NEW PASTOR’S GUIDE

NEW PASTOR’S GUIDE

Knowing Who You Are and What

You Do Helps!

There’s confusion today about who ministers are and what they do. A few years ago the Educational Testing Service conducted a study on ministerial identity. One thousand lay leaders in various denominations were asked to give adjectives and profile statements of what they considered to be an “outstanding minister.” This information was then given to a group of psychological testers. The testers were not told who was being described. When asked to identify the person being described, they said, “A junior vice-president of Sears-Roebuck.”1

Who Are You?

The problem of blurred identity can create difficulties as you begin a new pastorate. You must be sure within yourself of some basic truths about your identity. Three things must be firmly pegged down. First, you must be aware of your own personhood. Your humanity is undeniable. Failure to accept that you have needs, fears, weaknesses, and idiosyncrasies is to fail to accept reality. The denial of your humanity either by yourself or by others makes you subject to expectations that defy finiteness of ability, energy, and time. The fact is your abilities are limited and your available energy and time are not without end.

Do You Have a First Name?

Because of your humanity, special care should be taken not to create or encourage unrealistic expectations for yourself. Determine to be the best pastor possible; attempting to be a superhuman pastor can result in disappointment and disillusionment for yourself and others. Human inability to accomplish superhuman tasks can create an unnecessary sense of personal failure and guilt.

Did Someone Call Your Name?

A second fact to peg down is that you are a called person. You are called of God. You share with all Christians the call to faith. Every believer has experienced and responded to the initiative of God’s Spirit to accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. But your calling has two additional dimensions. You have been called to ministry. This is the call to devote one’s energies in some ministry of the church. This call probably came as an inner disturbance, questions about life’s meaning and direction, a recognition of need, and a sense that God desired your life as an instrument of his work in the world. You have also experienced a corporate call. In the process of becoming the pastor of a local church, you have been interviewed, discussed, investigated, and “called” by the body. Clarity and personal certainty about your callings are essential to your ministry in your new church.2

Are You Somebody Important?

The third thing to peg down is that who you are and what you do has standing and significance among others. Ministry is not something people do who can’t do anything worthwhile. Your work is of ultimate importance in the world. You are a professional person offering important services to the church and to persons. To be identified as a professional is not to minimize ministry or to take it out of the realm of God’s calling. By simple definition ministry is a profession. James Glasse helps us see the minister as a professional person. Glasse provides five qualifications of a professional:

He is an educated person.

The professional is a person who is “master of some body of knowledge.” The minister must be one who is well studied in a specific body of material. This would include Scripture, the history of the Christian faith, and the human condition and nature.

He is “master of some specific cluster of skills.”

The minister is one called on to perform certain tasks. Whether it is preaching a sermon, making a hospital visit, or counseling a distressed person, he must be able to perform his work.

He is an institutional person. The minister renders his service through a “historical social institution of which he is partly servant, partly master.” The church is that institution.

He is a responsible person. The minister “professes to be able to act

competently in situations which require his services.”

He is a dedicated person. The minister is one who “‘professes’ something, some value for society.”3

These recognitions call us to consider our work more highly than we otherwise might. They also help us face major questions in contemporary ministry:

Who is the minister accountable to?

To whom is he answerable for the proper performance of his work?

The following suggests the importance of a clear self-understanding and identity in the minds of others.

If the pastor is an employee, then he is accountable to ...

his “employer”—

the local church,

its officers;

or denominational agency.

If the pastor is an independent professional, then he is accountable to ...

himself,

his professional colleagues,

other ministers.

If the pastor is a person, called of God, then he is accountable to ...

the profession of ministry,

God,

himself,

his family,

his colleagues,

his church,

his denomination.4

Glasse concludes that the minister as professional is indeed an accountable person. His accountability grows out of his professionalism. The final, ultimate basis of the evaluation of his services is his dedication to the values of his profession.5

What’s Your Job?

Just as you must know who you are, it is necessary to know the nature of your work. Pastoral ministry is a specific task. Rather, it is a set of tasks. These tasks are determined by the nature of ministry as described in Scripture and determined by the needs of the church.

Is It Preacher, Counselor, or Administrator?

The Bible presents several images of the person of God. They suggest what he is about and what he does.

In the Old Testament there are three such images— prophet, priest, and king.

The New Testament presents some similar images.

In Ephesians 4:11, Paul mentions some of them. He says that God gave some to be apostles; some, prophets; some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.

These Old and New Testament images are related in the similarity of the tasks performed. The prophets of the Old Testament declared God’s message. The prophet/evangelists of the New Testament were likewise the proclaimers of God’s message.

