Page 4740 – Christianity Today (2024)

Recently I was introduced to “cyberspace,” the electronic world of paperless communication. LEADERSHIP and our sister magazines from Christianity Today, Inc. went “online”–anyone with a computer, modem, and phone line can access our magazines electronically and send us instant messages.

It’s a strange new world–more immediate, but a bit more abrupt than the world of postcards and first-class mail.

A couple of weeks ago, I was “trolling” online–checking message boards and reading e-mail to the editors–when I came across this one-liner sent by someone with the screen name Pedro (and a bunch of numbers).

The message: “Christianity is a crutch for the weak.”

That was all. I wondered why Pedro bothered to send this e-note (it’s hard to call seven words “mail”). It was a harmless drive-by egging of a Christian magazine’s e-mail box–sent anonymously from a computer somewhere (next door? someplace in Indonesia?). But it’s what you get when you put your magazine on a public newsstand and invite people to comment.

Since the message was hardly a new accusation, I would have ignored it, except for one thing: not only am I a Christian, but for the previous six weeks, I’d been on crutches. Literally.

While playing in a men’s soccer league, with dreams of athletic glory, I’d tried to maneuver the ball past the last defender. Instead, I haplessly got tangled up with him, stepped on the ball, rolled my left ankle, and broke my fibula. Hello, cast and crutches.

So Pedro’s note jabbed me, both as a Christian and as someone with a crutch or two.

I replied by saying it sounded as if he’d had a sour experience with Christians, and for that I was sorry, but I felt the need to respond since I’d been living with Christianity for thirty-six years and with crutches for six weeks.

From my point of view, crutches are not for the weak. For the last month and a half, my arms and especially my underarms had gotten quite a workout. And they were feeling much stronger, thank you.

And crutches are definitely not for the faint of heart. For sheer tension, crossing an icy parking lot on crutches rivals rappelling down a cliff.

Who are crutches for? For those who are broken, who admit something is wrong and want to get better. For people who want to continue being active–not sitting around with their feet up–but getting around, engaging in work and relationships.

Likewise, Christianity is for broken people. But it’s definitely not for the weak or faint of heart. The Pedros of the world may see ministers as weaklings, as peddlers of pacifiers. But I invited Pedro to pick any one of the Christian virtues–love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, self-control–and practice it intently for one day. He’d quickly see that any Christian virtue demands strength of character, not atrophied spiritual muscle.

I never heard back from Pedro–I pray he’ll give Christ a chance. He’ll find faith is no easy out from reality. It’s an invitation to walk again after reality breaks you.

As I’ve thought about it since, if he wanted to put down Christianity by calling it a crutch, he was far too mild. Christianity isn’t a crutch for the weak–it’s a heart transplant for the dying. It’s for people who know they can’t live without a Donor to provide what they can’t live without.

Our ministry isn’t telling people what they want to hear. It’s giving them an accurate diagnosis–and then helping them through surgery and rehab.

**********************

Marshall Shelley is executive editor of LEADERSHIP.

Copyright (c) 1995 Christianity Today, Inc./LEADERSHIP Journal

lecurrmrw5L3138573f

Copyright © 1995 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal.Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.

Seven years ago LEADERSHIP raised a topic most Christian publications politely avoided: sex. Readers told us they appreciated that issue and rated it higher than any before it.

Since then, sexual issues in ministry have become even more pressing. Sexual harassment, barely mentioned in 1988, is now a household phrase. Lawsuits for sexual misconduct have soared; as of September 1993, the Church Insurance Company alone had paid $6.2 million in settlements and faced $4 million more in claims. Hard-core p*rnography, once restricted to seedy parlors, comes as close as any TV remote. Amid the changes, how can ministers demonstrate sexual health and encourage it in others?

We offer this new issue, then, with the prayer it will be honest, helpful, hopeful, and holy.

Sex is not the only thing on our minds.

Not long ago I attended a “Convocation on Racial Reconciliation” sponsored by the National Association of Evangelicals and the National Black Evangelical Association. Friends asked how it went. I struggled for an answer. Finally I settled on two words: painful and hopeful.

What made the event painful was realizing how deep-seated racism is within the Christian church. It hurt to hear an African-American woman at my table tell of being cut out of a project at work. Another black leader, educated at Harvard, had a colleague on a Christian college faculty make a racial slur about him. Meanwhile, whites spoke of their frustrations with “reverse discrimination” and with being considered racist when they didn’t feel they were.

Afterward, I asked myself, When was the last time you taught or wrote on issues related to racism? When was the last time you heard a sermon devoted to racial reconciliation? I couldn’t answer; I didn’t remember.

I fear we have been silent, assuming the problem has been solved or isn’t our problem. As ministers of Jesus, we don’t have that luxury. Effective evangelism depends upon Christian unity; as Jesus prayed, “May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me” (John 17:23). If we’re going to reach a divided world, we need to present a united front.

I see how high the obstacles are to true reconciliation. And I know how few and faltering my steps have been. But I am moving forward and inviting others along, because I believe the Spirit of God is sovereignly bringing separated Christians back together. Promise Keepers has made one of its seven commitments to “reach beyond racial and denominational barriers to demonstrate the power of biblical unity.” More books and magazines are emerging; recently I’ve appreciated “Let’s Get to Know Each Other” by Tony Evans and “The Reconciler” (P.O. Box 32, Jackson, MS 39205; e-mail: urbnfamily@aol.com).

In October, the predominantly white Pentecostal Fellowship of North America disbanded in favor of a new, racially inclusive group that includes most major African-American Pentecostal bodies. (At that conference, white leader Donald Evans knelt and washed the feet of Bishop Ithiel Clemmons of the Church of God in Christ, helping that meeting to win the name “Memphis Miracle.”) From conversations, I know many of LEADERSHIP’S readers and advisers are working to build relationships across racial lines.

I look at my children, Andrew and Anne, and I wonder whether racism will be significantly lessened in the Christian church within their lifetime. I don’t know. But I want them to be able to say, at some future date, “My dad was not just part of the problem. He found a way to be part of the solution.”

**********************

Kevin A. Miller is editor of LEADERSHIP.

Copyright (c) 1995 Christianity Today, Inc./LEADERSHIP Journal

lecurrmrw5L30035426

Copyright © 1995 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal.Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.

The public image of sex in America bears virtually no relationship to the truth.” So conclude researchers at the University of Chicago after a landmark study. “Sex in America: A Definitive Survey,” by Robert Michael, John Gagnon, Edward Laumann, and Gina Kolata (Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1994) details a carefully controlled study of 3,432 respondents selected randomly from the general population. The study provided both good news and bad news for church leaders.

GOOD NEWS

Religious conservatives enjoy sex.

The notion that people holding fervent religious convictions cannot enjoy sex simply did not stand up. The researchers concluded, “Despite the popular image of straitlaced conservative Protestants, there is at least circ*mstantial evidence that the image may be a myth, at least as it pertains to sexual intercourse.”

ÂResearchers discovered to their surprise that the one group of adult females most likely to experience org*sm during intercourse with their primary partner was conservative Protestant women. A full 32 percent of this group reported “always” experiencing sexual climax, far ahead of the 22 percent among females who have no religious affiliation. The researchers were impressed: “Perhaps conservative Protestant women firmly believe in the holiness of marriage and of sexuality as an expression of their love for their husbands.”

In addition, the study found that both conservative Protestant males and females lead all other religious (and non-religious) groups in frequency of sexual intercourse.

Singles are not as sexually active as married people.

Who is having the most sex in America–the “mundane” married individual or the “young-and-restless” single?

The study declared: “The group that has the most sex is not the young and footloose but the married.”

Perhaps the most remarkable statement of the study linked traditional sexual ethics and sexual fulfillment. “Our results could be read to mean that an orthodox view of romance, courtship, and sexuality–your mom’s view, perhaps–is the only route to happiness and sexual satisfaction.” While the researchers stop short of endorsing traditional Judeo-Christian morality as the best approach to finding sexual happiness, their data lend credence to the idea.

Marital infidelity is lower than assumed.

The Chicago study found a lower-than-expected rate of sexual unfaithfulness among married couples. For decades Americans have been told that 50 percent of men and 35 percent of women are unfaithful to their spouses. The real figures: only from 15 to 35 percent of men and only 20 percent of women. The notion that most married people will have an affair simply isn’t true.

hom*osexuality is not widespread.

A popular figure presented since the Kinsey Report is that at least 10 percent of the population is hom*osexual. The Chicago study found only 1.4 percent of women and 2.8 percent of men identified themselves in this way. While a larger percentage reported having had hom*osexual experiences in their lifetime, only this minute percentage described themselves as being gay.

BAD NEWS

Many Christians believe in “relational sex.”

Researchers divided respondents into three categories of attitudes toward sex: traditional, relational, and recreational. The traditional group (one-third of respondents) say religious belief always guides their sexual behavior and that premarital, extramarital, and hom*osexual sex is wrong. The relational group believe sex should be part of a loving relationship, but should not necessarily be restricted to marriage (nearly half the sample). The final group, the recreational proponents, believe sex should be enjoyed for its own sake and doesn’t necessarily need to have anything to do with love (approximately a quarter of the respondents).

What was surprising, and perhaps disconcerting, is that only 50.5 percent of conservative Protestants fall into the traditional category. (Among mainline Protestants, 30.9 percent were in the traditional group; among Catholics, 22.2 percent.) The data suggest a chasm between official doctrinal teachings and the behavior of followers.

Protestants are not living up to their teachings on monogamy.

