Church programming and its impact on evangelism

Yesterday's post on Building authentic relationships with unbelievers presupposes that we have time to invest in those relationships. Perhaps one of the most challenging issues is that many churches program so heavily that it sucks up most if not all discretionary time of the congregation leaving little time for relationships outside the church. Added to this is the subtle message that "ministry" is to be found by volunteering inside the church and that healthy believers take advantage of all of the programming of the church. 


In contrast to this think about the amount of time that Jesus intentionally spent hanging around the very people who would never enter the door of a synagogue. They did not feel worthy to be there and their faith journey was such that they were a long ways from organized religion. Jesus did not expect these folks to show up at the Synagogue so He went to them. While many do find Christ through the church, there are many who will never darken the door of a church unless someone has intentionally developed a relationship with them.


For years, Mary Ann and I made an intentional decision to spend more time with neighbors and friends outside of church rather than to be involved in more programming in the church. While many congregations see 80% of real ministry taking place in the church we believe that 80% of ministry takes place outside the church as we engage a secular and unbelieving world with the love, help and claims of Jesus. I am convinced that one of the major reasons for the poor evangelism rates in the United States is that we are hoping unbelievers will show up in our church and find Christ through our programming while I believe the opposite is the intention of Christ and that it is through relationships that most conversions take place.


The concept of Simple Church is perhaps more conducive to evangelism than the complex, program driven churches we often encounter today. It would be ironic if our very programming efforts mitigated against more effective evangelism by leaving little time for relationships with unbelievers. And sending them the message that what we really care about is that they show up with us at church is (so they can hear about God) is probably not the best evangelism strategy. Many will not come, either.


I believe that the local church is God's intended means of reaching the world. It is His bride. But it is the church scattered during most of the week that primarily allows this to happen, not the church gathered. Further, we need to communicate that ministry is not simply about volunteering for roles in the church (important as those are) but in using our gifts in the places where He has given us spiritual influence - our neighborhoods, workplaces, little league, or wherever our relationships are to be found.


It is far easier and less intimidating to be with God's people than to be intentionally developing relationships with unbelievers. But that is where evangelism starts and that is the heart of God. In all of our great church programming, lets not program out the very time that is needed to bless our friends with the Gospel. The power of incarnational ministry is the most effective evangelism strategy we will ever have.

Conflict and problem avoidance create sick churches

A common characteristic of troubled or sick congregations is the trait of problem or conflict avoidance. This aversion to dealing with problems honestly because it may create conflict (and it probably will) creates a dysfunctional congregation because there is no venue for resolving real problems. 

Pretending there are not problems or conflict when there are and refusing to deal with known problems is a crazy maker because the pretense that all is well is believed by those who don't know better, disbelieved by those who know better and confusing for those who don't know what to think which creates mistrust, confusion, lack of clarity, and relational breakdown.

A culture of conflict or problem avoidance starts with the church board who are responsible for ensuring the health of the church. Dysfunctional boards are afraid of dealing with conflict and therefore either avoid the issues altogether, spin issues with the congregation to paint a better picture than is reality, or find excuses for why the problems exist that are not accurate. The bottom line is that they don't want to deal with reality, don't want to be honest with themselves and don't want to disclose to the congregation the whole truth.

The problem is that avoidance does not work. First, when you avoid solving real problems they will resurface in a more virulent way. The root of the problem is not dealt with and like a weed that is not fully pulled out it will simply come back. 

Second, while some people are fooled (above), others are not. They understand that there are problems that are not being disclosed and dealt with or that they are not being given the whole truth and these individuals lose trust in their leaders. Once leaders have lost trust with a segment of the congregation you have the genesis of even more conflict within the congregation. Others who are simply confused, as noted above, become pawns of those who are fooled or are not fooled and you have a recipe for chaos. 


The sad thing is that boards that avoid dealing openly and honestly with problems or conflict become even more dysfunctional themselves because truth, honesty and openness create health while avoidance of these create more dishealth.  It is not only a failure of leadership and cowardice but it is a violation of their Scriptural role to lead well and it contributes to greater dishealth in the congregation as a whole. Sadly, there are boards that do this over and over and over. One of the common symptoms of this are congregations that are plateaued or in decline: it is the inevitable result of poor leadership by boards.

How does one deal with a situation like this? It takes one or two courageous board members who will challenge their board to be honest and to deal with real situations in a healthy way - to refuse to avoid conflict and problems that exist. Or, members of the congregation who sense what is happening and challenge the board to do the same. Hard questions by board members or congregants at least bring the issues to the surface and gives either the board or the congregation the option of dealing with them.


In cases where boards and congregations continue to avoid problems or conflict there is one common response. The best leaders in the congregation as well as those who understand the dynamics quietly migrate out of the church. They are unwilling to stay indefinitely in a dysfunctional church system (which is what this is - like a dysfunctional family) because they know it is not healthy and will not be effective in growing healthy disciples. Nor do they want to bring their friends to a sick church.


Boards and congregations who don't honestly face their issues are in fact sick churches. Sick churches cannot grow healthy disciples. In fact, what they do is to create sick and dysfunctional disciples over time. Those who speak truth or challenge the "system" are often marginalized and find that they don't fit in - it is no different than a sick or dysfunctional family. So either one conforms and joins the system or they leave for a healthier congregation.


There are no easy solutions for sick boards or congregations. The greatest hope comes when they can face the fact that they need help and seek that help from outside their board or congregation - a neutral third party who can speak truth to their situation. But that takes a humility that sick boards often do not have. Usually when faced with truth they circle the wagons to protect themselves and avoid the hard work of honest evaluation and renovation.

Three questions for every church leader

There are three questions church leaders should ask on a periodic basis. First, Can you describe in a concise fashion what success looks like for your ministry? I am talking thirty seconds or less, specific and shared by all leaders. 

Second, can you defend that definition from Scripture? In other words is it a New Testament definition of success or is it a cultural definition of success - there is a difference.

Third, How are you doing against your description of success - honestly! What if anything do you need to do differently.

Three questions, huge implications.

