Christmas Eve Challenges

Christmas Eve services are always a challenge for me, especially the longer I serve in ministry. How many different ways can you find to preach on the same passages and the same topic?

The tendency, of course, is to try to get creative and do something out of the box. There's a real limit to how effective that is. After all, people come to hear the Christmas story, not some random obscure passage from 2 Ezekiel (which is not a real book, just making a point). The other temptation is to try to cram every piece of theology in knowing that there are people who only show up once or twice a year that will be there.

I think the trick is to keep it simple. And especially keep it short. My typical Sunday morning messages run about 27 minutes, give or take. Christmas Eve is more a meditation and a challenge than a typcial sermon. I shoot for 20 minutes max on Christmas Eve. Add in special music, a video, several Christmas carols, and time for lighting candles and you end up with about 45 minutes for the evening. Which seems to be about right, especially when you have extended family visiting and so on and everyone is anxious to get home and finish preparations for Christmas morning.

All that to say, if you don't have a place to celebrate Christmas Eve, we'd love to have you join us at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow!

Pastor Appreciation How To

Pastor appreciation month was last month. I think back to many of the great pastors I've had over the years. I learned so much from each of them. (There were a few less-than-great pastors, and I learned from them, as well, but that's another post for another day.) My youth pastor, Carey, when I was in high school was hugely instrumental in my spiritual development. I don't know that I'd be in ministry today without him. So thanks to all who faithfully served and made an impact on my life.

Some churches do big appreciation moments during the service or give the pastor(s) a gift. Other times it's a card or something smaller. I had someone take me out this year for lunch, so that was really nice. (Food is always a winner.) 

It's nice to be appreciated and while gifts aren't necessary, it's not like I'll turn one down! It wasn't until I started as a senior/lead pastor, though, that I realized how important just showing up is for a pastor's morale. When Sunday attendance is strong, it's a real encouragement to the leader/speaker.

If you want to show your pastor how much you appreciate them, one of the best ways is just to be there on Sunday!

Success is Messy

Success is messy. Most people don't tend to think about this, but the more successful an entity is, the bigger it grows, and you add complexity and a bit of chaos.

This is true for most organizations, groups, churches, and even families. If you're a parent, you'll know - life was a lot easier when it was just the two of you. And when you add an additional kid, the work and chaos doesn't double, it goes up exponentially. 

One of the sayings we have in youth ministry is, "Ministry is messy." Often literally. That's why youth leaders should always be extra nice to the church custodian, because the more "successful" your group is, the messier it is, no matter how much you try to keep things clean.

That's something to remember if you are in leadership and are developing organizational guidelines. You can either structure for growth or for control, but not for both. Most organizations tend to structure for control because it's cleaner. Thus are birthed multitudinous levels of bylaws and rules which end up stifling growth. 

I think that's why a lot of organizations stay small. It's easier to manage. It's less messy.

[Thanks to Patrick Lencioni and the Table Group Podcast last week for inspiring this post.]

Global Leadership Summit 2022

I had the opportunity to attend the Global Leadership Summit again after missing the last several, and this time I was able to get tickets to to the main Summit site at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, just outside of Chicago. I've been to many conferences at Willow over the years, but never the Leadership Summit. And I've been to over a dozen or so of the Global Leadership Summits at satellite sites, but never on location at South Barrington, so this was a fun adventure. 

I was able to attend with my good friend Jason, and it was great to be able to process the Summit together throughout the two-day event. We both came back with a lot of great resources and inspiration, so it's exciting to see what fruit this event will bear. There is something about the dynamic of being in a crowd of thousands of people who are all learning together that cannot be reproduced by simply viewing the content alone live streaming or later on DVD.

I was reminded of the value of this event and look forward to attending again in the future. If you are in a position of leadership in a church or business, or feel like you would like to continue to develop your leadership skills and gifts, I would highly recommend this conference.

Prayer - It's Not Just for Pastors

I was asked if I would say a prayer of blessing at a special event today that I hadn't heard about in advance but was a great fundraiser, and so I was happy to do so. As a pastor, this is a common occurrence - to be called on to pray at an event or at a large gathering before a meal or something like that. I'm always happy to oblige, but I think it's interesting that people always ask pastors to pray instead of doing it themselves.

As best as I can figure, it's because...

• they don't feel comfortable speaking in public, which I understand.
• they don't feel comfortable praying in front of others. It's a shame that we don't teach people to begin to do this when they are younger. 
  
