Tag: Church Family

Honoring your predecessors gives them the freedom to support you. Former pastors are flawed humans who may be unsure about how much of a difference they really made. Acknowledging the ways they have been used by God can give them greater freedom to celebrate how God is using you.

Research studies all seem to return to one major theme to explain the exodus of church members: a sense of some need not being filled. In other words, these members have ideas of what a local congregation should provide for them, and they leave because those provisions have not been met. But many times, probably more than we would like to believe, a church member leaves a local body because he or she has a sense of entitlement.

Water can do a lot of damage to rocks and roads as this view of Bourke’s Luck Pot Holes in South Africa reveals. Everyone knows what happens when you slam into a pothole. It could be the same when you encounter a pitfall in a new leadership position at a church. When a pastor moves to shepherd a new church, some unhealthy patterns may emerge, and some members may have unrealistic expectations of their new pastor. Charles suggests some ways to avoid the pitfalls and some questions to ask the church leaders to better shepherd the congregation.