When Pastor Mark McClintick resigned as pastor of the Community Bible Church (CBC) in January, he introduced the church elders to Mark Elliott, Heartland Church Network’s Associational Mission Strategist. Mark Elliott preached the first Sunday in February which was their first Sunday without Pastor McClintick. After the worship service, he met with the congregation for a question and answer time and to discuss next steps.

     Over the next several weeks, Mark met with the elders, who have served as the pastor search committee, for a series of training sessions. When the COVID pandemic hit, the final sessions moved on-line. Community Bible Church’s building is located four miles west of Crofton, NE with a population of 726. For those not familiar with the area Crofton is located just fifteen miles southwest of Yankton, SD. CBC is a healthy small church, but is not able to financially support a full-time pastor.

     Mark Elliott reached out to long-time colleague, Buck Hill, who has served Southern Baptists in the Dakotas for several decades. Through their conversation, Mark was introduced to and visited with Pastor Jeff Mueller of Restore Church in Yankton, a five year old church plant. Mark then visited with Pastor Mueller, who was serving bi-vocationally, about the possibility of working with CBC and the “option” of serving two bi-vocational churches. Hearing some openness to prayerfully consider it, Mark then visited with the elders of CBC. Obviously, it was not something the search committee had considered, but they were open to meeting with Pastor Mueller and discussing the options.

     To make a long story short, after multiple conversations, meetings, and times of prayer, the pastor search committee presented a proposal to the church on November 1 (see below) and on November 8th, Pastor Jeff came for a Q & A time after the morning service. During the next week search committee members visited with church members seeking to learn what concerns they may have as well as answer any and all questions. On Sunday the 15th the members voted unanimously (with one abstention) to approve the proposal.

The Proposal:
     Vision is what gives a local church purpose and both shapes and expresses its values. Our original purpose statement and our Mission and Core Values declare that Community Bible is about teaching the Bible, evangelism and having an impact on our communities. As we have prayerfully considered what should shape the church into the future we have embraced this vision: a thriving gospel-centered church that is intentionally serving the larger Crofton area and making disciples of Jesus Christ.

     Over the years both our church and our communities have changed. We have agreed that we intend to continue as a church. But we also would recognize that we are not realizing the vision and that change is needed.
We, the search committee of Community Bible, have spent much of this past year discussing, consulting, and praying in order to seek the best way for us to fulfill the vision.

This is our proposal:
     Close Community Bible Church and start a new church, Restore Crofton, with Jeff Mueller as pastor. We are grateful for the heritage of Community Bible Church. We have much to celebrate and give thanks for. Yet the church has come to a place where we in honesty are not realizing the vision. Seeking to call a new pastor and making changes to the current church by closing the church for two or three months, we will have opportunity to plan and prepare for the new launch. During this time we encourage our body to attend Restore Yankton and get better acquainted with that church family and the life and values we are embracing.

     An important aspect of the closing will be our communicating to the community that Community Bible is not gone, but rather that something new is coming. The launch of Restore Crofton will be well planned and publicized, shaped by our vision of reaching into the community to serve it and present the invitation of the gospel.

     Restore Crofton will be an autonomous church. It will be a new church with a new biblical foundation. We will have our own building, finances, and leadership. In ministry and outreach principles and practice we will be a sister church to Restore Yankton.
 
     We believe this is the best way for the vision of the church to be realized.
     Respectfully submitted,
     The Search Committee

Pray for Pastor Jeff Mueller, the leaders, and members as Community Bible Church makes the transformation to become Restore Crofton.

#vision #change

​I cannot read this verse without bemoaning the fact that we fail to bring the full impact of the Greek word translated “be transformed” into our English Bibles. We use the Greek word in the realm of science, but fail to bring its impactful meaning into the more important area of faith: μεταμορφοῦσθε (metamorphosis). The scope of the long-term transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly is almost impossible to comprehend. But the day-to-day changes are of a scope that is almost invisible to see.

     Changes related to scale will always be relative to your church’s size. Adding a new adult small group might mean doubling the number from one to two. A leap of faith for a small church might mean providing a community meal once a month. It might mean helping two or three children or youth afford to attend summer camp. For a larger church, it might mean moving from three to four worship services a week.  Or it could mean taking a step of faith and sponsoring a new church plant.
 
