41 PRINCIPLES ON BEING APPOINTED/ELECTED TO PASTOR AN EXISTING CHURCH (PART 5 OF 5)

41 PRINCIPLES ON BEING APPOINTED/ELECTED TO PASTOR AN EXISTING CHURCH (PART 5 OF 5):

33.            If the bishop appointed you, have the decency to show up to his meetings and conventions. Be a blessing to your leader, not an antagonist. Do not have the attitude with your leader that, “This is my church now and I could care less what you say.” Just like you were willing to mow his grass and everything else, while you were campaigning for the church, keep that same humble attitude.

34.            Do not belittle the people’s faith. They are not always fighting you. For example, they may not be at the level to see the vision of building a community center, when there are only 20 members. Start small. Build their faith. Lead them, not drive them. You may have to, for example, start off with a project to install an industrial stove first. That will build their morale. Then go up from there.

35.            There is probably a group of preachers in your congregation (or in your denomination) that thought that they should have become the pastor of the church. Do not preach against them nor lash out at them. That makes you appear intimidated. They may criticize EVERYTHING you do. Study the story of Nehemiah and you “stay on the wall.”

36.            Do not fight with a dead man. When people die, they become bigger than life. The members may constantly reflect on the good times they had with a legendary former pastor. If you do something right, they will say, “that’s not as good as what Elder McGillicuddy did.” If you do something wrong, they will say, “Elder McGillicuddy never would have done it that way.” Do not fight with Elder McGillicuddy. Do not insult his memory from the pulpit. Go with the flow. Learn to live with it. Tell the people how Elder McGillicuddy “was a visionary and he laid the foundation, so that we can be where we are today.” This will endear you to them.

37.            The former pastor’s widow may give you grief and the blues. Do not lash out. Do not be insulting. NEVER EVER say things like, “You’re not the First Lady anymore, you don’t run this.” Widows carry great influence and people will sympathize with them, before they do with you. If you have to make sure the widow gets a stipend and you have to work a job outside the church, then so be it. Do so, until the church can get on its feet enough to support you. Yes, you should have a backbone. I get that. But the Word also refers to the treatment of widows. Show your leadership skills and win the widow over.

38.            If you were just appointed/elected and you are driving an economy car; do not go out next week and buy a luxury car (because you have a bigger salary now). Yes, you have earned your money and can do with it as you please. However, you will be sending a statement that your priorities are material. And you will send a red flag that you are “new money,” and do not know how to manage prosperity.

39.            Be patient. Win the people over. Preach the Word. Eventually (if you do things right) you will win the confidence of the saints over and be able to accomplish any project that God places on your heart. Impatience will make you cater to the cooperative members and neglect the troublesome members. That is wrong. A leader has to lead everyone; not just those who always cooperate.

40.            You may have a lot of preacher friends that you have fellowshipped with down through the years. Be careful bringing in a lot of guest speakers at the start of your pastorate. Your friends’ styles of ministry may not fit the flavor of that house. God will hold you accountable for what you let loose on the saints. This is a church, not a source for you to pay back favors to your preaching buddies.

41.            Be watchful when a lot of friends and family join your ministry. Yes, they love you; but they may still see you as “Pookie.” They may see you as more of a friend than their leader. It’s very hard for business and friendship to mix. This can be especially challenging, if you become pastor of the church you grew up in. You have to patiently and lovingly work through this. Study about Moses and how he had to deal with his siblings Miriam and Aaron. Do not go to war with your family/friends. That will break the church up.

 

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41 PRINCIPLES ON BEING APPOINTED/ELECTED TO PASTOR AN EXISTING CHURCH (PART 4 OF 5)

41 PRINCIPLES ON BEING APPOINTED/ELECTED TO PASTOR AN EXISTING CHURCH (PART 4 OF 5):

24.            Keep church relations professional. For example, if you are married, you should not go to lunch with the church secretary alone. Do not confide in church staff your marital difficulties. A minister of the Gospel should not be flirtatious.

25.            If you are appointed or elected to a traditional church, do not change the church to contemporary right away. Find middle ground. Have an approach that combines traditional and contemporary. Teach the people to not only appreciate different styles of worship; but also, to remember that worship is about God and not our preferences.

26.            If you are going to change the church bylaws, the board of directors and church members should have a right to vote on it.

27.            If you have an older congregation, do not neglect the older people. They have a soul and need ministry, just like the young people. Listen to their stories about life. You can learn from them. Do activities with them. (I remember, when I was appointed to a pastorate, taking the older people to the drive-through animal safari. They had the time of their lives, feeding the animals from their cars).

28.            If you want to make changes, appeal to the heritage of the church. Talk about how the pioneers of the ministry were daring, courageous and dedicated. Teach how the church yet has that same passion and commitment to ministry. And, now you have the opportunity to fulfill the dreams of those who started the ministry years ago.

29.            There is always a meeting before the meeting and after the meeting. Do not spring surprises on the people. Inform your influencers, ahead of time, about your plans and get their feedback and buy in.

30.            Reinforce to your family how you love and appreciate them. Church people can be brutally cruel. They will say things like they love the pastor, but cannot stand the family. Teach the people to respect your family. No, your family is not better than anyone else; but you will also not allow your family to be mistreated or abused.

31.            There are always long standing members that say, “I speak my mind.” Let them know that you are perfectly fine with that; as long as they are perfectly fine and respective of you also speaking your mind. Mutual respect for each other will go a long way.

 

To be continued…

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“41 Principles On Being Appointed/Elected To Pastor An Existing Church.”

