Family Matters

One of the joys of my job is to conduct assessment interviews for Commissioned Pastor applicants and other Leadership Development candidates. It is inspiring to hear so many stories relating how God calls people to follow Him and forms them to live out that call. There are, however, challenges that often show up in many of those stories. It seems that many of those who grew up in the homes of pastors and other Christian leaders share unique struggles. A Barna survey asked pastors why they think their children often struggle in the development of their personal faith, here is how these pastors answered.  -28 % Unrealistic expectations others place on them  -18% Exposure to the negative aspects of the church  -17% Pastor is too busy for them  -14% Faith is not modeled consistently at home While there are no simple formulas or easy advice for making family life less challenging for families of ministry leaders, here are two important basic guidelines to keep in mind. Be Real: Too often, there has been a discrepancy between who the pastor is as a church leader and who he or she is as a private person and family member. In public, the pastor knows how to do and say all the right things, but at home another side becomes evident. The pastor's spouse and children see who he or she really is, and when there is an obvious contradiction, the results can be tragic. God replaced King Saul with David for this very reason. As pastors, we would do well to remember that "to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams;" and that people may "look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart."* Service in the church and public reputation are no substitute for personal integrity and authentic holiness. Be There: One pastor's kid (PK) expressed the peril this way: "One of the biggest reasons PKs get so rebellious is that they don't really have a dad – they have a live-in, full-time pastor who treats his kids more like a member of his congregation."** Other PKs would say that they'd settle for being treated like a member of the congregation, so that they would at least get some parental attention instead of being completely overlooked. The Bible is clear that there is no pastoral priority higher than one's own family: "For if someone does not know how to manage his own household well, how can he take care of God's church?" (1 Timothy 3:5). The good news is that the people I talked to are still following Jesus! In spite of what might have been missing in their parents' lives, these emerging leaders have hung on to the good things they were taught, and they are seeking to serve God in ministry and in their homes. Our mission at Church Leadership Center is to support them in their personal and professional development, and we invite you to join us in this awesome calling. Church Leadership Center works in partnership with pastors, churches, and other ministry groups to prepare congregational leaders for advanced levels of service. We do this by means of assessment interviews and reports; personalized training plans, classes, and certification so that participants are able to increase their effectiveness in all areas of church life. Click here for more information. To view videos about Commissioned Pastors and those who support them, click here. To read previous blogs, click here. *1 Samuel **Scott Thomas, Hey, You're a Pastor's Kid – Why Aren't You Crazy? www.churchplanting.com This article was written by Mark Veldt, Ph.D. He is a Leadership Development Specialist with Church Leadership Center and may be contacted at veldtmark@gmail.com

Mentoring Matters

"And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well" (2 Timothy 2:2). "Likewise, tell the older women to . . . encourage the young women" (Titus 2:3-4). It has always been God's plan of leadership development to connect people with others from whom they can learn by word and example. Joshua was trained to lead the people of Israel by serving as a personal assistant to Moses. Elijah invited Elisha into a relationship that led to an extension of his prophetic ministry into the next generation. Jesus called twelve men to follow him, and for a period of three years, they were formed into his disciples as they observed Him in all the joys and demands of everyday life. In each of these biblical examples, emerging leaders were formed by the personal relationships they enjoyed with their mentor. Recently I received a quarterly newsletter from Scott, my financial advisor. The focus of this communication was not the state of the market or any investment advice. Instead, he shared stories about his family and his office staff, and he also told about another aspect of his work that I had not known before. He said that his firm "is a unique company in that we foster a culture of volunteerism," which is expressed through mentoring relationships. Scott continued: "Just as I received a tremendous amount of support during the early stages of my career, I have recently been asked to take a more active role in training some of our new advisors. This has resulted in volunteering many days and weeks to training the future of [our company]. Most notably, for a six month period, I am working closely with a new financial advisor in West Michigan to ensure that they are up to speed with how to grow and operate a successful branch office. In addition to this support, I am committed to spending three separate weeks in our home office to serve as a 'visiting veteran' . . . with thirteen new financial advisors from all over the country . . . " It is apparent that Scott does this, not grudgingly or out of obligation, but cheerfully, because he enjoys helping these new advisors as he was helped by others earlier in his career. He observes that "by serving in these volunteer roles, I am reminded how fortunate I am to be with [this company] and to work with you all on a daily basis." How interesting that the value of mentoring is so widely recognized! In our work with Commissioned Pastor candidates, we have also become convinced as to how crucial these kinds of relationships are. We believe that a well-designed training plan and top-notch courses contribute in important ways to the development of people as leaders in Christian ministry. We are also convinced, however, that the personal investment made in each life by one's mentor is equally important. God uses mentors today, as He did in biblical times, to form and transform people to become the leaders He has designed them to be. Current and past Commissioned Pastor candidates have been blessed by the willing service of several dozen pastors and other Christian leaders who have served as mentors. These mentors have also experienced blessing as they are reminded of how privileged they are to have the opportunity to serve God as leaders in their faith communities. If you are interested in learning more about our guidelines for mentoring or mentoring a lay leader in your church, please reply to this email. Church Leadership Center works in partnership with pastors, churches, and other ministry groups to prepare congregational leaders for advanced levels of service. We do this by means of assessment interviews and reports; personalized training plans, classes, and certification so that participants are able to increase their effectiveness in all areas of church life. Click here for more information. To view videos about Commissioned Pastors and those who support them, click here. To read previous blogs, click here.   This article was written by Mark Veldt, Ph.D. He is a Leadership Development Specialist with Church Leadership Center and may be contacted at veldtmark@gmail.com

