Why Many Churches Just Might Treat Their Next Pastor Better!By

Dr. Tom Cheyney, EDOMGreater Orlando Baptist Association

It is interesting in an era where church planting is so incredibly popular and ministers are choosing to plant a church over pastoring an existing church that we church members do not strive to treat our current pastor better! This is not an article on compensation, but on compassion and caring of the one who feeds the flock and why it is becoming increasingly difficult to discover a pastor once your church has had a pastor leave. In the coming years there will be a growing challenge of a declining pastor pool while the planter pool keeps growing. Realistically it is a cycle certainly and I remember about 20 years ago just how hard it was to find someone wanting to plant a new church. Everyone wanted to pastor one that was already launched and prayed hard that God would allow him to become a pastor of a church already in existence once they graduated from Seminary or Bible School. The humorous remark voiced by many younger ministers going into churches over planting was that a church planter was one who did not have a ministry assignment four weeks after graduation.

Times have changed and church planting is for many ministers the viable option and the raising opportunity for many clergy. Considering the state of the church in North America more and more ministers leaving seminary are opting to plant over going into a church that is struggling to discover who it is for the future. There is coming an increasing pastor shortage to fill the pulpits of existing churches. It is anticipated that for declining attendance churches it might just take the church more than the usual 13 to 18 months to call a new pastor to as extensive as 36 months to finally call a preacher willing to serve as its pastor.

Three point six! A LifeWay Research poll found the average pastoral tenure in a church today is currently 3.6 years (via Thom Rainer’s blog).

I see even around central Florida the need for our local church leaders to understand that the number of potential ministers available to become your next pastor is on a decline. That is why I firmly believe many churches just might treat their next pastor better than their present one once they loose their current minister!

Why Many Churches Just Might Treat Their Next Pastor Better!

There are some critical reasons that churches in the future just might treat their next pastor better than the one who just left saying enough is enough. While this is not an exhaustive list if you are an active laymen in your church or a pastor consider sharing this edition of The Re-Source Online Magazine with key leaders in you ministry.

Let’s Consider Why Many Churches Just Might Treat Their Next Pastor Better:

Many Churches Just Might Treat Their Next Pastor Better Because it Took So Long to Find One

Churches are dismissing pastors at alarming rates and pastors are leaving churches in near alarming rates now that the economy has begun to pick up. The search for one to serve your church, if you are either in a state of plateau or decline, becomes limited.

Many Churches Just Might Treat Their Next Pastor Better Because They will Fear the Continued Hardships experienced during the period without a pastor shepherd.

Most churches during the exodus of a pastor face participation decline as well as the hardships that go with a shrinking pool of volunteers. Those who would regularly volunteer for assignments, view this time as a short sabbatical to get some rest and to determine if this church is still something they want to support. Some will take flight and by the time you have stabilized your church with a new pastor, they are already warmly united into another church and do not desire to return.

Many Churches Just Might Treat Their Next Pastor Better Because they saw the financial struggle they experienced when there was not a pastor leader

Once the final days of a previous pastor have occurred there will be those who will take a supportive retreat from the commitments they have made to be regular systematic givers to your church. When pastors are in place there is the continual ongoing commitment to support the church and its ministries. While many will remain faithful to supporting the church proponents of today’s shopping center, culture will often see no reason to participate.

Many Churches Just Might Treat Their Next Pastor Better Because the Drift which took place by present members during this interim period was difficult to change.

When the BIG Moe (momentum) is lost it is extremely hard to regain the momentum, which was taken for granted. Things are different and those who were accustomed to the flow and the feel of the previous leadership begin to drift away from their regular attendance. We usually say that a participant is a regular participant if they worship at least twice a month. Suddenly, the drifters are showing up about once every six weeks and there capacity to feel connected is drifting away.

Many Churches Just Might Treat Their Next Pastor Better Because there is a now apparent need to reproduce new leaders within the stalled church.

Curtis Freeman who is a Baptist theology professor and now leads the Baptist House of Studies at Duke University declares that, “many churches are like mules, they are strong, but they do not reproduce." Churches facing eventual decline must work towards raising up a new group of leaders within the church which will lead into the coming generations. By all accounts, the role of pastors, church staff members and

other church leaders in calling out the called cannot be underestimated. Why is there not a greater host of young people within our Greater Orlando Baptist Association churches praying about a life in the pulpit? That is a question I have pondered for the past few years as your Executive Director of Missions. This has bewildered me because what could be more exhilarating and satisfying than preaching the Word of God with power and watching the Holy Spirit carry a group of people forward?

Many Churches Just Might Treat Their Next Pastor Better Because they failed to draw younger leaders into their church due to preferences of existing members over their desire to reach new younger members.

