Grace & Peace Magazine - Winter 2019

A D I A LO G I CA L R E S O U RC E FO R N A Z A R E N E C L E R GY

ISSUE 19 | WINTER 2019

Ministry in a Connected Culture

U S A / CA N A D A R E G I O N , C H U R C H O F T H E N A Z A R E N E

GRACEANDPEACEMAGAZINE.ORG

J U LY 10 -1 4 , 2 0 19 # NY C1 9G O N YC201 9.C O M

Mi ni s tr y i n a Co nne c te d Cu l t u re A QUARTERLY MAGAZINE OF THE USA/CANADA REGION CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE

Grace & Peace Winter 2019, Issue 19 www.graceandpeacemagazine.org Bob Broadbooks USA/Canada Regional Director Managing Editor | Charles W. Christian > CChristian@nazarene.org Associate Editor | Jeanette Gardner Littleton > GPmagazine@nazarene.org Assistant Editor | Rebecca Rodeheaver > GPmagazine@nazarene.org Layout & Design | Caines Design - JR Caines ADVERTISING OR OTHER INQUIRIES PLEASE CONTACT: CChristian@nazarene.org or call (913) 577-2837

This publication is a dialogical resource for pastors and ministry practitioners affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene. Its purpose is to increase ministry effectiveness, stimulate theological and missional reflection, and promote healthy dialogue among its print and online readership. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced without written permission from the managing editor. Among other things, Grace & Peace Magazine commits to the following priorities for its readership: leadership development, theological identity, new church development, missional outreach, and church renewal.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the NIV: From The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® (NIV), copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Our Perspective: We seek to continue the tradition of the early Church of the Nazarene that sought to integrate the diverse theological and methodological voices in the church.

We seek to be a movement of people who care about the same things, but not in the same way. Yet, always maintaining that difference is not the savior—Christ is.

We seek to be informed by missiology and cultural anthropology, which gives permission to innovate and seek renewal. We want to be open to listen, value, and pay attention to a variety of structures, missions, and programs, while affirming our commitment to the Wesleyan theological tradition. We seek methodological innovation in response to a changing culture as we work to make Christlike disciples in the nations.

Questions? Email the editor at GPeditor@nazarene.org.

Endorsed by: Wesleyan Theological Society, Wesleyan Holiness Consortium USA/Canada Regional Office Church of the Nazarene 17001 Prairie Star Parkway Lenexa, KS 66220

About the cover: J.R. Caines, designer One of the strongest examples of servant leadership in the Bible is Jesus washing the feet of the disciples. In this composition, the yellow circle represents holiness and is centered around Jesus’ head in a way that is reminiscent of how renaissance artists highlighted the holy family. The blue circle represents service in the action of washing feet. They meet in the middle in the representation of a Venn diagram where the subjects are making contact with one another. The idea here is that holiness and service overlap in the relationships we have with one another.

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C O N T E N T S

G & P I S S U E 1 9

WINTER 2019

I N VO C AT I O N : Holy A d m i n i st rat i on by Ch a r le s W. Ch r i sti a n

3

Welcome to 2019! by Bob and Carol Broadbooks

4

The Captain and the Crew by Stan Rodes

8

Transformational Leadership and Administration in Worship by Sharon Norman

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Speaking of Money . . . by Mark Lail

16

Attentive Leadership in New Settings by Jeremy W. Selvidge

20

GP INTERVIEW: Lasting Leadership: An interview with John C. Bowling

22

RESOURCE ALERT: Revision

25

RESOURCE ALERT: Best Practices for Effective Boards Best Practices for Effective Boards Excerpt

26 27

Christian Leadership as Spirit-Led Transformation by William Sawyer

30

Leading Through Sermon Preparation by Denise Burns

32

Learning to Dance by Jason Buckwalter

34

THE PASTOR’S SPOUSE: Let’s Take a Hike by Jill Barber

36

SEMINARY SPOTLIGHT

38

GP INTERVIEW: Leadership and Administration in a Diverse Church: An interview with Josue Tiguila

42

The Educational Needs of Black Ministers by Charles A. Tillman

44

B O O K R E V I E W: Develop Intercultural Competence Revi ewe d by Ma r y E li za b e th Wa te rs-S mi th

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B E N E D I CT I O N : Leading Through Priorities by Bo b Bro a d b o o ks

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N E W S : 6- 7

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FROM THE EDITOR

H O LY A D M I N I S T R AT I O N ?

T

wo words that are almost never seen in the same sentence are “holy” and “administration.” How can something so tedious have anything to do with holiness?

Yet, we learn in Scripture that God is a God who makes order out of chaos (see Genesis 1). Indeed, God is described as bringing peace out of chaos (1 Corinthians 14:33).

Before His ascension, Jesus told the disciples that they would be witnesses in “Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). This becomes an outline of the spread of the early church throughout the Book of Acts and beyond.

God’s version of organization is not always neat and tidy! Ministry is messy. Life is messy. Those who seek to impose their own ways onto God’s mission find frustration. In other words, God has a plan that is orderly and peace-filled, but it does not always come about in convenient ways. The disciples in Acts did indeed start in Jerusalem and move to Judea and Samaria and beyond. However, the ways in which they moved were not always as they planned, and the people they reached did not always fit into comfortable organizational charts.

This issue of Grace & Peace takes a look at transformational leadership administration from a theological perspective. Some pastors reading this issue will prefer organizational charts and neatly arranged columns and rows.

Others of us will read this with an initial disinterest, because organization and administration are outside of our natural areas of gifting. The good news is that there is a place for all of us in service of God’s kingdom, and when those of us who are strong administrators get discouraged with the messiness of ministry, He is there.

Likewise, when those of us who prefer the “messiness” and are not well gifted in administration are called toward those tasks of our job, God is there for us, too!

There are no magic formulas for becoming a strong administrator or a strong leader. We do have the promise of the presence of a Savior who, by His Spirit, can allow us to become what we have been created to be. This begins with the realization that through the Body of Christ—the Church—we can find the variety of gifts and strengths needed to carry forth the mission of Christ together, as God intended from the beginning.

You will note in this issue that we utilize the insights of several of our Global Ministry Center leaders. As we start a new year, we thought you would enjoy hearing from the heart of several at the GMC who are entrusted with administrative leadership to guide our conversations. We will also highlight M19, which is right around the corner and promises to be transformational for all of us!

In my pastoral ministry, I was never a strong administrator. I could do that work, but it did not come easily to me. So, I learned to seek those whose gifts were different from mine; those whose gifts provided a complement to the gifts I have. Like most pastors, I struggle with what it means to be a leader. With so many competing models out there, it is easy to take my eyes off of the model that Jesus provides and focus on the latest leadership guru! I have a strong sense that I am not alone in finding my way when it comes to administration and leadership.

If you are nodding as you read this, welcome to this issue of GP. May it provide words of instruction, comfort, and peace.

CHARLES W. CHRISTIAN

Managing Editor

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W E L C O M E T O 20 1 9!

This year, we at the Church of the Nazarene USA/Canada give thanks for the following that happened in 2018: 1. The nearly 48,000 new believers through the ministry of our 5,126 churches.

2. Many men, women and children being called to prayer.

3. The growing number of new churches started in the USA and Canada.

4. The thousands of local licensed and district licensed ministers as they continue the process of preparation and formation toward ordination.

5. The 10 new district superintendents and their spouses who were appointed or elected in the past year.

6. The many college students who are graduating with degrees in religion and other professions, with hearts that desire to be involved in bi-vocational ministry.

7. The generosity of the Nazarenes who give toward the Nazarene Compassion Ministries disaster fund.

8. The more than 37 reported districts that have overpaid the World Evangelism Fund because they believe in our mission of making Christlike disciples in the nations.

9. More and more churches that have discovered effective ways of reaching into their communities with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

10. The rediscovery of our holy compassion that thrusts us into the city streets of our metro areas.

11. The protection of our general superintendents, district superintendents, and their spouses as they travel throughout the country and the world.

12. The emphasis on prayer and evangelism that is growing in our region.

Courtesy of Bob and Carol Broadbooks

“Therefore by Him let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.”

—Hebrews 13:15

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“I wish I would have known these things 25 years ago. I would be in a different place today.” L.B. “We have transferred more money into our savings account this second quarter than we have ever done in our 10 years of marriage.” R.W.

M19 OFFERS ORGANIC OUTREACH PRE-CONFERENCE

USA/Canada Regional Director Dr. Bob Broadbooks and the M19 leaders have announced the addition of a February 11 pre-conference seminar to accompany the M19 Conference in Kansas City on February 11-13, 2019. The seminar, Organic Outreach for Churches: Infusing Evangelistic Passion into Your Local Congregation will feature church growth experts Kevin Harney, Walt Bennett, and Sherry Harney.

Harney is an author of Empowered by His Presence and other books, a speaker, and the lead pastor of Shoreline Community Church in Monterey, California. Kevin is also Visionary Leader of Organic Outreach International, and cofounder of the organization with his wife, Sherry. Sherry is the Leadership Development Director at Shoreline Community Church and has authored books and study guides, as well as collaborating with Kevin. They will be joined by Walt Bennett, the executive pastor for Organic Outreach International and pastor for Shoreline Community Church, who has also held significant training roles in the U.S. Navy, public schools, and the corporate world.

This pre-conference event is designed to provide direction to church and district leaders who want to graft evangelistic passion and practice onto the DNA of their churches. Those who attend can learn how to heal their churches, find organic ways to connect with their communities, share Jesus’ message, and point people to the Savior of the world.

The cost for the pre-conference is $25 per person. For more information or to register, go to M19conference.org. If you have already registered for M19, click here and choose “Already Registered.” Use your M19 confirmation number to add a pre-conference to your registration.

NYI GROWING YOUNG PRE-CONFERENCE AT M19 Arrive early for M19 for the Growing Young pre-conference, Feb. 11, 2019 from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Through Fuller Youth Institute’s groundbreaking project, Growing Young, participants in the event will explore six core commitments held in common by churches that capture the hearts of young people. Presenters Brad Griffin and Keegan Lenker will help participants gain a host of practical ideas and strategies to implement.

Learn more at M19conferenc.org.

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M19 TO FEATURE VARIOUS EVENTS OF INTEREST Military Chaplain Fellowship, Monday, Feb. 11, after the plenary session.

For information contact Don Wilson, wilson@nazarene.org.

Young Clergy Reception, Monday, Feb. 11, after the plenary session.

For information, contact Clergy Development at 913-577-2840.

Women Clergy will meet for fellowship Tuesday, Feb. 12, at 8 a.m.

For more information, contact Clergy Development at 913-577-2840.

Young Preachers will be given a chance to share short sermons for feedback from seasoned preachers.

For more information, contact Tammy Carter, TCarter@nazarene.org.

The Nazarene Association of Church Planters (NACP) will meet on Tuesday, Feb. 12, from 4:30 to 6:45 p.m.

The dinner will only be $10, subsidized by the office of Evangelism and New Church Development, Nazarene Theological Seminary, and Market Place Ministries, and will feature Jerry and Toni Porter.

For information, contact Steve Suttles at SSuttles@nazarene.org or 913-577-2862.

NTS will host a tour and dinner on their campus on Tuesday, Feb. 12, from 4:45 to 6:15 p.m. for prospective students.

For information, see www.nts.edu/event/explore-nts/.

NTS Alumni will gather Tuesday, Feb. 12, after the plenary session for a reception.

For information, contact Dana Preusch, dpreusch@nts.edu.

ELDI HOLDS SECOND GRADUATION The Ethnic Leadership Development Initiative (ELDI), led by the USA/ Canada Multicultural Ministries team and Life and Leadership Development Coaches Rev. Errol and Dr. Rhonda Carrim, recently graduated its second cohort with 14 participants. The project aims to intentionally develop leaders from the various ethnic ministry groups under the umbrella of Multicultural Ministries.

REBECCA RODEHEAVER JOINS GRACE & PEACE STAFF The Grace & Peace editorial team recently welcomed Rebecca Rodeheaver on staff as assistant editor. A current student at Nazarene Theological Seminary, Rodeheaver is also worship pastor at Shawnee Church of the Nazarene in Shawnee, Kansas. Rebecca specializes in managing contracts and content editing for Grace & Peace magazine and other USA/Canada Region projects.

