January 31, 2006 Featured Article
Dear Pastor: Don't be Afraid to Ask by Ken Johnson |
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Let’s start with a hypothetical question. Dear Pastor: If your church has been plateauing or losing membership for the last few years and nothing you have done has turned anything around what are you going to do? Let’s say that you have finally used the last “trick” in “your bag of tricks,” what are you going to do? Would you have the courage to suggest to your leadership that you need to call in a consultant? Or would you just ask God to call you to another church?
It’s true that if you go to another church that your current church might call a pastor who will understand what to do to remedy the problems there, but there is also the possibility that that church will die.
What is it going to take to get pastors to admit they don’t know it all and need help? We are in a century that requires the knowledge of many things to run a church and even though the pastor has been called to that position he/she doesn’t know everything.
In the early part of the 20th century there wasn’t a need for many counselors, but in the fifties our culture began to change and in a few short years up popped a new industry—counseling centers.
In the seventies and eighties pastors realized that they weren’t trained to handle the changes that were happening in our culture. The family was changing rapidly: strife in the families, single parent families, teenage pregnancies, abortion, you name it and it was happening. Pastors who had been able to take care of member situations before were not trained to handle this. Many churches hired counselors and set up counseling centers.
Today, with the changes in our culture, the heart of the church is being attacked and most pastors don’t know how to handle the many and varied situations. The problem is that most pastors feel that; “God called them to their church so He will provide them with the tools to make the needed changes.” The truth is that pastors are trained to do ministry and pastoral care, and most of them do a wonderful job, but they aren’t trained to handle other situations. They are afraid to admit their inability and just keep trying to push forward. Thankfully there are some who come out the end of the tunnel into the light and have been able to make the needed changes. But for a majority of the pastors they stay in the tunnel and never come out into the light. This doesn’t mean that they haven’t been called to this ministry; it just means that they don’t know what to do in a particular situation and need to ask for help.
One of the tools that God has provided is an outside observer who will from an objective point of view evaluate what is happening at your church and give suggestions as to how things can be changed.
Not too many years ago church consulting became an asset to churches of all sizes, now it’s the pastors turn to allow a consultant to evaluate their church and give suggestions.
Many churches have “sacred cows” which are difficult to remove, but maybe a consultant can be the catalyst to help make the needed changes.
Following are some Frequently Asked Questions and some answers. When is the best time to have a consultation?
What might a church expect during a consultation?
For answers to other questions about a consultation go to: http://www.thekenjohnsongroup.com/faq.html
We look forward to discussing how we can help your church move into the 21st century. Either call us at 303/478-6131 or email us at: ken@thekenjohnsongroup.com © 2006, Ken Johnson, President and CEO of The Ken Johnson Group, LLC. To contact Ken, or for permission to reprint this article, send an e-mail to: ken@thekenjohnsongroup.com |