Crawl Into Pastor Joe's Head

Hello Emmanuel,

Are you ready to get excited enough to jump out of your box?  (confused?  Listen to the podcast that will be out this week on yesterday’s sermon).

I’m excited and I want to share with you why I’m excited.  As we look toward a new season, I am looking toward a new year.  For many Pastors, Fall brings the question, ‘what can we do to make ministry better?’  Advent is only about 2 months away (for Pastors, that is not very far off).  So I invite you into my head to hear my thoughts.  Scared?  You should be.  The following is indirectly a result of some of my learnings while on sabbatical.

October 29^th will be the re-start of Saturday Night Worship.  People are in place.  Pray for it.  I expect good things.  In addition to what we did last Fall, we are looking to provide a children’s worship time upstairs during adult worship time downstairs….. 6:30 every Saturday.

I’m looking to talk to the powers-that-be (which include God) to tweak the structure of Sunday worship time.  I want to celebrate more.  Worship should be a party.  We may experiment with ways to celebrate in more specific ways.

We are looking to change how we make decisions for ministry at the level of leadership (i.e. Vision Team).  Those impacted will have already received an email.  I won’t go into detail here except to say we are adding a Resource Team (made up of finance, SPRC and Trustees) to compliment the increasing load of the Vision Team.  Trust me.  I’m excited.  More meeting time equals more time to dream, implement and evaluate ministry.  Otherwise I wouldn’t be excited.

We have people stepping forward, wanting to get involved.  That always excites me, though we still have a big hole to fill (Sunday School Teacher for DOC’s…. 4^th-6^th graders).  I am often impatient to see how new people with new ideas will create effective ministry. 

With the (eventual) widening of Old 74, opportunity may (or may not) be coming to obtain more parking.  I’m excited to see what is put before us.

Within the next several weeks, you will see a monitor in the lobby.  We will be able to better communicate with the 200+ people that come through the building through the week in addition to the 180 worshippers on the weekend.  I am very excited about that.

Emmanuel is looking at new possible ways to tackle an ever-aging issue:  how to keep a church relatively clean when it is constantly so busy.  Please pray for us!  I’m very excited.

A new Small Group is in the works for people who want to experiment with Small Group but not necessarily want to make a long-term commitment.  Target start date is November 3^rd.  More details to come.  I am excited.

Emmanuel has slowly become a hub for the traveling Inter Parish Ministry food pantry.  In addition, the county has decided to use Emmanuel to put on a Resource Fair for those who come needing help.  Emmanuel’s space will be used to connect people who are in need to resources that will help them.  Organizations from all over the county will be present.  How exciting is that!!

And the best for last…… Free food will be at church on Sunday.  Inter Parish Ministry will be providing food in the lobby (like donuts… mmmmmm)… as a ‘thank you’ to Emmanuel for all the time and energy we put in to help IPM reach out.  I’m excited!

If you haven’t already, it is time to invest in something bigger than yourself.  Synergy is all around us and it is an exciting time.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

I'mnotstressedI'mnotstressed.. weird...

Hello Emmanuel,

Have you ever felt like you were coasting through life?  Maybe things were going well or poorly, but you just were going through the motions of a period of time and nothing passionate was snatching your heart. 

My spirit, lately, has felt at ease.  Again, not that it is because things are going well or poorly, just that I have had a sense of contentment.  I’m trying to figure out if this is good or bad.  On one hand, contentment can be a sign of peace.  (Maybe I am doing what I’m supposed to do and it is good)  On the other hand, contentment can bring complacency.  I don’t like complacency.  It can lead to laziness.  I don’t like laziness.

So I feel good about where I am, but am afraid because I feel good about it.  Does that make sense?  My mom used to say that I worry too much. 

Usually this time of year I am very stressed.  I’ve always had a sense of urgency when September gets here for different reasons.  One, I am hoping that those who have missed church through the Summer come back.  Two—and related to one—is to get the ministry programs for the new season in order and running smoothly.  Three—and much less significant—is the anticipated frustration regarding my sports teams.  Will the Reds underachieve again and how many silly mistakes will I watch the Bengals make?

But I digress….

On a much more important note, Emmanuel is in need of leadership and I should be stressed.  For example, there is need for another Sunday School Teacher(s) in order to fill the 4^th-6^th grade class.  Beth Pollitt (who continues to do an extraordinary job with the kids) is looking for a change of pace and has agreed to step forward and lead a new children’s ministry for Saturday night worship (to start at the end of October).  If you have a passion for children, now is your time.  I promise, you will be equipped and have plenty of support to help the kids on Sunday morning become disciples (and you will likely learn alongside them). 