NYC MOMENTUM BUILDS Momentum continues to build as new registrations for Nazarene Youth Conference 2019, next summer in Phoenix, Arizona, pour in each day. Over the past two months we have begun to introduce the speakers, concert artists, worship band, and pastors who will guide students during their time at NYC 2019.

Check out NYC2019.com to see the most recent announcements or contact your district’s NYC coordinator.

GRACEANDPEACEMAGAZINE.ORG / 7

THE CAPT AND THE CREW TAKING CHURCH ADMINISTRATION TO THE BEST LEVEL

by

Stan Rodes

I

f we’re honest, the administrative side of pastoral ministry sometimes feels like a ball and chain. It slows us down and seems to hold us back. Crossing every “T” and dotting each “I” is as tedious as being stuck behind someone taking a Sunday afternoon drive during Monday morning’s rush hour.

It’s an impediment, a nuisance, a distraction to our real calling—an invasive disruption on the true work of the Kingdom.

What if administrating the local church was actually a core component of pastoral care? What if administration turned out to be front-line Kingdom work after all?

What if there’s more to administration than identifying details and organizing actions into a sequence?

In

the

Trenches

In the day-to-day life of a congregation, the administrative trenches are where the vision we are implementing encounters

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real people who possess a mix of strengths, backgrounds, personalities, training, and idiosyncrasies.1 These trenches tend to get a bit muddy no matter how clear the vision. Just how messy it gets has much to do with the vision we have for church administration.

Listening

to the

Crew

On December 28, 1978, United Airlines Flight 173 began its descent into Portland, Oregon, for an on-time arrival. The plane never made it to the runway. It landed just outside the city, just over an hour past its scheduled arrival, leveling two houses and dozens of trees. Twenty-four passengers were seriously injured and ten others lost their lives. The craft simply ran out of fuel. As Captain McBroom focused on a variety of concerns, crewmember warnings about fuel levels fell on deaf ears. The Transportation Safety Board reported, “This accident exemplifies a recurring problem—a

TAIN E church, we must avoid the dangerous choice of failing to develop trust in the crew of leaders and workers God has given us. Here are three leadership approaches that can cause us to miss the runway.

T h e S il e n c e r

breakdown in cockpit management and teamwork during a situation involving malfunctions of aircraft systems.”2 Is this happening at your church?

When it comes to developing a kingdomshaped vision for administration, trust and shared purpose are chief concerns. When these are wired together well, good things happen. When they are not, the faulty wiring eventually becomes debilitating or destructive in the life of the church. Because trust and shared purpose matter, we must be intentional in developing them. We often assume that trust and shared purpose will happen because we are implementing a Godgiven vision. We often forget that good wiring needs ongoing attention. However, good pilots rely on their crew.

Typically, we pastors read the warning of Romans 16:17—“watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way”—as a warning to be wary of certain crew members. However, like the pilot in the above story, we may be dismissing crew member advisories while following our convictions to the bitter end. If we are to help pilot the

When asked how her church was doing, the pastor replied, “We’re just eight funerals short of revival!” Almost everyone who has served in the trenches of pastoral leadership has dreamed about what could be with a reconfigured crew. The aim of this approach is to quiet the dissenting voices—to edge them out. If a real funeral doesn’t happen, we often bury them in other ways: Disqualify them. Disconnect them. Invite them out the door—politely, of course.

Of course, there are those in our churches who are destructive and consistently critical. Often, however, dissenting voices belong to folks who have given, sacrificed, and served over the years.

Their doubts and questions can feel like wet blankets on our plans. It is more energizing to be around those who support where we are headed without raising tough questions.

However, excluding all dissenting voices does not make our problems disappear. The better option is to see what we can learn by trudging through the trenches to connect with those who are dragging their feet.

Listening openly without excluding helps us find the runway.

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The Loopologist

In this approach, the goal is to find a loophole, or to create one in order to sidestep critique and disarm opposition.

This occurs when a leader seizes upon a technicality or creates a scenario that provides an explanation for why an envisioned change needs to happen. When you find a good loophole, you can wash your hands of the outcome and shrug your shoulders with a sad, “I had no choice” look on your face. This approach limits options to one choice, one voice, and one timetable. Those closest to this kind of leader often know when he or she is not being transparent and honest. Making it happen is what matters to the loopologist, and being disingenuous is forgivable in their eyes, since getting their way without opposition is “for the good of the church.”

The De-Processor

This approach either by-passes or substantially modifies the decision process due to actual ignorance (not knowing the process), planned ignorance (choosing to not know the process), arrogance (knowing the process but deciding to disregard it), or inattentiveness (following the process poorly). A de-processor can also undermine the process by allowing too little time for implementation or by minimizing feedback opportunities. To return to our analogy, in this scenario, the captain has forgotten a crew is on board and that it might have something important to say about the state of things.

Following agreed upon processes and

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procedures can be restrictive. McChrystal compares organizational processes to the strict protocols for packing a military rucksack. But, as McChrystal notes, when the battlefield is dark and you’re under fire, being able to find what you need quickly makes the process worthwhile. In the same way, learning and following processes can be annoying, create expense, and interrupt momentum. But these are front-end frustrations we experience when we are striving to move the church forward in the long run. Processes look a lot better later, when the pressure is on or when we encounter unexpected difficulties. Like a properly packed rucksack, the sometimes-painstaking work of assuring good processes can very often be a lifesaver—financially, legally, relationally.

Taking

it to the

Best Level

We often adopt one of the unhealthy approaches to administration for a variety of

reasons. It could be because we avoid difficult conversations. Or, we may be in the habit of thinking only in terms of “for” and “against,” failing to understand and value productive tension. Sometimes we neglect caring for the wiring of trust and shared vision because we’re anxious about the future (ours and the congregation’s), or because we feel pressure to simply “produce.” We want to see lives changed and the kingdom of God advanced, but we sometimes forget that pastoral ministry is a long journey. Finally, we may fall into administrative practices that cause us to crash short of the runway because we are actually more absorbed with securing our own interests than we are with the mission of the church. This isn’t easy to spot, so taking opportunity to develop greater self-awareness can save a lot of headache and heartache for everyone. Heeding crew member advice and allowing God to work through the community of faith can take church administration to a

We

level that breathes life into the congregation you serve.

STAN RODES is administrative director for Global Clergy Development for the Church of the Nazarene 1. Rodes, Stan, “Orienting’: Administration as Wesleyan Cooperation” in Pastoral Practices: A Wesleyan Paradigm. Edited by Mark A. Maddix and Diane Leclerc (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 2013), 112.

2. McChrystal, Stanley with Tantum Collins, David Silverman, and Chris Fussell. Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World (New York: Penguin Publishing, 2015)

want to see lives changed

and the kingdom of

God

advanced, but we sometimes forget that pastoral ministry is a long journey

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By Sharon Norman

A

rtists understand that meaningful and authentic art that touches the heart does not just happen. The artist has to be willing to surrender mind, body, and soul, to the creative process. This process is all consuming, but it has to happen if artists hope to convey depth and passion.

Through surrender to the Spirit, artists become vulnerable for the sake of others. This allows for transformation to occur both in the artist and in those who engage in what has been created. Most of us who lead worship arts strive to be this kind of artist. We seek to be vulnerable to God’s leading as we share words and songs and lead others in worship.

Ultimately, our prayer is that what we offer transforms others as much as God has used the materials to transform us.

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T h e B li s s f u l 10 P e r c e n t

For years, I have ministered near the campus of a Nazarene University, and this has allowed me the privilege of speaking into the lives of students who were serving or aspiring to serve in full-time worship arts ministry. I frequently discuss with them the idea of the “blissful 10 percent.” This is the percentage of time we spend in our jobs as worship pastors using our art form of music to lead worship gatherings.

It is blissful because when you do it well, people will respond positively and joyfully, especially if you include songs they enjoy. But this positive response is only about 10 percent of our overall job as worship leaders.

I cannot tell you how many times I have been offered a position at a church based solely on my ability to lead music. Those inviting me knew nothing of my skills in leading a ministry, but they were willing to risk it, all for the 10 percent. The 10 percent is certainly an important part of what we are called to do, but we must recognize that the 10 percent must flow from the result of God’s transformative work in us during the entire creative process. Otherwise, the blissful 10 percent becomes little more than a performance, instead of the worship we are called to lead.

All of the functions of a worship pastor are vital parts of the creative process.

Planning a service and all of its elements is important, but other aspects of ministry are also vital. These include involving others in leading worship, tracking the songs used in worship for variety and for legal purposes (CCLI, for example), exercising pastoral care and connection with those who are part of our worship team, and communicating with other ministry leaders regarding the planning and vision of worship services. Depending on the size of your church, I am probably just scratching the surface of what it takes to prepare for the blissful 10 percent.

process. We view them as items to check off the list in order for us to get to the creative process. However, the Bible reminds us that all of our work that moves us toward the worship service is important. To understand the non-music and administrative tasks as more than a means to an end, consider them from the vantage point of Colossians 3:23–24: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

In my 17 years of this ministry, I have found that God rewards all we do when His glory is the focus of our pursuit. He can take everything offered to Him and provide guidance that allows us to create what He desires. The entire creative process is God’s way of aligning us, His artists, to paint the picture of His heart that allows others to see His greatness and to become changed.

Good Posture

This process of planning worship and leading the ministry of worship has to begin with a posture of prayer. Our prayer is something like this: “Creator God, shape my mind to know You. Shape my soul to be like You. Shape my mind to think like you. Shape my will to obey and want what You desire for us as we gather to commune with You.” This prayer displays a heart of surrender, and prepares us for the journey of transformation. In a setting where so many things compete for our attention and

T h e C r e at i v e P r o c e s s

The creative process actually begins with the “non-musical” elements of worship. The problem is that we often see the list of nonmusical items as preliminary to the creative

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strive to drown out God’s voice, we have to intentionally utter these words daily if we are to recognize what God is doing in this process to get us to what His heart desires. This entire process transforms us along the way, because it continues to shape our willingness to be obedient in everything set before us, including the mundane tasks of the worship pastor or leader (the other 90 percent).

We are consistently called to sit at the feet of a creative God who desires for His Spirt to flow in and through us. As we sit at His feet, we learn to appreciate, as Elijah did, that sometimes God’s gentle whisper comes in one of the hundreds of emails we receive each week. His gentle whisper comes while we are working out the scheduling of very busy volunteers. His gentle whisper comes as we straighten the platform when the services are done. His gentle whisper comes as we do our CCLI reporting. His gentle whisper also comes while we are hearing the heart of a fellow member whose preferences are very different from ours.

If we are willing to consider these activities as part of the creative process, we may find even the most tedious or time-consuming activities can lead to holy and transformative moments for ourselves and for others.

This calling to worship arts is rooted in God’s creative process in us. This reality can transform how we lead, because it transforms us. We must recognize that those we serve are

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impacted by what we do and how we allow God to take us through this process, which includes the administrative aspects of ministry that move us through the creative process and culminate in our using the musical gifts God has given us.

People are impacted by our discipline in the details of ministry. They are impacted by the humility that says we recognize that any moment can be a teachable moment, and any person can provide a lesson. People are impacted by our willingness to listen, to consider, and to care about their thoughts and experiences. They are impacted by our mission to bring glory to God with our whole lives.

They are watching God transform us, and our example provides a path for them to seek God’s transformation for themselves.

SHARON NORM AN serves as the associate pastor of worship at Saginaw Valley Church of the Nazarene in Saginaw, Michigan. She has served in worship arts ministry for 17 years.

Anywhere. Anytime.

THE DIFFERENCE IS ONLINE Pastoral Ministries • Bible & Theology • Counseling For Christian Ministries Christian School Education • Christian Educational Ministries Leadership & Ethics • Hispanic Pastoral Ministries • Pastoral Leadership

www.nbc.edu 719-884-5060

G N I K A E SP . . . y e n o OFM D ail

By Mark L

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uring one pastoral transition, I discovered that I had several items in my garage (including a few tools) that belonged to a friend (we’ll call him Bob). I had enjoyed the privilege of leading Bob to the Lord a few years earlier, and we had a good relationship.

