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January 14, 2009

 

 

 



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To the Point:
When a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed of, he always declares that it is his duty.
  - George Bernard Shaw

Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions.
  - Albert Einstein

Let us represent the Christian life as it really is; let us make the way cheerful, inviting, interesting."
EGW, R&H, January 1884  

In the early church, the gospel was shared like gossip over the backyard fence.
 - Michael Green, Evangelism in the Early Church

Before a war military science seems a real science, like astronomy; but after a war it seems more like astrology.
  - Rebecca West

Got a favorite quote? Send it to BestPractices@ameritech.net. 
McClartyStay Another Year?
by John McClarty
It's easy to celebrate God's call to new places and new challenges. Sometimes, though, says John McClarty, it's harder to see God's call in routine faithfulness.

After ten years, my people have heard all my old stories, all my favorite illustrations. They have endured several of my "best sermons" more than once. I have no reserves in the file.

Of course, I know their stories, too - stories of strained marriages and fractious friendships unhealed by ten years of my preaching about forgiveness and peacemaking. Tales of interminable, decades-long defeat by alcohol and accounts of lives yanked around by mental illness. Sometimes their stories make me question just how much good preaching can do. Maybe in a new place, I could have more impact. Maybe it would be easier to preach where the audience and I didn't know so much.

But there are other stories inviting me to stay another year. Manny's been clean and sober for three years now after decades of alcoholism. Then there are the old guys-men in their fifties and sixties at home in church again after years of estrangement. The wives say their husbands come for the sermons. I suspect they really come because they see through my worn veneer of spiritual competence. If I can stand up and preach the old, old story, in spite of my perplexities and inconsistencies, they figure there's room in the church for them, too. So for the old men, I keep preaching. And for their wives who take obvious delight to have their men in church.

Then there are the kids. They're graduating and getting jobs far away. Like many young adults, their connection with Adventism is tenuous. I remember they slept or read through more than one sermon, but even now, occasionally, when they need the words or services of a preacher, they call "home." I guess because I'm family. I'm part of the woodwork. It's not a particularly glamorous station in life, but it reminds me of Jesus' words to Peter, "Tend my lambs." Besides, I'm honored by their phone calls, questions and invitations.

So, maybe I'll stay another year and tell His Story again.

Contact John at johntmclarty@gmail.com. John also has a blog for pastors.
Reading for Pastors
by Best Practices Editor, Loren Seibold


Why is Adventist K-12 education struggling? Scroll down for a wide-ranging discussion about the problem, including the voices of some of our NAD education leaders.

From Patterns of Ink, one of my favorite Christian blogs: "When Being Needed is all that's left of Being Loved".

A remarkable theory that may have huge implications for the Middle East: are the Palestinians and the Jews the same people?

Here's something that's bothered me for a long time. Why do the media suppose all Christians are represented by the conservative religious right? Quote: "Many of us who are Christians ... are opposed to any politicization of the Gospels by any party, Democratic or Republican, by partisan black churches or partisan white ones. 'My kingdom is not of this world,' Jesus insisted. What part of that do we not understand?"

If your congregation secedes from your denomination, can you take your building with you? Split decisions in the past month: NY and CA courts say no, VA says yes.
connections Discussion:
Replacing Nominating Committee
Email discussion continues about the December 3 piece on replacing the nominating committee with a standing ministries committee.

Thank you for your article on Ministry Development Committees. I certainly like this a lot better than the typical nominating committee. But the nominating committee has, as I see it, one distinct advantage: terms expire so you can remove an individual whose leadership may have lost his/her effectiveness. How do you replace such individuals with minimal collateral damage?
Gerry Christman

I attend a church that thinks it is following the new nominating committee procedure, and it is not working. The Ministry Development Committee does nothing to develop ministry or identify spiritual gifts. If there is an opening they post it in the bulletin and wait for someone to volunteer. If someone does they are in for life whether they do it in a satisfactory manner or not. The nominating committee chooses the elders, deacons and deaconesses and re-nominates the Ministry Development Committee - which has been virtually unchanged since it was selected 10 years ago. So what it comes down to is a select group selecting a select group to do virtually everything. To be successful, I believe there has to be an active, intentional spiritual gift program and a clear understanding of ministry. There still needs to be a term limit and a periodic review of how things are going before a person continues in any position. There needs to be intentional reaching out to new members and the young people of the church, especially!
From a layperson

