ken castor

#1 obstacle to raising up younger leaders

One of the most interesting discoveries in my dissertation work is the emergence of obstacles that inhibit youth and young adults from being given leadership in a local church or ministry setting.  By far, the most prominent obstacle has to do with possessive leadership.  In other words, there are circumstances where people who currently hold positions of influence struggle to relinquish their control to others.

For my study, I interviewed 25 leaders from 15 different congregations throughout North America that have been successful in raising up next generation leaders.  When asked to identify what obstacles hinder the development of younger leaders, 13 of the 15 churches suggested that people in power who seize possession of leadership created the greatest obstacle.  Of the 583 transcribed lines from the interviews which focused on "Generational Transference Obstacles" 278 of those lines specified "possessive leadership."   In other words, 48% of the discussions about obstacles to raising up younger leaders was spent on this particular issue.  Some of the interview participants highlighted issues of distrust and control and fear in a top-down hierarchy while others highlighted the lack of opportunity for advancement of personal goals within an organization. 

One older leader expressed in his interview, "I think we do need to do that; raise up a whole new generation of leaders.  But it’s not going to happen if we’re holding on to the reigns."   Another older leader reflected on the experience of his own church, saying that "for a period of time there was that ceiling, there was such a strong group of leaders in place that to actually break into leadership was hard...  And we lost a generation that couldn’t break through at the time and now it’s hard."

Each of these thirteen churches suggested that there exists a temptation for current leaders to seize control of a sense of entitlement rather than help foster an environment that releases younger people to take ownership of leading.  Another older leader identified possessive leadership as the key issue that could derail the forward movement of their church in the years ahead.  He said, "That's a big challenge isn't it?  Not just to have an older generation relinquish ownership of ministry but to give it over and allow a younger generation to do it a little differently."  That same leader suggested that "there is a sense that when someone has been in a particular ministry for a long time, there is a real sense of ownership that can come there.  So it is difficult for them to accept help or to see the value in them passing that along." 

One leader suggested that the only true foundation for dealing with the struggle of possessive leadership is to remember who is actually the head of the Church.  "Our Western default in the church is to build fences," this leader stated, "and we build them generationally.  We want control."  Ultimately, however, leaders of churches are to remember that God is control of his church.  So, this leader continued, "we're going to trust that the Spirit is the one who leads," this leader stated.  "[We're going to trust] that Jesus builds His church and we don't have to control all of it, and there's a great freedom that comes from that." 

How does changing our mindset concerning "who is in control" change how we lead and raise up others to lead?

the power of active listening

  I'm thick into a new leadership training program called CoachNet where I'm learning how to help others draw out their God-given potential and purpose.  It's a very "other" centered way of leading and, I have to say, it's very refreshing for my soul.  Coaching, according to the scope of CoachNet, is all about enabling others to identify and articulate what goals are most important for them and what it is that they need to do in order to accomplish those goals.  And the refreshing aspect is that I don't need to tell them what the answers are, but, rather, I am supposed to help them discover those answers for themselves.  As the coach, I don't come at someone as the expert, but as one who considers them the expert of their own life and who believes that they have within themselves the ability to pursue what they've been created to pursue.

Through this training, I'm learning the power of active listening.  In other words, the coach asks a "coachee" open-ended questions coupled with sincere ears.  The coachee, in return, goes through a process of reflecting and reviewing, all-the-while, moving towards deeper discovery and articulating more-meaningful action plans for their life.

