Blog-Generated | Coaching Churches

Is America Burning Out? How To Minister To An Exhausted, Cynical Culture

Posted by on October 12, 2020

This current disruption has lasted so long that the impacts will be permanent and require new approaches to ministry. Jesus Christ is still the hope of the world and we have to shift now to make sure He is at the center of our messaging. The culture can always push back on the church or even Christianity. It’s extremely had to push back on Christ. This post by Carey Nieuwhof is a great help:

“You know that people burn out. In fact, given the way you feel, you may have asked whether that’s what happening to you. But here’s a deeper question.

Can a culture burn out? And if the answer is yes, any chance that’s happening to America in this moment?

An accurate diagnosis might be helpful right now because, if you’re like me, as you read the news and scroll through your feed, it’s hard not to feel despair.

I was speaking to a group of next generation church leaders recently, most in their twenties or early thirties, and as I thought about their future, I was reminded of how pessimistic so many of the outlooks on the future are right now.”

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Don’t Burn Bridges

Posted by on September 20, 2020

The secret to representing Christ to the world is to always know the right amount of grace and truth in every situation. We should never in any interaction violate one truth in scripture to support another truth we feel even more strongly about. If we blow people up on social media then so much for loving your enemies. This post by Sam Luce gives us the right approach:

“Remember when Facebook was for sharing photos of your children and videos of otters holding hands? Me neither. Social media has become a battlefield of conflicting ideas. A minefield of potentially explosive issues. It has gone from a digital scrapbook to a digital equivalent of a dual. Every post seems to be about the defense of a person or idea and with those who disagree hurling horribly generalized caricatures of who they think you are based on what party they think you are a part of.

As Christians, we have to guard against this. Some of the most scathing reprimands of scripture are towards those who can not control their tongues. In James 1 where we famously quote the passage that states “True religion is taking care of the widows and orphans.” This is a feel-good statement that is completely true and we love it. You know what it says in the verse right in front of it. James 1:26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle (control) his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.”

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When Christians Lose Their Minds, People Lose Their Faith

Posted by on September 14, 2020

I don’t think I have ever been more grieved in my spirit when I read and watch all the things that are on my social media feed. The restraining grace of God has been withheld to show us just how much evil is in the world.

What I have resisted so far is not to add to the negative toxic chaos by trying to give my opinion and in reality just making things worse. What I have done is increased my prayer time for revival and a tremendous spiritual awakening that would result in millions being saved.

I know the Father is using all of this but we must be careful to not get in His way and become a part of the problem. Carey writes an incredibly timely post that is worth the read:

If your social feed is like mine, it looks like people are losing their minds. Christians too.

As the world has become more fragile than it has in perhaps my lifetime, my feed has gotten more and more polarized, partisan, angry, bizarre and downright weird in 2020.

What’s a little alarming is we haven’t even had the U.S. election yet.

I wish I could tell you Christians were the healing part of my feed, but that’s not the case.

Christians have been sucked into the nastiness, division and partisanship along with everyone else. Often Christians aren’t providing an alternative to the anger and outrage online, they’re fueling it.

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How To Lead A Church That Can’t Agree On Anything Right Now

Posted by on August 31, 2020

In my lifetime the church has never gone through this much disruption for this long of a period of time. The church has literally been scattered and we are living through at least 5 major crisis that have created massive amounts of stress. The country is more divided than ever, which sadly means your people are probably more divided than ever as well.

This post by Carey Nieuwhof is extremely helpful in that he seeks to help us find the things we all still have in common. If we focus on our shared mission, then we will see all of this as a divine opportunity for the kingdom. Enjoy this great post:

“This is probably one of the hardest seasons you’ve ever led through.

One of the things that’s making this season particular challenging is that, regardless of ideology, theology or viewpoint, we are more divided and adamant than ever.

People don’t agree on masks, social distancing, schooling, reopening church, online church politics or whether there’s even a real threat.

As one lead pastor told me recently, “There used to be two options. Now it feels like there are four or five, and no one agrees with anyone anymore.”

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My Single Biggest Regret From A Lifetime Of Ministry

Posted by on July 12, 2020

Regrets mainly come not from mistakes made but opportunities missed. This post by Joe McKeever will take you to a place every pastor has already been before if you have been leading in a church for at least 10 years.

What I need you to hear is that this issue impacts every leader I have coached my entire life, especially trying to lead myself. So this is not a pastor problem but a Christian leaders problem and that should help you to see we all face this challenge.

With that said, you are leading in an environment where the unrealistic expectations of the people you lead are extremely demanding. That means you have to have the spiritual maturity to say No to many things and learn to live your life before an audience of One.

“The first entry in the book is dated October 9. However, the paragraph above that reads:

The month of October got off to a poor start around the McKeever household. I announced to Margaret that until October 27, there were no open days or nights. The month was filled with church meetings, committees, banquets, associational meetings, speaking engagements at three colleges, a weekend retreat in Alabama,and a few football games. She cried. Once again, I had let others plan my schedule in the sense that I’d failed to mark out days reserved for family time.

