The Other Side of Pastoral Ministry: Using Process Leadership to Transform Your Church - Softcover

Brown, Daniel; Larson, Craig Brian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0310206022 ISBN 13: 9780310206026

Publisher: Zondervan, 1996

Synopsis

Daniel Brown believers churches ought to flow like a river, not sit motionless like a lake. A veteran pastor, Brown knows that River Churches are alive--dynamic, gaining momentum, changing courses. He also knows the power such churches can have to change lives. In The Other Side of Pastoral ministry, he shows what makes a River Church flow--and invites pastors and church leaders to follow ten key 'currents' that can move their people to new places of faith and service. Brown reveals the crucial dynamics of - Building authority - Defining and communicating vision - Strengthening systems - Coaxing changes - Empowering people for ministry - Adjusting church culture - Positioning and unleashing resources - Maintaining identity - Understanding the times - Evaluating results. If you're ready for a church whose focus is on involvement, not attendance--on 'What happened to the people who showed up?' not 'How many showed up?'--then this insightful, anecdote-filled book will provide you with practical suggestions and thought patterns to move into the flow of the River.

About this title

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter OneTHE POWER OF PROCESSAnd David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.---PSALM 78:72 If you, as a church leader, have felt uncertain about where the Lord is leading the church in our culture---in this day and age---it's likely that you are accurately tuned into God. I don't mean that God is unsure of his plans and intentions, but that he has his church in a marvelous season of uncertainty, with everyone casting about trying to figure out what God is up to. You are not lost; neither are you alone. The ambivalence that you and church leaders all across the planet are experiencing are not signs of impending collapse; they are prophetic nudgings from a good and kind God. 'Good and upright is the LORD,' says Psalm 25; 'therefore he instructs sinners in his ways' (v.8). The rapidly shifting world has not taken God by surprise. Long ago he readied himself for this time in history, and he is prompting his church with counsel and instruction. Isn't it great to know we qualify for receiving that instruction? How we think about our situation will usually end up shaping what we think about it. Since most of us who lead in the body of Christ sincerely devote ourselves to fulfilling his agenda instead of our own, we are desperate to know his will. We don't like being uncertain of his plan or unsure of ourselves. We want to know what he wants us to do. But uncertainty can stem from more than one cause---and it isn't necessarily a negative condition. A leader whose sense of vision and direction requires constant reinforcement by the Lord may feel uncertain because of not hearing God's regular affirmation. A good God may be building that leader's stamina and confidence---not withholding approval. God isn't neglecting the leader's felt needs; he is taking care of the leader's future needs. Likewise, when God's kind intention is to alert his church to new things he wants to do, he may allow a measure of uneasiness and uncertainty in church leaders in order to motivate them to search out his new workings. God loves us. He enjoys being with us and filling our lives. Sometimes I feel as though God is playing the same game with me that I used to play with my children---'Hot and Cold.' I hid a quarter or a special gift in the family room, and then the kids scurried around hunting for it as I told them they were getting either 'hotter, hotter, hotter' or 'colder, colder, colder.' Like a loving father who enjoys helping his kids, God wants to help us understand church ministry. But he wants us to find the treasure by listening to his voice, not just by frantically searching. Despite the uncertainties of our age, I hear him saying, 'You're getting warmer.' God is not toying with us. The Giver of the gift wants the pleasure of directing us to it.NEW MODELS NEEDED Most leaders acknowledge the need for fresh, innovative models of church---not new programs or theology, but models that explain the 'parts' of church and how those components work together. When we attend conferences or visit successful churches, we are looking for models that will help us modify our approach to church ministry. We all have been guilty of trying to adopt another church's program or mission statement as a 'quick fix.' And we all have discovered that such pirating doesn't work for long. Learning why a church does something is always more useful than simply copying what that church does. We know we need more fundamental changes in the way we think about and do church---not just in our programs and staffing but also in our very understanding of what this thing called church is supposed to do and be. We have churches---or at least we have a role in leading churches---but most of us do not clearly grasp what it is that we have in having a church. Too often we can be stuck in the forms we have always known and assume they are the New Testament model for the church. There is no single New Testament model for the church. Biblical passages about the church are vague, intentionally it seems, and most are descriptive rather than prescriptive. When I was about to pioneer The Coastlands eleven years ago, I was all excited until I realized one day that I really didn't know for myself how a church was to be arranged. I wondered, How do I do it? Where do I start, and what am I starting? I went to the Bible and noted every reference to the structure, organization, and workings of the church. When I was finished with the New Testament, I looked at my hodgepodge of notes and tried to figure out how all the information went together. I finally figured out that there is no single prototype of the church. This is a well-kept secret. Church members or other ministers will earnestly tell us, 'We need to have a New Testament church.' What does that really mean? What are the necessary conditions, the vital components that fully constitute such a church? What elements, if missing, prevent a church from being a New Testament church? When pressed for such a definition, no one will be able to offer a compelling outline for the illusive New Testament church.

Edition details

• Publisher: Zondervan
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0310206022
• ISBN 13: 9780310206026
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192