Last week, we considered steps to getting started with a minister search. This week, we will focus on the investigative stage of the search process.

Checking references

As resumés of potential candidates are gathered, the pastor and committee need to make reference checks. A thorough job of reference checking involves much more than simply calling the names listed on the resumé.

As I make reference checks, named individuals simply serve as a source for other names, who serve as a source for other names, who serve as a source for other names. By the end of an exhaustive investigation, I am three or four times removed from the original names given to me by the candidate himself or herself. Once, a candidate listed his brother-in-law under the disguise of a former employer.

During the process of checking references, it is of utmost importance that the inquirer not lead the reference. Do not ask questions in such a way that you simply will confirm what you have presupposed. For example, I never ask a question assuming I am going to get a favorable response.

An example

I once received a phone call from a church that was considering hiring an acquaintance of mine for a staff position. I made every attempt to give the inquirer an honest evaluation of the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses. I accentuated the candidate’s positive attributes while giving a few hints as to what the potential employer might want to investigate further.

During the conversation, the committee member refused to receive any negative signals from me. In fact, on my second attempt, he actually corrected me, insisting what I said could not possibly hold any merit. This committee member did not want an honest evaluation; he wanted to receive affirmation of his own foregone conclusions.

Unlike this prejudiced inquirer, state your questions in such a way that not only allows your reference to be negative, but also continues to probe at any hints of the candidate’s weaknesses. Always check, however, with legal counsel before giving a negative reference yourself.

Without exception, every person leaves a track record. Ours is a task of discovering that pattern, that record of performance. Rather than being persuaded by a single negative reference or a solitary positive reference, the pastor or committee member should be busy putting together the “candidate’s puzzle.” If pieced properly, the result will be a composite of the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses.

Checking past employers

For a completely thorough investigation, locate church leaders within a congregation previously served by your candidate, and candidly ask those lay leaders if they would hire that candidate again if they were in a position to do so.

Personalizing the context and placing them in your position as the decision-maker often brings the issue home, allowing the reference to be more candid.

Of course, all care should be taken to make sure the inquiry does not threaten the candidate’s present place of service. I always have a verbal contract of confidentiality before I proceed to ask questions.

Additional important background research

A thorough investigation also includes doing all the necessary research beyond reference checks. Credit checks, while sometimes overlooked, may yield vital information.

Almost as an afterthought, I performed a credit check on a staff candidate just before he was hired at First Baptist Church in Amarillo. He was a talented individual. All of his reference checks were stellar, and his past performance had been outstanding.

The credit check, however, revealed he had more than $100,000 in credit card debt. Upon receiving this information, the search committee decided not to become involved with this individual whose daily life would be burdened with overwhelming financial stress.

Transcripts from educational institutions attended by the candidate also should be gathered by the committee. It is not unheard of for a pastor or staff member to claim to have attended a college or seminary, when, in fact, the educational institution has no record of him or her ever being enrolled. Transcripts can be obtained by having the candidate sign a release and should be mailed directly from the educational institution to the pastor or committee.

If applicable, the spouses of potential staff members should be a part of the interview process. If a spouse will not be happy living in your community, then you can be sure the staff member will be miserable as well. No later than the second interview, the spouse should be questioned to make sure he or she also feels the call to come and serve your congregation.

Building a strong staff team begins with discovering and hiring the right staff members. Finding the right fit is essential for both the staff member and the church family. When pastors and committees cut corners to make a quick hire, there often is a high price paid by all parties involved. On the other hand, due diligence taken during the process will provide the church with a healthy staff team and, thus, happy church members.

Howie Batson has been the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Amarillo more than 25 years.

The church’s success or failure often will depend on the talent and commitment of its staff. Successful ministry is dependent upon successful programs; successful programs are dependent upon a successful staff.

A pastor will soon find no matter how stimulating and insightful his or her sermons might be, no one person can build a large church in today’s culture. Unfortunately, families “shop” for a church today, looking for the best programs. Young families look for a strong preschool department; middle-aged families with teens look for a dynamic student ministry; and musicians look for a strong choral program.

This article begins a series on building a staff team. In this series, we will discuss searching for staff, developing staff and transitioning staff off the church team. Here, we will address how to begin the search process in such a way as to end with success.

Consequences of poor hiring

Some pastors invest little time and energy into the selection and design of their ministry team. Any pastor who has tried to rid himself of an incompetent or misplaced staff member knows hiring the wrong person for the position is unfair to the ministry team, the congregation and the staff member him or herself.

Poor hiring creates an atmosphere of tension, frustration, disappointment and trauma on the part of both the pastor and the staff member. In the haste to “fill a position,” pastors and search committees may make poor decisions without conducting a thorough search before selecting a staff member.

Remember, the same church members who push you into a “quick hire” are the first ones to carp and complain should you hire someone less than successful in his or her new staff position.

Creating space for a search

The pastor and search committee often are able to earn the time necessary to conduct a thorough search by informing the appropriate church members or committees that a thorough process is underway. Periodic progress reports to stakeholders will keep frustration at bay.

Getting started

The process for seeking a staff member begins by gathering many appropriate names from many diverse sources. Writing seminaries, contacting universities, and calling upon colleagues and other successful ministers serving in similar positions in other congregations are all valuable sources for gathering resumés.

Even in this beginning stage, the pastor and search committee should bathe the entire process with prayer. The pastor, the congregation and the potential staff minister all want God’s hand at work in this mysterious process.

Looking for God’s hand in the process, however, does not excuse the pastor or committee from doing their tasks to ensure an appropriate hire. This work begins with a list of possible candidates.

Playing private investigator

Investigating possible candidate’s is a critical phase of the search we will focus on next week.

Avoiding faulty logic

Do not assume a decline within the candidate’s current congregation is a sure indication his or her ministry with your congregation will yield the same results.