As I've practiced being the coachee and now as I begin practicing being a coach (in training), I can't believe I've spent 19 years in pastoral ministry without deliberately utilizing these simple principles.  On many levels, this is the basis of how I've always approached people.  But I think I would have been even more effective in the thousands of life-changing conversations I've had with others if I had more intentionally exercised "active listening."

remembering the essentials

 

It is never a bad thing for a pastor to be reminded of some very solid principles that would have been useful to know the first few years of launching into a life of "ministry".  From time to time I pick up Doug Field's book, Your First Two Years in Youth Ministry (Zondervan, 2002), in order to remember again many of the time-tested truths of being a "lifer" in the roller-coaster world of pastoral careers.  Here are Doug's Top Ten Youth Ministry Commitments  that he suggests as essentials to starting well and, actually, are the foundation to continuing well on the journey:

1. I will move slowly.

2. I will regularly check my motives and evaluate my heart.

3. I will steer clear of the numbers game.

4. I will not criticize the past.

5. I will avoid the comparison trap.

6. I will focus on priorities.

7. I will pace myself.

8. I will serve.

9. I will be a learner.

10. I will pursue contentment.

mama, don't let your babies grow up to be pastors

All I could think about during this video was my poor wife. I'm sorry for the life I've caused you!!! :)

A church led by the leaders. Huh. Interesting idea.

I'm including another snippet from one of my research-interviews this summer that I will be unable to use fully in my thesis, but it's just too interesting to leave any bit of it on the cutting room floor.  This section of our conversation steered a bit from our focus (on handing over leadership to the next generation within a local church) and, for a moment at least, the topic moved to church governance.  Many churches, and certainly most Baptist churches, are supposed to be led by the congregation according to their constitutions.  The pastor of this interview suggests that a church should be instead led by the leaders.  He's got an interesting take on things that I thought some of you might find encouraging, enlightening or at least intriguing.  Let's jump in around the 25 minute mark of the interview:

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Me: How do the Elders fit into all this?

Pastor: They are key players.  That’s one of the key things for us is to try to take more of a…, you know, in the past the Elders carried a lot of the responsibilities around here.  But we’re trying to take more of the business side of the church.  So we’re trying to streamline what they’re role is and put the details in the hands of the staff so that they can be leading small groups and be a part of shepherding.  We need them shepherding small groups more than we need them making business decisions for the church.  That’s what we’re trying to do.  Right now we meet every other week with our Elders.  We’re hoping we can get it to where we meet once a month.  Because that’s what I want.  I want them… all of them but one right now are leading a small group.  That’s really crucial for us.   If they’re here all the time for Elder Board meetings then it’s hard for them to spend the time in ministry.  Another key phrase for us is “fewer and finer commitments.”  That’s key for us.  You know, are we making disciples?  Are we developing leaders?  Call it what you want, but leadership development is discipleship.  If our Elders are too busy with meetings that they can’t mentor and be involved in discipleship then what are we thinking.

Me: So it doesn’t sound like you can be attending here very long without having that permeate?

Pastor: Absolutely.  That’s all part of our DNA that’s a part of our membership process.  And, you know, some people have left our church because they don’t like that.  They just want a nice little country church that they can go to.  Well, I’m probably saying that a little bit more harshly than it needs to be said.  But when I came they asked me to lead; they needed someone to lead them.  They hadn’t been led effectively, so I’m doing what they asked me to do.

Me: You would say the call to commitment is high?