     The reality is that from time-to-time, God expects us to stretch ourselves. As Paul put it, “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:14). If the scope of the changes you are suggesting can be done in your own strength and without significant sacrifice or the fear of failure, your vision for change is too small. However, if you are in a situation where decline and despair prevail, then the scope of your changes need to be baby steps of faith.
 
      Let me suggest that God has brought YOU to a place of leadership in the church for such a time as this. He is leading us to make the right kind of changes (those that create a Christ-like metamorphosis), and we are in a day and time of deep cultural crisis where now is the time for us to be reaching up to reflect Christ instead of continuing to reflect our culture. I would encourage you and your church’s leadership to prayerfully discuss your disciple-making process. Is it yielding deep life-transforming metamorphosis or comfortable consumer Christians?

Yours in Christ,
Mark R. Elliott, DoM
Heartland Church Network
402-551-0608

      For several weeks I have been focusing on leading change in the church. I have emphasized how hard it is to make sure we are making the right change, and now I am in the midst of talking about doing it at the right time, and in future articles, I will talk about doing it the right way. But I heard something this past weekend that forces me to pause and remind us what God wants us to look like when we have made the right changes, at the right time, in the right way.
 
     This past weekend Calvary Baptist Church in Glenwood held its Second Annual mission emphasis, and one of their speakers is a missionary with our International Mission Board (IMB). By the way: Thank you Pastor Matt Rappley and Calvary for your ongoing support of missionaries and the way you live out the Acts 1:8 challenge. Because the IMB missionary and his family serve in what is called a Level III area (a country that does not grant missionary visas) I will not give his name in this article, but if you are interested in contacting him, ask and I will give you his prayer advocate’s e-mail address.
 
     In the region where he serves, God is moving mightily among people who have been hard to reach. The foundational principle missionaries and local pastors use provides a picture of what the Bible tells us that the church is supposed to be. Just a reminder, the New Testament word we translate into the English word church literally means “those whom God calls to serve Him.” Their principle is...

    Last week I continued a series on leading change in the church by pointing out that we need to make sure it is the right change, at the right time, and it is done in the right way. I went on to discuss the challenges we face in making the right changes. Today I want to address the timing issue.
 
     Much of the answer to the “when” question revolves around your prayer life and your personality. If you are the one leading the charge, then you need to have significant self-awareness regarding your propensity for change. If your personality lends itself to fire, ready, aim approach to change, then you already know your way ahead of your people. I shouldn’t have to tell you to slow down, but just in case you are still wondering: SLOW DOWN! You’ve got a lot of great ideas, and you want to get them ALL accomplished in the next few weeks; however, your people are probably already worn out as they have been trying to implement the ten new things you wanted them to do last month.
 
     Now I must confess that I’m using a little pastoral hyperbole, but I hope that in so doing, I have made my point. Have you taken the time to prioritize all the various changes you think need to be made? Have you considered the change tolerance of your church--how many changes can they handle in a given period of time? Have you stopped to consider who will be impacted the most by the changes you are considering?

​     Additional considerations for all of us when we are leading change can be gleaned from chapter three of Bridges’ book Managing Transitions. Here are the chapter headings:

 ​     At the other end of the spectrum of leadership personalities are those of us who are unwilling to make changes that we already know need to be made. Sometimes those of us with a special portion of compassion are very reluctant to make changes we know will hurt certain individuals. By focusing on what some might loose, we overlook the potential of what everyone else would gain through a needed change. We often overlook the reality that people who will be most impacted by a change sometimes are the very ones who already know that change is needed. There are a lot of people serving in the wrong place in our churches (round pegs in square holes), and they know they are not being effective. Help them find their “sweet spot,” and they, along with the church, will have a better chance of flourishing.
 
    Others of us are slow to make changes because we suffer from paralysis by over analysis. This can be driven by indecision or the inability to discern what changes are “the best.” Not all whom God calls into the leadership role of pastor have the gift of discernment. If you are one of them, there are multiple options for you. Find someone in your church who is a good strategic thinker and lean into their abilities. In your pastors’ network, specifically ask fellow pastors to help you talk through your options. Plus, you are surrounded by Great Commission Baptist (SBC) leaders who have years of experience. They are ready, willing, and able to help you individually or to assist your church in a consultation role. You are not alone!
 
