Rookie Pastor |

Still a Rookie

What I love about being a Rookie is also what I hate.

That feeling where you have no idea what you are doing and how to get to where you think you should go. Terrifying but full of possibility.

Had that feeling:
at my first youth group as the pastor when a student put a rock through a window
when they told me they were pregnant
the first time I got yelled at
as I realized I wasn’t as good of a preacher as I thought
when they announced they were leaving
when I tried to navigate an awkward small group situation
as a parent

and now as a church planter.

So yes I am most definitely still a Rookie by choice and by situation. Which means I need some help.

If you are so inclined would you be willing to come alongside us in this journey in prayer, or at least for the laughs as we share some failures? Sign up for the newsletter here.

And I don’t have to tell you that finances are a big part of this endeavor. Here on the front end as we are still not quite up and running we have established a way for people to give.

Been blown away by people wanting to give year end gifts and those who are sacrificing a gift or two to contribute to this project.

From one Rookie to another, thanks.

November 20, 2012 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments

30 in 30: Social Media

This is part of a blog series that has 30 practical tips for the pastor looking to start or restart well. You can get the entire series as a Kindle book. The landing page will be updated with each new post.

Social media and the Internet in general have gone from “look at me!” to “here you go.” Before you dive into launching some sort of web presence you have to be able to answer, “what am I offering?”

Rookie Pastors are usually the youngest on staff and therefore the most familiar with social media and the biggest advocates for using it properly. So in that first initial month figure out what you are going to focus on, what you are going to add, and what you will remove.

There is no stock answer as to the perfect combination of tools that a church should use for social media. A year ago I think I would have universally recommended that every church have a Facebook page but more and more of my peers are ditching Facebook for other mediums (I guess they couldn’t handle sharing social media space with their mothers). You have to understand where people are digitally congregating.

Once you decide on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, a blog, website or some combination you can’t expect it to work without offering something to those that participate. You need a perpetual incentive of some kind that makes it worth their time and listing your service times doesn’t count.

Social media is important but easy to screw up. If you don’t think you can dedicate the time to be consistent and offer good content save yourself the trouble and don’t start it. You don’t want a feed, site, or blog with outdated and/or incorrect information.

A good rule of thumb here is to pick one and go with it. They all have strengths and weaknesses but if you start out trying to engage them all at once you are only adding to the noise and causing confusion. Develop a plan and stick to it.

November 20, 2012 in Practical with 0 Comments

Monday Morning Quick Hits

So I’m planting a church.
People complain that parents never sit down together to eat dinner, someday they will complain that families never sit down to watch TV together.
Dedicated our son yesterday morning at church, have to admit it was a blur.
Turkey tip: fry, smoke, grill, just don’t bake and dry that bird out.
Tony Jones reports from NYWC.
Donald Miller on faith and what makes a writer.
Campus Pastor is the new position on church staffs, here are four critical questions for prospects.
Really getting into this season of The Walking Dead, but watching a few new shows this season and don’t see any of them getting renewed for a second season. I miss Lost.
Don’t take yourself too seriously.
Love what Justin had to say about teaching while in a funk.
Lego churches.
Still hate the Patriots and love the random search engine traffic I get from this post.
An introverted church planter.
Thinking I would benefit from reading some fiction. Any suggestions?
Is the culture war over?
I’ll be taking a blogging break from Thanksgiving through the weekend. Have fun, play nice with family, and don’t go out on Black Friday.

November 19, 2012 in Uncategorized with 1 Comment

Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously

Sure it’s cheesy and you can question the motivations. But the President of the United States just did the internet meme of the summer.

Maybe advisors made him do this or he lost a bet with one of his daughters but he basically gave opponents an image that I assume will become its own meme and make the rounds on our Facebook feeds.

He’s comfortable enough with who he is to make a bit of a fool of himself. He allows himself some light moments.

I remember reading during the deliberations around the Bin Laden raid that he would leave an intense meeting discussing options and go to a reception for the most recent pro sports champion. Fiscal cliff, violence in Israel, Petraeus, winding down Afghanistan, and whatever else we don’t know, the President could have just taken the requisite smiling photo with the gymnast.

You have high stress demands on your life. Things that feel and are very intense. Sitting in the intensity isn’t going to make it easier, you need to be able to step away and relax a bit.

Don’t take yourself so seriously that you forget what you are really trying to do.

November 17, 2012 in Encouraging with 0 Comments

Getting Out of a Teaching Funk: Part 1

Great to have Justin Herman contributing here. Be sure to check him out on Twitter.

Have you ever been in a teaching funk?

Most teachers have, and it feels like I’m in one now! I love teaching God’s word and I am fortunate enough to be the primary teacher in our Jr. High ministry. Like most Pastors, I am critical of my own teaching; not because I want to be perfect- there was only one guy that was perfect, Jesus, and we don’t need another. I am critical because I really love what I am teaching and I know I am not teaching moral living or the thoughts of a good teacher.

I am teaching lessons from God himself. His eternal plan for a fallen world is one that we need to share, not keep quiet or be jealous over- like Jonah. God’s word is serious, life-changing stuff. It is not a joke, it is not a part time thing, and it is not a stepping stone to something better.

Taking on the role of teacher is something that we will be judged very harshly on. Instead of running from that truth, I press into it in order to improve. You may be same as me, always striving to get better and connect the truth of Jesus to people.