Conversely, do not assume growth in the candidate’s current or previous congregations assures future growth in your community of faith.

Your candidate may, for example, be serving in a geographical area of explosive population growth where church growth is more dependent upon location than a staff member’s gifts.

Treating candidates fairly

The church should treat potential employees as professionals. As a minimum standard, the church must make every effort to reimburse candidates for expenses incurred during the hiring process.

Also, churches are notorious for failing to keep potential employees informed. On many occasions, potential staff members send resumés to churches and never receive even a simple acknowledgment. This is unfair and thoughtless treatment of anxious candidates.

The pastor and committee should be completely honest with the candidate regarding the challenges and difficulties that lie ahead. Promises should not be made that cannot be kept. For example, calling a minister to serve in the dual position of minister to preschoolers and children under the impression the combination is only temporary is unacceptable, unless a church has specific goals and plans for making the promise a reality by dividing the position.

Honesty also includes clearly communicating what will be expected of the employee. For one potential employee, I created a mock schedule depicting an average week on the job. I included normal working hours, church activities, committee meetings, emergency calls, weddings and funerals as part of this hypothetical schedule.

Finally, to ensure a clear meeting of the minds, all arrangements—including vacation days, sick days, insurance and other benefits—should be communicated explicitly in writing.

Next week, we will examine the necessary process of investigating possible candidates for your church’s minister search.

Howie Batson has been the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Amarillo more than 25 years.

It used to be common for constitutions and bylaws of Baptist churches to include a dissolution clause. In the unlikely event the church should close, the clause indicated the church’s assets would go to the association or state convention.

Over time, dissolution clauses started disappearing from church bylaws. And that is a significant problem, because churches without a dissolution clause could have to pay property and other taxes going all the way back to when they took the dissolution clause out of their documents.

What is a dissolution clause?

A dissolution clause is a statement explaining what will happen to a nonprofit organization’s assets in the event the organization dissolves or otherwise discontinues operating. It might be included in a nonprofit’s bylaws, governing document or, if the nonprofit is incorporated, the certificate of formation. Here’s one example of a dissolution clause:

Upon discontinuance of this Church by dissolution or otherwise, any assets lawfully available for distribution are to be transferred to one or more organizations qualifying as an exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended, by a majority of members attending at a duly called business meeting.

Why do churches need a dissolution clause?

In simplest terms: It’s the law. The assets of a church aren’t distributable to the church’s members, regardless of whether the church is incorporated or unincorporated.

Chapter 22 of the Texas Business Organizations Code governs nonprofit corporations. Section 22.001(5) defines a nonprofit corporation as “a corporation no part of the income of which is distributable to a member, director, or officer of the corporation.” Other than a few exceptions, a church cannot liquidate its assets and distribute the money among the remaining members when it ceases to operate.

Similarly, Chapter 252 of the Texas Business Organizations Code governs unincorporated nonprofit associations. Section 252.009 addresses the distribution of personal property of an inactive nonprofit association. It states, in part, “If a nonprofit association is classified under the Internal Revenue Code as a 501(c)(3) organization or is or holds itself out to be established or operating for a charitable, religious, or educational purpose, as defined by Section 501(c)(3), Internal Revenue Code, then any distribution must be made to another nonprofit association or nonprofit corporation with similar charitable, religious, or educational purposes.”

What is the tax benefit of a dissolution clause?

A dissolution clause is necessary for churches that own property to be exempt from ad valorem taxes as well. In Texas, an ad valorem tax is the tax on tangible personal property and real estate. The amount of this tax is calculated based on a percentage of the value of the property as determined by local appraisal districts. Under Section 11.20 of the Texas Tax Code, “An organization that qualifies as a religious organization as provided by Subsection (c) is entitled to an exemption from taxation of” real and personal property.

Subsection (c) states that to “qualify as a religious organization for the purposes of this section, an organization (whether operated by an individual, as a corporation, or as an association) must … by charter, bylaw, or other regulation adopted by the organization to govern its affairs direct that on discontinuance of the organization by dissolution or otherwise the assets are to be transferred to this state, the United States, or a charitable, educational, religious, or other similar organization that is qualified as a charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3), Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended.”

In other words, having a dissolution clause is a requirement for a church to be ad valorem tax exempt with regard to the church’s real and personal property. In fact, the form a church completes when applying for an ad valorem tax exemption requires the church to affirmatively state it has a dissolution statement adopted by “charter, bylaw, or other regulation adopted by the organization.” Filling out this form incorrectly or later removing the dissolution clause could lead to allegations of fraud and the potential for taxes to be retroactively charged on property previously tax-exempt.

What should churches consider when adopting a dissolution clause?

Know where to put it. For an unincorporated church, the simplest solution is to include the clause as a separate paragraph or section in the church bylaws. An incorporated church may either amend its certificate of formation to include a dissolution clause or include it in the bylaws. I typically recommend to churches that they place the clause in the church bylaws.

Balance specificity and flexibility. Some churches state that upon dissolution, the property will go to a 501(c)(3) organization. This maximizes flexibility for the church, but it does not ensure the property will go to organizations with similar beliefs or a similar mission as the church.

Other churches name the specific organizations that will receive the property. This has the benefit of ensuring church property will go to like-minded organizations upon dissolution—such as a convention, association, or another church or ministry. The drawback is naming a specific organization does not provide as much flexibility should the circumstances of the church or the entity named in the dissolution clause change.

Review it periodically. One of the reasons I encourage the church to place the clause in its bylaws is because churches—hopefully—engage in periodic reviews of the bylaws. Typically, the certificate of formation is not reviewed. Every church should review its dissolution clause from time to time to make certain the clause is up to date and still reflects the requirements of the law and the wishes of the congregation.

