Julius, my perspective comes from an undergraduate degree in Business Administration and concentration in Management followed by 13 years in corporate management before seminary and 22 years in pulpit ministry. As I follow some CRC blogs I believe there is a debate going on about whether the pastor provides church leadership or simply assists the congregational leaders.
Many do not agree with me that the pastor is typically the only full time paid person to focus on the local church, is the only one trained in church leadership and therefore should be the person to provide that leadership. I acknoledge that if the pastor does not possess the spiritual gift of leadership and members of the church council do, then the pastor can delegate that to the laity, however I believe the pastor is the SHEPHERD of the flock. As such I believe it is the pastor's responsibility to lead the congregation from one green pasture to the next green pasture.
This is what we expect from church planting pastors...they are missionary pastors...they are the visionary pastors who attract other Christians to follow them. They recruit others to serve as staff members who are both ordained and non-ordained. This is what was expected of me as a pastor when I was called by the three churches I served. They also expected pastoral care, teaching, preaching and administration, but their acknowledged need was for a pastor to lead the congregation from where it was to where it believed God wanted it to be.
What that requies is that the pastor be proficient as a "change agent" and that ability is difficult in the private sector where you have the power of the paycheck.
Specific to your question, I believe that seminary students need to know their specific spiritual gifts offering them a sense of direction for their personal ministry. They need training in the art of being an effective "change agent". And they need training in how to solve problems effectively.
Thank you for the opportunity to offer input. Blessings in the great challenges you face with this project and the seminary!
Jim Vander Slik
Ed, thank you for your interest. Let me start with the easy one...#2. What I meant was that even in the corporate sector where the "change agent" (manager) possesses the power of the paycheck, systemic change is still difficult to accomplish. As a pastor of a church where membership is voluntary, bringing about change is that much more difficult
Now the hard one! Being proficient as a "change agent" means possessing both the knowledge and ability to lead a social group through the process of change. Jesus was a "change agent"...Paul was also. The OT prophets were God's messengers announcing that "change" was on the way.
I don't believe that there is a formula for bringing about change but it must start with a clear vision of what could be which contrasts with what already is. The vision must not only be shared with the broad leadership team but also those who in fluence the thinking of the group, but must be accepted by them.
Let me make a couple of assumptions: the group is ineffective in carrying out it's mission and they realize it but don't know what to do about it. You may think that THAT is the key to succeeding, but it often is not. "Change" is HARD! Status quo is easy and it is comfortable...we feel secure with it. Therefore in order to bring about even modest change requires that the benefits of going from one green pasture to the next be clearly shown to the group. It also needs to be presented to the group as an easy process (not hard, difficult nor sacrificial). Additionally each person needs to understand what it means for him/her in terms of actions and benefits. Finally the group must agree to "follow the plan" for 90 days. 90 days will establish a new norm. 90 days will reduce/end the old behavior/ways. 90 days will show new results which in turn will reinforce moving in this new direction.
I've wanted to write about "church as coutry club" for some time now and I believe it fits here. When I was that I mean that on a gut level many church members want church to be for them. Members think nothing about complaining about pretty much anything...the way the grass is cut...the cleanliness of the bathrooms...the length of the pastor's message or the style of the music. They don't think of the mission of the church in their criticism but only how they feel that it affects them...the same as the CC!
I and others in ministry that I know of were specifically called to a church to "help them move from an inward focused church to an outward focused church. Theg had a vision statement...a mission statemwnt, plans and programs for outreach, yet when the pastor arrives the message becomes clear that at best they just want to tinker around the edges. Why?...because when they see that change will require them to also change, that is when change has gone too far.
Now if a pastor is not proficient as a change agent he will wilt and back off the change stuff to keep the peace. But if he has had the training and possesses the knowledge of how to properly proceed, he will know how to proceed.
In order to say any more you would have to ask some more questions. I have donated my personal library but one of my books was titled simply The Change Agent...do not remember the author. I am sure there is a wealth of resources on the subject.
I hope something I have said is helpful .
Blessings!
Jim Vander Slik
My experience has been that SD's served with competence, sincerity and sensitivity. They are typically well experienced, mature and pastoralily sensitive. My most difficult situation was my own interview to enter the ministry. One of the SD's was from a very conservative classis and asked several complex questions that I had to respond, "I am sorry but I do not understand the question! " It ended up working in my favor as the delegates took sympathy for me. On total I found the SD's a positive in the process.
