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Church Growth
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Solving The Preacher Shortage
A Challenge to Return to the New Testament Pattern
In the following article, you will find the solution to a very important problem. Because this approach is based upon the pattern left by the First Century church, it is certain to solve the problem. But will we use it?
Ironically, those who claim to be most like the early church, those of the restoration movement, often look past this important biblical pattern. Instead, they follow after the design presented within Catholicism. Allow me to explain.
Within 100 years after the church began, the conditions that Paul warned against in Acts 20:28-31 began to occur. Elders started tampering with God’s organization of the church. Local elderships elected “head elders” to serve over them on regional councils. These councils led to further distractions from God’s plan, and in 325 A.D., the first human creed or man-made laws were passed down by the bishops to govern the church. Eventually, head bishops were elected to rule over the “head elders”. On and on the removal went until, in 606 A.D., a single human head of the church was selected to rule over the body of Christ.
Sadly, the restoration movement has not done nearly enough to correct this departure from God’s organization of the church. Names have changed but the pyramid of power has remained the same and so have the divisive power struggles within the body of Christ. (See the chart in the box at the top of this article.)
At the top of the Catholic-like power structure, a small elite group of individuals makes decisions which are passed down through the ranks until they reach the average member. Being at the bottom of this man-made pyramid, the majority of members feel unneeded, overlooked and uninvolved. As a result, the members often do one of two things: 1. They passively grow less and less involved and then die spiritually or 2. They challenge the departure from God’s plan but are rebuffed as troublemakers. This Catholic clone to church organization leads only to a bureaucratic nightmare of power struggles, religious politics and ugly church splits. Which is precisely what many congregations are experiencing today.
At the top of this article you will also see a diagram of the biblical pattern for church organization.
Deacons - The word literally means servant. New Testament deacons were given authority over materialistic areas of the church, since the spiritual leadership did not have time to “wait on tables”. (Acts 6:2) Because their role is materialistic in nature, they should not be viewed as junior elders-in-training. Although they rank no lower or higher than other members, they are shown here trailing the others to illustrate their job of service.
Other members - A wise leadership will not only listen to its membership, but will also involve them in the decision-making process. See Acts 6:1-4. This approach not only keeps members involved, it also promotes unity within the family.
Elders - The eldership does not rank any higher or lower than the other members of the church since we are “all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28) However, because elders have proven their ability to be good family leaders, God has placed them in front of the church to guide the family of God toward Heaven. Elders are like spiritual point men. They search the trail ahead for pitfalls and traps that could harm those who are following. To do this they must not be distracted by petty materialistic issues like the budget or property management. This is not the work of a shepherd!
At this point, you are no doubt wondering how this relates to the problem of a preacher shortage. Did you notice that, in the previous discussion, the office of the preacher was never addressed? There is a very good reason for this. The office of a located preacher is not part of the New Testament pattern. Instead, preaching is addressed as a function of certain Christians not an office within the local church.
Just as restoration congregations have often adapted church organization to fit the pyramid of power, they have also adapted the offices within the local church to include a paid preacher. The New Testament example is absent of any such position.
At this point, I encourage you to employ a Bible concordance and notice each reference where the word preach is used. In almost every instance, the context addresses a function not a position.
I Corinthians 9:1-18 is one of the few places that gives instruction on the position of a preacher. However, upon further investigation, it is discovered that the context is addressing apostles and evangelists who travel among different churches. See verses 3-6 and especially the phrase “take...along with us” in verse 5. The same is true of Romans 10:15.
Perhaps the closest thing we have to a New Testament example of a located preacher is when Paul visited Ephesus. Yet, even then we know that it was not God’s plan for him to remain there in such a capacity. Instead, he appointed elders and charged them to care for the congregation when he was gone. Ironically, Paul stayed in Ephesus approximately the same amount of time that the average preacher stays at one congregation today.