Pastor: Yeah, but I mean that its not like we have shut down a whole lot of ministries but for me it’s always the issue that if the leaders are burnt out then I will shut down a ministry.  Some people are like “well, we’re consumers and you have to provide this for us.”  And they don’t care if the leaders are burning out or not, they just want what they want.  But our leaders are going to determine what’s being run.  It’s like a football game, the people in the stands aren’t calling the plays.  And so if people want to have influence on decisions that are being made then you have to be part of the team.  Not just an audience out there.  So we’ve had some that have felt like they had an attitude and we said, “Hey, we want you to come here but don’t mess with our church, this is our church.”  And we’re going to be doing things our way.  And we’ve had a really lengthy discussion with our Elders, really healthy discussion asking if this is going to be a representative government and have us going to the people and doing surveys in order to make them happy or are we going to be a leadership government that says what is it that is on God’s heart for this church, what are we going to lead these people to do?  And that’s a big difference.  I would say in the past it was very much a representative government where we would let the people do what they wanted to do as long as they were happy.  But that’s not what God has put on my heart.  A lot of the churches... do it that way, but that’s not what I believe when I look at the Scriptures.  Jesus led, and people left!  You look at John five and six, you know, where they walked.  They didn’t want it.  He was talking about drinking blood and eating flesh and they didn’t want to be a part of that.  And Jesus looked to the twelve and said, Hey are you going to leave to?  And that’s when Peter stepped up and said, Hey where are we going to go, you’ve got the words of eternal life.  So you know, we’ve just tried to set an agenda saying that we believe God wants us to be a disciple making church.  So what I’m saying is that we invite everybody to come along, the door is wide open.  We have vision nights, we have leaders meetings.  I’ve got nothing hide and nothing to prove, but not everybody wants that.  And so for some people, they’ve just said, and it hurts, you don’t want anybody to leave.  But I’d say, you know, we’re pretty much through that process.  I mean anytime you come into  church you’re going to experience some of that.

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A Long Obedience in the Same Direction~ Eugene Peterson

I'm a bit stunned this morning that I have never yet included a "readings" review of a Eugene Peterson book.  His writings and teachings have shaped me profoundly as a pastor and as a theologian.  At Regent College, I was privileged to take 3 courses with him and to have him as our small group host for two years- while he was working on the Old Testament translations for The Message.  My favorite book of his is Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places.  Most impacting is the pastoral series beginning with Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work.  So, you can see, I'm a bit surprised that I have never yet offered a review of any of his works.  I'm correcting that omission today.

In light of some (more) recent pastoral scandals in North America, I picked up a book that every pastor should read.  Eugene Peterson's A Long Obedience in the Same Direction (IVP).  It was first published in 1980 while Peterson was pastoring in Maryland, prior to his days of fame as the translator of The Message.  He was still just tinkering with translations back then... and I was just coming to know Jesus as an eight-year old kid in Indiana.

The title and theme is based upon a quote from Friedrich Nietzsche: "The essential think 'in heaven and earth' is... that there should be a long obedience in the same direction; there thereby results, and has always resulted in the long run, something which has made life worth living."

Peterson launches from this quote into a study of the life-patter of successive Psalms (120-134) that enable us to live in obedience to God for the length of our days.  The book is about traveling the long road of true discipleship; following Jesus persistently and passionately.  The book recognizes the subtle temptations that lure many people off of the road and offers a map and an alignment that, if used, will keep us free from stumbling.

One conviction that under-girds the book, Peterson notes in the 20th anniversary edition, is this: "That everything in the gospel is livable and that my pastoral task was to get it lived." (201)  In this conviction, Peterson learned that this was "going to take some time" so he "settled in for the long haul." (202)   The second under-girding conviction is this: "Scripture and Prayer."  This conviction works our practically by recognizing that a person is "neither capable nor competent to form Christ in another person, to shape a life discipleship in a man, woman or child.  That is supernatural work," Peterson notes, "and I am not supernatural.  Mine was a more modest work of Scripture and prayer- helping people listen to God speak to them from the Scriptures and then joining them in answering God as personally and honestly as we could in lives of prayer."  Peterson recalls that "this turned out to be slow work" and in his impatience he would often get in the way of the Holy Spirit. (202)

an appetite for destruction... or the world of grace?

"A person has to get fed up with the ways of the world before he, before she, acquires an appetite for the world of grace."  - Eugene Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, p.25

Another pastor has been caught in a prostitution scandal.  And I'm ready for another one to be caught tomorrow.  My profession is no longer equated with morality or trustworthiness.  "Slimey" is how one person recently described "pastors".  I know many people who have had more pastors who failed to be faithful than who actually lived what they preached. 

I actually hesitated this week to help with something in our community because I thought the other people involved might not trust a pastor among them.  Sad.  My title might actually be creating a barrier to the Gospel these days.  Something has to change!

