Current Blessing Magazine
A Publication of Gospel Crusade Ministerial Fellowship

A letter to Leaders

The premise of leading the church is certainly difficult to wrap our brain around.  How do we lead an organism like the church? While it is a very daunting task, leadership is vitally important and desperately needed in the church today, and statistics will bear that out.  In his book “Leading Turnaround Churches,” Gene Wood complied a number of facts about the Church today:

 Fact #1: The church by in large is not effectively reaching its community:

• Protestant denominations have declined 9.5% while population has increased 11.4%.
• We close 72 churches a week in the US…10 churches a day.
• 85%  of the churches in the US are on a plateau or declining.
• Of the 350,000+ churches, Barna reports 60,000 fail to have a single convert per year.

 Fact #2: Everything rises and falls on leadership.

Strong pastoral leadership is the key. Without vision and guidance, even great churches can and will become stagnant and decline.

 Fact #3: Pastors are crumbling:

• 1300 pastors are forcibly terminated each month without just cause.
• If a church once fires a pastor, there is a 70% chance it will also happen again.
• 30% of pastors have been fired at least once.
• 67% of pastor’s wives are dissatisfied with their marriage.
• 75% of pastors spend less than one evening a week with family and friends.
• Clergy divorce has risen 65% in last 20 years.
• 50% of seminary grads leave ministry in 5 years.
• 70% of pastors say they do not have a close friend.
• 71% of pastors are in financial trouble.
• Each month 1200 pastors leave the ministry due to stress, burnout and church related issues.
• Burnout is at an all time high -- 50% of today's pastors will not retire a pastor.

 In addition to these statistics, the average tenure for a senior pastor in the US is about 48 months, and that is up from 36 months a mere 5 years ago. The average tenure of a youth pastor is 18-24 months.

 Now you might say, “Well those are interesting statistics, but that won’t happen in my church.”  Maybe you are right, but the statistics are real and if your church doesn’t seem to fall into this group, you will certainly feel the effects in the pastoral circles in which you move.

 For the most part, church as we know it is a far cry from the model that we have in Acts Chapter 2.  I am not simply talking about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, but rather the purposes that are established in Acts 2:42-47.  The Purposes of the church are: Fellowship, Discipleship, Ministry or Service, Prayer and Evangelism. When we see this as a complete picture of worship to our God, we are prepared to advance His Kingdom here on earth.  This advance, however, takes leadership -- a leader who is willing to seek a vision for the future of the church and move that vision forward, even when there is a price to pay.

 Paul says that the teachers should teach, and the servers should serve, and the leaders should “govern with all diligence” (Romans 12:6-8).  Paul isn’t talking about politics or simply leading in the public arena; I believe he is talking to “the Church”.

 As we look at the statistics, one can see that it is time to change what we are doing. It is time to lead our congregations to make an impact in our communities. We need to stop “doing church,” and become the church.  Discipleship and evangelism are not options.  Jesus never called his disciples to accept Him, He called them to follow Him.  He didn’t call His followers to live a nice comfy life, but rather to lay down lives for the sake of the Kingdom and then He will bless them out of His abundance (Matt 6:33-34).

 In Romans 12, leaders are encouraged to lead with all diligence.  Why lead with diligence?  The answer is pretty simple: because opposition will come.  Opposition often sounds something like “but we have never done it that way!”, or “but that isn’t who we are,”, or “did God really say…?”  Perhaps you have heard these statements and at times they’ve had validity.  The truth is, church as we know it isn’t working. It is time that the church stands up and becomes all that God has intended, by laying down our lives for the Kingdom. It will take strong leadership for that to happen.

 The question for me is “Did Jesus give His life so the church could look like this?”  It is time that we look around at a world that is going to hell and equip the church to advance the Kingdom of God.  Not by some quick evangelistic show, but rather by looking at the model of discipleship that we see in Scripture. This includes truly loving selflessly, giving until it hurts, opening our homes, and ministering to the needs of those around us.  Leaders need to change the church paradigm.  

 Be assured, there will be opposition.  Moses had opposition, something about going back to Egypt.  David had opposition, a jealous King by the name of Saul.  Jesus faced opposition from the religious leaders of His day.  What about us? Do we think we will escape opposition?  Never.

 Depending on the structure of the church in which you serve, real leadership may cost you your job. Lead with Diligence.  Depending on the makeup of your congregation, you may lose people. Lead with diligence.  In the short term you may lose favor with people. Lead with diligence.

 We are living in a nation that is predominantly not Christian.  If we as leaders do not equip the church, and do not lead others in truly following Christ we will see continued ineffectiveness.  It is time to lead churches with purpose.  It is time to lead churches that are relevant, churches that bring transformation.

 It is time to lead.

By Tim Rice

Tim Rice is pastor of Christian Fellowship Church in Detroit Lake Minnesota.