Tag: collaboration

two hands partnership together two puzzle pieces

The Power of Partnership

Written on March 4, 2024.

A few weeks ago, my husband Will and I attended the AMS Lab from NAMB in Atlanta, Georgia. Hundreds of pastors and AMS leaders from across the country gathered together to learn more about partnerships and collaboration in revitalizing dying churches. We listened to several leaders discuss ways their associations and churches had worked cohesively for the spread of the Gospel and each other’s benefit. We heard testimonies of how these collaborations bore the fruit of faithfulness, health, repentance, and revival. The message was clear: There is power in partnership.

In Genesis 2:18, we read that God formed Man and then came to an important realization: “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” Now, we know that God then formed Woman and declared it “very good.” But the main idea was not merely for man and woman to be in partnership together– the main thought is that it is not good for man to be alone. Over and over in God’s Word, He reminds us that collaboration is better than alienation.

We often remind our congregations that God has formed our church like a body, quoting from 1 Corinthians and Ephesians. We tell them that we all need each other, we all have different gifts, and that we all benefit from our unity. And yet when it comes to churches partnering with other churches, many pastors neglect to foster and encourage partnership in their ministries.

On a recent episode of the Replant Bootcamp podcast, Jimbo talked with Mark Hallock, author and Lead Pastor of the Calvary Family of Churches in Colorado, and Brandon Moore, Replant Specialist at NAMB, about the benefits of radical collaboration. When we partner together, ministries flourish, churches come back from the dead, and pastors are strengthened. On His way to the cross, Jesus prayed that the church’s unity and partnership would display God’s plan and His love for the world to see (John 17:23).

God’s Command to Partner

Here is the truth of the matter. Pastors who neglect to partner with other churches are working against God’s plan for the Gospel. You might not realize it, but God desires us to be in close collaboration with other churches– not competition. Too often, we get wrapped up in the human desire to grow our personal kingdom and not God’s.

Of course, that’s not the language we use. Pastors would never say they desire their kingdom to grow over God’s. But when we hoard our resources for our gain, when we disparage the church across town (especially from the pulpit), and when we isolate ourselves from other pastors, we’ve created a “my church, my growth” mindset instead of a “God’s church, His kingdom” mindset.

God commands us to work in unity with other churches. Our passion must be for God’s Kingdom to grow, because His plan is to reach the lost world through people– not only your church but mine, too. His plan is for all of us to cooperate so that His name is magnified throughout the nations.

Where do I start?

At the AMS Lab, one of the phrases we heard from pastors and AMS Leaders was, “Partnership sounds great, but we don’t have that mindset in our association. No one seems to want to share or to cooperate.” What a missed opportunity!

When pastors alienate themselves and build walls around their ministry, it typically signifies an area of personal weakness. Maybe they’ve been hurt by other pastors in the past and they are hesitant to be vulnerable again. Perhaps they are afraid to be transparent or admit that something isn’t working. Or maybe it’s just good, old-fashioned pride that makes them feel like they don’t have anything to learn from someone else. Regardless of the root issue, a pastor who “Lone Rangers” his ministry may need to evaluate his behavior and repent.

Often, one of the first steps toward collaboration is one of embracing humility. It’s one thing to agree we need pastoral friendships for encouragement, but it’s quite another to be willing to share resources like money, time, and leadership with fellow pastors. It’s one thing to say, “I’m willing to help the church down the street,” but it’s different to say, “I don’t care who gets the credit, I just want to see God’s Kingdom grow.” Humility offers us a chance to let go of our ego and step out of the picture, and it allows God to step in and do radically transformative work in both our congregation and in the other church. Laying down our pride for the Gospel reaps fruit we can’t even begin to imagine.

Once we’ve embraced the command to partner with fellow pastors and churches, and we’ve repented of any pride or fear standing in our way, it’s time to lean in and pursue partnership. Now I wish this was as easy as simply passing a note to another pastor at the next Association meeting that says, “Do you want to partner with me in ministry? Check yes or no.” Unfortunately, radical collaboration takes a little more time and effort!

To start with, you need to actually attend association meetings. Those meetings aren’t merely to give you information and discuss everyone’s budget and church attendance numbers. Those meetings are opportunities for networking with other pastors and for encouraging each other! You have something to learn from them. The Holy Spirit indwells them just as He indwells you! God has given them unique perspectives, experiences, and giftings that can benefit you, even if they are different than yours.