      Ultimately the timing issue, “when is the right time to implement the right change,” is a matter of prayer. Our culture is so accustomed to change that we just “assume” the changes we are imagining are both right and ready for today. Is there a place in your leadership system where you take potential changes to influencers or to a leadership team within your church? When you do that are you looking for a rubber stamp or feedback? Do you take time to pray with them and to seek ongoing prayer for divine leadership? I guess what I am asking is, do you practice what James told us to do?

  Knowing who you are and who He is will give you great clarity in knowing when the right changes need to be implemented.
​
Yours in Christ,
Mark R. Elliott, DoM
Heartland Church Network
402-551-0608

      In the past two weeks, I have talked about change in the life of the local church. I pointed out the reality that pastors have to be better leaders than do leaders in other segments of life, and that the number one person a pastor must lead well is himself. This week I want us to remember that as we lead change in the church, we need to make sure it is the right change, at the right time, and it is done in the right way. This week I want to talk about the challenges we face in making the right changes.
     There are several things that make it hard to know what the right changes are. One is the reality that there are no two churches exactly alike! A church is a living organism-organization that is made up of unique people. There was a time in our nation’s history when being a Great Commission Baptist Church (GCB) could be clearly and uniformly described. Those days are long gone. Although we share a common theology, the churches in our own small part of GCB life that we call the Heartland Church Network are very diverse: we have large and small churches; new and old churches; urban, inner-city, small town, and rural churches; churches that worship in English, Spanish, Arabic (Neur and Bari), Zomi, Karen, Creole, Chinese, Korean, Russian / Ukrainian, and Nepalese; churches that are predominantly Africa-American and Native-American.
     Although principles transcend time and culture, the application of those principles can look very different from one culture to another. There was a time in GCB life that when a church found something that worked really, really well in their church, their pastor was hired by our Sunday School Board. He wrote a book or guidelines on how to do what he did in his church. Pastors and church leaders were trained on how to do that specific program. They ran the program. And if it was done well, it usually worked. Those days are long gone. This means that not only does a pastor have to be a better change agent, he also has to be a better strategic thinker. But this has to start with a strong prayer life. One that is hyper-sensitive to what is happening in the life of his church members (where is God leading them) and his community (what are the opportunities and needs).
     If that isn’t enough to frustrate you, let me point out that we live in a constant state of information overload. In simpler days, our problem was finding enough information to make an informed decision. Today we have to filter through the volumes of information that are available at our fingertips as we google the world’s answers. Everything you read is not relevant to your context. We even have to wade through disinformation as we sort out what is true as well as what is relevant. Not everything we read on the internet is true—no matter how fancy the web site! When I am searching, I will also find a lot of what I will call uninformed information. The number of bloggers is almost unlimited. Some of them know what they are talking about, but some are just suffering from undelivered speech. I also find non-critical thinkers telling you why their church is growing. These will be people who are in the midst of the forest and can’t see the forest for the trees; however, they are willing and they think they are able to tell you “all about the forest.”
     I will briefly mention a third complicating factor: the rate and level of change that is occurring in our culture. What might have been the right change in January 2020 suddenly became the wrong change in March. We had to be willing to pivot on a dime as we moved quickly into unchartered territory. No one had a map! Well, that’s not actually true. God has the map. Which brings me back to your prayer life.
     "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to  give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." –Jeremiah 29:11-13
     Bottom line: I strongly encourage every pastor to lead his church in times of focused prayer, seeking God’s leadership as we navigate uncharted waters. Having done that, I would encourage you to invite an experienced outside consultant, like your Associational Mission Strategist, to work with your leadership team to facilitate some simple, but revealing, strategic exercises. Then, with some options in hand, you can prayerfully and carefully begin to identify the right time and the right way—which we will look at in the next two weeks.

​Last week I wrote on the reality that pastors have to be better leaders than leaders in other segments of society. Today I want to point out that effective leaders, no matter where they are called to lead, must first learn to lead themselves or they will never lead others at a high level.
 
