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Coaching people and churches as they journey thru transitions
BUILDING BRIDGES
Welcome! An Introduction...
After 50 years of experience as a church pastor, seminary professor and chaplain, in my role as consultant, I can offer:
A candid and compassionate insight to many of your ministry questions
A one-to-one mentor-ship that listens to your heart issues
A life applied expository Bible preaching style which speaks to people
A teaching style that delivers engaging learning for all ages
A reality based commitment to the disciple-making mission of
God’s people.
The Power of Pastoral Presence
I learned an important lesson from Tom, one of the older men, in my first church.
“Pastor, you need to spend more time fishing and less time in your study.”
Initially resisting his wisdom, I convinced myself that there are sermons to prepare and Bible studies to write. I knew that pastors are called primarily to preach and teach. Yet, when I honestly faced my own fears and aspirations, I admitted that I preferred the quiet predictability of the study instead of a spontaneous, revealing conversation with other men in a motor boat. I felt more at ease behind my pastor's desk than across a coffee table.
I had not yet learned that pastors have two primary roles which are pastor and teacher.
Ephesians 4:11-12 succinctly describes this dual role, “…some He gave as pastor/teacher for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry.”
The word "equipping" comes from a Greek word that means to mend nets or set broken bones. Does this mean that pastoral care is all about mending broken lives and families? In partnership with God, we fix lives and relationships.
Bridges
A Powerful Connection
My wife and I have lived most of our married life in cities with bridges- lots of them! Some bridges, like the Port Mann in Vancouver were massive and impressive. Other bridges were almost unnoticed as the traveller crossed them. Bridges help us get to where we need to go. That describes my ministry....helping people get to where they need to go. Bridging between gaps!
In some settings, I assisted churches as they bridged their way between the departure of one pastor and the arrival of the next. In other settings, I walked alongside hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students who travelled the bridge of seminary education in order to enter a new career. While serving as a prison chaplain, I assisted inmates to bridge their way back into society.
This website is for other bridge builders who walk beside people who move towards a new destiny, sometimes with trepidation and at other times with confidence.
For many years now, I have come alongside older adults who must cross bridges into their senior years, with all the promise and perils of that journey. Seniors represent the fastest growing demographic groups in Canada. They live longer, have more potential for service and yet have ongoing emotional, social and physical needs.
Whether helping young adults to bridge into adulthood, or local churches to cross over into a new era, or supporting seniors through their needs, I spent the last fifty years helping people to travel into a new vista of life and ministry. Bridging the gaps!
God loves seniors! The Scriptures speak about seniors almost 300 times, thus clearly demonstrating that they matter to God. When the Apostle James urged us to “visit orphans and widows in their distress”, he envisioned more than a brief personal conversation at a bedside or over a cup of tea. Rather, he urged us fully enter their lives, just as Christ “visited us”.
The local church has a pristine opportunity to re-envision effective ministry with and among senior adults in the coming years.
As pastor/chaplain, my current focus has been upon 200+ seniors, 100 employees and several dozen volunteers in a multi-level seniors’ community. My typical day on our seniors’ communities is just that: walking with them over the bridges of life and the experiences of aging.
Finding the Perfect Pastor
We “hire” employees, but we “call” pastors.
The process of calling a pastor remains one of the most complex and sensitive experiences in the life of a congregation.
Pastors provide spiritual guidance, biblical teaching, and practical leadership to a congregation. They pray, dedicate children, baptize believers, and bury loved ones.
A congregation will either thrive or struggle depending upon the pastoral search outcome.
I offer seven important steps to guide a church in the search process. You might even add a few, but these ones provide the primary milestones. Here are some essential steps in searching for a pastor.
O Come Let Us Worship Him
Have you ever sat in a worship service and wondered why we do this....9 sets of songs with repeated phrases, followed by prayer/announcements and a sermon? Here are "Ten Truths for Worship"
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God created us to worship Him with our whole person. This means that distributing food from the church pantry can be an act of worship as much as singing on the church platform. “Humanity’s chief purpose is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever”. (Westminster Catechism)
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We cannot NOT worship. Yes-that is a double negative! Worship remains an act of self-chosen devotion to someone or something of my choosing. To that end a buffet of choices ( also called idols) clamor for our devotion. A woman at work said, “If I must worship then I will give my total devotion to my dog. My dog is my god.” In another setting, a young man dressed in a tight fitting muscle shirt, placed his body at the epicenter of his worship. His girlfriend admired him as did other “worshipers” in the local gym... which included me! He worshiped himself!
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Holy worship centers upon God for who He is and not for what I demand or expect. “Though the fig tree does not blossom and there be no fruit on the vine, still I will rejoice in the Lord my God” (Habakkuk 3).
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Worship can deteriorate into a transactional business wherein I give total devotion to my "god" in exchange for success, health or other personal needs. In this form, “god” functions like a spiritual slot machine. I put in and hope to get something in return. The prophets of Baal embraced frenzied worship to awaken and placate their Baal in order to get their demands met. However, Deuteronomy 12:2 demands that we, “…are not to worship as do the other nations". Among followers of Jesus, worship is simply gratitude for grace." (Romans 12:1-3)
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When God's people meet for corporate worship, we experience a dialogue between God and His people. We speak to Him through hearty singing (and rightly so), thoughtful prayer, and the giving of offerings. We then listen as God responds to us through the reading of and preaching from His Word, alongside the silent prompting of the Holy Spirit among those who listen. The entire “conversation” centers on Jesus and God’s grace.
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Genuine worship is a heart matter, often unseen to the human eye. Seniors with dementia cannot respond like they used to, but in their eyes, we can see worship taking place. “…making melody in their heart”.
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Make. Some. Noise. Manipulative worship leaders can cajole and pressure the congregation into louder singing or higher hands. However, outward acts can be deceiving. The man at the Temple prayed, “…so as to be seen.” Leaders therefore live in a delicate place: direct without pressure, guide without goading, and always focused upon Jesus. The volume of my voice and the height of my hands do not always reveal the depth of my worship.
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Worship actually has two audiences in mind: those around me and the Lord above me. Ephesians 5:19-20 reminds us that we speak to each other and to the Lord…but always making melody from the heart.
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Global corporate worship is shaped by culture, context, and the personality of the worship leaders. The reflective worship of Anglicans represents as much a worship moment as 5,000 young adults loudly worshiping together. I've been in both and each one moves me deeply
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Diverse styles of music remain central to genuine worship: From Bach to "Bono" and everything in between. We sing in response to salvation. The songs emerge from our cultural setting, deep personal experience and Scripture. We draw from diversity in styles ( psalms, hymns and spiritual songs) but all with unity in focus upon the Savior.