MondayMorningInsight

“Our Outplacement Specialist Is Ready to Serve You”

Posted by: Todd
Posted on: Mon, December 11, 2006
Viewed 30
(64) comments so far

1. Expectations: transfers may consider their “last church” as God’s new default position and are perplexed when your congregation isn’t like that. Or, they may have left the last place over some issues they plan to bring with them.

2. Infrastructure: integrating transfers into the congregation consumes time, energy, and resources that could be invested elsewhere—like in evangelism

If George Barna is right, though, “More than 80% of the current growth registered by Protestant churches is biological or transfer growth – very little of the growth comes from penetrating the ranks of the unchurched.” William Chadwick’s book, Sheep Stealing deals with the same theme. So we’ve got a problem, and I lived it first hand in our congregation.

Now, let’s be clear. Since 50% of growth by conversion is considered world class, transfers are just going to happen. I’ve been one. Also, there are some advantages to this type of growth. Paul came to Antioch, for example, because Barnabas brought him. An infusion of Christian talent can be exactly what a ministry needs to get on mission.

The key for me, then, is attracting missional transfers, believers who want to live in a way that affords a credible hearing for the gospel in their community.

I want to suggest two factors that can attract missional Christians:

1. Culture: Every pastor knows that musicians are attracted to good music. I believe mission works the same way.

2. Outplacement Specialist: The back cover of every Sunday bulletin in our last church carried a paragraph about Daryl, our Outplacement Specialist. A student at my seminary working on a counseling degree, Daryl was responsible for much of the telephone follow-up for all of our visitors. But we also advertised that he would assist anyone who was not feeling like they fit into our congregation with finding another church more suitable to their preferences. We had some takers.

The existence of an Outplacement Specialist sends a couple of strong cultural messages. One is that we are unapologetic about our identity. Our culture and approach are simply not for everyone. The second message is that we do not view integrating transfers as the core of our mission and are delighted to help them find another church.

For discussion:

1. Should every church advertise the services of an “Outplacement Specialist”?

2. Transfer growth takes a beating all the time. Is it really as bad as many observers claim? Does it have benefits we overlook too often?

The last congregation that Jan and I pastored is located in a Midwestern city that serves as the home of our denomination’s national headquarters and several of our colleges. With large pools of believers (including thousands of Christian college students) in town, we faced the possibility of investing years of our lives filling seats with Christians who used to have a seat in someone else’s building. This seemed like a grim prospect for a couple reasons...

Comments

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Craig on Mon, September 08, 2008

For the most part I personally hate transfer growth. First, let me give the exceptions If someone has moved into our area and if the their last church made a major doctrinal change (I won’t take the time to explain what is a major doctrinal).

Here is why I personally do not like transfer… Simply put it takes way more time, energy and resources to get a transfer christian to run with the church leadership then it does a new christian. This also very true when it comes to staff. No matter how great a leader or worker is for me it has always been harder to move in an outsider than to raise someone up from within.

I discovered that at least for me the church I pastor was more about the power and display of the already chirstians than it was reaching the lost. So, in a six months time period we changed that and we are seeing new “non- churched” people come. This brings a whole different set of issues and often finances becomes one of them. One thing transfer chirstians do is give right away. That’s way I think transfer is so easy for American church goers to do.

Transfer should aays be looked at as bad but as for me you can have them. Chances are if they transfered in they will transfer out. I’ll take trying to reach the “un-churched” any day.
Rev.K on Mon, September 08, 2008

what ever happened to the spirit of discernment?

what happened to the pastor having the spirit of discernment?

in the old church they didn’t need committees, nor did they need specialist to tell them if they’ll fit in with the ministry…when a pastor is in tuned with God…then God will give him discernment on if the person seeking to join would fit the ministry….

