Ministers face challenges in keeping ministries fresh and exciting

By Brooks Faulkner

At LifeWay Christian Resources, we want to give aid and encouragement to the pastor, staff and families, but the work is not simple. It is complex.

The good news that there are fewer forced terminations is exciting. The total number of forced terminations reported by 22 state convention church minister relations directors dipped to 987 in 2000. The 1999 total, which also reported full-time pastors, bivocational pastors and full-time staff, was 1,077 in 26 state conventions. In 2000, the number of pastors forcibly terminated was 750, with 482 of those fully funded pastors and 268 bivocational pastors. (The total of other fully funded staff terminated was 237.)

Still, in spite of this good news, we have a new phenomenon clouding the issue of the effectiveness of pastors. This factor is in addition to the alarming fact that 70 percent of our churches are plateaued or declining in membership. It has to do with respect. Actually, it has to do with lack of respect, especially for the pastor, but also for other staff.

Although this lack of respect may not be a major issue in the mega-churches (1,000 or more in attendance), it has fast become an issue in the last two decades in the 97 percent of our churches that do not measure in the mega-church category. In the mega-churches, more and more of the decision-making issues are decided, or at least influenced, by pastor, staff and strategic committees and/or deacons. This gives credence to the respect for those making decisions. But in the churches with fewer than 1,000 in attendance, many of the decisions are made in business meetings, town hall meetings and church-in-conference meetings. Lack of leverage and respect for the pastor in decision making become subterranean issues. They are not talked about openly. They are assumed.

While forced terminations are down, lack of respect is sadly growing. Part of the reason for this relatively new phenomenon is seen in the media. Ministers are seen as using sacred religious issues with the ulterior motives of receiving donations. The result is the trivialization of holy means of worship, e.g., healing, prayer, speaking in tongues and fasting to the point of a carnival atmosphere and entertainment for the masses. The conclusion of the half hour is a minister pleading for donations and gifts. Rather than charging a fee for observing and participating in the sacredness of preaching, worship in song and others, these people ask for a “free will” offering. So, in the minds of a secular society, the reason they are displaying these religious programs is to raise money. Is it not curious that many ministers are seen as having ulterior motives such as greed, narcissism or attention-gaining displays of entertainment?

However – and it is a big however – by far the majority of pastors do their work, fulfill their callings and seek God’s guidance in much the same way as did our ancestors. On the other hand, the cynicism of the general public is higher. Unfortunately, many go to church to see if they can “get something out of it” rather than to be able “to give something of themselves back to God.” Coupled with the prevalence of a suspicious attitude toward the minister who raises money to “do his thing” and the fact that many of the preachers in the media are entertaining and convincing, the dependable and consistent minister is out on a short limb and the saw to cut off the limb is visible.

It’s respect we are after for the minister. Although most of it is individually earned, perception is reality, and someone must help the minister with the perception others have of him. That perception is, at least by some, that he is not real. His motives are not pure. To these skeptics and critics of the church, he does not deserve respect. We beg to differ.

Recently, a comedian who did not quite make it was discussing the reasons that many comedians do not succeed. He suggested it is analogous to getting hooked on cocaine.

At first, when the comedian uses cocaine, he is refreshing, different, exciting, even unique. Soon he begins to need cocaine, and because it is so readily available at the Comedy Store (located in Los Angeles, Calif.), he fulfills that need. There are many hangers-on who have or sell drugs and make them available to the comedians.

In the second stage, he is in the category of a maintenance level. He is still funny. But he has plateaued. He uses the same jokes. He uses the same routines, but it is no longer fresh. Audiences support him because they are loyal to him. They don’t want to see him embarrassed so they laugh at his jokes and applaud for him before and after he gets on stage, but the luster is gone. The newness has worn off.

Finally, the comedian becomes so hooked on cocaine that he is seen as pathetic. He must have cocaine to exist. Otherwise, he falls apart. Each routine is done as an entrance to getting his next fix. Then he loses his passion for his work. He is no longer applauded but booed off the stage. He spends all his preparation times whining about the audience that was not “in touch.” He feels they just don’t get it. He no longer has fans,  but those who care for him become a support group who are a part of the intervention process to get him in a rehabilitation program.