The work of the priest in the Old Testament was the care and guidance of the people according to the dictates of God’s law. They instructed the people in the law and called them to live their lives around its truth. Interestingly, this is the same function of the pastor/teacher of the New Testament.

The kings of the Old Testament were primarily concerned with giving oversight and direction to the national or corporate life of the people.

Similarly apostles of the New Testament church were looked to by the church for corporate direction.

Basic Functions

1. Proclaim, Speak forth God’s message

2. Care, Counsel, and Guide in understanding and doing righteousness

3. Lead, govern, provide direction to the corporate life of the people

Today the work of a pastor involves all three basic functions. Ernest Mosley in Called to Joy helps us see that the pastor’s work encompasses the tasks of proclamation, care, and leadership.6

The pastor stands before the people as one declaring the Word of God.

He stands with them providing guidance, counsel, and care.

He works among them providing leadership to the church’s growth and mission.

Mosley indicates that a pastor cannot devote himself solely or mainly to only one of these tasks. To perform his full responsibility, the pastor cannot depend on either the pulpit, the counseling chamber, or his position as congregational leader alone. There should be a strong degree of equality of each of these.

Each task is equal in importance.

They are interlocked to form” a whole.

They are interrelated and

interdependent, to the extent that a pastor excludes one function or minimizes it, he diminishes his effectiveness in other areas.

If he does not recognize and perform his care task,

he harms his effectiveness in proclamation and leadership.

If he does not accept responsibility for his leadership task,

he undercuts his effectiveness in proclaiming the gospel and caring for people.

It is crucial therefore that you recognize the importance of each area of work as a pastor.

Is It Pastor?

Pastoral ministry is necessary for the health and productivity of the church.

It exists for the church.

The church does not exist to support pastoral ministry.

This distinction is necessary

for a clearer understanding of the relationship between the church and the pastor’s ministry.

There are two different and conflicting understandings of the place and role of the pastor in the church. One view suggests that the pastor, and particularly his ministry, is the focus of the church’s life and effort. It says that the church’s leadership and general membership find their purpose in providing help and giving support to the pastor’s ministry.

In effect this view implies that the church exists for the pastor’s ministry.

The second understanding suggests that the pastor’s ministry is for the church.

It says that the church is the object of the pastor’s ministry rather than the supporter of his ministry. This is not to say, however, that the pastor as a person does not also receive personal encouragement and support as a member of the church. He also needs ministry.

But his role as pastor is a supportive, enabling task.

This second pattern is apparently what Paul had in mind in his description of the work of the ministers in the church. In Ephesians 4:11-12 Paul indicated the purpose of their ministry. He said, “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”

According to this passage, every form of ministry finds its purpose in the development of the church for ministry. Some persons resist and others reject this approach to ministry. They oppose the idea that the pastor is in a secondary, less than primary position. Yet Jesus himself describes ministry as servanthood. The role of minister is servant. Jesus taught that the measure of greatness and significance in his kingdom was different from that in the world.

Jesus said: “But whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his Life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:43-45).

We have come then to two major principles in pastoral ministry.

First, pastoral ministry involves a balanced approach to proclamation, care, and leadership.

Second, pastoral ministry involves a servant role to help the church to grow toward maturity and engage in ministry. With these two facts clearly in mind we need to consider the phases of a pastor’s ministry in a church.

Understanding the Ins and Outs of a Pastorate

Sequence of Three Stages

A pastor’s ministry in a local church has three distinct stages. They fall in a natural sequence. Each stage influences each subsequent stage.

This figure illustrates these stages:

1. Getting Underway

Start-up is the first stage. It is the period the pastor gets his work underway in a new pastorate. Many crucial events occur during the start-up. First contacts and experiences between pastor and people take place then. The kind of relationship they will eventually have with each other begins to be formed here. It is during start-up that the so-called “honeymoon” period is experienced. This is followed by a time of “testings” which begins with the first hint of problem in the pastor-people relationship.

2. Maturing Relationships

The second stage of a pastor’s ministry in a church is the “established ministry” stage. This period begins when the pastor and church come to a new maturity in their relationship. The relationship in this time is characterized by realities more than fantasies about each other. An effective start-up period enhances the established ministry stage. Unfortunately, many pastors never realize the potential of this second phase. This is because the established ministry stage is either abbreviated or aborted by a poor start-up.