far too many churches/ministries has become man-centered instead of God-centered…far too many are joining ministries/churches seeking what they could get out of it…instead of what they could contribute to it…

far too many today join churches/ministries all for the wrong reasons…(ex…the choirs sing good, the preacher preaches good, their family/friends attend that church…)

one shouldn’t join a church/ministry for those carnal reasons…one should join a church/ministry because their Bible based and God-centered…

having been one that was greatly affected by being apart of the wrong ministry/church… i do agree that one should be in a place of worship where they could grow spiritually into the person that God has ordained them to be… I confess i was apart of a ministry that had good singing, good preaching, a good following…but the church wasn’t Bible based or Christ-centered…I was involved in the church/ministry…but I wasn’t growing…I didn’t need an specialist to tell me this…the Holy Spirit gave me discernment…and after prayer and fasting…the Holy Spirit guided me to the place of worship I’m at now where I’m growing spiritually…I didn’t need a specialist…I needed the Holy Sprit…

I do agree that far too many leave one place of worship because something they didn;t like, only to go to another place of worship and find something they don;t like…then that person becomes a church hopper or leave the church completely… but if you sit and counsel that individual…9 out of 10 times you’ll discover the problem wasn’t the church but the problem was within the individual…(I heard people leaving the church because they didn’t like something the pastor said, or somebody looked at them wrong, or they were in charge of a ministry and the people couldn’t come to an agreement on what color to wear on a particular annual day, or they’re not the center of attention…) self-centered reasons…

I don’t think specialists are needed…I believe what’s needed is a better understanding of ministry and a better understanding of God’s Word…then and only then would the church resolve the revolving door and sheep stealing issue…

we must get back to Biblical ministry…and utilize the gifts that God has given us…and one of those gifts is the spirit of discernment…

if the pastors would sit down with those who’s considering transferring to their ministry and their former pastor…90% of the time they resolve the issue and the person winds up staying with their former pastor…

I like the invitation…(by way of baptism, christian letter, or christian experience…) this is a way to find out what’s going on…because if it’s by baptism…you’ll know the person has been evangelized and is a new convert…if it’s by christian letter…then you’ll know the person was in good standing with their former church…but under christian experience…that’s where most of the issues arises…
Rev. Eric on Mon, September 08, 2008

#1 Outplacement Specialist…

I think if the church has the resources, this is a good idea. I’m not a good candidate for it because sometimes it’s too easy for me to tell people where they can go. http://www.mondaymorninginsight.com/images/smileys/smile.gif But I do think it’s a good idea if the emphasis of it is to place people in a church where the relationship between the people and their new church is mutually beneficial. That would require a specialist of skill and great personal skills. I’d rather not have one than to do it wrong.

#2. Transfer Growth…

We as leaders of the church need to realize that this is a natural part of church growth. (Now that is church with a small “c” not a capital “C”.) If churches do a good job of tracking why people come or go, they can address the reasons. Then they can keep doing what draws people in and stop doing what is making people leave (Of course we need to determine our non-negotiables; i.e. salvation through Christ, authority of Scripture, etc.)

If churches understand why people come or leave, and address them, the church will be more relevant. Transfer growth OUT of your church can be a positive if the leadership is willing to address it.
J. D. Duncan on Mon, September 08, 2008

The transferees began spewing ash before the air had been dispensed from the chairs cushion. The tone had not been well planned out before hand. He tried to run interference saying to his wife, “don’t go there.” She was already in to the second chapter of a five part story. He repeated his comments two more times to no avail. His last attempt nailed it, “Don’t go there, they are good friends.”

True story of transferees that ran into another pastor who was in a small prayer group with the pastor who had been deserted.

I think we need to discuss the relationship pastors have with in their communities with one another. Perhaps the one way we can stem the tide of transfers is to have on going relationships with one another. This might also cut down the sheep stealing/fleecing. The plan we use is to not contact a transferee until after we have contacted the congregation they come from (see posting by Chuck). This sends the message that we value shepherds and their congregations. We would rather be in right relationship…

Another factor that questions sheep coddling is that they are usually financially driven. Hard to be in accountability relationship with that kind of leadership.