One place the chasm appeared was the issue of monogamous sexual behavior. Of those groups reporting only one sex partner in the last twelve months, Jewish believers led all others, with 75 percent claiming just one sexual mate. Conservative Protestants came in second to last (70 percent), just ahead of those claiming no religious affiliation (68 percent).

A surprising percentage of Protestants reported having two to four sexual partners in the last twelve months: Fourteen percent of conservative Protestants and 13 percent of mainline Protestants slept with two or more people during the last year. Another 3 percent of conservative Protestants and 2 percent of mainline Protestants had five or more sexual partners last year.

Cohabitation before marriage is rapidly increasing.

Of those women born between 1933 and 1942, 93 percent married without first living with their mate. But for women born between 1963 and 1974, the number dropped to 36 percent. It’s no illusion: people are choosing to live together before marriage; it is becoming the rule rather than the exception.

p*rnography is widespread.

Forty-one percent of all men reported having done one of the following in the last 12 months: watching an X-rated movie, visiting a club with semi-nude or nude dancers, purchasing sexually explicit books, magazines, erotic devices or sex toys, or calling a sex phone number. Sixteen percent of women reported doing one of the above as well. A pastor could safely assume at least some individuals sitting in the congregation are reflected in these statistics.

While the report card of Sex in America has mixed grades for the sexual behavior of Protestants, the survey confirmed that Christians see sex more as a gift to be enjoyed within marriage, than an evil to be endured or avoided. The study should serve as a fitting obituary to the idea that faith and sexual enjoyment are mutually exclusive.

*********************

Bob Moeller is a contributing editor for LEADERSHIP Journal.

Copyright (c) 1995 Christianity Today, Inc./LEADERSHIP Journal

lecurrmrw5L30305426

Copyright © 1995 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal.Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.

As an additional service, Leadership offers summaries of all articles longer than three pages, so you can:

* decide which articles are of most interest to you

* glean the essential concepts of articles if you have only limited time to read.

TRAITS OF A SEXUALLY HEALTHY PASTOR

Eight leaders define what it means for a church leader to be whole.

Jill Hudson, a Presbyterian minister and workshop leader on “Sexual Misconduct and the Ministry,” states that “People who are sexually healthy know their unresolved issues around sexuality and make an ongoing attempt to address those.”

Archibald Hart, dean of the school of psychology at Fuller Seminary, adds that “A sexually healthy pastor is, above everything else, honest with himself or herself. A second trait is that he or she is accountable. Another important trait of health is that the person does not misread the sexuality of the opposite sex.”

Larry Crabb, chairman of the graduate department of biblical counseling at Colorado Christian University, says, “A sexually healthy pastor is aware that sexual health depends on issues outside the realm of sex. Having a godly friend or spouse care about your soul is the best antidote for sexual immorality.”

Scotty Smith, senior pastor of Christ Community Church in Franklin, Tennessee, says, “It’s so important to process the history of your sexual experience. I urge people to find a faithful servant of Christ and try to understand these matters. That process brings freedom, dignity, wisdom.”

George McKinney, pastor of St. Stephen’s Church of God in Christ in San Diego, adds, “It’s a sign of health when the pastor sincerely accepts that ‘marriage is honorable to all, and the bed is undefiled,’ as the Book of Hebrews says.” Sexuality is to be appreciated, to be enjoyed in marriage for procreation, communication, and recreation.

Linda Riley–a pastor’s wife and leader of Called Together, a ministry to pastors’ wives and women in ministry, based in Torrance, California–concludes that “a sexually healthy person communicates well and is considerate of his or her spouse. A sexually healthy pastor acknowledges and deals with temptation. Being sexually healthy means you get help when you’re having a problem.”

Harry Schaumburg, a therapist in Colorado Springs and author of “False Intimacy,” adds that “a sexually healthy pastor is not using ministry as a way of satisfying his deepest relational needs.”

Knute Larson, pastor of The Chapel in Akron, Ohio, says, “If a pastor is married, he knows how to deal with barriers that disconnect him from his spouse and works hard on the marriage.”

What kind of touch with parishioners is okay?

The leaders generally agree, in Jill Hudson’s words, that “Touch should be used in limited ways, in public settings where it can be observed, for example, and only with invitation.”

What guidelines should a pastor set on counseling someone of the opposite sex?

Arch Hart emphasizes that “the pastor-as-pastor role is different from the pastor-as-counselor role” and advocates that pastors confine themselves to crisis counseling.

How should a pastor talk about sex publicly?

Respondents agreed that it’s difficult (Hart: “The greatest challenge facing the church for the next century is sexuality”) but must be done carefully.

Does ministry itself present sexual hazards?

Linda Riley: Spirituality can be sensual. And most pastors love people. That requires sensitivity and boundaries.

Larry Crabb: Ministry as it’s often practiced has a pace that makes people tired and more vulnerable.

Arch Hart: To many parishioners the pastor represents everything about their unmet need. When the pastor has what we call a counter-transference, you’ve got a dangerous mix.

What action should church leaders take in this area?

Scotty Smith: Become enthralled and excited with God’s good and passionate words about our sexuality. Study the Scriptures afresh to see how awesome this gift is that God has given us.

Jill Hudson: The church needs to work on pastoral issues: being financially strapped, the demand of being all things to all people, the lack of clarity in the role, and so on. I encourage clergy, “Take care of your spiritual life.”

Harry Schaumburg: If you recognize an unhealthy part of your life, do something about it.

Linda Riley: Pastors and pastors’ spouses should acknowledge they are sexual people like the rest of humanity. Their calling and daily concentration on God don’t exclude them from enthusiastically enjoying sex.

George McKinney: Pastors need to understand that the Devil puts his big guns on the pastor and they need to guard against that. As the old folks said, “The Devil is no friend of grace.”

Larry Crabb: There is a dimension to experiencing intimacy with Christ that none of us has begun to comprehend. Don’t settle for less.

PREACHING THAT OH-SO-DELICATE SUBJECT

Bill Hybels offers guidelines on how to preach about sexual topics.

My overarching concern is that people understand human sexuality as one of God’s good gifts, part of his grand design for us. I explain that sexuality is a highly-charged, God-designed drive that we need to understand and submit to the lordship of Jesus Christ because it can be used for great good or enormous destruction.

Direct and indirect preaching. I preach about sex directly and indirectly. Occasionally I’ll devote a series of sermons to the subject. (However, I limit the subjects I cover. I don’t address masturbation or sexual experimentation by married partners or sexual aberrations. I have too many young ears present.)

The indirect method is what I call maintenance statements. In the midst of a sermon on, say, the woman at the well, I’ll throw in a maintenance statement: “The woman was floundering; she had lost the meaning of faithfulness to her spouse, just as she had never known faithfulness to her Lord.”

Putting sex in perspective. Whenever I speak about sex, there is one impression I definitely do not want to leave: that misappropriated sex is the one sin the church and God cannot tolerate.

Being sensitive to pain. I cannot spout “thou shalt nots” without being sensitive to the depth of pain most people already feel concerning sex. If the women in my church are typical, as many as half of them have had a destructive or unwanted sexual experience forced on them. If I cannot include a word of grace, I may do irreparable damage.

Providing tangible help. I must give people something to grasp as they let go of sexual problems. Marriage-enrichment groups, counseling programs, accountability groups, discipleship programs with mature leaders–these offer people a way to begin to remedy their denatured sexuality.

Injecting humor. Humor is the perfect counterbalance to the weightiness of the topic. With all that pain and guilt and sin-talk floating in the air, with people feeling nervous or perhaps expecting to be offended, anything I can say that disarms them for a moment is precious. Yet humor must be appropriate. We can’t wink and make light of something painful.

Being transparent. As a pastor, I’m called not just to feed the flock, but also to model as best I can the kind of life Christ would have me lead. Personal transparency is for a purpose–identification with the congregation–not for mere verbal exhibitionism. Before I use personal references, I obtain Lynne’s permission.

SINS OF THE FAMILY

The true story of a woman who claimed a pastor sexually harassed her and how a church struggled to deal with the allegations.

A WAY OF ESCAPE

In an interview, anti-p*rn activist and pastor Jerry Kirk tells what he has learned about winning the personal battle against p*rnography.

p*rnography assaults people in hotel rooms, in airports, in convenience stores. So when I travel and stay in a hotel I move immediately on the offensive–in prayer, in worship, in taking authority over the Evil One.

To overcome slavery to p*rnography, I urge the person to come clean before God, agreeing with God that p*rnography is sin. The second step is telling a confessor, someone outside your congregation with whom you can be totally honest.

I’ve never known a married man who has won the victory over his addiction to p*rnography without sharing it with his wife. Through telling your wife, you concretely see the pain your sin causes the Lord. (I do not think specific details should be shared with a spouse, though.)

To stay free of p*rnography, you need a fresh vision of what your life can be like if you are disciplined in this area–and what it will be like if you are not. In five years, for example, what will your life be like if you have been able to be self-disciplined? What will the level of joy be? The level of confidence in prayer be? The level of self-esteem be?

There are four stages to addiction: (1) the addiction itself; (2) the addiction escalates–you crave harder and harder p*rnography; (3) you become desensitized: what was abhorrent begins to become attractive; (4) you act out the behavior.

Every time you masturbat* after watching p*rnography you lock in the images that triggered it–and the guilt feelings accompanying it. It is not possible to masturbat* with p*rnography and not sin.

To maintain a positive outlook, I spend time with the Lord in worship, praise, and thanksgiving. And I have sought to be transparent. If nothing is hidden, Satan cannot destroy us. One day at a time we win the victory.