Use the process as a discipleship opportunity. While dissolution clauses are legal in nature, they also demonstrate good stewardship of the assets God has entrusted to the local church. Discussing and adopting a dissolution clause provides a wonderful opportunity for church leadership to teach critical lessons about biblical financial stewardship.

John Litzler is a practicing attorney who directs the church law division of Christian Unity Ministries in San Antonio. This article was adapted from the original post on the Union Baptist Association blog.

Disclaimer: This article provides general information and a general understanding of the law and does not constitute specific legal advice. By utilizing the Baptist Standard website, you understand there is no attorney/client relationship between you/your church and the author or between you/your church and Baptist Standard. This article should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state with the specifics of your situation.

How well do you reflect Christ in your workplace?

Three Scripture passages provide us with some guidance.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:23-24).

“‘I have the right to do anything,’ you say—but not everything is beneficial. ‘I have the right to do anything’—but not everything is constructive” (1 Corinthians 10:23).

“For it is God who works in you to will and act to fulfill his good purpose. Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation’” (Philippians 2:13-15).

Living out our faith at work

Here are some ways to live out your faith in various career fields.

• As visionaries—such as entrepreneurs, boards of directors, executive directors and other leaders—we lead with skill, wisdom and a mentoring attitude to raise more people like ourselves, instead of being prideful and lording over those we lead.

• As medical practitioners—whether doctors, nurses or therapists—we will love our patients so much that we will work with empathy, instead of anger and irritability.

• As government and public officials—including lawyers and teachers—we will make decisions and choices that will make life better for the people we serve, instead of corrupt or selfish decisions to benefit only ourselves and our families.

• As hourly workers—such as warehouse workers, maids, janitors and mechanics—we will work our hours justly and do the best of our assigned tasks, instead of lying or having a lackadaisical attitude.

• As administrative employees—such as in the corporate or financial sectors, customer service and human resources—we will be accurate and just in our duties, instead of twisting figures and cutting corners.

• As agricultural workers—farmers, ranchers—we will grow our crops and animals purely and safely, as though Christ himself will eat our products, instead of using harmful and even toxic means of cultivation.

• As scientists—engineers and researchers—we will give God the glory for what we discover in our universe, instead of giving all credit to our knowledge.

• As stay-at-home moms, we will enjoy every single moment of our sacrifice and love for our families, instead of harboring contempt and sometimes wondering if it was all worth the sacrifice.

• As transportation workers—pilots, flight attendants, drivers—we will treat each customer as a possible “angel,” because we never know just who we are carrying, instead of letting the repetitive, tiresome nature of our jobs dull us to the people we serve.

• As performers, entertainers and media figures, we will embody our roles from our heart and with intentionality, instead of doing so grudgingly, unwillingly and manipulatively.

Having the attitude of Christ

We may not always have the freedom to profess our Christianity. For example, while working for a company in Dallas a few years ago, I was called into the office of the human resources manager after giving a coworker a Bible. I nearly lost my job.

When we are not free to verbally profess Christ, we still are free in our Christian actions and attitudes.

Living out our Christian faith in practical ways can become our No. 1 tool of evangelism. It can cause people to see our good works and not only give glory to God, but also desire to know the God we know (Mathew 5:16). They can point people to the reason for the hope we have (1 Peter 3:15).

We should live to reflect Christ, no matter our career paths, political affiliations, or race or ethnicity. In the words of Jim Denison, “Let’s love God so much that we love our neighbor so much that our neighbor chooses to love our Lord.”

How will you reflect Christ in your career today?

Hannarich Asiedu is the author of the upcoming book Decoding the In-Law Code. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English and French from the University of Ghana and is certified in the science of well-being. She is a member of the Victory Assembly of God Church in Carrollton, Texas. The views expressed are those solely of the author.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say your church includes folks suffering with PTSD. The issue is you don’t know who they are, and they’re not likely to tell you they deal with recurring nightmares, intrusive memories, hopelessness and loneliness. In fact, they may seem to be your most well-adjusted members. But lurking beneath their façade is a victim of trauma who needs help.

June 27 is PTSD Awareness Day, and as someone diagnosed with the disorder, I want to make a personal appeal to your church: How can you minister to those with post-traumatic stress disorder and those dealing with post-traumatic stress, which are two decidedly different things?

What defines post-traumatic stress disorder?

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a diagnosable mental health condition that may occur in people who experience a traumatic event, such as a natural disaster, serious accident, combat, rape, or any other type of violence or moral injury.

I like to explain it this way—when your old worldview doesn’t match your new reality and you can’t reconcile the two.

Post-traumatic stress is simply the reaction anyone can have after a traumatic event. This is completely normal, and almost all of us experience it.

Post-traumatic stress might turn into post-traumatic stress disorder for many reasons. For example, if a person doesn’t find a way to reconcile the new reality, reframe the experience, work through the pain or change the old worldview, the internal conflict can manifest as a long-lasting disorder.

If people with post-traumatic stress have disturbing thoughts and feelings lasting more than a month, if the reactions are severe or if they have trouble getting things under control, it might be post-traumatic stress disorder. If a victim of trauma has suicidal thoughts or actions, post-traumatic stress has gone too far. They need to seek medical advice or therapy.

How your church can help

How can your church help? Here are a few suggestions for how to minister to those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

1. Learn about it. There are many sources you can read. One of my favorites is Restoring the Shattered Self: A Christian Counselor’s Guide to Complex Trauma by Heather Gingrich.

2. Talk about it. From the pulpit to Bible studies, offer a few moments to share your concern. Ask for help from folks who have worked through their trauma.

3. Pray about it. Ask God how you can help victims of trauma. Set up prayer teams, or set aside a day to pray for those who suffer.

4. Offer safety. One of the biggest issues with post-traumatic stress disorder is broken trust. Those suffering will not trust you unless you provide safety and security. Maybe offer a support group specifically for trauma survivors.