Church bullies

Many of my most read blogs have to do with relationships within the church and behaviors that are problematic, toxic and which actually destroy the very ministry results that we long to see.  Recently, as a result of one of these blogs I received the following two questions from one of my readers who is on staff in a local church and close enough to the inner workings of the church to know what is happening. Here are his questions:

"What I do not understand is why pastors feel that they need to allow an individual to be repeatedly belligerent to them? Repeatedly derogatory, accusatory, disrespectful, etc.?  Repeatedly approach as a bully?

Unfortunately, I have also seen the belligerent person be the local ministry head who is "attacking" the other members of the staff on a consistent, random basis as to who is the scapegoat for the day.  In this situation it is not a pastor who is doing the attacking but a manager in a Christian ministry."

Let's take the first question first. Here a pastor is mistreated by  an individual in the church, someone whose actions are that of a "bully" but is not able to say "You cannot treat me this way." Why do pastors put up with behaviors which would never be acceptable in a healthy secular workplace?

Having been in those shoes I believe that one of the primary reason pastors don't put their foot down is that they don't believe that they will be backed up by their board if they do so. Pastors should be able to say to a bully, "Joe, you cannot treat me like this and if it happens again, we will have no further conversations without a board member present and I will share with the board what is happening in our conversations. While you are entitled to your opinions, you cannot pressure me with them nor can you treat me in a disrespectful manner. I don't treat you that way, I don't speak to you that way and it is unacceptable in God's church for you to do that with me. So we will never have another conversation like this without it going to the board and without a third person present." 

In order for a pastor to be that defining he needs to know that his board will back him up - completely. Unfortunately, weak boards are often cowards when dealing with bullies in the church. They are afraid of them and often will not confront them. That is why church bullies (often former leaders) get away with unconscionable behavior that is toxic to the church as a whole. And, why pastors are often helpless to deal with the behavior. If the board will not back them up, they will eventually give up or choose to leave. Usually the bully knows that the board will not choose to confront them and sometimes is on the board.

Here is the thing about church bullies. When confronted they usually run because they hate accountability. Boards need to agree that there are certain behaviors that are illegal in the church - they violate Scripture. Read Ephesians on relationships or 1 and 2 Timothy on dealing with contentious behaviors. One of the responsibilities of leaders is to protect the flock from divisive behavior and that is exactly what this is. Boards that allow such behavior and don't protect the pastor from bullies ought to resign and let someone who will lead. It is that simple. Often, because boards will not act, good pastors simply choose to leave and the scenario plays itself out over and over and over.  I know a church well that has played this scenario over for over 30 years now.

If I were a pastor today I would confront such behavior as suggested above and if my board chose not to support me in this I would resign. No pastor can be successful in a situation where toxic behavior is not addressed. Churches get what they deserve in terms of leadership. Good leadership brings good ministry. Poor leadership brings poor results. 

If the board is willing to support the pastor against toxic behavior but the pastor cannot confront a bully, the board needs to step in when they hear about it and deal with it for him. One of their roles is to protect the pastor. But in the end, it is the board that either allows bullies to operate or not. By the way, bullies are often perceived as "influential" in the church which is why boards will not deal with them. In the church, one does what is right whether the offender is influential or not. You deal with it biblically (Matthew 18) but leaders must deal with it and will answer to the Lord of the Church for how they do or do not handle it (2 Peter 5).

The second question suggests that the bully is a manager of a ministry. In my world, this individual would be dealt with very quickly and we would let him/her know in no uncertain terms that this behavior is unacceptable and incompatible with who we are as a ministry. Remember that behaviors we accept among staff, leaders or pastors are seen as normative in the church. In allowing toxic behavior to exist at that level, you are condoning toxic behavior at the congregational level. Again, I would suggest a failure of leadership for this behavior by a manager of a ministry to be tolerated by staff and board. 

Sometimes, by the way it is the senior pastor who is a bully, who has an agenda that is his and forces the board to accept that agenda. This is equally unhealthy and unacceptable as leadership in the church is a shared leadership of godly individuals. No one individual should have the power to force others to do their personal will. Healthy boards insist that the directional decisions of the church are corporate decisions, not just that of the senior pastor. Weak boards accede to pressure whether from a pastor or other bully in the church. In either case, it is toxic, unhealthy and wrong.

If you look at the "popular blog listing" on my blog site it lists the top ten blogs in the past thirty days. At any time, many of these have to do with dysfunctional relationships in the church. The problem is ubiquitous and boards have a lot to do with the problem. I predict this blog will end up on that list quickly because there are many bullies who are given free reign in many churches. It is time to call a halt to behaviors that diminish the name of Jesus in the very institution that is designed to lift His name high. If you have such a problem please, in the name of Jesus, deal with it. It is His reputation that is on the line.

For more help on this and related issues, pick up a copy of my book, High Impact Church Boards in paperback or on Kindle. It deals with the real life issues churches face.

The church as a redemptive community

Local congregations that desire to mirror the heart of Jesus willingly and intentionally embrace the role of being a redemptive community - embracing the broken and the hurting with the goal of moving them toward wholeness and healing.

Listen to the heart of Jesus: "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." In the cosmic battle between the evil one and Christ, the evil one will do all he can to destroy people made in the image of God. Any way he can bring destruction he does and will. The pseudo satisfaction of sin is just that: the promise of joy and wholeness through the violation of righteousness and holiness. And with that destruction comes pain, guilt, sadness, addictions, relational brokenness and all the undoneness that characterizes our societies.

Jesus on the other hand, through the cross and the redemptive work of the Holy Spirit is in the business of redeeming what the evil one has destroyed and stolen in order to restore the image that He created us in - His image. Redemption is not just redeemed hearts (it starts there) but it is the bringing of life and life in all its fullness to people who have been damaged and victimized by the evil one. It is an ongoing process from brokenness to wholeness. 

If that is the desire, ministry and commitment of Jesus, it must also be that of the church. We are a community of the redeemed after all, who are together on a journey toward greater wholeness as we pursue His image. As such, we are looking for the broken and hurting, introducing them to Christ, and as a part of our discipleship, helping them move from their brokenness to wholeness.

