To my pastor friends:
Beware! If your end of year letter to your congregation is only about money, you are failing in your responsibility to your congregation. Yes, I know, the way we think about and handle money is a spiritual matter. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21) is, after all, what Jesus said. But, my heavens, when your end of year letter focuses only on money and the ways the members of your church can give, including estate planning, you will be hard pressed to convince me (and many of your members) you are genuinely encouraging them to finish the year well.
Encourage the sheep under your watch care to finish the year well by walking closer to Christ as they close the year. Encourage them to grow in humility and to consider others more significant than themselves in the next year (Phil 2:3). Encourage them to set their sights on doing justice, and loving kindness, and walking humbly with their God (Micah 6:8). Encourage them to set a goal to hide God’s word in their hearts next year (Ps. 119:11). Encourage them to pray more and more fervently next year (Luke 22:40-46). Encourage them to see and delight in God’s majesty (Psalm 145:5). There are a myriad of ways you can encourage your congregation to finish the year well, without appearing to be money hungry.
While giving is important to the spiritual life of a Christian, ending the year with a finish the year well appeal to give money sets a false barometer before your people. Don’t give your people the false idea that giving to a year end campaign is the measure of their spiritual life or that they can make up for any spiritual shortcomings in the year by giving dollars at the end of the year.
I know none of my pastor friends would say they are doing what I just described. And I’m sure that is the case. Having said that, I encourage all my pastor friends to get a trusted friend who is not a pastor and give them permission to speak candidly about your communication, especially regarding year-end giving. What you are trying to communicate or think you are communicating may not be what your members are hearing.
DISCLAIMER: Due to the nature of my life and vocation, I have many pastor friends. The above comments are intended as a general exhortation and are not aimed at any specific pastor. But, if the shoe fits …
It’s Thursday, but Sunday’s Coming
The title of this post is a spin-off of S. M. Lockridge’s sermon “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming.” In that sermon, Pastor Lockridge is encouraging those who are discouraged by the events surrounding Jesus’ crucifixion to look forward to Sunday. Because on Sunday, everything is different. In this post, I also want to challenge you to look toward Sunday, but for a different reason. But, before looking forward, let’s look backward.
How was church yesterday? is a common Monday morning question among Christian friends who attend different churches. Typically, what is meant by this question relates to how much that particular individual enjoyed his or her morning at church. It may solicit an evaluation of the sermon, the music, the crowd size, the fellowship, or even the temperature in the building.
I want to look at the question from a different angle. How was church yesterday (or last Sunday) for the visitor who didn’t know anybody there? The new person in town who was invited by the highway billboard that promised “A welcoming and friendly atmosphere.” The lonely person who responded to the 30-second television advertisement with b-roll clips of people happily engaged with others as the soothing voice described the warm fellowship that happens at your church. The one who found your church on a Google search. A Google search done not so much out of interest, but desperation because his/her life is caving in?
Regarding the experience of visitors many church consultants think in terms of convenience. Here’s a list of focus points provided by Jayson D. Bradley (sponsored by Pushpay):
All of those certainly have value. However, that list has a glaring deficiency. What is missing? The personal touch from real people. And here, I don’t mean the happy people dressed in logo shirts standing next to the entrance. I mean regular members … the people who show up week after week, but aren’t on the Impressions Team. The regular people.
Let’s go back to that visitor’s experience at your church. Did that person feel the warmth that others describe as the normal experience at church? Did anyone express a genuine interest in that person? Or, did you pass them in the hallway as you raced to see your friends? This scene is all too common in churches today. Friends huddled together, fellowshipping with each other as visitors try to find their way in this new environment. Sometimes those visitors are committed Christians who are seeking a new church and basically know the lay of the land. In other cases, the new person may be uninitiated in all things church and are simply looking for God. If that person wanders into your church, what will they experience? Will they walk away saying, “No one was interested in me.”
It’s Thursday, but Sunday’s coming. Looking toward Sunday: How can you help visitors experience what the advertisements say they will find at church? People – even “uninteresting” people – are interesting … if you slow down and talk with them. Everybody has a story. Who – that you didn’t already know – did you initiate a meaningful conversation with in the last month?
This Sunday, will you commit to finding someone you don’t know and start a conversation with them? I don’t mean the “Hi! My name is Craig, it’s nice to have you today” then spin on my heels and walk-away conversation. I mean the conversation that attempts to know them in some meaningful way. The conversation that recognizes them as people, not as a cog in the evangelical church wheel.
You can’t have a conversation about Jesus unless … you have a conversation. #TalkToSomeoneThisSunday
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