5. Offer work. Care for others can be cure for the soul. If you let trauma victims participate in ministry, it often can help them integrate into their community, which can be a big part of their recovery.

6. Offer counseling. Whether your church offers clinical or pastoral counseling, I encourage you to promote mental health alongside spiritual health. Look for resources in your community if you don’t have the expertise or ability to provide counseling. Texas Baptists offer counseling services. Contact Dr. Katie Swafford at (800) 388-2005 or by email at: counselingservices@texasbaptists.org.

Eric Whitmore is a combat veteran, trauma survivor and was diagnosed with PTSD. He is a retired Air Force chaplain and serves as associate endorser for Texas Baptists Baptist Chaplaincy Relations.

In a TV show about a Jewish family in California, a little girl’s father is looking around and calling out to her. The girl jumps out from behind a curtain and calls sweetly, “Hineni!”—Hebrew for, “Here I am!”

We have heard that before, haven’t we? Great stories of faithful people in the Bible—Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Samuel, Isaiah and Ananias—tell of them responding to the Lord’s call with, “Here I am.”

A separate word, hi’nih’ni, means, “I am here.” The word looks and sounds similar, but its connotation is a more casual response.

“Hineni, here I am” is a response you give when you have given your full attention to the caller. You may not know what will be asked of you, but you lay your whole self out in the open as an act of trust, love and worship.

Being present to God keeps us going

As a young minister feeling pulled in a thousand different directions, how do I keep going without becoming overwhelmed or burning out? Perhaps you have asked yourself the same question.

We have the opportunity to reflect on when, where and how we have felt most distant and also most close to God. Additionally, we have the opportunity to let God renew and refine us in unique and powerful ways.

What I like most about “Hineni, here I am” is it’s a simple response to the call of your name. It’s not a calculated response; it’s a gut reaction. It is like saying: “Hey, I hear you. I don’t know what you want me to do yet, but I’m ready and willing to let myself be totally seen by you.”

What a beautifully simple and challenging response. Allowing ourselves to be seen just as we are by the eyes of the Almighty is both terrifying and healing. At the same time, it is exactly what we need if we want to serve with joy and boldness.

The hardest part about church leadership is the tension between serving other people and allowing yourself to be known. It feels like most of what ministers do is listen to others and care for their spiritual and physical needs. But where does the minister go to bare his or her heart? With whom can ministers allow themselves to be fully seen?

Getting away with God

The good news is God empowers and equips people to do the work God calls them to do.

Cultivate time and space to be and not do. If you are a church member who loves your ministers, help them and hold them accountable to this.

If you are a minister feeling on the edge of burnout, step away and take time to rest in God’s presence. So many recent books about nurturing spiritual health include, and in many cases even center around, sabbath and rest. See Ken Shigematsu’s God in My Everything, Peter Scazzero’s The Emotionally Healthy Leader, and John Mark Comer’s The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry.

If you are feeling overwhelmed, it’s probably because you are. Last year, I began to see signs I was moving into some unhealthy habits. Pausing from some projects and making time to talk with a therapist and a spiritual director really changed things for me.

I realized I was not alone or deficient because I was struggling. My spiritual director helped me see ways God was moving in my life, and my therapist gave me tools and practices that helped me to address moments of stress and anxiety better.

Create space to step away by yourself or with your family.

Be honest with your congregation about what is happening in your spirit and in your life. You might find yourself pleasantly surprised by how supportive your community is of your emotional and spiritual health.

Reach out to and be vulnerable with a trusted friend.

Seek professional and clinical sources of help like I did.

Pull from the many streams of God’s faithful provision for you, and know God is present with you through it all.

Be seen by God

Friends, I challenge you to allow yourselves to be seen by God. Offer your full attention to the faithful God who sees you and holds you in every season of life. When there are 17 items on your to-do list, God holds you. When you give tirelessly and feel drained, God sees you. When you do not know how the big project is ever going to come to fruition, God provides for you.

Even when we feel drained, anxious or overwhelmed, we can respond, “Here I am.”

God calls us to do great things. I pray for those of us who respond, “Here I am, Lord,” that we would not think the offer of our full attention is only about doing work. Our full attention also is about offering our vulnerabilities to God and allowing ourselves to be seen by him. It is just as much about rest in God as it is about doing work for and with God.

In this season of your life, I invite you to join me in praying this simple prayer, like a small child responding to the Father who cares for them: “Lord, here I am.”

Cecily McIlwain is a student at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary and serves as the director of children’s ministries at Columbus Avenue Baptist Church in Waco. The views expressed are those solely of the author.

I’ve been in ministry for a long time, and I’ve seen faithful pastors of 80 people and 10,000 people. No matter the size of the church, there’s the temptation to become a popular pastor.

We constantly fight the urge to buy our Super Pastor outfit and to stand boldly on tops of buildings overlooking the admiration of thousands. But a pastor’s job is to be deleted so our congregation and community only sees Jesus.

How can we turn from being puffed up and resist being a popular pastor? Here are three practices.

1. Don’t imitate others.

Focus on improving your own ministry instead of mirroring someone else’s. This is the hardest step, so I decided to give it to you right off the bat.

We are so prone to ministry envy, aren’t we? We see pastors on mainstream television, writing bestsellers and speaking at conferences, and we wonder, “Why not me?”

Jesus’ call to us is to be faithful with the talents, abilities and surroundings he has given us (Matthew 25:14-30). We don’t have to be known to the world, but we should be real with our congregation.

Ask yourself: Am I being faithful with the talents, abilities and surroundings Jesus has given me? Am I wishing for more, while the flock and community I am called to is being neglected?

2. Prepare your fields.

As ministers, we easily can sit in our offices and counsel people about their faithfulness and future, while neglecting our own. We never should assume a superior status to our churches or communities.