FREEING THE SEX ADDICT

Steve Arterburn, co-founder of the Minirth Meier New Life Clinics, describes how to help people addicted to sexual behaviors.

Any sexual behavior that violates Scripture, is sin; when someone repeatedly violates moral standards and is unable to stop, that is besetting sin. That is sexual addiction.

When sexual sin has moved to the level of addiction, it must be treated in a different way than just confronting the sin and working through forgiveness. If the sinner is also a sex addict, failure to confront the issue of addiction may leave the person on a downward spiral.

Indicators of addictive sex:

Done in isolation.

Mentally and emotionally the addict is detached, or isolated, from human relationship. In effect, sex addicts develop a double life–practicing masturbation, using p*rnography, patronizing massage parlors or p*rn shops, engaging in sexual encounters.

Cyclical.

The person begins experiencing uncomfortable feelings of pain, stress, or shame. Then, a sexually stimulating activity is used to medicate or distract from the uncomfortable feelings. After the act, the sex addict feels intense guilt and self-reproach (often promising it will never happen again). Days or weeks later, the scene is repeated.

Leaves emptiness.

Addictive sex leaves the participants feeling guilty, regretting the experience.

Creates victims.

Sexual addiction victimizes the family, the person who becomes an object of sexual arousal or expression, even a church (if the sex addict is in leadership). The obsession with self-gratification blinds sex addicts to the harmful effects their behavior has on others.

The best thing a pastor should do is help a sex addict find a Christian therapist. One benefit of support outside the local church is confidentiality. Pastors can provide ongoing care by

* Reaffirming that God’s grace and power are available.

* Reaffirming their love for the sex addict.

* Confronting and intervening as necessary.

* Caring for the addict’s family, especially the spouse.

* Maintaining strict confidentiality.

* Creating and following a plan a restoration.

* Holding out hope for complete restoration.

SPECIAL SECTION: THE CALL

I. Role Call

William Willimon, dean of the chapel and professor of Christian ministry at Duke University, calls pastors back to being pastors.

A pastor is not merely a person. A pastor is a person who has had hands laid upon his or her head, made public promises before God and the church, willingly yoked his or her life to the demands of the gospel.

In our attempts to be empathetic and ordinary people above the limitations of the pastoral role, we fall into what Mercer law professor Jack L. Sammons, Jr., has called “Rebellious Ethics.” The goal of this ethic is to be the sort of pastor who doesn’t take himself or herself too seriously, to be more a person than a pastor.

But in rebelling against traditional expectations for pastors, we have not rebelled against cultural expectations. We have fallen backward into the clutches of the dominant ethic–you stay out of my life, and I’ll stay out of yours.

Our aim as pastors should be to produce people whose lives will either make Jesus appear to be incredibly crazy or amazingly able to produce the sort of people he demands. We don’t need to be better rebels from the virtues and practices of our craft; we need to be more linked to them.

God’s principal way of saving the world appears to be persons, but not just any old person will do. Saints are needed. Therefore the church calls persons to be pastors to help the rest of us be more than the persons we would be if we had been left to our own devices.

Vocation, in a Christian sense, means that no one is “just a person.” No one is “just” an anything after God’s claim upon our lives.

II. Renewing Your Sense of Purpose

Ed Dobson, pastor of Calvary Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, offers help for when you wonder if ministry’s worth it.

Criticism is a regular part of Christian ministry. But sometimes it makes us wonder, “Is this job worth it?” Sometimes it’s hard to remember why we’re in ministry, or whether it’s worth it. So periodically, we need to think about our call afresh.

Like David of the Old Testament, I find it helpful to remember my call to ministry. Though the shape and nature of that call has changed over the years, this remains my call: to preach. And when there have been some harrowing storms to weather, the remembrance of this original call has helped me stick to it.

Another tactic when my call seems in doubt is to remember the four myth-busters of ministry:

–It is never as bad as you think it is.

–It’s never as good as you think it is.

–It’s never completely fixed.

–It’s never completely broken.

A lot of criticism people throw our way is based on ignorance or misconceptions. When it’s appropriate, I try to educate people. But when it’s not, I find it best just to forget the comment. I also ask God about the criticism I receive to see if God is trying to show me something.

To renew my call, I also:

Listen for God’s leading. Sometimes when we’re doubting the call, we’re merely doubting the call to a specific ministry. And sometimes the doubt is justified: God wants us to move on. I listen to my journal. For years I’ve taken time to write out, several times a week, what I’m learning from my study of Scripture, my circ*mstances, and my ministry.

In addition, I “lay out the fleece,” not to test God but to assure myself that, in fact, God is leading. I’ve also begun praying with my wife about such decisions. Finally, sometimes we just have to go out on faith, and if we’ve misread God’s will, then that too can lead us to the real calling he has for us.

Take preventive medicine. Pastors sometimes feel frustrated in their callings because they’re waiting for someone to help them. It won’t happen. We have to care for ourselves. I run between three and seven miles a day, for example, and that leaves me refreshed for preaching or teaching, particularly midweek when my energy can lapse.

I also try to operate primarily in the realm of my giftedness. Billy Graham said not long ago that he believes he did the one thing God called him to do–preach the gospel. My hope is that forty years from now I can look back and say the same thing.

PASTORING YOUR COMMUNITY

David Galloway, rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Tyler, Texas, tells how a pastor and church can make a difference in their area.

Part of my pastoral role is helping to heal the surrounding community, what I call “city therapy.” It’s a challenging vocation but ultimately rewarding. It involves five principles:

Loving the community.

When I came to Tyler in 1990, I wasn’t sure I even liked the town. But I began to pray every morning that God would give me a heart for Tyler. In time, God gave me a passionate love for Tyler. That inexplicable love helped me decide that really serving the community–to help change it, to help heal it–would be one of my high priorities.

Understanding the history.

I studied the history of our community and found that Tyler lived by an unspoken code: the African-Americans would continue to depend on the whites for jobs and opportunities and, in return, keep quiet. If every city has its peculiar sin, Tyler’s is comfort.

Refocusing the church.

To get our church to look outward, we divided the vestry [board] into groups of three to brainstorm. We eventually decided to reach out to people through thirty-second spots during the 10 o’clock news on Sunday and Wednesday nights. I would simply talk to people on the air, introducing them to Christ Church in a non-threatening way. That opportunity created openness within the church to people in the community.

Taking action.

In the fall of 1991, I helped launch Tyler Together, a group of concerned citizens with a common goal: making Tyler a better place to live. Eventually we concentrated on five issues: health care, regional identity, education, recreation, and–the hottest of the bunch–race. Tyler Together sponsored a year-long series of public forums where Tyler’s citizens could talk about their experiences of discrimination and racism.

Developing leaders.

Changing the community in a lasting way requires developing leaders. About two years ago I started Leadership Foundation to train minorities in leadership skills. The greatest value of the training is that we awaken people to their power to influence their community.

THE MAN WHO BROUGHT MARKETING TO CHURCH

In an interview, researcher George Barna explains his work and how pastors can use it.

Most ministry resources are based on intuition, feelings, and experience, which isn’t necessarily true or helpful for other churches. Barna Research takes statistical information and breaks it into bite-sized pieces. Then we give a holistic view: “This is happening over here, but you can’t understand that unless you connect it with the bigger picture.”

Marketing is not a science; it’s an art, just like preaching. Everything we do in ministry is by definition an art, because our methods must be directed and empowered by the Holy Spirit. There is no guarantee that if you do the world’s greatest mailing, expecting thousands of people to flood the doors next Sunday, that it will happen.

I am pro seeker-sensitive. But more than being pro seeker-sensitive, I’m pro people-sensitive. There are myriad ways to track whether a church is healthy and successful. Numbers is only one indicator, and not even the key one.

The fight over whether to market is false. Every church markets. The issue is: Are you marketing intelligently and intentionally? Scripture is abundantly clear theologically, but it gives enormous latitude methodologically.

Only 2 percent of pastors we surveyed could articulate the vision for their church. That’s one reason many pastors are ineffective; they don’t know where they’re going. In small churches, pastors must surround themselves with people committed to use their gifts for the church–and then to turn them loose.

Copyright (c) 1995 Christianity Today, Inc./LEADERSHIP Journal

lecurrmrw5L3135573f

Copyright © 1995 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal.Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.

Hey, Pastor, is it okay if I invite a lesbian to church?”

I had been at the church for only four months. I didn’t hesitate: “Of course it is. Jesus didn’t come for the well but for the sick.”

ÂThe young man who had asked the question hesitated for a minute, then asked, “Really, or are you foolin’ with my mind?”

I told him I didn’t think Jesus would have hindered a first-century hom*osexual from investigating his claims by following him around. Little did I know what that comment would release in our church.

DO YOU ALLOW GAYS HERE?

The young woman was unable to make it that evening but showed up two weeks later. After the service, she came up and told me that she had just given her heart to the Lord and wondered if it would be all right to “hang around and find out what to do from here.” I assured her that she was welcome and that I was available if she had questions.

Two days later Molly called asking if we could talk. When she came in, she seemed cautious but expressed a love for Jesus and a desire to grow in her faith. Then she cut to the chase. “Before I get my heart all set on falling in love with this place and these incredible people, answer me this: Do you allow gays here?”

I wasn’t ready for that question. I had been raised in a tradition where the “don’t do’s” far outnumbered the “can do’s.”

“I guess that all depends on what your motive for attending is,” I finally said. “If you desire to learn more about a loving God and his ways, and are willing to let God have control of your life, you’re welcome to stay.”

