PASTORS E-NEWSLETTER
MAY 2010
Hi fellow Pastors!
This is the second edition of our regular E-Newsletter that the MSD Ministry Team will be sending out to you each month as an additional measure to keep in touch with you on a regular basis. We welcome those of you who may not have received the first newsletter last month. [A copy can be found on the MSD website www.msd.org.au.] We have updated the email list of pastors and have included all our retirees to keep you in the loop plus others whose details weren’t already on our email listing. A special welcome is extended to those of you ministering overseas. We trust this newsletter may keep you up-to-date with some of what is happening back home.
STAGES of the PASTORAL LIFE CYCLE
In the same way as marriages, human life and organizations tend to go through seasons or stages, so too pastoral leadership ministry across a pastor’s life span can be generalized into stages. One of the challenges for pastors is that across these areas of marriage, life, and organization (church), as well as their own stages across the ministry life cycle, is that stages don’t line up.
Shooting the Rapids: The cycles of pastoral ministry is one article that looks at this issue of pastors facing the pressure of being in various formative stages of the ministerial life cycle. It can be accessed at http://www.faithandleadership.com/content/shooting-the-rapids-the-cycles-pastoral-ministry and we recommend it to you for consideration. Another article, A Systems and Developmental Perspective on the Seasons of Pastoral Life and Ministry also looks at the competing stages of a pastor’s ministry, life, marriage and organizational cycles and can be found either on www.msd.org.au/resources or at www.psalmats.org/forum/headley.pdf.
Reflecting on this at a personal level, at the time I first entered pastoral ministry in the 1970’s, when most of our churches were homogenous, the average length of service by many pastors in any given church was 3-4 years (with church secretaries often being 30-35 years). Much has changed over the last 35 years. In a day where our churches are far more contextual and therefore quite diverse, pastors usually stay longer, but don’t always finish well. MSD has noticed that today many pastors stay for an average of 8-10 years (with secretaries and treasurers often 3-4 years) but seem to hit a flat or stale period around this time. There is also a high level of withdrawing from ministry around this period. These observations seem to support the issues raised in the above articles.
While we think there may be a number of reasons contributing to this, one significant factor could be related to the biblical principle of the sabbatical. MSD is exploring this issue as it relates to the pastoral life cycle and whether we might develop recommendations to churches about pastors taking planned, intentional sabbaticals. This would be an opportunity to reflect, be refreshed and renewed in one’s relationship with God and His vision for you and the church. This would also require us to consider ways to support churches while pastors are on sabbatical. We will keep you up-to-date on our thinking but would welcome any comments or suggestions you would like to offer.
COACHING and MENTORING SEMINAR
A training seminar day for those who would consider becoming healthy coaches or mentors of others will be held at the Baptist Ministry Centre Epping on Saturday May 15. This Foundations for Coaching and Mentoring is about helping others to define their vision, clarify their goals and identify action plans. This stand-alone seminar introduces you to the basic skills and resources in the GROW coaching model.
The seminar day will also be a launch pad into a six-month training process. Successful completion of this course will result in Coaching Accreditation with the Baptist Union. This MSD initiative is one way of investing in the growth and development of future pastors and leaders as well as your own life. [Further details and registration can be found on www.msd.org.au/resources.]
PASTORS and SPOUSES ANNUAL DINNER
Due to the very positive response to last year’s inaugural Pastors and Spouses Dinner at Revive, MSD is going to hold this as an annual event. This year it will be held at Tradies Caringbah on Friday evening September 17 as part of the Baptist Churches Annual Conference. Our guest speaker will be Rev Allan Demond from NewHope Church, Victoria. Currently we are seeking sponsorship to assist rural pastors and spouses as well as those with limited incomes. Places are limited so be quick to register when bookings are open. Booking forms will be available in next month’s newsletter.
INSPIRATIONAL LEADERSHIP VIDEOS
Gymea Baptist will be releasing a new set of short videos online from June 1. Entitled Inspirational Leadership these resources are intended to encourage local church leaders and their leadership teams. Each video is around 2 minutes in length and a new one will be released every three weeks for the next couple of years. They will be recorded as short series and the first series Leadership as Creating Space will begin from June 1 with 7 videos in the series. Why not get a feel for the content and style of the videos at www.olivetreemedia.com.au/InspirationalLeadership.aspx. Each video will also be released on a youtube site.
You are able to sign up for these videos for free and receive the regular releases or youtube copies. They are designed to build the leadership of Australian Churches by providing a short thought to use with your leaders to stretch their thinking. [Visit www.msd.org.au/resources for details of a press release.] Karl Faase plans to distribute the video clips to all their leaders at Gymea as a way of giving them regular encouragement and stretching their leadership thinking.
DIRECTIONS 2012 CONSULTATION DAY
MSD strongly encourages all our pastors to engage in the consultation day to be held on Saturday July 10 at the University of Western Sydney (Parramatta campus) to discuss the taskforce reports on Directions 2012. This will be a significant day for our movement of churches as we consider the future shape and direction of the denomination. Even though we haven’t yet seen what recommendations are likely to be made, we anticipate that these will suggest a major shift in how we operate as a family of churches so that we might advance the work of the Gospel into the 21st century. While no decision-making will occur on this day, it is an opportunity to listen and to speak into that future. [Further details and registration form can be found on www.msd.org.au/resources.
FINANCIAL PLANNING for PASTORS
In partnership with Christian Super, MSD is hosting a seminar day on financial planning for pastors. Entitled Pastors’ Financial Boot Camp the seminar day will be held at the Baptist Ministry Centre, Epping on Friday September 3. We encourage you to put the date in your diary. We have arranged for a number of presenters who will cover such topics as ‘Financial Markets update’, ‘Key Issues impacting Ministers’, ‘Practical Financial Tools for Pastors’, and ‘Living with Financial Freedom’. Further details will be available in future editions of this e-newsletter.
ACCREDITATION CANDIDATES
At this year’s Baptist Churches Annual Conference, there will be 10 persons who are to be accredited as Baptist Ministers. How about introducing yourself and welcoming them as colleagues? Encourage them as they commit to serving alongside in ministry. They have already made significant sacrifices to get to this point. These accreditands are: Josh Carmichael (Associate at Chester Hill), Wilson Fong (Chinese and Australian Baptist Church, West Ryde), Chris Hall (Associate at Merrylands), Matthew LeClaire (Associate at Parkside), Johan Linder (soon to be inducted as National Director of OMF), Des Ong (Pastor at NewHope, Kellyville), Gary Pope (Associate at Berry), Dale Skewes (Pastor at Junee), Lucas Uhlman (Pastor at Bega) and Grant Watts (Mayfield).
May you be richly blessed in your own ministry service and be a blessing to others
Ken Clendinning
Director of MSD
kclendinning@baptistnsw.asn.au
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