People Spots
Online
Produced by James W.
Moss, Sr., and Church Consultants
Provided as a service by New Life Ministries
Paying the Rent
by James W. Moss, Sr.John Maxwell used an analogy that I have come to appreciate. When a new pastor goes to a church, the people put 100 poker chips in his hand. If he does something good, they will put another 2-3 in his hand. If the pastor makes a mistake or fails to provide expected ministries or offends someone, they take 4-5 chips away. If the pastor reaches zero chips, John Maxwell would shout, "Call U-Haul." Ministry is finished. Whenever the pastor gets to zero, the people of the church won’t give any more chips, no matter how much good the pastor does.
I was assigned to assist a pastor who had spent his 100 chips in the first 6 months of his ministry. That is a monumental task in itself. But that pastor had spent all 100 chips in just 6 months. There was nothing that could be done to preserve his ministry. His ministry concluded 18 months after it began.
Another analogy is to liken it to paying the rent. What happens if you are renting a house and quit paying the rent? You will be evicted. If a pastor doesn’t pay the rent, he will be evicted. It is crazy how that works. How does a pastor pay the rent?
Different churches have different expectations of the pastor. It is important for the pastor to know what is expected. The interview process is not always a good checking point. Frequently, a church will say whatever is expected because they want a pastor. Often pastors in the process of interviewing will agree to most anything because they want a job. It will take 6 months to a year of careful searching for the new pastor to find out what is truly expected of him. Meaningful questions will help the pastor gain understanding.
I recommend at least bi-weekly meetings between elders and pastor to discuss the work of the church, cover expectations, review work being done, and to pray together. There must be a covenant of confidentiality to make this work. The pastor has the freedom to express concerns for the church and people in the church. The elders have the freedom to express concerns for the work of the pastor. Every new item to be taken to council should be taken by the elders first. Unless there is close to unanimous approval among the elders, the item is not taken to council. If the elders approve of a recommendation, let them take it to council.
Harry Smithton was the pastor at Old Town Church. A careful analysis of his work pattern revealed that he averaged 2 personal face-to-face contacts a month. Harry provided only minimal care if someone was sick or if someone had died. People of the church were concerned. Harry wasn’t paying the rent. The people expected more. Harry had told them up front that he didn’t like making those personal touches. During the interview process the church accepted his words but didn’t understand their implications. When Harry didn’t provide minimal care expected by the church, tension built. Each time he failed to meet perceived expectations, one of Harry’s poker chips disappeared. Finally there were none left. The journey together was over.
By contrast, George Brown was pastor at the New Town Church. George made an average of 72 personal contacts a month. That included home visits, hospital visits, sessions in the study, and extended one-on-one contacts. George has had a long and productive ministry that has the potential to go on to retirement should the Lord will. George has a whole closet full of poker chips earned over a number of years.
Normally a church expects there will be a good service on Sunday morning. The sermon should give evidence that some time has been spent in preparation. A church will expect that the weddings and funerals of the participants will be carefully and meaningfully conducted. Most churches expect meaningful contacts in times of crisis. Special care needs to be given recent absentees and visitors.
The bottom line is that pastors have to love the people they serve. I frequently raise this question with pastors: “Do you love your people?” If they can’t answer that in a very straightforward fashion, then I encourage them to find someplace where they can love the people. People aren’t dumb. They know if the pastor loves them or not.
I am sitting with the people of Suburban Church. We spend nearly an hour. They make a number of petty comments about their pastor. I’m wondering, “Why am I here?” None of these complaints are large enough to warrant this kind of meeting. In fact, all of the complaints put together aren’t large enough to justify what is happening. Finally, a member finally gets the courage to drop the bombshell. One says with feeling and tears, “Jim, our pastor just doesn’t love us!” Now I know the truth. This is a devastating criticism. You can preach to people you don’t love, but they won’t permit you to pastor them. There is a significant difference between preaching to people and pasturing them.
Pastors motivated by love will provide the care needed for their people. They will openly say, “I love you.” But their actions will also verify their words. Words of affection without verifiable actions fall on deaf ears. Congregations with pastors who love them will forgive a variety of faults and shortcomings. Amazing ministry can happen.
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July 8, 2003. Volume 6, Issue 6. People Spots Online is prepared by James W. Moss, Sr., and Church Consultants. It is provided as a service by New Life Ministries, www.NewLifeMinistries-NLM.org. Articles may be duplicated and reproduced in any way with proper credit. A new article is produced about every two weeks. To be added to a list to receive these messages directly by e-mail, send a request to churchconsultants@yahoo.com.