Being a good partner in ministry means being a good friend. When you’re at the meetings, ask good questions of your fellow pastors. Pray over their churches. Have someone from your church send them a card to encourage them. Some of our best partnerships have come from having close friends in ministry. Last year when we were gone on a mission trip, we needed help with our worship service– we were short a pastor and a worship leader. We were able to call our best friends in ministry and ask for their help– and they sent a worship team over to lead our service, even though it meant their church struggled a little that morning. Why? Because we aren’t in competition, we’re in cooperation.

Maybe not everyone will understand your desire for partnership. That’s ok. Start with a few guys who do. Plan a night of worship and combine your campuses. Look for ways your church can help with their VBS (or vice versa). Do you have a couple of talented musicians while their church struggles to have live music? Ask one of your people to serve there a couple of weeks a month. Not because you don’t love your church and your people, but because you’ve taught your church to love other churches. And before you know it, a funny thing happens when other people see radical partnership thriving… they’ll want to join, too. That’s where you see the culture change. That’s where the goal of “church growth” becomes “Kingdom growth.”

The Superpower of Partnership

Hopefully, by now you’ve realized that we need to partner with fellow churches for one very good reason: God commands us to! But partnership isn’t merely a rule to follow. Radical collaboration is a superpower. Once we tap into it, the benefits to our ministry and our personal walk with Jesus are huge!

One of the main benefits of partnership? We are better together! Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 reminds us, “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.” There will always be times when ministry is a struggle. I have a friend who swears her husband quits ministry every Monday morning. Discouragement, disappointment, and feelings of frustration with church members or church politics can feel overwhelming. But partnerships with other churches mean your problems aren’t just your own to solve. You have helpers to pick you up and raise your arms, as Aaron and Hur did for Moses (Exodus 17).

Another benefit? Faithfulness in the ministry. A recent Barna study found that 65% of pastors reported feeling isolated or alone in 2022… that’s up from only 42% feeling that way in 2015. It seems many pastors are feeling like Johnny Cash when he sang, “I’ve got no one to tell my troubles to, no one to care to call my own. It seems that I must always be alone.” And when pastors feel isolated, they are more susceptible to temptation, hip-shot decisions, and leaving the ministry altogether. When you partner with other pastors, you have built-in encouragement, but you also have built-in accountability. Your partners are also pastors who can tell you, in humility and love, where you might be going off-track.

Lastly, there is the benefit of having a cohort to help you navigate the complexities in the culture and society we face today. We are dealing with aspects of culture that society has not wrestled with before and in our digital and technologically advanced society, these complex questions do not stop at the church’s front door. Increasingly, these cultural issues are encouraging pastors to take a new look at their by-laws, their polity, and even their own personal beliefs. Having other pastors beside you as you walk through these decisions gives you a plurality of educated leaders that you may not yet have access to within your own congregation.

The Superhero of Partnership

I hope that you now see the superpower of partnership and the ways collaboration benefits your ministry. Now, allow me to introduce a superhero who can help you in your quest for partnership– your local AMS.

Hopefully, the local AMS at your association has been there long enough to have the one gift you need– the power of connection. The AMS has an acute knowledge of not only the churches in his association, but of each pastor, and each congregation. When you need ministry partners, there is no better place to start than your AMS. Have a music/worship need? He knows of a local cohort of worship leaders you can join. He also knows which churches have large choirs and an abundance of musicians who may be able to join you for a while. Have a question about polity? He knows which church recently rewrote their bylaws, and what roadblocks they ran into, and he knows who you need to call at the state level for assistance. Need help with VBS? He knows the church doing theirs weeks before yours, and he’s happy to put you in touch with them so you can borrow their decorations when they’re done.

If you’re interested in hearing more ways your AMS and your local association can assist you in radical collaboration, the Replant Bootcamp has a podcast and blog on the partnership between pastors and Associations.

Opportunities to Partner with Us

When we talk about partnerships between pastors and associations, there is no better place to explore that than at the Replant Bootcamp events. We have several coming up, from two Am I a Replanter labs in April, the Revive Summit in May and September, and of course, through our website and archives.

Don’t forget to let us know how much your ministry partners have helped you by suggesting them as future guests using the “Suggest a Guest” button! We would love to hear your stories!

The word Consensus is written in blue and underlined by a female hand holding a blue marker

Navigating Consensus Decision-Making: Identifying Challenges and Opportunities

Written on November 12, 2023.

In a recent episode of the Replant Bootcamp podcast, Bob and Jimbo walked us through what it looks like to weigh big decisions. In that episode (and accompanying blog linked here), we discussed seven steps we can take when making difficult decisions as a replant pastor or leader. These decisions can be made unilaterally, allowing the pastor to think through his choice and move forward. But many decisions require more than just the pastor thinking through them– they require a consensus of thought from many different voices and viewpoints.