 

41 PRINCIPLES ON BEING APPOINTED/ELECTED TO PASTOR AN EXISTING CHURCH (PART 3 OF 5):

 41 PRINCIPLES ON BEING APPOINTED/ELECTED TO PASTOR AN EXISTING CHURCH (PART 3 OF 5):

17.            Yes, you should not be too common, but do not be “stand offish” with the people. They are learning you, just like you are learning them.

18.            Never say, “If you don’t like how I run it, then there is the door.” An established church can vote you out in more ways than one. Even if you have been appointed by the bishop, the people can try to starve you out by withholding their participation and financial support. You do not need a war with the people.

19.            The financial record should reflect that you are tithing and financially supporting the church. Along with the spiritual component, this helps to put the people at ease [especially in cases where previous pastor(s) have “cleaned out” the treasury].

20.            Yes, when there is a new administration, normally every office is declared vacant. But it would be foolish to “fire” everyone. Yes, it is fine to have some new blood; but you need some people also that have been there and know the history of the church.

21.            People like new things. So, when you first arrive a lot of people will come “back” to the church and a lot of visitors will join your church. Do not put your confidence in that. Do not feed into any talk about how bad the previous pastor was and how wonderful you are. It’s just a matter of time when they will talk about you as well. When the newness wears off, they will be looking for the next “hottest” church in town. Do not let it discourage you. Every church goes through highs and lows.

22.            Really think through selling (or tearing down) the building you inherited and building (or buying) a new church. The old saying was, “build it and they will come.” The new saying is, “build it and they will drive right by it.” People are not as committed to long term membership, as they were decades ago.

23.            Do not belittle your church to other pastors, saying things like you have a, “starter church,” or how terrible your members are. You will kill the morale of your people; if they feel like they are just to tide you over for a bigger and better opportunity. Besides, just like people should not “run down” the pastor, the pastor should not “run down” the members.

24.            Be sexually pure. The church is not your personal harem. If you cannot control your flesh, you do not need to be in the pulpit. If you are single, do not fornicate. If you are married, do not commit adultery. Live the type of life that you can preach the WHOLE Bible and be able to address ANY subject. If you mess up (i.e., sin), be honest and confess. Do not insult the intelligence of the people and say you are being lied on. Saints are more apt to forgive when you are honest vs being deceptive.  Proverbs 28:13 says “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” Yes, you are held to a higher standard, because the Bible says in 1 Timothy 3:2 TLB, “…A pastor must be a good man whose life cannot be spoken against…”

 

To be continued…

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41 PRINCIPLES ON BEING APPOINTED/ELECTED TO PASTOR AN EXISTING CHURCH (PART 2 OF 5):

 41 PRINCIPLES ON BEING APPOINTED/ELECTED TO PASTOR AN EXISTING CHURCH (PART 2 OF 5):

9.               Allow people to express themselves, in a respectable manner. These people have put years of sacrifice into the church and you do not want them to feel like you are diminishing their contribution. If you hear them out, they are more apt to hearing you out.

10.            Do not get a big ego and think that the entire church loves you. No one gets 100% support. Jesus did not have 100% (He said one was a “devil”). Be watchful.

11.            Some of the people you want to get rid of are really for you. Some of the people you want to keep, you really need to get rid of.

12.            Do not belittle your fellow pastors that are church planters. You inherited a building and large membership. They must start from scratch. Even if you came in after a church split, you do not have the stress of starting everything from scratch. Stay humble. The first shall be last and the last shall be first. So, give God the glory.

13.            Do not complain about everything (for example, your salary, etc.). You came in saying that, “I’ll sweep the floors.” Keep that same humility you had when you were campaigning for the church.

14.            You may come into a church that is divided. Each faction may try to win you over. Do not take sides. Love everyone. Treat everyone fairly. You are to be a source of unity, not division.

15.            If the church has been in a denomination the last 60 years, do not come in and take them independent or into another denomination. If you feel led to be independent, then you should have started an independent church. Respect the heritage of the ministry that you have been appointed or elected to.

16.            The church may have long term relationships that have been developed before you got there. For example, it may be the tradition that the little community group in the neighborhood, always has the pastor of the church to come and give a Christmas homily on Christmas Day. Make the sacrifice and do it. Do not burn bridges that the church took many years to build

 

To be continued….

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41 Principles On Being Appointed/Elected To Pastor An Existing Church (Part 1 of 5)

 

41 Principles On Being Appointed/Elected To Pastor An Existing Church (Part 1 of 5)

 

1.               DO NOT take the former pastor’s picture down. Eventually (not right away) yours can be added.

2.               Do not speak ill of your predecessor, even if there were scandals. Say nothing vs reflecting negatively.

3.               Do not change the name of the church. Eventually, if you lead correctly, the people will have buy-in to your vision and may consider it.

4.               If the church has a lot of money in savings, that is NOT your money. Take classes on financial management, so that you do not go through the church’s savings in one year.

5.               The board of directors is in place on behalf of the interests of the church (organization), not the pastor. Rather than take an adversarial role, view them as a filter that considers all sides of a decision.

6.               There are influencers in the church. Do not resent the fact that members may look to these individuals, to consider whether they support something or not. Instead of seeking to destroy their influence, use your leadership and negotiation skills and win them over.

7.               Sis McGuire has played an accordion solo every Sunday for the last 40 years. Yes, it drives you up the wall. But, do not stop it right away. Your newer people may be glad you stopped it. But your people that have been there for many years, may be offended and withdraw support. Ask God for wisdom, for some kind of creative way, that Sis McGuire can yet use her gift; while keeping your worship experience from resembling the circus.

8.               Never say, “I don’t care what these people think.” The church is made up of people. So, what they think is important. Even Jesus inquired about what people think, “Who do men say that I the Son of Man am?”

 

To be continued…

 

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