     One major area where pastors and other Christian leaders “should” have a significant advantage in is self-leadership. On a daily basis, God’s Spirit seeks to speak truth to our spirit. Unfortunately, pastors are no different than any other professing believer, because there are times when our actions or our failures to act will grieve or quench the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30 and I Thessalonians 5:19). However; when we are being filled by the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18), we become broken vessels that God can and does use in powerful ways. I will not labor the point by preaching to the preachers on this topic; however, I will say that unless we are in a truly accountable relationship with other pastors, we will become easily self-deceived. Let me use one of my Wyoming cowboy analogies at this point. Satan’s number one tool for making a pastor an ineffective leader is to cut him out of the herd. Once he has you trying to do your job on your own, the clock is ticking. It’s only a matter of time before a self-isolated pastor’s ministry will falter. Our culture is full of fallen and disgraced pastors who thought they could do it on their own.
 
     Another reality of self-leadership is that it takes time and prioritization. While I am busy trying to lead others, I can easily lose sight of the need to lead myself. We have to be able to hear our inner voice, and that of God’s Spirit, whispering to us over the cacophony and the cries of the world around us. Those of us who have a special portion of compassion (shepherds) are drawn to care for the hurting hoards that surround us. Those of us who are driven by the gift of evangelism are focused on the lost and dying in our midst. Those of us who are gifted in leadership will always be striving to make those around us better leaders. Those of us who are uniquely gifted in administration (overseers) will always be tweaking our organizational processes and the people who staff them so they can function more effectively. It is absolutely Biblical that we serve as God has uniquely gifted each of us (I Timothy 4:14). But, we must always be serving out of the overflow, mindful of the admonition in Psalm 46:10 to “be still, and know that I am God.” Lead yourself to frequent times of refreshment with Him.
 
     Speaking of time, we all know that trusted leaders are more effective leaders and unfortunately it takes time to build trust. The fact is that there are churches whose history requires a LOT OF TIME before a pastor can develop trust. I had a conversation yesterday with a church leader whose church is currently looking for a new pastor following the painful resignation of its last pastor. Our visit basically revolved around a lack of trust that exists between members and their current lay-leadership team. Knowing the church’s history, my only counsel was to be patient and prayerful because it will take time for trust to be reestablished.
 
     But it takes both time AND effective leadership. You cannot expect people to follow if you are not leading yourself well. Do you follow-through on what you say you will do? Scheduling a meeting and then not showing up communicates disrespect for others. Are you punctual with your appointments? Showing up late tells others that their time doesn’t matter. Do you do your homework before meetings and do you have a printed agenda for them? Stumbling and stammering your way through a meeting is a quick way to destroy leadership credibility. Trust can be destroyed in a minute.
 
     Bottom line! To effectively lead others we have to be a better leader of oneself. To lead ourselves better we must yield every minute to God’s leadership through His indwelling Holy Spirit.

Yours in Christ,
Mark R. Elliott, DoM

     When change is needed, a pastor has to be a better leader than leaders in most other segments of our culture for two reasons. In other sectors, a leader can, at the minimum, get people to accept the change because if they don’t the paychecks stop coming. On the other hand, a pastor is expected to motivate, equip, and deploy volunteers who can choose to walk away when they don’t like the change. Secondly, we live in a rapidly changing world in which COVID has forced even more changes. Everyone’s tolerance for change has been tested!
 
     What also makes leading change in the church harder is that most committed believers view their church as a haven of rest, a place of stability and security from a world rocked by chaos and change. So when changes are needed, and in today’s world every church has had to make significant changes, a pastor has to be able to clearly define current reality, communicate why change is needed, know how to identify what the right changes are, and be able to lead the adoption and implementation of those changes.
 
     From my experience, and I have had it confirmed by others who serve churches in a similar capacity, the majority of pastors use their gifts of shepherding, teaching, and preaching more than they do their gift of leadership. That reality shouldn’t surprise us when we stop and remember the majority of churches are single staff or bi-vocational, and the day-to-day pastoral care required is extremely fluid. Most churches end up reacting to the changes that are forced upon them rather than being proactive to identify needed change and implement it well.
 
