Can a church really grow and thrive when its beloved pastor leaves or retires? Today’s post is a guest post. Read what Barrett & Rachel Tingle say about their church experience during such a time of transition.

A church without a leading pastor is a scary thought. When our church became leaderless I immediately began to pray out of fear. Would our church fall to pieces? Would we stand still? Will we lose members? We (husband & wife) had recently been given the position of Minister’s of Youth and Children. We had worked so hard, alongside the members of our church, to see growth and spiritual development among our youth and children programs. Now I was afraid without a pastor, we would lose direction and our church progress would begin to fade. However, it wasn’t long after Bro. George became our transitional pastor that I realized these fears were in vain. God had a plan for our church during this time of transition that was anything beyond I or I think the rest of our members had imagined. The time of transition through the leadership of Bro. George would be a time of healing, examination, growth, restoration, excitement and overall a huge learning curve for our church and its members.

When Bro. George started he hit the ground running! I will never forget during one of his first sermons as transitional pastor he told us that he had seen churches actually grow during times of transition. This blew me away and made me begin to realize that God could still move and work among us during this transitional time.  And He sure did! As Bro. George began to meet with different leaders in the church changes began to take place. He implemented a weekly staff meeting that allowed us to more effectively communicate among the different ministries of our church. He helped to develop a much-needed system for using the church building for different events. He even helped grow our Sunday school classes by teaching us ways to be more effective in the way we care for each other and reach out to others.

The list of positive changes that took place at our church during this time of transition is numerous. But one area of change that particularly helped us, as the Youth and Children’s Ministers, was when Bro. George suggested we hold a debrief session with our children workers after Vacation Bible School (VBS).  He gave some guidance on how the meeting should go and what type of questions to ask. We cannot tell you just how effective this meeting was to our children’s program.  As a group we were able to come up with valuable solutions to our problem areas of VBS, we were able to express gratitude toward our volunteers, and the workers were able to express their opinion on different matters and have a voice that was capable of change.  After this meeting the excitement and sense of community began to develop among our children workers that had not been present before. And all this during a time of transition. (Debrief sessions are now held after every event & ministry cycle.)

The effectiveness of Bro. George and his ministry does not end with the administrative needs. Bro. George also helped to meet the spiritual needs of the church. Every Sunday he clearly and unashamedly preached the gospel message challenging us each time to be more like Christ.  Bro. George, also brought forth much needed wisdom from his years of experience and often shared it with others in times of counsel.  During his times of preaching and teaching he encouraged the church to examine itself and seek out ways to improve the way we ministered to the lost. I believe for several of our members it was very eye opening. We began to see areas that needed improvement and began to learn new ways of reaching out to others. It was a time of learning and the church is the better for it.

The last thing we will say about Bro. George is that he exceeds the expectations for a transitional pastor. During his time at SBC he went above and beyond his duty. He poured his heart and soul into his ministry from day one. He developed relationships with those in and outside the church, he became an active member of our church body, and he truly reached out to those in need. In fact, when it came time to dedicate our newborn son we wanted no one else but Bro. George, who had been there for us every step of the way.

Bro. George made a lasting impression on our church that we will never forget.  Through his leadership our church began to look more like Jesus and less like the world. We thank God that he had a plan for us in our time of transition. We thank God that he sent Bro. George and his ministry to our church!

With Deep Gratitude,

Barrett and Rachel Tingle

Youth and Children Ministers at Springfield Baptist Church

Isaiah 42:16

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.

Sometimes the simple everyday items in life can be used to demonstrate great lessons. This is one of those lessons.

A young boy asked his mother what he should do to be a success when he grew up.  The mother thought for a moment, and then told him to bring her a pencil.

Puzzled, the boy found a pencil and gave it to her. “If you want to do good,” she said, “you have to be just like this pencil.”

“First, you will be able to do a lot of things, but not on your own.  You have to allow yourself to be held in someone’s hand.” Be a learner. You can learn from many people in your life. Allow the people God places in your life to lead you to better, more intelligent ways. And most of all allow God to hold you in His hand. This is the sure key to success.