Do we see ourselves that way and do we portray that "redemptive community" to those we seek to reach? Here is an interesting observation. Most advertising for local churches portrays happy, intact, prosperous families, vibrant worship, healthy people who seem to have it all together and are living the American dream. If you doubt me, check out the web sites of local churches. What does that say to the broken, discouraged, divorced, and addicted individual who is looking for hope? It probably says, there is no one here that is in my shoes. Now look at the ads for local counseling centers or drug rehab centers and you get the picture. And by the way, what does the American dream have to do with following Jesus?


How do we see ourselves in the local church? Do we see ourselves as a place for people who have it together or a place for people who don't but want to go there? Are we a community of the redeemed, moving toward His image (slow and difficult as that is) or do we already have it together? (an oxymoron until we get to heaven). Are we looking for the "nice" people or the "broken" people?


To put this into New Testament perspective, the nice and the together were the Pharisees who looked the part on the outside but were in Jesus words merely "white washed tombs." The redeemed who were moving toward wholeness from brokenness were the tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers, and generally the scum of the earth who understood brokenness and craved wholeness. 


I wonder if the modern day pharisees are those who pretend that they  have it together spiritually when inside there is a lot of hidden darkness and brokenness. I wonder if the modern day prostitutes and tax collectors are those who know how desperately broken they are and who genuinely crave the mercy, love and wholeness that Jesus brings. That is what a redemptive community looks like. Can whole congregations be characterized by one group or the other?

What boards and pastors need to know about one another

The relationship between senior pastors and their board is a critical factor in the success or failure of any pastor and it therefore impacts the health of the church. It is not always an easy relationship and takes time to build and nurture. Here are some things that pastors and boards need to know about one another.

Boards need to know that pastors see their role not as a job but as a calling. It is one of the reasons that many pastors are deeply sensitive to what they perceive to be criticism. This is their life, not just a job! Board members who are insensitive or critical are likely to get a defensive reaction from many pastors. Yes, pastors (I was one) can be insecure and sensitive. Much of that is that they care a lot about what they do.

Boards need to know that a pastor can weather almost any storm as long as the board is with him. But, if the board is not supportive publicly and privately the relationship is likely to go south. This does not mean that they always need to agree. It does mean that a pastor can count on the board to guard his back and take arrows for him. Boards that are not supportive are likely to lose their pastor as no pastor can effectively minister without the support of his board. Pastors are much more likely to listen carefully to board members who they know they can trust than whose support is tepid.

The job of a pastor is often a lonely one and it brings with it huge pressures. Someone is always unhappy and unlike the workplace you cannot fire your congregants! If a pastor can rely on his board for friendship and support it goes a long way for them.

Boards need to know that pastors resent being micromanaged. Pastors have lots of people who think they can and should tell them how to do what they do. What they don’t want is the board doing the same thing in terms of their day to day duties. Healthy boards don’t do management – they leave that to the pastoral staff (or volunteers). Instead they focus on vision and direction and policy.

Pastors on the other hand need to know that board members are used to having robust dialogue without people getting defensive over direct comments and opinions. That is the way it is in most workplaces. People express their opinions openly and candidly and it is expected that others can take it without it causing angst. Just because board members express differing opinions does not mean they are not in your corner. They are used to candid discussion.

Pastors need to know that board members have a tremendous amount of expertise from their experience and work which can be brought to bear on ministry. And they want to use their gifts in the ministry setting. But they often feel like this is not welcome because “this is a ministry not business.” Good leadership, good practices apply in the workplace and the church. Whenever we give the impression that “business and ministry” don’t match up we disemempower board members who come out of the non ministry world.

Pastors need to know that board members care about bottom line results and getting things done. They are often frustrated by the slow pace in ministry or staff members who don’t have a plan or cannot execute that plan. Return on investment (ROI) is something they value in their business – they want to stay in business. Return on mission (ROM) is something they value in the church. Lack of effective planning and execution on the plan will cause great frustration to good leaders.

Consider having a candid conversation as a board with your pastor on areas that each side sees that cause angst or frustration. You may not agree on everything but at least you will understand one another better and the needs that both have from the other. As this relationship goes, so goes the church.

The cancer of mistrust

Mistrust is one of the most common dangers that organizations face whether it is mistrust of leaders or mistrust of others on the team. It is like a cancer in the organization and by its very nature, when not addressed it becomes larger rather than smaller as the attitudes rub off on other members. In addition, where mistrust flourishes, good ministry diminishes because the emotional energy needed to deal with mistrust issues takes away from healthy energy that could be focused in productive ways. Mistrust is always a lose/lose proposition.

What causes mistrust? It is not what one usually thinks. Often it starts with a perception about another person and rather than going to that person to determine whether the perception is accurate, which means taking responsibility, it is easier to simply believe that the perception is correct and allow that to color their attitude toward that individual. And, as that "perception" is shared as truth with others, the cancer spreads.

Then there are people who intentionally plant seeds of mistrust toward those they don't like or a leadership philosophy they take umbrage to. In both of these cases, the conversations that take place are behind the scenes, often couched in spiritual language (we are ministries after all). Because the conversation is not out in the open, you see the impact of the cancer but it is often difficult to pin point who is responsible.

In both these scenarios, others get sucked into the mistrust when they unwisely take up the offenses of others. So here you have people who have no first hand knowledge of issues that are shared with them, or even their veracity but they pick up the offense and make it theirs. This is not only unbiblical  but it is harder to fix because there was no offense, real or perceived, committed that involves them. How do you solve mistrust issues where one has not  done anything to cause it?

Healthy organizations and leaders always walk toward the barking dog when it comes to attitudes of mistrust because of the terrible damage it has in the organization. In fact, the longer one ignores pockets of mistrust, the more damage to the organization. Just as we would not think of ignoring a diagnosis of cancer, we cannot think of ignoring a diagnosis of mistrust.