How can we minister if we don’t have things in common with our church and community? Eventually, our congregation will see right through us.

We must spend time in the word of God. We must pray diligently that our churches would be at the center of the Holy Spirit’s work. We should read often from people with whom we agree and disagree.

In a post-church society, in which some oppose Jesus and his ways and others know him but have abandoned gathering with a local church, we cannot fall into the lie the church must change so the world will accept it. We must align ourselves radically with the truth of the word of God and show the world the difference.

To prepare a West Texas field, a tractor with a multi-disc plow is run over the surface, flipping the soil on itself to make the ground receptive to seed, fertilizer and water. After the soil is flipped, the wind often blows it into a dust storm. Everything around is brown.

As ministers, we must lead and prepare our churches to affect our communities by continuously stirring up dust—turning the spiritual soil of our people. We must encourage them to spend time in God’s word, prayer and reaching their community.

3. Discover how you’re put together.

I love to discover how things are put together. I love to find something I won’t need to use again, take it apart and put it back together. I love to see how inventors and engineers thought through the processes—why a gear is here instead of there, why the latch isn’t this kind but that kind. It’s mesmerizing.

As a minister, I often am lost in the “how I’ve always done it before” patterns of life. You may be, too. We need to review our strengths and weaknesses. For example, I am not a detail-oriented person. I live in the big pictures, which is OK as long as I have a detail-oriented person with me.

Young ministers often wonder, not if they are called, but what exactly they are called to. Young and old, we need to discern, not only the calling Jesus has given us, but what our call looks like.

I believe the Lord calls people to write books, to be on national TV or to preach at conferences. I also believe Jesus calls people never to do those things.

He may call you to serve a rural church of 80 people all your life or a megachurch, because Jesus loves both and needs someone in each place.

Be faithful to where you are

You might write the next bestseller. If so, send me a copy. You might be the next onstage voice at a conference. Backstage passes, please.

Whatever you and I do, let us discover, pray and serve faithfully where we are, not looking for something bigger and better.

When we find ourselves headed down the rabbit hole of comparing ourselves to those releasing books, selling their next study, inviting us to their next conference, or talking about their next campus opening, just remember: What you do for the kingdom of God is important.

We need you. Keep going. Remember: you get the privilege of the greatest job on Earth—rightly dividing the word of God to a people you love.

Kyle Clayton is the senior pastor of the Church at Quail Creek in Amarillo. He is husband to a wonderful wife April, and two amazing kids. The views expressed are those solely of the author.

Psalm 23 draws a beautiful picture of a shepherd taking care of his sheep. Across dangerous terrain, unyielding environmental conditions and predictable predatory behavior, the shepherd faithfully stays with the sheep. The sheep depend on the shepherd, and the shepherd depends on the sheep. This image can be applied easily to the relationship between congregations and the pastor.

The shepherd takes care of the sheep, but who takes care of the shepherd? God most certainly provides for shepherds, but does that exempt the congregation from participating? Beyond salary and the occasional sabbatical, I hope we learn there are other ways to take care of those who have cared for our souls.

Pray for pastors.

Members of a local congregation can provide care for their pastors by praying big, wide and deep. Pastors have a specific role in the life of Christians, and Christians can pray in specific ways for their pastors.

Pray with depth and substance for them and their families. Pray for their mental, physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. Pray God will guard their hearts and minds from dangerous devices and distractions.

Designate days of the week to pray for specific areas of their relationship with God, family and the church body. Each day, pray for a different aspect of their lives, such as discernment, personal devotion, how they minister to others and God’s anointing to preach the gospel.

Pastors intercede for the congregation daily. Let us return that energy by praying cheerfully for them and their families. We expect a lot from our pastors. May our prayers for them go even further.

Guard their sacred spaces.

Protect their sacred spaces—their time with God, self and family. Give them time to sit with God in prayer, meditation and study.

On Sunday morning, make room between their arrival to the building and the start of worship for them to spend time with God. They can get pulled in many directions in the space between their study, the sanctuary and the pulpit. Guard their steps between, so they can stay engaged intimately with the Holy Spirit. You can honor God by protecting the time he has given them to be with him.

The pastor’s family also is a sacred space. Bless them with the room to be present consistently with their family. Give pastors room for refreshment and recreation.

Congregations expect their pastors to be “on” at all times. Establish a respectable distance where they have space as a person without the weight of being your pastor. Congregations do not own them. They belong to God alone.

Encourage them to take time for activities they enjoy. Many pastors have a day of the week they use for sabbath, but it frequently gets filled with pastoral duties. Honor this time and help them protect it.

Give them grace.

Give grace to your pastor. Pastors are not perfect and will make mistakes. Pastors have problems of their own to manage, while also taking on the weight of everyone else’s problems.

Pastors serve others daily, while they are wounded and exhausted from their own journey. There are many times when pastors need help. By sharing grace, the congregation is affirming it is OK for pastors not to be OK all the time. Grace is the chance to get better.

Get to know them.

Get to know your pastor. The journey of a pastor is a lonely one. They lead the hard conversations. They make tough turns to unpopular decisions.

Along this journey, you are not trying to become best friends. You want to know them well enough that you learn about them and how to help them. Learn by listening and observing.

You may have observed preaching is of the utmost importance to many pastors. One way to help them stretch the preaching beyond worship is to share sermon highlights in daily conversations with others.

Listening and observing also reveals how to encourage them. You can invest in their continual learning as a means of encouragement. You also can offer encouragement by sharing with them how God has been moving in your life and leading you. Let them see the fruit the Spirit is producing while under their care.

Getting to know your pastor is not about proximity and favor. Getting to know your pastor is about learning how God has placed you there uniquely to share in the privilege of kingdom work.

Serve in ministry.