3. Ending Positively

The third and final stage of a pastor’s ministry in a church is called closure. This is the winding down or ending period. It lasts from a few days to a few months. Closure can be a healthy experience for both a pastor and a congregation. It can also be a destructive time. How closure is handled influences the next start-up stage both for the minister and for the church.

The pattern suggested by the second figure is potentially destructive to both the church and the pastor. If the ministry phases are prematurely ended or aborted by a poor start-up, the church and the pastor are robbed of their most fruitful time together. There is evidence to indicate, however, that this is a prevailing pattern. Among Southern Baptists the present average tenure of a pastor in a local church is approximately two years. Since the start-up phase generally requires from twelve to twenty-four months, the average pastor seldom moves significantly beyond the first stage. Actually, what often happens is that the average pastor will move through start-up to the point of the first problem. This is the point of transition from the first, start-up phase to the second, established ministry stage. When the problem is confronted and realities about the church encountered, the pastor may decide to move to another church. It may also be true that the church does not know how to handle this struggle well; and instead of being committed to working through it with the new pastor, it seeks to force change. The result of either of these responses from the pastor or the church brings an end to the pastor-church relationship. This means that both the pastor and the church are faced with beginning another start-up with another partner without the benefit of a positive experience in the Last ministry. Too often the minister chooses a new ministry in a new church to avoid the pain of growing into the established ministry phase. Obviously the startup phase is critically important to both pastors and churches.

Importance of a Good Beginning

In getting started in a church, a pastor must be aware of the crucial importance of the time of beginning. Some things that appear to be only details can turn into problems that retard the process and hurt the progress toward the established ministry stage. Some of these details have to do with the basic understandings you have with the church on the terms of your call to the pastor.

When you are negotiating with a church, the following checklist may prove helpful in clarifying the contract. Even if you have already moved to your new church, check this list for anything that was not made clear. You will want to use it as a personal guide to questions to settle while negotiating with a church. You may want to suggest to the church that those matters left

unresolved should be settled now to avoid misunderstandings later on.

Checklist for Clarity in a Call

1. Church moves/provides moving expenses? YES [ ] NO [ ]

2. Church provides housing for pastor, family? YES [ ] NO [ ]

If yes, in what form?

Pastorium

Allowance

If allowance, how much monthly? $ _____________

3.         Church provides utilities or allowance?                                                  YES [    ]        NO [    ]
            If yes, amount: $ __________
            Electricity       $ __________
            Phone             $ __________
            Water             $ __________
            Other             $ __________

4. Church assists pastor in purchasing home? YES [ ] NO [ ]

If yes, indicate the following:

Provides down payment as gift or loan in the amount of $_____________ at an interest rate of ______% to be repaid at $ monthly.

Amount to be paid in full within ________ days of termination as pastor.

5. Monthly salary to begin $ _________ with review for increase at the end of: Months ______

(How often? _____________) Year ______

Recommendation for increase to be made by ___________________________________ committee.

6. Monthly car allowance provided? YES [ ] NO [ ]
If yes, in the amount of $ per month and ___________ cents per mile for distant travel on church business.

7. Church provides insurance coverage?

YES [ ] NO [ ]

If yes, how much?

Health $

Life $

Retirement $

8. Church provides annual book allowance? YES [ ] NO [ ]

If yes, annual amount $

9. Church provides weekly days off? YES [ ] NO [ ]

If yes, number of days

10. Church provides annual, paid vacation? YES [ ] NO [ ]

If yes, number of weeks _____ first year; second year and thereafter ________

11. Is pulpit supply paid by church for vacation absences? YES [ ] NO [ ]

12. Church provides time off for:

Revivals? YES [ ] NO [ ]

State Convention? YES [ ] NO [ ]

Southern Baptist Convention? YES [ ] NO [ ]

How much time for revivals? ________

13. Is pulpit supply paid by church for these absences? YES [ ] NO [ ]

14. Are expenses paid to conventions? YES [ ] NO [ ]

Wife included? YES [ ] NO [ ]

15. Church provides time off for bereavement YES [ ] NO [ ]

If yes, how much time? ________

16. Church provides time off for illness? YES [ ] NO [ ]

If yes, amount of time annually

17. Are salary and benefits paid during time of illness? YES [ ] NO [ ]

For how long?

18. Supply minister paid by church? YES [ ] NO [ ]

For how long?

19. Church provides annual physical examination for pastor?

YES [ ] NO [ ]

20. Pastor is designated as supervisor of other staff?

YES [ ] NO [ ]

If no, who is designated and for which staff members? _________

21. Time off is provided for study leave and training conferences?

YES [ ] NO [ ]

If yes, how much time annually?