At best, the average preacher of today is only temporary help. He stays just long enough to get to know the congregation. Just long enough to make close friends and outspoken enemies. Then, just as his foundation of familiarity is established, the rug is pulled out from under him and the walking papers are delivered. Because he is the paid help and has little to no pull or security within the church bureaucracy, his hand is forced and down the road he is sent. What a tragic way to operate the church!
But what if preaching was viewed not so much as a position but as a function? What if elders stopped running the church and started leading the church? What if elders became the ones who stood before their congregations every week and provided spiritual instruction through sermons and classes? What if elders accepted the responsibility of being the primary instructors of their flock rather than hiring a much younger man who lacks life experiences and is only trained in book learning to do their job for them?
What if elders were the ones who provided marital counseling and parenting classes? What if elders pursued those who are delinquent from the services or backsliding in their faith. What if elders spent no time with building buildings and all of their time with building lives?
You see, all of the things we have just mentioned typically fall under the job description of the preacher. The preacher visits the sick, confronts the backslidden, counsels the broken-hearted, holds the hand of the bereaved. It is the preacher who leaves his bed in the middle of the night to help chase down a member’s wayward teenager. It is the preacher that cries with the family when a grandparent dies. It is the preacher who gives the pre-marital advice on what makes a marriage work and then stands before the couple on one of the most important days of their lives. Since the preacher does all of this, is there any wonder why the membership often follows him like a shepherd? Is it really that hard to understand why they leave when he does?
What if, instead of bonding with the preacher, the members looked to the elders to guide them through life’s difficult moments? What if preaching was a function of the elders not an office of the hired help? What if elders were the ones that comforted families through the death of a loved one or gave the advice that saved marriages? What if elders were truly viewed as the shepherds they are called to be?
And Then There Are Evangelists.
The word evangelist literally means “a messenger of good news”. In the New Testament, evangelists traveled among the established churches offering encouragement and inspirational messages of hope and good news. Matthew Henry’s Commentary says they were men who “went about to plant and water churches”. (from Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1991 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.)
Why should it not be the same today? During the most prosperous days of the restoration movement, the circuit-riding preacher was the modern equivalent of the First Century evangelist. Imagine the possibilities if modern restoration churches would return to this part of the New Testament pattern.
What if, instead of relying on the same preacher every Sunday, the elders conducted the weekly services and then periodically brought in an evangelist to motivate the congregation and ignite a spiritual revival? Consider just a few of the problems this would solve:
1. The visiting evangelist could speak with passion and full conviction. A located preacher often feels compelled to speak half truths or to tickle the ears of his listeners in order to protect his family from another move.
2. This would force more involvement among the members. The elders would be expected to be the primary feeders of the flock and other men would be compelled to step up and study in order to present messages. The variety alone would be enough to encourage church attendance.
3. Elders would be compelled to be more than just a board of directors. By being intimately involved with each of their sheep, they would foster trust and admiration. Then when difficult decisions had to be made, their flock would follow out of faith rather than dessert out of disgust.
4. Imagine the money that could be saved and spent on local evangelistic outreach and foreign missions.
Conclusion
It is unlikely that the solutions offered in this article are words that you expected or wanted to hear. For some, these measures would require radical change and for others they are simply unacceptable. It is hard to let go of the old familiar ways. But before ending this article, let me ask you to do something important. Pause right now and count the number of restoration churches you know that are going backwards in attendance. How long will it take for them to close their doors? How many elders do you know who are truly doing the work of a shepherd? How many located preachers do you know who have full freedom to speak with unbridled conviction? How many times have you heard someone say, “I remember the day when meetings lasted for more than a week and the building couldn’t hold the crowd?”
I would like to go back to those days wouldn’t you? Perhaps the restoration movement is in need of some more restoration. The preacher shortage could be solved in short order if we would returned to the pattern left by the First Century church. Let’s go back.
Below is another article. It challenges the church's traditonally correct view of evangelism. I hope that you will read it also and write me with your thoughts.
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Don't Invite Them To Church!