“Second, you’ll have to go through a painful sharpening from time to time, but you will need it to do what you need to do.” Neither learning or growing takes place in your comfort zone. Stretching and painful trials build character and growth that cannot be found in any other avenue.

“Third, you will always be able to go back and correct any mistakes you make if you want to slow down and do it.” A bigger man it takes to say I was wrong than one who refuses to admit his mistakes. The best way to earn respect is to respect others and show your vulnerabilities.

“Fourth, no matter what you look like on the outside, the most important part will always be what’s inside.” In each of us, this again speaks of character. No matter who you try or wish to be what is inside will come out. What you allow to consume your heart, will be the person everyone around you sees.

“And, fifth,” the mother finished, “you have to press hard in order to make a mark.” Nothing will bring success without dedication and commitment combined with a durable work ethic. Press on and press hard for accomplishing the task of the one whose hand you are in.

Now that you have read the entire post, go back and read only the italicized parts of this post. Then go, Lead Like a Pencil.

There was a chemistry professor in a large college that had some exchange students in the class. One day while the class was in the lab, the Professor noticed one young man, an exchange student, who kept rubbing his back and stretching as if his back hurt.

The professor asked the young man what was the matter.

The student told him he had a bullet lodged in his back. He had been shot while fighting communists in his native country who were trying to overthrow his country’s government and install a new communist regime.

In the midst of his story, he looked at the professor and asked a strange question. He asked: “Do you know how to catch wild pigs?” The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line. The young man said that it was no joke.

“You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come every day to eat the free corn. When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming.

When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence. They get used to that and start to eat again. You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in the last side.

The pigs, which are used to the free corn, start to come through the gate to eat that free corn again. You then slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd. Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom. They run around and around inside the fence, but they are caught.

Soon they go back to eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten how to forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept their captivity.”

While this story could certainly be shared concerning our nation today, I share it with our churches in mind. As believers and churches we have become so comfortable with what we do inside the comforts of our “safe” buildings that we have forgotten our original quest and mandate. We have so bought into society’s philosophies that we have forgotten that we are to be different. It was entrusted to us by God to reach a lost world with the good (Great) news of God’s plan of redemption.

What will you do to get back outside the confines of the parameters we have placed on ourselves and allowed society to place around us. We are not captives of this world, but slaves of the great, Almighty creator of the universe! Let us return to forage in the forest of lostness as commanded by God Himself.

“Our pastor returned from his vision retreat a changed man. What happened to Him on that retreat began to spill over onto us (Reaching the Summit team) and pretty soon to the entire congregation.” What could possibly impact a man and his church setting so greatly today? Simple, it was a retreat, a vision retreat.

Most pastors do not take vision retreats. There are several reasons given for not taking such retreats. Many pastors believe they are too busy to go away for 2-3 days. Some are under the self-imposed impression that the ministry cannot stand on its own while he is away. Still others have family commitments preventing them from such a retreat.

While there may be some truth to each of these reasons, the validity is not strong enough to keep any pastor from having a couple of days alone with God. In fact, these could be the most productive 2-3 days of a pastor’s ministry, and for the church as well.

I believe the number one factor for pastors not having a vision retreat is fear. Think about this: a pastor knows if he comes to the church with a vision, he is expected to stand before them with this big grandiose picture of what God wants the church to be in 1, 3, or 5 years.

This is wrong thinking, bad theology, and poor leadership. While God could certainly present a vision like this, in most cases He will not. In these instances, this is a dream or a wish, not a vision. We should see a vision as “The Compelling Image of an Achievable Future.”

Before a pastor goes on his vision retreat there is one important element needed. Prayer! The pastor must spend some time (weeks) in prayer preparing himself for God’s speaking and his comprehension to take place during the retreat. The church should also be advised weekly on how to pray leading up to the pastor’s retreat. Church leadership should demonstrate, in the worship service and distribute devotions and prayer thoughts for the congregation to follow leading up to and while the pastor is away on his vision retreat.