Interesting discussion

JDD
Rev.K on Mon, September 08, 2008

JDD…

I agree with you 100%...if pastors come together and put aside our egos and unify…yes, it would be harder for one to leave one congregation and go to another…

far too many today are driven by greed and the number game…far too many pastors don’t have a relationship with other pastors in their neighborhood…

a wise senior pastor who has been pastoring a church for 40 years once told me…he doesn’t take folks who has just left/transfered from one church to his church. he first consult with that church pastor and other members from their former church…and then he tries to bring the two together and have them reconcile their differences…this advice has been great help…1. it sends off the message that we pastors are united…and we take the ministry strongly…we’re not into the numbers game…

it was once said before…“we have lowered the bar and made it too easy for folks to join the church without them knowing what they’re signing up for…” within my church we don’t take transfers without first doing some investigating…and our church has a good relationship with our neighboring churches and pastors…

as i once stated…i was in a sitution where i was at a church where i wasn’t growing spiritually…i prayed and the Holy Spirit guided me to the particular church i’m at now…my current senior pastor (who’s been pastoring for over 40 years) called my former pastor (who’s been pastoring a little under 2 years at the time) and we all came together…my former pastor was well aware of my concerns…when we came together my former pastor and my current pastor…because of my former pastor concerns for me, and how he wanted to see me grow in the ministry…he gave his blessings for me to unite with my current pastor…the wisdom and spritual discernment my current pastor showed allowed us all to keep a good relationship with one another…

there are some things that only pastors could reconcile…(no disrespect to the specialists)…

when pastors are united then the congrets would think hard about transferring out…
Rev.K on Mon, September 08, 2008

let’s consider the Apostle Paul’s letter to Philemon for answers…

we could title Onesimus as one who was unhappy at the place he was…as one who was unhappy how Philemon pastored the church…as one who was unhappy with the style of worshio…so Onesimus transferred himself from under Philemon’s pastoralship…

Onesimus didn’t leave Philemon under good terms…under today’s ministry…Onesimus wouldn’t have been given a letter from the church…in fact Onesimus would be labeled as a bad christian…

Onesimus in his search for a new church found himself counseling with Paul…

what did Paul do?

after Paul found counseled with Onesimus and was knowledgable about all the particulars…Paul didn’t send Onesimus to a specialist…but he rather reached out to Philemon by way of a letter…in Paul’s letter you could see that Paul had a good relationship with Philemon who was a pastor…Paul through his letter intercedes and iron things out between Onesimus and Philemon..Paul let’s Philemon know there must of been a confusion between Philemon and Onesimus which lead to Onesimus departure….Paul encourage Philemon to restore Onesimus back into the church…(I am sending him back,. Therefore receive him, that is, my own heart.)and whatever differences that occured, whatever lost that rose up, Paul tells Philemon to charge it to his (Paul’s) account…

I especially like where Paul said, “he’s useful to me…and I desire to keep him with me…but I was willing to do nothing without your consent…” in other words, Paul was stating, “I’m going to be up front with you about what’s going on…I know he left your church…and he could be good use for my ministry…I don’t want to do nothing without your consent…therefore, for the sake of the Gospel and for the sake of unity…I’m sending him back to you…”

Paul in this letter shows us how to handle those who desire to transfer from one church to another…it all starts with pastors having a good relationship with one another…
Dane on Mon, September 08, 2008

Rev. K,,

I can’t hang with you too far with that illustration.

The sheep don’t belong to any pastor! They belong to Christ. I don’t approve of people just floating around, but I also don’t approve of men who think they own people.

I’m sure that’s not what you are promoting.

But we’ve been able to nurse a lot of people back to health, after they’ve been abused by toxic churches. Just because a man puts a name on a sign doesn’t mean its a church!
Phil on Mon, September 08, 2008

Please don’t forget the relationship between Onesimus and Philemon was slave/owner, not member/pastor.
Rev.K on Tue, September 09, 2008

Phil/Dane

I’m well aware of the relationship between the two…I was just using them as an illustration on how Paul setteled their differences…and how we can learn and adopt some of the principles Paul showed…

I agree that the sheep doesn’t belong to the pastor…I dislike when the pastors think they own the sheep…many times this kind of thinking comes from pastors that doesn’t know/understand their role…a pastor that understands his role won’t abuse his role…as pastors we’re not the shephered…we’re the under-shepherd…God is the shephered and we operate under God…like Paul…we’re bond servants doing God’s will…we all belong to God…

I agree with you both…the ministry has been abused by men seeking their own selfish ends…