When I returned the items to Bob, he and I had a good laugh over how many items of his I had and over the fact that he had a similar pile of items that belonged to me. We repeated this process a few more times before I moved, eventually ending up with a pile of items that neither Bob nor I claimed to own.

We had a healthy relationship of trust. Our relationship was more important than our possessions. So, there was no possessiveness or selfishness between us. In healthy relationships, care for one another becomes more important than possessions.

.

M at u r e S t e w a r d s h i p

As we mature in our Christian faith, our approach to stewardship matures. Our attachment to possessions decreases, and our concern for Christ-centered relationships increases. Ultimately, teaching about money begins with teaching about relationships.

We can’t teach a new Christian to tithe by focusing on money; ultimately, it is about relationship with the Lord.

Preaching and teaching about stewardship has nothing to do with economic status. People with great wealth and people who are poor need instruction. Even those who need financial assistance need more than just help with short-term finances; they need guidance about their relationship with God and with money.

The Bible teaches that selfishness destroys relationships, while living like Jesus builds them up. First Timothy 6:17–18 reads, “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” By global and historical standards, nearly everyone we are preaching to in North America is “rich in this present world.”

The atmosphere is ripe for leading people into a healthy perspective on possessions.

T h e W o r ld ’ s M e s s a g e i s N o t t h e B ibl e ’ s M e s s a g e

Selfishness and generosity are opposites.

While the world is financially sick and produces materialism, Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). The Lord teaches us that the two greatest goals are to love God and to love others. Those lessons are the opposite of the world’s teaching about money. The Bible says that our worth is based on the fact that we are loved; the world’s message is that there is no self-worth without net (financial) worth.

Our happiness is not the goal of advertisers. The goal of advertising is to get your money to go from your pocket to someone else’s. We are constantly bombarded with messages that inflate our egos and confuse

our perspectives regarding needs and wants.

My grandkids are quite familiar with the features of the newest cell phone and can recite its benefits. The world’s message is coming through loud and clear! The Bible’s message of generosity needs to be repeated often.

The antidote to materialism is giving.

Every time we give, we strengthen our hearts and become more like Christ. Giving is how we teach the next generation to break the cultural myth that our life is about the volume of our possessions. We may not live in a generous society, but we are part of a generous kingdom.

Pastors’ Fears and the Myths t h at C r e at e T h e m

Unfortunately, preachers are sometimes afraid to talk about money. That fear usually stems from one of three myths, which we must collectively reject: MYTH #1: Giving is just between God and the believer. The Bible cautions us against doing our good works in front of others for self-gratification. However, we should also remember that generosity is best learned in community. Like nearly any other spiritual practices, generosity grows best in an open environment of loving relationships. Tithing and sacrificial giving generate relational stories in community through open and honest sharing. In this respect, generosity is like Bible study, prayer, and worship, which are all best learned in a fellowship of believers.

MYTH #2: Preachers talk about money too often. Unfortunately, we have been negatively impacted by a very small percentage of marginally ethical preachers who are deeply steeped in the “prosperity gospel” and continuously beg for money.

Few pastors want to be identified with this approach, but we must be cautious about swinging that pendulum too far in the other direction. While preachers think that others perceive them as talking about money too much, most do not talk about money enough— at least not in a healthy way.

I have often heard preachers apologize to their congregations for talking about money.

This often deters the joy of giving for the congregation. A healthier and more helpful response is to remember that we are not

GRACEANDPEACEMAGAZINE.ORG / 17

simply “asking people for money.” Instead, we are actually giving them opportunities to use their resources to team up with God and accomplish His purposes. There’s no reason to apologize for leading people into the joy of giving and helping them join the Lord’s team!

MYTH #3: Talking about money will offend visitors. In a well-intended effort to be sensitive to visitors, churches may actually be insulting them—or worse, alienating them—by avoiding the topic of money. Most people know that churches collect offerings and encourage generosity.

When pastors say things like, “We’re going to take an offering, but we don’t expect our visitors to participate,” they are sending a mixed message. Your message turns out sounding like this: “Welcome! Worship with us, pray with us, attend our events, grow with us, but don’t give to the Lord with us just yet. We’ll hit you in the wallet once you’re qualified to be one of us.”

The Lord has possibly been dealing with these new people. They are likely looking for something that is missing in their life. The Lord might be directing visitors to you so they can experience a life change. If that change is a turn from selfishness to living for Jesus and others, then presenting a gift to the Lord might be a key initial factor in that commitment.

Integrity

and

in the

T r a n s pa r e n c y Church

Accountability, transparency, and integrity don’t come easy, but they are essential for church finances in our skeptical culture. In 2 Corinthians 8:21, Paul said, “For we are taking pains to do what is right.” Small acts of financial mismanagement can smear a church’s integrity for a long time. This is the reason why we cannot tolerate sloppy financial practices, bending the rules, or avoiding audits. We cannot mismanage our giving records or how we handle our employment records. We don’t even joke about skirting the law, because we seek to avoid even the appearance of wrongdoing. Donors need to know that their gifts are being well cared for by the church. They also need to see that they are making a difference in people’s lives. We must hold a high standard and remain transparent.

Secrecy does not build relationships, but transparency does.

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God’s Resources

The Bible reminds us that the Lord has plenty of resources (see Psalm 50:10).

He gives them to us, and in turn, we give them back to Him and to others. It is a plan where relationships rule and possessions take a back seat.

Although we are now separated by many miles, my friend Bob and I have stayed in touch. I recently sent him a picture of the bottom of a folding table I found in my garage. It was clearly marked, “Property

of Bob.” He sent one back showing that the table in his garage was marked, “Property of Mark Lail.” The tables were just alike, and they had both been loaned around the church and community on many occasions.

When we value relationships, possessions don’t get in the way.

M ARK L AIL is executive vicepresident for the Church of the Nazarene Foundation.

Attentive

Leadership B y J e r e m y W. S e lv i d g e

A

rriving in our new setting, we were excited to discover what God had in store for us, the church, and the community that was now our home. We had much to learn about this new setting.

During the interview, we had learned about some of the congregation’s current issues.

I’d researched an overview of the church’s history. The church board expressed concerns that the church had disconnected from the community; they wanted help to reconnect with those outside the walls of the church.

Even with this knowledge, I had much to learn. To help the church fulfill their desire to become better connected with their ministry context, I first spoke with people from the community about the church. Most knew nothing about our church, and those who knew something mostly discussed what the church did not do. The most positive response was about something the church had done for the community many years earlier.

I was beginning to understand where my new church family had come from and where God was leading us. Of all the traits and abilities necessary for pastoring a church, perhaps none are greater than the foundational work of being attentive to the ministry context. I now had the opportunity to make decisions that would chart our course. This would be an ongoing process, but the journey so far has helped me to become a more attentive pastor.

Observing

the

Context

New settings provide an abundance of opportunities to observe. Taking the time to

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intentionally observe our context will help us lead well. When we visit homes, what clues tell us about a family’s story? When we listen at the diner, what do we hear about the church and the community? Taking time to observe up front and along the way is crucial.

Asking

the

Right Questions

Learn to engage others by asking good questions. You can develop this vital skill over time. Your questions can help others share their stories. I learned not to bias the conversation through leading questions that got people to say what I wanted to hear.

Instead, I learned to ask questions that encouraged others to describe their lives and their experiences with Christ and the church.

In Ethnography as a Pastoral Practice: An Introduction, author Mary Clark Moschella offers guidance in formulating the questions we will ask of our churches and the community at large. Consider the following steps: • Go to the places where people gather and look around.

• Observe the physical environment—the sights, the sounds, and the smells.

• Pay attention to what comes to your mind.

• Articulate the things you want to know about, and form questions around these things. The questions should not be complicated. In fact, start by developing questions you could ask a child.

Active Listening

Go beyond surface-level hearing.

Hearing requires ears that work. Active

in

New Settings listening requires us to have minds and hearts that truly listen and process what is heard. This takes time. Making time to be with the people is the first step. And we are to be fully present with people by eliminating distractions. As we listen to others, we can set aside our assumptions and understand more deeply those in our ministry context.

W r i t i n g t h e N a r r at i v e : A C o mm u n a l P r a c t i c e

As we model being attentive as leaders, this helps those in our ministry context follow our example. When we connect with and listen to people, we more deeply enter the world of those with whom we serve. The questions we ask become catalysts for reflection.

Through intentional attentiveness, we help communities reflect on their own contexts. This can be done with church boards, small groups, and other ministries and serving teams. Naming the formative events and influences in the history of the group sheds light on their passions and on areas where we may need to correct the course. As we interact in this way, we leaders also have opportunity to reflect on our passions and shortcomings.

In the midst of a remodeling campaign at our church, one group expressed a sense of unsettledness over a major change that the board had approved. I stopped by their small group to listen to their concerns and suggestions. I asked questions to help me better understand their perspective, instead of assuming that their concerns were a hindrance to the project. As I affirmed them by listening, I also asked questions that helped me

understand their perspective. This let them see that their concerns were taken seriously, and the project was allowed to go forward.

A t t e n t i v e L e a di n g

Moving from listening to leading becomes the foundation for ongoing leadership. Many times, pastors who arrive at their new assignments are eager to present their plans for moving the church forward. It doesn’t take long for people to resent the attitude that everything has to be changed. When candidates are asked in an interview about their vision for the church, attentive leaders find they have a hard time answering the question, because they do not yet understand the congregation’s history and context. The wise leader answers these kinds of questions with an eagerness to learn more about the congregation and a desire to work together to move forward. While we are honest about our own approaches to leadership and to congregational health in general, specific plans for moving forward must involve active listening and ongoing dialogue. Once we have lingered with people and have come to a deeper understanding of the culture of the new ministry context, we realize we are serving among people who better understand themselves. We must be attentive to those moments when the community is ready to take the next step.

At times, a leader who has been attentive to the community’s voice and God’s voice must step out ahead of the community and lead them where they need to be but may be reluctant to go. If we have engaged our ministry context by listening to people and to God, and if we have taken the necessary time to observe and to listen deeply, we often find they follow—trust has developed because we have taken the time to become part of their story.

JEREMY SELVIDGE is senior pastor of Mount Pleasant First Church of the Nazarene in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.

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INTERVIEW L ASTING LE ADERSHIP: A n Inter view with John C . Bowling I N T E R V I E W E R : C H A R L E S W. C H R I S T I A N Recently, our managing editor, Charles W. Christian (GP), sat down with Dr. John C. Bowling (JB), president of Olivet Nazarene University. Dr. Bowling has served ONU as president since 1991. He has twice been elected to the office of general superintendent of the Church of the Nazarene, but has both times chosen to stay at the helm of the university instead. We asked Dr. Bowling, a former pastor, about keys to sustained leadership.

G P : YO U H AV E B E E N P R E S I D E N T O F O N U F O R OV E R 2 7 Y E A R S . W H AT H AV E YO U L E A R N E D A B O U T L O N G TERM LEADERSHIP FROM THIS EXPERIENCE?

energy about moving forward together. Then, the focus is not on one or more personalities.

Instead, the mission of the organization becomes the “glue” that binds us together and moves us forward.

JB: Longevity starts with listening and being aware of the organization you are leading. You have to respect the stories that you inherit as a leader, and then you lead “from within.”

This means that you develop relationships and seek to move together from where you begin, honoring the past without simply staying in the past. Many books have been written about the difference between simply managing and leading. The old saying is that managers “do things right,” while leaders “do the right things.” The “right things” in this case means things that will move the organization forward while sharing the vision with others and developing trusted leaders to share the vision.

G P : H O W C A N A D M I N I S T R AT I O N B E C O M E M O R E T H A N S I M P LY A “ N E C E S S A R Y E V I L” I N A N O R G A N I Z AT I O N ?

J B : Administration is about serving, and the biblical model of leadership and of ministry in general is servant leadership. So, when administration is seen as part of the way we serve God and serve the organization we are part of, we are able to see the underlying purpose of the administrative tasks we are responsible for.

G P : H O W I M P O R TA N T I S DEVELOPING LEADERS AROUND YO U T O S H A R E T H E V I S I O N ?

G P: H OW C A N W E A S C H R I S T I A N L E A D E R S M OV E TOWA R D A CHRISTLIKE MODEL IN THE MIDST OF ALL OF THE LEADERSHIP TRENDS T H AT S E E M TO CO M E A N D G O?

