Barnabas File

The challenge is usually presented to the prospective pastor by a member of the search committee in this way:   “If we call you as pastor, we expect you to __________.”   (Fill in the blank.)   The directive may be to remove a long time staff member, do away with a worship service, or settle a disagreement that Solomon himself would avoid.   Don’t fall into this trap.   If you have never encountered this, let me suggest what your response should be:   “Thank you for your interest.   Once you have settled this concern, please call me back.” A new pastor has enough on his or her plate without coming into the church with a commission to deal with something that present leadership has avoided.  The pastor who accepts such an assignment will find his or her tenure very short, very painful, or both. Why would a new pastor ever accept such an assignment?  First, the new pastor probably has an unrealistic view of the church and the immen...

Author on CBTS panel at 2014 General Assembly How many Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assemblies have I attended?   I have lost count.   I started attending before I was elected coordinator for Tennessee CBF and, of course, never missed a session while I served in that position.   I continue to attend, however.   Like most lay persons who attend, I pay my own way and devote three days to the meeting and a couple of days to travel.   Why do I continue to go to Fort Worth, Greensboro, Tampa, Atlanta, and other cities for these meetings? First, I go because that is where my friends are.  They are not only friends I made through being part of the Fellowship movement, but men and women who were students I came to know through my service on three college campuses and through denominational work.  Others are lay people and clergy whose paths have crossed mine in fifty plus years of ministry.  We are all older and a bit wiser, but we shar...

We had lunch last week with a couple whose son recently graduated from seminary.   They noted that many of their son’s fellow graduates have no interest in serving the local church.   These degree holders want to work for hospitals, serve with not-for-profits, or start their own organizations.    Others intend to pursue further academic study.   This is anecdotal information, of course, but it mirrors what I hear from many associated with theological institutions. My own experience with Central Baptist Theological Seminary is that many students there are already engaged in church leadership full-time, part-time, or as volunteers.  They are seeking theological education in order to be more effective in their ministries.  Most are thirty or over and serve what we would call mainstream churches.  With limited resources, where do the seminaries choose to put their resources?  Do they want to educate individuals who see ministry in a la...

“One day when large groups of people were walking along with him, Jesus turned and told them, ‘Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters—yes, even one’s own self!—can’t be my disciple. Anyone who won’t shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can’t be my disciple. ’”—Luke 14:25-27, The Message After I read this passage to my Bible study class this past Sunday, I asked:  “OK.  How many are ready to sign up?”  They all looked at me like I had lost my mind.  Who would be willing to put his or her family second to Jesus?  Even more appropriate, who would be willing to follow the admonition to put your “own self”—your prejudices, hopes, and personal goals—aside to follow Jesus?  The word “hate” for the Jews meant to be willing to detach oneself or put away something.  Jesus is saying that you must value your relationship with him over every other relationship, even your commitment to your o...

Like most people, we have four major appliances in our kitchen.   For the past few years, two of the four have been an in-house brand name from a particular national retailer.   We just replaced the third (a refrigerator) from    the same company.   When we replace the fourth, we will buy from someone else.   The reason?   Poor service. Compared to all the problems of the world, this is not a big deal, but this purchase has reminded me that good service must be intentional.  It does not happen by accident.  Many of us are involved in providing a product to someone else.  This may be training, coaching, consulting, instruction, or something similar.  My negative experience with this retailer has reminded me that there are several aspects to being a good service provider. First, p rovide a good product.  No matter how good your service is, what you deliver must be something of quality that endures.  Whether a refr...

When you put your opinions into a blog, you can expect some critique.  Occasionally, a reader will suggest that my ideas about the work of ministry are too business or market-oriented and leave out the spiritual or pastoral concerns about being a minister.  Guess what?  This is the same conversation that is going on among lay leaders, seminary professors, denominational leaders, and clergy in many forums today. In an address to new theological faculty last year, Daniel Aleshire, who is executive director of the Association of Theological Schools,  provided not only an overview of the history of American theological education but also discussed an emerging model of ministry based on being humanly authentic and how theological educators might address it. Aleshire cited a quote from Henri Nouwen where the Catholic priest and writer argued that “The minister is the one who can make this search for authenticity possible, not by standing to the side as a neutra...

In the film series that Marvel Studios has developed over the last few years, Captain America has usually been my favorite—traditional, heroic, and a little out of step with the current culture.  With the new TV series “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” however, my new hero is Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) who has emerged as the leader of a special team of agents.  The unique thing about Agent Coulson is that he died in “The Avengers” film (2012) and has been miraculously resurrected for this new gig.  (In science fiction, it is rare for anyone to stay dead.) Although portrayed in the Marvel films as a rather drab company man whose primary role was to deliver files and provide a little comic relief, everyman Coulson is the linchpin of the new series (which has been renewed for a second season).  He was the average guy who had the opportunity to interact with larger than life superheroes but that status has been called into question with his return to life.  C...

A friend recently told me that when he came to his new church, a member who is an attorney asked, “How can you use a guy like me in church?”   This gave birth to a new legal aid group made up of almost 30 attorneys to help people in the community. The mindset of many established churches is to maintain the most visible of their assets—people, property, and programs—without digging deeper to discover the rich resources that may be available just below the surface.  There are people in every congregation whose abilities are not being used.  In Growing an Engaged Church , Albert Winseman suggests that disengaged church members may just be seeking the right place to serve. He writes, “If you want to grow a spiritually healthy, vibrant, dynamic congregation, focus on increasing the engagement level of your members.” To engage such people, however, we need to a new mindset.  Rather than thinking about how we can “use” them (a rather selfish approach) in the es...

We may have a hard time understanding the way that Americans approached World War Two.  Everyone was involved in some way.  If you were not in service or did not have a loved one in the military, you probably knew someone who was.  The average citizen was also impacted by rationing and the repurposing of various public services in order to support the war effort. We also might not to understand why men who were, if not at the top of their careers, at least heading in that direction would be willing to give up their livelihoods in order to serve in the military.  In his book Five Came Back:  A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War , Mark Harris writes about five men who were not only willing to serve but actually sought the opportunity.  Directors John Ford, William Wyler, John Huston, Frank Capra, and George Stevens were considered among the top directors in Hollywood prior to the war.  All offered their services to the military and found ...

My grandson, Noah, and I visited Washington, DC, during the Spring break.   One of the highlights was a tour of the U.S. Capitol.   We had done this before, but each time is a learning experience.   As our guide pointed out the statues in the Rotunda and in Statuary Hall, both Noah and I noted an interesting juxtaposition.   In the Capitol are statues of both Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of America, and Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, the chief executives on the two sides in the Civil War.  There are also statues of both commanding generals of the opposing sides at the end of the war—Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee.  Of course, the individual states have the opportunity choose the statues in the Capitol Building based on persons that they consider notable, so Davis of Mississippi and Lee of Virginia are there because of their status in those states.  (You would be surprised at some of the se...