Pockets of mistrust usually have a common source so one of your strategies is to watch and listen and seek to determine who is behind the distrustful attitudes and who has simply taken up that attitude and made theirs. Given time and attention, you can usually identify the source of the problem.

When one knows the source, enter into a defining dialogue with that individual putting the elephants on the table and indicating that unless the mistrust can be resolved it will not work for them to be a part of your organization. Dialogue about the real or imagined offenses that the individual has and seek resolution. Part of that resolution is that in the future when there are issues they must go to the one they have an issue with and seek to resolve it rather than going to others and talking. What mistrust makers need to know is that their behavior is not compatible with the ethos of your organization so you are going to hold them accountable for how they deal with issues they have. Every time there is a violation of that agreement, a direct discussion takes place.

What about others who have taken up offenses? In our organization we go to every one of them that we know, and in dialogue seek to get to the bottom of the issue. Usually their information is either incomplete or not accurate and their assumptions are not correct. After all, these are not their issues, they have simply taken up the offense of others. Once issues have been clarified and questions answered we ask that in the future they don't take up the offenses of others and always go to the person involved first and try to resolve their real or perceived issues. Because we know how damaging attitudes of mistrust are we will not ignore them ever.

Not everyone wants to be accountable for attitudes or be held to biblical standards of conflict resolution. Where we cannot make progress on resolving trust issues we will take the step of indicating that unless it is resolved, the individual cannot stay with the organization. That calls the question since no one can be productive in a ministry organization where there is a lack of trust in leaders or others. In these cases, some choose to leave and some choose to resolve their attitudes. What is not acceptable is living with mistrust because of its high and negative cost.

Leaders who don't have the courage to deal with pockets of mistrust in an upfront way see the health of their organization or team deteriorate. It is a cancer and needs to be dealt with.

church renovation

On a regular basis some of the most read blogs on this site have to do with dysfunctional boards and unhealthy churches. I am sure that this comes out of the deep frustration of leaders who want to see greater health and congregants who are tired of the lack of leadership, health, intentionality and missionality of their church. 

There is a deep yearning among people I meet to see the church live up to its Biblical expectations where life change takes place, people find Jesus, there is safe and supportive community and the power of the gospel of Christ is found in a grace and love filled environment. But such churches don't just happen: they are led by leaders who have charted an intentional course toward congregational health and missionality.

So what does it take to see an unhealthy church become healthy and vibrant? 

First it takes leaders who have the courage to face the reality in humility that there is a problem. This is not easy. It takes a large dose of humility to admit (if you are a leader) that a problem exists in your church and that change is deeply needed. But until leaders are willing to name the elephant in the room (dishealth) and articulate what needs to change, renovation cannot come.

Spiritual pride is the foremost issue that keeps leaders of unhealthy churches (the vast majority in the United States) from moving toward health. We simply don't want to admit that we have a problem even in the face of intractable evidence. There is no chance for greater health in a sick church until leaders set aside their own pride and humbly admit that there is a problem, that they are part of the problem and that they need God's help in solving the problem. I cannot say this strongly enough: Until leaders humbly admit their need, there will not be change.

In cases where there is deep dysfunction on the board and the board has faced reality and wants to get its act together I strongly suggest that they ask for outside help: a coach to walk them through a process toward health. An outside voice can speak truth, sometimes painful that insiders often cannot. Further, an outside voice can hold board members accountable for their own health as a board.

Second, leaders change first. Generally, unhealthy churches are simply a reflection of unhealthy leadership - staff or boards. So, divided boards generally yield a divided congregation. Lack of spiritual passion among leaders yields a congregation with a lack of passion. Lack of intentionality in leading yields a lack of intentionality of the congregation as a whole. Congregations do follow the example of their leaders so until leaders choose to change and to get their act together spiritually, relationally and in their intentionality, the congregation won't. When they do, the congregation takes notice. 

Third, realize that this is a spiritual issue. The church is the bride of Christ. Unhealthy churches, churches in decline or that are plateaued, churches with conflict and a spirit of criticism or simply malaise are not just unhealthy, they lack spiritual vitality. There needs to be both recognition of this and a deep sense of repentance on the part of leaders. God immediately pays attention to the humble repentance of His people and His leaders. He resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.


Fourth, talk publicly, openly and candidly to your congregation about the spiritual issues in the church, the need for change and the commitments that the board has made spiritually, relationally and missionally. Naming the issues and calling a congregation to a higher level of spiritual citizenship is a powerful move. Some will naturally resist because they are used to the status quo but if leaders are together and committed, the vast majority of folks will agree and follow their lead. 


Fifth, call the congregation to prayer, repentance and humble obedience. It is amazing what happens when we simply humble ourselves before God and ask Him to show up in power as we commit to healthy relationships and focus on becoming a healthy body of believers.


Sixth, chart a clear course of intentional ministry. Health and missional effectiveness does not happen by accident but as leaders intentionally help the church do what God intended it to do: introduce people to Christ and help them experience the full transformation that Jesus wants to bring - impacting then their community and the world. 

Seven, realize that people are used to living in an unhealthy church environment and some will resist moving toward health because it means they need to change their behavior. When sick churches become healthy, some folks actually leave because they don't want to live in a healthy environment. For leaders charting a course of change, chapter twelve of my book, High Impact Church Boards, Negotiating the Whitewater of Change can be helpful. In fact, the book is all about healthy, intentional and empowered church leaders.

Want renovation in your church? It starts with leaders and it starts with humility. It starts with hearts that are willing to humble themselves before God.

Every congregation is one leadership board away from trouble and decline

I am grieving for another pastor who is leaving his church because of pain inflicted by some members of the congregation and an unhealthy board.

Like so many church boards there is deep dysfunction on this one. It is a passive board that does not lead but simply reacts.  Members feel free to come and air their complaints and criticisms against the pastor leaving him bruised and beaten up - often without even knowing the facts. Meetings that should be confidential are not always confidential. It has no ability to hold board members accountable. Staff feel free to go around their senior pastor directly to board members and some board members have developed alliances with members of the staff that are counterproductive. All of this with a church that has already been in serious decline and trouble for some years.


