by Nate Howard
Do a Google search for the “secret sauce” in ministry and you’ll find articles on the secret sauce to Billy Graham, to powerful and effective disciple-making, to leadership, youth ministry, KidMin, and even commuter college ministry.
Perhaps pastors and ministry leaders in general are drawn to discover the secret sauce because many feel more than a bit of pressure to find a fix for what ails their church. Different congregations may use different names to describe what their pastor better get done; call it revival, church growth, reaching the lost, building the church, etc., but the pressure feels the same. As a result, many are the “fixes” we sometimes latch onto in hopes of addressing the colossal needs in God’s church…
How can we position ourselves to lead the church well?
Change your church’s name. Improve your social media presence. Update your mission/vision/value statements. Purchase a video wall. Renovate your lobby. Serve better coffee. Start small groups. Find a new worship leader. Enhance the online experience. Invest in mass mailings. Shake up your children’s/youth ministry.
The list goes on. Too often, our fixes mistakenly focus on the three “Bs” — buildings, bucks and bodies. And just in case you are unsure about the secret sauce, there are countless books and blogs, along with conferences and coaching opportunities to fill you in on the latest.
The reality is, pastors don’t typically get away from the clamor calling for change in their church. We hear it from our denominational leaders (including me), from our unchurched acquaintances, from our fellow pastors, from our church board members … and perhaps the voice we hear it loudest from is in our own head.
Swayed by the noise, it’s easy to swing our pendulum between two polarized tendencies: fix it or forget it. We may, for a while, drive harder to find solutions. We tackle what’s wrong. We up our “game.” We overcompensate. With time though, if we can’t produce the results we desire, the pendulum swings. We might pull back, settle in, maybe give up or give in to how things are.
In a world of noise, Jesus calls us to a place of freedom, rooted in Gospel faith which empowers us to love well. We don’t have to live swinging on the pendulum of fix it or forget it. Here’s how I would describe some of the tensions that exist as we pursue freedom:
Jesus calls us to lead with excellence, but we will never “arrive.” So, if we intend to love and follow Jesus, change is inevitable.
There are no quick-fix solutions for long-term church stuckness. Embrace the moment; forget the secret sauce.
The swing of the pendulum either way is often a symptom of a lack of freedom and reveals an otherwise hidden misplaced faith.
The greatest single need in the life of a person in ministry is personal freedom, rooted in the Gospel, for the sake of love.
The challenge we face in ministry is huge. How do we position ourselves to lead well?
Enter … the personal development area.
Let me be clear, signing up for a track in the personal development area is not the secret sauce to ministry effectiveness. At best, it’s simply a healthy environment that many pastors long for and all pastors need. It’s a safe, supportive community to help you courageously explore what has tended to shape you and your leadership. It’s the encouragement to look again at the many distortions we have of the God we serve. Too often we serve out of fear, obligation and guilt rather than joy and love. It’s a place where we grow in freedom to face the leadership challenges that church ministry brings.
The personal development area is one of six areas of focus in our district’s mission to “develop kingdom workers for increasing Gospel impact.” At District Conference, we have the opportunity to explore this more as we focus on “The Gospel for All of Life.” For more about District Conference or to register for it, please visit www.epdalliance.org/dc20.