The pastor’s vision retreat should be to a place where the pastor can have his privacy. This should be 2-3 days of the pastor alone – by himself – with only his Bible and a few sheets of paper for notes. God – the Bible – and the Pastor. Be sure to remove all distractions – no e-mail, text, or cell phone communication (except maybe one call per day to family). The first couple of hours is to be spent in prayer asking God to clear the clutter of the mind. Some pastors have testified that this has taken up to four hours, but the results were well worth it.

Next I instruct the pastor to study 5-7 men and women in the Bible who received vision from God. Read and re-read the biblical passages. Then answer four questions about each person studied. Download these questions @ Biblical Personality Vision Assessment . Read through each scripture passage again, review your answers to the questions on each sheet. Then, write in the comments section what God is showing you about your ministry through this biblical passage. Repeat this for each passage studied.

Before leaving the retreat, one more step is necessary. Pray through the comments section of each sheet asking God to reveal to you the common thread as it pertains to your church setting and ministry.

More pastors walk away from this retreat with a renewed spiritual walk and commitment, stating this was one of the best spiritual experiences of their life. Some have said this was their first retreat, but certainly not their last. Others have said they have tried something like this before, but never with such impact on their lives and the lives of their church.

The key is to set yourself up for a true personal experience with God. Remove everything that could hinder this experience. Then Expect something from God. Do not expect to come away with some great and grandiose picture of what the church should look like. Instead, look for the simplicity of God speaking through His Word.

When the pastor returns from his retreat there should be another one-day retreat already on the calendar. This retreat is for the pastor to share (in 45-60 minutes) with 7-12 church leaders what God revealed on his vision retreat. The remainder of this one-day retreat (5-6 hours) is for the leaders working together to articulate how that vision is to be carried out through the ministries of the church.

For more information about creating and implementing vision contact George L. Yates and read chapter 10 of Reaching the Summit. “The best chapter on vision I’ve ever read.”

For years we have heard of vision and having a vision for the church. People often ask, “What is your church’s vision?” How do you reply when someone asks you a similar question? Can you state your church’s vision? Does your church have a clear vision? I have found that many pastors have difficulty articulating a vision for their church. Some of these same pastors defend not having a vision with a statement like, “Jesus gave us the vision for the church in the Great Commission.” So, if this is true, is a vision for the church really necessary?

First let us look at what Jesus said in the Great Commission. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

What Jesus gave us is a commission; it is what we are to go and do – what we are to be doing as we go about our daily lives. A commission is an authorized assignment, a task to fulfill. A vision, on the other hand, is foresight of an idea or image of how we might best carry out an assignment in our particular setting and culture. Therefore, I believe it is important for every church and every organization to have a clear and concise vision for carrying out the Great Commission. Not only in the church, but also in businesses and other organizations those with a clear vision are the success stories of their area of commerce and influence.

I want to define vision as the compelling image of an achievable future. Vision is more than a dream or a wish. A vision for the Christian goes beyond a desire for the future. It is a yearning for something that captures the heart. This type of vision is so compelling that action is inevitable for individuals or the group (class, church). Action is not optional, it is anticipated. In fact, a vision is not a vision unless it leads to action. Without action it is only a dream or a wish. A vision leads to intentional, planned, and focused action.

Preparing a vision is a critical step in having vision for your church, organization, or in your personal life. In the next post I will lay out the three step approach I recommend and pastors find not only beneficial but in some cases life changing. Not only for churches, you can have a personal life vision.

When our hearts are right, God will give us a vision that will clarify our purpose in life. Then we will become not great men and women of God but men and women of a Great God.

For more information on the subject of vision contact George L. Yates and pick your copy of Reaching the Summit at SonC.A.R.E. Ministires (soncare.net)

This post is adapted from portions of chapter 10 of Reaching the Summit: Avoiding and Reversing Decline in the Church.