As I travel across the nation speaking about soul winning and evangelism, I am often asked to recommend my favorite program or book on church growth. My response is not often what the questioner expects to hear. “Church growth does not depend upon fancy programs or best-selling books. The recipe for church growth is so simple that most of us dismiss it as being too good to be true. Jesus taught it, the early church used it and nearly every other growing congregation since that time has done the same. The best way to win souls is to make friends. Ours is not a religion of coersion. Ours is a religion of friendship. We make friends and then we introduce those friends to our best friend, Jesus.
Someone wiser than I pointed out that, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” No other subject known to man is more personal than the discussion of his eternal soul. To engage them in such a conversation, you must first prove your friendship.
In Luke 19:10, Jesus said that the reason He came into the world was "to seek and to save that which was lost." Before ascending back into Heaven, He passed along the same assignment to His followers. (Matthew 28:19-20 ; Mark 16:15-16)
It is an awesome responsibility to learn that the world is eternally lost without knowing Christ and that we are the only ones capable of introducing Him to them. It is estimated that every 21 seconds someone on our planet dies without knowing Jesus. In some areas of the world, people recognize the brand name Coke but have never heard about the Christ. There is much work to be done and many friends to be made.
Perhaps the greatest distraction to effective evangelism in the church today is our view of who saves. From the very first time I remember hearing a sermon on reaching the lost, I also remember hearing the instructions, "Invite them to church!" Our entire soul-winning approach seems to be based upon introducing the lost to us. We have Gospel meetings, attendance drives, "bring a friend" days and a host of other special events designed to get people into our buildings and introduce them to the collective assembly. Although this approach may seem effective, the decline in our numbers would suggest otherwise.
When we use "Invite them to church!" as our primary evangelistic approach, several problems persist:
1. When "Invite them to church!" is our primary evangelistic approach, it often promotes spiritual laziness, irresponsibility and fewer laborers. Instead of each Christian becoming a soul-winner, we turn the job over to those in charge of the worship service. We even passify our conscience by telling ourselves that the preacher is better trained to do the job, and besides he is being paid for it. Imagine what could be accomplished if every Christian would do the job God called them into.
I Peter 3:15 tells Christians, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that is in you." (NIV) The best person to share the hope that you have found in Christ is not the preacher. It is you! Personal one-on-one discussions and witnessing to the ways God has worked in your life, are the very best ways to draw others into a relationship with Jesus. Fancy sermons and elaborate worship services are rarely enough by themselves to lead a person to Christ. These simply capitalize on a foundation that was already laid by the example and witness of others.
2. When "Invite them to church!" is our primary evangelistic approach, it cripples intimate family worship. One of the greatest keys to effective worship is understanding our "sonship" to God and relationship with Christ. (Romans 8:15-16 NIV) The lost do not have this relationship and, therefore, it is impossible for them to worship as effectively as the saved. If worship services are used as the primary thrust for our evangelism, then many of the needs of the saved cannot be effectively met.
Like a mother who spends the entire day with children and longs for a mature conversation when her husband arrives home, Christians often long for mature conversations with their spiritual husband, Jesus Christ. As a member of the family, your place at the supper table is always reserved. You feel comfortable at this table and meals are often prepared according to the ways that best inspire your tastebuds. Occasionally, a visitor is invited to the table and procedures are altered to accomodate their needs. But this is not the typical family meal. Most meals are prepared with the family in mind. Although witnessing our worship may encourage the lost to desire "sonship", that is not the primary purpose of the church's worship service. Collective worship services, like family supper time, should be intimate, comfortable and designed to meet the needs of the family.
3. When "Invite them to church!" is our primary evangelistic approach, it places the saved ahead of the Savior. When meeting an individual for the first time, what is the very first thing you see? Eye contact is made, smiles are exchanged and other facial expressions are used to offer greetings. The head is the place that all appropriate introductions begin.
