Month: December 2024

Christmas Eve Eve (aka…the Night before the Preacher’s Super Bowl)

On By Rob PrinceLeave a comment

It’s Christmas Eve Eve. 

In the sentence above, the red squiggly line on my computer screen under the second “Eve” indicates it should not be there. The computer wants to delete the repetitive word. But that’s the point, it’s Eve’s Eve. Today is the day before Christmas Eve. It’s the day for getting last minute things done. It’s a day like no other. 

Today is the frazzled day of last minute shopping. Need anything from Wal-Mart? Count the presents. Make sure everyone is fairly gifted. Volunteer to battle the crowds for the good of the family; grab a last minute stocking stuffer and a gallon of milk. It’s the day to wrap the last few items. The family begins to gather from faraway places. What’s for dinner? Order a pizza. It’s Christmas Eve Eve.

When you are a believer but not the preacher on Christmas Eve, today is the day to remind your friends and family of the Christmas Eve service time. It’s the day to give that last minute invite to non-churched friends. It’s the day to make sure your row is packed with people who are ready to celebrate the Object of all our gatherings—Jesus.

When you are the preacher, Christmas Eve Eve is the night before the Super Bowl. The Christmas Eve Candlelight Service has the highest percentage of non-church goers than any other service of the year. More than Easter. More than Mother’s Day. Christmas Eve is the big day. Tomorrow is it. Which means, with all of the Christmas joy and carols and lighting of candles, still the Gospel must be preached. It’s not for nostalgia sake that we are gathering, but for Jesus. Folks need to know that there is an answer to their deepest needs. Jesus is the One who proclaimed, I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades (Revelation 1:18). So on this Silent Night, the preacher can’t be quiet about the Good News. It’s too important.

Dear Christmas Eve preacher, no pressure, but it’s game time! The Super Bowl is tomorrow. Get plenty of sleep. Be ready. Be excited. Preach well and let Jesus do the rest. Go tell it on the mountain (or from the pulpit): Jesus Christ is born and that Good News makes all the difference. 

Good News About the Good News This Christmas

On By Rob Prince1 Comment

Ready for some good news this Christmas?  According to Leonard Sweet, a renowned missiologist, there are more Christians in China than there are people in the United States. The largest officially atheist country is (because so many people are coming to Christ) soon becoming the largest Christian nation!  

Let that sink in. 

There will be more people celebrating Christmas in China than in the United States. I’m not sure that they will all have Christmas trees. They might not all go out caroling in their neighborhood. They might not be able to express their faith as openly as you and I, but God is on the move in China. Praise the Lord!

It’s not just China. Africa is booming with those turning to Christ too. At the turn of the 20th century, there were about 10 million Christians on the continent of Africa,. Today, there are 734 million followers of Jesus in Africa. Simultaneously, atheism, which peaked around 1970 with 165 million adherents on the planet, is on the decline. Their numbers are falling from 147 million in 2020 to 146 million in 2024.* Praise the Lord, again!

In some of the most troubled hot spots in the world, with wars, famines and displaced people groups, God is still working. People are still responding to the Gospel. In spite of danger and difficulties, people are coming to Jesus! 

Sometimes we look around at empty churches in the United States and think that is the way it is around the world. Not so! God is working. We in the United State simply need to get on board with the rest of the world. Stop fighting about our differences and start focusing on the Difference Maker. All across our spinning globe, people in different languages and from different tribes and traditions will celebrates the birth of our Lord this week. In fact, more people are claiming Christ than ever before in the history of the world!

There are plenty of troubling statistics concerning death and destruction. There are plenty of things over which to grieve. Turn on the evening news, and you might only hear bad news. But there is good news about the Good News! As we gather this Christmas and sing “O come All Ye Faithful” rejoice in the good news that there are more faithful people coming to Jesus than ever before! There is Joy in the world. The Savior is still coming and changing lives!!

*According to the Study of Global Christianity of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

Pastor, the New Year is in Sight… you can make it!

On By Rob PrinceLeave a comment

Christmas season is in full swing. It’s the busy season for retailers– and pastors too. There’s parties, programs, gift exchanges, benevolence requests, of course, sermons to write and everything else that goes into the season. Then it gets busier. Toss in a sick child, a funeral, a broken down car, a troubled teenager, a disgruntled member, a financial crisis either at home or at the church (you know, the everyday life of a pastor) and it gets even more complicated. It was 17 years ago this week (December 20, 2007), while reading a letter from a disgruntled member during a financial crisis that my brain hemorrhage occurred. I’m convinced (and my neurologists concur) that the reason for the aneurism was (in part) due to the stressful season. 

