Category: Ministry (page 6 of 6)

Leading from a Distance

May 3, 2010 / / 3 Comments /

Can you leave your church for the weekend and not fret? Can you not show up one Sunday and the worship services continue? Are most Sundays built around your charisma, your strengths and your talents or can someone different than you lead a weekend service? Do you have to be at every public gathering so people will feel the meeting is important?

I believe the real test of a leader is not so much when they are up front but when they are away and someone on the team is leading. Too many churches are built around one set of spiritual gifts and around one personality. The healthiest churches I know have empowered a diverse group of people to lead so that many spiritual gifts and many perspectives can be on display to the congregation.

This is one reason I have not embraced the video campus model and instead I am experimenting with another pastor leading a Sunday night campus who preaches my message live instead of asking people to watch me on a screen. There is nothing wrong with the aforementioned model so I am not challenging the leadership of many of my friends who do this at multiple campuses. What I am saying is there is another option that may work just as well.

My model is messier, requires a lot of relational equity with the campus pastor and demands loyalty and trust from one another. But in the end, it allows me to mentor young communicators and helps build our fellowship around a multitude of gifts and personalities and not just one. I am still the primary leader and I have final say on the sermon topics. We preach the same main points and use the same Scriptures, but a team is formed and many players get in the game.

This is just one way I am purposely leading New Life while purposely staying away from many of the gatherings. I want to lead, at times, from a distance.

Have you empowered people around you to lead or does everyone look to you to oversee every gathering? Are you preaching in your own pulpit more than 48 times a year?  If so, can I suggest you immediately begin mentoring your replacement, because unless you are spiritual Superman, you are headed for burnout.

Step away and lead from a distance. You will find rest for your soul, and the church will get to feed from a buffet of teachers and not from just one menu item. Your team will rise to the challenge and your church will become healthier than ever. Try it for a year and let me know if I am right or wrong.

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Raising the Bar

April 16, 2010 / / 4 Comments /

Recently, New Life Church was accepted as a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. I know that sounds as exciting as a root canal, but it is a big deal to me. ECFA sets very high standards for membership and only a handful of churches even bother trying to meet the requirements.

When I came to New Life in 2007, we did not have the internal structures or policies to be a member, but we were determined to make the changes necessary to hit the mark. The first thing we did was change the way decisions were made about spending money. We had always done a yearly audit, but we then added a purchase order system, a more detailed budget and we changed our elder structure. Under the old system, the Senior Pastor had a lot of autonomous, independent spending authority, but under our new system, spending decisions are made as a team with a lot more accountability from elders who are not a part of the staff.

Why did I make all these changes? The old system was not corrupt or necessarily broken. I could have continued with the status quo and no one would have been alarmed or concerned. The reason is simple. I want to be able to stand in front of our fellowship and challenge everyone to give and for them to know that we are operating with complete integrity and maintaining the highest standards available.

This removes all suspicion and brings everything into the light for all to see. Our finances are posted at www.ecfa.org and will be updated regularly. I want people to know we are committed to being good stewards, living below our means and giving generously at every opportunity. These are the principles we live by in the Boyd house and I want the same principles to apply at the church I lead.

Check out the website and give me your opinion. Is this important to you as a New Lifer? Does this help clear up any confusion or is it no big deal?

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The future of the local church

December 28, 2009 / / 8 Comments /

In the past ten years, I have witnessed remarkable changes in the local church and the coming decade will usher in even more transformations. While the ancient Sacraments will remain, everything else is up for debate. How we worship, when we gather, what is said, who is leading and where the gatherings happen will all undergo scrutiny and debate.

I have four predictions for the next decade of local church.

1. The places where we gather will become smaller

Every social and cultural trend is leaning toward the smaller, more intimate gatherings and away from the stadium worship experience. Mega churches that purposely create numerous worship settings that promote intimacy and community will see the most significant growth. There will always be a group of church people who will come to the big building, but if we want to see significant growth among skeptics and seekers, we must create less threatening venues for them to explore the issues of faith.

2. The church will be launched into real mission.

The local church is hungry to embrace the mission of the New Testament and this will only increase in the next decade. This next generation is tired of the hype of events and is eager to give their lives to something that requires sacrifice and results in biblical justice. They want to get their hands in the dirt of humanity and see real change in the communities where they live. They will come to the church building for some of the attractional events, but will get disillusioned quickly if these events do not result in real opportunities to serve their world.

3. The church will return to its ancient roots

If it’s new, it’s probably not truth. If its truth, it’s probably not new. I believe the ancient, yet simple recipe of local church will return. We will gather often, read the Scriptures, worship intently, pray fervently, be led by servants, live authentically, and honor the Sacraments. For sure, we will continue to be creative and inventive, but not at the expense of the ancient structure which has transcended all generations for over 2000 years.

4. The church will return to wonder and awe

The churches that embrace the supernatural nature of God will see the most growth and have the most influence in the coming decade. Good preaching, trendy stage sets, and clever videos will not be enough in the next ten years because people want to see God intervene more and more in the affairs of the earth with miracles and healings. Sound theology must prevail and we must not return to our sloppy Charismatic tendencies, but we must also embrace the mysterious and risky nature of God and not be afraid of wonder and awe. While the Holy Spirit may be unpredictable, the results are always predictable – people will find God, people will be healed and people will discover real freedom.


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The List

June 29, 2009 / / 2 Comments /

Last week, I asked 1500 pastors and leaders who attended our Ascent and Enter conferences to make a list of leaders from local churches or ministries who were at least 60 years old, still had passion for Jesus, loved their spouses and had raised children who also followed Jesus. Most of us had a short list.  Instead, many of us knew many leaders who had fallen away because of moral failures or complete burnout.

My heart breaks for my fellow leaders who have fallen and I am not pointing out their failures so they have to revisit their shame.  I believe in the power of the Gospel to restore and redeem all of broken humanity, including fallen leaders of churches. The church is still learning how to restore those who have fallen, and the fallen leaders are still learning how to submit to imperfect churches. For sure, both the fallen and the leaders who have not still have a lot to learn.

Why can’t we make the list before turning 60? I like this age because most people over 60 have become empty nesters and their entire body of work can begin to be evaluated. Do their kids still love the local church or have they become irreparable cynics because of what they have seen at home with their own parents or what they have witnessed behind the scenes of the local church?

At 60, any fissures in the leader’s marriage have already been exposed. Did the leaders have an affair with their work as ministers or did they choose to love their spouse the way Christ loves His bride?  Does the spouse still love the ministry or do they have deep resentment for what ministry stole from their marriage?

At 60, if a leader has neglected their private relationship with Christ, it is or soon will be evident to the public. Has the leader simply read the Bible to prepare for the next talk or is the leader still fascinated by the mysteries of Scripture and finds life from the Holy Spirit when it is read?

At 60, a leader either loves people more than ever or has found ways to completely blockade himself from any real relationships with those whom he is assigned to shepherd. The idea of meeting with people, performing a wedding for a young couple or speaking at the funeral of a dear, departed saint is either an ever growing passion or a necessary evil.

So, in 18 years, when I turn 60, I will write another blog to answer these questions for myself. I hope to make your list if someone asks you the question I asked last week. I am grateful I don’t have to do this with my own strength because I am certain I would miss the mark. I am thankful for Scripture, for the Holy Spirit, for my best friend, Pam, and for a circle of trusted friends who are cheering me toward the finish line.

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