The church would do well to remember that we do not save. Jesus is the head of the church. It is by His name alone that we are saved. It is not because we have selected His name as part of our favorite title or painted it on the sign outside our building. Salvation comes because His name is written upon our heart. God adds to His church those who are being saved. (Acts 2:47)
For years I was taught that the Lord's church had many descriptions such as, "bride of Christ", "body of Christ", "church of Christ", "church of the Firstborn", etc. I was instructed by good Restoration preachers that all of these names were appropriate as long as they gave glory to Jesus and not to man. Then, one day I learned of several baptism-believing, communion-on-the-first-day-of-the-week Restoration congregations in the mid-west. They called themselves Christ's Church instead of the traditionally correct Church of Christ. Although uncomfortable at first with their break from tradition, I had to remind myself of their freedom to use this name as long as it was expedient and gave glory to Christ. The name Christ's Church certainly did give Christ the glory and it was, after all, simply the 21st Century way of saying the old English phrase Church of Christ. I concluded that Christ's Church was an appropriate name even though my long history of traditonally correct jargon felt threatened by it.
As a reader, it is likely that you are also challenged by this change in tradition. You need to know that, much like the Pharisees of old, manipulative powers within the church have made it very difficult on these congregations. They are often shunned, confronted and even persecuted, not because of doctrinal error but because they have used a name other than the one that has become a rock of traditional correctness. Why is this so? Could it be, that we, like those in the hierarchy of Catholicism, are obsessed with conformity to the church instead of conformity to Christ? Could it be that our focus is too much on the body and not enough on the Head?
Your author is convinced that one of the reasons many of our evangelistic approaches are failing is that they are just that, our approaches. We want the world to see what we are doing. We want the world to take notice of us. We try to draw them to Christ by standing in front of Him. The world is not responding to Christ's invitation, because the invitation is not always to Christ. Our introduction is flawed. Of course we want the world to be drawn into our collective assemblies. Of course it is important for them to see how God's people act and worship. But before they can truly appreciate the body, they must first meet the Head.
Don’t Invite Them To Church, Invite Them To Christ!
To effectively introduce Jesus to the world, individual, one-on-one sharing must occur. There is no subject more personal or topic more intimate than the discussion of the conditon of one's soul. Group introductions are fine for some things, but when it comes to a discussion that is this intimate in nature, the smaller the group the better. Salvation is best discussed among friends.
Consider the three following keys to friendship evangelism:
1. Get Ready - To prepare ourselves for evangelism, we must first empty our hearts of all selfish desires and fill ourselves with the love of Jesus. Notice the following passages:
Matthew 12:34 (NIV)
"For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks."
Matthew 6:21
"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Galatians 2:20 (NIV)
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
If our hearts are filled with Jesus, our lives will be a walking billboard advertising His love.
"I want a divorce!" the woman sobbed. After months of coming to counseling by herself, a woman finally decided to end the marriage. Just to get back at her neglectful husband, the marriage counselor
suggested that she take a few weeks and make her husband feel like he was living in Heaven on earth. Then, after he was sufficiently spoiled, she was to pull the rug out from under him by announcing her decision to get a divorce. He would be devastated and she would have her revenge. Hurt, and wanting to get even, the woman agreed to the plan.
That night, the woman prepared her husband's favorite meal. When he arrived home from work, she greeted him at the door with the newspaper, led him over to his recliner, removed his shoes and put his slippers on his feet. "Just sit back and relax," she suggested. "Supper will be ready in just a few minutes." The husband was puzzled, but being the masculine silent type, he sat back and soaked it all up without saying a word.
For a solid week, the woman waited on her husband hand and foot, treating him like a king in his own castle. Then one day something startling happened. The doorbell rang and, when the woman answered it, she was shocked to see a delivery man with a bouquet of roses in his hand. The card simply read, "Your Husband". The next day, following supper, the husband actually cleared the table and then told his wife to go relax while he washed the dishes. The following morning, the woman found a heart-shaped card taped to the bathroom mirror containing a $50 bill and a message which read, "Buy something special, you deserve it! P.S. I love you."