Stress is an ever present “friend” for pastors. Besides the burden of carrying the parishioners’ troubles and sicknesses and the pastor’s own family circumstances, there are all the church financial and building issues. Pastors get anonymous letters and a few signed by disgruntled members over any number of topics. Top that off with pastors enduring the lies, rumors, and troublemakers’ shenanigans. Social media has made the stress level of pastors’ lives rise to new heights. All of these stressors are compounded at Christmas time. 

Pastors, if your worship attendance numbers, offering total or sermon wasn’t great this past Sunday. It’s OK. To, in part, quote the late great, Tony Campolo, “It’s Monday, but another Sunday is a comin’.”  In other words, you get another chance this week for all those things to improve. If you received an unwanted email about this or that (I received one over the weekend), take a deep breath, count to ten and give that person over to Jesus (I’m still working on that one, to be honest). If you’ve got to take a break, take it. If you need to hand off some duty to someone in the congregation, do it. If you need to simply settle it for a long winter’s nap, sleep away. 

Pastors, during the hectic Christmas season make sure you take care of yourself. The Kingdom needs you healthy and well. Your church needs you healthy and well. Your family (and you) need you well too. So stop listening to the naysayers, go for a walk and enjoy the crisp winter air. We’re in the homestretch toward Christmas. You can make it! Take care of yourself, drink a cup of hot chocolate (or eggnog) and enjoy the season once more.

Merry Christmas! The lights of the New Year are in sight, you’ve almost made it.

Stop Counting Worship Attendance!

On By Rob Prince2 Comments

Worship Attendance numbers have caused more pastoral anxiety (and more false pride) than any other number listed on the Nazarene Annual Pastor’s Report (APR). Those numbers don’t reflect the what’s really happening or not happening within a church. Church growth (or lack of growth) does not necessarily reflect the health of a church. Too many good pastors have been defeated because a group got miffed at what the faithful pastor said or didn’t say and stormed off to the Baptists down the street. Attendance fell and so did the pastor’s confidence. Others were puffed up when the Baptist church in town split and half their crowd hopped over to the Nazarene church. There is a solution to this less-than-holy enticement. Stop counting. Stop asking how many were in church last Sunday. Just stop.

All those experiencing modest growth and the church growth prodigies in the crowd are having a heart attack: “We have to count people because people count.” Thank you Elmer Towns (Don’t know Elmer? Google him). No, we don’t have to count people. Who says? And we don’t have to focus on numerical realities because there is a book in the Bible called Numbers (I heard that lame argument back in the day too). Just stop counting.

In most cases, in USA/Canada anyway, the numbers are useless. Here are the facts:

Fact 1: Most churches are declining or have flatlined in USA/Canada. 
Fact 2: Most growth occurring is transfer growth (sheep changing pastures, not lost sheep coming home).
Fact 3: On-line attendance is the most inaccurate number of all.
Fact 4: Combining on-line and in-person attendance is a deceptively inaccurate grand total. It’s inclusion on the APR is for bragging rights only and no other reason.

All this to say, why count worship attendance numbers?

If anyone knew the fickleness of numbers, it was Jesus. He fed 5,000 on one occasion and 4,000 on another (someone was counting), but how many of those folks were there when he really needed them? A few women and the teenager John were the only friendly faces on Golgotha. Even after He was raised from the dead and lots of people saw Him, only 120 showed up for the prayer meeting until Pentecost. Not exactly earth shattering numbers (yeah, yeah, I know someone counted the 120 people and someone counted the 3,000 who were “added to their number” on Pentecost too. Blah, blah, blah…does it really matter what those numbers were?). 

Can’t we count the things that Jesus said were important (see the Great Commission if you need a lesson on what’s important). Count Baptisms. Count Disciples-in-training. Count those engaged in ministry. Like the nameless mathematician in the disciples’ circle (probably Matthew the tax collector), count the number of people fed. In other words, count community impact? Count those numbers, not how many butts are in seats or clicks made on Facebook live. 

The church growth movement (and it’s prioritizing noses and nickels) is in part to blame for the declining mess we are currently in. We were counting people, but didn’t care for them. We were counting nickels, but not nurturing neighbors. Let’s stop caring about who has more people in a pew and start caring more for the hurting people not in our pews. Let’s start calculating ways to show Jesus’ love to the “never attenders” and “down-in-outers,” instead of building brownie points with power brokers in a denominational office.   

Stop counting worship attendance and start serving!

This Pastor’s Wife is “Worth Far More Than Diamonds”

On By Rob Prince3 Comments

By my calculation, tonight’s Board and Pastors’ Christmas Dinner will be the 34th such affair for Karla’s culinary expertise. We started in Bad Axe, when Karla cooked a meal for the church board and the entire pastoral staff (me, myself and I). She has carried on the Christmas tradition at each church. The board and staff for years was small enough to have the meal in our home. As the churches grew, so did the size of the gathering. Now, the event is held in the church foyer (Karla didn’t want a “funeral dinner feel” to the meal, and Central Church’s foyer with big Christmas trees and a high ceiling makes for a lovely setting). Tonight, there will be 50 or so folks for dinner. 

