The rumour is that many Canadian church leaders are discouraged. It may well be true.
The challenges in our Canadian post-modern, multi-cultural, mostly secular society are great. The expectations of some congregations that their pastor be a great preacher, administrator, counsellor, cross-cultural missionary, social worker, community activist, media whiz and hospital visitor, if not unrealistic, at least are overwhelming.
From the perspective of one involved in ministry for over 35 years there is no shortage of ideas. Good books and conferences provide regular stimulation, vision and suggestions. I recognize a pastor is to be a life-long learner but it’s hard to keep up.
What’s a pastor to do? Should he or she stay focused on foundations or regularly try new ideas? Which way to turn next? It’s enough to drive a man or woman to distraction.
It’s been some years since I’ve had primary responsibility for the program and direction of a local congregation. Yet the question ‘what would I do if in leadership?’ is never far from my mind.
My encouragement is to choose basic building blocks with care. In construction if the foundation is not well planned and solid it matters little what is built on it. On that foundation try those new ideas consistent with it. Most successful long-term pastors have not deviated significantly from their core values and approach.
What then are those foundational elements on which one can build for a lifetime?
In my view they are not many, but they are, well… basic:
- Prayer – I need constant encouragement to make time for prayer and have made it a practice to read as little as one page from a classic book on prayer (such as these) most days before I pray. There is so much that can and is worthy of being said about prayer, and there are many ways to pray but to be a spiritual leader you and I must build, daily, on the communion with our God and Father in prayer. I know no authentic, enduring, spiritually effective leader for whom this is not lived out.
- Adult Biblical literacy – shallow discipleship does not produce disciples who stay disciples when the going gets difficult. I’ve come to several convictions regarding the development of this foundation in a congregation:
Followers of Christ need to be taught the basics of a personal daily quiet time in the Scriptures. As with prayer, there are many ways to teach and underscore this foundation but a Christian leader must choose and stay with teaching and modelling such means of communion with the Father. I’ve posted helpful instruction which has served me over the years here.
In addition members of your congregation need to be taught the scriptures in overview and in depth. One of many excellent overviews is contained in The Bethel Series developed in the Lutheran tradition upon the discovery that biblical literacy in their communion did not continue to grow beyond the age of 12. Other good materials are available and I suggest you choose one that involves a systematic overview of the Biblical history and text in sufficient depth as to require a year or two to complete.
My conviction of the need for in-depth biblical foundations leads also to my suggestion that your congregation receive Sunday morning teaching which is exegetical rather than topical. Biblical words and concepts unfamiliar to secular culture or people from other worldviews will need to be explained, yes, but not avoided as a shallower approach necessitates. Sections of 5 to 25 verses per Sunday result those lengthy seasons in Biblical books which result in deep conviction and personal transformation.
The pattern I found fruitful and would do again was to teach a Gospel at this level of detail, then Acts, with pauses during Paul’s missionary journeys to teach the related letters in detail. Then the remaining letters. This process involved most of twenty years and in fact I left my position before completing the New Testament. I have no doubt however that a pastor could teach the Bible in depth for a lifetime in one community and see measurable worldview and lifestyle transformation to impact eternity.
- Evangelism and Apologetics – our multicultural society and educational system has led many in it to conclude truth does not exist outside of personal preference. For this reason a Christian worldview requires not only explanation but also listening and dialogue. The Alpha program and experience is a good combination of the expression of Biblical truth, dialogue in community, and basic apologetics. As with earlier examples, my purpose is not to suggest that Alpha is the only or best way to meet this foundational need but rather that the program represents a foundation stone of the kind and significance that cannot be left out of the discipleship of a Christ-centred fellowship. I would encourage you to use or improve on it or find something better. But don’t leave this gap in your foundation.
- Practical mission in education and practice – some Christian leaders have ample breadth of cross-cultural experience involved in overseas cultures or in crossing the gap between church and community culture to provide this foundational element personally. Most however will need some help, and the Perspectives course or something of equal scope can serve you well. Without understanding that mission is the reason for the being of the church in the world, most congregations will hold the belief that the church exists for the wellbeing of its members. Don’t settle for a superficial treatment of the mission of God.
Mission once embraced, must then be expressed in tangible and costly ways including disciple-making, community service, church planting, local and over-ocean expressions of compassion and justice. A congregation needs a solid foundation laid of all components to sustain costly effective mission reflecting the life of Jesus in a largely hostile world.
Some will have expected flashy new insights in this encouragement essentially to major in the majors and do so well. Creative experimentation is best built on a solid foundation. A friend recently suggested to me: “90% of success in life is consistently showing up.” It’s certainly true in church ministry. These few foundational elements for effective discipleship and growth are not spectacular but they are true, they work when applied, and are worth reviewing, improving, and investing in every day.
First the root, then the stem, leaf and flower… Don’t take shortcuts or yield to impatience, the fruit of transformed life and community engagement will follow.
Murray Moerman – February 2012
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