Pastors can take a lot of hits if they know their board is behind them. But when they don't have a unified and healthy board, they are left vulnerable and unprotected. I have been in that situation and many other pastors have as well.

This is not a renegade pastor. He is well trained, a good expositor and wise (despite his young age) but he has been sabotaged  by a board that does not have its act together, is divided, and cannot chart a common course either for the church or for its support of the pastor that they called just a few years ago.

Divided boards create a divided congregation and that is just what has happened in this situation. Time after time, this board has been tepid in its support of the one they called and were then surprised when he resigned. The ineptness of the board has damaged an already damaged congregation by its actions. In fact, I predict that this congregation that has already suffered deep pain will go even deeper into decline by the actions of its board. Further, any wise candidate in the future will read the writing on the wall and decline to come leaving them with an undiscerning candidate who wants a job. Thus the cycle is likely to repeat itself.

When confronted with their actions, some members of this board refused counsel. The prediction of that counsel has now come to pass. Another pastor is gone, the congregation is divided and further losses are inevitable. They live with an attitude that things are well and healthy. Unfortunately because of their past actions, many of the healthy leaders have have already migrated out of the church, unwilling to live with the dishealth they observed.


Here is the principle. Every congregation is one leadership board away from trouble and decline. This congregation is paying the price of poor, unhealthy and dysfunctional leadership. And, the end result will most likely be a long period before the congregation is healthy if it every regains health - which is an open question. When the leaders don't understand their lack of health, there is little chance for congregations to become healthy.


My concern is both for the congregation that suffers from the poor leadership of its board and for another pastor who is temporarily or permanently out of ministry. The pain of the congregation is high, and for the pastor - exceedingly deep. And in the end, it is the board that is responsible for both. 


Board members are under shepherds of the Lord of the Church. They will one day answer for their their actions, their decisions, their decisions and their wisdom. Many will receive a reward from Christ as "good and faithful servants." Others will receive hard questions as to their lack of faithfulness, wisdom and ultimately poor care for their flock. I bless the former and fear for the latter. 

Too many boards and board members of local churches take their mandate too carelessly. They often do not understand good leadership, lack wisdom and in the end hurt rather than help the people they lead. Such is the case in the church I am watching at the moment. It makes me sad and I am certain it makes the Lord of the church sad as well. It is also why over eighty percent of the congregations in the United States are either plateaued or in decline. Guard the gate of your leadership. Hold your board accountable for healthy practices and pray for wisdom on their part.

Your church board is unhealthy but you are not on it and don't know what to do about it

It is not unusual that I receive emails or calls from individuals who want to know what to do about an unhealthy church board - in their church. They see that the board does not have its act together, they see the results of that dysfunction (including pastors whom they love leaving) but they feel impotent to affect real change. I have found myself in that situation at times and I am sure many others have as well.

In some cases, it is even worse for the fact that they know that the board has sought help but has rejected the advice they received and they muddle on in their dysfunction and that dysfunction is negatively impacting the church body as it always does. The consequence of sick boards is inevitably a sick church - but what do you do about it if you are in the church watching? 


Before I suggest a course of action, we need to recognize that there is a deeper problem to a sick board and that is that the congregation does not have a good way to vet potential leaders. Good leaders don't allow their board to get sick. Poor choices of church leaders and poor board leadership result in sick boards.


That being said, what does one do? The first thing we need to do is to make this a matter of prayer. This is a deeply spiritual issue for a congregation and for us as well. Unless our own attitude is right, we will add to the already problematic situation with our own anger which adds fuel to the fire. The evil one love sick boards and church fights. Don't give him that joy.


Second, commit to yourself that you will never intentionally "hurt the bride of Christ." Your local congregation is a local representation of Christ's bride, no matter how dysfunctional. Your board, through their lack of healthy leadership may already be hurting the church. You don't want to contribute to that hurt. I would rather quietly leave a church (and I have) rather than to contribute to church conflict.


Third, be honest with what you see with board members you can speak to.Give them your observations about what you see happening and how it is impacting the church. Ask questions, speak for yourself (not others) and clearly state your concerns.


If matters continue, I would consider doing the same thing in a congregational meeting if I believed it might make a difference - carefully. I would state my personal concerns, making it clear again that I speak for myself and not others doing so without a personal attack or hidden agenda. If I thought that saying something would not make a difference I would refrain and keep my own counsel.


Some will disagree with this and that is fine. If I thought that there was little chance that the dysfunction could be solved, I would leave the church and look for a healthy one. Unhealthy churches produce unhealthy disciples, muddle along without direction and are a magnet for people who like conflict. Do you want to be a part of that and do you want to bring your friends to a place with that ethos? It can be painful to leave a church but fortunately most of us have other expressions of the bride that are available to us. Obviously we need God's direction in such issues but we are often naive in believing that things will change.


Congregations, like families often have dysfunctional "family systems" which support that dysfunction. They make it hard to voice differing opinions or even to leave. In other words, the very church culture prevents the dysfunction from being dealt with. It is  a closed circle that does not allow outside views (taken to an extreme one has a cult). Sometimes you don't realize how unhealthy the culture is until you are out of that culture and experience the freedom of a healthy church. Closed systems rarely change and trying to affect change to a closed system will generally end up with you on the outside for trying. Even pastors have limited ability to impact a closed system which is why they often end up resigning when they find themselves in one (unless they are a part of it).


I often say that churches get what they deserve. Elect poor leadership and you get dysfunctional boards and congregations. Often such churches manage to repeat their same dysfunctions over and over again. I have met boards that did not want advice, did not want to own up to their own issues and proudly continued in their awful leadership. I feel for those in their church! I don't want to be a part of such a church. 

Church board best practices

There are certain practices which reflect a healthy church board. If you are on a board, I would encourage you to measure your board against these practices.

1. Define clearly how the board operates through a board covenant or policy governance. You can only hold people accountable to what they have agreed to. Define your rules of engagement and then hold every board member accountable for those healthy practices.

