I have recently received a few comments and replies to the following blog posts. In order to best answer these, and to save myself time, I will post excerpts of those comments below along with my replies:
I just read your blog, and can’t help but be a bit sad. Lots to learn there, though, so I’m hoping that the process of writing it is therapeutic! Have you shared these thoughts with administrators?
Yes, there is a lot to learn. It would be good if there were an ongoing process of critiquing church plants and the church planting system. One of my complaints with the current pastoral role is the lack of accountability in the system. A bona fide system of annual performance reviews, goals, and objectives could greatly increase the effectiveness of the position. At a minimum, even if we don’t hold the pastor’s feet to the fire, we could at least survey and critique individual churches.
What I have begun to do here is to document our successes and failures – the church, the leaders, the systems, and the various administrative functions of the denomination. I’ve not shared this with them at this point, because I want some feedback from my friends first. There are some significant failures in our current church planting systems, but I don’t want to be so pointed at those that I don’t take personal responsibility for my own failures first.
So, what’s going to be different about your current role? What have you learned that you will apply to the present? Are you enjoying your new churches?
The chief differences in my approach to pastoral leadership now are subtle, yet significant. Now, more than ever, am I putting family before my occupation. This has come about for a couple of reasons. First, it is the right thing to do and I should have done a better job in the past. Second, I’ve learned that no matter how motivated I am, I can never go faster than the lid of the organization that employs me. Basically, this is the Serenity Prayer personified.
The new churches are challenging because of their traditional, yet liberal paradigm. It takes time to build trust in a rural and traditional congregation. I know that I’m going to have to be patient and wait for the right timing and that is a challenge for me. In the meantime, because the process of moving these churches forward is slower than what I experienced in a plant, it allows me to spend more time with my family and readjust my workaholic habits.
I read your thoughts on the “success” of Common Ground. I appreciate the honest words and know that the emotional weight of a history of ministry that seems unsuccessful is pretty heavy. For what its worth, just knowing there are people out there who understand how difficult this church planting thing can be, means so much.
I believe we have grieved significantly for the losses at Common Ground. Hardly a week goes by that we don’t hear of the demise of another former member into the abyss of worldly wandering. The months of August and September were very hard, finding out that we were leaving and having to find a new position, a place to live, and give birth to our son – all that was difficult.
At this point, we are able to step back and take hard, honest looks at ourselves and the system that caused Common Ground to fail. A year and a half to two years ago, Common Ground was one of the most successful church plants in the NAD – probably in the top 10 somewhere and quite possibly in the top 5. But now, if I were there, I’d pull the plug.
It is clearly the hardest thing we’ve ever done. We know that God used us. But we also know that the denomination, AND the culture, were not ready for a church like Common Ground. We were too experimental for the denomination and too traditional for the culture. I believe we were about 10 years ahead of our time.
If we could have realized the funding to keep going, I do believe we could have acheived a financially sustainable attendnance and income. However, we believe that five years is not enough time to raise up an experimentally evangelistic church within Adventism.
This was an excellent and honest (vulnerable) blog. Thanks for writing it. I’d love to share this with the group I’m training to become church planters if you don’t mind.
I agree with all your three points (accept the need for a mother church in point 3). After starting 4 plants I too have learned these lessons the hard way. Maybe your message here will save others from the same burn-out and help them achieve far greater personal & professional success.
Thanks for the feedback. I also appreciate that this comment was also posted so others could see it, on the blog, in the comments. Feel free to share it with your interns – or anyone else you think would benefit.
Steve, in the most recent post I don’t clarify the “mother church” statement. But in another post I talk about not having an openly hostile, or antagonistic mother church. Colorado Springs was in upheaval when we arrived and we didn’t even know it. Shortly before our scheduled launch the primary church in the Springs went through a nasty and bitter split.
We were wondering why we were having so much trouble attracting visionary, evangelistic Adventists to our startup. Once the split occurred we saw why. They were all marshaling their forces to do battle with each other. The very people that would have been an asset to the success of Common Ground, chose instead to follow their bitter friends to start a church focused more on style than vision. It was really hard to watch when that split imploded and the people we thought could have been an asset to Common Ground, stopped being Adventists altogether.
I don’t believe it is necessary to have a mother church. I don’t even think a plant needs the assistance or cooperation of area churches. But for a community the size of Colorado Springs, with only 500k people and one numerically strong church. The kind of controversy we witnessed really hampered our ability to gather some disciplemakers together. Indeed, in the last few months, that church has undergone another split and the split has split. <sigh>
Thanks for including me on your Common Ground reflections. I think you are a little hard on yourself at times, but if you are doing some hard self-inventory and reflection stuff, I think what you are pulling together is pretty amazing. I’m impressed. We all can glean from your learnings and insights. I know God would have to perform a miracle in order for me to even attempt something like Common Ground. I think you have plenty to feel affirmed about in that whole experience.
