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Timeless Ministry in an Ever-Changing World

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Change is inevitable. During the last few decades, the speed of change in the communities where we serve has grown exponentially. We’ve seen it all around us, including our own communities. In this quickly changing environment, we want our ministries to be relevant—not so we get invited to speak at conferences or get the praise of our ministry friends, but so that we reach more people for Jesus. Acts 13:36 is one of my favorite verses. “For David served God’s purposes in his own time, and then he died” (GNT). David did the timeless—God’s purposes—in an ever-changing world. That’s always been my prayer for my life. I want to serve God’s unchanging purposes in my generation. Our message never changes. God calls us to “contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all time handed down to the saints” (Jude 1:3 NASB). Our mission isn’t to make the Bible relevant. It is already relevant. But the way we communicate the unchanging message of the Bible in today’s changing world can become irrelevant. How does irrelevance happen? Irrelevance isn’t just something that affects churches. Every organization can become irrelevant when the speed of cultural change surpasses its rate of organizational growth. The faster the culture changes, the easier it is to become irrelevant. I had the privilege of having Peter Drucker, the father of modern management, as a mentor for the last 30 years of his life. One time I asked him, “How often does a rapidly growing organization need to change its structure?” He suggested changing the structure every time the organization grows by 45 percent. At the time, that was a problem for Saddleback. For the first few years of its existence, the church grew by 47 percent each year. That means we needed to re-structure the church every year. The structure that worked at 50 didn’t work at 150. The structure we had at 500 didn’t work at 1,000. The DNA of Relevance Relevant leadership for a pastor and relevant ministry for a church won’t happen by accident. It’s a choice. You’ll need to deal constantly with three factors to stay relevant:

Organizational culture
Personal culture
Congregational emotions

All three are important as you seek to serve God’s purposes in your generation. You’ll need to make three decisions to stay relevant—one for each of those factors. Develop a ‘lab’ mentality Laboratories experiment. Your church should never stop experimenting. And when you do, don’t be afraid to fail. If you fail, simply try something else. Sometimes you’ll have to try 99 things that don’t work only to find success with the 100th. If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll become irrelevant. Yesterday’s solutions won’t work tomorrow. Never stop learning Growing organizations require growing leaders. The moment you stop growing, your organization stops growing. All leaders are learners. Ecclesiastes 10:10 says, “If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success” (NIV). It isn’t dedication or desire that brings success. It’s skill. It’s like farming. You can work from sunup to sundown, but if you’re raising tomatoes and using a wheat harvester, you’ll get nowhere. Or if you’re growing wheat but using a corn harvester, you’ll struggle. Skill brings success. A sharp ax makes woodcutting easier than a dull one requiring extra swings. Work smarter first, then work harder. You’re never wasting your time when you’re sharpening your ax. So always keep learning. Read articles like this. Read books. Go to conferences. Take a class. You won’t stay relevant if you stop learning. Acknowledge the grief Your church can’t grow without change. There’s also no change without loss and no pain without grief. You must let go of the old to grab onto the new. Sometimes when there’s pushback on church changes, it’s because people are mourning. They aren’t angry at you (though it may seem like it). They’re grieving the changes that are happening in their church family. Grief is good. It’s how we get through the transitions of life. We need to go through all the stages of grief, including anger. Grief over the changes in your church won’t kill your church. Fear, resentment, and pride will. A wise pastor understands the emotions of the people he is leading. Let your congregation grieve, and then honor the past without perpetuating it. Don’t confuse relevance with style either. Styles change just like everything else. I’ve seen a number of ministry styles come and go during my ministry. Build your ministry not on a style but on the purposes of God. They’ll never change.

Recent Articles

Remember Your Gospel Mission

“The most important thing is that I complete my mission, the work that the Lord Jesus gave me—to tell people the Good News about God’s grace.” Acts 20:24 (NCV)Pastor, God gave you a mission. With meetings to lead, decisions to make, and another sermon to prepare, it’s easy for that mission to get crowded out of your week.Nothing matters more than this mission.The most important work in your ministry isn’t to keep every program running, finish every task, or satisfy every expectation. Those responsibilities matter, but they must serve the mission Jesus gave you: telling people the Good News of God’s grace.Paul said, “The most important thing is that I complete my mission, the work that the Lord Jesus gave me—to tell people the Good News about God’s grace” (Acts 20:24 NCV).Jesus died on the cross to bring grace to you and to give you a mission. Part of your mission is to tell other people about the Good News of God’s grace. You came to faith in Christ because someone told you about Jesus. Now who are you going to tell?Jesus died for every single person in your community and around the world. Many people go through life without knowing what he did for them. Some live near your church. Some are people you see every week. They need to hear about his grace.Because God cares about every single person on the planet, we must too. Because God showed grace to us when he saved us, we must tell other people about the amazing grace of God. They can have a relationship with God and an eternal home in heaven.This week, ask God to help you share that Good News with one person.It’s our mission!