Karla plans and searches for the perfect recipes all year long. She keeps notes on what folks ate and what they didn’t eat (Note to self: No Liver and onions. C’mon, she has never served liver and onions). She thinks and rethinks how to make a meal that even Goldilocks would say,  “everything is just right.” This year’s main entre is ham. There will be a potato dish that she first tried out on our home group (aka “the guinea pigs”). There will be veggies and salads and I don’t know how many deserts. All homemade. All prepared to perfection.

It can be a dangerous effort too. A few years back, she was taking the glazed carrots out of the convection oven, but the food tins proved to be too heavy. As the carrots dropped all over the floor into a sugary, sticky mess, she slightly tore her rotator cuff. She might not have given” life and limb” for this meal, but she has given a “limb.”
 

Some pastors’ spouses play the piano or lead a ministry. Back in the day, when it was mostly male pastors, the question most frequently asked at interviews was, “can your wife play the piano.” Karla played the flute (and she did accompany congregational singing with it, but that’s another story for another day). She doesn’t lead Ladies Bible studies. She isn’t the missionary president type. If you want to get on her “naughty list” ask her to do something up front. More “Martha” than “Mary” (the sisters of Lazarus from the story in Luke 10), Karla is a behind the scenes worker-bee. Hospitality and serving are her gifts. 

Solomon once wrote: A good woman is hard to find, and worth far more than diamonds. (Proverbs 31:10 MSG). He ought to know and apparently Solomon looked and looked and looked for a good woman (he had 700 wives and another 300 concubines… umm… maybe he looked too much.). It only took me one try to find “a good woman worth more than diamonds.” 

Karla is invaluable to me. She keeps me going when I’m ready to quit; helps me in more ways than I can list; and has made me look good more times than I can count. When she finally has time to sit down and read this article (probably sometime next week), she won’t be happy. She’d rather be in the background than in the spot light. Still, I’m very thankful for the love and effort she puts into tonight’s meal. Central church is blessed to have a great church board and wonderful pastoral staff, but I’m most thankful for tonight’s chef. 

What makes a “Joyful and Triumphant” Pastor? 

On By Rob PrinceLeave a comment

The Pastors’ Christmas Banquet is tonight on the Eastern Michigan District. The district is blessed to have Frankenmuth, a quaint Christmas village, nearby (technically, the town is located in the Michigan District’s territory but the drive is not too far for most EMD pastors). The dinner is at the iconic Zehnder’s restaurant and its famous family style chicken dinners. Karla and I always leave a little early for the dinner so we can stop at Bronner’s (the world’s largest Christmas store) in Frankenmuth to purchase a few ornaments. All this to say, the Eastern Michigan Pastors’ Christmas dinner is a far cry from some districts’ pastor’s Christmas dinners in musty church fellowship halls or at greasy truck stops along the freeway. 

When I first started attending this event, it was a much more dress-up affair. I once called the gathering the “Nazarene Prom.” It’s not as “promy” these days. There will be still be red sweaters and a few Christmas ties, but no gowns or corsages. We will eat chicken (and schnitzel), sing Silent Night and see pastor friends from across the district. It will be a nice evening.

I’m thankful for the brother and sisterhood of ministry. Some of the finest people, I know are pastors. While pastoring has its moments of glorious victories, there are also many times of disappointment, betrayal, loneliness and heartache. It’s not always easy being a pastor (believe me, I know). Some have toiled in difficult situations with little thanks, yet are still faithful. Some have been slandered, lied about, criticized by carnal members and still serve Jesus. Social media has butchered plenty of fine pastors (or their families) and caused many sleepless nights. Some have been passed over because leaders have listened (whether consciously or not) to those corrupt and sinful voices. They have endured loss and hurt but press on. It’s a calling not a job. It’s that calling that gets them up every day and keeps them working hard into the night. There once was a commercial saying being a U.S. marine was “the toughest job you will ever love.” Not true. Being a pastor has that distinction.

All this to say, tonight, as we are singing “O Come All Ye Faithful,” I will look around the roomful of pastors and see plenty who are “joyful and triumphant.” They are so, not because of accolades or church statistics. Instead these faithful shepherds, empowered and enabled by Jesus, are fulfilling the call He placed upon their lives. The Kingdom is enlarged because of these “joyful and triumphant” men and women

I will be honored to be standing in their midst. 

Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding. Jeremiah 3:15