Several months passed and one day the woman bumped into the marriage counselor at the mall. "Why didn't you return to work out plans for your divorce?" the man asked. After explaining the unexpected results of their scheme for revenge, the woman finished, "We've never been more in love! I treat him like a king and he treats me like a queen. We'll never get a divorce as long as this keeps up!"
The key to the happy ending in the story above is this - by dying to their own selfish desires and allowing their partner's desire to reign in their heart, the couple found unity in serving each other. Jesus served us by leaving the throne room of Heaven to come to Earth and die on an old rugged cross. Will we return His love by dying to our own selfish desires so that Christ can live in us?
Some say, "I don't have the ability to evangelize!" "Yes, you do!" is my response. Give that same person a brand new grandbaby and they will evangelize the entire community with how precious that little child is to them. They will show pictures to total strangers and preach the child's value to everyone they meet.
Our failure to evangelize is not because we lack ability. Our failure to evangelize is because we lack inspiration. When we truly fill our hearts with Christ and are overwhelmed by the power of His great love, evangelism will be as natural as talking about our children or our grandchildren.
Get ready. Fill your heart with Jesus.
2. Get Relaxed - When the world looks into the heart of a Christian, they expect to find something different than the cold, angry, stress-filled conditions of the world. Jesus said in John 13 that by having a different condition of the heart, we would prove to the world that we were His disciples. Thus, the opposite must also be true. If the church offers nothing more than another place to find stress, unrest, insincerity and division, the world will conclude that we are not Christ's disciples and look elsewhere for relief.
Notice the words of Jesus. "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34-35 NIV)
A well-trained diathalon contestant can ski for miles in the blistering snow and then pause to shoot a target dead center from many yards away. I'm told that one of the most valuable parts of diathalon training is learning to bring one's body under control by relaxation. Some diathalon athletes actually learn to relax so deeply that, as they hear their heart beat, they are trained to squeeze the trigger in between beats.
Christians could learn a great deal from the diathalon athlete. We are often too impatient to be effective. We expect worldly people to get upset while standing in a slow checkout line or following behind a slow driver. But, far too often, Christians are not very different. We blow our horns, growl at the cashier and rush through life just like the rest of the world. Where is the difference? Living in this way, what do we have to offer that is any different from the stress-filled world? Athiests love others just like Christians. What then sets us apart? It is not just love that should make a Christian different, it is learning to love under pressure. Christians who are truly effective at sharing their faith have also learned to relax. They present to the world a lifestyle filled with peace, confidence and love under pressure.
One need not memorize unnatural techniques to be a great soul winner. Christians are not asked to overwhelm people with a sales pitch like a used car salesman or to be rudely persistant like a telemarketer. Relax! Lean back in the arms of Christ, enjoy the Christian life and take advantage of the opened doors that God provides.
Get relaxed. Fill your heart with Jesus.
3. Get Real - In Acts 9:15, God calls Saul His "chosen instrument" (NIV). Notice the verse, "But the Lord said to Ananias, 'Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kinds and before the people of Israel.’" Every effective soul winner understands that they are simply an instrument in the hands of God. It is not up to us to save the world. It is our job to let God use us while He saves the world.
As one who frequently attends soul winning workshops, I have often experienced the guilt of not living up to the speaker's lofty challenges. I once heard a preacher say that if a Christian were seated next to a stranger on an airplane and did not speak to them about their soul, they should find that person and apologize. I remember hearing another speaker tell of how he met a lady in the grocery store, and before getting to the checkout line he had convinced her to be bapitzed. On and on the stories would go and tighter and tighter the guilt would grip my heart. Because of that guilt, I would often force myself to make unnatural attempts at soul winning. Over and over again doors were slammed in my face and a frustrated discouragement was the only result.
It was at about that time in my ministry that I heard some fantastic lessons on making evangelism natural. I was told that not everyone approaches people in the same way and that God did not expect me to attack people with a "sales pitch." I was reassured to find out that I was simply God's tool and that, if I would let Him use me, He would guide me into situations where I too could be effective.