I ran across that book today, read that paragraph, and wept.”

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Should You Close Your Church After Reopening?

Posted by on July 6, 2020

When I started writing the book Church Scattered: Christianity for 21st Century I could have never imagined our current situation. Yes I am a strong advocate of putting more leadership into the church scattered but I never wanted the church gathered to close its doors.

Now everything has changed to the point that church leaders are having to re-think strategy not only for now but more importantly for the future. The Father is disrupting His people again and scattering them into the mission fields. This post by Carey Nieuwhof will help you walk through the challenges ahead:

“Every time you think 2020 is going to get easier, it just gets more complex. So here’s a question: “Should you close your church after reopening it?”

While that sounds like a terrible question, what if it was your best church growth strategy? I know that probably sounds like heresy and you may be too annoyed to read further, but just hang on for a second more.

As the coronavirus resurges across the US, and even areas that thought COVID wouldn’t impact them are breaking all-time infection records, clearly this is a time to ask all the questions.

But this is a deeper question. In Canada, our cases have slowed to almost a trickle, but I think it’s a live issue here too…if you really want to reach more people.”

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Prayer Is Activism

Posted by on June 19, 2020

It seems like in the midst of all this chaos it is impossible to say or do the right thing anymore. We know that saying or doing nothing is absolutely wrong. However, if we jump in and try to fix everything, we may abandon the gospel message as Christians and in the end that is our only hope.

The hard truth that I have had to deal with is that if I am talking to other people about all of this drama more than I am talking to the Father, I have failed to do the most important thing I can to help. We have lost a heavily vision of the power in prayer.

Prayer automatically resets our perspective that behind all this negative news is the biblical worldview that our great God is still sovereign. He did not cause all of this but He will use it for His glory and our good. I have to stop praying to stop it all just to get emotional relief, because I want Him to have all the time He needs to accomplish eternal things so many will come to know Him.

This post by Eugene Park is very encouraging: “As our nation reels from George Floyd’s death, many in the church feel compelled to do something. Responses have run the gamut from listening, learning, and lamenting to posting black squares on Instagram, donating, marching, and more.

Yet in our rush to engage, many of us have neglected the most potent form of activism at our disposal: prayer to the sovereign God of the universe.”

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Pastors How To Lead 3 Different Groups Back To Church

Posted by on May 26, 2020

Just to get one thing said that is very important, the church never really closed. The buildings did but the people have been living on mission the entire time. This messaging is important in speaking to all of the people who will be coming back to live worship. Some can’t wait to come back and will deal with all the necessary changes. Others will be more cautious and it may take them several months to return. Dan Reiland as always is very helpful:

“If you are truly leading, that means you are guiding those you lead somewhere that you and they together have not been before. That “place” is a better life through Christ. The foundation of that premise never changes, but culture has changed, so we must adapt as needed.

The purpose is that people may continue to say yes to the person and message of Christ and mature in their faith.

So, why do you need to lead people back to church?”

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4 Ways To Quickly Stop Your Innovation Curve And Miss The Future

Posted by on April 29, 2020

As an executive coach I have worked with the leadership of companies who are fighting disruption every day for survival. Disruption is so dramatic it really means that you cannot go back to the way things used to be. You absolutely have to change by keeping what is valuable from the past but radically adopting what will work best for the future. This excellent post by Carey Nieuwhof will help you navigate this transition:

“Sure…the world has changed almost unbelievably since mid-March 2020, but stop for a moment and think about how much you’ve changed.

You’ve led through the biggest crisis in a generation, or perhaps a century. And as a result, you’ve innovated.

You went from

Meeting in-person to meeting online
Leading your team in-person to leading your team remotely
A stable financial plan to a completely new financial plan
A predictable org chart to redeploying staff in brand new areas they weren’t trained for
Having no idea how to do what you needed to do to making it work”

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Five Ways You Will Be A Different Pastor After The Pandemic

Posted by on April 19, 2020

It will be impossible to return to the way things were before the pandemic. The Father is leveraging this crisis to call His church to maintain the sacred message of the past but learn through this transition to prioritize the ministry of the church scattered. This may be the greatest opportunity in our lifetime to see many people come to Christ as new normals are developed for everyone. This post by Thom Rainer is excellent:

“In a recent article, I wrote that churches will never be the same after the pandemic. An important corollary to that thesis is that pastors will never be the same. Though the biblical standards of pastoral ministry remain constant, how pastors carry out that ministry will change dramatically. In many ways, the changes are already taking place.

Pastors will either thrive with an attitude of abundance or retreat with an attitude of scarcity. Some pastors are already adapting incredibly well during the pandemic. They are functioning more with an attitude of God’s abundant provisions than one of scarcity. These pastors are becoming amazingly creative and positive about the future. Unfortunately, others can’t wait to return to a church world that no longer exists.”

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