Are you able in your present situation to reach out to similar unchurched people now? If so, maybe your present situation will still allow you to fulfill some of the dreams of Common Ground.
We do feel affirmed. We know that we fought a good fight. We’re no longer discouraged and I don’t think I am being too hard on myself. I just want to take a realistic view of the successes and failures. I don’t think it is fair to point to some system and leadership mistakes if I’m not willing to point at myself in the mirror also.
Yes, we learned a lot about reaching unchurched people. Even while practicing our craft as church planters, I became aware at how ignorant most pastors, and in turn their churches, are at reaching the unreached. Our vocabulary, our cliches, our traditions, and much of our closed community actions do great damage to our ability to reach out into our communities. It is amazing how far verbiage alterations, dress styles, and humility will open doors for shared conversations.
As we develop relationships and wait for permission to speak into people’s lives, they will let us and actively, and enthusiastically participate in the working out of their own salvation (and ours in the process)!
Working in a traditional church, it will take years before I am able to introduce some of these pardigm shifts to the congregations here. Our goal is to stay here until retirement and to lead these congregations across the thresholds of misunderstanding so that they too can crash against the gates of Hell to save lost souls.
You know, I’m sure they *tried* to tell you how hard it was going to be, but who can believe it in the face of eternal optimism?
Yes, they tried, you’re right. But in my family, we take the approach that we can do anything possible. the impossible will just take a bit longer to accomplish. Had we the money to continue, I believe we would be at that survivable mark in the next 3-5 years. I had said that if the funding dries up, or the leadership changed, we would find a way to tough it out.
However, with the growth of our family, we decided to put our energy towards these two beautiful kids instead.
Excellent point that the institutional church manages to keep *miniscule* churches open. Of course, if they closed those churches in order to use our (limited) resources elsewhere, they’d be accused of playing politics.
One of the things I continue to wrestle with is the lack of leadership in this area. I have never been dependent upon my current employment in such a way that I was afraid to do the right thing. I keep saying, “If this pastoring thing doesn’t work out, I can always go run a backhoe somewhere.”
In my opinion, we need two things: 1) Church leaders who are willing to have one-term presidencies; 2) Church leaders who are willing to turn the reins over to younger leaders.
Most Fortune 500 companies are managed by their senior VPs, who are in their late 30s and early 40s. Our church barely lets someone on the church board at that young age. Lyle Schaller has said that if you are past the age of 35, you’re too old to affect change in the church. I think more of our people need to understand this principle.
This is also another reason I’ve chosen to step back from the front lines and pour my energy into my kids. I will prepare them to stand on my shoulders and change the world. I’ve done enough world-changing for two lifetimes. If I were in my 20s or 30s, I would not hesitate to give it another shot – maybe. Going back to my earlier comment, I don’t think the culture or the church are ready for what we were trying to do at Common Ground.
It’s good to try to figure out what you’d do differently. Are you able to use those lessons where you are now?
Yes, see above. I think I even have a couple of books inside of me – this is the beginnings of one of those.
_____________________________________
Thank you everyone for the great comments! I’m looking for additional feedback as to tone/style before I pass this on to my overseers. Have I been too harsh on them, not harsh enough? Too real, not real enough? Have I taken enough ownership for my own shortcomings?
August 8, 2008...11:59 pm
Recent Comments and Replies
I have recently received a few comments and replies to the following blog posts. In order to best answer these, and to save myself time, I will post excerpts of those comments below along with my replies:
Yes, there is a lot to learn. It would be good if there were an ongoing process of critiquing church plants and the church planting system. One of my complaints with the current pastoral role is the lack of accountability in the system. A bona fide system of annual performance reviews, goals, and objectives could greatly increase the effectiveness of the position. At a minimum, even if we don’t hold the pastor’s feet to the fire, we could at least survey and critique individual churches.
What I have begun to do here is to document our successes and failures – the church, the leaders, the systems, and the various administrative functions of the denomination. I’ve not shared this with them at this point, because I want some feedback from my friends first. There are some significant failures in our current church planting systems, but I don’t want to be so pointed at those that I don’t take personal responsibility for my own failures first.
The chief differences in my approach to pastoral leadership now are subtle, yet significant. Now, more than ever, am I putting family before my occupation. This has come about for a couple of reasons. First, it is the right thing to do and I should have done a better job in the past. Second, I’ve learned that no matter how motivated I am, I can never go faster than the lid of the organization that employs me. Basically, this is the Serenity Prayer personified.
The new churches are challenging because of their traditional, yet liberal paradigm. It takes time to build trust in a rural and traditional congregation. I know that I’m going to have to be patient and wait for the right timing and that is a challenge for me. In the meantime, because the process of moving these churches forward is slower than what I experienced in a plant, it allows me to spend more time with my family and readjust my workaholic habits.