J B : This is crucial. A good leader multiplies himself or herself. Good leaders do this by empowering others, communicating clearly, developing solid “up front” expectations, and cultivating an environment of mutual trust and respect. These things can help the senior leader avoid micromanaging because there is a shared vision and passion for the task. When there is an environment of clear expectation and trust, morale goes up and creativity increases, which allows a kind of shared

J B : The biblical model is about servanthood.

It is about seeking out and cultivating diverse gifts and working together to move the mission of Christ forward. Keeping this in mind helps us avoid the negative approach to leadership that Jesus describes as “lording over” others. We as Christians are called to serve, and our leadership approach is centered in the building up and training of others (discipleship) and in modeling a servant’s heart as we help steer the church

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or organization toward the purposes of God. Biblical leadership involves an investment of ourselves in relationships with others to model Christlike servanthood.

G P : E L A B O R AT E O N T H E I M P O R TA N C E O F M E N T O R I N G I N T H I S S E R VA N T- L E A D E R M O D E L .

J B : Mentoring is one of the ways in which we serve others. Again, it is part of multiplication in leadership. For the leader, mentoring takes our own focus away from, for instance, “How did John Bowling do?” In place of that selfcentered approach, the focus becomes, “When those around me succeed, we all succeed.”

This develops loyalty and increases morale, because those whom we are mentoring see our leadership not in opposition to them— not an “us vs. them” mentality. Instead, the mission of the organization becomes a shared vision that they, even if they are not the senior leader, have a part in.

G P : H O W D O YO U C H O O S E A L E A D E R S H I P T E A M? JB: There is sort of an art and a science to choosing leaders for your staff. The first mistake we often make as leaders in choosing staff or key leaders is that we move too quickly and approach it with a sense of desperation instead of taking adequate time to pray and to trust God to bring the right “fit” for what is needed.

On the other hand, we don’t want to miss the fact that God has already placed people in the church or organization, and we should take that

seriously and be willing to start with who we have available. We tend to forget that even after we select key leaders, there is still a need for us to invest time in leadership development and in finding ways to work together in regard to the mission and vision of the organization. By doing this, we avoid strong leaders all going their own direction and being isolated from one another and potentially from the overall mission.

The “science” part of leadership selection is pretty straightforward. The Bible reminds us that God has given us all kinds of gifts, and we should certainly take seriously the idea of matching a leader with his or her areas of strength. In regard to the “art” of choosing leaders, this involves prayer and discernment not only about the talent of a particular person, but also about his or her “mission fit” within the organization and his or her willingness to “row in the same direction.” This does not mean that every member of the leadership team has to be in lock step. In fact, it is helpful to any organization if all of the ideas do not all flow from one leader. In other words, not every idea has to come from me! There should be freedom to speak, freedom to take a reasonable amount of risks, and mutual accountability among all members of the leadership team. This fosters creativity and empowers leaders to use their gifts more effectively and consistently.

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G P : H O W D O W E N AV I G AT E R I S K I N REGARD TO LEADING A CHURCH OR O R G A N I Z AT I O N ?

J B : Change almost always involves some risk. We work together to gauge how much risk is too much, but we all recognize and communicate clearly the reality of risks as we plan. Our context determines our ministry, and the risks we take to expand the ministry should be approached in terms of expanding the cause of Christ in our context. When Nehemiah led the building of the wall, he assumed many risks. The Bible’s description of the project reminds us that Nehemiah’s own portion of the wall was part of a bigger picture, and that it was a shared venture.

John Wesley spoke of “improving the present moment” as best we can. When we are seeking to work together to do that—to allow our context to be part of the bigger work that is happening throughout the world while seeking to improve our present moment— then it is worth the risk. The problem is that congregations and other organizations force themselves into unnecessary risks by taking on more than they are called to do. That means it would be better for a congregation to do four or five things well—with purpose, with unity, and with focus—than to try and do too many things without that sense of purpose and focus.

G P : YO U H AV E W R I T T E N T W O B O O K S S P E C I F I C A L LY ADDRESSING LEADERSHIP AND A D M I N I S T R AT I O N I N T H E C H U R C H .

W H AT A R E T H E C O M M O N T H E M E S OF THOSE BOOKS? J B : Overall, I wanted to emphasize first that leadership development should be a normal part of a pastor’s life and ministry.

Board meetings, for example, should include opportunities to intentionally develop congregational leadership. Also, I want all Christians—especially pastors and leaders—to remember that all that we do is a product of God’s grace. I titled one of the books Gracefull Leadership because any biblical model of leadership begins with a recognition that we are completely dependent upon the grace of God, regardless of our own vision and talents.

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G P : F I N A L LY, W H AT W O U L D YO U S AY T O PA S T O R S O R O T H E R CHRISTIAN LEADERS WHO HOPE T O H AV E S U S TA I N E D , E F F E C T I V E L E A D E R S H I P OV E R A L O N G P E R I O D OF TIME? JB: Several years ago, I had the opportunity to make a change in regard to my career and turned it down. As I was praying about that opportunity, I began to pray about what the next president of ONU would need to do in order to move the university forward.

When God led me to stay at ONU, part of that decision came with a sense that I was to be the “new president” of ONU. So, I approached my staff with this idea: I hope to be the new president here.

This became contagious. Other staff and faculty members, even long-tenured staff, began to say, “I’m the new professor here.”

I believe we made some important strides forward from this Spirit-led approach to being “new” again in this position I had held for many years. The lesson I learned was that long-term leadership requires consistent times of rest and renewal. If we don’t have times when we can pull away and rest, the burden of leading in one place for a long period of times becomes too great. Likewise, if we don’t allow ourselves to have “fresh start” times individually and as teams, we can become so caught up in “staying busy” with the day-to-day tasks that we miss opportunities to move the mission forward.

RESOURCE

ALERT Revision: 13 Strategies to Renew Your Work, Your Organization, and Your Life John C. Bowling (Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 2013) T H E E D I TO R I A L T E A M AT G R A C E & P E A C E M AG A Z I N E

W

ritten in the context of over two decades of serving as a university president, Dr. Bowling’s book provides strategies that have helped him keep the work of administration and leadership fresh and adaptable as organizations and contexts change.

Bowling’s background as a pastor also informs this book’s grounding in concrete biblical principles that can apply to the administration and leadership of local churches. The three sections of the book guide the leader to “look back” (evaluate the history of the organization), “look within” (evaluate the current context), and “look ahead” (assist in the re-articulation of the future vision and renewal of the organization).

Available in paperback, hardback, and Kindle, this book is useful for personal leadership development and for mentoring boards and staff members who seek to be part of God’s transformation of churches and organizations in ways that increase stability and effectiveness over the long haul.

CHAPTERS Section 1: The Look Back 1. Remember 2. Reevaluate 3. Restore 4. Resolve Section 2: The Look Within 5. Reengage 6. Repair 7. Release 8. Refresh Section 3: The Look Ahead 9. Reticulate 10. Rearticulate 11. Resist 12. Renew Conclusion: Rejoice

GRACEANDPEACEMAGAZINE.ORG / 25

RESOURCE

ALERT Best Practices for Effective Boards James Couchenour, E. Leron Fairbanks, and Dwight Gunter (Kansas City, Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 2012) T H E E D I TO R I A L T E A M AT G R A C E & P E A C E M AG A Z I N E

O

ne of the many challenges in the pastorate is the organization of and consistent meeting with the church board. Often the church board is comprised of the strongest leaders in the congregation, and pastors wrestle with maintaining a balance between “just business” and spiritual development when it comes to working alongside these leaders. This can be an intimidating process of growth for pastors and boards.

This resource, authored by three people who have extensive experience in both church and other non-profit board leadership, addresses a wide range of best practices to assist pastors and boards in staying focused on key priorities and facilitating healthy communication and implementation.

From working together to define the role of the board to working together to implement elements of the mission of the organization, this book provides strategies and real life illustrations to assist leaders in working together and staying focused on the key issues of the church or organization.

The overall goal is to increase the longevity, faithfulness, and consistency of all the leaders in the organization, so that there is ongoing development of existing and future leaders. The result of implementing these practices include lower stress levels among boards and pastors, greater health in the organization, greater future stability, and a focused Christ-centered pattern of effective teamwork.

This book is a solid addition to any pastor’s library.

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CHAPTERS 1. Ears In, Fingers Out 2. Mission, Vision, and Values Drive Us 3. Think Questions 4. Write It Down 5. Watch Your Words 6. Strong Boards Empower Effective Leaders 7. Integrity Matters 8. Take Time 9. Yes! To Missional Change 10. Review/Revise/Redirect/Renew 11. Role Models of Generosity and Stewardship 12. Pass it On

EXCERP T: Best Practices for Effective Church Boards (Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 2012).

Chapter 1: Ears In, Fingers Out Dwight E. Gunter III Best Practice: Board members understand the role, purpose, and function of the board.

I

t was the getting-to-know-you stage of the pastor-church board relationship, and it was the April board meeting, my first at Trevecca Community Church in Nashville, as my tenure as pastor had just begun April 1. In this first official meeting I recognized this stage of the leader-governance board relationship to be crucial. I was sure they had questions for me, and I knew I had some for them. Of the many issues we would eventually address, there was one imperative for us: we had to be on the same page regarding purpose. What was the purpose of the church board from the perspective of the board? Did their perspective mesh with mine? Did they agree with each other regarding the purpose of the board? Were we operating from the same playbook? Did we share the same expectations? The answers to these questions are vital to the relationship between pastor and church board. In fact, the same truth applies to the leader of any organization and the governance board of that organization.

If leader and board are not in agreement on the fundamental issue of purpose, conflicts will arise. When the leader and board have different understandings on the purpose of the board, several dangers emerge.

First, the board may focus on the wrong target. The board should concentrate on mission, vision, values, and policy.

It should be looking forward, outward, externally, giving attention to the mission of the organization, thus empowering the accomplishment of the mission. To state the obvious, if the board focuses on the wrong

target, the right target is missed. The result is the “well intentioned in full pursuit of the irrelevant” (Carver, Boards That Make a Difference, p. 19).

Second, if the board and leader are not in like mind regarding the purpose of the board, they run the risk of differing expectations.

Unmet expectations form the soil from which frustration and anger spring up. Too many relationships between leaders and governance boards end in conflict due to this very issue— unmet expectations. Most often the cause of unmet expectations is simply a failure to clarify them. Note that even when clarifying expectations there is the danger of not living up to them, but that is another issue. A leader and a board cannot live up to expectations that have not been clarified—or if they do, it is simply a haphazard occurrence.

Third, power struggles often result.

Who is going to make the decisions regarding administrative issues, such as hiring administrative assistants or terminating ineffective personnel? Who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the organization?

Financial issues such as paying the bills, producing finance reports, or monitoring budgets often become power struggles.

These power struggles can arise in a variety of areas, depending on the size and scope of the organization—hiring faculty, setting operational goals, approving vacation requests, setting office hours, managing paid and volunteer staff, determining equipment priorities. You name it, and it is a potential power struggle. Power struggles tend to center

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When

the leader and board operate from

t h e s a m e p l ay b o o k r e g a r d i n g t h e p u r p o s e of the board, the full leadership team operates as a body, with each member fulfilling his or her role.

on the issue of control. When control becomes the goal, a true biblical understanding of roles within the organization is lost. People then take ownership in the church or organization in a self-centered way, acting as if it belongs to them instead of Jesus Christ. When the leader and board operate from the same playbook regarding the purpose of the board, power struggles are avoided, and the full leadership team operates as a body, with each member fulfilling his or her role with clear, well-defined expectations. In order to avoid the dangers above and to help the board be as effective as possible, it is good to routinely remind each other of the purpose for the board’s existence and the roles of both the leader and the board. I do this at the beginning of every new fiscal year.

Why is a governance board necessary?

What is the purpose of the governance board?

Most organizations have an organizational manual of sorts, whether a constitution, bylaws, or charter. Usually the purpose and duties of the governance board are delineated there. However, on a macro level there are excellent reasons for the existence of the governance board. First, the board’s foremost task is to clarify mission. If the mission of the organization has not been clearly articulated, then it is the responsibility of the board and leader to clarify that mission. This may take the form of writing a completely new mission statement, or it may involve a simple edit of an existing statement. Whatever the case, clarifying the mission is the top priority of a board. Second, once the mission has been

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clarified, it becomes incumbent upon the board to hold the organization accountable to that mission. This is where many organizations falter. After spending hours and months developing and articulating a mission statement, the board and leaders often check it off the to-do list, cast it to the side, and lose it in the pile of projects considered to be the next best thing.

