ShaneGarrison.org

So what do you believe about the end times?

(Author Disclaimer:  Be aware the author is not looking for a ministry position, only commenting on the overall process of ministry selection and placement.)

I have been hired/called by 4 different churches.  The process was different at each church.

As a ministry professor, I am constantly working with my graduating students on how to get their names out to searching churches, how to prepare ministry resumes and the benefits of denominational networking.

A church I am very familiar with has been looking for a pastor for over a year now and haven’t found any prospects.

As autonomous SBC churches, I am wondering if we connecting churches and leaders incorrectly.  I can say with assurance that our process is not efficient, but is our process biblical.  Are there biblical mandates in finding, selecting and affirming pastors to lead autonomous congregations?  Is this courtship process, with all the dancing, calling, and wooing back in forth pleasing to God?

The standard process for a SBC church to find a pastor is something like this:

1. A seeking church has a vacancy and begins advertising and looking.
2. A seeking minister begins floating his resume to seeking churches.
3. The seeking church receives a stack of resumes from the association, state convention, seminaries and from referrals.
4. Potential candidates are contacted by phone/email to check if they are still seeking a position.  The time lag is often a difficulty.
5. If a candidate is still looking, they may have an initial phone interview with the chairman of the search team.
6. If the phone conversation goes will, the church will send a follow-up packet with a theological questionnaire, maybe some general information about the church and a job description.
7. Once the seeking minister returns the questionnaire, the searching church will call them in for a face-to-face interview with the search team.
8. If that interview goes well, the church will bring them back to see the church to meet the staff and other key leaders.  The issue of financial package is finally discussed at this point.
9. If that goes well, the seeking minister will be asked to preach a “trial sermon” or give their testimony in front of the entire congregation.  They might have a Q & A time in a small setting.
10. If that goes well, then the church will vote to extend a “call” to the seeking minister and their family to come to the church.
11. The minister will then come and preach the first sermon and join the church.

So many steps.  So many hoops to go through.  So many levels of courtship where everyone is trying to put their best foot forward and no one ever tells the truth about themselves, their pasts, or their present situation.  It is all glossed over in the process of GETTING SOMEONE to come.  The longer the vacancy, the greater sense of urgency, the more likely a rash decision is going to be made.

I am just wondering if we have missed something somewhere.  Where did this courtship process come from and how can it be fixed?

To watch or listen to the message from Parkway Baptist Church, click on the link below.

January 3, 2010 – Dr. Shane Garrison from Parkway Baptist Church on Vimeo.

“Same Old Same Old” taken from Ecclesiastes 1:1-11.

Leadership Journal (Summer 2009) did several excellent articles stories on reaching Millennials in your church.  Here are the best quotes I read.

“As the Millennial generation replaced Gen X, the time-tested combination of relevant teaching and coll music no longer sufficed.  Media-savvy young adults could download all the great teaching and music they wanted for their iPods.  Nothing seemed to impress them.”

“Older models of evangelism aimed at leading humans to a reception of God’s grace in Christ by making them aware of their profound and utter sinfulness.  A different model might be in order to ‘reach” [Millennials].”

“…20-something ministry leadres say reaching the millennial generation will require mor than playing mainstream music, dimming the lights, and talking about sex. All see deep, genuine community as the crying need and key avenue for commincating and displaying the gospel.”

Parkway BC

I am really excited to be invited back to Parkway Bapt. Church in Bardstown for the next 5 Sunday’s to fill their pulpit.  We really love spending time with this congregation.

The series I will be preaching is brand new.  Something I have been working and praying through for about the last 2 months.  The 5-part message series is called Unconventional Wisdom all taken from Ecclesiastes.  This Old Testament book is filled with practical, meaningful applications to our real lives, even though it is coming from an old, grumpy rich man.

This week we will start with “Same Old Same Old” from Ecc. 1:1-11.  Is your 2010 going to be the same old same old?

I was standing in line in Walmart yesterday and the cashier asked each person ahead of me if they “survived Christmas.”  This expression caught me off guard.  I have heard many people use it to describe the Christmas frenzy.  Did you survive Christmas gift buying?  Did you survive Christmas meals?  Did you survive Christmas with all your family getting together?

But for some reason (maybe the Holy Spirit’s prompting) I felt like this expression was so anti-Christmas.

