Wrong Fit?

probably cheaper at christianbook.com

 

Yes, I would.

 

Yeah, I'd be tempted too. Who wouldn't?

 

No such thing as a wrong fit.

 

Sounds as if God has thrown open a door wide enough to drive through.

 

I'd be tempted to work with a pastor friend. But by God's grace I seek never to consider money matters when making a decision. It's old, it's a cliche, but "Where God guides, He provides." Don't even think about salary.

 

Change

Change must come slowly and carefully. The church that allows immediate change is very rare, most will fight change because they have been taught or conditioned that change equals sin against God or something like that. Change must happen slowly.

I would suggest that you blend in the new changes with the old traditional for a time before going full bore. The hard part is they thought change was one thing while you thought it was another. Be slow to bring change and don't do a lot of it overall for a few years. Be careful and remind them that God is in control and not you. You only do what the Father leads and no more and no less.

Hope this helps.

 

What happens if you take the associate position and you feel this same way six months later? It's possible.

Short-term ministry is rarely fruitful ministry. Long-term ministry is rarely unfruitful. You do need to learn some things:

1. Search committees will say almost anything. ANYTHING.
2. It takes time to build consensus and lead.
3. Don't be afraid to lead and make changes. The idea that you have to wait a year or three years or five years is bull. If something needs to be changed, change it. However, the bigger the change, the higher the price, and the more you need to educate and bring people along with you. If you fail to do this, either the changes won't work, or it will sow seeds that will bite you later.
4. You hit your own nail on the head. The success of change rises and falls in the implementation. The best ideas in the world fail if they are not implemented correctly, with the right preparation, etc.
5. You're not that young. I was a pastor at 20. Trust me, I know more now that I'm approaching 20 years in ministry than I did way back when.
6. People are going to complain. If you take out the trash, people will complain you used the wrong kind of bag. If you baptise 50 people this Sunday, someone will complain about the water bill. People complain. Constantly. You can either be defeated by it or you can respond appropriately. The choice is yours. But always test the sentiments. Maybe they have a point. Maybe you could have used a better trash bag. Only occasionally is the person completely unjustified.

God's will is not a place on the map - it's a place of the heart. Would you be feeling you are a "wrong fit" if your changes had not met opposition? It doesn't sound that way. Maybe you should slow down and explain your changes better. If you unring the bell, you may not be able to go back ("we tried that, pastor...it didn't work"). But you clearly cannot keep doing what you're doing. So remember, if people aren't following you, you aren't leading. Bring them with you. Invest the time necessary.

 

Excellent advice from TomVols. I especially like the highlighted truth.

 

See number 4 above in TomVol's list.
Re: the small groups you implemented. I have been in some great ones and some not so great ones.
It is difficult but necessary to assess whether or not the implementation of the idea is as good as the theory.

I don't know that church members are so often cantankerous as this thread seems to say. They often mean it when they say they are willing to do new things. But sometimes, unknown to the pastor, there are reasons why the practical effects of the changes are not so good.
And those reasons can be hard to articulate.

If you google Les Puryear (may be Leslie Puryear) he was a candidate for SBC president this year. He has a great blog devoted mostly to issues of the small church.

 

My only point would be that preparing the ground is as much farming as harvesting the crop. You come in with guns a blazing, don't be surprised when someone shots back.

Going back to be an associate could be the right move. But I would caution against making a move in the midst of a crisis. Rarely does growth come when you go around the trouble instead of through the trouble. Perhaps this is preparation for something you will need down the road? Perhaps you're learning about ministry on a whole new level and really need to be in the "rough" spot the Lord has placed you?

I would echo John's remark concerning salary, if making a "comfortable" living is important to you, stay out of ministry. You will end up bitter and resentful of all those tightwads down at the church.

 

Hello!! Answer the phone!!!! Walk through the door.

 

I don't think we are in disagreement here. I am a firm believer that change should be purposeful, deliberate, and timed well. However, that time is not automatically after a mandatory dead period. I know that got to be a common theme in church leadership circles, but practice has shown that pastors who try to wait X number of years find themselves trying to make changes and the people are saying "Wait, Pastor. You had no problem with this for 1/3/5 years, why change it now?" or "If it needed to be changed, wouldn't it have been changed before now?"

No President waits until six months after inauguration to make changes. Many will undertake bold initiatives during their "honeymoon" period. You can take on too many or too harshly (Like Bill Clinton did in 1993 and found himself trying to do too much by his own admission) and wind up in trouble. Or you can make the opposite mistake.

 

Sometimes it is easier to change things when you are new. It is easier to play dumb.

 

AMEN!!!

I have been at this rural church for almost three years and change has to be very slow. For example, we needed to have our building repaired very badly. I talked to one of our trustees about starting a building fund, and he said no because they had a building fund before and had to dip into that just to pay their regular bills. I waited a year later when our finances got more stable, I suggested it again to the same trustee and he said let's go for it. I even suggested about doing a loan, everyone on the trustee board except for one was in favor of the idea. I said unless we are 100% for it, we will not go forward. Eighteen months later, God richly provided us enough money to get out building repaired without going in debt.

Another thing, some of these churches are not for change because they are really looking for stability from the pastor. You're discouraged, that's typical. Feel like giving up, been there too, but hang in there and let God guide you all the way.

One of our supporting missionaries gave us a word of encouragement. He said "Trust them, Love them and Serve them." I am constantly reminded of that.

 

I love this thread, it is so nice to read advice from seasoned pastors....

 

This is well said. However, I believe I would handle it a little differently. I'm a church planter, but I have often thought that if I ever took over a church from another preacher, I would wait a year or so to make any major changes, anything other than cosmetic changes (or issues of ethics or heresy).

But this should be announced right from the start, maybe in a message about change, something like, "Folks, maybe some things should be changed, but I'm too new here to know what they should be. So please give me a year to learn the ropes, then help me as we try to change where necessary and grow together." (And "grow together" can have two meanings here. :thumbs: )

 

I am in a very similar place... I have attempted to pattern my style of leadership to bring a struggling church to being a vibrant community of people who intentionally fulfill the Great Commission and Great Commandments in all they do. In my little country church there are no leaders, no committees/teams, no elders, and no deacons. In certain situations, this is an extremely frustrating set of circumstances.

That said, I am attempting to build concentric circles of leadership. God has blessed me with those who have shown loyalty and a desire to follow God and me. I am discipling them, and bringing others along when possible. It is frustrating at times but we have seen some amazing victories. One of which is that in this church's 23 year history, they have never participated in any form of missions activity... I just took a group of 5 to Brazil where we saw over 3000 pray to receive Christ!!! Those 5 are now ablaze and addicted to God's work.

Set goals, make friends, preach the Word, pray hard, and walk with your people closely. Hang in there!!!