22. Does church pay cost of job-related training?

YES [ ] NO [ ]

If yes, how much of total cost? __________

23.

24.

25.

Clarifying Details

These considerations and others need clarification. Since in most cases negotiations occur between a pastor selection committee and a prospective pastor, a free flow of information should take place. The congregation should be informed about the terms of the pastoral call and give its approval. These terms should be recorded in the minutes or in a letter since memory fades and leadership changes in the course of years.

Care to details in the start-up phase will reduce the possibility of misunderstandings later. Oversights and assumptions can become hurtful problems. Potential problems should

be avoided. To do this, we need to consider some of the characteristics and problems of the start-up stage. The following chapter explores some of the challenges a pastor confronts following the “honeymoon period.”

Passing the Entrance

Requirements

During the start-up stage you can expect to face two different types of experiences. One is fun. The other may not be. The fun time is the period often called the honeymoon. It’s characterized by a lack of problems. It’s a time of romance between yourself and the church. But the good cooperation and the almost unqualified positive feelings will finally be interrupted by the first shadow of problems.

Surviving the Honeymoon

Let’s look briefly at the honeymoon period. There is no specific time period for it. The honeymoon may end before you are aware that it’s over. Generally, you may expect it to last for the first four to twelve weeks of a new pastorate.

During this time a couple of things tend to happen. First, you and the church will likely idealize each other. Human frailties may not be apparent. This time of idealizing Lasts from two to four weeks. After that an awareness develops that neither party is really as perfect as first hoped. However, neither you nor the church is Likely to admit this out loud. Because of an unwillingness to admit reality, an illusion is created based on denial. There is reluctance to give candid feedback to each other. The danger is not that feedback will occur but that, for fear of hurting each other’s feelings, feedback is not given or received. It is easy to develop a false sense of security as a result of this. You may tend to operate with the assumption that people totally approve your actions. They may in fact be skeptical. You can easily mistake their silence for approval. In this atmosphere of non-communication, you may take directions and use methods inappropriate for the church.

Your own eagerness to succeed in the new church may further compound the problem.

You may be afraid to see and hear the signals from people that say, “slow down,” “not that way,” “not at this time.”

The danger is that some mistakes of great substance may be made during this time.

Wisdom says move slowly during these first few weeks and months. We will discuss this further in chapter 6, “Establishing Ministry Relationships.”

Challenging Your Credentials

The honeymoon period ends as you and the people begin to share your deeper feelings. Criticism may come. You may want to avoid hearing it, but it is best to hear and heed. Church members may lack the ability to share their feelings in a positive way. Both you and the church may be uncomfortable during this time. However, the end of the honeymoon marks the beginning of a potentially more mature relationship. Just as in marriage, the deepest and best experiences come after the first blush of romance. Likewise the first skirmishes in a church can become bridges of lasting and meaningful relationships.

The honeymoon may end with a soft murmur or a loud confrontation. If you are aware of the need to listen and be open rather than to withdraw and be defensive, this period can be a time of growth. The more you resist the words and feelings of others, the more powerful and emotional this period will become. Seeking feedback says to people that you care about their thoughts and feelings. This open, approachable style is far better than one that is closed, inflexible, and defensive.

Testing Your Authenticity

Simultaneous to the honeymoon, another experience can be expected during the start-up period. This is the process of testing. It has to do with your own authenticity as a person and as a minister. John Fletcher of the Inter/Met Project in Washington, D.C. coordinated a study of the problems church members have with ministers. In this study the major problems that were identified had to do with what was termed “religious inauthenticity.” In describing the problems, lay persons said of ministers: “He speaks down

to us ... did not have head and heart together.., pious... hypocritical.., lost on a mountaintop.., did not live the gospel in his own life . .. treated the congregation like children ... could not relate religion and life’s problems.”2

During start-up the church may test your authenticity. They may watch for signals as to who you actually are as a person and as a minister. They may watch to determine consistency of words, actions, and spirit.

The process of authentication testing touches three major levels. First, there is testing for your personal strength; second, there is testing for your professional ability; and third, there is testing of your sense of fairness and trust.

Testing Personal Strengths

During the testing for personal strength, you may be challenged in your role as pastor of the church. Your pastoral authority may be questioned. The church may ask, “Can this man really become pastor here?” You may feel confused when this occurs. It is your assumption that you are pastor and that you automatically have the authority of your position. In fact, however, pastoral authority has to be granted to you by the church itself. You are not pastor simply because the church has asked you to be. YOU must become pastor. Before you do this, you may be challenged on issues dealing with power, authority, and purpose.