     Because of the changes that engulf us, the need for thoughtful and prayerful leadership is greater today than it has been in decades. The early church had to navigate significant change. Acts 1:15-26 records a simple four-step process describing how the church replaced Judas as an apostle. First, they established specific criteria (21-22). Second, they identified their top two candidates (23). Third, they had a time of focused prayer (24-25). Finally, they used a culturally accepted selection process (26). We see a similar process used in Acts 6:1-7 when the church made major changes to their ministry to widows. First, they defined their new reality—the church was growing, there were unmet needs, and the current leadership structure was not adequate (1-2). Then they defined the criteria for the new ministry role and clarified the ongoing role of the apostles (3-4). They received consensus from the church (5a). Fourth, they identified men who met the criteria (5b-6a). They had a season of prayer to seek God’s face (6b). Finally, there was a formal recognition of those selected through the laying on of hands (6c).
 
     Processes are available, but how can a pastor and church in a chaotic and busy 2020 world find time to define reality, identify what needs to change, brainstorm options, determine the best choices, and implement the needed change? Well, I’m delighted to share with you a resource I encountered a few weeks ago. It is the book Where Do We Go from Here? Strategic Planning for the Smaller Church by Dr. Leo A. Endel. I even used it Saturday with one of our language churches. Dr. Endel is a long-time friend, and the book lays out a simple process that with minimal coaching any pastor could use to lead a one-day strategy training event.
 
     Heartland Church Network has purchased several copies, and if you are interested, I would love to get you a copy. I am also willing to coach you as you use it in your church. Give me a call, send me a text, or drop me an e-mail and I will get you a copy. After you’ve read it, give me a call, and we can talk through the process. Take time to lead in a prayerful and proactive manner without having to use a painfully long and often unproductive process.

Yours in Christ,
Mark R. Elliott, DoM

     Listening to the radio on my commute this morning, the on-air personalities discussed a survey on current causes of anxiety. They concluded that our inability to control what is going on around us was THE source of human anxiety. As I look at my own life and visit with pastors and church leaders, I sense a lot of anxiety as we are living in turbulent and unprecedented times. Things are “not normal” and from day-to-day we must make decisions based on new circumstances and new information—things seem to be spinning out of control. 
 
     If their assumption about the source of anxiety is true, and I think it hits the heart of human anxiety, then the key question is, “What do we actually control in our world?” For most of us, if we were really honest, it is a very short list. As human beings, we struggle to even control our own passions, let alone have the power to control what’s happening in someone else’s life or the events occurring around us.
 
     So the critical question really is, “How can I find the power to move my own heart from anxiety to peace?” As professing Christians, our first question is what does the Bible tells us about anxiety? Most of us are familiar with the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:25-34). In it Jesus tells us to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” In other words, we are empowered when God is THE priority in our daily life. The question then becomes, “What does our calendar and check book tell us about how high God is on our priority list?” The lower He is on our priority list the HIGHER our anxiety in life will be.
 
     Paul’s words in Philippians 4:6-7 are often quoted in times of stress. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Many Christians can quote these verses, but how often do the words alone bring peace? Paul is suggesting that we are empowered when prayer is a regularly practiced spiritual discipline in our life. The Bible teaches us that rote memorized prayers and meaningless recitation of Bible verses is not what God is seeking in our prayer life. “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)
 
     In the upper room the night before Jesus went to the cross, He told His disciples “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Jesus mentions two variables for finding peace. One is that we admit tribulations are a normal part of life. The other is that God is the source of peace, because He has overcome the chaos of the world. Before making this statement to His disciples, Jesus had repeated multiple times two specific themes: as we are going, God will empower us with the Holy Spirit (John 14:15-18 & 2-28, 15:26-27; 16:5-15) and God answers our prayers (John 14:13, 15:7 & 16, 16:23). So, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit that dwells within us and we are empowered by the knowledge that God hears and answers our prayers. Anxiety resides within us when we are listening to the spirit of our fleshly nature, and are denying the power of prayer.
 
     Now comes the moment of honesty and confession. Even knowing all this to be true, there are still moments, and some times days and weeks, when anxiety resides in our hearts. In those “moments,” we need to humble ourselves like the father of the epileptic son did when he cried out “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24) We also need to lean on one another and seek the encouragement and/or exhortation of a brother or sister in Christ who can help us through those difficult moments.  James tells us to confess our trespasses to one another, and to pray for one another, because the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous friend will avail much (5:16). We are empowered by the prayers of our friends when we confess our faults and failures.
 
     We can’t control much in life, but we can choose to do the things that can truly empower us.