A pastor’s nature is to take care of the souls of God’s people, and they model this daily. We can help further this care by modeling sacred care to the pastor and the people around us. You can help by serving in a ministry and volunteering in various activities. By serving, you are participating in God’s great work on earth.

As a member of the local body of Christ, you are one of many who can go beyond the walls and help make every space better. Share the promises of God with others, just as your pastor has shared in taking care of you.

Mahcoe Mikel holds a Master of Arts in Christian ministry degree from Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary. He serves as campus minister at Westpark Springs Rehabilitation Hospital in Richmond, Texas. The views expressed are those solely of the author.

With more than half a million deaths in this country alone, who has not been touched by the COVID-19 pandemic?

The unseen lines of connection have been skewed or even severed as our once familiar communities have been crippled. In the aftermath, there’s a deep need to rebuild the bridges that connect us to one another.

As the social rules of personal distancing are lifted and we emerge in an altered world, what can we do to make sense of this very weird year?

One method of rebuilding our communities is through the power of intentional narrative practices—telling our stories.

Telling our stories

All of life is a story. Story is a way of seeing, a way of organizing experience, and a way of making sense of life. We are a meaning-making people who experience the pendulum of life between experience and reflection. Things happen, and we ponder their meaning. When significant events occur, we go deep, seeking to know why those events have such power in us.

How do we interpret the unplanned events that shape and redirect our lives? What happens when the normal course of life is altered? What do we do with the interruption that takes over our life’s story?

It can be the simplest of things. It can be the intrusion no one sees coming. No matter. When life’s direction is broken, the whole of life takes a new turn.

James Loder, professor of pastoral theology at Princeton Theological Seminary, was known for his research about convictional moments—any event that forced an inner change in outlook or commitment. He came to describe these unexpected events as “transforming moments.”

Loder experienced a mystical encounter with the divine as he lingered between life and death that marked his life from that moment forward. This event became a transforming moment that altered his outlook, his willingness to follow the mysterious promptings of the slender threads, and led him down paths he never before would have followed in his inner world of perceiving.

Some have been only minimally affected by the pandemic, while others have had deep experiences, so deep they have been changed. The past and the future met at the intersection of viral suffering and the threat of death, and they are rebuilding their lives.

We’re all archaeologists of our stories, mining them for meaning. We’re cartographers of a past life making maps of the journey we’ve taken, connecting all the dots as we’re able to understand. They are the broken shards, fragmented remembrances memory has left to our care. Telling our stories helps connect the fragments and give them meaning.

Listen to your life

In his memoir Now and Then, Frederick Buechner describes the invitation to explore our stories this way: “Listen to your life. All moments are key moments.”

Listen to your life. Take in the extraordinary commonness of all those stories, not in the hope of inflating them into memories that did not actually happen, but to draw closer to them in the hope of plunging their depths and consequently to deepen the stories.

Buechner’s invitation is extended to us all, for those who are curious enough to explore them. Buechner sees this task clearly: “It seems to me that no matter who you are, and no matter how eloquent or otherwise, if you tell your story with sufficient candor and concreteness, it will be an interesting story and in some sense a universal story.”

Forming a reflection group

If you wish to explore the meaning of this past year and a half, you could form a reflection group that shares your wish to explore your experiences.

• Commit to the process and to one another.

Make a clear commitment to engage this with purpose. Clarify the commitment: When and where will we meet? Perhaps the group could commit to a series of conversations—three to four gatherings—to give the process a chance to succeed.

• Adhere to the Parker Palmer agreements.

I recommend using what many informally call the Parker Palmer Rules for group conversations: “No Fixing, No Saving, No Advising, No Setting Anyone Straight.”

Palmer’s book, A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward the Undivided Life, is aimed squarely at groups that wish to share their stories with one another in ways that advocate for greater listening and understanding.

• Practice asking “not knowing,” or curious, questions.

A storyteller tells a tale, and miraculously, we all become expert observers. No matter the complexity of the story and the dilemma the storyteller faces, we have all the answers.

Quite simply, taking a not-knowing position is asking curious questions that have no preconceived ideas or theories about what outcome might be achieved.

The power of taking a not-knowing position is the nature of the conversation remains open to the storyteller to explore new alternative meanings. Stories are given room to thicken, deepened by using curious questions, rather than shut down by solutions with little meaning.

• Seek the “relentless optimism” that supports the narrative practice.

Relentless optimism is a stated goal that the one sharing can seek to understand their concerns, aided by a wish to find outcomes where one might experience growth and recognize a hopeful sense of maturity.

This atmosphere of optimism is based on the notion our stories may be challenging, complicated and daunting to our sense of wholeness.

An intentional narrative practice is any opportunity a community takes that gives time and space for people to gather and tell their stories. The gift of community is nurtured and strengthened when we tell one another our stories.

Keith Herron has been a pastor in Texas and Kansas, and is the author of Living a Narrative Life, from which he adapted this article. The views expressed are those solely of the author.

Este artículo es parte de una serie sobre abuso sexual infantil y la iglesia:

• How widespread is the problem?
  ¿Qué tan extendido está el problema?
• Impact on children and youth
  Impacto en niños y jóvenes
• Impact on adults
  Impacto en adultos
• The church’s responsibility to protect children
  La responsabilidad de la iglesia de proteger a los niños
• Reporting and care after abuse occurs
  Reporte y cuidado después de que ocurra el abuso
• Prevention resources
  Recursos de prevención

En los últimos años, los informes de escándalos de abuso sexual infantil en la Iglesia Católica tomaron los titulares durante meses. No mucho después de los informes iniciales de abuso entre sacerdotes católicos y encubrimiento por parte de funcionarios de la iglesia, un destacado entrenador de fútbol de Penn State University, Jerry Sandusky, fue arrestado y condenado por abusar sexualmente de muchos niños. Su jefe, el famoso entrenador en jefe Joe Paterno, fue despedido por no informar el abuso a la policía.