We survive Christmas because Jesus came to earth to die for sinners, of which I am sinner No. 1.  We survive Christmas because Jesus was willing to lay down his life, in obedience to the Father, come to earth in human flesh, and be the atoning sacrifice for my sins upon the cross.

We survive Christmas because Jesus did not survive the crucifixion.

During Christmas Break, my mind has been swirling on Family Ministry models.

Why?  Well, first, I’m preparing to teach a class in Children’s Ministry in a couple weeks.  Secondly, I am consulting with my home church in the children’s ministry area and have been thinking a lot about the suggestions I should make.  And third, Jennifer and I have been discussing our own personal views on family ministry models in light that we have two preschoolers living in our house.  How are we being equipped to disciple them? Are we thinking carefully about their spiritual standing before God?

There are really three major Family Ministry models floating around.

1.  The Family Integrated Model – which removes all age-graded ministry to preschoolers, children and teenagers.  This model encourages families to worship together, fathers to lead and disciple their families, and children to be involved in all aspects of the church alongside their family (e.g., missions, discipleship, worship, giving, prayer, etc).

2.  The Family Based Model – which keeps preschool, children and youth ministry segments in the church led by paid ministers and caring adult volunteers (which might be parents), but offers many intergenerational opportunities for families to engage together.  This model is probably the most prevalent in America being that most churches have youth ministries and more and more are forming established children’s ministries.

3.  The Family Equipping Model – keeps preschool, children and youth ministry segments in the church but encourages parents to lead the vast majority of these areas.  The paid staff and adult, non-parenting volunteers are there to minister to the “spiritual orphans” and to equip, coach, encourage, and guide the parents as they disciple their children.

We have really come to love the Family Equipping Model.

As a former youth minister, I recognize the mistakes I made in the Family Based model.  No matter how much I wanted my parents to be spiritually involved with their students, they saw me as the primary discipler of their children.  For them, I was seminary-trained, younger, and more qualified to discuss spiritual matters.  Many of my believing parents did not see themselves qualified to teach or disciple themselves, much less their children.

I love the Family Equipping Model for two primary reasons.  First, it puts parents in their proper place as the primary spiritual leaders of their children.  Second, it allows the church and its ministries to build stronger families among Christian households and embrace spiritual orphans, as I was, when no believing prents are around.

Church ministries have no more than 100 hrs per year to disciple children. Parents have 3000+. Which is more effective?

One of my goals this holiday season was to invent, find, and create numerous ways to teach my boys (ages 4 & 2) the real Christmas story.  Here are some of the ideas we came up with.

1. We watched the Nativity Story movie together as a family and discuss the events.  I did not show the scenes of Herod and the infanticide after Jesus’ birth.
2. We read the Christmas story in their kids’ Bibles nearly every night of December.  So much so, our 4 year old began asking for David and Jonah stories.
3. We attended Christmas eve worship together as a family and talked about the songs, the candles, and the story.
4. We made “Happy Birthday Jesus” cupcakes and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus.
5. We watched all our videos with a Christian Christmas message – Veggie Tales, Charlie Brown Christmas, Really Woolly, and Hermie & Friends.
6. We made chocolate chip cookies to give to our neighbors.  We taught the boys that giving gifts to others show we love them.
7. We played with our toy nativity scene and retold the story over and over.
8. Each night during our bed routine, we sang Away in the Manager and Silent Night.  (We sang it so much the boys knew the words at the Christmas eve service).
9. We listened exclusively to Christ-centered Christmas CD’s.  We like 2 particular CD’s: WOW Christmas and church Christmas carols.

These are just a few ideas we have began to set up as traditions in our home.

What about Santa?

We really don’t talk about Santa in our house.  Not that we are afraid of the tradition, but we are cautious of deceiving our children.  They both know about Santa from preschool and friends, but we do not emphasize him in our house. We do have a book telling the story of St. Nicholas, Bishop in Turkey, who gave presents to others in remembrance of the gift God gave in Jesus.

We firmly believe in our post-Christian, postmodern culture we have to be proactive in establishing Christian traditions and thinking in our children.  We can’t leave it to our church (which is a great one) or to anyone else.  It is our task and our responsibility to train up our children in the instruction and admonition of the Lord.

