Pastoring & Leadership

Sabbaticals for Pastors

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I'm on a short planning/strategizing sabbatical this week.  I just so happened to run across Matt Schmucker's helpful 9 Marks article, Caring for the Pastor: The Sabbatical.  "The church that cares for its pastor cares for itself.!"

Brief 10 point advice from Schmucker for the church and pastor...

1. Start out small: If your church has never considered giving a pastor a sabbatical and seems resistant, start out small and let the idea grow...

2. Start out small (again!): This time I’m not addressing length of time away, but the kind of sabbatical the pastor might take....

3. Care for the flock: ...Assign the preaching, counseling, funerals, and all the other regular duties.

4. Plan the sabbatical: The pastor needs to plan well in advance what he will be doing on the sabbatical, otherwise the precious time away can be wasted.

5. Involve the congregation: The pastor needs to share with the congregation his plans...

6. Consider the season: ...The pastor should take leave at a good time in the church’s life.

7. Communicate: While on sabbatical, the pastor should consider regular communication with his congregation through open letters or articles in the church’s newsletter.

8. Set parameters: ...both pastor and church should have some understandings about "drop bys" and "pop ins" where the pastor is interrupted...

9. Be accountable: Consider setting up a system of accountability between the pastor on sabbatical and a fellow pastor/elder or board – leader to leader.

10. Plan for the return: ...remember that the congregation was not on sabbatical; it may need to be eased into his new ideas and renewed energy.

Read the whole article.

Piper & Dever & Ware, Oh My

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I listened to the new 9 Marks interview last night: Particular Redemption, The New Perspective, and More with John Piper (and Bruce Ware!).  This is a wonderful, encouraging, challenging discussion. 

It starts with Piper and Ware discussing differences in their soteriology.  It's basically Piper challenging Ware's soteriology.  Then you get a lot of Piper (with a little Dever seasoning) discussing all sorts of things: what he's writing and has written, what's wrong with missional, contextualization, ecclesiology, and much more.  Don't miss the place where Piper challenges Dever's resistance to multiple services.  Piper = "in yo face, speaking the truth in love, hard to argue with the Christ-like, erudite pastor" fun.

As usual I don't agree with everything or everyone in the audio.  But overhearing this conversation was very enjoyable for me and shows why I love John Piper so much.  Listening to him makes me want to be a more devoted and passionate disciple, husband and pastor.

I also want to reiterate how much I like the 9 Marks website.  Lots of articles, reviews, and a great list of other free audio interviews.  Again, I don't agree with everything at 9 Marks, but I consider Dever a mentor on several levels and I like much of what they have to say to churches and pastors.

Knowing Mark Driscoll

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Driscoll_2Ed Stetzer interviews Mark Driscoll for the Exponential Conference (National New Church Conference) podcast.  Want to know more about "the cussing pastor?"  Want to know more about Driscoll's church, prayer life, struggles with sin, history with Emergent guys, or preaching?  This is a great way to find out from the horse's mouth instead of the latest blog gossip.  Great info.  Very encouraging. 

Grab it at the Exponential site, or on iTunes.  The whole series of podcasts has been helpful.

Use These Links

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Here are a few links for you...

Tom Ascol (of Founders Ministries) discusses the post-denominational time we live in and some research from SBC's Lifeway.  Ascol proves again to be an important voice both in and out of the SBC.

The Internet Monk gives 5 reasons he doesn't use the word "inerrancy." He then spends an entire post using the word "inerrancy!"  :)

Kent over at ChurchRelevance.com gives 8 steps to mind mapping.  Here's an fun free resource.

The autism rate is now about 1 in 150.  Yikes.  My 8 year old is autistic, for anyone who didn't know already.

I met Drew Goodmanson last year at the Reform & Resurge Conference in Seattle.  Really good guy.  I've had his blog on my sidebar for a while, but I just wanted to emphasize that Drew is doing some great blogging lately.  Make him one of your "must reads." 

Al Hsu continues some great posts on ministry in suburbia, including this post on the hiddenness of poverty in suburbia.

Joe has been taking some great photos lately, like this one.

Church Leader Roundup

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Here are a few things I've read recently that you might want to check out.

