I’ve asked Don Ross to share another post today on Church Revitalization (or Turn-Around Churches). Don is an Advanced Coaching Alum, Renegade Pastor and the Lead Pastor of Creekside Church in the Seattle, Washington Area.
Hope you find this helpful:
It’s About You and Jesus – By Dr. Donald E. Ross
I remember listening to John Maxwell talk about problems one time, and he said, “You should be thankful for problems, they are job security. No problems, means no industry, because every business is set up to solve problems.”
At the time I remember thinking that makes sense, and I appreciated the new perspective. Once again I was ready to conquer the world… and my new viewpoint lasted about an hour. The reason for the short-lived new focus was the overwhelming number and complexity of new problems facing me.
As a turnaround pastor, leading my church out of decline, we literally had water buckets catching the rain, which in Seattle is abundant. I had an antagonistic church board, a Christian school that was going broke with hardly any students or teachers coming to the church, we were severely under budget, our church worship was lackluster and our culture was resistant to growth and pretty much everyone was looking to me for answers.
So in the face of all that, John Maxwell’s words, although true, just failed to inspire long term. I needed some clear answers.
It was at this point that Jesus set me up to learn one of the most valuable lessons I could ever have experienced as a turnaround pastor. Not that I have learned this lesson, but it is well underway.
Here is the lesson… regardless of the problem; it is more about Jesus and me, than Jesus and the problem.
Now this doesn’t sound profound, and it’s probably a phase you’ve heard before and even taught others, and I certainly don’t mean to come across as the only one with this truth, but it changed my life.
Basically, I began to see that every problem I faced, be it financial, physical, church, whatever, I did not face alone.
I somehow had this picture of Jesus watching me solve problems. It was like He was coaching me long distance instead of being in the game with me. In some ways I almost shut Him out mentally.
Now I began to approach this list of critical issues like a soldier in the army asking his superior officer which problem to attack first and in which way. This didn’t make the problem any smaller, but it no longer made them my problems, they were not his. I just obeyed orders.
Secondly I was reminded that I was Jesus partner in turning this church around, because He wanted it turned even more that I did. It is the difference between working “for” the Lord and working “with” the Lord. It’d rather work with Him.
None of us likes to do ministry alone, and reversing the decline in a dying church is hard work. None of us sets out to do ministry alone either, but we drift that direction for many reasons.
So this short article is a simple reminder that you are not alone. Jesus wants you to win. He wants to help you win, and He knows how to do it. So stay connected to the vine, because every problem you face today, is really more about you and Jesus, than you and the problem.
For information on the Turn Around Church Coaching Network, see www.turnaroundchurch.org
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