Then I added, “But if I discern that your reason for attending has changed from learning to dividing, proselytizing, justifying, or shocking and shaming the church, I reserve the right to ask you to leave. Is that understood?”

She promised me it was.

GAY BAR MINISTRY

Molly and I had many heart-to-hearts in the months and years to follow. The topics would change but never failed to challenge me with their scope and depth. One thing became increasingly evident: Molly loved Jesus.

Her life changed at a rapid pace, and her vibrant spirit and testimony drew others to ask questions and investigate the dramatic change.

Soon she said God had placed a burden on her heart to “return to her people” and share what God had done for her. She asked if several people in the church would tag along with her to a gay bar she used to frequent. She wanted to be a light to people on their own turf. Several from the church went with her and hung out or drank coffee or made small talk.

Molly explained that gays had been rejected by the church for so long that expecting them to come to the church looking for answers was unrealistic. She thought that if the gospel was powerful enough to save her, it would be powerful enough to protect her while she ministered in the bar.

She was right.

People not only started asking questions, but they also began coming with her to church. Most stopped short of a total surrender to Christ, but they ventured in far enough to witness God’s love through a small but sincere group of people known as the church.

CELIBATE MARRIAGE

Almost two years had passed when Molly asked if we could talk.

“It’s pretty important that I speak to you,” she said.

We set an appointment. I figured her visit would be more of the same: questions regarding the Word, testimonies from the bar ministry, or her struggles during the previous week. So when she asked me about taking a vow of celibacy and devoting her life entirely to the will of God, I was taken back. This good ol’ Pentecostal boy had never had to deal with this before.

“I promise to walk through this with you,” I said, “but I must confess this is all new to me. We’ll be making it up as we go along.”

She was fine with that.

The next several months we fasted and prayed regarding her decision. We studied Scripture, talked about the vows, what they would state, and how they would be implemented. After much discussion and prayer, we set a date and invited guests to witness the celebration of her marriage to God and to full-time service for him.

That day, twelve of us packed into my office; none had ever witnessed such an event. We prayed, and Molly stated her testimony, her gratefulness to God, and her vow.

We wept.

Each one of us took three to five minutes to state what Molly meant to us, and to state for her our love and support of her decision.

We sobbed.

I placed an anklet on her as she pledged her love to God, promising to be faithful to Christ as long as she would live.

I couldn’t hold back the tears.

We laid hands on her and committed her to God. Then we celebrated the occasion with a wedding cake and punch.

Today Molly continues to live a life of unswerving dedication to God. Currently she is doing research for a book she is writing. She called me today, ecstatic that the interviews she had conducted were so informative. I rejoiced with her.

As I hung up the phone, a sense of joy overwhelmed me: joy because Molly had come into our lives, and joy because God had given us the wisdom to let her in.

************************

Tim E. Wood is pastor of Tacoma Open Bible Church in Tacoma, Washington.

Copyright (c) 1995 Christianity Today, Inc./LEADERSHIP Journal

lecurrmrw5L3049573f

Copyright © 1995 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal.Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.

This statistician is changing the way pastors think.

What have you been reading lately?” asked LEADERSHIP.

“A lot of George Barna’s stuff,” the pastor replied.

Was this the pastor of a large nondenominational church in a burgeoning suburb?

No. This pastor shepherds a mainline congregation of seventy in a midwestern cornfield.

“What draws you to reading Barna?”

“Barna makes me think in fresh ways about the church,” the pastor said.

George Barna does that. An author, marketing researcher, and head of Barna Research Group, he burst onto the American ministry scene in the early ’90s with books like “The Frog in the Kettle and User-Friendly Churches.” He does not blush at using marketing and church in the same sentence. Nor does he hesitate in “The Power of Vision and Today’s Pastors” to tell pastors, as Ford Motor Company put it, to “lead, follow, or get out of the way.”

LEADERSHIP associate editor Dave Goetz traveled to George Barna’s offices in Southern California to meet the man behind the numbers.

WHAT DO YOU OFFER PASTORS?

George Barna: Most ministry resources are based on intuition, feelings, and experience: “My church did this; therefore, it will work for you.” But that isn’t necessarily true or helpful for other churches.

Barna Research provides a broad-based, objective assessment of what’s happening in the marketplace and in the church. One key thing we offer is objectivity.

We also take statistical information and break it into bite-sized pieces in a user-friendly format. Then we give a wholistic view: “This is happening over here, but you can’t understand that unless you connect it with the bigger picture.”

DID YOU GROW UP PLANNING TO HELP CHURCH LEADERS?

I grew up Roman Catholic. I was an altar boy who attended Boston College, a Catholic university.

While at Rutgers University working on a master’s degree, I decided to get married, so my fiancee, who is now my wife, Nancy, and I attended a weekend sponsored by the Catholic church for couples wanting to marry. At the end of the weekend, a priest decides whether the church will bless the union.

The weekend came to a close, and we sat down with a priest to hear his decision. “I think you’re great candidates for marriage,” he said. “We’re going to bless this union. Do you have any questions?”

That was the wrong thing to ask me. I had waited twenty-four years for a priest to ask me if I had any questions. I unloaded on him: “Why do Catholics believe this? Why do Catholics say that?”

The priest co*cked his head like a dog when you blow a high-pitched whistle. His face reddened; he stood up and pounded his desk.

“Don’t you ever question the Catholic church,” he fumed. “Your job is to come here when we tell you to come, to do what we tell you to do.”

SO YOU’VE BEEN ASKING QUESTIONS OF THE CHURCH EVER SINCE?

Â(Laughter) His response didn’t sit well with me. I was a graduate student studying the social sciences. I had been taught to tear everything apart, analyze it, and put it back together to see if it made sense.

That incident stirred up questions about what we believed. A short time later, several friends invited Nancy and me to their Protestant churches. Eventually we attended a church that did something we thought was so cool: The pastor preached out of the Bible. He also visited us and went through the plan of salvation.

“Would you like to accept Christ as your Savior?” he asked.

“I’m a little skeptical of this free lunch stuff,” I said. “You’re telling me I can live eternally with no cost?”

“Salvation is a gift,” he said.

“I’ll give this Jesus Christ of yours thirty days to prove himself,” I replied. “If he’s as powerful and as wonderful and as loving as you say, then in thirty days I’ll be absolutely convinced.”

“Okay,” the pastor said, “but you have to agree to go to church every Sunday, attend a small group Bible study and Sunday school class, and pray and read the Bible every day. And I’d like to talk with you during the month about what you’re experiencing.”

I have no recollection of those thirty days, except that we were blown away by the presence of God in our lives.

WHAT PROMPTED YOU TO RESEARCH THE CHURCH?

I started my career managing political campaigns and then became a campaign consultant and pollster. Eventually I ended up in California working for a large marketing research firm.

I’d go home at night and tell Nancy, “You can’t imagine what I found out today: This year 15 percent people like Chevies versus 12 percent last year.” We would look at each other and say, “Who cares?”

One day a client who represented a number of Christian ministries came to our firm. The research industry is primarily Jewish, and so, knowing I was a Christian, the firm assigned me to that account. Working with this account began to mean much more to me than the blue-chip accounts I’d been given. So I eventually left that company and went to work for a Christian agency in the Wheaton, Illinois, area for three years. After one too many brutal winters, I moved back to California and started Barna Research Group.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE HARDEST QUESTIONS PASTORS ASK?

Sometimes after my seminars, a pastor will say, “Here’s my vision statement. Is this God’s vision for me?” That question is not so much hard as frustrating.

I can judge a vision statement by certain characteristics, but can I judge whether it’s God’s vision for him? Hardly. I can take people only so far; then it’s between them and God.

Another question that frustrates me is “Will such-and-such idea work in my church?” How would I know?

Marketing is not a science; it’s an art, just like preaching. Everything we do in ministry is by definition an art, because our methods must be directed and empowered by the Holy Spirit. We can’t make ministry a science: “If you do A, B, C, and D, you will definitely get outcome E.” That removes God from the equation. There is no guarantee that if you do the world’s greatest mailing, expecting thousands of people to flood the doors next Sunday, that it will happen.

Another awkward question is “What is your personal opinion on such-and-such?”

I try not to give my opinion because I’m a public-opinion researcher. If I start telling my opinions, the line between facts and opinions gets blurred.

FOR EXAMPLE?

Do I have an opinion about the “Toronto blessing”? Absolutely. Does it matter? Absolutely not.

I once made the mistake of endorsing two books. Then people said, “You’re taking stands. How can we trust you’re going to be objective in your research?”

So I’ve backed off from making endorsem*nts. At Barna Research we created a no-endorsem*nt policy for any product, service, book, organization, or individual. If I spew my opinions, I hurt our ministry. What I’m trying to do is understand how other people see the world and how that relates to their moving closer to God. When people ask about things I care deeply about, I bite my tongue and say, “I don’t know. We haven’t done research on that.”

SOME PEOPLE, THOUGH, WOULD SAY YOUR SYMPATHIES LIE WITH THE CHURCH GROWTH MOVEMENT, THAT “SEEKER-SENSITIVE” AND “GEORGE BARNA” GO TOGETHER LIKE–

Like Hitler and Mussolini? (Laughter)

SOMETHING LIKE THAT. THEY MIGHT SAY, “BARNA IS NOT OBJECTIVE; HE’S INVESTED IN THE CHURCH GROWTH MOVEMENT.”

That is an abuse of my image. Yes, I am pro seeker-sensitive. But more than being pro seeker-sensitive, I’m pro people-sensitive.