2. Deal only with the big rocks of ministry and delegate to staff or others the small rocks and pebbles. You should be able to do your normal board work in two hours per month, leaving a second two hour meeting for discussion, prayer, learning and dialogue.

3. Never ignore spiritual issues in the church including gossip, critical spirits, division, ongoing egregious sin or heresy. Hoping they will go away will not make them go away.

4. Always keep the main thing the main thing: evangelism and disciplemaking. Churches don't drift into missionality, they drift into diffusion of purpose and unsafe waters. 

5. Have a well defined mission, set of guiding principles and the culture you want to build. Lack of clarity around what is important will keep you from being missional. 

6. Guard the gate of the board. Choose board members with great care. Every board is one board member away from disunity and one board away from church trouble and decline.

7. Do the work of elders together: pray, study God's purposes for the church, pray for your congregation. Don't allow administration and business to crowd out the most important.

8. Do honest evaluation against the clarity you have defined. Don't allow "church nice" to keep you from honest discussion regarding your effectiveness.

9. Focus on the Gospel and not on programs. Every church board should study the implications of the gospel for believers and congregations. It is very easy to focus on numbers and programs rather than the transformation of lives, communities and institutions that the gospel brings.

10. Ensure that you are developing robust followers of Jesus, not simply "nice churchgoing Christians." That starts with board members as congregations are unlikely to rise above the spiritual commitments of its leaders.

11. Love and care for your congregation like Jesus does. You are undershepherds of the Good Shepherd. The gospel is about people and churches are about people.

12. Release people into active ministry to use their gifts in the marketplace, the neighborhood, among the poor and disadvantaged and in the church. Make that an expectation, not optional.

Spirits of criticism and negativity

If there is an attitude akin to cancer in a congregation it is a spirit of criticism and negativity. Few things are more disheartening to pastoral staff and few things are more divisive and dangerous to the life of a ministry than this. One church has just lost its pastor because of the criticism and negativity on the part of some congregants and some board members. Another church is probably going to lose their pastor. In both cases the congregation is far worse off for it. A ministry I know well has this spirit running through its entire office (not the one I work for which is a great blessing). 

Words and attitudes matter. They either build or tear down. They encourage or they discourage. I would go so far as to say that where such a spirit is pervasive it is not the spirit of the Father but of the evil one - even when wrapped in spiritual language.

This does not preclude honest dialogue. In our organization, robust dialogue is a huge value and anything can be put on the table that does not include a personal attack or a hidden agenda. The problem with critical and negative attitudes is that in many cases they are indeed personal attacks and there are personal agendas. There is a huge difference between critical and negative spirits and robust dialogue. It lies in the attitude and motivations behind it.


The truth is that we ought to treat one another as our Father treats us and as Jesus treated people in the gospels. Our attitudes and words are deeply spiritual issues for Jesus said in Matthew 7 that what comes out of us comes from what is inside us. Critical and negative people have a spiritual issue (and don't we all from time to time in this arena). It is sin and it comes from our lower nature.


In my view, church leaders ought to directly and boldly deal with pockets of critical spirits and negativity in their congregation because, like cancer they will eat away at the very core of your congregational health and it usually spreads. It is also one of the reasons I encourage churches to define the culture they want to see embedded in their church (see the book, Leading From the Sandbox). Once you have defined your culture you can hold individuals accountable for keeping the culture.

In the two churches I referenced above, I would not personally recommend that any pastor take them until the church has dealt with the insidious infection that is destroying them from within. And the pastor who left? I agreed with his decision to resign. The church and leadership were so unhealthy that it was destroying him as well. Don't ignore criticism and negativity when it pops up. It will hurt you and the cause of Jesus.

Courageous church leaders

Church leadership is not for the faint of heart, the easily discouraged or those who lack courage. Yet too often there is a failure of courage at critical junctures in church leadership and it can only be laid at the foot of leaders. What makes for a courageous leadership board?

They are willing to clearly define vision and direction knowing that clarity is critical even though some will not like the clarity. Many boards do not take the time to clarify and communicate clarity because it is hard work, first, and because they know that some will object, second. Yet, it is clarity that brings focus, alignment and direction so there is no true church health without clarity. This may involve making tough directional or ministry calls that upset a few. Process is important but courageous leaders will do what is right even when a few loud voices protest.

They are ready to stir the water at times to move the congregation out of their comfort zone and into a gospel centered ministry zone. All churches naturally revert back to their comfort zone where life is easy and the focus is on who is already in the church rather than who is outside the church without Christ. It is the job of leaders to ensure that the congregation is living out its Gospel mandate which will be inconvenient and uncomfortable at times. If the water is not being ruffled regularly you are living in the comfort zone.

They deal with divisive voices who would divide the congregation. Paul talks much to his friend Timothy about how to deal with divisive people who cause damage to the church. One thing he does not say is ignore them. They are foxes in the hen house and courageous leaders see them for what they are and lovingly but firmly deal with this sin that so easily divides.

They hold themselves to high standards. Leaders are to be above reproach not only in their own personal lives but in the way their interact with each other as a team. Courageous leaders call out behavior that is counterproductive to a healthy board and hold one another accountable for their unity, relationships and work together. 


They are candid and honest about the state of the church and its ministry. It is easy to ignore real issues and not evaluate the true state of the congregation. It takes courage to name the elephants and then deal with them. This must be done without a hidden agenda or personal attack but it must be done. If there are any elephants in the board that cannot be discussed there is a failure of courage.


They are people of hope and optimism that God can and will do something big through their people and congregation and so they dream big, plan big and expect God to show up. Why? Because they believe in God's plan and power and that He is "able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us" (Ephesians 3:20)." It takes courage to believe in God's power and therefore step out to do great things for him and that is exactly what courageous leaders do.


Our world is driven by fear at many levels. Congregations often have leaders who are more fearful and cautious than courageous and bold. Failure of courage leads to failure of mission. Courageous church leaders infect their congregation with their optimism, courage, resolve, Gospel commitments and call them to live it out together.

