
I grew up in North Alabama, a mere hour from the city that built the rockets that put men on the moon and the Space Shuttle into orbit. I had a dream of being an astronaut. As a kid, I had a telescope with which I could view the stars. I also had a blue astronaut outfit that I wore quite a bit. I was even the flight director on a shuttle simulator during a week of the very first Space Camp. I love the stars.
Recently, a well known evangelical writer offered to talk with those who pastor small churches if they sent him a direct message on twitter. He would call them and talk with them about their ministry. I know this writer. He has planted churches and pastored them, been a teacher and denominational employee. However, it has been quite a while since he has pastored a small church. The thought came to me: can someone who hasn’t pastored a small church in more than a decade give advice and suggestions to someone who is currently pastoring a small church? That question led me to another: Why do we clamor for the opinions of celebrity leaders and large church pastors? Why do we chase after the stars?
1. May of us want to be like these celebrities.
The morning I met Bob Roberts, of Northwood Church in Keller, TX and Glocalnet, I told someone that Bob Roberts was the Southern Baptist I wanted to be. And I meant it. I saw what he was doing and wanted to do it in Delaware. I wanted the impact he was having. I wanted to influence as he was influencing.
Unfortunately, so many of us, especially younger pastors, don’t really know who we are yet. So we want to be someone else. We want to do what they do, and go where they go and say what they say. We even wear what they wear (remember all the pastor wearing Hawaiian shirts after coming back from a Rick Warren conference?) We don’t know how to be who we are. More on this in a moment.
2. We think they are successful. We want to be successful so we model ourselves after people we deem successful.
Yet many ministers have a flawed understanding of success. Here is why.
1. We are numbers-oriented. We have adopted a CEO-based concept of success. We see things in terms of statistics. It is what we celebrate. Because we celebrate numbers, that becomes what we measure. It is a closed loop system where the output, numbers, becomes the basis for inputs, which then reinforce the output. Large church pastors then have credibility based on the standard definition of success.
2. We are a pragmatic people. We desperately want to know what works, regardless of the context. Any idea we can try to grow our numbers is a welcomed addition to our ministry arsenal. If we are honest, there are even times when we look for ideas because we haven’t done the hard work to come up with our own ideas or haven’t spent the time listening to God to give us His ideas.
I was watching a video of Len Sweet speaking recently. He gave some concepts and ideas about an topic he was asked to speak on. During the question and answer time, Len was asked to walk through his thoughts and tell how they can be practically applied. Len is an architect kind of thinker. Architects design, contractors implement. That is not to say that Len can’t implement, just that he is at his best, I think, as an architect. What Len wanted to see happen, I believe, is for each of the folks in the conference to take the ideas and determine their own ways to implement those ideas. Our pragmatic mindset, however, often means we don’t do the hard work of thinking for ourselves.
Why we should limit our star-gazing?
1. In some matters of practical ministry, current perspective colors past success. What I mean by this is that what we do in the present can distort our view what we did in the past.
Our mind is a funny thing. Studies show that even after a short period of time, we have a distorted view of what actually happened. The pioneer cognitive psychologist, Ulric Neisser, examined people’s memories of the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger at two different times in the people’s lives – the day after and several years later. While most of the subjects stated that their memories of what they were doing that day were clear, in many instances the memory at the later date was dramatically different than the memory reported the day after the tragedy. [1]
What we think we did in the past may, in fact, be completely different that what we actually did. So when a pastor recounts how they implemented a plan or process, if they do not have specific recall and specific notes as well as others who walked through the process with them that confirm what was done, that leader may not be recounting correctly.
In addition, they may be looking through current “successes” and seeing actions from the past that didn’t happen. In doing so they are viewing the past through the present which will create a distorted understanding of the past. Therefore, we have to be careful at the value we place on the practices and processes of those we elevate to star status.
2. Each person is unique. You can’t replicate what someone has done because you are not that person. You do not have the same gifts and talents as that person. Simply trying to replicate what someone else has done could be disastrous. In addition, the experiences that form and shape each person are unique. I remember reading (or hearing) John Maxwell say one time that when has people come up to him and mention that they want to do what he does, he makes a bold statement. He says, “Are you willing to go through what I have gone through to do what I do?” The reason we can do what we do is because we have gone through what we have gone through. And that will be different for everyone.
3. The context is unique. The context that you live and minister and serve in is unique from the context the celebrity lives and serves in or lived and served in. Context in ministry is crucial to doing ministry.
So how do we gaze at the stars and not try to become the stars we see?
1. Learn to be who you were designed and purposed to be. That takes time. That takes dealing with the pain and struggles God has allowed in your life. Discover who you are, not who other people are.If you can do that, then…
2. Learn concepts and ideas instead of merely embracing the pragmatics of ministry. When I read books on ministry now, I read for concept, not for details. Concepts are transferable, details are not. Many ministry books are descriptive, not prescriptive in nature, yet the descriptive concepts are turned into prescriptive truths. The same is true for conferences. We need to be aware of that.
3. Read opposing views, particularly fair, gracious, and loving critics. When I was in college, I had a guy disciple me who was a youth pastor. We were talking about salvation one day, and I mentioned that I had picked up a book by John McArthur called “The Gospel According to Jesus”. He told me something I will never forget. He said, “You need to read an opposing view, discover both sides of the argument and then make your own determination.” So I did. And I was better for it. If you can get multiple perspectives, then that helps you place each person, each star you see, in a more realistic position. They are not on a pedestal nor are they in a tomb. They are who they are and do what they do and while you appreciate what they do, you do not elevate them to an improper position just below Jesus or the apostles.
4. Find a coach, not a model. A coach helps you discover your own ideas. A model is something you imitate.
NOTES:
1. Eugene Winograd and Ulric Neisser, Affect and Accuracy in Recall: Studies Of “Flashbulb” Memories, Emory Symposia in Cognition; 4 (Cambridge ; New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press, 1992), 9-10.
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