Kent Shaffer: 5 Ways Your Church Can Build Trust In Your Community
Mark Driscoll: Twenty Leadership Questions for Building a City Within the City (including Driscollian chest fur)
Tony Morgan: 10 Signs You're Not Ready for Change
Drew Goodmanson: The Future of Spirituality and What Is After Postmodernism
Steven Furtick: Irreplaceable
Mark Dever: Baptists and Elders (best for Baptists who don't have elders)
Joshua Sowin: A Guide to Writing Well
Acts29: An Expanded List of Books for Missional Church Planters
ESV Daily Readings (I'm doing this one)

Smaller Churches

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It's budget time at our church and Tim Keller's words are painfully evident.  Ugh.

The smaller church by its nature gives immature, outspoken,opinionated, and broken members far more power over the whole body. Since everyone knows everyone else, when a  family or small group of members express strong opposition to the direction set by the pastor and leaders, that small group’s misery can hold the whole congregation hostage. If they threaten to leave, the majority of people will urge the leaders to desist in their project. It is extremely difficult to get complete consensus from a group of 50-150 people about program and direction, especially in today’s diverse, fragmented society.  Yet in smaller churches there is an unwritten rule that most everyone must be happy with any new initiative in order for it to be implement. Leaders of small churches must be brave enough to lead and to confront immature members in spite of its unpleasantness.

Tim Keller, "Leadership and Church Size Dynamics"

Keller: Leadership & Church Size

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New article by Tim Keller in the new issue of The Movement (Redeemer's church planting newsletter): "Leadership and Church Size Dynamics."  This is Part 1 of 2.  Read the rest of the issue here. 

Also encourage you to read the interview with J.R. Vassar, "Calling and Seduction of the City."  He is the planter of Apostles Church in Manhattan, NYC.  I met him in my first year of ministry in Colorado when he spoke at a college retreat I organized.  Good guy.

In other Redeemer resource news, I noticed a few days ago that Redeemer has a Coaching Urban Church Planters book out from J. Allen Thompson.  Should be helpful.

Keller vs. Piper

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D.J. Chuang puts his life in danger when he posts "Why I Like Keller More Than Piper."  Okay, not really.  It has little to do with comparing the two.  But it's a good post on the reasons why D.J. (I think he speaks for many) likes Keller a lot.  Here's his points, but please read his whole post for his quotes and explanations.

  1. He is unassuming.
  2. He graciously preaches the Gospel clearly and compellingly.
  3. His preaching is accessible and edifying to both non-Christians and Christians.
  4. He allows us to see that the writers of the past and present are both relevant to life and faith today.
  5. He is authoritative without being authoritarian.
  6. He believes that doctrines are important and actually shows how it matters.
  7. He is fair and honest.
  8. His passion for the cities of the world reflects the City of God.
  9. He is respectful of other’s convictions, preferences, and callings.
  10. He encourages people to think out the implications of their faith.
  11. He speaks to the heart of the matter.
  12. He deconstructs and reconstructs.
  13. He teaches the Bible in a refreshing culturally engaging way.
  14. He reads and comments on blogs.

Keller & Driscoll: Desiring God Videos

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Driscoll Updates Ministry in Seattle

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Driscoll_1Mark Driscoll has a nice, long post on what's happening in his life & at Mars Hill.  It's an interesting post with a look at a few people who are throwing stones at him, the growth issues they face at Mars Hill as well as the number of people they have in various recovery groups, and stuff he is writing. 

Whatever you think of Driscoll, it's good to keep up.

600 Pages

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I recently read three books, each running about 200 pages.

Hsu_2 The first was The Suburban Christian by Albert Hsu.  I thought it was a very helpful book on suburban Christian spirituality that fills a gap in understanding life in suburbia.  There are points Hsu makes that I don't completely agree with, but all-in-all this is a good book worth checking out.

Simple The second was Simple Church by Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger.  I really wasn't sure what to expect since I hadn't read Rainer in near a decade.  I really enjoyed the book.  It was similar to something Andy Stanley might say (and at times has said), and I say that as a compliment.  If you are a pastor or church leader, this book will have plenty of good advice for you.

Speaking_1 The third and final read I both started and finished last night.  It was Speaking of Jesus by J. Mack Stiles.  This book has been on my shelf for a few years at least.  I really was looking to read a book that gave some practical, conversational helps.  I wasn't disappointed.  There were a few places where I wish Stiles would have taken a more missional approach, but as a whole I liked the book and would encourage my people to read it.  If you are looking for some practical advice on talking with people about Jesus there are many good things out there, and this book is a good one too.