Poisonous criticism and negative spirits

Critical spirits are poison in ministry. They can literally destroy churches, holding them captive to negativity and injuring people in the process. This is not about thinking critically, something valued but living with a critical spirit toward individuals or an entire ministry that like cancer, quietly and behind the scenes spreads its deadly cells until irreparable damage has been done. Critical spirits are deadly for a number of reasons:

They often create a self fulfilling prophecy. Go negative in one's attitude long enough and people will start to believe that it is all negative which makes it impossible for leaders to lead and for people to work toward common healthy goals. I am currently working with a church where the negative attitudes have become so strong that there is a good chance the ministry will implode.
 
Critical spirits and negativity destroy trust which is the necessary ingredient in any healthy ministry. Trust is destroyed because critical spirits by definition question the motives or the competency of others. Others are infected by the negativity and seeds of mistrust are sown in their minds which impact relationships, a willingness to work with leaders. 


Highly critical people in the church actually set themselves up as rival leaders since they bring around them others who buy into their attitudes and follow their lead. In doing so, they undermine the leadership of others and subtly but surely divide the congregation.

Negativity spreads quickly as others with  "issues" get sucked into bad attitudes. Give some people a reason to complain and they will take it. Negative attitudes have a way of building coalitions of people who have something to complain about and get sucked in to a spiral of bad attitudes.

A spirit of criticism and negativity is a tactic of the evil one to bring division to the body and destroying its unity. Satan knows that if he can divide the body he can neutralize its effectiveness. These attitudes do not come from the Spirit! 

How do you combat negativity and critical spirits when they have become pervasive? I have two suggestions. First,  be upfront and public about the issue, its spiritual implications, and its effects. Too often we are afraid to name the sin in our midst allowing it to fester and grow. People with critical spirits and negative attitudes don't think they will be called on their behavior so surprise them.

Second, if it is severe, tell people what is being said in an appropriate setting. What is whispered in private sounds pretty silly when spoken in public. Name the elephants that are being spoken privately and call it for what it is: unhealthy, divisive, unhelpful, and cancerous.

Third, call people back to their calling to be God's people who are making a difference in the world. Often, critical and negative spirits flourish in situations where there is not a higher calling people have embraced. Non missional churches turn inward and in the absence of something better to do, often start picking on one another. 

My advice to the leaders of the congregation above is that they call a town meeting with an outside moderator who can get the issues on the table, name them for what it is and call people to a higher level of behavior. Don't ignore it. Ignoring it is like knowing you have a malignancy but wont go to the doctor. Malignancy's don't go away without intervention. 

Intervene.

Great blog on how we treat pastors in America

This is an accurate and important blog on the treatment of those who pastor our churches in the United States.

Seven Marks of Gospel Centered Churches

For those of us who are committed to being a gospel centered church there are seven markers that we can pay attention too and intentionally encourage. Progress in these seven areas indicate that we are on the right track.

One: Gospel centered churches see regular conversions because they are focused on sharing the Gospel as a lifestyle. They celebrate new life in Christ, and help their congregation understand that sharing their faith is central to who they are and what they do. And, they keep track of their progress in this area.

Two: Gospel centered churches regularly challenge individuals to consider full time Christian service and see people answer that call. They encourage, support and celebrate those who choose to use their gifts in service of the Great Commission.

Three: Gospel centered churches focus more on life change toward the Image of Christ than on the imparting of theological information. They focus on the transformation of hearts, minds, life priorities and relationships and see regular transformation take place.

Four: Gospel centered churches, like Jesus have a high commitment to biblical compassion and loving the marginalized, neglected, hurting, poor and needy. In fact, they go out of their way to show the love of Jesus to those who others neglect and forget. Like, Jesus they have a love for "all people" not just "their people."

Five: Gospel centered churches are characterized by generosity. Their people are generous with one another when there are needs, generous in giving so that the Gospel is advanced and generous with their time and gifts. Their lives could be called "generous," lived for Jesus and others.

Six: Gospel centered churches have people who are "in the game" in terms of using their spiritual gifts and God given wiring to serve the church and be the hands, feet, and voice of Jesus in their circle of influence. They are intentional in making space in their lives for ministry.

Seven: Gospel centered churches replicate themselves by planting other churches, whether off site venues or independent churches. They intentionally "give themselves away" to see the Gospel penetrate new communities and neighborhoods. It is part of their regular strategy.

No individual or church gets this perfectly but progress in these areas should encourage you that you are on the right track. Celebrate and encourage your people in these directions and your spiritual influence as a congregation will increase.

Seven Marks of Gospel Centered Churches

 For those of us who are committed to being a gospel centered church there are seven markers that we can pay attention too and intentionally encourage. Progress in these seven areas indicate that we are on the right track.


One: Gospel centered churches see regular conversions because they are focused on sharing the Gospel as a lifestyle. They celebrate new life in Christ, and help their congregation understand that sharing their faith is central to who they are and what they do. And, they keep track of their progress in this area.


Two: Gospel centered churches regularly challenge individuals to consider full time Christian service and see people answer that call. They encourage, support and celebrate those who choose to use their gifts in service of the Great Commission.


Three: Gospel centered churches focus more on life change toward the Image of Christ than on the imparting of theological information. They focus on the transformation of hearts, minds, life priorities and relationships and see regular transformation take place.


Four: Gospel centered churches, like Jesus have a high commitment to biblical compassion and loving the marginalized, neglected, hurting, poor and needy. In fact, they go out of their way to show the love of Jesus to those who others neglect and forget. Like, Jesus they have a love for "all people" not just "their people."


Five: Gospel centered churches are characterized by generosity. Their people are generous with one another when there are needs, generous in giving so that the Gospel is advanced and generous with their time and gifts. Their lives could be called "generous," lived for Jesus and others.


Six: Gospel centered churches have people who are "in the game" in terms of using their spiritual gifts and God given wiring to serve the church and be the hands, feet, and voice of Jesus in their circle of influence. They are intentional in making space in their lives for ministry.


Seven: Gospel centered churches replicate themselves by planting other churches, whether off site venues or independent churches. They intentionally "give themselves away" to see the Gospel penetrate new communities and neighborhoods. It is part of their regular strategy.

