God is my Anchor!

President Obama promised Americans, “Change that we can believe in." Since he has been in office, changes and possible changes have been implemented or are being debated. This blog is not about the merits of these changes but to simply discuss dealing with change.

Daryl Conner wrote the book, Managing at the Speed of Change, How Resilient Managers Succeed and Prosper Where Others Fail. Conner has observed that “the single most important factor in managing change effectively is the degree to which people demonstrate resilience: the capacity to absorb high levels of change while displaying minimal dysfunctional behavior.”

The newspaper headlines read daily of corporate mergers, impending strikes, political unrest and constant restructuring. Leaders in growing churches are faced with a multitude of issues such as a shortfall of budget, a shortage of workers, lack of worship and education space, shortage of parking spaces, personnel issues, etc. A growing church needs increased resilience to deal with these issues just like corporations need resilience to deal with the market pressures that they face daily. As a church consultant, I witnessed weekly that many churches fail to even acknowledge change.

At the Tennessee Baptist Convention, we are facing the unknown of who will take Dr. Porch’s place as Executive Director, declining budgets, same work with less personnel, the national issue of where do State Conventions fit in with the future of the Southern Baptist Convention. These are real concerns that could paralyze me unless I am able to be resilient.

According to Conner, when people can no longer absorb the change, they begin to display dysfunctional behavior. Christians need to remember and believe that God is in control and let this be our anchor. We must not allow ourselves to feel like victims and become dysfunctional in our behavior. We must surrender ownership of our lives to our Lord and Savior and trust in him to help us through these unusual days.

A Big Hurdle to Growing a Sunday School

As State Sunday School Director, I believe one of the biggest hurdles facing most of our churches is the belief that the purpose of Sunday School is to teach the Bible. In order to change your Sunday School, re-examine the purpose of Sunday School. The church must be challenged to understand that Sunday School’s purpose is not to teach the Bible. We teach the Bible to accomplish the purpose of Sunday School. The purpose is to change lives.

Sunday School classes and members that believe the purpose of Sunday School is just teaching relegate Sunday School to become a Sunday morning business, teaching those who show up, ministering to those who show up, praying for those who show up, and fellowshipping with those who show up. Rarely do these Sunday School and churches see sustained growth.

My dad always told me, As the Sunday School goes, so goes the church. If all the Sunday School is doing is teaching, praying, ministering and fellowshipping to those who show up, how’s the church doing? Sunday School leaders should read David Francis’s new book, Connect3, available at your local Lifeway book store or free from www.lifeway.com. David stresses that classes are either on a class, community, or commission level. I believe that every Sunday School needs to have some key classes to move from simply being a class level for Sunday School to become a strategy that helps the church fulfill the Great Commission.

Some Actions that could be implemented to re-examine the purpose of Sunday School.

a. Have a Sunday School Focus Day.
b. Weave illustrations for Sunday School into your sermons.
c. Participate in Training events, such as Sunday School University.
d. Tell stories from other churches that are growing.
e. Encourage individual Sunday School classes to conduct fellowships and service projects. Invite the unenrolled church members and worship attendees to participate in these outings.
f. Improve your enlistment process for Sunday School leaders in order to insure that new and existing leaders understand the church’s vision for Sunday School and what is needed from every leader to accomplish that vision.

Create One!

Create One! Create one and change your Sunday School. Healthy, growing churches consistently agree that starting new classes is the key. As a young minister of education, I remember hearing the late Ron Lewis, a church growth consultant, say, “Growing churches do what non-growing churches don’t want to do.” By starting a new Bible Study class, you will make a decision for growing your Sunday School.

Why start classes? Classes make everyone the specific responsibility of a group. Classes give focus to class for reaching, teaching, and ministry. It allows Bible study and application with people of similar age and/or life stage.

What are the steps to Create One? First, select a target group. Second, set a date to begin. Third, build your leadership team. Fourth, find a place for them to meet. Five, obtain needed curriculum. Sixth, discover and assign prospects. Seventh, build relationships with prospects. Eighth, celebrate the new beginning.

As we begin a new year of Sunday School work, consider starting a new Sunday School class. If you need assistance, I am committed to helping you change your Sunday School, one new class at a time.

Has your church started a new class or department this year? A Create One! Recognition Award is available. You can apply by mail or online on the Tennessee Baptist Convention web site at www.equippingu.org.