However, I’m not stressed.  This worries me.  Part of my job is to panic at the prospect of a healthy ministry not being sustained.  I’m not panicking. 

Emmanuel also needs help at the Trustees position.  The building has anywhere from 100 to 250 people (many of them kids) using the facility through the week.  The trustees need more help getting things done around the building.  I should be panicking.  I am not.  I don’t know why.

Many of the ministries are going along at a healthy pace, so don’t think that I’m grumbling.  I am experiencing what is typical for a church that goes through leadership transitions on an annual basis.  It’s just weird because I’m not stressed.  Maybe I’m getting old? 

So throughout the next month or so, expect to hear of opportunities for you to get involved.  But for whatever reason, don’t expect to hear it from a stressed pastor.  I’m not stressed and I don’t know why. 

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Win At All Costs

Hello Emmanuel,

Hope has started her first volleyball season.  As a dad, few things excite me more than watching my kids compete.  I have been driving her to practices and games with anticipation in my soul, imagining my 5^th grade daughter diving all over the court with knee pads in place, sweat dripping from her brow, and a look of determined excellence on her face.  That’s what I imagined.

Her?  Not so much.

5^th grade volleyball players evidently cement their feet to the floor.  If the ball happens to come their way, they hit it.  If not… well… someone else can get it.  It probably isn’t cool to be flying around everywhere like some sort of….… competitor.  In addition, the social aspect of making friends is much more important than paying attention to the game.  Scoring a point (for either team) is only an opportunity for giggling and social interaction.  The question as to why Dad is sitting in the crowd with his head in his hands is seemingly avoided altogether.

So I watch.  And I clap my hands when the serve goes over the net.  And I tell her ‘good job’.  All the while, my inward competitor is moaning and groaning.  It’s one of the reasons I could never coach kids at any level for any sport.  Watching the process of developing an athlete is agonizingly slow in my mind.  I would lose my patience way too soon.  I know.  I proved it.  I coached Joey’s t-ball team.  It was just as agonizing as I thought it would be.  And it wasn’t good for the health of family relationships either.  Just ask Kim.

Experiencing my competitive fervor in the church has been interesting over the years.  I’ve had to find ways to put my fervor in the right places and in the right way.  It isn’t always easy.  I lose my patience at times and need to find safe places to yell and scream (and, no, it isn’t at home.  That also isn’t conducive to healthy relationships).  Indeed, having a study that is padded and sound proof isn’t always a bad idea.

But honestly, my years at Emmanuel have been pretty good.  I’ve learned to compete in the right ways… here’s some of what I’ve learend:

Compete against unholy behavior.  Don’t compete against people.

            The opponent of the church isn’t people.  The opponent is behavior that opposes God’s will.  When I am able to remember what we are competing against, I can help keep the church focused and keep people encouraged and empowered to do holy stuff.  However, when I forget and think that we are competing against people who God created (unbelievers or other churched people), then I inevitably hurt relationships. 

Compete against faithlessness.  Don’t compete against other churches.

            The biggest temptation is to try and bad mouth the church down the street so that I can make myself look better.  It may be my biggest flaw as a pastor (besides my thick sarcasm).  It’s easy to get defensive when people point out what a better church the OTHER church is.  I need to remember that, for the most part, churches are all on the same team.  They may try to do things differently, but ultimately our goal is to spread the gospel message. 

Compete to bring unity.  Don’t compete to be right all the time.

            People like to be right.  And when someone is right, then that means someone else must be wrong.  Being right or wrong can too easily define a person’s worth.  People feel good when they are right and feel bad when they are wrong.  People can feel more important when they are right; less important when they are wrong.  This isn’t God’s way.  A person’s worth is connected to who created them, not to what their opinions are.  It’s one of the reasons I discourage taking votes in committee meetings.

            The art of compromise in the context of God’s Vision for the church is a much more difficult task.  However, it can be much more productive when a ministry team can effectively dialogue about any given issue and come to a compromised agreement that doesn’t put the Vision at risk.  I have found it to bring more unity to a church and less people ever feel disenfranchised, excluded or unwanted (and by extension, sometimes rejected by God).

These methods don’t always solve my dilemma.  I’m still heavily competitive and need to find ways to compete outside my role as pastor.  I just need to make sure no church people are around to watch me.  My halo has been known to quickly fall off my horns.

