A Church Leadership Idea

In the Acts 16:5 Initiative, we often speak about developing church leaders.  One simple way we develop leaders in the church I serve is through a one-hour, monthly meeting we call, “Council.”  On the first Tuesday of every month our elders, deacons, ministry team leaders, and staff gather in the same room.  The Council agenda each month has two parts.

For the first 30 minutes, we talk about leadership.  The discussion may come from a book excerpt, a magazine piece I give them, a You Tube video I show them, or a leadership-related question I pose to them.  For 30 minutes we talk about leadership as it applies to our role as leaders in our congregation. 

These conversations are always engaging and fruitful. 

For the second 30 minutes, I work through a list of current church topics I want our leaders to know about or about which I want to receive their feedback.  This list might include everything from a review of the Christmas Eve services; to information about an upcoming sermon series; a monthly update on youth ministry; or a reminder to get their annual team goals submitted by the end of the month.  In other words, it’s a time to keep us all on the “same page” of church life.

Just this month, I included a new piece to our Council meeting.  Last Tuesday, with about ten minutes left in the hour-long meeting, I directed them to the back page of the agenda on which I had printed about 25 church-related items for prayer.  I then asked them to spread out in the room in groups of two or three and spend the final few minutes in prayer for our congregation using the listed topics as a guide.  It was moving to participate in and listen to the many prayers of our leaders being lifted up in those final minutes of Council. 

So moving, we’ll do it again next month!

By the way, I encourage our ministry teams to meet the same night as Council.  So, Council meets from 7-8 pm, and then, ministry teams meet from 8-9 pm.  In this model, then, our leaders come out one night for two meetings.  They (and I!) appreciate this more efficient use of time.  Our monthly meeting schedule also allows me to easily touch-in with all of our teams on a regular basis.  I rotate from team meeting to team meeting from 8-9 pm offering support and input.

A Council meeting night like I just described will take some time to introduce and become part of the fabric of church life.  But after many years of practicing this simple monthly pattern of meeting with our leaders, it has become the best ongoing opportunity I have to encourage their growth in church leadership.   

With joy,

Steve Ebling

Sunday Morning "Serving"

I recently spoke with some of our church leaders about how we might serve the family of God on Sunday mornings.  In other words, we talked about how we can be an encouragement to others before, during and after worship each week.  We came up with a lengthy list of ideas.  Here’s a sampling:

• Arrive a few minutes early (even as few as five minutes) for the purpose of greeting others before worship.

• If you see people coming into the building who look like they don’t know where to go, help them find their way.

• Pray during worship—for those sitting around you and for those leading up front.

• Make it a point to speak to people you don’t know.  Aim to meet one new person or family a week.

• Learn the names of our children and young people so that you can greet them by name on Sunday.

• Sing joyfully!

• Thank those who serve us on Sundays, e.g., nursery workers, church school teachers, ushers, and musicians. 

Of course, our primary purpose on Sunday morning is to worship Jesus Christ.  But as we come each week to re-center ourselves in Him, through the simple ways listed above, we can encourage others to encounter Christ, too.  What a wonderful gift!

With joy,

Steve Ebling

Managed Schedules

I’m one who takes pride in managing my schedule.  If you ask me, Microsoft Outlook is a wonderful tool of ministry!  I like to have all of my appointments, prep time, meetings, planning, study, Sabbath play, and family events laid out nice and neat on the computer screen in front of me.  But life and ministry is always so nice and neat, is it?

The great 20^th Century theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer once wrote:

“We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God.  God will be constantly crossing our paths and canceling our plans by sending us people with claims and petitions.  . . . it is part of the discipline of humility that we must not spare our hand where it can perform a service and that we do not assume that our schedule is our own to manage, but allow it to be arranged by God.”

Have you ever considered that your schedule is God’s to arrange?  Look at your calendar for the coming week.  Is there room in it for God to interrupt?  If God did interrupt, how would you react?  With frustration or grace?

Wisely managing our schedule is an important task for any ministry leader.  But let’s not forget God is the ultimate manager of what happens in the days marked out on our calendars.  May we always have the discernment to recognize God’s interruptions.