There is danger here of reacting to overcome the challenge by displaying an inappropriate spirit. If so, you may prove your personal strength but invalidate your authenticity as a minister. Another danger is that you may not act to meet the challenge and by your inactivity fail to validate the fact that you have the personal strength to be pastor. You can expect the testing through either overt actions to restrict your efforts or as covert behavior with persons refusing to respond to your direction.

The crisis surrounding this first level of testing your personal strength is actually the events that bring the honeymoon period to an end. Up to this point you may have assumed that you were being heard and followed. It comes as a surprise to realize this is not the case. Whether you can appropriately engage this situation, face it with love, and move the congregation with you through it are the issues.

Testing Professional Skills

The second level of testing relates to your professional authenticity. People do not receive your ministry to them just because you are the pastor of the church to which they belong. They discern for themselves that your own faith is real and that you do have real abilities as a minister. Then they become willing to trust themselves, their hurts, and their joys to your confidence. This partially accounts for people turning to ministers other than their own pastors in times of need.

In discussing why they welcome a deeper relationship with one minister and not another, lay persons, gave the following comments

“I never expected any help from Rev, __________ because he needed more help than I did.”

Comments about another minister paint a different picture:

“He had lived a full life and understood what I was going through....

He was a man of God and a man of the world.”

“He knew what to do when he visited my mother. ...

He would talk with her about her past, her teaching, and what she wanted in life....

He was not afraid of death like the others and like the doctors.

She died a peaceful death

and a lot of it was because ______was able to be with her so much.”

“He is so open.., and not embarrassed to express his feelings in public.

I knew that I could talk with him.”3

Only gradually will the congregation accept you at deeper levels of relationship for ministry.

But first you must be tested before you will be received at these deeper levels. Usually your first calls for help will come from the most distressed and dependent persons in the church. You may in fact find an inordinate amount of time spent

with these people. It is possible, however, that this is exactly how the church will determine if you are approachable. Will you take time for people? Do you care? You will answer these questions as you minister to those who first trust you to be their minister. How you handle these persons who first come will say to others that you are the kind of pastor to whom they can go. Can you pass this test?

Testing Fairness and Trust

The third level of testing deals with whether you can trust others.

Can you share ministry with them?

Do you really trust the church to be a ministering body of Christ?

Do you want a mature relationship?

Do you want to make people dependent on you or to free them?

How will you use the role of pastor?

Will you attempt to make persons, groups, and the church tools or partners?

Will you work to enable the church and its members to become co-workers in joint ministry? Until these questions are resolved, some persons will not commit themselves with you in ministry.

The process of testing actually goes beyond the start-up period. However, the initial impact of the testing experience is felt during start-up. How you weather the time of testing is a major factor in the movement from start-up to the established ministry period.

1. Roy Oswald, The Pastor as Newcomer (Washington, D.C.:

Alban Institute, 1977), p. 7.

2. John C. Fletcher, Religious Authenticity in the Clergy (Washington, D.C.: Alban Institute, 1977), p. 1.

3. Ibid., p. 8.

Changing the Status Quo

“A new broom sweeps clean,” says an old adage. You may assume that you are the “new broom” in your new church and try to “sweep the church clean.” That is, to shape things up, make changes, get things moving. Start-up is often taken as the time to do that. You may feel a need to make all the changes you intend to make as early as possible.

Hurrying Change

Changes attempted too quickly can create problems and hinder progress later on. One of the most common mistakes made by pastors during their first months in a new church is trying to make too many significant changes too quickly.

Caution should be used in making changes, especially within the first twelve months.’ This is especially true regarding changes in the worship services of the church. It is almost a standing practice of pastors to alter worship patterns in a new church. These changes are often attempted in the first two or three weeks. Keep in mind that change in the worship services is the most conspicuous and may be the most threatening to the church.

The worship service is the place most church members first encounter the new pastor. When changes are made in worship patterns, members may feel you are saying to them: “You did not know how to worship God until I came. Now that I am here, I will show you the right way.” This may be both threatening and surprising to persons. As worship leader, you do have the authority to alter the services and to give appropriate direction. But along with this authority, you will need to exercise sensitivity. Consider the impact of the sudden change of having a new worship Leader who has his own ways of leading worship. Respect what the congregation is accustomed to. Remember the changes you make are likely those that design the service to what you prefer and not necessarily to the desires of church members.