The Lord has not withdrawn His hand of blessing churches through the calling of young ministers like Timothy within the scriptures.

God has not stopped calling people into vocational ministry, but too many churches and pastors have failed to do their part in amplifying and interpreting the call, he warned. "I don't think God ever stopped calling men and women. We just stopped nurturing and cultivating it." The recruiting function begins in the local church,

Many Churches Just Might Treat Their Next Pastor Better Because the available pastor pool is aging and the choices are becoming less and less.

Did you know that nearly 30 percent of Southern Baptist ministers today are older than 55, while only 10 percent are younger than 35? This fact alone could result in an approaching lack of pastors and church staff leaders within congregations nationwide. It is a sound of warning for the local church and its future when one future minister is entering the work of ministry while there is at the same time three ministers who are retiring from the work of the ministry.

Many Churches Just Might Treat Their Next Pastor Better Because the larger population of potential ministers are becoming missionaries and church planters.

Added to the aging pool of available ministers is the challenge of the fact that a little less than one-third of seminarians today declare that they expect to serve within the local existing church ministries. Most are sensing a call to various Para-church networks, becoming a missionary either at home or abroad, serving as a social ministry worker, or becoming a ministry chaplain.

Many Churches Just Might Treat Their Next Pastor Better Because there appeared to be conflict or scandal in previous leadership and potential ministers are fearful of your church and its inability to keep a pastor.

It saddens me to hear of any pastor who has fallen in the work of the Lord! Having interviewed a few in my ministry while each one said the trouble was with them,

some actually added that they were coerced to go to a church which was a unable to keep a pastor or work along side of the shepherd leader. When bickering is active in the church it is often hard for the pastor to guide God’s children if they refuse to be led. The eventual effect is the pastor chooses to leave or the church chooses for him.

Many Churches Just Might Treat Their Next Pastor Better Because your declining ability to support a pastor sufficiently might signal the move from full time to part-time or bi-vocational pastoral leadership.

Would your membership desire to go to work for a business that asked them to work with low pay, which kept them from supporting their families? Of course not. Why would a minister then go somewhere where they could not support their family? God can and sometimes does call individuals into the work of ministry where there are unrealistic demands and support. When the Lord leads you to that specific place you have a clear sense of the divine and wait for His guidance and support. Lack of that specific sensing from the Lord going to a church, which wants a full-time minister, but can only afford a part-time minister only creates frustration for both parties. God calls the Shepherd to a high calling and any church which lessens the respect an under shepherd is due, is in danger of God’s withdrawal of future blessings.

Why the Preacher Population Is Shrinking

Why is the preacher population dwindling and what can we as associations do about it? Initially might I say that the decreasing preacher population has perhaps more to do with individual wiring of called ministers today. During the formative years of my individual calling once the Lord had shown Himself clear, there was a spirit of daring and an undeniable sense of God’s hand on ones life from the initial moment of the call through out the very present day in which I am serving. God has not left me, but has looked out for me. God has not evaded my needs, but has empowered my calling to reach high and go boldly where ever He has called. Let’s look at some of the issues in today’s minister:

1. There is a growing sense of failure and the fear that goes with potential failure as a minister.

There is a growing sensitivity with college students entering the ministry that the local New Testament church has become locked into its traditional form and remains unwilling to innovate. I have a son, which is a Youth Minister of a fast growing church and youth ministry in the Atlanta area. While sure of his calling and a willingness to be used of God, he lives with a mindset that he desires to spend his life in ministries that make noticeable strides towards reaching the kingdom. While only a little over a quarter of a century old he has had offers to leave his present church but remains firmly devoted to the church he serves. This is primarily because of a great pastor who has his back as my son continues to learn and his individual desire to serve in a ministry where creativity and fresh ideas as well as

thinking is valued. Younger ministers are not interested in wasting their efforts on churches that might bring failure due to an unwillingness to innovate and create through a willingness to change. Part of the shortage created, is individual ministers, which are the young cream of the crop fleeing from any ministry, which squelches creativity and innovation.

As a result of many churches inability to embrace creativity and innovation these younger ministers who do sense an unshakeable call to ministry, often look first to healthy Para-church organizations or aggressive church planting mission agencies. The reality is that these future pastoral giants are hanging out with like-minded future leaders and dreaming of a new church, which they will launch together. They are developing mission statements, strategy designs, church names and logos all in preparation for launching a healthy New Testament Church. Some would rather work part time jobs than to serve in a church, which refuses to embrace the new culture in which it is located. Here is the blunt reality, which laymen must prayerfully hear: today’s new younger minister simply believes that they could not survive in an average church so it is this reality and fear that pushes them to seek other alternatives besides the local church.