Taking Care of You

There are times when leaders wonder… How can I be an example of hope and light on days that seem down and dark? How will everything work out? How will I be able to keep up with my emails? How will we meet our budget? How do I respond to critics gracefully? How can I provide meaningful encouragement to colleagues and friends? During challenging situations, I sometimes think of the song, "God will take care of you." The lyrics include, No matter what may be the test, God will take care of you; Lean, weary one, upon His breast, God will take care of you. (verse 4) God will take care of you, Through every day, o'er all the way; He will take care of you, God will take care of you. (chorus)  Listen to Aretha Franklin's rendition of the song from her "Gospel Greats" album by clicking here. Another perspective that keeps me going is Spurgeon's devotional writings. An example is his reflection on "God's Provision" (May 21). It is based on Genesis 4:2, "There is grain for sale in Egypt." The following excerpts are liberally edited. May they also speak to you. Leader, though all things are apparently against you, rest assured that God has made a reservation on your behalf. In the roll of your troubles, there is a saving clause. Somehow He will deliver you, and somewhere He will provide for you. Your rescue may come from a very unexpected source, but help will definitely come, and you will praise the Lord. If men and women do not feed you, ravens will; and if the earth does not yield wheat, heaven will drop manna. Be of good courage, and rest quietly in the Lord. God can make the sun rise in the west if He pleases and can make the source of distress a living steam of delight. God provided for Jacob with grain from Egypt (Genesis 4:2) through the hands of Joseph; he opened or closed the granaries at will. And so the riches of providence are all in the absolute power of our Lord Jesus, who will dispense them generously to His people. Joseph was abundantly ready to help his own family; and Jesus is unceasing in the faithful care for His sisters and brothers. Our responsibility is to go after the help that is provided for us: We must not sit and sulk, but, rather, stir ourselves. Prayer will bring us quickly into the presence of our royal Brother. Once before His throne, we have only to ask and receive. His stores are not exhausted. There is still grain:. His heart is not hard; He will give the grain to us. Prayer: Lord, forgive our unbelief and constrain us to draw largely from Your fullness and receive grace for grace. One supportive help that is provided is Church Leadership Center, which works in partnership with pastors, churches, and other ministry groups to prepare congregational leaders for advanced levels of service. We do this by means of assessment interviews and reports; personalized training plans, classes, and certification so that participants are able to increase their effectiveness in all areas of church life. Click here for more information. To view videos about Commissioned Pastors and those who support them, click here. To read previous blogs, click here