Any changes ought to recognize the needs and feelings of others. Implement changes where they are clearly understood and wanted by the congregation. The type changes that are most effective during the first months are those that uplift morale, contribute to unity, and build hope. Actually, the best changes are additions to what already exists rather than deletions or substitutions.2

Since there is danger in rapid and drastic change, how can you begin to shape the church? How can you begin to move the church in directions you feel are needed? Helping a church change requires some basic knowledge about how

change happens with least resistance and greatest acceptance. The following concept of change will help you avoid making the mistake of seeking change too fast during start-up.

Implementing Change

There are two basic and greatly differing approaches to implementing change.

Using Your Position

First, you can use your position as pastor to make changes. By using your authority as pastor, you can persuade, announce, or even force change. This approach usually depends on coercive and manipulative actions. It can cause change to occur quickly and completely. However, it may cause anger and hostility. The emotions and actions it may trigger in others can be dangerous to the fellowship of the church. It can also weaken your effectiveness in other areas of your ministry. It is unwise to use this approach even though it appears to be a quick road to accomplishing your immediate objective.

Using Your Influence

The second approach to changes involves the use of your personal influence rather than the power of your position as pastor. In this approach you seek to help people understand the need for change and develop positive feelings about it. Your influence continues as you urge them to try the new approach. As the church becomes willing to experiment with the new, you can encourage them to continue until they are thoroughly familiar with the new way. The church’s comfort and familiarity with an innovation determines whether it will be a permanent change or only temporary.

This approach to change is slower and depends on evolutionary rather than revolutionary development in events. The advantages are that the change will be more permanent and others will feel a commitment to it. Change that occurs in this way is not just your idea. It belongs to all who have had a part in causing it to happen.

The first approach is designed to use position power to bring about change. This approach depends on an almost blind acceptance by the group. Some, however, may resist and others may develop unfriendly attitudes to the change. The problem is that persons in the congregation do not have the same information you have or do not understand the situation as you do. It is better to share the information and help people interpret it. This concept is diagramed in the second approach. Notice that personal influence is used in the communication of information. From this common information and understanding, common action can emerge. The ultimate goal is to lead the entire group to accept the information, develop positive attitudes, and implement the appropriate changes.

Changes that should be made:

Identifying Changes Needed

Use the following work sheet to identify the changes that are important for your church to make. Indicate why you feel the changes would be helpful. Think through them carefully. Ask yourself: Do these changes simply make things more familiar to me, or will they help the church have a more effective ministry? Will they build the fellowship of the church?

When you have identified the changes you want to make, the work sheet on page 20 can help you map your approach to causing the changes to occur. Remember, there are two different approaches: personal influence, which begins with helping people know why the change is needed; and position power, which seeks to make the change without concern for helping people understand and feel good about it.

Map your approach from the personal influence level up to the change you would ultimately like to see. Begin with step one, change in knowledge. Write in what people need to know to see the need for change. Then move to step two. What new attitudes will people need to have if the change is finally made? Then complete steps three and four.

Charting a Course to Change

When you have completed the work sheet on a change, you will begin to see what you need to do to cause the change to occur. From step one you can see what you will need to

teach or share with the people. From step two you can see what attitudes will need to be nurtured. Be aware that step one is easier to take than step two and that step two is easier than step three. The higher the step, the longer it will take also.

What is the source and influence that indicated this need for change?

Expecting Unrealistic Results from Change

Your new church has some high expectations for your ministry. You have some visions too! The sense of expectancy is high. There is danger that both sets of expectations are unrealistic. The church may have confused the call of a pastor with the coming of a “savior.” Many times the new pastor is seen as the answer to questions and the solution to problems. And you too may have an almost ideal image of the church. Apparently you saw some exciting qualities and opportunities in the church when you decided to become the pastor. However, as you begin a day-by-day ministry with the church and they begin to work with you, realities emerge.

Inventory for Future Directions

It’s important to develop a balanced perspective about your new ministry situation. You need to keep the beginning enthusiasm of seeing the church’s qualities and opportunities. To ensure enthusiasm and optimism and to counteract disappointment and disillusionment, take an “assets and liabilities” inventory. Use the following “ledger sheet.”

Assets and Liabilities in My New Ministry Situation

1. The following qualities of the church impress me. (List some positive things about the church and your situation as pastor.)

(1) Positive factors about the church itself:

(2) Desirable qualities in individuals I have met:

(3) Things I like about the physical facilities:

(4) Impressions from staff/key leaders in the church lead me to feel that together we could have a good ministry here because:

(5) Terms of the call that I liked:

(6) Discoveries since I came that have excited or pleased me:

2. The following things do not please me about the church. (List those things that are liabilities. Be aware of things you did not deal with or ignored when you accepted the church as pastor.)