Preach to Build People Up

Pastor, people need to hear the truth. They also need to see the life God is calling them to live. I want my preaching to build people and help them believe they can take the next step.The Bible says, “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ” (Ephesians 4:15 NIV).Speaking the truth in love means telling people what they need to hear for their growth and caring about them as we say it. Kindness gives people what they need, not what they deserve. In preaching, that means challenging people and correcting them with their growth in mind.Give people a personal challengePaul writes, “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received” (Ephesians 4:1 NIV). He is challenging believers to make their lives count. We all need a cause or purpose that calls forth the best in us. Preach toward a cause bigger than self-interest. Call people to use their strengths to serve others and make their lives count. Challenge the best in them, then give them a clear next step.Give people confidenceWhen somebody believes in you, it brings out the best in you. Jesus gave Simon a new name and told him what he could become. Simon was impulsive, but Jesus saw his potential.People need encouragement. Our words can reinforce labels they already carry, or point them toward what God can develop in them. Help them see their potential and take a next faithful step.Give people honest counselThere is no progress without learning, and no learning without feedback. Proverbs says, “People learn from one another, just as iron sharpens iron” (Proverbs 27:17 GNT). People need someone who cares enough to tell them the truth, even when it hurts. When correction is needed, name it plainly.Aim to help a person change without condemning them. Affirm the person and correct the behavior. Speak the truth in love. That kind of correction can build people up.As you prepare this week, think of one person who needs a challenge, encouragement, or honest correction. Ask how your words can help that person grow. Build people up with kindness. Speak the truth in love.

Leave Some Room to Listen

“Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.” Matthew 6:6 (MSG)Pastor, by Monday morning, you may already be thinking about next Sunday’s sermon. Your phone already has messages waiting, and someone needs you to make a decision. Finding a few quiet minutes can feel like one more task you’re behind on.But look at Jesus’ invitation above. He asks you to come honestly, without playing a part. You don’t have to arrive with a lesson prepared or something helpful to say. You can tell God what’s really going on with you.You spend much of your week helping other people know him. He wants time with you, too.That can be easy to forget when every open moment fills with sound. You listen to a podcast in the car. You check your phone between appointments. Even when you’re alone, someone else’s words keep coming.There’s nothing wrong with listening and learning. But leave some room to listen to God. The sermon you’re studying won’t take the place of bringing your own heart to him.You may not have a quiet office or an uninterrupted morning. Could you close the door for a few minutes before returning calls? Or take a short walk and leave your phone behind?The point is to meet with God. Tell him what you’re carrying. Give your attention to his Word. Let there be a little silence without rushing to fill it.Before you open the next message today, take a few quiet minutes with him. You have people to care for this week, and your Father welcomes you into his care.

What Jesus Does When You Fail

"The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)Maybe you blew it last week, Pastor. A decision that hurt someone. A harsh word in a meeting. A weakness you swore you'd beaten, back again. And now it's Monday, and Sunday is already coming.Failure is isolating. When you're in the middle of a failure, you feel ashamed and just want to be alone. That's doubly true when you lead a church. You're supposed to be the person who’s whole.But Jesus is with you always, even in your greatest failure. To help you through your failures, he is doing three things:Jesus prays for you. Even before Peter had failed, Jesus told him, "I have prayed for you, that your faith will not fail" (Luke 22:32 NASB).Even at this very moment, Jesus is interceding—praying—for you. The Bible says, "He is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf" (Hebrews 7:25 NLT).Jesus believes in you. In fact, he expects you to heal and recover. That's why, before Peter’s big failure, Jesus told him, "When you have repented and turned to me again . . ." (Luke 22:32 NLT). Jesus knew Peter would sin and fail and eventually come back to him.And Jesus knows the same about you. We all fail, and we fail repeatedly. Your biggest weaknesses are often habitual. The same one, again and again. But God isn't only there for the big, one-time failure. He's there for the mistakes you make over and over.Jesus shows you mercy. Jesus is more willing to show mercy than you are willing to ask for it. When you're down, he doesn't beat you up or add to your guilt. He saves you.In John 21, not long after Peter denied him, Jesus found Peter back in his fishing boat. Empty nets. A failed night. At dawn Jesus called from the shore and told Peter and the other fishermen where to cast. "So they did, and they couldn't haul in the net because there were so many fish in it" (John 21:6 NLT).That catch was Jesus' answer to Peter's failure. He is ready to do the same for you. He can do more in five minutes than you can do in 50 years of planning.And God's mercy toward you is not dependent on your performance. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning—including this Monday morning.You may be ready to give up on yourself, Pastor. Jesus isn't. He is praying for you, believes in you, and will always show you mercy. He has never been more faithful to you than he is today.

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