Songs of Life

His shrunken frame and age-diminished voice were almost lost at the front of our large church auditorium. He had been a medical intern at a small hospital in Arnhem when Hitler's war machine rolled through the Netherlands and set up a puppet Nazi government. Radios were destroyed to prevent BBC "propaganda" from demoralizing folks who needed nothing other than German "truth."   But among the clutter of equipment in one surgical suite, someone had managed to hide a short wave set. At 5 p.m. each Sunday afternoon the doctors and nurses gathered secretively and tuned softly the worship service of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields on the edge of London. My friend could not remember a single sermon heard in those covert assemblies, but one thing he never forgot. At the close of each broadcast swelled the choral power of Henry Lyte's magnificent melody, "Abide with Me."   "In the distance we could hear the guns," the old doctor whispered, "and the cupboards of medical supplies rattled with falling bombs. We huddled together, standing close to the single speaker, weeping as we were transported for a few moments into the congregation in London, and with it to the very throne of God."   "This," he said, as we turned our own hymnbooks to the song, "is how we survived those dark and awful hours." And so we sang with him: Abide with me! Fast falls the eventide! The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide! When other helpers fail, and comforts flee, O, Thou who changest not, abide with me!   I think of him often when my students walk into class with buds in their ears linked to phones. "What are you listening to?" I ask them, and they tell me of the latest hits and greatest groups and hottest tunes and newest metal. I love music, and I share their passions, often playing videos of recent songs for classroom discussions.   But in the noisy archives of all the wonderful melodies I've loved and sung with pounding intensity or heart-throbbing intimacy, I wonder, sometimes, what music actually changes my life, or places me in the company of those who need to enter another realm in order to remember what this one is truly all about. What are you listening to?   The greatest music, of course, is the melody of creation, echoing the timeless beauty of its Creator. And those who sing that song best have learned the lyrics from Jesus, the one who sang life itself into being and taught us the song of salvation.   CLC is training people who can sing these songs well, and who then can teach them to others. Partner with us so that the choir of grand music can swell in your neighbor, and in others as well--particularly those places that have too long heard only the discord and dissonance of evil. It is time for the music to begin again.   Church Leadership Center works in partnership with pastors, churches, and other ministry groups to prepare congregational leaders for advanced levels of service. We do this by means of assessment interviews and reports; personalized training plans, classes, and certification so that participants are able to increase their effectiveness in all areas of church life. Click here for more information. To view videos about Commissioned Pastors and those who support them, click here. To read previous blogs, click here.   Special thanks to Dr. Wayne Brouwer for writing the above article. He is CLC's theological editor, professor at Hope College, and adjunct professor at Western Theological Seminary.

Let Freedom Ring

This past weekend we celebrated Independence Day, also called the Fourth of July. The day commemorates freedom of the original American thirteen colonies from Great Britain. The weekend provides an opportunity to identify education and leadership perspectives on freedom that are embraced by Church Leadership Center. The following quotes are foundational to the ways in which CLC approaches teaching and learning. The quotes meet no particular criteria for selection other than being favorites of this writer. They are from John Calvin, John Dewey, Paulo Freire, and Martin Luther King, Jr. John Calvin (French Reformer, 1509-1564) There is no worse screen to block out the Spirit than confidence in our own intelligence. The gospel is not a doctrine of the tongue, but of life. It cannot be grasped by reason and memory only, but it is fully understood when it possesses the whole soul and penetrates to the inner recesses of the heart. Therefore, in reading profane authors, the admirable light of truth displayed in them should remind us, that the human mind, however much fallen and perverted from its original integrity, is still adorned and invested with admirable gifts from its Creator. If we reflect that the Spirit of God is the only fountain of truth, we will be careful, as we would avoid offering insult to him, not to reject or condemn truth wherever it appears. John Dewey (American Educator, 1859-1952) Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself. The most important attitude that can be formed is that of desire to go on learning. We always live at the time we live and not at some other time, and only by extracting at each present time the full meaning of each present experience are we prepared for doing the same thing in the future. Paulo Freire (Brazilian Educator, 1921-1997) Liberating education consists in acts of cognition, not transferals of information. One cannot expect positive results from an educational or political action program which fails to respect the particular view of the world held by the people. Such a program constitutes cultural invasion, good intentions notwithstanding. The teacher is of course an artist, but being an artist does not mean that he or she can make the profile, can shape the students. What the educator does in teaching is to make it possible for the students to become themselves. Reading is not walking on the words; it's grasping the soul of them. Teachers and students (leadership and people) co-intent on reality are both Subjects, not only in the task of unveiling that reality, and thereby coming to know it critically, but in the task of re-creating that knowledge. As they attain this knowledge of reality through common reflection and action, they discover themselves as its permanent re-creators. If I am not in the world simply to adapt to it, but rather transform it, and if it is not possible to change the world without a certain dream or vision for it, I must make use of every possibility there is not only to speak about my utopia, but also to engage in practices consistent with it. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Civil Rights Leader, 1929-1968) The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education. A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus. Life's most persistent and urgent question is, "What are you doing for others?" The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But... the Good Samaritan reversed the question: "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?" Church Leadership Center works in partnership with pastors, churches, and other ministry groups to prepare congregational leaders for advanced levels of service. We do this by means of assessment interviews and reports; personalized training plans, classes, and certification so that participants are able to increase their effectiveness in all areas of church life. Click here for more information. To view videos about Commissioned Pastors and those who support them, click here. To read previous blogs, click here.