• they're not a believer, but they feel like it's a good thing to do anyway (there's so much to explore there); 
• or they think being a pastor gives you some kind of special connection to God or we know the exact right words to say or something. Like there's a whole special class in Seminary about the secrets of public prayer and how to use words that really impress people! There's not, but that would be interesting.
  

What I am always willing to jump in and lead in prayer, I sometimes wonder if I am doing a disservice by perpetuating the stereotype that the prayer of a pastor is somehow better or more effective than that of any believer. Maybe it's an artifact of Roman Catholic teaching that you need a priest to mediate between you and God or something.

When I pray I don't use extra-flowery terms or phrases anything ("Our most gracious and benevolent Heavenly Father, we do beseech you by Thine infinite mercies...") I just pray like I'm talking to another person (which I am). 

I wonder if people hear me pray real casually and end up going, "Gee, I could have done that!" Which would be a good thing, after all!

The Power of a Critic

I was listening to an interview with writer/director Nicolas Meyer the other day on Page One - The Writer's Podcast (Episode 109). He was the writer and director of one of the greatest movies ever: Star Trek II - The Wrath of Kahn, and he has an incredibly interesting autobiography, The View from the Bridge: Memories of Star Trek and a Life in Hollywood. I'd recommend it for any Star Trek fan or anyone interested in the movie business. (I actually blogged about this book back in 2009 when I first read it in The Magic of Movies post.)

In this interview, he talked about the difference between a critic and a reviewer:

"A reviewer is somebody who is telling people who has not seen the movie whether they should spend their time and their money going to see the movie. But as Anatole France defined the function of the critic... (and he paraphrases Anatole France) 'the critic's function is to narrate the adventures of his soul among masterpieces.'... Critics assume that you have seen the movie and you are comparing your soul to theirs in response."

I thought that was a beautiful description of the two roles. Of course, it applies to all media (television, books, podcasts, blogs, etc.) 

That distinction speaks to me as a pastor, as well. I see these two roles at work among preachers. I know many mediocre preachers who simply try to explain and apply the text. But that's a lot different than "narrating the adventures of your soul."

I think that explains why so many people struggle with reading the Bible. We've taught them to approach it in a very clinical and sterile way, mostly because of the importance or correctly handling the Word of God - which is an understandable and noble motivation. But in the process we have turned people into reviewers of the Bible. People often lose the aspect of a personal encounter with the living God through the reading of His Word and miss having their souls transformed by it.

What is a Pastor?

Often times when I'm subbing at school I'll have students tell me that I ought to be their permanent teacher - usually for whomever their least favorite teacher is. I tell them I can only sub occasionally because my main job is being a pastor.

Many students (and actually quite a few adults) don't really know what a pastor does. I ran across this definition of a pastor one time:

Pastor: a teacher, public speaker, counselor, children’s story teller, youth leader, worship leader, HR director, master of ceremonies, facilities coordinator, volunteer coordinator, mission trip coordinator, hospital chaplain, creative designer, office equipment technician, mediator, fundraiser, finance officer, funeral director, and father. 

Yep, that covers a few of the roles.

Memories of Walmart

Nine years ago today was my last day at Walmart in Pine City, concluding a four-year foray into the retail industry. 

I had started as a part-time, seasonal electronics associate, having planned to work there for a few months to make ends meet until I found another youth ministry position. As the job search stretched on, I moved from seasonal to regular associate and then became a department manager in electronics - one of my favorite roles at Walmart. From there I became a Zone Manager Supervisor over electronics, the Connection Center (phones), and toys. After that I became a salaried member of management, serving for two years as an Assistant Manager. At the time I was assigned to oversee the front end and the back room.

I had a great four years at the Pine City Walmart and worked with some terrific people. I still miss some parts of my various jobs there and the great people I worked with (and my associate's discount!), but I love what I am doing now. 

I realized that just because I enjoyed and was good at something, that didn't mean I was called to do that the rest of my working life. But it wasn't so much that my calling to be a minister had changed as much as the context for ministry. According to the Bible, all believers are ministers. We're all called to live out our faith - loving and serving those around us and inviting people to get to know Jesus - in whatever job we have.

Nine Years and Counting

It was nine years ago today that I preached my first sermon at First Presbyterian Pine City as the official pastor. I had been providing pulpit supply for a few years prior, but had finally decided to leave Walmart and move back into full-time vocational ministry following a prompting from God and repeated promptings from several at the church!

Hard to believe it's been nine years already. Especially for someone who never really aspired to becoming a senior pastor.

The church celebrated it's 150th Anniversary last year and as a part of that we put together a heritage book of reflections. Here's what I wrote about my experience at FPPC.