No individual or church gets this perfectly but progress in these areas should encourage you that you are on the right track. Celebrate and encourage your people in these directions and your spiritual influence as a congregation will increase.

Humble Church

When you think of your church would you characterize it as humble or prideful? Congregations, like people can live with either pride or humility.


Take a congregation that has been highly successful in its day but is now struggling. They desperately need to change the way they do leadership, they need new organizational structures and they need to trade out a tired staff who are locked into paradigms that are twenty years old. Yet, leaders cannot make the radical shifts necessary or admit that there is a need for change. The reason? Pride! It means accepting the fact that they are in trouble, accepting the fact that they are not who they once were, accepting the fact that they actually need help. Accepting the fact that they cannot rest on their past success but must radically reinvent the future.


This raises an important issue. Ministry success for a church often brings with it a level of pride that hinders the future effectiveness of the church. Pride is by nature a self-sufficient attitude along with the belief that we have ministry figured out and we are good at it. That pride takes our eyes off of Christ, focuses it on us, prevents us from seeing what we need to see and prevents us from learning from others. It may "work" for a season but it will "hurt" in the end.

In my experience, churches like the ones I have described above don't get their act together until they have been humbled and realize that they need help. Some never do and simply fade into an obscure future, living on the shadows of the past, believing all is well.

Humble congregations are forged by humble leaders (both lay and professional) who know they are dependent on God for any lasting spiritual fruit, are learners by nature and live with the awareness that they never have it all together. They are always willing to learn from others and guard their hearts against the pride that will sabotage their success.

Is your church a humble church or proud church?

Grace, Transparency and the Church

One of the advantages of my work is that I get to visit many different churches each year - both in the US and globally. What is interesting to me is the continuum between churches with great personal transparency and those where such transparency is both lacking and most likely not safe. For some reason it is OK to struggle with sin and the issues of life prior to salvation but once saved, most evangelicals feel that they need to live up to some standard or culture that prevents honest transparency on issues that would actually aid in the process of sanctification.

It has often been said that if you want to get honesty go to the local bar rather than the local church. That is a sad commentary where it is true.

What we are left with are individuals who secretly struggle with all the baggage of life including addictions, sexual sin, temptations, attitudes, or basic identity issues and the very place where these struggles should be worked out - is often an unsafe place to reveal them. There are some wonderful exceptions to this where transparency and realness is practiced in a culture of grace and it is in those settings that I believe the most life change takes place because there is not a need to hide. Rather there is a shared journey toward wholeness, healing and Christ's character.

What sets such churches apart from the norm? I would suggest that there are several key factors. 

First, these churches have pastors and staff who value transparency and model it themselves. There is nothing more powerful than honest transparency from the pulpit. Like all organizational culture, this starts with a leader who communicates grace, acknowledges their own place in their spiritual journey and examples from their own lives. The more appropriate transparency there is from the pulpit the more transparent the culture of the congregation.

Second, transparent congregations tell many honest stories of life transformation. It takes one story, for instance from a couple who have struggled in their marriage and found healing and restoration to make it permissible for others who are struggling to admit their need for healing as well. Multiply those stories across the wide range of struggles people face and the healing that Christ brings. All of us, after all are on a journey of healing and spiritual formation. Telling stories of God's grace makes that journey from brokenness to wholeness normative and expected. People need to be know and encouraged that God can take their brokenness and redeem it no matter how broken they are.

Finally, these are congregations that understand and major on grace. We often focus on the need for grace to come to Christ. The truth is we need as much grace after salvation as before. We need grace every moment of every day. We cannot live up to God's expectations - or our own - unless we are living in the power of God's Spirit and daily appropriating His grace. The church is a place for broken people, those who are broken and need Christ and those who know Christ and need wholeness. 

Grace filled congregations are also humble congregations. They do not pretend to have it all together. They have leaders who admit their sin and live in dependence on God rather than in pride or self sufficiency. 

Church cultures like all organizational cultures are either accidental or deliberately created. A culture of grace and transparency can be deliberately developed. Grace and transparency encourage vulnerability and vulnerability is the first step toward growth. The church should be the premier place where we can journey from brokenness to wholeness.

Do we really believe that all people matter to God?

We have made remarkable progress in overcoming the marginalization of people based on color and ethnic background – but there is still a group that the church and society at large have not seen as full members of God’s family: those with physical or mental disabilities.

In many parts of the world, those who are handicapped are “throw away people” as they have little economic benefit. Often, the only people who pay attention to them are believers who understand that God made all men and women in His image, that He does not have a plan A or a plan B for His people but only a plan A. And that includes living up to our full potential, dignity as a full member of His body, living out the unique role He designed for each of us (Ephesians 2:10) and contributing something unique to God’s work on earth.

Only a very small minority of churches in the United States are handicap accessible. Think of the statement that makes to one who is and shows up! Only a small minority of congregations have ministries designed to meet the needs of those with disabilities leaving families with disabled kids to struggle alone with the care and challenges that go into raising them. For many of us the people group that make up those with physical or mental challenges are a “hidden group” just like others in the past were not on our radar screen. It is a subtle overlooking of a whole segment of people who matter to God.

Those congregations who have gone out of their way to invite, welcome and design both facilities and programs for this forgotten group quickly find grateful families coming through their doors! And there is a vibrancy and beauty to those congregations because in learning to love people who others often marginalize and ignore, their hearts become more like Gods and they realize that their new friends have as much to give them as they have to give – if not more. Some of the most happy, loving and radiant Christ followers I have known are those who have mental impairment. Their simple, joyful faith is what God longs for all of us to have. Those with physical disabilities have had to trust God in ways many of us have not and often have a tenacity that is absent from those whose life is easier. Again, we have much to learn.

God designed all people in His image, not some people! As image bearers, there are no people that should be hidden from our view or the ministry of the church. And unlike our world’s evaluation, in God’s economy everyone matters, has something to contribute and is equal in the site of God and therefore should be in our sight as well.