En días más recientes, surgieron relatos aterradores sobre el abuso generalizado de jóvenes gimnastas estadounidenses por parte del médico de su equipo, el Dr. Larry Nassar. Más de 150 mujeres testificaron contra él en el juicio que resultó en su condena.

En los círculos de los bautistas del sur, las preguntas sobre el abuso físico y sexual antecedieron y atrajeron la atención generalizada en la Convención Bautista del Sur de 2018. Inmediatamente después de la convención, el [periódico] Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Telegrama Estrella de Fort Worth) reportó que un ex misionero de [la agencia] IMB y líder en la Convención Bautista de Carolina del Sur fue acusado de agresión sexual de una niña menor de 17 años. Su presunto abuso de una adolescente ocurrió cuando prestaba servicio en el ministerio juvenil en una iglesia en el área de Dallas-Fort Worth. Relatos similares de otros ex ministros juveniles de Texas también fueron noticia en el último año.

Estas historias resaltan la gran importancia de que las iglesias, el personal del ministerio y todos los que asisten a las iglesias bautistas estén conscientes del problema del abuso sexual infantil, tengan conocimiento del asunto, puedan actuar para proteger a los niños del abuso y ayudar en la restauración de los niños y las familias cuando ocurre el abuso.

Con ese fin, este es el primer artículo de una serie de cuatro partes sobre el abuso sexual infantil en la iglesia, que cubre lo siguiente:

• ¿Cuál es la tasa de abuso? ¿Qué tan extendido está el problema?
• ¿Cuáles son las ramificaciones del abuso? ¿Cómo afecta a aquellos que son abusados?
• ¿Cuál es la responsabilidad de la iglesia y el liderazgo de la iglesia para proteger a los niños y cómo pueden las iglesias hacer esto de manera más efectiva?
• ¿Qué recursos están disponibles para las iglesias y las familias?

¿Cómo se define el abuso sexual?

Un problema clave para determinar la tasa de abuso es cómo un investigador define el abuso. El abuso puede definirse desde perspectivas legales, desde perspectivas sociales o desde la perspectiva de quienes intentan brindar protección a los niños. Las definiciones variadas de abuso tienden a llevar a una amplia gama de resultados al informar las tasas de abuso sexual.

Un ejemplo de la definición de un investigador de abuso sexual se puede ver en el trabajo de Delphine Collin-Vézina y sus colegas, quienes definen el abuso sexual infantil como “cualquier actividad de naturaleza sexual entre un niño y un adulto u otro niño que, por edad o el desarrollo está en una relación de responsabilidad, confianza o poder, y cuya actividad está destinada a recompensar o satisfacer las necesidades de la otra persona”.

Dos sub-categorías comunes en la definición de abuso sexual infantil son el abuso de contacto y el abuso sin contacto. El abuso sexual de contacto tiende a incluir penetración, caricias, besar o tocar de parte de un adulto o niño mayor hacia un niño más pequeño. El abuso sexual sin contacto puede incluir exhibicionismo de adultos o voyerismo hacia un niño, exponer a un niño a pornografía o material sexualizado, o interactuar sexualmente con un niño a través de medios electrónicos, como por teléfono o en línea.

¿Cuál es la tasa de abuso sexual infantil?

A pesar de los desafíos en la definición de abuso, una cosa en la que todos los expertos están de acuerdo es que la tasa de abuso es más alta de lo que se informa.

Algunos niños no le cuentan a ningún adulto lo que les pasó. Otros son persuadidos, engañados, forzados o amenazados en silencio por el abusador. Algunas víctimas son demasiado jóvenes para comprender lo que les ha ocurrido y no tienen la capacidad emocional o las habilidades de comunicación para alertar a los adultos.

El resultado es que el grado de abuso es mayor —probablemente mucho mayor— de lo que se informa. El Departamento de Justicia de los Estados Unidos estima que solo el 30 por ciento de los casos de agresión sexual se denuncian a las autoridades.

A pesar de que las tasas de abuso no son reportadas, las cifras siguen siendo impactantes.

En los Estados Unidos, el 10 por ciento de todos los niños experimentan algún tipo de abuso sexual antes de los 18 años. Según un artículo que aparece en la edición de abril de 2014 de Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics (Clínicas Psiquiátricas para Adolescentes y Niños), de los abusados, el 75 por ciento son mujeres y el 25 por ciento son hombres.

En un artículo de JAMA [Network] de 2013, David Finkelhor, un destacado investigador sobre la violencia contra los niños, descubrió que un poco menos del 6 por ciento de todos los niños en los EE. UU., de 1 mes a 17 años, experimentaron abusos sexuales por contacto el año anterior. De este grupo, las mujeres de 14 a 17 años fueron particularmente vulnerables, con un 22.8 por ciento que informaron haber sido víctimas de violencia sexual en el año anterior. Casi el 13 por ciento de las mujeres de 14 a 17 años experimentaron algún tipo de solicitud sexual no deseada en Internet en el 2012.

La mayoría de los niños que son acosados sexualmente conocen a su victimario. Sólo el 10 por ciento de los niños son abusados por un extraño; el 90 por ciento conoce a su abusador. Cuanto más joven es la víctima infantil, más probable es que el perpetrador sea un niño mayor o un adolescente.

La necesidad de conciencia

El error más grande y costoso que el liderazgo de la iglesia puede hacer relacionado con el abuso sexual infantil es asumir que “no puede suceder aquí”.

Si las estadísticas son casi exactas (y hay razones para creer que los datos no representan suficientemente el alcance del problema), en cualquier actividad de la iglesia, hay niños presentes que han sido víctimas de abuso sexual infantil. En iglesias medianas y de mayor tamaño, docenas de víctimas asisten cada vez que la iglesia se reúne. Desafortunadamente, para algunos niños, el abuso puede haber ocurrido en una iglesia o en un entorno relacionado con la iglesia o en manos de personal del ministerio que son lobos vestidos con ropa de oveja.