Consensus is defined as, “a general agreement, [or] to arrive at an agreement about a matter, thing, or initiative.” And this process of collaborative consensus has real benefit when it comes to unity and support within the church, but it is not without challenges. Thankfully, Bob and Jimbo are here to guide us. Let’s dive into episode 216 and look at the challenges and correctives in consensus decision-making.

Obstacle One: 100% Agreement Might Be 100% Impossible

As I write this, Thanksgiving is two weeks away. That means it’s time to send the annual “What does everyone want for Thanksgiving Dinner” family group text. You might think Turkey Day has a standard menu of Turkey, Dressing (or Stuffing, depending on your regional preference), cranberry sauce, etc. And in most families, you’d be right. But not in mine.

I have one kid who hates turkey. He always requests a small ham. I have another family member who doesn’t care for mashed potatoes but will eat sweet potatoes. I have one child who despises green bean casserole and two who can finish the entire casserole dish themselves. I have one person who prefers pumpkin pie and one who prefers pecan. One who wants corn casserole and one who wants macaroni and cheese. Only one person will eat cranberry sauce.

I am only feeding between 5 and 10 people any given Thanksgiving, but getting all 5 to 10 people to agree on a menu for that day is nearly impossible because everyone has their own preferences. If I wait for everyone to agree on a menu I run the risk of Christmas being here before we can eat.

Church decisions are often like this. One faction wants one thing, while another would prefer something else. If we wait for everyone to agree, we may never reach the place of decision.

Our challenge is often in seeking 100% agreement in the outcome. Instead, we need to look for 100% support for the outcome.

Bob Bumgarner, the Lead Missional Strategist for First Coast Churches in Jacksonville, Florida, sees it this way: Maybe we can’t get 100% of the people to agree on 100% of the decision, but can we have 100% of the people agree to 80% of the decision? In other words, can we all agree on the fundamentals so we can support the decision and stand by it without disunity and disharmony? Can we give up our preference for one stroke of the painting to allow for a decision that provides the best portrait?

Consensus decision-making requires us to acknowledge that we may not achieve a unanimous decision, but we can agree on the essentials enough to move forward.

The First Opportunity Found in Consensus

When we go into a decision knowing 100% agreement might be 100% impossible, we might run the risk of feeling somewhat discouraged. But there is an opportunity here in this obstacle. While we can’t guarantee a unanimous decision, we can seek to love each person at the table in mutual submission and grace.

Ephesians 5:21 states, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” I can push my personal preferences aside when I remember that it’s not about me. We must honor each other as we sit around a table and seek wise counsel.

In any collaborative decision-making process, there will be opportunities for discussion and perhaps even debate. In those moments, it is crucial that we remind our people to truly listen to each other. When we actively listen to someone else’s position, we aren’t looking for new ways to convince them toward our side. We are instead serving them and honoring them by seeking to understand them better.

Mutual submission allows each person to not only feel heard and validated, it also acknowledges a very powerful truth: We do not have all the answers. Spoiler alert: We do not know everything! In hearing someone else’s opinion and truly listening for deeper understanding, we are humbly recognizing that we don’t know it all.

We may not be able to agree on everything, but we can all agree that honoring each person at the table is more important than anything.

Obstacle Two: Desperate Times Make for Desperate Decisions

Have you ever been in a meeting that just… wouldn’t… end…? I was once in a staff meeting where 15 different staff members were all trying to decide on a solution to a very frustrating situation. Every person had a valid opinion and every person felt that they were correct. No one seemed to know how to fix the problem. After 3 hours of back-and-forth discussion, do you know what was finally decided? Absolutely nothing. The decision was tabled until the next month’s staff meeting.

There was just one problem… That situation still needed a solution. In desperation and frustration, management made a unilateral decision that angered everyone and threatened to induce a mass walkout.

Their desperation to make a decision, ANY decision, led them to make one that really didn’t solve the problem and instead led to newer, far more serious, problems. Churches can experience that desperation, too. In our rashness for ANY decision to be made, we can jump into the wrong one. We can allow the conversation of our preferences, our desires, and our thoughts to become the standard for decision-making.

I know what you’re thinking… But Erin, you JUST SAID we needed to humbly listen to everyone! You’re right. But there’s one more person we must listen to over everyone in the room: The Holy Spirit.

If the only standard we use for decision-making is our own flawed human logic, we are bound to fall into desperate decisions that aren’t Kingdom-minded.

The Second Opportunity Found in Consensus

The best decisions we can make are those that honor God: His Word, His Work, and His Way. Our logic, preferences, and opinions all take a back seat to the wisdom that is only found in the Holy Spirit.