But I’m never sure what people mean when they throw me into the church growth camp. If they mean that “George Barna believes big attendance numbers are the key to ministry as well as tracking those numbers,” something is wrong. That’s simply not true; I don’t believe that. There are wonderfully dynamic small churches. Some effective ministries are actually losing people. There are myriad ways to track whether a church is healthy and successful. Numbers is only one indicator, and not even the key one.

Throughout the country are many great traditional churches. A segment of the national population will never set foot in a seeker-sensitive church, and if they did, they’d be turned off. We’d do a great disservice to people to imply all churches should be the same. Churches weren’t the same in the early days of Christianity, and they shouldn’t be today, especially in a culture as diverse as ours.

SOME OF YOUR CRITICS HAVE CHARGED YOU WITH “SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY” BY BRINGING MARKETING INTO THE CHURCH. HOW YOU DO RESPOND?

The fight over whether to market is false. Every church markets. When a church puts its name on a building or prints up a bulletin for Sunday services or prints business cards for the pastor, it markets.

So the issue is: Are you marketing intelligently and intentionally? This is a stewardship issue. If a church isn’t consciously engaged in marketing, it’s probably not being a good steward of its resources.

Proctor & Gamble puts out a host of differently packaged soaps on the market that are basically the same soap. Why package them differently? Because different groups of people like the green wrapper instead of the red wrapper, or the small bar instead of the large.

We can do the same without prostituting our values, theology, or purposes. No church in the community is able or called to reach everybody in the community. So if a church has a particular group of people they can reach, why not try to understand that group and focus on them? Marketing is asking how you can communicate and minister most effectively to that group.

PEOPLE HAVE SAID, “IF YOU WANT THE MOST POSITIVE SPIN ON THE CHURCH, USE GALLUP’S STATISTICS. IF YOU WANT THE MOST NEGATIVE SPIN, USE BARNA’S.”

In most ministry books, the emphasis is “Be positive, be positive.” My emphasis is “Be honest, be honest.” My task in life is to exegete the culture accurately. I want to tell the truth in love, but that doesn’t always mean I can say things that will make people laugh or feel good about themselves. Sometimes it’s necessary to say, “Whoa, we are blowing it here.”

When you strip away some of the niceties, and talk with pastors on a deeper level, they know the church is not cutting it today.

But the criticism that angers me most is “Barna’s an outsider. He’s not a pastor; he’s a theorist.” For the last year and a half, I’ve been a part-time staff pastor. Through that experience I’ve learned a lot about ministry but nothing that would cause me to go back to the books I’ve written and say, “If I had known this, I wouldn’t have written that.”

In my writing I offer information stripped of my opinion, so it wouldn’t matter if I were a pastor, a Rhodes scholar, or a homeless person. I’m dealing with objective data about the people churches are trying to reach.

What perturbs me is when people with a particular style of ministry get upset because they hear somebody promoting a different style. Many of my critics miss the difference between theology and methodology. Scripture is abundantly clear theologically, but it gives enormous latitude methodologically. If your theology and your heart are right, you have many different ways to promote the gospel and penetrate culture.

When I consult with churches, I ask, “In your community, what are the five major activities people engage in on Sunday morning (and for most people, going to church isn’t one of them)?” There’s usually a long pause.

We can argue about the ill effects of modernity, but the reality is, the world is changing. We can stand still and continue to use models developed five hundred years ago, but we will end up reaching fewer and fewer people. What good is that?

WHEN DOES A CHURCH CROSS THE LINE AND VIOLATE SCRIPTURE BY ITS METHODS?

That’s a hard question. You have to take it on a case-by-case basis.

But before you engage in ministry, it’s imperative to define your values and key theological distinctives.

I’ve seen churches step over the line, for example, because they constructed a huge building and suddenly needed to raise money. So things started to get compromised.

You need a group that holds the church accountable, such as elders, who look at what the church is doing and ask, “Is this part of our church culture? Is it something that will help us achieve the vision God has given us and bring glory to God?”

ARE YOUR SUGGESTIONS BEST SUITED FOR LARGER CHURCHES? WHAT SHOULD A RURAL PASTOR WITH SIXTY MEMBERS DO WITH YOUR STATISTICS?

The same thing an urban or suburban pastor does. Rural pastors need to ask, “What is the underlying reality Barna is probing?” We’re trying to uncover the principles underlying the activities every pastor needs to be engaged in–vision, values, core beliefs, relationships, planning. The principles I convey are more important than the data.

The media call me up all the time asking, “What percentage are doing this? What percentage are doing that?” Half the time, I don’t have a clue. I can’t remember all those numbers, either. I wouldn’t expect any pastor to remember all my statistics. The reason for putting them in a book is to provide a resource. If you need them to shape an idea, the numbers are there.

Typically I paint a broad picture that won’t be absolutely accurate for any one church. Let’s say I’m evaluating how to improve the health of the church. The most important thing is not, for instance, the percentage of churches that grow after they do something to train their people. Instead, it’s better to take that statistic and ask, “What are we doing to train our workers?” I hope they’ll grasp the principle, not the numbers.

DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE, AS YOUR BOOKS HAVE SUGGESTED, THAT MOST PASTORS DON’T HAVE THE GIFT OF LEADERSHIP?

When we asked pastors about their gifts, 6 percent said they had the gift of leadership. If you throw in other terms like shepherding, pastoring, and administration, and assume that maybe they meant leadership, that bumps it up to around 30 percent.

But when we asked these pastors, “Can you articulate God’s vision for the ministry of your church?” we found that roughly 90 percent of them could articulate a basic definition of ministry. But only 2 percent could articulate the vision for their church.

I’m not saying the other 98 percent of pastors are not capable of articulating vision; I’m saying that to this point they haven’t. Given the centrality and the significance of vision, that’s one reason so many pastors are ineffective; they don’t know where they’re going.

ARE YOU SAYING THAT 294,000 OF THE 300,000 PASTORS IN THIS COUNTRY SHOULD RESIGN AND LET SOMEONE ELSE LEAD?

I’m not willing to overlook that as a possibility. It may well be that a large number of pastors are not gifted as leaders, will never be leaders, were never called to be leaders. They pursued a career model that wrongly valued being a senior pastor as its highest end.

That’s tragic. Professional career realities should not get in the way of your gift mix and niche in the kingdom. If it’s true, pastors must admit, “I’m really not meant to be a leader, but I am a great preacher. Maybe I can find a context where I can preach every Sunday and I don’t have to worry about leading.”

No one person has the myriad of gifts that in America we’ve come to expect pastors to exhibit. Why not recognize that person’s gift and team the person with other people with complementary gifts?

THAT WOULD BE DIFFICULT FOR SINGLE STAFF CHURCHES.

That’s precisely where the American model for ministry has gotten way off base. We assume that ministry has to be led, conducted, and evaluated by professionals–people who do this fulltime. And so, consequently, we’ve kept education from the laity; we’ve kept positions of influence and authority from the laity. It’s not a biblical model. In the Book of Acts, it was the laity who made things happen.

In small churches, pastors must surround themselves with people committed to use their gifts for the church–and then to turn them loose. I see no problem with having your primary communicator, for example, not being a fulltime staff person. If people are gifted in preaching and teaching, and theologically sound, let them preach and teach. To assume a senior pastor is the primary one to preach, teach, counsel, administrate, lead, raise funds, etc., is silly. It doesn’t work.

To some, that’s radical thinking; to me it’s just common sense.

HAVE YOU EVER DOUBTED WHAT YOU WERE CALLED TO DO?

Back in 1990 Barna Research did a lot of secular work to pay for our work with Christian ministries.

But I felt frustrated. The Christian ministries would read the research, say “That’s interesting,” and then shelve it. And then we’d have to call them ten times to get them to pay the bill.

So I thought, Why don’t we just work with secular folk? We’ll be salt in the secular arena.

So one day I announced to the staff, “Pursuing Christian ministries is not going to be our focus.”

A month later I went on vacation to Hawaii. During those two weeks, I was reading the Bible and praying about our direction for the future, when the voice of God came to me, which I’ll paraphrase: “George, do you really think I’ve given you this company and these opportunities, only for you to turn your back on churches because they’re hard to work with? Do you really believe you’re the first Christian leader who has found the church hard to work with?”

So I came back from my vacation and told the staff, “Did I say we’re not working with Christian ministries anymore? What I meant was we’re going to focus on Christian ministries.”

That change came in 1991. Since then we’ve stayed true to our vision: To help ministries make better decisions by providing them with current, accurate, and reliable information in bite-sized pieces. If Barna Research can help church leaders be more strategic, we’ve done our job.

I want to be a catalyst. I hope my writing challenges assumptions, causing pastors to think creatively, act intentionally, and know who they are.

Copyright (c) 1995 Christianity Today, Inc./LEADERSHIP Journal

lecurrmrw5L3120573f

Copyright © 1995 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal.Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.