I believe we have grieved significantly for the losses at Common Ground. Hardly a week goes by that we don’t hear of the demise of another former member into the abyss of worldly wandering. The months of August and September were very hard, finding out that we were leaving and having to find a new position, a place to live, and give birth to our son – all that was difficult.
At this point, we are able to step back and take hard, honest looks at ourselves and the system that caused Common Ground to fail. A year and a half to two years ago, Common Ground was one of the most successful church plants in the NAD – probably in the top 10 somewhere and quite possibly in the top 5. But now, if I were there, I’d pull the plug.
It is clearly the hardest thing we’ve ever done. We know that God used us. But we also know that the denomination, AND the culture, were not ready for a church like Common Ground. We were too experimental for the denomination and too traditional for the culture. I believe we were about 10 years ahead of our time.
If we could have realized the funding to keep going, I do believe we could have acheived a financially sustainable attendnance and income. However, we believe that five years is not enough time to raise up an experimentally evangelistic church within Adventism.
Thanks for the feedback. I also appreciate that this comment was also posted so others could see it, on the blog, in the comments. Feel free to share it with your interns – or anyone else you think would benefit.
Steve, in the most recent post I don’t clarify the “mother church” statement. But in another post I talk about not having an openly hostile, or antagonistic mother church. Colorado Springs was in upheaval when we arrived and we didn’t even know it. Shortly before our scheduled launch the primary church in the Springs went through a nasty and bitter split.
We were wondering why we were having so much trouble attracting visionary, evangelistic Adventists to our startup. Once the split occurred we saw why. They were all marshaling their forces to do battle with each other. The very people that would have been an asset to the success of Common Ground, chose instead to follow their bitter friends to start a church focused more on style than vision. It was really hard to watch when that split imploded and the people we thought could have been an asset to Common Ground, stopped being Adventists altogether.
I don’t believe it is necessary to have a mother church. I don’t even think a plant needs the assistance or cooperation of area churches. But for a community the size of Colorado Springs, with only 500k people and one numerically strong church. The kind of controversy we witnessed really hampered our ability to gather some disciplemakers together. Indeed, in the last few months, that church has undergone another split and the split has split. <sigh>
We do feel affirmed. We know that we fought a good fight. We’re no longer discouraged and I don’t think I am being too hard on myself. I just want to take a realistic view of the successes and failures. I don’t think it is fair to point to some system and leadership mistakes if I’m not willing to point at myself in the mirror also.
Yes, we learned a lot about reaching unchurched people. Even while practicing our craft as church planters, I became aware at how ignorant most pastors, and in turn their churches, are at reaching the unreached. Our vocabulary, our cliches, our traditions, and much of our closed community actions do great damage to our ability to reach out into our communities. It is amazing how far verbiage alterations, dress styles, and humility will open doors for shared conversations.
As we develop relationships and wait for permission to speak into people’s lives, they will let us and actively, and enthusiastically participate in the working out of their own salvation (and ours in the process)!
Working in a traditional church, it will take years before I am able to introduce some of these pardigm shifts to the congregations here. Our goal is to stay here until retirement and to lead these congregations across the thresholds of misunderstanding so that they too can crash against the gates of Hell to save lost souls.
Yes, they tried, you’re right. But in my family, we take the approach that we can do anything possible. the impossible will just take a bit longer to accomplish. Had we the money to continue, I believe we would be at that survivable mark in the next 3-5 years. I had said that if the funding dries up, or the leadership changed, we would find a way to tough it out.
However, with the growth of our family, we decided to put our energy towards these two beautiful kids instead.
One of the things I continue to wrestle with is the lack of leadership in this area. I have never been dependent upon my current employment in such a way that I was afraid to do the right thing. I keep saying, “If this pastoring thing doesn’t work out, I can always go run a backhoe somewhere.”
In my opinion, we need two things: 1) Church leaders who are willing to have one-term presidencies; 2) Church leaders who are willing to turn the reins over to younger leaders.
Most Fortune 500 companies are managed by their senior VPs, who are in their late 30s and early 40s. Our church barely lets someone on the church board at that young age. Lyle Schaller has said that if you are past the age of 35, you’re too old to affect change in the church. I think more of our people need to understand this principle.
This is also another reason I’ve chosen to step back from the front lines and pour my energy into my kids. I will prepare them to stand on my shoulders and change the world. I’ve done enough world-changing for two lifetimes. If I were in my 20s or 30s, I would not hesitate to give it another shot – maybe. Going back to my earlier comment, I don’t think the culture or the church are ready for what we were trying to do at Common Ground.
Yes, see above. I think I even have a couple of books inside of me – this is the beginnings of one of those.
_____________________________________
Thank you everyone for the great comments! I’m looking for additional feedback as to tone/style before I pass this on to my overseers. Have I been too harsh on them, not harsh enough? Too real, not real enough? Have I taken enough ownership for my own shortcomings?
I appreciate your help!
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