As leaders in the room where it happens, we have a unique opportunity to guide our people toward listening for the Holy Spirit’s guidance. When we remember to rely on God’s timing and God’s provision, we are less likely to jump into desperate decision-making that leaves Him behind.

When we encourage our members to pray for upcoming decisions, we are reminding them to look for God’s leadership and not just ours. When we guide our members to search the Scriptures for verses specific to the topic, we are reinforcing our mutual belief that God’s Word is alive and active, even for our “modern-day” decisions. When we shepherd our members to wait for God’s timing, we are motivating them to remember that He is faithful even in the waiting.

We are strengthened as a community when we remind ourselves that the Holy Spirit’s voice should be the strongest in the room.

Obstacle Three: “I Never Liked It From the Start”

You know the expression, “Hindsight is 20/20?” I know a woman whose hindsight is not only crystal clear, but she will also be happy to remind you that her foresight was, too. “I was never on board,” she boasts. “I knew this was a bad idea from the beginning.” The problem is, she never says anything in the beginning! It’s only after a decision has been made and then found to be less than ideal that she finds this voice.

You might imagine that consensus decision-making would discourage this because there is ample opportunity to speak up and collaborate on decisions. But instead, sometimes the opposite is true. In a consensus where everyone is part of the process, there is a challenge for everyone to not only agree with the decision but support it, as well.

As we said in the first obstacle, we may not all agree on the entirety, but we hope to agree enough on the fundamentals to come to a decision. But even if we don’t agree with it all, we MUST support it all. It is imperative that every person involved in a decision-making process leaves the room ready to champion the final option.

We must remember that those of us making decisions will occasionally make a decision that doesn’t turn out exactly how we imagined. In that moment, we must be able to acknowledge the reasons why and move forward without finger-pointing and murmuring against each other. The full support of each person in the consensus is necessary for unity and accountability.

The Third Opportunity In Consensus

In Galatians 5, Paul reminds the Galatians to live ”by the Spirit.” He tells them that the works of the flesh are evident. The first few refer to sexual impurities, but then he mentions, “enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, [and] envy.” Paul’s reminder is fitting for us, as well, as we think through collaborative decisions. When we walk in the flesh, we are prone to backbiting and dissension. We allow rivalries to build up and bitterness toward our fellow members to grow roots in our hearts. We make decisions not out of a spirit of love, but out of pettiness and jealousy.

But when we are led by the Spirit, Paul writes, we bear the fruit of the Spirit, namely, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Imagine being in a room where decisions were made in that kind of generosity of Spirit. Imagine collaborating with fellow Christians who all listened to each other with those fruits evident in their interactions.

Now imagine that the decision didn’t work out for some reason, and imagine seeing those same people respond to each other with grace and mercy, the fruit of the Spirit on display as they support each other and encourage each other.

Consensus decision-making can be challenging, but when we meet those challenges with biblical community, we honor God and testify to His Spirit in us. We see our members grow in grace, love, and unity with each other, and that overflow informs our decision-making process. We make better decisions with better support and we see a transformation as we do so.

EPISODE #77 – EVALUATING YOUR CALL PT.2

Written on March 10, 2021.

Replant Bootcamp

EPISODE #77 - EVALUATING YOUR CALL PT.2

00:00 / 28:46

The boys are back picking up where they left off-talking transitions in ministry, specifically how Jimbo became a “denominational guy” and why. Check it out as we discuss the importance of learning, serving and letting God lead you on a journey in ministry.

How did you begin the path to becoming a denominational man?

There was a key moment when I remember my passion quickening after having a conversation and helping a local pastor.
Networking and Partnership has always been important to me and something that I practiced from the early days of ministry.
I contacted my Association as soon as I moved to Florida and said I’m here to learn and serve.
I began to ask my Associational Leader questions about Replanting and Revitalization, all the time!
I had the idea and passion to help others not make the mistakes and experiencing the pain I had as a Replanter.
My Associational Leader saw that passion and drive and gave me the opportunity to serve.

How did you decide you need to make the switch and transition out of Pastoring a local Replant?

I realized my church needed someone who could give more than I was able to give
The church needed someone with a different skill set who could take the church to a new place.
It was the obvious next step to me and confirmed by those around me.

An important question to ask: Are you willing to do the work (serve other pastors, churches) with no pay and little recognition?

(From Jimbo’s Mentor) There are three kinds of denominational leaders

They one who sees his position and as a promotion and believes he has arrived-and is immediately irrelevant.
The one who sees his position as a way to end or retire-and is immediately irrelevant.
The one who has a passion to serve pastors and churches with everything he has-be that guy.

Learn to be content with the pace of your ministry and the pace of your ministry and let God direct both.

Raising Up Replanters (vintage edition) 199.99

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