2. There is a growing lack of connection by present lead pastors with young people within their church.

Now before you turn me off pastor, when was the last time you actually sat down at a youth function and listened to and spoke with the average teenager? Here is the challenge in a nutshell: The lack of exposure to the lead pastor leads most youth to feel a sense of disconnection from the key pastor of the church. Certainly church youth are connected with the youth minister and other youth ministry leaders, yet feeling a connection with the primary pastor/preacher is lacking. I know that I sensed a call to ministry through conversations with my High School pastor in Naples Florida growing up. Dr. Freddie Smith took the time to hang with us and allow us to ask hard questions, dumb questions and critical questions for the formation of our individual calling into ministry. The result was in that wonderful church there were young people who became missionaries, church planters and preachers. Brother Freddie did not spend all of his time with young people, but he spent enough time with all of us.

It is my belief that his time with all of us is why we felt a holy comfort and urging to the call to become pastors and preachers. We saw the effort required and we sensed the individual rewards that came to ones spiritual life by serving as a pastor. We were given a portrait of a successful pastor and could consider if this was part of our calling into ministry. Brother Freddie also was not shy about giving an invitation to make a commitment to enter full-time Christian ministry. He knew how to call out the called and he did just that. The pull of the Lord is lost when we eliminate the time necessary to hangout with today’s youth.

3. There is a growing fear of male ministers that their potential wives will refuse to serve in a church ministry that might create a dysfunctional family atmosphere.

Many spouses fear the idea of being a minister’s wife. Even my wife Cheryl had to pray long and hard about being a minister’s wife before she would answer my question about marriage. She loved me certainly. Yet she had seen the way some local churches chew up some ministers and their families and was not sure she could handle this stress. My wife is very committed to the local church but she is not called to be the WMU director or the piano player for the local church. She could just run at the fear of being swallowed up by the church to do all of the things that no one else wanted to do within the church. Younger ministers have a fear that a church will speak less than forth rightly to get them there and then dump on the family all of the things no one else wants to do. My wife did not want to fit into that mold and most young ladies are also feeling that same way. For this reason, young men who sense a call to ministry often are afraid to make that information public.

They want what all of their friends want—to fall in love, stay in love, and raise kids into full-blown followers of Jesus Christ. The pulpit seems to be a dangerous place for the man who wants to be fully present and fully engaged with his family. Therefore, it seems more doable to dive into a less pressurized position of ministry and avoid the pitfalls of being the preacher.

We must find our Timothy’s and begin coaching them

Where are the mentors for this upcoming generation? Men and women who have been called into vocational ministry almost equivalently point to certain individuals who helped them hear and interpret that call of God on their lives. New research conducted by the Baptist General Convention of Texas in conjunction with Baylor University among Texas Baptist pastors examined this question of influence by asking, "Who was the single most influential person used by God in (your) call experience?" Here is what they discovered:

More than 80 percent of respondents cited someone as filling that role. 19 percent said the most influence came through personal devotions. By far the most frequently cited influence was a pastor. Nearly 40 percent of those serving as pastors in Texas Baptist churches today

said their own pastor was the single most influential person in helping them hear and understand God's call.

The influence of family members was cited the next most commonly, at 15 percent.

Other individuals--such as youth ministers, Sunday school teachers, church staff members, friends, missionaries, and campus ministers--also were cited as influential.

If John Maxwell is right, and I believe he is, when he declares: "everything rises and falls on leadership," even our healthiest churches are in trouble without strong, capable leaders rising up through their ranks. What can we do to find the next Timothy, to raise up the next generation of preachers? While we cannot eliminate all of the apparent risks that come with the call of God on ones life, I do want to propose three real-world ideas that could generate huge yields with time.

1. Ask God to give you a message that a young Timothy would desire.

Timothy’s are longing for a Paul to guide them. Are you a Paul with a message, which a young potential minister would desire? Begin journaling about things you would want to coach a young minister about. I have a journal of ideas any young shepherd should begin to learn in preparation for ministry. I have key points about sensing God’s call into ministry a young Timothy needs to hear. I think I have about 75 to one hundred individual coaching lessons which need to be imparted to those who God has allowed me to coach and is allowing me to coach. For example my top few are things like: 1). Wear only the hats that fit you 2). Why investing in coaching of others will pay off 3). When and the why of selecting your initial team for a church or plant; and 4). Remember to keep the end in sight! Yes there are many many more, but if you do not begin journaling, you will never be ready to begin coaching.