… now… for that padded, sound-proofed room….

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

It Can Get Personal

Hello Emmanuel,

My wife Kim preached to me yesterday.  This time it was from the pulpit (hehe).  I might be biased, but I think she did a very good job, other than the part where she revealed my odd obsessions.  I also must admit that it felt odd to be at Emmanuel on a Sunday morning and not be preaching.  However, the United Methodist Women led a quality worship service.  It’s good to know that the church is being led by many more people than just me.  This leads me to this week’s MMP.

I’ve always felt a big part of my untapped potential was in the realm of family counseling.  It’s been untapped mostly because, as a pastor, the many hats that I wear keep me from putting all my energy into any one area.  This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I’ve learned over the years that I would need to be good in many areas instead of excellent in any one area in order to be an effective pastor.

I’m not sure that it is AS true at Emmanuel.  A church that establishes itself as Vision-driven rather than Pastor-driven changes the dynamics of how a pastor can interact with the church.  A Vision-driven church that has Vision-driven leaders doesn’t need a pastor to micromanage every program.  This frees me up to do other things.  Like what?

On Sunday I had more than a couple of people wanting to talk to me about personal matters.  In my younger years, I would have also gladly scheduled to talk, but knowing that it would be on top of the many duties I had at the pastor-driven church.  Now?  I realized yesterday the blessing I have to dive a bit deeper into my untapped potential without worrying about getting curriculum, doing the bulletin or preparing music.  Now I have a little bit more freedom to talk one-on-one with people regarding many different issues, but all pertaining to striving for healthy relationships.  Sometimes it is about family.  Sometimes it is about Church.  Always it is about relationships.  And I’ve always felt this was the meat of my Call:  striving toward healthy relationships.

I still don’t feel like I’m close to being as good as I could be as a counselor.  A part of me wants to pursue my Masters in Social Work and get a whole lot better.  But helping equip Emmanuel to ‘make disciples of Christ’ is a whole lot of fun.  If there is any a time you need a listening ear, let me know. 

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Bigger Than You

Hello Emmanuel,

Why do people go to church?  There are lots of different answers for this:  obligation, worship, social activity, hopefulness, faithfulness, social standing…. Oh… and to see the pastor…  or.. to be seen by the pastor.

While some reasons are good and others a bit shallow, I believe that many have a deep-seeded desire to be a part of something bigger than themselves.  For myself, I constantly struggle with the tension of working with people and avoiding people.  While I know working with people is preferable to being a healthy church, my selfish side, at times, wants to avoid people because working with people is… well… so MUCH MORE WORK!

And yet I work with people because it is almost always the right way to go.  It creates a healthier church; is more rewarding; is truer to my Call; and at the end of the day, I simply feel more fulfilled in how I’ve spent my time and energy.

I believe God puts in me a deep-seeded desire to be a part of something bigger than just me.  I believe this, to various degrees, is true of most everyone.  As I have visited various churches of various sizes, the same question came back to me.  Why do people come to this church?

The answer?  One particular Sunday I sat in an auditorium that could seat over 2,000 people and listened to the pastor talk about monster ministries that impacts entire communities, even on the other side of the world.  The worship service brought alive the new church that was being built in South Africa and how you could be a part of it.  The message was direct.  ‘You can be a part of this blessing’.  ‘You can be a part of something so much bigger than yourself’.  And it was big and it was important.  And people flocked to the church… thousands even.

Not just missions, but in everything the church did, it made sure people understood how important it was.  Children’s ministry, hospitality, small groups, youth programs, on and on.  The leadership believed it was important and important to communicate how important it was to get you, an important person, involved.  Get it?

While it may sound like a sneaky marketing tool, it delves into people’s deep-seeded desires to be a part of something really big and important.  And guess what?  God is all about big and important stuff.  God doesn’t have an inferiority complex.  Every act of love and hope and faith is important…. And it is big.  It is big because too much of the world has too little love and hope and faith.  And God wants you to be an important part of putting more love, hope and faith into the world.

Starting September 8^th, I will be preaching a series called ‘Bigger Than You’.  Each Sunday will describe from different perspectives how your life and the life of the community can crisscross and create something that you could never do by yourself.  There is a synergy about church life.  Don’t know what synergy is?  (hint:  2+2=8).  Come find out.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Good AND Scary

Hello Emmanuel,

I was welcomed back with open arms yesterday.  I was relieved that I didn’t forget how to preach and genuinely glad to see the people of Emmanuel again.  As I think about the weeks ahead, however, I feel I need to give fair warning.  A pastor coming back from sabbatical can be both really good and really scary for the church.