Many times the next best thing has nothing to do with the stated mission. Once the mission is clarified, the most important task of the leader and of the governance board is to hold each other and the organization accountable to that mission. Every task the organization does, every decision it makes, and every resource it utilizes must be done with the sole purpose of accomplishing the mission. That is what it means to be missional. Third, values are to be determined by the governance board. What do we value?

What should we value?

The answers to these questions are not always the same. Yet reality must align with intentionality. It is the role of the governance board to both define the values and hold the organization accountable to the values. For example, imagine one of the values of a local church to be grace. You can’t argue with that.

Imagine a social outcast visiting the church and desiring to unite with that congregation.

Imagine someone saying to the pastor, “What is that person doing here? We don’t want those people in our church.” Does the value of grace shape the response to the misguided parishioner? Will the board take a stand for

the values it has identified and committed to?

It is the role of the pastor and board to hold the church accountable to the values, even if the implementation of those values is not always convenient.

Fourth, the board needs to be the arena in which vision is heard, shaped, synergized, and empowered. People often think of seeing a vision. That would make sense. But in reality, a vision is heard. As the leaders listen to the voice of God around them, they will begin to hear—and then see—the vision.

God will speak the vision through people, circumstances, and the Word. The leadership must develop ears to hear the vision of God as He speaks it into the world. No wonder Jesus was constantly saying, “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear” (Mark 4:23).

As discussion occurs regarding the vision being heard, then the vision begins to take shape. There is a synergy that develops as various components of the vision begin to emerge. Think of an orchestra with various instruments joining the music and the beauty that emanates from such a synergistic force.

Direction can be established and the score written to accomplish the vision God is playing in the world. The board must then empower the vision to be accomplished. This involves finance, personnel, and so on.

Fifth, it is the role of the board to determine policy. The board becomes the clearinghouse for all policy of the organization. Policies become the tracks on which the organizational train runs.

The policies are the parameters in which

the organization functions. It is the duty of the board to determine these policies and implement them.

Sixth, the board has a fiduciary responsibility as well. The word “fiduciary” comes from the Latin fiducia, meaning trust, “a person . . . who has the power and obligation to act for another . . . under circumstances which require total trust, good faith and honesty” (http://dictionary. law.com>). Board responsibilities include financial oversight. This requires integrity and faithfulness in all matters. Conflicts of interest must be avoided. The interests of the organization supersede personal interests.

Seventh, the board is also to determine the general structure of the organization.

Even though there may be pre-existing parameters for the organizational structure, there is often flexibility in many specifics.

The board is to set the structure in place and to do so with the mission in mind. Ideally a structure would be developed that would empower the accomplishment of the mission of the organization.

Eighth, the board should give permission for missional ministry to happen. Think of per-mission. Giving permission is allowing people to minister according to the mission of the organization. If the board tries to control every ministry in detail, it will fall into the traps mentioned earlier in this chapter.

However, if the board gives permission for ministry to occur, positive outcomes most often result.

Excerpted from Chapter 1, Dwight Gunter, “Ears In, Fingers Out,” in Couchenour, Gunter, and Fairbanks, Best Practices for Effective Boards, pp. 9-13.

To order the book, check out thefoundrypublishing.com.

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Christian Leadership as Spirit-Led Transformation by

W i ll i a m S a w y e r

O

ver the last 50 years both the popular press and the academy have had significant conversation regarding leadership and leadership principles. For the most part, the conversation has centered on leadership behaviors and attributes that produce numeric, economic, and financial results. Some of the discourse has been fueled by the high profile ethical and moral failures of leaders in both religious and secular organizations.

I spent most of my career in executive leadership with two global organizations based in the United States, while pastoring a small Nazarene church bi-vocationally.

In the secular organizations where I was a leader, our senior leadership valued and employed a variety of theories—servant, authentic, ethical, and spiritual. Because the organizations were secular, leaders often had no biblical foundation or guidance from the Holy Spirit when applying these leadership styles. Without that foundation, these leadership styles were employed simply because they often resulted in financial and personal “success.”

Over the long term, employees began to see some of these leadership approaches as manipulative. These leadership styles that could be identified as Christian were fueled by the desire for personal gain, and this created a culture of distrust toward some of our executive leaders.

John Maxwell has said that leadership is about influence—nothing else. If this is true, then the real influence of Christian leaders comes through the Holy Spirit working through them to produce exemplary lives. As Christian leaders, our influence flows from the transformation of our inner being by the gracious work of Christ. Our influence is informed by scriptural holiness and guided by the Holy Spirit. This type of Christian leadership has the potential to accomplish more than we can ask or imagine.

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Key Leadership Principles

in

Acts

Acts 2 and 6:1-7 give insight into principles of leadership that the early church valued. The text outlines necessary principles of Christian leadership for those who minister as pastors, evangelists, and administrators. Luke’s narrative describes Christ’s earthly leadership, which continued through the lives and influence of early church leaders. Christian leaders who had preaching and administrative roles (Acts 6:1-7) gave themselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word of God. Great athletes are disciplined in their training. In the same way, early church leaders were consistent and disciplined in scheduling daily prayer time. Spirit-filled Christian leaders, regardless of their ministry function, studied the Scriptures to glean wisdom that informed, guided, and shaped their personal character, behavior, and decision making in a diverse and pluralistic culture.

Regardless of culture, ethnicity, or gender, Christian leaders are transformed through an encounter with the risen Christ by repentance from sin and faith in Him. Christian leaders are promised a twofold cleansing from sinful actions that lead to spiritual death and inbred sin rooted in human nature and the carnal mind (Galatians 5:24; Hebrews 9:14). The fire of the Holy Spirit is associated with His work that illuminates the mind, burns within the heart, and consumes the chaff of ingrained corruption. The fire of the Holy Spirit purifies the heart and renews the leader in the image of Christ. Through full surrender, the grace and work of the Lord crucifies the sinful nature with its passions and desires.

The role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Christian leader is central to understanding effective Christian leadership.

Christ’s promised baptism with the Holy Spirit and fire produces inward purity of

heart and power for witnessing to others.

The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit transforms, directs, guides, and empowers leaders. The manifest presence of the Spirit influences a leader’s heart and mind through the leader’s attributes, gifts, and personality.

The Holy Spirit works in cooperation with the efforts of the Christian leader to produce Christlike character that influences both secular and religious work.

Christ baptizes the believer with the Holy Spirit in order to cleanse the person from all the remains of sin in the human nature. This work of grace, however, does not mean freedom from natural human appetites and drives. The life of the sanctified Christian leader will often include temptation, opposition, setback, discouragement, misunderstanding, and economic hardship.

Cleansing does not necessarily erase memories of past sins and failures. Those who have clean hands and pure hearts are subject to weakness, normal human shortcomings, and capacity limitations. All of us need further grace, light, and understanding to develop mature Christlike character.

The results of the Acts 2 encounter with the Holy Spirit presents us with a picture of Spirit-empowered leadership that is influential and effective in fulfilling the mission of the church. When the audience heard the discourse of Peter, the Holy Spirit cut to the hearts of those listening (Acts 2:37). The phrase means the same Holy Spirit who empowered, purified, and sanctified the believers in the upper room moments before, now pierced the unbeliever’s heart. The Holy Spirit’s work brought conviction of sin and drew the hearers to repentance, faith, and rest. The Holy Spirit’s work in the leader provides the means of grace to influence unbelievers so that they may repent and place their faith in Christ.

S p i r i t -L e d R e s u lt s

Christian leadership differentiates itself from secular concepts of leadership because Christian leadership is more than casting vision and fulfilling certain tasks. Christian leadership is defined by the Spirit of Christ influencing others through the life of the leader in order to fulfill the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. Sometimes the

results are immediate, and sometimes they require patience and time. The Christian leader sticks with it.

In Acts, Christian leaders are to be saturated with the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. This fullness of the Spirit provides guidance for effective preaching and administrative functions. The Holy Spirit is the unseen power of God who works through spiritual leaders to influence their inner transformation. He cleanses the heart so that a Christian leader can teach, guide, and influence others in the context of the church and the workplace.

The leadership principle of disciplined prayer is a motif of the Luke–Acts narrative and was modeled by Christ in His earthly ministry.

The story of Jesus and the story of the early church are united. Jesus is the praying Messiah.

Luke’s narrative is written as the continuation of Christ’s intercession through the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the early church leaders.

For Luke, prayer is the means of grace where a leader grows in grace, power, and character.

This growth impacts the church, the culture, and the nations. Prayer is the engine that keeps the heart clean and the channel open for the power of the Holy Spirit to flow to others.

Disciplined prayer in the Acts narrative is closely related to disciplined study of the Scriptures. Disciplined study is the method the Holy Spirit uses to teach and guide leaders into all truth. The Holy Spirit influences those who listen to leaders so they hear what is proclaimed, receive it by faith, and put it into practice. Faith-filled obedience to the Word of God is fueled by the spiritual leader’s prayer life. This informs and empowers the leader’s ethics, behaviors, and effectiveness.

A pure heart, faithful prayer time, consistent personal time to study the Scriptures, and the Holy Spirit’s empowerment are core biblical principles of Christian leadership. These influence and motivate others to follow Christ and achieve results that count both for time and for eternity.

WILLIA M SAW YER serves as chief administrative officer (CAO) of the Global Ministry Center of the Church of the Nazarene.

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Leading Through Sermon Preparation

I

by

Denise Burns

am a preacher’s kid who has sat through so many sermons that I cannot count them all. I am also a preacher’s grandkid—twice over. Many sermons, some exciting and some boring, have been a longtime part of my life. Now I am a preacher. Now that I am on the “other side” of the sermons, I have to manage this important proclamation of the Word.

There are important “nuts and bolts” to preaching that we cannot skip, although it is tempting to substitute or “fast track” these elements. Before becoming a pastor, I was a junior high teacher, and God gave me a good training ground for both dealing with interpersonal relationships and for sermon preparation. Pulpit management, like classroom management, relies on confidence in your preparation and presentation. A good teacher knows where he or she is going, and so does a good pastor. Our “destination” is directly related to the health of our congregation.

Where

are

We Going?

The first element of sermon preparation is knowing where you are going. In teaching,

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this is called using the “scope and sequence” of your subject matter. In proclaiming the Word, it is even more important to focus on the desired outcome. In preaching, our scope is the entire text of Scripture. The sequence is the order in which we decide to preach it. For many of us, the sequence is determined by our annual calendar.

Your calendar can be determined by a combination of using the lectionary, liturgy, community or cultural concerns, seasons of the year, or seasons of life. Regardless of the approach, it is important to have a plan.

I use the lectionary because one of my professors, Dr. Wes Tracy, told us that by using the lectionary (there are several you can use from the Internet), pastors will be forced to avoid preaching our “pet topics.”

This requires us to stretch ourselves to study and appreciate parts of the canon we might not get around to unless we allow another plan to hold us accountable. The same is true for our congregations: They will also be confronted with the entire canon of Scripture every three years as we preach the lectionary.

In addition to using the lectionary to take us through the grand story of God, I also focus on the seasons of the church calendar. During the church year, I remind the congregation why we are using a particular color and symbol in our sanctuary, and why it is important to us as God’s people. Brief teaching moments can be continually reinforced.

There are special seasons, too. During the election season of 2016, with permission, I borrowed the text of Dr. Boone’s book, The Church in Exile, to prepare sermons reminding us that we are not people of the empire, but people of the Kingdom. Politics has such a potential for division, so inserting a season of preaching on our identity in God’s Kingdom instead of our cultural identity helps to shape us.

Within each message, we should be true to our doctrine. Too many of our loving, devoted people do not adequately understand what we believe. Each time we repeat, within the context of the message, who we are as God’s people, we grow.

At times, we may also use other resources. Recently, we decided to use Epic, a resource from The Foundry Publishing.

Our staff used the curriculum during a difficult time for our church. Our staff structures all of our weekend lessons around the central text for Sunday’s message.