150^th Anniversary Reflections

Rob Spahr

“I heard that First Presbyterian Church is looking for pulpit supply. You should check that out.”

So said the pastor from Evergreen Community Church back in 2009. Our family had been attending there and I served as a volunteer youth leader and elder at the time. I had preached at Evergreen a couple of times and the pastor there suggested contacting the Presbyterian church about the opportunity to preach more frequently.

I didn’t know anything about First Presbyterian Pine City, other than that it was in the big white building next to the Mainstreet Milkhouse gas station. I was very familiar with Presbyterian churches, having attended a Presbyterian college, King College in Bristol, Tennessee. In fact, I regularly preached at a small Presbyterian church in Churchill, Tennessee, my junior and senior years in college, and while at Bethel Seminary I had served as a youth intern at Hope Presbyterian in Richfield, Minnesota. But it had been many years since I had any contact with any of the Presbyterian denominations or churches.

At the time, I was employed at Walmart, having taken a break from full-time ministry after 15 years as a youth pastor. Vocational ministry is challenging, and I had been involved in a few difficult church situations, so I was enjoying the change of pace that serving in the marketplace offered. Nevertheless, I decided to inquire about the opportunity to preach at First Presbyterian. I contacted Bob Werner and eventually interim pastor Harry Lichy. I began subbing for Harry on occasion in late 2009 and continued to do so over the next few years.

Just about every time I filled the pulpit at First Presbyterian, Bob Werner would remind me, “Hey, you know we’re looking for a senior pastor!”

“I’m not a senior pastor,” I would respond. “I’m a youth guy!”

“We don’t care,” he would reply. “We still want you.”

“I’m not even Presbyterian.” I reminded him. I had grown up in a Baptist General Conference (Converge) church, attended a BGC seminary and then was ordained in the Evangelical Free Church.

“We don’t care.” Bob insisted. “We still want you.”

“I already have a job.” I told him. I had started as an hourly associate at Walmart after having left my last youth pastor position and had moved steadily up the ranks, eventually becoming a salaried member of management.

But no matter how much I protested, invariably Bob would remind me each time, “We’re still looking for a senior pastor, you know.”

I continued to preach once or twice every month or two. Every time I would hear from Bob, “We’re still looking for a pastor…” This went on for a couple of years. Eventually God began to nudge both Rosalie and me, giving us an inkling that we might not yet be done with vocational ministry. I had spent three and a half years at Walmart and enjoyed my job there. My prospects for the future with the company were good, but I was becoming increasingly aware of a sense of holy discontent. As successful as I was in the marketplace, I knew God was calling me back to service in the church.

But I was very wary of pursuing the opportunity at First Presbyterian for a couple of reasons. First, the church had declining attendance and participation with an aging congregation. It was still locked into a very liturgical style that would have been familiar to previous generations but was increasingly unfamiliar an inaccessible to newcomers. However I was encouraged by the fact that Jen Hansmann was the pianist and had introduced more contemporary songs at the beginning of the services. I was confident that with her help we could begin to develop a thriving worship ministry that blended both the traditional favorites with more modern songs. Having Jen as the pianist was a big factor in my decision to pursue the opportunity to serve FPPC as pastor.

The other reason for my caution about the position was that my protests to Bob were not simple excuses. I had never aspired to become a senior pastor and had only desired to serve in student ministry. I had my Master of Divinity degree, so education wasn’t an issue. But I still felt apprehensive about stepping into a lead pastor role with no previous experience. Fortunately my time at Walmart taught me a lot more about working with people of all ages and gave me to confidence I needed to take the leap.

We decided to, in a way, lay out a fleece: if Bob asked again and indicated that the church seriously wanted to pursue having me as pastor, we would take that as a sign to investigate the possibility of serving full-time. Sure enough, the next time I preached at FPPC, Bob said, “You know…” and this time I replied, “Let’s talk about it.”

I had some doubts that it would even be possible for me to serve as pastor, not having credentials in the PCUSA. But after meeting with several people from the Presbytery, we were given the go-ahead to continue. The Manse was sold to help fund the housing part of my salary (three-quarter time at first) and I began serving as pastor on January 13, 2013.

I went in with fear and trepidation. Would I be a good fit? How would I do at preparing a message most every week of the year? Would I be able to navigate the challenges of serving a church as the lead pastor? Would the church be able to continue to support my family financially after the proceeds from the sale of the Manse were depleted? Would I even be able to remember everyone’s names (a superpower some pastors seem to have but which I seriously lack)? There was a lot of uncertainty. This move was a huge step of faith for our family, but I trusted in God’s leading.

