See! I promised it wouldn't be a year between posts again. My post yesterday went really long so I figured I'd break it into two parts. No need to recap because you can just look below and see what I said in part 1.
So, as we gained some distance from the church and started to dig a little into why it might be that, while the pastor had some great ideas, the congregation didn't seem to buy-in. Let me say first that what I'm about to share may not be the entire reason. I certainly haven't done a complete examination of every area of ministry. However, it seems to me that much of what's going on can be traced...as always...back to the pastor. It's one thing to be able to clearly articulate a vision for ministry. It's another to be able to manage that vision so that it actually has a chance to be realized. It appears that we've been involved with a church that puts on a great show but lacks the structure behind the scenes that could bring success.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the staff isn't earnest in their beliefs or that the pastor doesn't passionately believe what he says every Sunday. I don't for one second believe there is any deceit going on here. What I do believe is that there has to be a strong, resilient, responsive, accountable structure built in order to support any compelling vision for ministry. One of my primary complaints about the Christian Church through the years is that the pastor and staff of a church are expected to carry the ministry. They teach the Bible studies, attend every meeting, and control much, if not all, of any meaningful ministry. Pastors have accepted and even contributed to this flawed system all the while complaining that none of the membership ever stepped up to help. Biblically the leadership of a church is there primarily to "equip the saints for ministry". This equipping includes giving away large chunks of ministry to the folks in the seats and trusting them to do it.
This is what appeared to be happening at the church we've attended for the last two years. The pastor urged people to take the lead. People were invited regularly to start their own groups on anything that interested them. Those who did went through a brief training and approval process with the pastor and launched their group. The church has an unusually large staff for the number of folks in worship (7 pastoral staff with about 300 in worship weekly). But, what I discovered is that there seems to be very little accountability, structure or support for all those people who want to lead ministry. People in leadership who struggle or may not be capable of leading are not regularly coached or, when necessary, removed from leadership. Ministries aren't exactly promoted from the pulpit and some of the groups that launch never really happen because the people in the seats don't show up.
So here's the dilemma. How do you give away ministry to people in ways that are actually real and empowering? My answer is that the pastoral staff must work at least twice as hard at giving away ministry as they used to doing ministry. The pastor and church staff must hold people accountable, provide in-depth training, regularly and frequently touchbase with those leading ministries, act quickly to remove those who aren't measuring up, coach those with potential, applaud those who get it right and otherwise spend nearly all their time cheerleading the folks in the trenches.
There's the key behind the struggles at the church we've been attending. My wife and I both moved into leadership positions in ministries. Over the course of a year the contact by pastoral staff was sporadic at best. No real supervision was provided. Issues among leadership that came up were not dealt with in a timely fashion or, in some cases, at all. It's unclear to me what exactly the seven pastors on staff actually filled their time with. Not saying they weren't busy but, in my humble opinion, they weren't busy being effective managing ministry.
My wife and I have over two decades of experience in churches and in church leadership. We have the skills to lead without much support needed and really, really wanted to contribute something meaningful to this church. If we were frustrated...and we were...I can't imagine what's happening to people with willing hearts but less experience. The ideas coming out on Sunday morning are laudable and everything I think the church should be. The structure to support these lofty ideals is nonexistent.
This Sunday my wife and I will be joining another church in the area.
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