We have adapted the SHAPE material from Saddle Back church in Orange County, and our congregation has accepted the concept that we are not in that baptizing business, but in the disciple making business. Thus the Ministry Development Committee is ke, in helping people develop a ministry that fits their shape. Another key: an annual review of ministry leadership. Our goal is to meet with all of our ministry leaders every spring to discuss their interest in continuing in their role, the resources that they need for the next year, and the status of those that serve with them.
Walter Grof
 
As a former Southern Baptist pastor I have really wrestled with the SDA nominating committee process. I do not see how a church can make headway when a person who takes office on July 1st can effectively be voted out early in the next year when the nominating committee meets. I've convinced my board that the Ministry Development Committee is the best way to go. How do we get started? Do we vote to make an open-ended offer to those already in office, or do we go through the nominating committee process again? I just want to avoid all the problems that I can.
Mike Lawlor

Author's response:

It is absolutely essential to begin with education, specifically the Connections curriculum. Churches are by nature inertial organizations - change is hard. Connections makes a pretty good case for a new way of selecting volunteers. If you don't implement it properly, your volunteer force can become stagnant (as the layperson above noted) and you're worse off than before.

Even if you don't succeed right away in switching over to a personnel-based system, you will improve things greatly by showing everyone that church jobs are about service, not popularity. This puts the pressure on those who are holding on to power to prove that they have the gifts to do what they're doing.

The Connections gifts assessment tools can be a powerful ally: an assessment that says a new candidate is especially gifted to do a particularly contested job can go a long way toward convincing your Ministries Development Committee that he or she should be given a chance to do it.

Obviously, this process won't solve church power struggles by itself. The people who want power aren't going to be mollified by a new methodology, even if it is theologically sound. And sometimes the oldsters have a point: they may have seen lots of people come and go, while they've been the steady influence. You've got to reassure them that change won't mean they're unappreciated. So do lots of listening, in the group and one-on-one, reflecting their feelings, and being appreciative.

I certainly wouldn't start over with a new set of leaders/volunteers at the same time I started the new process. In our church, we continued with the people who were already in place. It takes time to develop new leadership.

The traditional nominating committee gives us an easy "out" when a volunteer needs to be replaced. But the question you have to ask is this: are you more frequently in need of finding someone for a position, or removing someone? In my experience, keeping volunteers happy and satisfied and at work is the bigger challenge. When you do have to make a replacement, guide your MDC to do it with kindness and sensitivity. People are more important than process.

Finally, a case can be made for a term limit on the executive/administrative elder, since that seems to be the most politically sensitive office. It doesn't have to be a short term limit (maybe 2 or 3 years) but at least there's a way to say that the most influential job will be reinspected from time to time.
Loren Seibold
Resources, Ideas and Events
Compiled by Best Practices Editor, Loren Seibold
  • Just for fun: A worship leader's worst nightmare.
  • I'm looking forward to seeing you next week at the Best Practices Night Owl Café, at the Adventist Ministries Convention in Myrtle Beach. Each night after the evening meeting! Check topics here.
  • From Walt Williams at NAD Ministerial: The Seminary's InMinistry Center offers continuing education or masters degree intensives across NAD twice a year. The first session is April 12-23, with two classes at each of these sites: Atlantic Union College, Columbia Union College, Forest Lake Academy, Union College, Southwestern Adventist University, Southeastern California Conference office, and the North Pacific Union Conference office. Go online to find which classes are being offered near you, or call (269) 471-3514.
Got a tool, resource, site, article, idea or seminar that you like a lot? Share it with us at BestPractices@ameritech.net.
NAD Events
Do you have an SDA-sponsored event that you'd like to invite NAD pastors to? Tell us about it at BestPractices@ameritech.net.
NAD Church RESOURCE Center
Best Practices is an e-publication of Vervent
NAD CHURCH RESOURCE CENTER
Editor: Loren Seibold
Senior Pastor, Worthington Ohio Seventh-day Adventist Church
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