Balance of Power #2 An Internal Warning Flag
When you start fresh in your new church, the process of getting to know you and what you are about is a predictable one. It shouldn't surprise you nor should it get you off your game. It has a level of anxiety to it that you must resist and tamp down if you can. Why the anxiety? Because people want to know what you are going to do and what you are about. That's probably a pretty normal condition to be in for a while.
What's not so normal is the way you might react as a pastor. It is easy to do two things; try to tell them what you are all about in one or two easy lectures, and jump in and fix things too early. A better reaction might be to wait and listen and learn. At least for a little while. Get out and visit folks, go to meetings, talk with leaders and so on. Get the pulse until the pulse gets you. If there is life, start off in first or second gear. If there is no life, then you've got another set of problems, but that's another series of posts.
Another way of looking at it is Where is the Spirit Working? Find that out and put some energy in supporting that. That will go a long way toward helping your members know what you are about. You are about support and encouragement for what they are doing. I know this sounds basic, but I've watched too many pastors move into their church or district with their preconceived vision, only to move to another church two or three years later to do it all over again. They never laid the foundation to build the church in a healthy fashion. They tried to flash in the pan, but fizzled out rather quickly. No surprise there. It's hard to enlist people to help you when you show no desire to help them.
Taking this approach is key to helping and empowering your new church family. Help them make decisions to be better ministers and servants and ministry quality and quantity will have a chance to grow and prosper.
So the first warning flag should be about you and your anxiety level. Get to know people and their dreams, support them as you can and bring your dreams to the table as they permit. You will gain more permission for this as you give it away. Isn't that how God works with us?
What's not so normal is the way you might react as a pastor. It is easy to do two things; try to tell them what you are all about in one or two easy lectures, and jump in and fix things too early. A better reaction might be to wait and listen and learn. At least for a little while. Get out and visit folks, go to meetings, talk with leaders and so on. Get the pulse until the pulse gets you. If there is life, start off in first or second gear. If there is no life, then you've got another set of problems, but that's another series of posts.
Another way of looking at it is Where is the Spirit Working? Find that out and put some energy in supporting that. That will go a long way toward helping your members know what you are about. You are about support and encouragement for what they are doing. I know this sounds basic, but I've watched too many pastors move into their church or district with their preconceived vision, only to move to another church two or three years later to do it all over again. They never laid the foundation to build the church in a healthy fashion. They tried to flash in the pan, but fizzled out rather quickly. No surprise there. It's hard to enlist people to help you when you show no desire to help them.
Taking this approach is key to helping and empowering your new church family. Help them make decisions to be better ministers and servants and ministry quality and quantity will have a chance to grow and prosper.
So the first warning flag should be about you and your anxiety level. Get to know people and their dreams, support them as you can and bring your dreams to the table as they permit. You will gain more permission for this as you give it away. Isn't that how God works with us?
Comments