2. Begin praying for God to send you a young Timothy to coach, which is teachable, trainable, and will tarry.

When the Lord gives you someone do not wait around to begin to get ready. You are ready and the Lord will keep you ready if you are willing to invest your time into another. Allow this young man access to you and your office. Provide him a small space in the corner of your office where he can observe and work on things for future ministry. Honor his commitment by giving your best to him and answer any question he has regardless how crazy they might be. (Thank you Dr. Freddie Smith for answering my hard questions and my easy ones and all of the senseless ones in between.) Give him a set of keys to the church and take him with you when you make evangelistic visits or go to the hospital to see church members. Honoring him does not require a dime, it requires giving of your time. Give him little jobs and big jobs as you sense he is ready. Pray with him regularly and give him access to your pre-service area every Sunday. Teach him the boundaries for when to speak and when to listen and when to just be in the room.

What would hinder you from finding your Timothy and beginning your coaching journey? If God brought a young Timothy along, would you carve out a piece of your life for the next six months to a year?

3. Create a way to push young people to the front lines of ministry.

My son looks for front-liners to contribute to the work of the youth ministry at his church. I look for individuals to push to the front lines of ministry as well. Good leaders are always looking for front liners and moving them from the middle to the front.

In Luke 9:57-62 there is a great theme of commitment. Within this passage three different would-be disciples approach Christ on His journey to Jerusalem; yet all three find good reason to remain uncommitted. The challenge for coaching and mentoring from this passage is to openly declare that you are looking for a handful of students who will commit to four to five hours weekly to minister in the front lines. From there it is not hard to develop short-term opportunities for students to serve as missionaries or interns. The goal for the program is reciprocal growth—the church will be blessed with an army of willing volunteers while the students are blessed with the coaching and encouragement of a specific staff member.

"I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends" (John 15:15).

The relationship between Christ and His core leaders became increasingly personal. We would be wise to take note of that.

Wrapping it up!

More than likely, the task of preaching always will be risky and never will be the most popular of professions. It is likely the church will continue to battle a shortage of top-level leaders, as does every other Christian organization I know. However, as we work together to raise up well-equipped, courageous pastors, we build a solid foundation for the future church. I have a church-planting sermon I have preached all over the nation entitled: “Planting Trees You Will Never Sit Under!” It comes from my father who would have me plant trees around the new homes he was building. He would say: “Tommy, you are planting trees you will never sit under!” He was right and now others are enjoying my sacrifice and effort. May God grant us wisdom as we sow seeds for the next generation!

Additional Resources to consider:

Pastoral Reasons for making a ministry move to another place of service:

Pastoral transitions by denominational groupings:

Pastoral tenure by denominational groupings:

Pastoral transition due to job promotion:This study shows why Protestant clergy change jobs -promotions are a more common cause than God’s call. For further study on this subject go to:http://www.greymatterresearch.com/index_files/Job_Changes.htm

Pastoral views concerning ministry transitions:Pastors think that pastors should stop moving around so much. For further study on this subject go to:http://baptistcourier.com/2005/10/pastors-think-pastors-should-stop-moving-2/George Barna surveys Protestant clergy:

With more than 500,000 pastors serving in Christian churches in the United States, including some 300,000 Senior Pastors, newly-released survey data from the Barna Research Group of Ventura, California provides insight into the background of America's Protestant clergy. For further study on this subject go to:https://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/5-barna-update/59-a-profile-of-protestant-pastors-in-anticipation-of-qpastor-appreciation-monthq#.UtcFpHmQfFI

Pastoral Salaries in the United States:The median expected salary for a typical Pastor in the United States is $86,993. This basic market pricing report was prepared using a Certified Compensation Professionals’ analysis of survey data collected. For further study on this subject go to: http://www1.salary.com/Pastor-salary.html.

Church closings and Pastors leaving the ministry:Studies are displaying that almost 1,500 pastors a month are leaving the ministry for various reasons. Additionally there are an estimated 3,300 foreclosed churches closing to never reopen there doors. For further study go to:http://www.pastorburnout.com/pastors-leaving.html

7 Startling Facts: An Up Close Look at Church Attendance in America by Rebecca Barnes and Lindy Lowry. For further study go to:http://www.churchleaders.com/pastors/pastor-articles/139575-7-startling-facts-an-up-close-look-at-church-attendance-in-america.html

What is going on with the Pastors in America?After over 18 years of researching pastoral trends and many of us being a pastor, we have found (this data is backed up by other studies) that pastors are in a dangerous occupation! We are perhaps the single most stressful and frustrating working profession, more than medical doctors, lawyers, politicians or cat groomers (hey they have claws). We found that over 70% of pastors are so stressed out and burned out that they regularly consider leaving the ministry. Here are some startling statistics on pastors; FASICLD (Francis A. Schaeffer Institute of Church Leadership Development). This quest started in 1989 as a Fuller Institute project that was picked up by FASICLD in 1998. For further information go to:http://www.churchleadership.org/apps/articles/default.asp?articleid=42347&columnid=4545