Merry Christmas!

I am looking forward to an active spring season of ministry around Kentucky.  Several churches have asked me to come and help with ministry development and participate in the preaching/teaching ministry of the church.

Here is my Spring 2010 ministry calendar:

Campbellsville Baptist Church Children’s Ministry (Jan. – March)
I am continuing to work with our home church in developing key strategies for their Children’s Ministry area (preschool through 6th grade).  This will continue through March.

Parkway Baptist Church Pulpit Supply (January 3-31)
I have been invited to return to Parkway Baptist Church in Bardstown to preach for 5 consecutive Sundays in January.  This is my second invitation to fill the pulpit during their pastor search process.  Great church.

Columbia Baptist Church Sunday School Development (Feb. 28 – April 11)
Columbia Baptist Church has invited me to consult with their leadership for the fourth time.  Maple Trail, our consulting firm, has done previous work in stewardship, personnel, constitution and by-laws.  Now we have been asked to work with their adult Sunday school division.  Work will be done to establish a new member class, start two new units, and teacher training.

Blackford/Breckinridge Baptist Association DiscipleNow Weekend (March 5-6)
I get to go back home to my old stompin’ grounds again in 2010.  I have been asked to preach the two-association youth DiscipleNow weekend again this year. I also will be training youth leaders from the two counties in 4 workshops.

CU Holy Land Tour (March 16-25)
While not specifically a ministry event, I get the awesome opportunity to travel to the Holy Land.  I will be joining 32 other travelers for a 10-day tour as part of the Campbellsville University School of Theology faculty.

I really appreciate all the churches and associations who have invited me to come.  Please pray God’s work will be done in these churches and through these events.

My dear friend Zach Rice was ordained into the gospel ministry a couple weeks ago.  He is now Rev. Rice.

I had the great honor of bringing the charge to Zach.  Standing with us is Rev. Brandon Carrier.  I gave B’s charge several years back.

Two loyal friends and brothers in Christ.  I am very thankful for both of them.

Isaac is a really useful engine.
Papaw the Pickup Truck is dressed like his hero from Cars “Tow-Mater”
Ethan said ”Buzz buzz Daddy” for days.

Isaac and I decided that we need to tap into our inner-man and build a wigwam out of the limbs we cut down.  We wanted to show how us men can survive out in the wild (… of our backyard).  I am not an outdoorsmen by any stretch, but we did get the wigwam up with minimal cuts and scrapes.

Isaac loved having a wooded hide-out. I loved building something with my boy. 

Starting this Sunday through Wednesday, I get the awesome opportunity to encourage students in Mercer and Boyle counties at the Fuel Student Ministry Event.  Four nights.  Over 400 students came last year.  Multiple churches participating in organizing the event.  To be held at the Mercer Co. 9 Grade Academy.

I am very humbled to be invited.  It has been a while since I had the chance to preach/teach direct to students.  They can be an intimating bunch.  But God is faithful.  His word reaches all generations.

Here are the titles of the messages I will be sharing each night:
Sunday Night  (Commissioning Service) – What Are You Afraid Of?
Monday – Is This It?
Tuesday – Do Hard Things.
Wednesday – The Secret Life of the American Teenager.

Think Again about Small Groups. Saturday, November 7. Great workshop for church leaders and those seeking to disciple more people for Christ.

If you would like to listen to the message I preached Sunday at Living Grace Church, it is available here.  Or on iTunes, keyword “Living Grace Church.”  The message is entitled The Sheep Herder taken from Psalm 23:3.

Models of Academic Governance and Institutional Power in Southern Baptist Related Liberal Arts Colleges and Universities.

Garrison – Michael Shane (pdf version)

This fall God has opened up some great ministry opportunities for me, Jennifer, and for Maple Trail Ministry Consultants, our little consulting firm.  If you want to check in on what we are up to go to www.mapletrail.org.

One of my students is David Lee (known as DLee).  He is a sports ministry major in the School of Theology.  He is a great young man, fully of life, charisma and southern charm.

His father, Tommy Lee of Monroesville, AL, was recently featured in a Western Recorder article for his ministry with Pilots for Christ.  Here is the link.

DLee comes from a great family and we are proud of what God is doing in his life and in his dad’s.