Helpful Tools

for

Organizing

a

Sermon

As we prepare the “scope and sequence” of our preaching calendar, it is helpful to use a simple template to help us organize. Most people are visual learners, and templates are great visual tools. A good template might have five columns (from left to right): 1. Date 2. Series name 3. Scriptural text 4. Theme or big idea 5. Notes After I construct the sermon template, I share it with my staff. If you do not have pastoral staff, find a few trusted leaders in the congregation who are involved in worship, so you can move together in unity. We intentionally coordinate our Sunday morning children’s message at the

beginning of our worship time with the sermon that the adults will hear later. In our biblically illiterate culture, this helps everyone understand the message more clearly, and our goal is to help develop healthy disciples.

We also need a consistent preparation schedule. It is far too easy to let people and tasks hijack our study time. Eugene Peterson, in The Contemplative Pastor, wrote that early in his pastorate he had to learn to tell people, “I’m sorry, but my calendar will not allow that,” in response to the many important things that other people had for him to do. Decide for yourself when your sermon preparation time will be, and then enforce it with yourself (most important!) and your staff. I work on my sermon on Monday mornings using the sermon outlines I have prepared for the year, and I study the texts for the following Sunday. I then continue thinking about it throughout the week. Mondays are very important for me, though, because the way I think is more of an ongoing process.

The final step of effective sermon preparation is a commitment to prayer and meditation. I have heard people say that pastors should not use anything they glean from their personal time in sermon preparation, but I disagree with this. Does God not speak to us in those times? Some of my best thinking comes during my morning walks, when I am intentionally allowing space for thought and meditation. During those times, I listen to music, because the music helps create an atmosphere that quiets the tumult in my mind, so I am more attentive to God’s voice.

It is easy to avoid this step. We too often tell ourselves that we don’t have time to simply meditate and pray about our sermons.

However, as people of God, our top priority is to make time for listening to God, to whom we are accountable and for whom we presume to speak.

DENISE BURNS is lead pastor of Chandler (Arizona) Church of the Nazarene.

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g n i n r a Le e c n a D to

Leadership Development for Emerging Generations by

Jason Buckwalter

O

ne of my favorite pieces of religious art is medieval Russian artist Andrei Rublev’s famous icon The Trinity.

It has captured my heart, because of the message it seeks to convey about the nature of the God we serve, a nature that often gets overlooked in our world.

On the surface, the painting is of the three angels that visited Abraham at the Oak of Mamre in Genesis 18:1-8. But those angels in the picture are also representations of God as Trinity sitting around a table. There is a small square located on the front of the table.

Many people think that this square once held a small mirror. That means the person contemplating this icon would see himself or herself as a participant in the image before him or her.

The Holy Spirit, depicted through the angel who is the figure on the right as we gaze at the photo, is leaning toward the space where you and I would sit as we fellowship with God. The Spirit’s gaze and hand are directed toward us, inviting us deeper into the fellowship of the Trinity: a fellowship that is defined by a mutual relationship of love, self-sacrifice, unity of movement and purpose, and deference toward the other. Early Christians had a word for this fellowship of love, mutuality, and deference in the Trinity: perichoresis—the divine dance. If we are truly invited into this divine dance, then it must influence every relationship in our lives, especially as we seek to raise a new generation of leaders within the church.

The question becomes: How are we to raise a new generation of Christian leaders in

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this Trinitarian fashion? The church has at times looked to the corporate world for models of leadership development, sometimes dressing corporate principals in churchy language. I would suggest that a better way of developing the emerging generation of leaders is to look toward the flow of relationship within the Trinity as a model.

G e t R id

of

Fear

Missing from any understanding of Trinity is fear of the other. I believe fear is one of the primary reasons we have not always done well at developing new leaders. When the priorities of the next generation do not match our own, we often get scared. We are afraid that what we have built, using methods and models that once worked, will be quickly undone if we hand over the reins.

In reality, our world is changing far faster than we would like to admit, and any reticence to adapt will damage the church’s future and its future leaders.

What often drives this fear is an unhealthy sense of ownership. When we begin to believe that the local church, its message and methods, are ours to possess, we fall into the classic trap of idolatry. We begin to hold too tightly to the things that were never ours in the first place. Letting go of the fear that the next round of leaders will destroy what we have built can only happen when we give the church back to God, realizing that our positions of leadership in the church were always gifts. Adopting an

attitude of grateful submission for the time we have been called into service is the first step in getting rid of fear.

S u bmi s s i o n

Once our fear begins to give way to an attitude of gratefulness, it will become easier to submit to a future generation of leaders. Of course, those leaders we are called to develop should submit to our training, wisdom, and experience. However, there are elements of submission that should go both ways. Nothing will turn away emerging leaders, especially younger ones, faster than exercising authority in a domineering manner.

In the slow flow of leadership development, there must be mutual submission. Older pastors and leaders must offer their wisdom and experience in a manner that allows emerging leaders to wrestle with, process, and synthesize their own thoughts. Seasoned leaders must create an open space to genuinely listen and offer a non-anxious response. Experienced leaders must be willing to recognize that the Spirit is at work within the developing leader to prepare for the future—a future that the current leadership will likely not inhabit. In this way, both parties will benefit as they journey together, submitting to one another for the glory of God and the benefit of the church.

Give

it

A w ay

We cannot talk about leadership development within a Trinitarian framework without talking about self-emptying, or kenosis (Philippians 2:1–11). If Jesus is the fullest revelation of the nature of God, then we must take Christ’s self-emptying as normative for the practice of Christian leadership and leadership development.

This goes well beyond “servant leadership” to a leadership that is doggedly intentional about creating significant space for the other to flourish, even perhaps, at the expense of our own positions. If we want to

participate in developing the next generation of leaders, then we must empty ourselves of all but love for their sake. This means that we must move through a process in which we steadily move out of the picture. Mike Breen’s leadership shape, the Square, in Building a Discipling Culture: How to Release a Missional Movement by Discipling People Like Jesus Did is helpful here. The process moves around a square in the following way: I do, you watch; I do, you help; You do, I help; You do, I watch.

Through this process, there must be mutual submission, willingness to experiment, and openness to the possibility of failure. Moving through this kind of progression can be beneficial as we learn to move in unity of purpose with emerging leaders, learning from and submitting to each other in mutuality.

Leadership Development

is

Discipleship

Good leadership development is discipleship, and good discipleship is leadership development. We are all on our way to becoming more like Christ, and we cannot become more like Christ if we are not seeking to allow all our relationships to mimic the Trinitarian (perichoretic) fellowship of love, mutuality, and deference.

This takes time. It takes time as we unlearn corporate leadership models and language and allow the Holy Spirit to root out our selfish fear. It takes time to slowly discern, as a community of mutual submission, the future for which you and I will likely not live to see. What is at stake here is not our own personal legacies, but the ability of the church to be faithful and effective as it seeks to raise up a fresh generation of leaders who will guide the church in becoming all that God would have it to become.

JASON BUCKWALTER is lead pastor of Heartland Church of the Nazarene in Fulton, Missouri.

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THE PASTOR’S

SI P NO T EURS V EIEW L E T ’ S TA K E A H I K E

by Jill B arb er

Serving

the

Church Together

Boards of ministry ask candidates about the support of their spouse, our church ordination ritual involves the spouse, and even most church board interviews invite the pastor’s spouse to attend at least part of the pastoral interview. The church seems to recognize, in practice at least, that the call to ministry impacts both the called one and her or his mate. Our church may struggle to articulate it, and we may struggle to understand it, but it’s real. We can feel it and we live it, day in and day out. It’s time we started more conversation about it.

Hiking guides know where to step on tricky mountain trails because they have been on that trail before and have experienced many of the possible obstacles. They have also witnessed the beautiful sunrise and other special gifts of that hike, so they are able to help fellow hikers find the joy of the hike.

Though I am not much of a hiker, I have long traveled the trail of being pastor’s wife, and I want to create space for spouses of pastors— men and women—to connect with and grow in this unique relationship.

This trail that I’m talking about is sometimes called, “Living beside the Call.” The life of a pastor’s beloved can be rewarding and joyful, but it also has its hazards: steep learning curves, intense pressures, and more questions than answers relating to one’s identity. It’s too easy to get trapped under waterfalls of public opinion or the quicksand of discouragement. As we hike together in this new column, my goal is that we will together understand our trails more clearly and that you will feel encouraged. If you are living beside the call, take heart: You are not alone. God has an amazing journey in store.

For now, I’d like to share some of the trail markers I’ve found helpful for happy hiking.

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Identity

Who am I? It is the basic question of human existence and a significant challenge to understand on this journey of living beside the call. In a life where we are asked to carry many titles, it is easy to lose a sense of our identity. At the foundational level, you are a child of the King; a sinner saved by God’s grace. You have been redeemed, restored, reformed, and renewed. The Spirit of God fills you each day as you open yourself to God. Do not overlook this starting place no matter how distracting things get.

We can fall victim to temptation and begin to live in disobedience. We can have thoughts and feelings that take us off course and set us up for bitterness. Hurts can blossom into wounds that fester. Don’t stay in this place; move on. God is for you and waiting for you to turn to Him for forgiveness and a fresh start. I’m not preaching. I’m testifying. I’ve been there, and God has brought me out.

Sharing

the

I m pa c t

of the

C a ll

The Lord calls people into many forms of ministry. When this happens, a person allows God to choose, provide, lead, guide and sustain him or her for a lifetime. It is a challenging and beautiful thing to accept God’s call on your life, no matter what God has called you to be or to do. The call to vocational ministry is a unique calling, and it has nuances that affect the relationships of the ones who have been called. When you are married to a person called to vocational ministry and you do not have the exact same vocational call, challenges arise. The identity question becomes: Who am I now?

You are now one who lives beside the call and has accepted the impact of the call. When two people say, “I do,” the Bible declares that they are forever changed; “they become one

flesh,” according to Genesis 2:24. As a result, the call has an impact on both partners in the marriage. I could not articulate that at our wedding, but it is exactly what happened. God has a way of making ministry work best when we work together in partnership, both surrendered to his leading. My husband and I have seen our share of pitfalls through the years, but we have also been part of beautiful life-changing experiences. Recognizing that both of these elements will define a clergy marriage brings unity and clarity, —and helps bring longevity to the journey.

100 P e r c e n t T w i c e

As spouses of vocationally called ministers, we live a life I like to call “100 Percent Twice.” For the spouse of the called one, we are 100 percent in the ministry while also being 100 percent a layperson. We live in the world of ministry, and we live in the world of a layperson. We are a bridge with footings in each place. Maybe that is why there is so much confusion about our identity and role. Rather than letting this defeat us, perhaps we can realize this tension is like a dance in which we move back and forth between supporting the called minister and allowing our own gifts to be developed in ways that match our unique calling as laity.

A d e q u at e S u p p li e s

This is something I have had to learn the hard way, but it is critical to bring adequate supplies for the trail. Read Scripture and pray daily. Of course, this sounds like it should be an “automatic” for the life that we are living. Unfortunately, I’m finding it is not. The pastor and the pastor’s spouse both need to be disciplined in reading the Word and praying. It wasn’t until we were in the ministry for 12 years that this became a consistent part of life for me. It was like I was living with my Savior on the reserve tank, but there was a whole other tank in my life that wasn’t being filled! Daily time with God meant that I had my own personal fill up, and I could use it every day. Like our spouses, we can get so caught up in the tasks of ministry and of life that, even though we are treated as examples of discipleship by the congregation,

we can, individually and as a couple, easily neglect our time with God each day. We must learn that we can only give what God has given us, and we can only be filled when we set aside time for it each day.

G o o d C o mm u n i c at i o n

Another important practice that will make the hike much smoother is communicating with our hiking partner.

This means intentionally talking about the things that will help us navigate the journey of ministry. Each marriage is different, but we all need to learn how to talk about uncomfortable questions or issues. Sometimes the pastor and partner find that the church and the ministry are uncomfortable issues that should be addressed together. Small talk is important, but we also need to talk openly to one another about ways to cultivate deep connections, the kinds of connections we need to journey together on this trail.