Grace to you,

Steve Ebling

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[i] From Life Together, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, p.99.

Healthy Pastors?

I recently came across some comments and statistics published in the New York Times in August of last year.  After noting that, “Members of the clergy now suffer from obesity, hypertension and depression at rates higher than most Americans.  In the last decade, their use of antidepressants has risen, while their life expectancy has fallen.  Many would change jobs if they could . . .” several statistics were given such as:

• 45% of pastors say that they have experienced depression or burnout to the extent that they needed to take a leave of absence from ministry.

• 52% of pastors say they and their spouses believe that being in pastoral ministry is hazardous to their family’s well-being and health.

• 70% do not have any close friends.

• 75% report severe stress causing anguish, worry, bewilderment, anger, depression, fear, and alienation.

• 80% of pastors say they have insufficient time with their spouse.

• 94% feel under pressure to have a perfect family.

• 1,500 pastors leave their ministries each month due to burnout, conflict, or moral failure.

Now, for all I know there are similar statistics to be cited for teachers or factory workers or corporate lawyers and stay-at-home parents.  But the fact that these statistics focus on pastors, whom one might think would have the kind of life priorities to exhibit a healthier picture of life, is quite startling.

Which makes me wonder . . . if you are a pastor and find any of these statistics hitting close to home, what are you doing to reverse those trends in your life?

If you are a church leader and sense your pastor is described in some of these statistics, how might you be supportive to reverse those trends in his or her life?

Grace to you - Steve Ebling 

Romans 16

At first glance, chapter 16 of Paul’s letter to the Romans seems like a chapter to quickly skim over.  It’s just a bunch of names!  But it’s worth our attention.  Paul comes to the end of his letter—a heavy, theological one at that—and concludes by sending personal greetings to many of the believers in Rome.  He mentions some 30 of them by name.  These aren’t names you’d recognize, in fact, most of them only appear in this chapter.  They’re not found anywhere else in the New Testament.

Paul greets people like Phoebe, Andronicus, Junia, Stachys, Phelgon, and Olympas.  None of which make any “most famous people in the Bible” lists!  Yet it’s clear from Paul’s kind greetings, these anonymous folks have made a difference in his life, and in God’s kingdom.

In a culture that makes a lot of fuss over “famous people,” here is a reminder that God’s kingdom includes a lot of rather anonymous folks just like us.  The names have changed over the years, but ordinary folks are making a difference for Christ every day.  People with names like Susan, Frank, Nicole, Bob, JoAnne and Jerry are faithfully serving Jesus in their homes, places of work, and communities.  God isn’t enamored with fame.  He’s about faithfulness. 

As a leader in the church, what are you doing to help the anonymous folks around you live faithfully in God’s kingdom?

Grace to you - Steve Ebling

A Discipleship Tool

For a number of years I’ve known of Greg Ogden’s book, Discipleship Essentials, but until last year, I had never used it.  It consists of 25 chapters on the basics of living the Christian faith.  Each chapter is a mix of Scripture and readings on the given topic with study questions included.  Scripture memory is also a part of each week’s lesson.

The content is solid but the real impact of the book comes by following Greg’s pattern for its use.  He suggests the book be used in a group of three, and then following the example of Jesus who invested his life in a few others, when the group of three finishes the study, they are each charged to find two others to begin their own group of three.  So, by the second year nine are involved in the study, the next year, twenty-seven, and so on.

A year ago, I started the study with two other men—one person who was mature believer, and another who was relatively new to the faith.  We met once a week for 90 minutes unless one of us was out of town.  I was amazed at how rich our fellowship was week-after-week!  By the end of the year we had become close friends united in a growing faith.  But more importantly, both men by year’s end were eager to start their own group of three.  So, this year we have three groups of three using Ogden’s study, and two other groups of three women each preparing to launch.  We’re discovering these studies are a wonderful complement to our existing small group ministry.

If you are longing for a tool to help your people develop a heart to come alongside each other with a common aim of growing in faithfulness to Jesus Christ, take a look at Discipleship Essentials. 

With Joy - Steve Ebling