For your next event or endeavor to be the most effective and successful one of the keys is to debrief the last event. Debriefing is taking a close, objective observation of an event or endeavor as soon as possible following the event. This cannot normally be accomplished in a one person setting.

The best way to debrief an event is to have a group meeting with as many people as possible who were involved in the event within one week of the event closing. The quicker the debrief session can happen the more people can remember with fresh minds and recollection.

A debrief session should not only consist of “atta boy” moments – congratulating each other on a good job. Though expressions of gratitude should be part of the meeting. The main purpose of conducting debrief sessions is to learn from and gain a perspective on how to improve your next event or similar activity.

The leader should prepare for this debrief session with an open mind and a willingness to lead everyone to learn and improve the ministry efforts for the entire organization. The best way for the leader to do this is to prepare a series of good thought-provoking questions pertaining to the execution and operations during the event. In other words, how well was the actual deployment of the plans for the event? You would not want to use that particular wording, rather you will need to devise questions which bring you to a right conclusion – not necessarily the desired “we did good” answers.

Let’s say your church or organization planned for the first time to have a booth in the county harvest festival. Your 10’x10’ tent covered booth will be one in a line of 65 booths with all sorts of organizations and vendors. Begin the Debrief meeting with words of gratefulness and thanks. Then moving to your discussion time you might begin with a couple of standard questions.

For the most part you will want to stay from closed ended questions. Closed ended questions require little thought and have a simple one word or one statement answer. Once one person answers the question, everyone’s thinking shuts down. A sample closed ended question is “What day of the week is today?” As soon as someone answers, the thought process of everyone shuts down. Avoid using questions that require a “yes” or “no” answer.

Closed ended questions never introduce a discussion forum. Without discussion you will not determine what all these other sets of eyes saw in your event. Without this discussion you will never develop an accurate plan to improve future events.

Now, moving back to the harvest festival debrief. The following are samples of the questions you could propose:

• How effective was our presentation at the festival letting people know who we are and why we exist?
• How did we affect people’s lives? (Ask for examples)
• What did we do to set ourselves apart from all the other booths at the festival?
• What happened at our booth that people remember us today and will remember us one month, six months from now?
• What did we do well to convey our mission?
• What could we improve upon?

One pastor came up with a great question for his debrief session of his church’s role in a similar community festival. The question he posed to himself first, then to his debrief team, “What did we do that an atheist have set up next to us could not have done?” This was a great and almost perfect question for his church. He was in essence asking, “Did we share the gospel? Did we do anything to show who we are in Christ Jesus?” Of course he knew the answer. The answer was they had done nothing that any other group or organization could not have done. This was an eye-opening revelation to the pastor and church that while they were doing something they considered good, it was not advancing their mission or their cause.

Begin planning your next event(s) by debriefing your last event. A solid and objective discussion about the deployment of your resources will give you an answer that will improve your future and help you make decisions toward wiser, more effective outreach for your ministry or cause.

For more information on this subject please contact George Yates and visit SonC.A.R.E. Ministries.

In a conference I made a statement that if a church or other organization wanted to turn itself around from a declining position, the greater possibility lies with bringing someone in from the outside – an experienced coach.

One pastor, sitting in the middle of the room raised his hand and asked, “Why can’t I do that with the men in my church?” His inquiry was genuine. He was polite, and courteous, and sincere in wanting to know why. He trusted the men of his church. No outsider could possibility know his church better than the men who had been in the church for years, overseeing the day to day and week to week ministry. Certainly, these were the men he needed to make the right decisions.

My response might not have been so courteous had I not delivered it with a smile. My reply to his inquiry was, “How’s that working for you so far?” Now, I admit, I might not have said it that bluntly, but I did get around to asking that very question. Think about it. If this pastor’s church was in decline, who had been making the decisions? It was the pastor and his leadership team. They needed outside assistance.