Consider this — pastors have discussed for years the “honeymoon” phase of a new pastorate. He is refreshing, different, exciting and unique. Following the metaphor, church members shower him with gifts, clothing, even money. He is the center of attention and the talk of the church and town or community. As the cocaine distributor does for the comedian, the church members begin to try to win his favor. There are always the vulnerable who hunger for some attention. Things are going well. The pastor is popular. Invitations to meals are frequent. Affirmation is effusive, conspicuous and often. Life is good. As a matter of fact, we aren’t paying our pastor enough, they exclaim. Let’s raise his salary to avoid some mega-church stealing him away from us.

But then things settle down. Routine begins. Church members still favor the pastor,  but the excitement has diminished. Some pastors begin to wonder, why aren’t things like they used to be? Social invitations are not quite as frequent. The pastor doesn’t expect the affirmation, but he is curious about why it has vanished. Loyalty exists; it just isn’t as obvious. It’s time to consider a raise for our pastor. Well, we can’t afford a measurable raise, but I guess we can give him a cost of living increase. People probably won’t complain about that, although our church isn’t growing as much as it was when he came.

Although the time frame of these sequences vary, the first phase can last from 18 to 30 months. Then into the 31st month or so, after the routine sets in, some things are taken for granted. Early on, the feeling was, “Can you believe our pastor came to see me in the hospital?” Now, it has become, “I was in the hospital three days before our pastor showed his face, but he finally came.” The novelty has worn off. The new comedian has done this routine before. There is support but not much enthusiasm. He doesn’t “feed me” like he used to. “He’s wonderful” has changed to “He’s OK.” These are subtle but unmistakable changes.

Pastors avoid the third phase like the plague. If church members feel sorry for him, it’s a death warrant. The church isn’t reaching people for Christ. The church isn’t meeting its budget. Staff members, if the church has them, are disgruntled. Some even think they can do a better job than the pastor.

Or worse. The church feels sorry for the pastor. Mercy gifts are much worse than love gifts. In the Comedy Store metaphor, this is the pathetic phase. The comedian needs the drug. He loses perspective. He loses passion. Existence gives way to survival.

The pastor continues office hours because he’s expected to do so. He visits the hospitals to avoid criticism. He is on the defensive. If church members feel sorry for him, it is difficult to maintain respect.

What can be done to re-establish or increase respect? There are several things possible.

Here are a few nuggets:    

1. Keep the mission and purpose of the church as a priority.
2. Pray. In the closet, seriously, but without boasting about it.
3. Revisit your call, your passion for winning people to Christ, for doing the work of the Great Commission.
4. Read the Bible without preparing for sermons. Let the Bible speak to you instead of making the Bible a textbook. It will revive your energy for exciting ministry.
5. Energize your family life. Get things right with your spouse, your children, even your in-laws. Having fun and fulfillment at home has a way of rubbing off on your vocation.
6. Stop hiding in the tube. Get out of the television routine. Read. Get involved in some study groups with colleagues who think and challenge your mind and not your hostilities. As a matter of fact, spend less time with negative people. The weight is not worth it.
7. Plan several informal chats with influence molders in your church. Make the format, what are some practical ways we can present Christ to the lost people in our community? What are some obvious needs in our community that are screaming for our attention?
8. Study. Prepare. Plan. Retrain. One of the more obvious traps of ministers is to research old sermons for new ideas. It’s a good idea to remember they are old sermons. Most of the sermons I have preached in the past 50 years were wonderful when I preached them. They are dinosaurs now, not worth capturing on computer files from old notes. The word stale comes to mind.
9. Get some help. If you’re rehashing conversations, reacting with volatility, talking over others (speaking without hearing), pouting or sulking, get some help. We all need help occasionally. There is no disgrace in recognizing our humanity and trying to clean it up.
10. And most significantly, do not lose heart. Go back to 2 Corinthians 4 and read again, as if for the first time, verse 16. God loves you. It’s good to remind yourself often. It is reviving, refreshing and necessary.