It turns out that trusting God was a good idea. (Who knew?!) I was surprised at how open the church was to change and growth, and the lack of conflict and infighting was a wonderful change from some of my more recent church experiences. It turned out that God had been preparing me for exactly this position. I have been able to utilize my teaching and leadership gifts to serve the older members of the congregation while also continuing to minister to teenagers through our youth ministry.

I’m so grateful to the people at First Presbyterian for bearing with me through the years as I have grown in my role. You have suffered through some pretty mediocre sermons at times, and I’ve made plenty of mistakes in leadership, but have always received a lot of grace, for which I am thankful.

As with any church, it is the people that make it special. I am indebted to so many for their support and encouragement. They have welcomed both my family and me and truly made this our church home. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to help shepherd this congregation over the past decade and we look forward to seeing what God will continue to do through this gathering in the years to come!

The Magic of Movies

The other day I finished reading Nicolas Meyer's wonderful memoir,The View From the Bridge: Memories of Star Trek and a Life in Hollywood. Highly recommended for anyone who is either a Star Trek fan or who wants to know more about how movies are (and aren't) made. (More details and a wonderful review here.)

One of the passages I found most interesting is at the very end of the book (p 236). This sums up my feelings, as well.

Watching movies at home, on a screen however large and a sound system however noisy, is simply not the same thing as seeing them in a theater. My dad used to say that watching movies on TV was like getting kissed over the telephone. What's missing in seeing a film on television is a central component of what it means to be human - the assembly. Whether it's at a church, at a play, or at the movies, the idea of losing your identity at a gathering of others - known or unknown to you - while sharing a common experience, a journey, an event, is uniquely human, and in my opinion we abandon such practices at our peril. Gatherings are important, and certainly better than going through life with ear buds. Never mind the theology or medium in question, concentrate on the part where you rub shoulders with strangers. Cities are places you walk or ride the subway, places where you look at people, they look at you; you don't pass them on the freeway at seventy miles an hour. At the end of a performance of Beethoven's Third, you and the audience have shared an adventure, at one individual and collective. The experience make you a better person. Don't ask me how or why, but it does. There isn't any movie shown on television that wouldn't be better in a movie theater. Art is fragile - it can be interrupted by crying kids, the telephone, the neighbors, what have you. Gatherings, whether for music, church, plays, films, or ballets, are experiences to which you must make a commitment and in making that commitment, in leaving your home to devote yourself to that communal experience, you reaffirm your humanity.

How awesome is that?! Interesting implications for internet churches, but explains why video venues for churches, conferences, and simulcasts are just as effective as those where the speaker is present physically. Food for thought, for sure.

Simple Church

Finally finished Simple Church by Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger and I would highly recommend it! The first four chapters flew by and were stuffed with great information and illustrations. The rest of the book was a bit less engaging - developing the concepts introduced in the first few chapters - but very well done, nonetheless.

The main idea is that a church’s strategy – their gospel-sharing, disciple-making method - should be a simple process. Programs should be used to move people along in this process. Complexity dilutes focus and should be avoided, even if it means having fewer programs. Simply put: Do a few things and do them well.

All church leaders should read this, and especially church planters. A church plant has a real advantage in that we are able to implement major structural principles without having to change established programs or traditions.

The concepts are not completely revolutionary – several are drawn from the excellent and even more highly recommended Seven Practices of Effective Ministry by Andy Stanley, Reggie Joiner, and Lane Jones. Nevertheless, this book distills these concepts and presents them in a clear, easily accessible (you could even say “simple”) manner.

Checking E-mail at Church

I think this second stat is hysterical:

37% Mobile device users who check e-mail while driving.

12% Mobile device users who check e-mail during church.

Source: AOL as quoted in Christianity Today's Go Figure column today.

I can hardly get most students to check their e-mail at all, and there are people checking it at church? Must be the adults. (I have to confess that I have checked e-mail in the past during certain interminable committee meetings, but never during worship.)

Perceptions Are Influenced by Expectations

There's a fascinating article over at churchrelevance.com about the importance of design and first impressions when trying to reach people. A good reminder for church plants as well as any ministry that wants to reach the unreached. Here's a sample and a good reminder of how 'Christianity' is perceived by non-Christians:

...perceptions are influenced by expectations.

David Kinnaman of The Barna Group conducted a study asking non-Christians ages 16-29, “What is your current perception of Christianity?” (source)

• 91% said antihomosexual
• 87% said judgmental
• 85% said hypocritical
• 78% said old-fashioned
• 75% said too involved in politics
• 72% said out of touch with reality
• 70% said insensitive to others.