Valuing One Another

When we see each other’s value, skills, and talents and communicate consistently, we are able to maneuver the trail with greater ease. We can appreciate each other without expecting the other person to change. A healthy, honest, and respectful relationship with one another and with the church can help us avoid many pitfalls and sidestep unnecessary snares. Living beside the call is a beautiful experience when you have deep communion with God and with your hiking partner.

NOTE: At M19, February 11–13, 2019, we will continue this conversation. We are hosting a workshop for pastors’ spouses called, “Living Beside the Call.” Until then, know you’re not alone on this journey, you have value, and the Lord needs you just the way you are!

JILL ROSS BARBER is a pastor’s spouse whose husband, Sam, pastors Central Church of the Nazarene in Lenexa, Kansas.

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SEMINARY

SPOTLIGHT

TAKING SEMINARY TO CHURCH: PARTNERING WITH WHAT GOD IS UP TO IN THE WORLD

By Josh Sweeden

Over the last decade, much discussion has centered on the changing landscape of theological education in North America. Much of that discussion has to do with how new economic realities and shifting demographics of students and constituencies are disrupting deep-seated forms of education. Schools have been forced to adapt and innovate, and in many cases, have revisited their mission and purpose with greater attentiveness to context and God’s work in the world.

One result has been a renewed emphasis on the indelible connection between theological education and local churches. In part, this is spurred by the increasingly complex nature of congregational ministry and the multi-faceted demands of pastoral leadership. But the connection between theological education and the church is also being renewed by the recovery of a historic purpose of theological education: providing a theological worldview through which all Christians can interpret life and ministry.

As unprecedented as today’s changing landscape seems, the truth is that theological education has always been adapting and innovating to new contextual realities. Much of what we imagine as a traditional seminary, for example, has a short history. Only in the last 200 years did seminaries began to emerge. And primarily Protestant seminaries helped standardize what became the professional model of clergy preparation.

Undoubtedly, that professional model remains central to the work of seminaries today.

Before that time, however, most formal theological education occurred within a broader educational curriculum and was engaged by laity as well as those preparing to be professional clergy. Professional clergy often engaged in heightened forms of educational preparation, but a robust

38 / GRACE & PEACE MAGAZINE WINTER 2019

engagement with Scripture, Christian history, and theology was foundational for all people and professions, well beyond the limited scope available through general education requirements at liberal arts schools.

I am excited by the ways churches and schools are coming together today to imagine opportunities for the whole church to engage in theological education.

Not surprisingly, much of the impetus is coming from lay people who are seeking a deeper understanding of their faith and how that might inform their own lives and professions. At Nazarene Theological Seminary (NTS), for example, the faculty, in conversation with pastors and lay leaders, recently established a highly unique Master of Arts program designed to equip people in integrating theological foundations for a variety of professions and specializations.

Recognizing God’s work outside the walls of the church building and through individuals in different settings and situations, NTS is embracing the task of theological education for a church on the move.

The NTS Master of Arts in Transformational Leadership takes a new approach to traditional seminary education. The program enables persons to tailor an area of specialization—including areas outside traditional theological disciplines—and integrate that specialization with theological and ministerial foundations. At only 36 credit hours and available in both distance and local formats, this program’s accessibility makes it very appealing. But its strength is in its partnership with the church.

Consider the power of the Spirit at work in and through the various professionals

in any given congregation—social workers, counselors, educators, business professionals, etc. Consider their desire to make an impact and the power of their witness in the world. Imagine, as many of them already have, how their work is an expression of their own calling and the gifts and abilities God has given them. Indeed, the church’s ministry includes those who articulate a missional calling as well as professional clergy who have received a direct calling.

NTS will always be a primary place for the formation of professional clergy. In service to the church and in partnership with what God is up to in the world, NTS is also coming alongside Christians who

see their life and work through the lens of ministry and mission. This new MA in Transformational Leadership is graduatelevel education—it is unabashedly robust and intended for those yearning to go to the next level. It is a highly personalized and integrative degree, supporting students in engaging the intersections of theology and their professions. We are taking seminary to church, helping deepen theological wells and embracing the long-held conviction that “faith seeking understanding” is an ongoing task for all Christians.

Learn more at https://www.nts.edu/mastersprograms/

NTS CALENDAR January 21

Semester begins

January 27

Seminarian Offering (www.nts.edu/seminarianoffering)

February 11-13

M19 in Kansas City

February 15

Priority applications due for masters and doctoral programs

March 4-6

Lectures on Ezekiel with Dr. Brad Kelle at Point Loma Nazarene University

May 4

Commencement

NTS OFFERS NEW PROGRAM The Nazarene Theological Seminary has announced that the new Master of Arts in Transformational Leadership (MATL) will be offered starting Fall 2019. This will be a fully accredited, customizable master’s degree program designed to equip students to be intentionally Christian leaders in their chosen vocations. It will integrate theological disciplines, an integrative core focused on leadership development, and courses that apply to the student’s area of interest. More information is available at: www.nts.edu/matl.

GRACEANDPEACEMAGAZINE.ORG / 39

The Church of the Nazarene has 11 institutions of higher education on the USA/Canada Region serving approximately 20,000 students each year. With more than $180 million in annual scholarships, these schools provide many opportunities for students to attend a private Christian college or university. Meet representatives from these educational institutions at M19.

For more information on each, check their websites.

A m b r o s e U n i v e rs i t y

M o u n t V e r n o n N a z a r e n e U n i v e rs i t y

N o r t h w e s t N a z a r e n e U n i v e rs i t y

S o u t h e r n N a z a r e n e U n i v e rs i t y

E a s t e r n N a z a r e n e C o ll e g e

N a z a r e n e B i b l e C o ll e g e

O l i v e t N a z a r e n e U n i v e rs i t y

T r e v e c c a N a z a r e n e U n i v e rs i t y

M i d A m e r i c a N a z a r e n e U n i v e rs i t y

Nazarene Theological Seminary

Calgary, Alberta Ambrose.edu Nampa, Idaho NNU.edu

Quincy, Massachusetts ENC.edu Bourbonnais, Illinois Olivet.edu Olathe, Kansas MNU.edu

P o i n t L o m a N a z a r e n e U n i v e rs i t y San Diego, California PointLoma.edu

Mount Vernon, Ohio MVNU.edu Bethany, Oklahoma SNU.edu

Colorado Springs, Colorado NBC.edu Nashville, Tennessee Trevecca.edu

Kansas City, Missouri NTS.edu

INTERVIEW LEADERSHIP AND ADMINISTRATION IN A DIVERSE CHURCH An Interview with Josue Tiguila, Pastor of Los Angeles First Church of the Nazarene I N T E R V I E W E R : C H A R L E S W. C H R I S T I A N Recently, Grace & Peace (GP) sat down with the English-speaking congregation pastor of the oldest established church in the Church of the Nazarene, Los Angeles First Church of the Nazarene (established in 1895). Pastor Josue “Josh” Abraham Tiguila, Sr., became the English-language pastor of L.A. First Church in December of 2015. Pastor Tiguila immigrated to the United States in 1977 from Guatemala, and grew up at L.A. First Church. In addition to an English-speaking congregation, L.A. First is also composed of Korean, Spanish, and Filipino congregations. Their motto is “One Church, Four Congregations.”

G P : TA L K A B O U T T H E U N I Q U E LY C O O P E R AT I V E S T R U C T U R E O F L . A .

F I R S T C H U R C H A N D W H AT D R E W YO U T O T H I S C O N G R E G AT I O N ?

JT: For me, coming to L.A. First Church as pastor was like coming back home, since this was my home church when my family came to the U.S. from Guatemala in 1977. I went away for my education and to pastor a nearby congregation before coming back here, but knowing many of the people and being familiar with the diverse work of this congregation is what God used to help draw me here as pastor.

We are a kind of blended family of diverse congregations that make up one church. We share the facilities together, and our leaders from the four congregations comprise a trustee board that helps organize our calendars and helps maintain the facilities. We have transitioned from a model where the English-speaking congregation was the “Mother Church,” to a model where we are all co-owners of the property.

So, for our situation, with four congregations in one, good administration and strong communication are crucial elements to our effectiveness in ministering to the diverse community in which we live. We are a multicultural and multigenerational church, and that is true for each of the four congregations. After we meet separately to plan and establish goals for our particular ministry areas, representative leaders from each group meet together. We seek to practice generosity and

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hospitality in trying to accommodate all of the ministries.

G P : W H AT H AV E YO U L E A R N E D A B O U T L E A D I N G E F F E C T I V E LY I N SUCH A DIVERSE SET TING? JT: Like in any setting, the first thing we must do is get to know the community around us. In a setting like ours, it is particularly helpful to learn others’ stories and to get to know the rhythms of each culture. This often requires humility on the leader’s part.

Start with where the people of the community are; this demonstrates the compassion of Christ. Love people where they are by investing time and genuine concern.

This is biblical hospitality. Knowing this place helped in my transition, but I had been away for 11 years, and both the congregation and I had changed. So, I still had to invest the time in extending compassion, a listening ear, and hospitality in order to discover the needs and the challenges here.

G P : H O W D O E S C O M M U N I C AT I O N H A P P E N M O S T E F F E C T I V E LY I N YO U R M I N I S T R Y S E T T I N G ?

JT: I come from a large family, and I learned while growing up that each family member is unique and has unique needs in regard to communication. Likewise, here in our blended family at L.A. First Church, we must learn the most effective ways to communicate across cultures. We are learning in a world where it is more

for our situation, with four congregations in one, good administration and strong

communication are crucial elements to our effectiveness in ministering to the diverse community in which we live.

convenient to text or email that we also need to spend quality face-to-face time with one another.

We want to demonstrate empathy, and we want our communication with one another to be clear. This is sometimes challenging due to language and cultural differences, but when we choose to listen and to be intentionally generous with one another, communication barriers can be more easily overcome.

G P : H O W A R E YO U W O R K I N G T O BOTH HONOR THE HISTORY OF L . A . FIRST CHURCH, WHILE ALSO M OV I N G I N T O T H E F U T U R E ?

JT: Recently, in celebration of our 123rd anniversary, we discussed Bresee’s emphasis upon “ancient paths.” We are a product of the ancient paths of the Church, and so we must keep the biblical calling of the Church at the forefront, as Dr. Bresee often reminded us.

We want to bring the ancient biblical message of holiness into the 21st century. So, our ministries engage people where they are now, and some of our methods change to meet the realities of our new environment.

However, we are constantly telling the story of what it means to be the Church, and how our approaches are simply finding new ways to carry forward what we have sought to do from the beginning. In this way, we are keeping our history and theology at the forefront, while we make sure we keep in mind those whom we are called to reach.

We still feed the hungry, we still reach out to the homeless community several times

per week, just as the first generation of L.A. First Church did. We assist with medical needs, health classes, distributing food, and providing shelter. We also have a strong partnership with the Bresee Foundation. We are still preaching the gospel and modeling the gospel, even though there are changes in the neighborhood around us.

G P : W H AT H AV E YO U L E A R N E D ABOUT HANDLING CONFLIC T ?

JT: We have learned that, as in any family, conflict will arise. We try to intentionally create an environment of graciousness and of listening, so that even when disagreements arise, we are better able to handle them in a Christlike manner.

The big picture of the church’s witness and mission helps us resolve conflicts that arise: We are committed to allowing the overall mission of the church to guide us in regard to when we need to change our plans or give way to another ministry whose needs are more pressing at the time. This provides an example to our congregation and to our community at large, because we believe people need to see healthy models of communication and conflict resolution. We never want personalities or egos to get in the way of ministering to others in the name of Christ and to proclaiming and living out the message of holiness for a new generation.

GRACEANDPEACEMAGAZINE.ORG / 43

The Educational Needs of Black Ministers M

y mind raced and spirit danced as I sat in my pastor’s office, waiting to speak with him about my options for college. I was 17 years old and sensing a call to the ministry. The pastor of the Baptist church where most of my family attended had stepped forward with a scholarship offer to a

A Personal Reflection

B y C h a rl e s A . T i ll m a n

two-year Baptist school. I would then transfer to a four-year college and complete my undergraduate degree. But even with that scholarship in hand, Dr. Johnson looked at me and said, “Son, you need to go to Nazarene Bible College.” So, off I went to NBC. That was over 35 years ago. I have no regrets over my choice. But I do have some questions to grapple with and observations to make.

