1. Think “Better than Normal”

If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a hundred times, “When are things getting back to Normal?”  It’s a reasonable question, but what is “normal” to God when it pertains to His Church?

Friend, I’m not sure “normal” (meaning: ordinary, routine, run of the mill) is even in God’s vocabulary for His Church.

There’s a principle we find in Romans 12:2, “Don’t copy the behavior & customs of this world, but let God transform us into a new person by changing the way we think. Then we will learn to know God’s will for us, which is good & pleasing & perfect.” 

What we see is that God isn’t interested in us returning to the status-quo, but that there is a mindset He wants us to have that is “Better than Normal.”  We see it again in Romans 8:37 where the scripture tells us God wants us to be “MORE than just conquerors”. 

God’s will for us as church leaders is not just to get back to “normal” in 2021.  He’s not interested in us repeating our repetitions of successful years that we’ve experienced in the past.  God is wanting us to follow His lead and experience a “Better than Normal” year this year and in the years to come. 

So let your faith be high.  Let your expectations be strong.  God wants your church to grow into new heights and new territory this year.

Nelson Hight, Church of the Crossroads

2. Be the Church

Although 2020 has brought many challenges to the local church, the mission of the church has remained the same. We need to keep the main thing – the main thing – making disciples. The methods may look different, but the mission remains the same. Pastors and church leadership, I recommend stepping out of your comfort zone and try something new. View everything as an experiment, then make tweaks. If the “experiment” doesn’t work out, no harm – no foul, after all it was just a test.

This is a time for unity within the body of Christ. The reality is that many of the churches within North America were plateaued or in decline pre-Covid. There is no silver bullet to get back to better days. My prayer is that pastors and church leaders would take some time and gain some self-awareness of their current reality.

Is the trajectory up or down? If it’s up, praise God! Reach out and help the churches in your town and region who need some help with no strings attached. If you find the church trajectory headed downward, find an experienced trusted friend, a denominational leader or a church consultant to help. These people should have the wisdom and knowledge to help you navigate your current reality and set your church on the path to revitalization.  

3. Continue Leading

Coming out of the challenges of 2020 and into 2021 with many of the same struggles still in place can shake all of us as leaders. The piece of advice I am trying to remind myself of and share with other leaders is simply this: Don’t ignore everything you know and have learned about leadership because it feels like everything in your world has changed.

Simply put, as much as things are changing, some things need to stay the same.

The principles of good leadership apply more, not less, when the world is rapidly changing around us. Things like listening to others, continually learning, collaborating with people and empowering others – those are keepers. We need to do them more.

Also, we need to take time to rest, celebrate wins, and remember our life purposes and callings. All the things we would have always encouraged others to do in leadership; the good leadership principles we know and try to live by should still be in our arsenal of leadership this year and in the years to come. 

4. See the OPPORTUNITY

As we look back at 2020, we can all agree it is been a jarring and overwhelming year for churches of every size.   Change has never been easy for most of us, yet last year forced us all to change, not once but continually, as the pandemic continued, and as racial and political unrest rocked our country.  Our church staff and teams found ourselves re-thinking almost every aspect of ministry.  Just as soon as we figured out a new “normal”, we were challenged to adapt again.

With almost a month into the new year, it looks like we will continue to live with uncertainty when it comes to gatherings.  But the church has faced these types of challenges throughout history.  What have we learned throughout the church’s history, is that in times of great trials and suffering the church has thrived, adapted, and ministered in ways that we could not have imagined.

The Apostle Paul in Romans shared these words of encouragement to the early church and also to us,

³⁵ Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? ³⁶ (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”^[a]) ³⁷ No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. ³⁸ And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[b] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.  -Romans 8

Be encouraged today as a church leader and follower of Jesus.  Yes, these times are hard, challenging, and requires us to rethink all our assumptions about “doing” church.  However, if we are honest, there are things that “needed” to change in the church, or even stop. 

This season gives a good reason to evaluate everything. Give yourself freedom to dream about what would make your church more effective in ministry.  I am convinced that no matter what may challenge us today, that God is already at work and is creating opportunities to minister to people who may have may now be ready to respond to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but weren’t ready to respond before the pandemic.  We can have courage that we can face the changes knowing that God is with us.  The future of ministry and the church has arrived.  Instead of considering what we might have lost, consider what doors God is opening up for you and your church?

Many people choose a word to help them focus on a new year, I think the word I would choose is opportunity.  Realizing that nothing can separate us from Christ’s assurances of love and hope, what new opportunities does your church have before you?  Take a moment to pause and pray, see where God is moving and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and your church to the new opportunities that He is creating for you and your team.  

5. Move FORWARD

Pastors and churches, like most leaders and institutions, have been shaken during the last year. And without a doubt, social instability, the global COVID pandemic, and economic uncertainty have all played their part in the shaking. Our schedules and routines have been upended as well as our ability to forecast the future. It has left most of us feeling completely out of control. We find ourselves asking questions like, ‘What do we do now?’ ‘What’s next?’ ‘How do we plan?’

Here are a few suggestions that might help you find your way forward in these uncertain times.

• Fix your fundamentals. Winning coaches in every sport know that championships are won when players master the fundamentals of the game. Military commanders know that battles are won in advance through training and preparation. We may not know exactly what’s next on the horizon, but core fundamentals like prayer, Scriptural study, discipleship training, spiritual development and community can and should be practiced consistently, no matter the circumstance. Being forced to find creative ways to do it is not such a bad thing.
• Build your core. Most churches have retained their core (inner circle of supporters) over the last year. Pour your attention and resources into developing them. Don’t fall into the trap of focusing on who is not there, but focus on who is and tailor meetings, programs and opportunities toward them. Growing your core during this strange and volatile season will pay big dividends when we return to more normal routines.
• Focus on service. Look beyond your worship services, your facilities and your experience.  Look for ways to provide services for the community. Innovate. For example, offer a tutoring program at church for kids who are struggling with virtual schooling. Initiate a pick up and delivery service of food and medicine for families dealing with COVID and make it known to area medical outlets.
• Identify and attack needs and meet them. Identify the felt needs of people sick with COVID and their families. This could be a game-changer in the way your church is viewed in the community. Be creative, careful and helpful as you seek to identify and meet real needs in these areas.

This season, as all seasons, will pass. But make it count for God and for others. And remember, Jesus said that, “when we do it to the least of these my brothers you have done it unto me.” Our way forward and out begins with the our focus dealing with the issues at hand.

The enemy wants to use the difficulties of 2020 against you.  He wants to trap you into a negative pattern of thinking and cripple you as a leader.  But as a leader, you lead.  Take the wisdom in this article and plug it into your church.  Get connected with other Pastors and leaders in your area and band together as you move forward.

God still has much more He wants to see accomplished in your city.

As you lead forward, remember that church leaders around the world are facing the same things you are.  Pray for them, and know that some of them are praying for you.

The advice I would give is this: God is Still With You.  You’re not in this alone.

By Brian Davis