During the search for my evangelistic identity, I came to view II Corinthians 12:9-10 differently. "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficultites. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (NIV) Always before I had been drawn to the superficial parts of this passage - Paul had a problem, he prayed three times for it to be removed and God said, "No." Then I started looking deeper into the passage and examining God's reason for saying no to Paul's request. Here was one of the most prolific soul winners of all history, yet he, like me, was struggling with his effectiveness. "If only God would remove this distraction from my life," Paul must have thought to himself. "Maybe then I could reach more people." In prayer after prayer Paul asked God to remove this thorn. Then it occurred to him, "When I am weak, then I am strong." It was not his job to create circumstances. It was his job to work within the circumstances that God had created. Like a lifeline to an astronaut, the "thorn" kept Paul connected to the real source of his strength. Without it, he may have become self-confident and attempted to move forward without God.
In one way or another, we all have thorns in the flesh. Some of them are there by our own design and need to be removed for us to be effective. Others are there by God's allowance and need to be honored as His way of keeping us close. Whatever your hangup or thorn in the flesh, get real with God. Share with Him your desire to be an important tool in His work. Ask Him to remove the thorns that are there because of selfishness, but to keep the ones that are there to protect you from yourself.
Remember, evangelism is not so much what you do but who you are. Get ready. Get relaxed. Get real. Let soul winning be a natural expression of your relationship with Christ. Evangelism is a lifestyle. Are you living it?
Growing Old GRACEfully
For the Sake of the Church
As the parent of a toddler and a teenager, few things are more encouraging or discouraging than the example of older generation Christians. Some provide tremendous illustrations of how grace born through adversity can create within a person a sweet, sweet nature. Others seem to be walking examples of how life’s experiences can turn one sour.
Years ago, former First Lady, Hillary Clinton, wrote a book entitled, “It Takes A Village.” Although I have sharp disagreements with her on most issues, including this one, within the title of this book she does point toward an important idea. Social success does not take a politically correct village, but it does take a spiritually correct church.
When the Lord places His children into the fellowship of believers, He intends for that family to be responsible for each other. Older brothers and sisters in Christ should think of themselves as spiritual grandparents to every child within their congregation. Obviously, they do not have the same impact upon the children as do their parents. But believe you me, as one of those young parents, I can say with certainty, that senior saints who live in the grace of God bring a welcomed and greatly needed impact into our family circle.
We often think of the future of the church as being bound up in the hearts of the young. However, if the future is bound up in the hearts of the young, then the future is also wound up in the hands of the old. Like an old-fashioned top that spins across the floor, it is the initial winding of the string that gives it power and longevity. The top will fly with energy and it will spin with grace but only if it is first wound properly.
In Psalms 127:3-5 (NIV) the Holy Spirit of God inspired these words, “Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate.”
In this wonderful passage, children are compared to arrows that are shot toward a place the archer may never visit himself. But, even though the archer is left behind when the arrow is launched, the distance the arrow travels, the place the arrow lands and ultimately the impact the arrow has upon arrival are all pre-determined by the skill of the archer.
Parents are here challenged to aim their children in the right direction. We are called upon to prepare our children for a world which we may never visit ourselves. We are asked to impact the future by caring for the present.
This awesome task can only be successful if the archer has had a good teacher. The senior saint is commanded to be that teacher. (Titus 2:1-5) The future of the Lord’s church is wound up in the hands of the older generation. Please help us launch our arrows successfully.
The material which follows is, in short, the humble beggings of a young parent. I need to see the positive impact of God’s grace on the senior years. My children need to see the uplifting example of God’s grace carrying senior saints across the finish line of life. For the sake of the Lord’s church, please show us how to grow old GRACEfully.
Because of the vital nature of this subject, we have dedicated an entire page around this theme. Above is the introduction. To read the complete article, please go to the “Growing Old GRACEfully” page of this site.
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