and should not be swept under the rug. But still…it seems to me that some churches spend way too much time apologizing and trying to “fit in.” Like the kid in high school who will do anything to get friends—only to find out those “friends” mock him behind his back for being so insecure.

This article was first published in the Baptist Bulletin (September/October 2008) and appears here unedited. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Years ago a minister was called “the parson,” meaning “the person.” He was a VIP. He was honored as the preacher of the gospel, a molder of public opinion, and the conscience of the community. Not so today. A recently published survey revealed the most respected people in the average American community. Ministers ranked far down on the list, behind doctors, judges, psychologists, civic leaders, and police officers. Why?

No doubt the widespread sexual and financial scandals among members of the clergy have seriously affected the public opinion of them. Unfortunately, many pastors are mere puppets, moved by the whims of their parishioners. Some are controlled by a few strong laypeople, and others are “religious politicians” instead of prophets of God. Fortunate is the congregation whose pastor speaks “the very words of God” (1 Peter 4:11, NIV) and diligently leads the church.

We believe that the Bible words “elder” and “bishop” refer to and include the pastor (or pastors) of a local church. Each of these titles reveals a facet of his divine calling. As an elder, he is to provide mature, responsible leadership. As the bishop, he is to be the general manager, providing careful oversight of the Lord’s work. And as the pastor, he is charged with caring for and feeding the flock of God (Acts 20:28).

Such divinely commissioned leaders are important individuals in God’s sight—and should be in the eyes of every Christian as well. Our Lord places great importance upon the pastor-parishioner relationship. In fact, He expects every believer to voluntarily be under the leadership and teaching of a godly pastor. The Bible allows no exceptions.

Recently a pastor introduced some new members at the close of a morning service by saying, “We welcome you to all the privileges and responsibilities of church membership.” Responsibilities? What did he mean? While the pastor did not explain, the Bible does. According to the Word of God, every Christian is under divine obligation in at least three areas: intercession, remuneration, and submission.

One of our young people and his friend from another church interviewed a number of pastors in the Kokomo (IN) area. To their surprise, a number of them could not recite the Ten Commandments.

The following is reprinted with permission from Paraklesis, a publication of Baptist Bible Seminary. The article first appeared in the Winter ‘08 issue.

As we move into the spring months each year in the USA, we are keenly aware of a variety of athletic teams vying for championships and superior accomplishments. Winning teams are teams that understand, complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and work well together to accomplish significant athletic feats.

Likewise, when pastors on a church staff or missionaries on a field together learn to work as a team, significant ministry results will be accomplished. In the early church, this concept was repeatedly demonstrated in the book of Acts and the God-given results are noted there. In the New Testament church, pastor/elder/bishops worked together to serve the Lord and His church.

God has given the church a plurality of gifted pastors/elders to provide training, motivation, example, and leadership. It is crucial that they be able to work together as a team. It is a poor testimony for a church staff to carry on a ministry while they are bickering, being jealous, or not modeling love for each other before the people.

Teamwork is vital in the USA church or in the mission field church. The Body of Christ is to be an object lesson of the benefits of team work. Here are some suggestions for building and celebrating the pastoral team:

Steven Joseph Stratford, the director for institutional research at Maranatha Baptist Bible College and a pioneer in integrating computers into church ministry, died on Saturday in Watertown, Wis. He was 52.

The following is reprinted with permission from Paraklesis, a publication of Baptist Bible Seminary. The article first appeared in the Summer ‘08 issue.

The move from conventional congregations to house churches has been termed a revolution. Researcher George Barna estimates at least 1 million Americans have shifted to small-groups worshiping primarily in homes or businesses.

But the revolution comes in this statistic: by 2025, Barna predicts 70 percent of Christians will be worshiping in such “alternative faith communities.”¹

While the trend is clear, the benefits and biblical focus of such gatherings is more muddled. The early church detailed in the New Testament indeed met “house to house,” and the Apostle Paul regularly gathered new believers in homes. But this is not an exclusive or biblically prescribed model for worshiping.

The home church model can work today, and in circumstances where proper ty is scarce or expensive it can be a practical approach. Pastors and church leaders, though, need to think clearly before moving to a house church model. They must keep a biblical focus paramount and not let relational benefits overrun sound doctrine and New Testament church polity.

Inside house churches

House churches are small bodies of believers that meet primarily in homes, have generally fewer than 30 members, and normally have unpaid lay leaders. These back-to-basics congregations do not start in a home with the goal of moving later to a permanent facility. They are designed to stay in a private residence or similar surroundings.