Percentage of Americans who believe in God or a universal force: 95

Who define God as “the all-powerful, all-knowing Creator of the universe who rules the world today”: 67

Percentage of American children living with father and mother, in 1960: 80.6

Percentage living with both parents today: 57.7

The average number of hours in a pastor’s work week: 60

Percentage of high school seniors who used marijuana during the school year: 30

Number of people enrolled in Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) programs in 1969: 325; In 1990: 6,738

Percentage of Americans favoring nondevotional instruction about various world religions in the public schools: 66

Number of times the average American goes to the mall in a month: 3; Amount spent per visit: $60

Percentage of Americans who say they have seen or sensed the presence of an angel: 13

The year bells are first known to have been used in a church: A.d. 560 The approximate year an organ was first used: A.d. 730

The percentage gang-related killings have increased since 1980: 371

Number of United Methodist churches that closed between 1890 and 1990: 45,000

Number of United Methodist churches open today: 38,000

************************** SOURCES–Belief in God: Virtual America (The Barna Report 1994-95). Living with parents: America’s Children 20by Donald Hernandez; U.S. Census Bureau; cited in USA Weekend, 202/2426/95. Work week: Alban Institute, cited in Moody, 11/94. Marijuana: Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, cited in the Chicago Tribune, 12/13/94. D.Min. programs: 20The Christian Century, 2/29/94. World religions: Gallup/Phi Delta Kappa poll, as reported in Emerging Trends, 11/94. Mall: Health, 10/94. Angels: Newsweek, 11/28/94. Bells and organs: Karl Hass on the syndicated radio program “Adventures in Good Music,” 12/23/94; Christian History Issue 28. Gang killings: FBI’s Uniform Crime Report for 1993, cited in USA Today, 12/5/94. Methodist churches: Lyle Schaller, in an address given 8/20/94.

Copyright (c) 1995 Christianity Today, Inc./LEADERSHIP Journal

lecurrmrw5L3051573f

Copyright © 1995 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal.Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.

It was Epiphany, January 6, 1994. A Thursday. A typical Minnesota winter morning with a little snow overnight.

Got up early. Cleaned off the driveway. Read the paper. Ate breakfast. Got dressed: put on “the blacks” for a funeral later in the morning. At 8:05 A.m. I said goodbye to my wife, Pat, who would be leaving for work a few minutes later.

The roads were a little snow-packed, but conditions were not extreme. A few minutes after I arrived in the office, I heard a siren that was headed back up the road I had just traveled. I had a funny feeling. Then the telephone rang.

“Is this Steve McKinley?”

“Yes.”

“Your wife was just in an auto accident. She’s banged up a bit, but all right.”

I got the precise location of the accident and flew out the door. When I arrived at the scene, I instantly saw that the car was a mess. I was more concerned about Pat. I found her seated inside the paramedics’ vehicle, bleeding nastily from the forehead.

Off to the hospital emergency room. The doctors stitched her forehead and splinted her broken arm. To our great relief, the injuries were not severe. (A follow-up visit the next week also revealed a broken foot.) In a couple of hours, I took Pat home and cleared my schedule for the rest of the day. I did make one trip to check out the car–totalled.

BECOMING THE “MINISTEREE”

Friday, the next day. Worked some in the morning. Home in the afternoon to look after Pat, and to take her to the dentist to check out a chipped tooth. Fixed dinner. Started to dish it out. Burning pain in the middle of my upper chest. I had felt the same pain a few times earlier in the week but not to this extent. It shot down my left arm. Could hardly lift the pan off the stove.

I’m human: I tried to deny what was happening but couldn’t. I told the family, and in a few minutes, our eldest daughter coaxed me into her car, and we headed for the same emergency room I had been in with Pat the day before.

Let’s not make a long story of this: I had a mild heart attack. The following Monday I had an angiogram; one artery was badly clogged. By noon it was on to the next stage: angioplasty. The procedure removed one large can of pipe tobacco, a jar of Miracle Whip, a year’s supply of peanut butter, and a pound of bratwurst.

My hospital stay was under a week. Then it was home for convalescing, enjoying this unexpected and enforced time with Pat, and conversion to a new and healthier lifestyle. While we had not planned for this togetherness, we did our best to find the cloud’s silver lining.

To my shock and surprise, Grace Lutheran Church carried along swimmingly without me. Every time I talked to my staff colleagues or to the congregational leadership, they gave me a simple message: Everything is fine. Don’t worry about it. Right now the only thing you need to worry about is getting healthy again. Take as much time as you need.

In the meantime, I found myself in the unique position of being “ministered unto.” My associate had come to the hospital, along with our youth director, as soon as they returned from a retreat on Saturday. One pastoral pal and his wife, friends of ours for more than 25 years, were at my bedside on Saturday night, prayed with us, and saw to it that the rest of the family had a nourishing meal another night. Another buddy was regularly on the phone from Arizona. Still another colleague prayed with me over the phone. My bishop called Pat from Chicago; his staff kept in touch with both of us.

But not all of the ministry came from ordained professionals.

I will never forget two of my nurses: the one who laid down the law with bulldog determination that it was time for me to stop trying to run the church from my hospital bed and the other who prayed with me in the dark middle of the night before my angiogram and angioplasty.

We were besieged with cards, balloons, and flowers. The initial outpouring was so overwhelming that the hospital limited my visitors and phone calls for my protection. At home, dinner meals arrived every day for more than a week after I was home.

Volunteers plowed our driveway when more snow fell, brought salt for our water softener, delivered our younger daughter to her bowling league. One friend brought clothes for Pat to fit over her arm cast. Another drove her to doctor appointments when I could not, and drove me home from the hospital.

I am proud of my congregation, but I do not think their generosity is exceptional. We’ve provided support for families in need before and will again. No big deal. Your congregation does the same thing.

What was unusual was that they were doing it for me and my family. I am in the habit of being the field general, not the beneficiary. I get a kick out of the production end of things. But it is humbling to be on the receiving end. Perhaps even painfully humbling.

I am not into self-pity, but I had sometimes wondered if my congregation appreciated me. Now I wonder how I could have wondered that! The support Pat and I have received since her accident and my heart attack are clear evidence of a love greater than I had ever imagined.

I expect that many pastors are given to insecurity about the affection and esteem given by their congregations. It is sadly true that there are some fine pastors and associates in ministry who are doing yeo-person duty but not granted the affection and esteem they deserve.

However, much of the time our people probably love and respect us more than we realize.

I suggest that you take my word for that. You could probably prove it with an auto accident or a heart attack, but I do not recommend either.

******************

Steven McKinley is pastor of House of Prayer Lutheran Church in Richfield, Minnesota.

Copyright (c) 1995 Christianity Today, Inc./LEADERSHIP Journal

lecurrmrw5L3109573f

Copyright © 1995 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal.Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.

The landscape surrounding hom*osexuality is shifting. To respond well, churches must understand several important trends.

Widespread awareness

The spread of AIDS is forcing the subject of hom*osexuality out of the closet in churches around the country. An increasing number of Christians at all levels of the church–including district leaders and denominational officials–are admitting their secret struggles with hom*osexuality due to HIV.

Gays have “come out,” and many churches have embraced them, including their hom*osexual activities.

“We’re seeing people ‘coming out,'” says Bill Consiglio, director of Hope Ministries in Hamden, Connecticut, “but wanting help in resolving this from a biblical perspective.”

Less middle ground

In the past there were a few vocal people with conservative or liberal views on hom*osexuality, and a huge middle ground of people who didn’t know what to think. “Now I’m seeing more people on one side or the other,” says Bud Searcy, director of New Creation Ministries, an outreach to gays in Fresno, California.

Attitudes on both sides of the debate are becoming more defined.

Christians espousing a traditional view on hom*osexual behavior are not limited to conservative churches. Many mainline members believe hom*osexual behavior is wrong, even though official pronouncements from their denominational leaders may say otherwise.

But the reverse is also true. “It’s no longer unusual for an evangelical to think [hom*osexuality] is genetic and therefore okay,” says Searcy. “More and more conservatives are arguing with the [traditional] biblical position.”

“The view that hom*osexuality is God-given is promoted much more openly,” confirms Jeff Winter, pastor of Corona Presbyterian Church in downtown Denver.” Those with this view are more confrontive, aggressive and political in pushing their agenda. They are doing very well in convincing those in the middle that hom*osexuality is of God.”

Openness among youth

hom*osexuality is becoming more common and accepted among teens. Bud Searcy says church youth groups have a different composition today. More kids are agonizing over hom*osexual feelings, and more openly gay youth attend. “Everything we’ve dealt with in the past among adults,” he says, “is now coming down to the youth.”

Over the past year, New Creation Ministries has had a surge of requests for help from youth leaders, campus ministry directors, and teachers–both in Christian and secular schools. In two recent months almost half the agency’s speaking engagements related to adolescents.

Intensifying legal battles

Such diverse and deeply felt differences on hom*osexuality will inevitably bring more conflict. Former gay activist Joe Dallas, director of Genesis Counseling Services in California, predicts a major battle ahead. “We are more polarized than ever,” he says. “When you have conflict that isn’t being resolved, emotions run high, and people get destructive. Pretty soon you’re acting out of hatred, and you don’t even know it.”

Leaders of ex-gay ministries predict legal challenges across the country over same-sex marriage, spousal benefits (insurance, visitation rights), custody and adoption.

More programs in churches

On the other hand, Robert Kuyper sees the pendulum swinging back toward traditional moral values. Kuyper is pastor of Trinity United Methodist in Visalia, California, and national director of Transforming Congregations, a recovery program for gays and lesbians that has been officially adopted by 36 Methodist churches nationwide. “From the liberal wing of the church,” he says, “I am finding more willingness to accept that, at least for some people, change might be possible.”

“We’re going to see more mainstreaming in the churches of men and women overcoming hom*osexuality,” predicts Bill Consiglio, who along with directing Hope Ministries serves as assistant pastor at Hamden’s Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church. In the past, he explains, churches have incorporated former alcoholics and the divorced. An increasing number of churches will now help hom*osexuals seeking change.

DIFFERENCE MAKERS

Many churches are responding to these trends. Here are several principles to keep in mind when trying to minister to those in a hom*osexual lifestyle.