Blessings!
Blessings Larry from an old retired guy! You are spot on! Every sermon I ever wrote was addressed to ths unsaved persons and children in the room and shat I found was that the life long CRC persons often came up to me and said that they learned things about the text they had never known befode. I learned in iteractive adult Bible study that so much of what we have heard since we were children in church needs to explained cleadly in lay language. I always stressed in BS, "if you have ANY question, please ask. I was stunned (yet I wasn't) when a fell asked, "I've often heard pdeachers say that we have to be born again...what exactly does that mean? It is hard for us to realize how much we say that goes over the heads of many. Once a woman came to me after a service and said, "you are the simplest preacher I've ever heard!"...I think she meant it in a good way :-)!
I would like to advocate that if it is possible for each church to delegate one elder to attend the classis meetings, not only would he come to know the various personalities present, but more importantly he would be able to follow the history and process of the classical agenda. Very often matters dealt by the classical body take multiple meetings and may take as much as a year to deal with. If the elder delegates know this history they can act with more confidence. If they are present for only one meeting, many matters simply do not make sense to them.
Speaking honestly as one who was an elder long before I became a minister, I confess that we as ministers enjoy spending time with each other and because the church is our full time interest feel that we know and understand the problems and challenges of the church better than elders do who have their full time interests in other areas. However, I have never observed at a classis meeting that an elder's opinion on a matter was unimportant. I also confess that when I was an elder delegate to classis, I felt very intimidated speaking about spiritual or organizational matters in the presence of ministers whom I respected and believed to be far more qualified to speak to issues than myself.
I further believe that IF each council would throroughly discuss the agenda of the classis before the meeting, the elder delegate would be more prepared to deal with the matters that come before him and speak when appropriate.
(Note) It was at a meeting of Classis Florida that I attended as an elder that was partially responsible for my decision to attend CTS and enter the ministry six years later. I also thoroughly enjoyed the meetings of Classis where ever I served.
Posted in: Leadership in Ministry Course - Your Input Needed
Julius, my perspective comes from an undergraduate degree in Business Administration and concentration in Management followed by 13 years in corporate management before seminary and 22 years in pulpit ministry. As I follow some CRC blogs I believe there is a debate going on about whether the pastor provides church leadership or simply assists the congregational leaders.
Many do not agree with me that the pastor is typically the only full time paid person to focus on the local church, is the only one trained in church leadership and therefore should be the person to provide that leadership. I acknoledge that if the pastor does not possess the spiritual gift of leadership and members of the church council do, then the pastor can delegate that to the laity, however I believe the pastor is the SHEPHERD of the flock. As such I believe it is the pastor's responsibility to lead the congregation from one green pasture to the next green pasture.
This is what we expect from church planting pastors...they are missionary pastors...they are the visionary pastors who attract other Christians to follow them. They recruit others to serve as staff members who are both ordained and non-ordained. This is what was expected of me as a pastor when I was called by the three churches I served. They also expected pastoral care, teaching, preaching and administration, but their acknowledged need was for a pastor to lead the congregation from where it was to where it believed God wanted it to be.
What that requies is that the pastor be proficient as a "change agent" and that ability is difficult in the private sector where you have the power of the paycheck.
Specific to your question, I believe that seminary students need to know their specific spiritual gifts offering them a sense of direction for their personal ministry. They need training in the art of being an effective "change agent". And they need training in how to solve problems effectively.
Thank you for the opportunity to offer input. Blessings in the great challenges you face with this project and the seminary!
Jim Vander Slik
Posted in: Leadership in Ministry Course - Your Input Needed
Ed, thank you for your interest. Let me start with the easy one...#2. What I meant was that even in the corporate sector where the "change agent" (manager) possesses the power of the paycheck, systemic change is still difficult to accomplish. As a pastor of a church where membership is voluntary, bringing about change is that much more difficult
Now the hard one! Being proficient as a "change agent" means possessing both the knowledge and ability to lead a social group through the process of change. Jesus was a "change agent"...Paul was also. The OT prophets were God's messengers announcing that "change" was on the way.
I don't believe that there is a formula for bringing about change but it must start with a clear vision of what could be which contrasts with what already is. The vision must not only be shared with the broad leadership team but also those who in fluence the thinking of the group, but must be accepted by them.
