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PASTORS DRIVING IN THE FOG

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PASTORS WITHOUT GOALS OR OBJECTIVES

pastorsBy Ken Blue

The longer I live and the more I talk with pastors, the more confident I am that many of them are driving in a fog; if they are moving at all. We all know what it is like to try to drive in those blinding conditions. Sometimes fog lights help, but the fog line on the right side of the road may be the best guide. That line gives you some point of reference as to where you are.

It appears that pastors do not want a clearly defined purpose, or stated objectives for fear of failure. Perhaps they like being in the fog, that way no one can figure out where they are going. You would think they would be eager to establish these, and clarify them to their members.

What must a pastor do to get out of the fog and see clearly his purpose, objectives, and goals? First of all, he must have a stated purpose for the church. Can you put in a simple sentence why your church exists and what you believe God wants it to focus on; if not, you are still in the fog. An example of a purpose statement is that of Open Door Baptist church. “We exist to bring families from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity.” That statement is clear and defines what the churches main business will be. Everything else they do moves the church toward that purpose.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The purpose statement declares why you exist.[/perfectpullquote]

Once the purpose is established, clearly stated objectives must be put in place. The purpose declares why you exist. The objectives state what actions are necessary to carry out your purpose. Pastors should have no more that 5-7 objectives. Objectives are not goals. They are simply the major areas you must focus on to support your purpose.

Once the objectives are in place, goals must be set in each one of them. Some goals may be set for what you want the church to be in five years. Goals must be broken down to 12, 6, 3, and 1-month segments. They must be on the pastor’s calendar, and on your desk, or they will be ignored.

Also, goals have a beginning and ending date. They must be measurable, attainable and have ownership. From your calendar, you know what you are to do each week and every day. If you have done it right, your calendar will become your boss. You no longer are in the fog. If things get a little fuzzy, get your calendar out and bring yourself up to date.

Why do pastors ignore this kind of planning? One, it requires you to think and work. It won’t allow you to fly by the seat of your pants. It holds you accountable. It shows where you are failing, and the bottom line is fear.

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SEARCHING FOR A CHURCH MODEL

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Should the purpose determine the church model, or the church model the purpose?

By Ken Blue

Attempting to discover the purpose or model for a church from other pastors is like trying to find out from a lost man the plan of salvation. Each one has a different answer of what is to be done, and how to do it.

The obvious place to search for a church model would be in the writings of Paul, since he is the apostle who wrote the church epistles. We discover that churches ordained pastors to lead them, and that deacons were added when necessary. One will search in vain for the structure and order of the services.

The primary purpose of the church is found in Ephesians 4:11-13. “ And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:” Soul-winning, pastoring, and teaching are all within the text.

[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Perhaps the greatest error being perpetrated today is that the church building is only for the saved.[/pullquote]

Perhaps the greatest error being perpetrated today is that the church building is only for the saved.  It is suggested that sinners should not be invited to church, but be led to Christ first and then brought into the building. This is total nonsense. What on earth could Paul have in mind when he said, “And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” 1 Corinthians 9:20-22. If you don’t want sinners mixed in with the saints, why are you giving an invitation to them every Sunday? Does it bother you that these sinners got past your ushers?
Of course, we don’t allow the unsaved to become members of the church. But you do everything within your power to get the saints out to the lost, and get the lost to come to church.

You will search in vain for the structure of the local church or for proof that lost people should not be invited and encouraged to come. I am fully aware of the parable of the “great supper.” Everyone was invited “that My house might be full.”

  1. Get the lost to come to church
  2. Preach the gospel and get them saved
  3. Take them through a membership class and get them to become members of the church.
  4. Teach them how to study the Bible
  5. Get them involved in a ministry
  6. Get them on the mission field.
    If you do these, you will do well.
    If you have a better plan, please let us know.

TRIMMING THE CHURCH BUDGET

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By Ken Blue

church budget“There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.” Proverbs 21:20.

Recently, a pastor friend asks if I would write something about trimming the church budget. He then laughed and said, “Maybe the answer is to just run it through the shredder.” That would be an easy way to get rid of the budget, but it will not eliminate the problem.

The first thing is to make a list of every known expense you have. Once you have done that, separate between the fixed expenses and the variable or non fixed expenses. Fixed expenses are easy to identify. However, it may be necessary to keep a diary of all other expenses so you will know where non-designated monies go. You will discover that these differ from day to day.

See where you spend your money, and decide what you could do without. Some expenses are one-time events. But there are also expenses that you’ll regularly see in the diary. Monitoring your spending this way helps alert you to the expenses that add up quickly and really don’t significantly improve your ministry. Eliminate as many of these as you can.

As you consider expenses, there may be ways to reduce the overhead. I will list a few things to consider.

1. You might be able to cut down on the number of phones you have, or the plan.

2. Turn the water heater down. Check to see that toilets are not running 24/7. You can work out a fixed yearly budget with the city or county concerning utilities.

3. Put lower wattage and fewer light bulbs in fixtures.

4. Install motion sensor switches in each room so lights will go off when there’s no activity.

5. Make sure the heat and air conditioner are off when the building is not in use.

6. See that windows are closed.

7. Set heat a couple of degrees lower.

8. Look for signs of waste and eliminate it.

9. If required, talk to the bank about refinancing to lower your payments.

10.  Do not add missionaries or building projects that you can’t pay for.

11. Cut back or eliminate special meetings and guest speakers; they do not build your church attendance or budget.

12. If necessary, have the midweek service in a smaller room and save on heat.

13. Double your outreach efforts. When Jesus wanted Peter to pay the taxes, He sent him to catch a fish!

14.  If none of these solve the problem, you may need to lay off some staff.

15. Take special offerings occasionally to meet a need.

16. In some cases, the pastor may be required to seek additional employment.

Pastor, there’s only so much you can do. However, I am convinced that there are some things you could do that might ease the financial burden a little.