Everyone in your church has a bias, even the pastor. We all look at our ministry from a normally narrow viewpoint. The nursery workers look at the ministry of the church from their nursery experience perspective. The senior adults from their own history in the church. Each and every person in the church will view the ministry of the church from his/her ministry experience with the church. The pastor must look at the bigger picture, which should take in all the ministries of the church evenly. However, pastors are human. Therefore, even pastors look upon the ministry of the church with a bias. A bias will never allow you to see your church or ministry with total objectivity.

It is imperative that church and ministry leaders make an objective evaluation of the true reality of all aspects and facts of the ministry. I suggest that the best way to conduct a truly objective evaluation of all the facts is to bring in a neutral observer from outside the ministry or church. This should be someone such as a seasoned coach or strategist, trained and experienced in asking probing questions that the church leaders and members might not think of or want to bring to the table on their own.

There is a growing ministry today of Christian coaching, and this can be very valuable to churches and individuals in sustaining health and growth. A coach is one who is trained in bringing out of the players (church leaders and members) what is otherwise hidden and covered up. A coach is not a mentor, though mentoring might become part of the coaching process. A coach is not a consultant, though some consulting may be part of the process. A coach is a person who has the ability to see the big picture of your ministry from a vantage point you do not have. Upon seeing from this vantage point, a coach is equipped to formulate questions that allow you to explore the unknown or unused wisdom, experience, and discernment of your ministry and the members of your church or organization.

You should be very careful when choosing a coach. Seek out a Christian coach who has experience in a similar church setting. You want to find one who has experience in growing and maintaining healthy ministry and one who knows how to properly formulate the needed questions while facilitating a healthy forward-moving process. You are not looking for someone who only wants to give suggestions but an experienced coach who is willing to walk with you through the process and who knows and relates to your doctrinal positions.

There are many people available today who want to coach you and give you suggestions. Unfortunately, there are few who are true practitioners of what you need. Many have read the books and even taken courses in “church revitalization.” Yet, they have never actually led, by serving on staff at any church that has actually made the turn around. Be certain to find a true practitioner, one who has done it, helped lead at least one church in a turn-around process. There are coaches and strategists available who are practitioners. Contact your denominational offices or George Yates at SonC.A.R.E. Ministries for assistance finding the right coach for you and your church.

In a mother’s womb were two babies. One asked the other: “Do you believe in life after delivery?”

The other replies, “why, of course. There has to be something after delivery. Maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what we will be later.”

“Nonsense,” says the other. “There is no life after delivery. What would that life be?”

“I don’t know, but there will be more light than here. Maybe we will walk with our legs and eat from our mouths.”

The other says “This is absurd! Walking is impossible. And eat with our mouths? Ridiculous. The umbilical cord supplies nutrition. Life after delivery is to be excluded. The umbilical cord is too short.”

“I think there is something and maybe it’s different than it is here.”

The other replies, “No one has ever come back from there. Delivery is the end of life, and in the after-delivery it is nothing but darkness and anxiety and it takes us nowhere.”

“Well, I don’t know,” says the other, “but certainly we will see mother and she will take care of us.”

“Mother??” You believe in mother? Where is she now?

“She is all around us. It is in her that we live. Without her there would not be this world.”

“I don’t see her, so it’s only logical that she doesn’t exist.”

To which the other replied, “Sometimes when you’re in silence you can hear her, you can perceive her.” I believe there is a reality after delivery and we are here to prepare ourselves for that reality….” (unknown author)

Just as we know there is life after delivery, there is also life after death. Just as “mother” is all around us while we exist in the womb, God is all around us in this life, protecting, providing, and feeding us to maturity.

Human life begins at conception and is manifested as we exit the birth canal. When this physical life is over we can know that our souls will live on through all eternity. For the soul does not know a limited 75 year life.

Perhaps we are here to prepare ourselves for where we will be later. There are only two options for the soul after this earthly existence. One is filled with eternal ecstasy. The other with everlasting pain and suffering. Which do you choose?

For more information contact George Yates.

