a place for us to share ideas, talk about life, and learn together.
Have you ever just wanted your life to be different? If you could just take that away, of if you could just get this thing, or change that part of yourself. . . ? Do you feel trapped, stuck, or overwhelmed? Do you try to fill that empty part of your soul, but nothing has worked?
Listen to this message form Jeremiah chapter 1 where we will draw practical, real life applications for how we are to fulfill our God given reason for living.
Life can be different . . . yeah, it really can.
3-25-2014 Update
I wrote this article a little over two years ago. It was for the incoming youth pastor, and it was my desire to help him and to build a relationship with him. FBCV hired a new youth pastor a few weeks ago, and he will began this week. Most of the points of the article that I wrote earlier are still true (except for #6, I do to know what happened to the chair. It is probably on a garbage pile somewhere).
Jared, I will be praying for your ministry; you are about to begin a very rewarding and difficult journey. My two sons are looking to you to be their pastor. As their father I need you to do well. Men before you have laid a road that you must repair and move forward on. I will lay whatever bricks on that road you need, and carry whatever load needs to be carried. I want to help you in any way that I can. I will have your back, and I will love your family. I will put my shoulder to work and will move mountains for you. Your success is inseparably linked to mine. If you fail, I fail. If you win, I win (and my children). Too much time has been wasted, now it’s time to change the world. Let’s get going.
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Here’s the original article.
This coming Sunday, First Baptist Church Valdosta will vote to hire a new youth pastor after almost a year search process. Barring some unforeseen drama the church should vote to hire him. His office will be next to mine in the church, and I am wondering what is going through his head right now. I remember how nervous and apprehensive I was the first week I started.
I will get to move from “rookie†status and he will now sit in that chair (thanks man.) Since I am now a well-seasoned veteran after six months, I now feel fully capable of giving some advice, so here we go.
Tips for the “Rookie†staff person
1. Let people know what you are doing, especially your boss. This is not bragging, instead you are letting people know what direction you are headed. Because people have this information, they are able to warn you of troubled waters ahead, or how that did or did not work years ago the last time it was attempted. When people are informed there is less of a chance for people to read-into situations, your motives, or where you want the ministry to go. I have discovered at FBCV that with its many years of ministry there are few things that have not been before done in some form or another. Some of my “cutting edge†ideas are just re-packaged and re-branded ideas from years ago.[1]
2. Be aware of those that have served in your position before you. Sometimes this is good, and sometimes this is bad, but knowing what they were doing will help you to know what relationships you need to focus on, where you will need to spend your initial energy, and beginning steps into your ministry.
The initial first steps have the capability to put people at ease, or to exacerbate an already aggravated situation. You could also reach back to a well-run ministry before and link it to what you are doing to add some continuity to the ministry. With continuity (of success) brings predictability, with predictability brings trust, with trust ministries can be built. If the one serving before you did a poor job, then this trust building will take more time and vice versa.
3. Balance your life with ministry. There will be a huge temptation to make a huge impact as soon as you can. You will want to work long hours, go to every meeting, and get involved in everything. But remember that ministry is a marathon, not a sprint. In order for your ministry to be solid, long lasting, and life impacting your family has to be solid, long lasting, and life impacting. You will fall into a predictable work week before you know it.
Talk with your spouse about your commitments, scheduling, and how you plan to balance everything. Build some extra time into your schedule, because new and unpredictable things pop up constantly. If you have maxed out your schedule, you will be stressed to add one more meeting, one more counseling session, one more “opportunity†at the expense of a child’s ball game or concert.
That being said, work and get things done, when you need to work and get things done. If you slack and say, “I’ve got this extra time built in,†then it never fails that a crisis will arise when you also need to write a sermon, or teaching lesson, or whatever.
4. Remember you are apart of a team, a staff. When I first started at FBCV, I was contemplating setting up an office in the Children’s Building and just using the office in the main building as storage or something. But, I have now learned how bad of an idea that would have been. You need to stay plugged into what other staff are doing, and how you can help them (or they can help you.)
If everyone sets up offices all over the campus in their “areas†then there is little chance of people interacting with each other. It is that daily interaction and doing ministry together that creates a bond among the staff. If you rarely see each other on a weekly basis, then there is also little accountability. Offices are just an example of a mindset of how you will work with others.