Stress biblical authority

Ultimately, how we deal with this issue reflects our view of the Bible, says Jeff Winter. “Pastors need to teach the authority of Scripture, so they can approach this issue in a more biblical manner.” Leaders of ex-gay ministries urge pastors to teach a biblical worldview on sexuality in general, and based on that, the Bible’s stance on hom*osexuality.

“The final obstacle to the gay agenda,” says Joe Dallas, “is always the church. Every other institution can be compromised, infiltrated, and politicized, but not the body in its true sense.”

Emphasize compassion

Churches will get nowhere unless they wrap their messages in a blanket of compassion. This is true when dealing with both the gay person and family members.

Bill Consiglio’s church is currently nurturing a couple who is hurting over their son’s recent declaration of his hom*osexuality. The church has responded with care for these parents, even though the parents support their son’s gay lifestyle. Says Consiglio, “There is unity in our church around caregiving and pastoral concern, and that’s the way it should be.”

Be welcoming

Bud Searcy says “gay-sensitive” churches–those that take an open and welcoming position–will grow: “We must welcome strugglers, but help them find healing.”

Sy Rogers agrees. Rogers is a former trans-sexual who now leads Choices, a ministry of sexual redemption in Singapore. “In the ’90s there will be only two kinds of churches: relevant and irrelevant,” says Rogers. “Relevant churches recognize the need in society and say, ‘We’re going to do something to meet this need.’ Irrelevant churches ignore the need because it’s too uncomfortable.”

One example of a gay-sensitive church is Church of the Open door in San Rafael, twenty miles north of San Francisco. Since 1973 hundreds of gay men and women have flocked to the church to take part in their ex-gay outreach, Love In Action. After several years of prayer and planning, last December the ministry relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, where 7,000-member Central Church welcomed its members.

Open discussion is a key characteristic of churches that make a difference for hom*osexuals. Church leaders must allow people to be open about their struggles involving any sin, including hom*osexual behavior.

Jeff Winter of Denver’s Corona Presbyterian has seen an increasing openness in his church since they became involved with Where Grace Abounds (WGA), a ten-year-old ministry to those overcoming hom*osexuality and related issues. WGA holds weekly support group meetings at Corona Presbyterian, and several of WGA’S staff are members of the church.

“Because WGA folks are so open,” says Winter, “others in our church are becoming more honest and open about their own issues.” In the beginning some church members expressed fears about AIDS. But after five years, people are used to the idea of former hom*osexuals meeting in their church building each week.

Educate the church

Robert Kuyper stresses the importance of educating a congregation on the realities of the gay lifestyle. “[Many] are not aware of the pain that exists in the hom*osexual lifestyle,” he says. Haunting loneliness, the anguish of relational breakups, jealousy, anger and hatred are common among both lesbians and gay men.

Studies indicate that between 25 and 33 percent of hom*osexual men and women are alcoholics, compared to 7 percent for the general population. hom*osexual men are six times more likely to attempt suicide than are heterosexual males. Often these statistics are blamed on straight society’s attitudes, but those exiting hom*osexuality tell a different story: the problem is internal, often aggravated by a childhood conversion and an innate awareness that their actions conflict with God’s will. Such information will help to allay fears and engender compassion.

Give realistic hope

Although change is extremely difficult, thousands of men and women have overcome hom*osexuality. Ex-gay ministry leaders point to former practicing hom*osexuals who have been living heterosexually so long they now are not only parents, but also grandparents.

Bill Consiglio, who has counseled men and women seeking healing for 17 years, says, “Despite all the propaganda, especially in the media, a solid 40 percent of those seeking change move into full heterosexuality, with many entering marriage and parenthood.”

Another 40 percent of his clients achieve consistent celibacy, but still face major obstacles in achieving further freedom from their past. The remainder drop out of the recovery process and eventually return to active hom*osexuality.

AVAILABLE LISTENER

After 22 years at First Orthodox Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, Pastor Chuck McIlhenny knows the challenges of addressing hom*osexual issues in a redemptive way. He doesn’t have glowing conversion stories or people flocking to his church for deliverance. In fact, after firing a hom*osexual organist, he received death threats, and his parsonage was fire-bombed. But he has Jeff’s story.

For years Chuck prayed that one of the protesters who has attacked him and the church would come to Christ. Not long ago, Jeff called. Jeff was a Marxist who had for years threatened him.

“I want to talk with you,” he said simply and came over to McIlhenny’s office. For the next five hours he poured out the painful details of his life to a man he had denounced for so long. Jeff told of his family background, his childhood conversion under Billy Graham, his entry into hom*osexuality and his involvement in Act-Up and Queer Nation. He explained how he’d made hundreds of phone calls to curse Christian leaders, from Beverly LaHaye to Jerry Falwell to Pat Robertson, and how he had tried to commit suicide nine times.

That afternoon McIlhenny gently explained the gospel. “This guy knew all the Christian lingo,” McIlhenny says. “He didn’t balk at anything I said about repentance and faith in Christ. He didn’t argue. He just listened silently.”

Finally McIlhenny told him, “I love you. I can say that because of what Christ has done for me and what he has said concerning you.”

The man looked away, and his eyes filled with tears. Then he told McIlhenny about the pastors he’d known as a teenager who had befriended him and loved him. Never once did he criticize them. Finally Jeff left, but he telephoned later to thank McIlhenny and tell him how much he appreciated the conversation. He did not recommit his life to Christ, though, and McIlhenny continues to pray that he will.

“That’s why I’m here,” McIlhenny says, “for the one fellow who is just sick to death of the whole thing. God has his perfect timing. I’m waiting and available.”

********************* Bob Davies is executive director of Exodus International in San Rafael, California.

Would you like to talk more about ministry during a rising tide of hom*osexuality? Bob Davies will be leading a live, online discussion on Monday, August 14, at 8:00 p.m. (CDT). In America Online, type the key words “Christian Connection.” To enroll in Christianity Online, call 1-800-413-9747, ext. 174021.

Copyright (c) 1995 Christianity Today, Inc./LEADERSHIP Journal

lecurrmrw5L3080573f

Copyright © 1995 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal.Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.

It’s now called, simply, “The LEADERSHIP List.” Published regularly in the journal, it is a guide to ministries serving pastors and Christian leaders (and their spouses, churches, and denominational structures).

The services vary, as do costs, but the commitment to helping church leaders is unswerving. You’ll want to inquire about theological orientation, counseling approach, and other issues before deciding which resource best meets the need.Ashram of the Almighty

Bob and Phyllis Heneghan

P.O. Box 1196

Buena Vista, CO 81211

719/395-6881

Ashram is a word from India meaning “hermitage” or retreat for making disciples. This is a place where pastors can be alone with God in quiet, contemplative prayer and worship, to find strength for life and ministry.

Barnabas Ministries

Dick and Dee Sochacki

39391 Roslyn Drive

Sterling Heights, MI 48313

810/264-6638

Barnabas Ministries offers encouragement to wounded, discharged, burned-out, and sinning church leaders, especially in independent and nondenominational ministries. The ministry provides counseling, places of retreat, and other resources.

Called Together Ministries

Linda Riley

20820 Avis Avenue

Torrance, CA 90503

213/214-2332

Fax: 310/539-0007

Listening Line: 800/378-4370

Ministers to pastors’ wives and women in ministry. Offers an extensive mail-order resource catalog, a “Listening Line” for telephone peer counseling, referral services, a free newsletter, and retreats, seminars and conferences.

The Claybury Trust

Colin Buckland

266 Camrose Avenue

Edgware, Middlesex HA8 6AG

United Kingdom

081-952-1064

Fax: 081-381-2124

E-mail: 100337,3220@compuserve.com

The Claybury Trust serves the church in the U.K. and Europe by offering encouragement and healing to pastors, missionaries, and other Christian leaders. Training, counseling, consulting, and audio/video and printed resources are available. The Trust also keeps a list of places for rest, refreshment, and renewal.

Center for Continuing Education

Richard Busch

Episcopal Theological Seminary

in Virginia

Alexandria, VA 22304

703/370-6600

Its centerpiece is a six-week renewal and growth program for ecumenical clergy. Offered three times a year, the program provides a period of reflection, learning, discovery, confirmation, and deepening of one’s faith.

Eagle’s Nest Retreat Ministries

John Gowins

P.O. Box 437

Ouray, CO 81427

800/533-4049

Eagle’s Nest offers professional counseling, and vacations at minimal cost, to ministers and their families. Ouray is located in the beautiful San Juan Mountains of southern Colorado.

Eagle’s Rest

Stan and Liz Carlson

N701 Park Drive

Ogema, WI 54459

715/767-5445

A retreat for pastors and missionaries and their spouses. Recreation includes hiking, cross-country skiing, fishing, sailing and canoeing, tennis, etc. Counseling is available through Pinnacle Ministries and other pastoral counselors.

Fairhaven Ministries

Charles Shepson

Route 2, Box 1022

Roan Mountain, TN 37687

615/542-5332

First-class facilities provide a place for counseling (upon request) or just rest and relaxation.

Focus on the Family–Pastoral Ministries Department

H.B. London, Jr.

Roger Charman

8605 Explorer Drive

Colorado Springs, CO 80920

719/531-3360

Fax: 719/531-3347

Offers resources, referrals, and face-to-face consultation. Provides an audiotape subscription series called “Pastor to Pastor,” regional gatherings, tapes and booklets, and a weekly fax letter called “The Pastor’s Weekly Briefing.”