——

Próximos artículos

• What is the effect on children and youth who have been victimized?
  ¿Cuál es el efecto en los niños y jóvenes que han sido víctimas de abuso?
• What is the impact of sexual abuse on adults, and is there hope?
  ¿Cuál es el impacto del abuso sexual en los adultos? ¿Hay esperanza?
• What is the responsibility of the church and church leadership to protect children from abuse, and how can churches do this most effectively?
  ¿Cuál es la responsabilidad de la iglesia y del liderazgo de la iglesia para proteger a los niños del abuso, y cómo pueden las iglesias hacer esto de manera más efectiva?
• Who must report abuse, and how can churches help abuse victims and their families?
  ¿Quién debe denunciar el abuso y cómo pueden las iglesias ayudar a las víctimas de abuso y a sus familias?
• What resources are available to churches and families to help prevent abuse and to help the family where abuse has already occurred?
  ¿Qué recursos están disponibles para las iglesias y las familias para ayudar a prevenir el abuso y para ayudar a la familia donde ya ha ocurrido el abuso?

Scott Floyd, Ph.D., LPC-S, LMFT, es un miembro sénior y director de Programas de Consejería en B.H. Carroll Theological Institute (Instituto Teológico B.H. Carroll).

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is adapted from the original available here.

In what appears to be the 4th quarter of COVID, your pastor and ministry staff are tired. I don’t mean just physically tired. They most likely are spiritually tired, too.

The body and soul are inexplicably intertwined. One affects the other. If you ever have preached on a Sunday morning, you know what I mean.

I recently heard Jim Henry, retired pastor of First Baptist Church in Orlando, state that preaching a 30-minute sermon is equivalent to eight hours of posthole digging. Imagine the effect if your pastor preaches multiple sermons each Sunday.

While your ministry staff may look calm, cool and collected as they stand before you while trying to interpret Scripture accurately, being engaging, trying their hand at humor, and getting tongue-tied a time or two, they also are trying to persuade flesh and blood, are pushing against unseen powers and spiritual wickedness, all while the enemy wants to do them harm (John 10:10).

Your pastor and ministry staff have experienced a form of trauma the last year—unpredictable circumstances, change unparalleled in their lifetime, and private and public criticism like they never thought possible.

Your pastor and ministry staff are tired beyond what they currently can articulate. They have carried grief, buried people they might have expected to bury many years from now, and navigated becoming “televangelists” practically overnight.

Your pastor has replayed mentally and repeatedly that mask policy “chewing-out” received four minutes before preaching one Sunday. While playing the conversation over again, another text came in criticizing the “no mask” policy just released earlier in the day.

They couldn’t win and didn’t win, yet they loved and led as if the criticism didn’t hurt. But it did hurt.

Effects of trauma on ministers

After Hurricane Harvey destroyed 25 percent of the homes in our town, a fellow pastor told me he learned in a seminar that 75 percent of pastors who lead through a natural disaster will move to a new church within two years.

I paid attention to that statistic. Sure enough, of the pastors I knew in our community, almost all moved within a few years, including me. I honestly had no plan to move on, but the waves of Harvey crashed far beyond the days of rain and rising river.

COVID has been a hurricane. Your pastor and ministry staff need a break. They need spiritual refreshing, “re-creation” and time off, not just a tiring, activity-filled vacation.

Most Baptist churches I know do not have a sabbatical policy. Lay leaders, committee members, elders, congregation: Now is the time!

If you want your pastoral leaders to stay at your church, if you desire your pastors to have a strong family, if you care about the mental health of your staff, if you long for your church to thrive, now’s the time to gather the decision-makers and make a “COVID sabbatical and time off plan.”

A COVID sabbatical plan

The following sabbatical plan does not take the place of vacation time, nor is it a normal sabbatical policy. It may be a great starting point for a full sabbatical policy later, as well as a much-needed and deserved respite for your leaders near the end of COVID.

• Offer your senior leaders time off ASAP. Who or what team was making the COVID decisions? Who was preaching and the prominent leader during COVID? Offer those people a month-long, fully paid sabbatical in 2021. Why a month? I have read—and experienced—it takes seven to 10 days for a senior leader to stop thinking about work and ministry and begin to rest.
• Ask your senior leaders about their greatest sabbatical need: vacation, staycation, study, rest, reflection or otherwise.
• Give your senior leaders paid time off four Sundays in a row. Let them decide the needed course of action or inaction.
• For other pastoral leaders, consider giving them two additional weeks of paid time off before March 2022. Again, allow each minister to speak into their needs and make a plan.
• If pastoral leaders are dealing with depression, anxiety or other mental health concerns, encourage professional counseling. There are times ministers need to work directly with a professional counselor, preferably one who counsels pastors or other counselors.
• Ask each staff member if they would benefit from professional counseling. They will be shocked you asked, and most will say, “No, thanks,” even if they feel it would be helpful. So, make sure to ask again. For those who say, “Yes,” pay for their counseling. After all, in the past, your pastor probably has counseled you for free or referred you to someone he or she trusts.

Pandemics are not unprecedented for God’s church. Even so, the needs right now are greater than you see. The darkness does not relent. The enemy comes to wound.

Your pastoral leaders have unspoken needs. The light in your pastoral staff needs to continue to shine, especially in the approaching post-COVID world.

Jonathan L. Smith is the statewide director of Church Health Strategy for Texas Baptists. A 29-year veteran of preaching and pastoring, his calling is to equip pastors and lay leaders to grow God’s kingdom. He can be reached at jonathan.smith@txb.org. This article first appeared on the Church Health Strategy page of txb.org.