Make the extra effort to engage them, ask them to go to lunch, spend time on the weekends with them, etc. Even though you are the “rookie†make the extra effort to be friendly. The staff are not there for you, you are a part of a team to serves the church as a whole. Take the first step to build a friendship, don’t wait on them.
5. You are a professional, be a professional. How you act, dress, and relate to people in the church environment directly impacts the rest of the staff and the direction the pastor is directing the church as a whole. You represent a larger congregation, and they are counting on you to lead in your area of responsibility and to be professional in how you do it. Be on time, dress nice, and think about what you say and how it will reflect upon others.
6. My office Chair. Along with all this information that I pass on to the “rookie,†I also pass on the office chair that was in my office when I got here. It needs a little “adjustment†and there are also some other ministry essentials (junk) that I moved out of my office to make your life easier. So, good luck with that.
Rookie, I hope this helps. My office is next door any time you want to roll over.
[1] Ecclesiastes 1:9 “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.â€
For the typical Southern Baptist Church there is the assumption that churches are working together if they are giving a portion of their budget to the Cooperative Fund. This is very important to their missions efforts, but there may be no actual work that is done (in person), where various personalities and talents work on a project or event in close proximity of each other. Â Too many times the first question we ask is, “how will this help our church?” or “Who will get credit for this?” Growing our churches seems to take the place of God receiving glory through our service in His name.
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So why should churches work together (in ways other than the financial pooling of funds)?
1) churches will gain a respect and genuine love for a body of believers other than their own local church. People have a tendency to value what they invest themselves into. If you give days to an effort and work long hours with others, there will develop an overall concern for the project to be a success.
This desire will overflow into a love for others who are also trying to make the effort a success. There will be a sense of camaraderie that will lend itself toward letting go of pride and “our church” and to see the church universally. That is not to say that an individual should not be a member of one church and be apart of that body through giving, service, fellowship, worship, etc. but joint efforts allow people to see beyond their own congregations.
2) churches accomplish more when they work together, than if they work separately. When resources, volunteers, and man hours are channeled toward the same efforts by different churches, the over all event or results is more than either could do by themselves.
Each person is a special and unique being created with their own personality, talents, gifts, life experiences, and countless other things that makes them different. There is no other “you” in another church. Churches are not made of the same personalities, doing the exact same roles or functions, just in different bodies of believers. There are pastors at every church, but there are no two pastors that are alike.
So when you combine all these different gifts, talents, life experiences, etc. it makes for a glimpse of heaven. Heaven will be a time when we will see all of God’s children gathered together to serve and worship Him, and we will all be unique and wonderfully made.
3) churches are able to share the joy of serving together. When a church has an event and experiences the joy that comes from service, that joy is confined only to the local body of believers. But when when churches work together, the joy is multiplied. Two churches are able to share in the joy of serving Jesus — and there is plenty of joy to go around.
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Today was Christmas Time at Camp Rock where First Baptist Church Valdosta and Redland Baptist joined together to serve foster families in 13 surrounding counties. The two churches were able to minister and share Christ’s love to hundreds and hundreds of children, siblings, and foster parents. These families were served a hot breakfast and lunch, hosted by Disney characters, pony rides, petting zoo, inflatables, carnival games, gingerbread houses, a drama group came and performed, various bands played, local high school coaches and football players came out, and all the children received a Christmas gift (plus much more). It was a time many will never forget.
For some this would be the only Christmas they would experience, and for many it was a magical day where they could forget about the pain and abuse they have suffered. One five year old foster child there today was left in her home for five days alone to fend for herself. It was on the fifth day that she was found by the authorities — who knows how long it would have been otherwise. Today she was loved and shown a magical day. Today she smiled. Today she smiled because two churches worked together.
One particular boy when he received his gift ran up on stage and looked at me right in the eye and almost yelling said, “thank you!” He was thanking me as if I were responsible for putting this whole thing together. It was then that I felt that love for all the volunteers from both churches that made the event happen. How could I say, “your welcome?” I pointed him to Pastor Jay Watkins, and said “that’s the guy you should thank.”
So from time to time put the church banners, brochures, postcards, pens and pencils, and promotional flyers away, and just focus on showing Christ’s love with a new Christian friend from another church family. Trust me, it’s a ton of fun.
Click here for an article regarding Christmas Time at Camp Rock.