Let me make a couple of assumptions: the group is ineffective in carrying out it's mission and they realize it but don't know what to do about it. You may think that THAT is the key to succeeding, but it often is not. "Change" is HARD! Status quo is easy and it is comfortable...we feel secure with it. Therefore in order to bring about even modest change requires that the benefits of going from one green pasture to the next be clearly shown to the group. It also needs to be presented to the group as an easy process (not hard, difficult nor sacrificial). Additionally each person needs to understand what it means for him/her in terms of actions and benefits. Finally the group must agree to "follow the plan" for 90 days. 90 days will establish a new norm. 90 days will reduce/end the old behavior/ways. 90 days will show new results which in turn will reinforce moving in this new direction.
I've wanted to write about "church as coutry club" for some time now and I believe it fits here. When I was that I mean that on a gut level many church members want church to be for them. Members think nothing about complaining about pretty much anything...the way the grass is cut...the cleanliness of the bathrooms...the length of the pastor's message or the style of the music. They don't think of the mission of the church in their criticism but only how they feel that it affects them...the same as the CC!
I and others in ministry that I know of were specifically called to a church to "help them move from an inward focused church to an outward focused church. Theg had a vision statement...a mission statemwnt, plans and programs for outreach, yet when the pastor arrives the message becomes clear that at best they just want to tinker around the edges. Why?...because when they see that change will require them to also change, that is when change has gone too far.
Now if a pastor is not proficient as a change agent he will wilt and back off the change stuff to keep the peace. But if he has had the training and possesses the knowledge of how to properly proceed, he will know how to proceed.
In order to say any more you would have to ask some more questions. I have donated my personal library but one of my books was titled simply The Change Agent...do not remember the author. I am sure there is a wealth of resources on the subject.
I hope something I have said is helpful .
Blessings!
Jim Vander Slik
Posted in: Gone Rogue?
My experience has been that SD's served with competence, sincerity and sensitivity. They are typically well experienced, mature and pastoralily sensitive. My most difficult situation was my own interview to enter the ministry. One of the SD's was from a very conservative classis and asked several complex questions that I had to respond, "I am sorry but I do not understand the question! " It ended up working in my favor as the delegates took sympathy for me. On total I found the SD's a positive in the process.
Blessings!
Posted in: What Language are You Using?
Blessings Larry from an old retired guy! You are spot on! Every sermon I ever wrote was addressed to ths unsaved persons and children in the room and shat I found was that the life long CRC persons often came up to me and said that they learned things about the text they had never known befode. I learned in iteractive adult Bible study that so much of what we have heard since we were children in church needs to explained cleadly in lay language. I always stressed in BS, "if you have ANY question, please ask. I was stunned (yet I wasn't) when a fell asked, "I've often heard pdeachers say that we have to be born again...what exactly does that mean? It is hard for us to realize how much we say that goes over the heads of many. Once a woman came to me after a service and said, "you are the simplest preacher I've ever heard!"...I think she meant it in a good way :-)!
Thank you for your good work!
Posted in: "What Were We Doing Here?" (An Elder's Musings)
I would like to advocate that if it is possible for each church to delegate one elder to attend the classis meetings, not only would he come to know the various personalities present, but more importantly he would be able to follow the history and process of the classical agenda. Very often matters dealt by the classical body take multiple meetings and may take as much as a year to deal with. If the elder delegates know this history they can act with more confidence. If they are present for only one meeting, many matters simply do not make sense to them.
Speaking honestly as one who was an elder long before I became a minister, I confess that we as ministers enjoy spending time with each other and because the church is our full time interest feel that we know and understand the problems and challenges of the church better than elders do who have their full time interests in other areas. However, I have never observed at a classis meeting that an elder's opinion on a matter was unimportant. I also confess that when I was an elder delegate to classis, I felt very intimidated speaking about spiritual or organizational matters in the presence of ministers whom I respected and believed to be far more qualified to speak to issues than myself.
I further believe that IF each council would throroughly discuss the agenda of the classis before the meeting, the elder delegate would be more prepared to deal with the matters that come before him and speak when appropriate.
(Note) It was at a meeting of Classis Florida that I attended as an elder that was partially responsible for my decision to attend CTS and enter the ministry six years later. I also thoroughly enjoyed the meetings of Classis where ever I served.