There was a farmer who grew excellent quality corn. Every year he won the award for the best grown corn. One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbors. “How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?” the reporter asked.

“Why sir,” said the farmer, “Didn’t you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn.”

So it is with our lives… Those who want to live meaningfully and well must help enrich the lives of others, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. And those who choose to be happy must help others find happiness, for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all.

In his story the farmer did not give up his good crop or his lively hood. Neither did he support his neighbors. It is important to understand that he gave his neighbors seed corn. Seed corn is what was required to grow and good quality corn. The farmer did not plant or raise the crop for his neighbors. He did not harvest the corn. The farmer did not carry the final product to his neighbors.

What the farmer gave his neighbors was the resource needed to work themselves to produce a successful crop. It is sad in our society today that some have taken this vital principle of life and twisted it in an attempt to produce a culture of dependency and entitlement.

A successful life comes when we encourage and resource others to be independent and resourceful. But it does not happen when part of the community (culture) lives in dependency waiting on others to supply them without lending to the process of productivity.

When we live in harmony with this principle that the farmer practiced, we assist others in growing in personal development and independence. We also are aided and benefited in our own lives as our productivity matures.

You have something to share with others. It is something that will benefit and resource them throughout their lives and the cross pollination effect will benefit your life as well.

When you give of yourself to pull others up, you too, will be lifted. Don’t forget this week to share the best of your seed corn with others.

For more on this topic contact George Yates and visit SonC.A.R.E. Ministries.

Top of Form

The boll weevil is an insect. During the 1910s and 20s, the boll weevil devastated cotton production in the Southern states of the U.S.A. Nonetheless, in 1919, the town of Enterprise, Alabama built a monument to honor the boll weevil and what it had done to benefit the South.

Why? Because the boll weevil forced people to change, adapt and grow:

In Coffee County, almost 60 percent of the cotton production was destroyed. Farmers faced bankruptcy and the area economy was at stake. Farmers turned to peanuts and other crops to overcome the damage brought by the boll weevil.

By 1917, Coffee County produced and harvested more peanuts than any other county in the nation. Seventy-six years later, in 1993, Coffee County still ranked 4th in the state of Alabama with 128,000 acres planted in peanuts. In gratitude for the lessons taught, residents erected the world’s only monument to an agricultural pest, the boll Weevil Monument. The monument, dedicated on December 11, 1919, stands in the center of the downtown district at the intersection of Main Street and College Street. The Boll Weevil Monument is a symbol of man’s willingness and ability to adjust to adversity. Citizens continue to remind visitors and newcomers to the city the lesson of the boll weevil.

The base of the monument is inscribed: “In profound appreciation of the boll weevil and what it has done as the herald of prosperity this monument was erected by the citizens of Enterprise, Coffee County, Alabama.”

What a marvelous attitude! No wonder the town is called “Enterprise.”

Has your church or organization reached such a devastated state yet? If and when it does, what will be your attitude? Will you fold up and move on? Or will you be like the people of Enterprise? Someone has said attitude isn’t a big thing, it is everything. For some reason in many devastating settings, people like to pass the blame, wallow in the mire, without any attempt to find a viable working alternative.

Perhaps it is the “working” that keeps many from seeking the alternative. Or could it be any alternative would require change, and everyone knows the only one who likes change is a baby with a wet diaper.

When those times of devastation come and threaten to destroy life as we are used to, we need to welcome the opportunity to grow into something we have not yet considered. The economy from peanuts produced in Coffee County far outweighed what the cotton ever brought in. Yet, the people of Coffee County would never have known the profitability and economy had it not been for that pesky boll weevil.

When you face adversity as a family, individual, church, or organization, look to the one who created everything. He alone knows what is around the corner for your future. Trust Him. He can do more with what little is left over after adversity, than you could do with riches of bygone years. It is okay to change, adapt, and grow in a different mindset. Just ask the people of Enterprise, AL.

For more information on this or other areas of interest, contact George Yates and visit SonC.A.R.E. Ministries.