Most pastors, I believe, entered into their "careers" out of a passionate calling from God, or at least a passionate devotion to God and others.  But after some time, the passion can wear off, for numerous reasons.  Their initial passion for God and their congregation can wane against the constant barrage of pressures in the ministry.  And passionate people who lose their first love are seriously apt to seek the love of another, even if it is contrary to their belief and vision for life.  And thus, another pastor gets caught in a sex scandal. 

Until pastors get sick of sick stuff, I'm not sure they'll acquire an appetite for the world of grace.

here

Is God here for us?  Or are we here for God?

In 1 Samuel chapter 4 the Israelites go into battle assuming God is there for them.  In two battles, 34000 Israelites are slaughtered.   Oops.  God wasn't with them.  The high priest, upon hearing the news, falls backwards in his chair, breaks his neck and dies.  Upon hearing the news, the high priest's daughter-in-law panics into labor and dies during the birthing.  She named her child "Ichabod" - which literally means "no glory".  The glory of God was not there for them.

What's so gripping in that account is the role the Ark of the Covenant plays.  Yes- that's the same Ark that Indiana Jones discovers.  The Ark is where God chose to place some of his Presence so that Israel would know that He was with them.  But after some time, rather than the Presence of the Lord being worshiped, the Ark became the object of religious faith.  If we have the Ark, the people began to think, then we have God.  If we possess the Ark, then we possess God.  If we take the Ark with us, then God will go where we want Him to go.  The idea became that because they had the object, because they had the religion, then they must also have the Presence of God.  But during the battles, the Ark is captured by the enemies.  The presence of the Ark did not help the Israelites.  They assumed because they had the Ark, they could not be defeated. 

Oops.  Don't assume.  Don't assume that just because God has done great things in the past that he will do your bidding now.  Don't assume that just because God has been present that he will be present in your desires and actions now.  Don't assume that your arrogance and selfishness and pride won't have any impact on God's Presence with you.  Don't assume that your sin will not have any adverse effect on God's protection of you.  Don't assume that God is here for you.  He has come for your sake, yes.  But that doesn't mean you are saved.

We must first accept one powerful reality.  We are here for God. 

Chapter 3 of 1 Samuel was all about the boy Samuel saying to God, "Here I am, Lord."  How differently would things have gone in Chapter 4 if the people had been seeking after the Lord rather than seeking to have the Lord be after them.

lead the process not the people

R. Paul Stevens and Phil Collins (no, not the pop singer) wrote a cool little leadership book for pastor about 15 years ago called The Equipping Pastor.  Here's a great quote from this ahead of it's time resource:

"Lead the Process Not the People - The way in which the equipper engages the culture, makes decisions, and makes changes is more important than the specific achievements accomplished.  Leading the process involves envisioning, defining one's own convictions, and dreams.  Changes must be made systematically and not merely organizationally.  In one sense this is leading the people, but the ultimate leader of the people is Christ.  Our job as equipping leaders is to facilitate the process of Head-body connection and help people find their source in Christ, not in the official leadership of the church."

-Stevens, R. Paul and Phil Collins, The Equipping Pastor: A Systems Approach to Congregational Leadership (Alban Institute, 1993), 128.  To order this book: The Equipping Pastor: A Systems Approach to Congregational Leadership

faith influencers

For some reason this morning I've been reminiscing about some people who have influenced my walk with Jesus in powerfully good ways.  One of these was Rick Hawks, the pastor at my church way back in the late 1980's- you know, when U2 was cool... oh wait... they still are. Anyways, Rick let me shadow him on the job for a day while I was in high school.  We sat in his office and talked about the ins and outs of ministry- I can't remember any of his great insight though, we had lunch with the church staff, we took food to a struggling family in a run-down apartment and prayed with them, we sat in his office while he studied for his sermon and wrote down a journal of my experiences- a journal that has since disappeared, and we prayed together that people would know Jesus through our actions.  For me, it was a huge day... life changing.