First, the really good……

I am reinforced by the fact that Emmanuel is a well-organized, vision-driven church.  What this means is that when the pastor disappears for 6 weeks, the leaders of Emmanuel are not suddenly lost with what to do next.  Emmanuel can continue to go about the business of being the church because they have a focus on what God wants them to do, and not necessarily relying on the every word and action of one person… mainly the pastor.  This, in fact, was the case at Emmanuel.  It’s a good thing.

However, I must also be honest and recognize there still needs to be a person at the helm.  Over time, a church can go astray from the vision.  This is human nature in any church and, for that matter, any organization.  I was told it is sort of like a person guiding the rudder of a big ship, helping make small adjustments here and there to help keep the ship going in the right direction.

Second, the scary……

I went on sabbatical mostly to rest, but also to learn.  And I did learn.  Emmanuel is a healthy church, but not without its challenges.  For better or worse, the pastor is also one to put forth those challenges and encourage the church to make changes for the better.  These challenges can be easy or difficult or sometimes even painful.  And it is the role of the pastor to take first steps to help make them happen.  This means that sometimes difficult decisions need to be made. 

God isn’t done with us.  Being content with how we are doing simply isn’t a good idea.  I intend to keep pushing Emmanuel.  While many people feel great about what we are doing for God, I spend just as much time thinking about what we can do for God but haven’t yet. 

For example, we helped 210 children with school supplies yesterday at our Back To School Bash.  This is awesome!  We also gave away 59 backpacks!  This is also awesome.  We should celebrate this and give thanks to God.  The other half of my mind (and spirit) is wondering what we are going to do next year when 280 children show up.  Much like the issues around worship services, Small Groups, the Easter Egg hunt, Breakfast with Santa and so on…….  As we are able to bless more and more people, more and more people will want to be blessed.  The potential is essentially endless.  That is the nature of Grace.

What God is able to help us do is so much more than what we’ve already done.  So be ready to be challenged.  I will be here to help you through it.  In the end, it will be a lot of fun.  And our spirits will burst with joy and fulfillment.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

I'm Baaaaaack...

Hello Emmanuel,

I’m baaaaaack…   I have returned from my 6 week sabbatical and it was wonderful.  I have rested, reconnected with my Call and learned much.  Before I delve into the juicy details, I want to thank everyone who has supported (and encouraged) me through this process.  I’m glad I did it. 

During my time I visited 6 churches that were very different from one another.  I saw some great, good, bad and ugly.  I visited a church that averages 100 per week and a church that averages 10,000 per week.  I listened to sermons and I listened to really good sermons.  I was warmly welcomed in some places and some places not so much.  I heard about mission work that went beyond what I thought was possible.  I saw excellent strategies for making the Christian Faith relevant.  I also saw how churches can unintentionally (or intentionally?) exclude people from life-transforming experiences.  I realized how blessed I am to be in a church that has a clear Vision and purpose.  I also have learned how we may be able to get even more effective in ‘making disciples of Christ’ as we move forward.

I also learned how to check the time during a sermon to see if it was time to leave yet (without my wife noticing).  I was able to sing to good music without thinking ahead to what I had to do next.  I learned that there are 1,689 ways to organize a church, more than one of them effective.  I learned that warehouses are popular places for new churches.  I learned that suit and ties are still in style and I could still wear shorts and get away with it.  I re-learned that effective ministry is 80% good communication (and it may be higher).

One constant lesson that was affirmed within me—and the one that I am most glad about:  church is about relationships with God and each other.  That is the one reality I will not let go of.

My journeys took me across the country…. Literally… as I visited Delaware and California and Georgia.  I could say that it was all for study, but I can’t lie (I’m a pastor after all).  I got to see the Reds lose 5 games in a row on the West Coast and only got mildly sunburnt on the beach in Delaware (that’s a win for me). 

I look forward to sharing my learnings with anyone willing to listen--- and some who may not be willing.  Most of all, I look forward to re-connecting with Emmanuel quickly and listening to all that went on while I was gone.

While sabbaticals can be tough on the short-term, the long-term benefits can greatly outweigh any bumps.  I intend to make this be so. 

Now I’m on to sorting through the 350 emails.  I have work to do.

I’m ready to roll.