Because of the funk I am in right now, I am looking at thirteen different things to help get me out of it. Below are the first six.

Admit you have a problem.

Well, maybe it’s not a problem, but if you are feeling like you’re in a struggling season, talk to some one about it. Talk to your supervisor, other pastors in town, or people that you network with and have community with.

Don’t sit in your office and stress over it, but instead reach out to others who can encourage you and help.

Mentors. Do you have one?

Do you have someone who has gone through the same things as you? This is not just a teaching thing, this is a leader thing. Every good leader has to be mentored by someone with more time, experience, and wisdom.

November 16, 2012 in Challenging, Practical with 1 Comment

30 in 30: Set Very Broad Goals

While it would be foolish to set specific goals at this point in the game the first 30 days are a perfect time to set some broad goals that have to do more with culture and aren’t measurable.

Try and answer the following two questions:

What kind of church do I want to serve/lead?
What kind of church do others get excited about?

As you do make yourself avoid talking about numbers, worship/preaching styles, or “inside baseball” church structure talk.

Instead focus on culture and qualities. The culture is usually the first thing someone who goes to your church will say about it when talking honestly with their friends. Sadly too often the culture or feel they describe isn’t very complimentary.

Realize this has little to do with aesthetics, vernacular, and style and has everything to do passion, focus, and the energy that you and other leaders exhibit.

Whatever ministry you lead, in those first 30 days you have a somewhat blank state that you get to help form. In setting broad goals, communicating them to those around you, and finally by modeling them you get to set a very important tone.

To give you an example at two different churches I heard these two comments that were indicative of culture:

“That’s the country club church.”

“You can tell you plan things, but when something goes wrong I don’t think someone gets yelled at.”

November 13, 2012 in Challenging, Practical with 0 Comments

Monday Morning Quick Hits

Youth pastors have a unique view of Veteran’s Day.
Hosting a Rookie Pastor meetup in Indy on Thursday, join us if you are in the area. You’ll walk away with a book.
The election if we didn’t have universal suffrage.
Losing the Christian culture war. This is a positive folks.
D’antoni over Jackson, Phil asked for too much and Nash rejoices.
Gabe Lyons on the election.
Brian McLaren does thing.
Artie Davis on having a plan to develop leaders. It doesn’t just happen.
Social Media sites in a high school yearbook.
Created a private Twitter list to better manage the noise. A tribe without engagement is just a mob.
Already tired of Black Friday and Christmas shopping commercials.
An update from our buddy Matt Steen from Long Island. Still 150-200K without power.
Scot McKnight on Andy Stanley on preaching to a mixed audience.
Is your youth ministry in decline? Not sure if I agree with the conclusions here as to why.
Why Pastors leave, data and the real reasons.
Todd Rhoades with an appropriate rant.
Incredible flowchart on the realities of writing a book.
Church nomads become nominals become nones.

November 12, 2012 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments

Youth Ministry and Veteran’s Day

Growing up Veteran’s Day was an abstract concept.

Every veteran I knew was an older relative, deceased, or I didn’t see very often. I didn’t have an immediate name or face to associate with today. Those older relatives that I loved I didn’t know them as veterans it was removed from my life.

I was 18 when 9/11 happened and I had several classmates enlist as a result, but none that I knew all that well.

That changed about five years ago when I sat down with a student who was thinking about enlisting.

This was the kid that:
on the first trip left a trash can full of water outside in early January and dumped it on me as I showered the next morning
played drums in the student worship band
annoyed me from the back seat of the van
would randomly wear a gorilla suit
liked to laugh even when I wasn’t trying to be funny
thought deeply about his faith and his life

Then one day this kid is a man asking me what I thought about him enlisting and whether or not it would be a sin to kill someone in battle. One day we are playing Halo and the next we are talking Just War Theory.

Amos wasn’t the only student I saw volunteer to serve in the military, just the first. And when Tyler and Bryce did the same in subsequent years it was just as poignant and it makes days like today more real.

I’m praying for these “kids” and all the other former students serving.

November 11, 2012 in Encouraging with 1 Comment

The Only Time I Preached on Politics

This morning you are hearing all the typical and true cliches from those of faith who voted for Romney. Yes, God is still in control and we are citizens first of the Kingdom. However I was disappointed to see some of the reactions on social media. Reactions that showed fear, ignorance, and divisiveness.

Also on this morning those that voted for the President are declaring this to be a mandate. Like the last several elections this was pretty close, it was a clear win but we are still split; with a lot of people not even voting. Six billion dollars for basically the status quo.

I love voting and watching the results come in, and like many of you I followed everyone’s reactions on Facebook and Twitter and there were plenty of cringe moments.

A worship pastor tweeted that he could take his kids to the doctor and people jumped all over him questioning his parenting and lifestyle. Friends on Facebook talked about an end to freedom and secession.

Four years ago I saw this firsthand.

I was a youth pastor in a small town and on voting day it was pretty clear that Obama would be the next President. As I watched the results I started getting emails and phone calls from concerned parents. Their middle school students were coming home fearful of an Obama presidency.

November 7, 2012 in Challenging with 0 Comments

30 in 30: Take a Risk

One of the greatest things about the honeymoon period is that you have some freedom to get away with things. People’s optimism and your newness affords you the benefit of the doubt.

You need to take a risk because you can get away with it.

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