Was it reasonable for a black man to attend predominantly white Nazarene college and expect to gain an education that would adequately prepare him for successful ministry in the black community?

Conventional wisdom dictates a resounding “no” as its response! However, although there was only one black faculty member and black enrollment was only around two percent, by the grace of God, this school ended up being a golden choice for me!

A ddi t i o n a l P r e pa r at i o n

and

Transition

As good as my educational journey was, no journey can prepare us for everything we face in ministry. However, the variety

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of professors and courses with wonderful Nazarene leaders were experiences I would never trade, including learning a deep appreciation of the doctrine of heart holiness.

I had spent most of my early years in a traditional black Baptist church. We had old fashioned rhythmic black preaching and singing at its finest. This was the type of worship that inspired you to clap your hands, stomp your feet, and shout under the influence of the Holy Spirit. This was also the kind of worship that I was accustomed to at our black Nazarene church in Meridian, Mississippi. The doctrine was Arminian/ Wesleyan holiness, while the worship style was Afrocentric, with a strong Southern flavor to it. The transition from my family’s black Baptist roots to Southern Black Nazarene was seamless, because they were similar.

During those days, Professor Clarence Bowman was the lone black professor at NBC. I am thankful for the time he spent encouraging me to “hang in there.” Bowman had earlier served at Nazarene Bible Training Center in Institute, West Virginia. This was a school for black Nazarene preachers in the segregated days of the 1960s. The school was closed and merged in 1970 with NBC in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Professor Bowman had served as Dean of the school in Institute, and thus, went on to join the faculty at Colorado Springs. I’ve often wondered if he sensed the loneliness and isolation I felt as one of the few Black students at NBC. Did he miss the Afrocentric worship style he would be accustomed to in a predominantly black environment? I do know that he embraced, encouraged, and inspired me to stay the course. “Brother Tillman, we need young men like you to serve in the Church of the Nazarene,” he once said.

I have since continued my educational journey, graduating with a bachelor’s and master’s degree from two state universities and completing doctoral studies, minus the dissertation, at another. My thinking, my theology, and my heart were shaped at NBC. My desire to learn and grow were fostered at NBC. My love for the church was honed at NBC. In order to be a more effective pastor and teacher in the black community, I would sense the need to further develop my skills and abilities by seeking additional learning

in universities located in the areas in which I served. I studied human services and social work. I completed a five-class series in alcohol and drug abuse, a problem plaguing the community where I launched my first church.

I would later complete an undergraduate degree with a major in Social and Behavioral Science and a graduate degree in Student Affairs. This additional training would serve to further hone my ministerial skills.

T o d ay ’ s N e e d s a n d t h e E d u c at i o n of Black Pastors

Mine was a very unconventional path. If I were to design a program to train black students for ministry, it would look somewhat different than the program I completed many years ago.

Our society is increasingly more diverse and accepting of other people and cultures. I was told in school that America is a great “melting pot,” accepting people from all races, religions, and cultures. Yet the reality is that 11:00 a.m. on Sunday morning remains the most segregated hour throughout much of America.

Do we have places of worship with people from different ethnic and racial backgrounds?

Yes, we do, but that is still the exception, not the norm, in many places. For the most part, people tend to worship with people who look like them and possess other commonalities.

We need black preachers that possess a broad-based education who can thrive even in predominately white settings in the USA/Canada Region. It is imperative that these preachers understand the legacy of great black preachers who have served as the bedrock of the black community and receive an education that is culturally relevant to maximize their potential to be successful ministers in the place I call home: the Church of the Nazarene!

CHARLES TILLM AN is pastor of Richmond Woodville Church of the Nazarene and Black Ministries Coordinator for the Church of the Nazarene USA/Canada

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BOOK

REVIEW Develop Intercultural Competence: How to Lead Cross-Racial and Cross-Cultural Churches HiRho Y. Park. (Nashville: General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, The United Methodist Church, 2018) 181 pages.

R E V I E W E R : M A R Y E L I Z A B E T H WAT E R S -S M I T H

I

n her recent book, Develop Intercultural Competence: How to Lead Cross-Racial and Cross-Cultural Churches, HiRho Y. Park dives into the significance of and development of cross-racial and cross-cultural leadership. Being the Executive Director of Clergy Lifelong Learning for the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church (UMC), Park writes this book with the intended audience of ministers who are seeking to develop their leadership skills within the church for crossracial amd cross-cultural (CR-CC) ministry.

CR-CC ministry is highly valued and clergy are given specific appointments to these positions by the UMC: Cross-racial and cross-cultural appointments are made as a creative response to increasing racial and ethnic diversity within the church and its leadership. Crossracial and cross-cultural appointments are appointments of clergy to congregations in which the majority of their constituents are different from the clergy’s own racial/ethnic and cultural background (p. 2).

Alongside her role as Director of Clergy Lifelong Learning, Park is also the United Methodist Church Cyber Campus Executive Director at the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry. Park has received a Doctorate of Ministry from Wesley Theological Seminary and a Doctorate of Philosophy from Boston University.

The structure of the book leads the reader to the heart of CR-CC ministry by creating a foundation of understanding the importance of CR-CC ministry in the world today. This then builds into what CR-CC ministry looks like through individual leadership, the faith community, and the creation of a worship

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service. Groups of leaders and ministers are encouraged to come together and dialogue with each other through the stories and questions that Park presents.

Creating space for introspection and understanding, Park gives case studies of racial and cultural events that an individual or a group of ministers can reflect on in light of their personal and ministerial experiences.

Before diving into the case studies, the reader is given tools and guidelines to engage with the studies within a group: prepare for a case study, make ample time for reflection and discussion, choose a facilitator, read the text carefully, recognize who is part of the story, map out the chronological events, name the issues, and share personal reflections.

These tools allow leaders to learn mutually, meaning they not only reflect on their own experiences and understandings, but also to try to understand what others have experienced, whether in the case study or within the discussion group.

Case studies create a space for discussion and reflection and also give examples of ways in which the church needs to be engaging in CR-CC ministry. Park builds a biblical foundation upon which there is a call to CR-CC ministry and references core affirmations about the value of CR-CC by her own denomination as an example for others to follow.

After helping the reader explore his or her personal assumptions and experiences, Park explores the development of CR-CC ministers and their leadership skills. She begins by recognizing that different cultures value certain leadership skills over others, so she focuses on leadership theories that are valued globally—leadership that is

charismatic/value-based, team-oriented, participative, human-oriented, autonomous, and self-protective. She explains each of these briefly, but focuses in on three leadership qualities that are found in CR-CC ministers: “Effective leadership in CR-CC settings requires authenticity, adaptability, and transformational qualities. It is a communal process rather than a demonstration and expression of individual leadership. Effective leaders in CR-CC contexts practice leadership from the heart, locating the needs of people in the center of their decision-making” (p. 53).

Park says, “Diagnosing the context is an essential element of adaptive leadership. An adaptive leader asks what it takes to thrive in a new and challenging environment” (p. 46).

Adaptive leadership observes events that occur within their setting and allows those events to shape their ministry to best fit the situation.

She notes: “Authentic leaders understand the purpose of their leadership” (p. 47). This leadership trait is knowledge within the leaders that they know who they are and why they are a leader within their context.

Transformative leadership involves creating a new community in the leader’s context that begins to imagine the world in a new way through leadership. These leaders have a clear vision and draw people to themselves because of their empowering and engaging leadership.

Within mutual belief and each person’s experience in the church the faith community is created, and in this faith community these leadership skills are engaged. Park emphasizes the importance of a faith community to include people who are the “Other.” When a faith community includes people who are the “Other,” we see God through the Body of Christ.

The faith community is a place for people to realize their “full potential as holistic creatures of God” (p. 62). It is in the safety and welcoming atmosphere of the community that someone has the ability to find solace and peace from God. Leadership within the faith community is important for shaping the worship of the congregation through musical worship, preaching, and liturgy. Park explains that through the Wesleyan Quadrilateral (Scripture, Reason, Experience, and Tradition) these expressions of worship

are formed by a minister. She gives several excerpts from sermons that demonstrate how the Quadrilateral is used in this way.

Park shares the art of CR-CC leadership and the aspects that will be developed and will continue to grow throughout a lifetime.

These include education, relationship building, and building bridges. As the book comes to a close, Park shares the voices of ethnically diverse clergy who lead within a majority Caucasian congregation.

Develop Intercultural Competence is an insightful tool for leaders who are experiencing or want to experience cross racial and cross cultural ministry. A diverse combination of voices is represented throughout the book.

Through Park’s questions at the end of each chapter, the reader is given space to digest what she or he has read.

This book is heavily shaped by the affirmations of the United Methodist Church.

However, considering the fact that the theology within the book is built upon a Wesleyan understanding of holiness and of ministry, any leader within the Wesleyan tradition would benefit from reading Park’s book. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is seeking to learn about and implement cross cultural and cross racial ministry.

M ARY ELIZABETH-WATERS SMITH is a licensed minister in the Church of the Nazarene and a current student at Nazarene Theological Seminary.

GRACEANDPEACEMAGAZINE.ORG / 47

LEADING THROUGH PRIORITIES

J

ust over 15 years ago, I wrote a short book meant to encourage pastors. It was based upon letters to a former associate pastor of mine who was soon to become a senior pastor. The book is titled, From Pastor to Pastor (Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 2003). In light of our discussions about administration and leadership, it seemed appropriate to recall a portion of the book that reminds us of the important priorities of organizing our time and energies in pastoral ministry.

When Carol and I arrived at our first church, we were excited to apply everything I had learned at seminary. It didn’t take long to realize that some of what I learned about operating a church didn’t fit. A small church doesn’t operate like a business, and the pastor is not a CEO. The smaller church operates more like a family: They just want to be loved.

That being the case, as a pastor you’ll need to step out of the office and get out among the family. Of course, you’ll need to preach well. But you’ll need to spend much of your time just building relationships. You’ll want to bring about changes in the church, of course. But that won’t be accomplished as much in board meetings as it will in relationships. When the people feel you’re part of the family, they’ll be more open to your ideas.

If you have a good idea, bring it up at the next board meeting. I warn you that the board probably will not make a decision to adopt it right then. Church board members in smaller churches want to think about new ideas. They want to talk about it with their family members.

You may want to bring up a new idea over coffee with a few of the board members.

If it’s a good idea, someone will bring it up at a future board meeting after there’s been time for the idea to filter through

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the congregation. Good ideas will surface again. That’s the way the small church operates.

You’re accepted into the family as you get involved in their personal lives.

I’ve done a lot of things that I wasn’t taught in seminary in order to build relationships. I delivered calves, fed cattle, walked two miles underground in an ore mine, scoped rocks, climbed a mountain, helped folks move furniture, carried boiler pipe, went camping, helped the coroner pick up dead bodies (I was not excited about that one), and visited innumerable offices, factories, schools, and workplaces—all in the name of building relationships.

I was intentionally trying to be part of the family. They graciously took me in and thereby became part of my family. It doesn’t happen quickly. It takes a while for trust to build. Just be patient.

BOB BROADBOOKS

USA/Canada Regional Director Excerpt from: Bob Broadbooks, From Pastor to Pastor: Letters of Encouragement and Wisdom (Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 2003), pp. 85-88.

A Century of Service

O

n October 4, 1919, the General Assembly of the Church of the Nazarene created the General Board of Mutual Aid. It was an expression by a young denomination to collect and distribute donations to assist pastors and families caught off-guard by illness or death.

Almost a century has passed, but that same spirit of concern continues today through the gifts of Nazarene districts and churches to the Pensions and Benefits Fund. Your faithful contributions provide retirement assistance, life insurance, benevolence, and more to almost 17,000 active and retired ministers, churchemployed laypersons, spouses, and widows.

Throughout our centennial year, we pray you will join us in celebrating by doing what you can to provide the best possible financial support for your pastor.

If you’d like to know more about ministerial compensation, retirement planning, taxation, or other clergy-related financial matters, we’re here to help.

Pensions and Benefits USA Church of the Nazarene

A Century of Serving Those Who Serve

USA/Canada Regional Office Church of the Nazarene 17001 Prairie Star Parkway Lenexa, KS 66220

NONPROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID PERMIT # 1461 KANSAS CITY, MO

U S A / C A N A DA