(1) Negative factors about the church:

(2) Undesirable qualities in persons I have met:

(3) Some disturbing feelings I have in talking with persons:

(4) Some limitations I see about the physical facilities:

(5) Impressions from staff/key leaders suggesting that we might have difficulties working together at these points:

(6) Terms of the call that were less than desirable:

(7) Surprises I have encountered that trouble me:

How do you feel about these assets and liabilities? Your feelings are important. They need to be recognized and dealt with in prayer and conversation. If you ignore or stifle your feelings, they can become destructive. There is a need to keep in touch with the feelings you have about the church liabilities. They can become dissatisfiers if you dwell on them. The romance you have for your new church and its attractive points can turn to disappointment unless you respond to liabilities in a mature manner.

One minister accepted a new church and soon after moving discovered that his new congregation had never done annual planning for its programs and ministries. In his first business meeting someone made a motion that the church have a revival. This motion was passed. Another person made a motion that the new pastor serve as the evangelist for the meeting. The date was set for the revival in less than a month. This both angered and frightened the new pastor. However, instead of reacting in a negative manner, he used the experience to help the church leaders to see the need for long-range planning. By the fall of the next year, the church was presented with a calendar of activities and budget which reflected a year’s plan for the church.

The realities are not the cause of discouragement. Rather the feelings you have about them are. If you feel

the liabilities were hidden from you, then you may feel betrayed. If you see them only as problems, you may become critical. But if you see them as the realities of the situation, with counterparts in every church, then you can maintain a healthy attitude. Recognize that just as you have idealized the church, you have also been idealized. The fact is that the church is what it is and you are what you are. Efforts should be made to accept the congregation with both its strengths and weaknesses, its assets and liabilities.

1. Roy Oswald, The Pastor as Newcomer (Washington, D.C.:

Alban Institute, 1977), p. 7.

2. Ibid., p. 8.

3. Paul Hersey and Kenneth H. Blanchard, Management of Organizational Behavior, ~rd ed. (Englewood Cliff, N.J.: Prentice-

Hall, 1972), pp. 281-82. Used by permission.

Establishing Ministry

Relationships

The beginning question remains, Now that I’m here, what do I do? Your task is to design a specific plan of ministry in your new church. This plan will reflect major aspects of your work as well as some important actions you will need to take.

Your ministry in the new church will largely depend on the quality of your relationships with people. Good interpersonal relationships provide the channel for ministry. While you can minister to persons you do not know and who do not know you, this is not the kind of situation that holds the best potential for an effective pastoral ministry, especially among church members. You can build the kind of relation-that enable you to have a fruitful ministry. It’s your responsibility to build these relationships. They are bridges between persons in the church and yourself as pastor. Without bridges there is a gulf.

Taking Pastoral Initiative

The pastor-people relationship has as its basic supporting beam your own initiative in moving toward persons. Just as you have to become pastor by establishing your authenticity, you must establish yourself as pastor in relationships to individuals, families, and groups in the church.

This begins as you move toward them to identify with them as pastor. While it is possible to assume that the people will seek you as their minister, the initiative is not their responsibility. As pastor you need to begin your ministry by communicating, “I care, and I want to help you know that I am willing to identify with you.”

Through a Comprehensive Visitation

One of the most appropriate ways for you to take pastoral initiative is through a comprehensive visitation of church members. You may want to visit every church family personally. The purpose of this home visitation is to become personally acquainted with church members in the setting of their own homes. Wayne Oates has said that home visitation is the highest expression of pastoral care. Such visitation has been practiced by ministers throughout Christian history.

This visitation should not be done as a crash program to get into every home for a few minutes. It can be spread over a period of several months. Sufficient time should be spent with each family to accomplish the major purpose of the visit. After the initial visitation is concluded, it may prove helpful to continue a pattern of every-member visitation over a more extended period.

During these initial visits you will become aware of family members you might not meet otherwise. You can discern personal needs in the home and express your desire to be called on in times of need. You will also be able to gain an appreciation for the home situations of the persons who occupy the pews and Sunday School rooms on Sundays. Visits to church families are far more than social calls. They are pastoral calls. You are in their homes to express your interest and determination to be their pastor. You are there to discern the spiritual conditions of persons and to assure them of your care as their pastor. As you share with persons iii home visits, you can sense their openness to Christian growth, opportunities

for Christian service, and attitude toward the church body.

