Barnabas File

One of the most discouraging things that a pastor or staff minister can hear is this:   “I just don’t belong here. I can’t find a place to plug in at this church.”   This may be the last conversation that the minister will have with this person, and it may be said as the person walks out the door of the church on Sunday morning. The person’s perception may be true.  Because of the direction that a particular congregation has chosen to pursue, the gifts and talents of this individual may fall outside the opportunities for service and fellowship offered there.  However, it is more likely that the failure to connect has more to do with the way that a church empowers its members than with the lack of opportunities available. A model for equipping and empowering believers is found in Ephesians 4:11-13: “ So Christ himself gave   the apostles,   the prophets,   the evangelists,   the pastors and teachers,   to equip his people for w...

Step into any Christian bookstore or search for “Bible” online and you will find not only a number of translations but many editions of the Bible targeted to specific consumers—The Soldier’s Bible, The Godly Woman’s Bible, The Bible for Teenagers, and on and on.   Of course, many of us no longer use a print version of the scriptures; instead, we have downloaded a version to our computer, smart phone, or tablet. Perhaps more than ever before the Bible is readily accessible to the multitudes.  The key question, of course, is who is reading it? As we read the gospels, we quickly become aware that Jesus was well-versed in the only scripture available to him—the Hebrew Bible.  If we are followers of Christ, certainly we are called to immerse ourselves in the Bible as well.  In 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Paul writes: “Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us t...

Dr. Henry Cloud, a well-known clinical psychologist and leadership consultant, always gives practical, applicable guidance based both on experience and research.  He continues to provide this type of information in Boundaries for Leaders:  Results, Relationships, and Being Ridiculously in Charge. Written for organizational leaders, Cloud challenges leaders to be “ridiculously in charge” by setting boundaries “that determine whether the vision and the people thrive or fail.” He defines a boundary as “a structure that determines what will exist and what will not.” A leader must step up and take complete responsibility about what will and what will not be allowed in an organization.  He writes, “[A]s a leader, you always get what you create and what you allow.” Cloud’s seven leadership boundaries are:  help people’s brains work better; build the emotional climate that fuels performance, facilitate connections that boost people’s functioning; facilitate thin...

Many ask the question, “Where will we find leaders for the future?” but as important is the question, “How will we develop those leaders?”   Of course, this is only partially the responsibility of those in leadership roles today.   The work of leadership development is largely accomplished by the individual as he or she accepts responsibility, engages in ministry, and learns from the experience.   We can provide encouragement and resources.   That’s where Andy Stanley’s book, Next Generation Leader , comes in. Stanley identifies five characteristics that mark the woman or man who will shape the future:  courage, clarity, competence, coachability, competence, and character.  Courage helps a person to harness his or her fears.  Clarity empowers one to leverage uncertainty in a situation.  Competence comes from discovering and playing to one’s strengths.  Coachability allows one to engage a leadership coach and learn from that relationshi...

Some church leaders disagree with the idea that we now live in a post-denominational world.   If they are arguing that issues of doctrine and polity are still important to many Christians, I can understand their position a bit.   There are still congregations that are clearly part of “faith tribes”—Baptists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Methodists, Episcopalians, etc.—that cling to a specific commitment to one another as part of a denomination of Christians. On the other hand, I have to disagree if they are asserting that those denominational ties fulfill all of the same purposes they once did or provide the same benefits as in the past. Denominational judicatories don’t provide the services they did in the 20 th century; in fact, every denomination has cut personnel and field services in the past two decades.  Judicatories still attempt to provide support for local congregations but the breadth and quantity of those services have declined. One reason for this ch...