Before a church reaches someone with their website or a postcard or MySpace page, that church is already at a great disadvantage in how it is perceived by young non-Christians. For this reason, churches must do everything they can to make their first impressions great impressions.

I think this perception is more true than any Christ-follower would want to believe, and in ministry perception is reality. Sadly, these results are probably objective reality all too often as well.

Podcast Highlight: Pause

I really enjoy listening to several different speakers and teachers via iTunes' podcast. In addition to great content like The Dave Ramsey Show, or youth ministry podcasts like the Simply Youth Ministry Podcast or Who Are These Guys?, I also listen to a lot of different sermons and messages. Some of my favorite Christian pastors and speakers are John Ortberg, Rob Bell, Andy Stanley, Donald Miller and Bill Hybels. If you've never checked out their work I'd encourage you to give them a try. Plus they're all free! Just search under their names in the iTunes store.

Today I finished listening to part 2 of a series that Andy Stanley did called "Pause". This message was titled "Soul Provider" and it was a phenomenal challenge. His main point was that temptation is not just a test of your self-control but a test of your faith. Great stuff! I highly recommend it.

It's not available on the North Point Ministries podcast store as they only archive a couple of message series at a time, but you can download it directly here for free from another ministry podcast. Or you can listen online or order a CD from the North Point website.

Leadership Summit doesn't disappoint

The first day of Willow Creek's Leadership Summit was awesome! Not that I'm surprised. I've been to four or five previous Summits and all have been outstanding. I make it a practice to bring students who currently serve in youth group or have leadership potential as it is an awesome way to introduce them to leadership principles and help them begin to think in terms of leadership as it applies to the entire church. I'd also highly encourage any church staff to leverage this event for growth and discussion. It has become a "can't miss" event for me that is a permanent fixture on my calendar.

Bill Hybels started off Thursday with a great message about vision ownership. Carly Fiorina followed up strong in a wonderful interview with Bill and shared about her leadership principles via her time as CEO of HP. I hadn't heard of her before, but now will definitely get her book, Tough Choices, which sadly (for me, not for her) sold out at the resource tables at Eagle Brook Church (our satellite site).

Rev. Floyd Flake spoke in the difficult 'after lunch' session and did a solid job. Marcus Buckingham hit it out of the park with the last talk of the day on putting your strengths to work. I've read his first two books, First, Break All the Rules, and Now, Discover Your Strengths and look forward to his two most recent book. His talk was lively, packed with content, and hysterical at points. All four students I brought were sitting forward in their seats in rapt attention. I could listen to him all day! Great speaker.

I ran across a blog that has some great summaries of the summit at: Live Intentionally. Now I can supplement my own notes from the conference! (Thanks to Mark Bjorlo at the wonderfully named but unrelated The Journey North Community Church of Brainerd for the link.) Not a substitute for being there, but the blog may give you a bit of the flavor of the conference.

The Goat Has Left the Building

For those in ministry who get to teach or preach, you will sympathize with the desire to emulate a great teacher or awesome message. Those of us in youth ministry are always looking for creative ways to communicate, as well. This Christianity Today/Preaching Today article shows some the the challenges you may face. It's hysterical - mostly because I could see myself trying something like it... but not anymore. Here's a clip from John Beukema's The Day I Tried to Preach Like Rob Bell:

It all began at the Willow Creek Conference on Preaching. Rob Bell gave a soul-stirring message on Leviticus 16. The talk described the Day of Atonement, the scapegoat, and the work of the high priest. Rob brought out a priest and goat, and both were live. He dramatized Jesus' ministry as the ultimate scapegoat and as our great High Priest who sat down when the work was done. The big idea was, "The goat has left the building." The sermon ended with the priest slowly walking to a chair and sitting, after which the audience erupted into cheers, high fives, applause, and a little celebratory dancing. Never before had I desired to borrow from another speaker, but on that day I thought, I want to preach that sermon.

In January, I decided it would make a great Easter message. I mentioned it to the staff and they seemed supportive. Then I asked a group of our leaders if I could spend money on a goat. They feigned nonchalance and told me to get whatever I wanted.

In February, I figured I should get to work. Amazingly, there were several places in the Chicago area advertising animal rentals. I started composing an e-mail. In the subject line I wrote, "Pastor seeking goat." That sounded like a bad personals ad. Next I tried "Goat wanted," but that seemed open to improper interpretation. In the end I went with "Animal rental inquiry," and sent the detailed request out to three places...

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