Fulfillment in Ministry–for Christian Ministers and Laity

Ed Bratcher

3912 Sturbridge Drive

Durham, NC 27713

919/490-4807

Focuses on identifying the hazards, the tools, and the rewards of parish ministry, through lectures, retreats, writing, and counseling.

Gray Fox Ranch

Walter and Francoise Becker

P.O. Box 434

Alta, NM 88312

800/336-4405

Fax: 505/336-9126

A retreat for ministers and spouses in a mountain resort area. One couple at a time spends a week at the ranch for counseling on personal, marital, and vocational concerns. The Beckers, licensed therapists, provide daily individual and couple sessions.

Institute of Biblical Leadership

Russell F. Lloyd

2466 South Old Oaks Drive

Beavercreek, OH 45431

Phone/Fax: 513/429-2700

Serves church leaders through preaching and teaching on issues of leadership and through biblical counseling, organizational consulting, and crisis response.

John Mark Ministries

Rowland Croucher

7 Bangor Court

Heathmont, Australia 3135

Phone/Fax: (03) 729 2517

Les Scarborough

23 Alam Street

St. Marys, Australia 2760

Phone/Fax: (02) 623 4813

Does research relating to ex-clergy, establishes support structures for pastors, consults with denominations about care of ministers, and encourages churches to be loving communities of faith.

Kettering Clergy Care Center

Robert Peach

1259 East Dorothy Lane

Kettering, OH 45419

513/299-5288 or 800/324-861

E-mail: 74617,2613@compuserve.com

Offers professional counseling, crisis-intervention weekends, clergy burnout prevention, clergy marriage enrichment, instruction for boards of congregations, and marital assessment programs. Provides The Ministry Care Line, a subscription phone consultation program.

Lake Martin Marriage Retreat

Forrest and Nancy Mobley

1677 Andrews Mill Road

Tallassee, AL 36078

205/857-2165

Fax: 205/857-2365

E-mail: 72203,533@compuserve.com

Designed to refresh and renew marriages, teaches and counsels through individualized programs. Four to six couples gather for group teaching, fellowship and meals. The Mobleys draw on their experiences of thirty-two years of marriage, of counseling many different couples, and of God’s healing of their marriage.

Life Enrichment

Wes Roberts

14581 East Tufts Avenue

Denver/Aurora, CO 80015

303/693-3954

Fax: 303/680-8518

E-mail: 73743,673@compuserve.com

Curt Anderson

Director of Counseling

222 West 2nd Avenue

Plainwell, MI 48080

616/685-2244

E-mail: 74031,14@compuserve.com

Strengthens Christian leaders in their relationships at home, in their ministry, and in their leisure time. This is accomplished through (1) consulting with the senior leader, board, and staff to strengthen working relationships and clarify vision, (2) offering spiritual direction, biblical counseling, and professional therapy for the hurting leader, spouse, and family, and (3) providing places and programs of brief intensive counseling, rest, and refreshment.

Link Care Center

Ken Royer and Brent Lindquist

1734 West Shaw Avenue

Fresno, CA 93711

209/439-5920

Fax: 209/439-2214

E-mail: 75027,2265@compuserve.com

Provides comprehensive counseling, tailored to the participant, from one week to several months long. Staff includes psychologists, psychiatrists, marriage and family counselors, and other consultants. At any time, from twenty to twenty-five families are in residence in apartments, receiving care.

Makahiki Ministries

Bruce and Carol Fincham

P.O. Box 415

Mariposa, CA 95338

209/966-2988

Named for an old Hawaiian festival of peace and rest, it offers a network of hospitality homes in the United States and several foreign countries for Christian workers seeking spiritual and physical renewal. Seminars cover biblical views of stress and Christian hospitality.

Marble Retreat

Louis and Melissa McBurney

139 Bannockburn

Marble, CO 81623

303/963-2499

E-mail: 72040,1327@compuserve.com

Up to four couples come for two weeks of individual and group counseling in this center high in the central Rockies. Each couple has private accommodations; meals are shared family style.

Marriage and Family Enrichment

David and Linda Marriott

69 Nigel Road

Browns Bay

Auckland 10

New Zealand

Phone/Fax: (09) 4797275

Personal ministry to church leaders in New Zealand.

Ministries Resource Center

Gerald and Alita Robertson

14190 Barker Hollow Road

Woodman, WI 53827

608/988-4649

Located on 53 acres near the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers is a furnished home for rest, recreation, spiritual renewal, or on-site counseling. Services include individual or group counseling, crisis counseling and intervention, and marriage and family counseling. Seminars are also provided in conflict management, pastor/board relationships, and marriage enrichment.

Ministers Counseling Service, BGCT

Glen Booth

1200 Team Bank Tower

Dallas, TX 75235

214/357-4641

For ministers and their families who serve in a Texas Baptist Church or an agency of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Services include counseling, referrals to other counselors, counseling subsidies, conferences, workshops, seminars, and retreats.

Mountain Top Retreat

Harold and Beulah Erickson

13705 Cotton Canyon Drive

Bozeman, MT 59715

406/763-4566

Individual guest houses in a beautiful mountain setting for ministers and missionaries who seek rest and renewal, and for church board/staff retreats. Personnel are available to listen and encourage.

Paraklesis Ministries

Sidney Draayer

1550 East Beltline SE

Suite 340

Grand Rapids, MI 49506

616/458-6759 or 800/421-8352

Fax: 616/957-1699

E-mail: 75721,232@compuserve.com

Helps pastors, missionaries, and their spouses grow spiritually, physically, emotionally, and relationally through five-day retreats, counseling, seminars, and support groups. Provides training for church staffs, testing for ministerial candidates, and speakers for retreats.

Pine Rest Hospital

Ken Ellis

Christian Ministry Service

300 – 68th Street SE

Grand Rapids, MI 49501

616/455-5000

Consultation, counseling, and psychiatric interventions for a wide range of stress, marital, and mental health problems, offered both on- and off-campus by professionals in psychiatry, psychology, social work, and chaplaincy.

Pinnacle Ministries

Bill Schraven

504 Lake Street

Beaver Dam, WI 53916

Phone/Fax: 414/887-7850

Provides retreat facilities, conferences, seminars, counseling, mediation services, and referrals.

Resources for Resolving Conflict, Inc.

Marlin E. Thomas

2123 Wold Avenue

P.O. Box 9673

Colorado Springs, CO 80932-0673

719/380-1065

800/477-3007

Fax: 719/574-7885

E-mail: methomas@aol.com

Trains congregations and parachurch ministries in biblical mediation skills. Offers consultation to churches caught in serious conflicts, and counseling or referrals for pastors in crisis.

Shepherd’s Care

Steve and Jeannie Harper

525 Ashley Way

Lexington, KY 40503

606/275-5054

Steve Harper, an adjunct professor at Asbury Seminary, and his wife, Jeannie, offer seminars, a quarterly newsleter, audiotapes, a resource-referral service, and telephone counseling.

Solitary Ministries

Rick and Barb Floyd

P.O. Box 88005

Grand Rapids, MI 48518-8005

616/667-1948 or 616/457-0132

Offers a “critical care plan” for Christian leaders and churches in programs ranging from one to eight days. (Primary target groups: independent, fundamental leaders and associations in the Great Lakes states.) Rev. Floyd is available for seminars and conferences. Resources include a prayer guide, newsletter, and audiotapes.

Sonscape Ministries

Bob and Sandy Sewell

P.O. Box 7777

Woodland Park, CO 80866

719/687-7007

A spiritual retreat in the shadow of Pike’s Peak. Provides counsel and time for refilling; SonScape is preventive maintenance.

Stonegate Resources

Harry W. Schaumburg

3055 Woodview Court

Colorado Springs, CO 80918

719/548-0908

Fax: 719/548-0739

E-mail: 74361,3050@ compuserve.com

Offers brief, intensive counseling, specializing in sexual issues, to Christian leaders. Sessions of individual/couple counseling are held for five to ten days in a retreat setting. Seminars are available on the topic of “False Intimacy: Barrier to Developing Sexual Character.”

Synergia

78 Margaret Street

Toowoomba, Queensland 4350

Australia

076-32-0911

076-38-1070

Confidential counseling (for donation only) to ministers and their families. Offers workshops on conflict management, stress management, marriage enrichment, sexual temptation, etc. Consults with churches regarding strategic planning and mediation.

Triple Creek Ranch (Illinois)

and Rancho Mira Sol (Colorado)

Jim and Ginny Neece

348 N. Snipe Hollow Road

Elizabeth, IL 61028

815/858-2435

These ranches provide refreshment and rest to evangelical, full-time Christian pastors and missionaries and their families. Both include guest houses, hiking, fishing, and plenty of quiet.

Tuscarora Resource Center

Timothy A. Boyd

RR#1, Box 1830

Mt. Bethel, PA 18343

717/879-6077

Fax: 717/897-0144

Provides counseling and preventive education (team building, spiritual renewal, consultation, assessment) to Christian leaders and organizations/denominations. Consultation available on-site anywhere; short-term, intensive counseling is provided at a retreat center in the Pocono Mountains.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Inclusion on this list does not imply endorsem*nt. Neither LEADERSHIP nor Wes Roberts can accept responsibility for the actions of any person or group listed.

If you know additional places that offer care specifically to Christian leaders, please write to Wes Roberts at the address listed for Life Enrichment in Colorado.

Copyright (c) 1995 Christianity Today, Inc./LEADERSHIP Journal

lecurrmrw5L3076573f

Copyright © 1995 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal.Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.