Podcast Episode #325
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Listener feedback has been great recently, so we take some time to answer your questions on this week’s episode. We cover everything from hiring to boring churches to problems with former staff.
Some highlights from today’s episode include:
- If a ministry event is high on resources and involvement but low on results, it may be time to pull the plug on it.
- You hire in the church based on Christian commitment and a sense of call.
- Pastors should be careful when taking on the title of pastor emeritus.
- The title “pastor emeritus” can be very confusing for church members and those in the community.
- Pastors who follow those who left due to moral failure have to build more trust with the congregation.
- Sometimes enthusiasm in one area of ministry will spill over into other areas that are completely unrelated.
The listener questions we ask are:
Les asks:
How do you determine when an event/outreach just isn’t going to develop as you had hoped vs. giving it one more year or one more try?
Cameron asks:
How is hiring in the church changing? How is it, or how should it be different from the secular world?
Jim asks:
How do I deal with a pastor emeritus who thinks the church should be more like it was when he was pastor? He still refers to himself in the community as pastor emeritus even though he hasn’t been on staff for more than a decade.
James asks:
9 months ago the founding and senior pastor of 27 years stepped down after admitting a 4 year affair with a woman in the church. Half of the church left. Everyone is wounded. But thankfully we have very strong and committed leaders. What 3 or 4 things / actions / behaviors would you recommend to a new pastor walking into that situation? Within the first few months? Year? 2-3 years?
Matt asks:
What do I do if our church is boring? We’ve been attending for about a year now and nothing has changed a lot not much growth maybe a couple families. The preaching is expository style but it’s more of a verbal commentary with not much application. Not many kids, not enough to have bible studies because the ages are so wide, no greeters you will walk into an empty sanctuary. they have a high view of Gods word and that’s what keeps us continuing. It’s causing some division in the household because one wants to go and the rest of the family wants to visit other churches.
Quentin asks:
Hello, I’m a pastor and this is my fourth year there. The ministries where on fire my first 2 years. Now there is a dramatically drop in our choir and youth ministry. It’s like the leaders settle for the bare minimum, and that trickles down to the rest of the members. I’ve tried to encourage them, offered corrective measures, and attempted to help them. However, no avail. Service on Sundays are starting to really reflect this issue. Can you help?
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Feedback
If you have a question you would like answered on the show, fill out the form on the podcast page here at ThomRainer.com. If we use your question, you’ll receive a free copy of Who Moved My Pulpit?
Resources Mentioned in Today’s Podcast
- Invite Your One
- Church Answers
- The Ideal Team Player
- BELAY (affiliate link)
I have a question of pressing need since I am a pastor in search of a position. I personally have a problem with a church asking for a credit report of me. I understand wanting to know if a pastor is current on his debt. It seems to me, though, that the amount of debt I have is none of their business. They are looking for me to be pastor. I am not their slave. Also, it seems that info on my credit report, like student loan debt, could be used against me even if I am called there.
One more thing, if I am one of a group of elders, should I be able to get the credit reports of the rest of the elder board! What is good for them to know about me, I should know about them, right?
What are your thoughts?
My gut reaction is that you are not ready to be the pastor of that church.
All I want to know after this episode if it is the same Cameron…
I wanted to add to Dr. Rainer’s answer regarding the paster emeritus. He is right that creating such a position is a mistake, but the pastor who asked the question has to find a way to deal with the situation after the fact. I have a few thoughts. My short answer is: honor him. “Emeritus” means with honor. The church has determined that this man deserves to be honored, so find a way to carry out the will of the congregation. What does this mean?
1. What it doesn’t mean is to let him run the church. He might regard that as honor, but in the end his meddling will drive off pastors until he finally dies and is remembered as the problem whose departure is welcome. That will dishonor his memory.
2. Spend time with him. Have coffee with him once a week. I say this for two reasons, one of which may sound cynical but neither of which actually is. First, it will make him feel honored, which will make him less troublesome. That is not cynicism: as I said before, his title means that he is to be honored and this is a way of achieving that goal. Second, however, is a stronger reason: It will help you pastor the church. This man must have stayed a long time and had quite an impact. He is the institutional memory of the congregation and his insights can prove very valuable.
3. Quote him often. If his sermons are available on tape, listen to them and refer to them, giving credit, in your sermons where appropriate. If you are spending regular time with him, you will have opportunity to say, “As Pastor Bob told me just the other day. . . .” This can actually help your preaching, but at the very least it assures both the congregation and the PE that he is, in fact, being honored.
4. Increase his profile. Invite him to sit on the platform on Sunday mornings if your church still does that. Ask him to read Scripture or lead in prayer.
5. Invite him to preach – frequently. By “frequently” I mean something like twice a year. Let him be your go-to pulpit supply. If you have a Sunday night service, you can use him even more often. Don’t worry that he’s not a great preacher. The congregation loves him and in any case churches have a remarkable resilience in the face of bad preaching.
6. Give him something to do. Old sheepdogs still need something to herd! Ask him to take care of shut-in visitation or hospital visitation. You should still do these things yourself, but he can give them far more attention. If you have raised his profile by doing steps 2-5, his presence will not be seen as a poor substitute. Even new members will see him as a “legitimate” surrogate.