Dane you hit the nail on the coffin, “just because a man put a name on a sign, doesn’t means the buiding is a church”...I agree…we must be careful of what’s allowed to be called a “church”....today their are many that call themselves a church but has divorced the Bible and it’s teachings…

I had a discussion about this a few months back with a deacon…in our discussion we raised the question of why over the past 15 years many buildings has sprung up and operate under the unbrella of the “church”...the problem isn’t the church being built..the problem exists when the building doesn’t operate under Biblical standards…nor do they preach Christ…they do their own thing but wants to be known as a “church”…

I agree there are a lot of toxic churches around…

I agree there are a lot of Christians that has suffered from those toxic churches that needs to be nursed back to health…

Rhodes, maybe this would spark up another discussion…“why are there so many churches being built right next to each other? within my city i see churches of the same denomination built or being built right next door to already established churches…if not next door, on the same block within walking distance of one another…

The Bible gives a perscription on how we’re to handle differences that many don’t follow within the church…(Matthew 18:15-17)

15 Moreover if thy brother shall atrespass against thee, go and btell him his cfault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three awitnesses every word may be established.

17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the achurch: but if he bneglect to hear the cchurch, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican….

many don’t follow this perscription…they just get up and leave without others knowing why they left…
Pat on Tue, September 09, 2008

Rev. K., some members don’t just leave without telling why, some actually rebel against biblical authority in the church when it tries to be enforced. In this age of everyone being their own master, it can be difficult to enforce biblical discipline when so many people feel as though no one can or has the right to tell them what to do. While this doesn’t change the fact of biblical disciplne, it does make it challenging to enforce at times.
Rev.K on Tue, September 09, 2008

Pat…

Amen, Amen, Amen…

you said it right…

everybody today knows what’s best for the church…even though they don’t understand the Bible…even though they don’t understand ministry…but they know it all…and if you try to impart bibical knowledge they would argue you down pleading their case no matter how wrong and un-biblical it is…

i was recently in a class where a member raised a question on why the church follow such & such rules…and i showed the individual why we follow it and where it’s found in the Bible…this member argued their case despite me showing them in the Bible why we follow it….(some members have a Doctorate in ministry even though they never been to seminary…)

I don’t think its the sheep fault on this…it’s the church that has shone away from biblical authority…the church has become too sensitive to feelings…the church dosen’t want to lose the members or their money…so the church allows any and everthing to happen…

what ever happened to the day when pastors would rebuke the people right in front of the whole church?

what ever happened to pastors who wasn’t concerned about how many was in their congregation…who wasn’t concerned if you liked what was said or done…because he was commisioned by God to uphold bibilcal authority and biblical standards?

yes its challenging to enforce…but it must be upheld…we may not be popular with the people…at least we’re not being disobedient to God….
Pat on Tue, September 09, 2008

Rev. K, I think you’re right, the church did ease up on its responsibility, but I also think that everyone, leaders and congregants alike have given in to the culture. The Church is supposed to be different and while the world was talking about it’s rights and privacy, we the Church should have been emphasizing how the kingdom operates on different principles. Instead, we caved in and became a subset of the dominant culture.
Rev.K on Tue, September 09, 2008

Pat…

Amen,

I believe God is raising up some pastors who’s not going to bend to the idols and fads of this world…

God is raising up some pastors who’s main concern isn’t popularity, conformity, or how many congrets they pastor…but whose main focus and concenrn is Biblical standards and Biblical principles…

we must stop conforming to the world and the business attitutdes it has…because you can’t operate a ministry like you operate a business…in a business the focus in on the consumer…but in a ministry the focus is God…
Yule on Mon, July 06, 2009

Give please. I’m moving, but don’t worry! [Someone once] told me we’re all on the same planet, so I’ll be okay!

I am from Slovenia and know bad English, give true I wrote the following sentence: “The real impact of the credit card reform act by joaquin costafinally, change has come to the credit card industry after president obama penned into law the long awaited credit card reform act.However, as the base interest rate has plunged average credit card interest rates have rockets, and it is now reported that credit card rates have now smashed through the eighteen percent barrier.”

Best regards http://www.mondaymorninginsight.com/images/smileys/wink.gif, Tully.