These home visits maybe either by appointment or on a drop-in basis. It is generally best to visit by appointment. There are two advantages to this approach. First, you will be committed to make the call. In this way good intention will not diminish into non action. Second, families can make the necessary arrangements for your call.

By Identifying with Church Groups

Pastoral initiative is expressed not only in visits with church families but also as you identify with various groups in the church’s life. A church is more than a collection of individuals. It is also people clustered in various groups. You can build relationships with these groups. By displaying an interest and investing time in the formal and informal gatherings of such groups, you can identify with them as pastor. These groups include children and youth groups, Sunday School and Church Training classes, Woman’s Missionary Union groups, Brotherhood, and any number of other clusterings of persons in the church. These groups can feel a sense of identification with you as Group pastor. It is not uncommon to hear persons in these groups comment to the group about “our pastor” or ‘‘our minister.’’ These comments indicate a sense of personal closeness that grows out of identification. These identification comments are certainly better than those such as “the minister” or “that preacher” which indicate a lack of closeness. The difference in whether these groups have warm, close feelings or feelings of distance may depend on whether you have built relationships with them in their group settings. Use the following form and identify the specific groups in your church. Include in your list deacons, committees, and informal groups as well as those suggested above.

While pastoral initiative is the initial beam in the bridge to good relationships, it must be strengthened by other beams. One supporting beam is who and what you show yourself to be. This image is important to the process of building relationships.

In Portraying a Genuine Image

As you begin to relate to the people in the church, they will sense who you are as a person. Their discovery will either, enhance or weaken the relationship. It is important that you be a real person, that you are human. Often people feel that ministers are in a special category exalted above them. This may

come from sensing a critical or judgmental attitude in the minister himself. Any pastoral behavior that causes persons to feel inferior will harm the ministry relationship. Also, any behavior that displays a self-righteous or judgmental spirit will cause people problems in relating to you. Beware of these possibilities in the pastor-people relationship and work to eliminate them.

A second support beam that can undergird your relationship with church members is your personal openness. An open, honest person is a person of integrity. When you allow persons to know you, two-way communication is made possible. They, in turn, will feel that they can be open with you and allow you to know them.

There is risk in letting others know you. There are always those who want the pastor to be more than he can be. Some will want you to be above human weakness and temperament. As you relate to persons, you can deepen your ministry relationship by letting them know that you too are human. You have doubts, frustrations, and struggles in your own life. You do not have all the answers. If you present yourself only at the points of strength and success, many will be frightened or intimidated and will avoid relating to you. It is important to realize that people generally relate to others most at the points of common limitations and weaknesses rather than at the points of mutual strengths.

The third supporting beam in your relationship is your behavior. A pastor should display “incarnational behavior.” It displays in flesh and blood the realities of the faith we profess. If we relate to persons out of love, it is incarnational. This

means to display acceptance for them as who and what they are. It does not mean an acceptance based on conditions. An attitude of ”I’ll love you if ….” is conditional love. It is important not to use your favor, friendship, or acceptance of persons to punish or reward them for behavior. Through the love relationship persons are challenged to live lives that are pleasing to God, but to manipulate them with an “if” in our love is unacceptable.

To be incarnational is also to trust. Who are the people you are relating to in the church? They are Christians! They have experienced the grace of God. This must be your basic understanding of them. This means that you do not view them as reprobate sinners who must be watched with suspicion but as friends in the Lord who can be trusted. To relate to them in such a manner is bold behavior born of a kind of understanding worthy of a man called pastor. It is critical behavior in the development of the ministry relationship.

Rules for Relationship Building

Below are some additional suggestions to aid you in developing your ministry relationships.

1. Help the other person open up by creating a climate of trust. One way to do this is to let the other person know what your relationship can contribute to each other.

2. Try to understand the other person’s feelings. Communication is not only verbalization but also feeling what the other person is feeling at the moment and accepting him fully.

3. Be a good listener. Provide the other person the freedom to speak or express himself without projecting the feeling that you are prying for irrelevant information.

4. Try to be tactful. Don’t be overly curious. Don’t barge into private areas that persons obviously do not want to discuss.

5. Always respect the rights of others—what they feel, think, and express.

6. Be as nonjudgmental as possible where the person’s value system may differ from yours.

7. Be honest with your feelings. People can usually tell if you are masking them; and when that happens, they will follow your example.

8. Never push a relationship. If you respect a person, you will always be considerate. Coming on too strong will often cause others to withdraw, especially if they have placed you on a pedestal. Allow the other person to move freely toward you if they are so inclined.’

1. Ted W. Engstrom, Making of a Christian Leader (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976), pp. 195-96.

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