I’ve been blessed with such a great job that allows me to travel to and work with churches all over the United States.

Almost every church I see, whether a client or not, has a vision to reach those who don’t attend church. We’ve labeled them with some pretty interesting monikers, some of which aren’t very encouraging: seekers, NON-Christians, the LOST, unsaved, NON-believers, etc… I’ll save my comments on that for another time.

So, we acknowledge our desire to reach these folks, yet I believe our approach may not best support this. What do I mean? Often we talk “church” – in other words, we use words in our sermons or communications or marketing or signage that people who don’t frequent a church wouldn’t understand. For example: I recently attended a church that had a strong emphasis on reaching young people who didn’t attend church. Their music was modern, their dress was very casual… yet, as I got out of my car to try to find the morning event, all I saw was a sign with an arrow on it that had the word “SANCTUARY” in big letters. There are many people out there who have never used the word sanctuary much less knowing what it means.

Another example: we’ll often post times that we have services on our websites and signs outside the church with the word “WORSHIP” next to the start time. This is something those of us who have been to church understand, but it doesn’t make any sense to those who are unfamiliar.

Another area that may need attention is how we communicate from the stage. I think we should really try to consider how the newcomer feels when we make references to scripture or history in a way that could come across as condescending. Instead of saying “we all know the story in the bible where_______” simply say “there’s a story in the bible that speaks to this, it is_________”

I understand we don’t intentionally try to exclude newcomers. I do believe that we need to be very intentional to make them feel welcome and a part of what’s going on. We can do this by always trying to look at things from the first timer’s perspective.

At some time in our life, whether age 8 or 80, we were all newcomers.

peace!

In preparation for the XPASTOR conference next week, I’m thinking about how we make the best hiring decisions. How to determine the best fit or match or compatibility.

While there are MANY parts to this discussion/line of thinking, one of the first things we must do is “spec” out the position… Determine things like:

• What “is” the open position?
• Is it the highest priority opening (considering budget)?
• Should the position be filled or put on hold or taken off the org chart?
• Does this position support the mission/vision/values of the organization?
• Is there a job description?
• Is that job description specific enough to qualify candidate and to set goals and objectives once a hire is made?
• Has a profile for the ideal candidate been developed (before considering any candidate either internal or external)?

These are just a few of the questions that should be asked and answered prior to beginning a search… Oftentimes, we let the “vacated position” or candidates we know develop the position which can lead to a lot of pain if we’re not careful.

We need to consider being more dilegent on the front end to prevent making as many mishires…

DJL

Each month, MinisterSearch receives hundreds of resumes from candidates interested in one of our client’s open pastoral staff positions. It’s quite interesting to see the differences in those resumes.

Recently, in the cover letter, the candidate acknowledged that he hadn’t “updated” his resume. Other times, the cover letter will be addressed to someone else and/or refer to another position at another church or organization.

Considering the number of resumes that are submitted for each position, it’s important to make sure this “first impression” is very positive – something that makes you stand out from the crowd. I’m pretty sure resumes that aren’t updated, have typos, bad grammar stand out from the crowd, but that’s not the way we’re hoping.

For those looking for a new position, or even just considering other options – take some time a develop a strong resume. Start from your most recent position. Use an easy to read/understand format, such as bullet points verses a long, narrative style (most folks reading resumes spend very little time – if it’s hard to read, they’ll move on). Be specific with responsibilities, accomplishments, and successes. Do the same for the prior positions too.

If you’ve been working for a “long” time, don’t feel like you have to include what you were doing 30 years ago. List your most recent experience – if asked later, you can fill in the rest.

Let those who are meeting you for the first time (by resume) get a strong feeling for your attention to detail and diligence. Those are qualities they’ll probably be looking for.

More to come…
DJL

“It will all work out…” – “God is good…” - ”He has a plan and it’s better than mine…” Blah, blah, blah – or hearing the “adult voices” from old Charlie Brown cartoons is how those quotes used to sound to me.

NOW, I find myself saying those very things that used to bother me so (and not too long ago).  I’m realizing that those things are so true. However, It’s taken a tremendous amount of brokenness, pain, and introspection to recognize some of those truths. I’ve got a feeling there’s a lot more left…

With that said, I MUST recognize those type quotes can be hurtful as I communicate with those who are struggling with their relationship and/or belief in God. I must also remember what had to happen in my life for me to begin to appreciate those truths.

Instead of just making those statements, I need to, instead, encourage those with whom I’m talking. Share with them my understanding that sometimes we (and many in scripture) questionour Creator. Over time, MANY godly men struggled with their faith. That doesn’t support or encourage a lack of faith, it just acknowledges the reality of humanity and our lack of faith at different times in our life.

I must also be patient – instead of just making a statement of how good God is, (nothing wrong with that) I should share steps that worked for me to help grow my faith in Him:

1. Recognizing my questions, resentments, frustration first
2. telling God about them
3. telling another
4. then trying to step out of my self-pity or selfish position by turning my thoughts toward someone else I can help

Most every time, things end up better than they were. My faith grows in the REAL LIFE and PERSONAL experience of God’s redemption in MY life. BUT – “their” faith may not… in other words, me telling someone how good He is may not hold the weight of them experiencing it for themselves.

I hope God will continue to remind me of where I’ve been and how I felt when others spoke the way they did.

Peace and love – but most of all LOVE!

DJL

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