Karl Vaters, Author at KarlVaters.com

Why “Preach Like the Room Is Full!” Is Terrible Advice

January 28, 2015 / 6 minutes of reading

“Even if only three people show up to church, preach like the room is full!”

That’s some of the worst advice I’ve ever received in ministry. And I’m not the only one who’s received it. Many of you have heard it to. Some of you may have repeated it.

If so, stop.

It’s not a good idea. In fact, it’s a very bad idea.

Let me explain.

If what people mean by “preach like the room is full” is that a smaller crowd should get the same quality of ministry that you’d give to a larger crowd, then I am in full agreement. Everyone should always get our best.

But if that’s what we mean, that’s what we need to say. “Give a small crowd the same quality experience as you would give a large crowd.”

The problem with saying “preach like the room is full” is that there are too many pastors taking that saying literally – and it’s hurting their church, not helping it.

Preaching to 10 people as if there are 300 in the room is not the best way to give those 10 people a quality church experience. It’s just awkward.

Here’s an example.

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Overcoming the Danger of Ministry Silos in the Small Church

January 23, 2015 / 7 minutes of reading

If you’ve never heard of the term “ministry silo” before now, don’t worry. I first heard it a couple months ago, when some bloggers started using it. It’s one of those terms that’s really new, but people use it like everyone is supposed to automatically know what it means. I had to Google it.

Tim Stevens, in his very helpful new book, Fairness Is Overrated writes that “Silos are the walls that are between departments in an organization.”

Imagine a silo on a farm. It’s that very tall building filled with valuable crops. But it’s separated from the rest of the buildings by very high walls.

On a farm, silos protect the crops from cross-contamination. In a church, says Stevens, “Silos turn colleagues into competitors. …Silos will tear apart a church faster than just about anything. From a silo-built church come jealousy, slander, gossip, bitterness, conflict, and competition.”

In my experience, silos happen in two way in Small Churches – both of which need to be identified and overcome.

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10 Principles to Get the Best From Volunteer Church Leaders

January 21, 2015 / 8 minutes of reading

Volunteer leaders are the backbone of the Small Church.

In bigger churches, most or all of the first- and second-tier leaders are hired (Namely, the pastoral staff and department heads). That’s a great thing. When you hire someone, it’s much easier to require certain tasks and enforce your expectations. After all, they have a financial stake in how well they perform as a church leader.

But Small Churches are led by volunteers. Volunteers who can quit at any time. And when they do quit, it doesn’t hurt them financially, it actually frees up more of their spare time. So we need to give them good reasons to stick around.

It’s one of many aspects that make pastoring the Small Church a unique challenge.

I’ve been in Small Church ministry for almost three decades – over 22 at my current church. In that time, I’ve learned a handful of great principles that help our church attract and keep the best group of volunteer leaders I’ve ever worked with.

Here are 10 of them:

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Morality Has No Expiration Date

January 19, 2015 / 4 minutes of reading

I have a confession to make.

I watch Downton Abbey.

And not in a “my wife makes me watch it” way, but in an “I can’t believe how good this is!” way.

Yes, I actually like it.

For those unfamiliar with the show, Downton Abbey (Not Downtown Abbey. Pronouncing it that way makes fans cringe) is a British drama that was set in the 1910s when it started several seasons ago, but has since moved into the Roaring 20s.

I seldom talk about my TV viewing habits in this forum. But I’m bringing it up today because in last night’s episode there was a fleeting moment where an argument was made which always sets my teeth on edge.

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Innovative Churches Have Pastors with a Healthy Curiosity

January 16, 2015 / 4 minutes of reading

There are some really boring pastors out there. Boring pastors of bored churches.

At least I assume so, because I’ve heard the tales from their church members – usually former church members.

But, despite all the stories, I haven’t actually met many boring pastors.

Because boring pastors tend not to hang out with other pastors. They don’t come to conferences. They don’t read books or blogs. They don’t do much of anything, because they lack one vital ingredient that’s found in pastors who are always open to new ideas and vibrant relationships. A healthy curiosity.

(To be fair, that’s not the only reason many pastors don’t read the latest books or go to conferences. Many Small Church pastors would read the latest books if they could afford them, and most bivocational pastors would go to conferences if they could get the time off. They’re not the boring ones. They’re the unsung heroes.)

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Church Methods Don’t Matter – Until We Do Them Wrong

January 14, 2015 / 5 minutes of reading

We won’t change the world by adopting new methods in the church. We won’t even save the church that way.

What will change the world is a praying church. A loving church. A worshiping church. An outwardly-focused church. A Jesus-centric church.

The Great Commandment and the Great Commission are all that matter. They haven’t changed in 2,000 years because they don’t need to.

But.

I’m going to use new methods anyway.

I’ll tell you why in a moment. But first, a lesson in typesetting. (No, I’m not crazy. My mother had me tested).

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Yes, the Church Can Still Reach “Kids These Days”

January 7, 2015 / 4 minutes of reading

Disrespectful, thoughtless, destructive and selfish!

That’s what kids these days are! Including the youth in our neighborhood.

My church had a new sign installed just before Christmas. It took three years to design, raise funds and build it. It looks great. But the day it was installed, teenagers from the neighborhood were flipping their skateboards along the base of the sign, threatening to gouge holes in it.

My youth pastor caught them red-handed, and do you know what he did? He told them we love having them here, he asked them not to skateboard on the sign, then he invited them in for the church – and they came in.

What he didn’t do was get mad at them. Or call them any of the names in my first sentence.

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When We Treat Small Churches Like a Problem, We Get More Problem Churches

January 5, 2015 / 4 minutes of reading

Church leaders are always wringing their hands about the problem of Small Churches.

I heard it again recently. A church leader complained that 90% of the churches in their group had less than 200 in attendance, then introduced a plan for getting those numbers up.

(Never mind that the “90% under 200” figure is shockingly consistent across all church groups – which should make us consider that maybe God is up to something with that.)

I watched as many of the pastors in the room tried to hide their “here we go again” faces. Then I left the room wondering again about what happens when we do what that church leader did.

As I was pondering the implications, this question hit me over the head like a hammer.

If Small Churches weren’t seen as a problem, would they stop being a problem?

Think about it. When we treat people like they’re problems, they become problems. When we treat them like they’re a blessing, they often become the blessing we see.

Churches are the same.

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“A Healthy Church Will Always Grow” – Or Will It?

December 19, 2014 / 4 minutes of reading

A friend of mine pastors a wonderfully healthy Small Church.

One of the ministries they have invested in is a partnership with a nearby halfway house for men who have recently come off of drug and/or alcohol dependency. Each week, faithful church members drive 8-10 of these men to and from church.

The people in the church invite these recovering addicts in with open arms and hearts. They befriend them in many ways, including inviting them into their homes for holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Through this church, these men receive tangible evidence of the love of Christ during a particularly difficult time of their lives. Many of them come to faith in Christ.

This wonderful, Jesus-style ministry to “the least of these” is just one evidence of the compassion, health and outward-reaching attitude of this great church.

But the loving care they’re showing towards these men has not and probably will never add one single permanent member to the rolls of their church. And it certainly doesn’t add to their financial bottom line.

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A Simple 5-Step Discipleship Process for Any Small Church (That Won’t Wear Out the Pastor)

December 17, 2014 / 6 minutes of reading

For many Small Churches, discipleship just becomes one more item on a pastor’s already full agenda. Few Small Church pastors are happy with the way discipleship is being done in their church – if it’s being done at all.

But it doesn’t need to be that way.

If you pastor a Small Church without a discipleship program, or with one that’s not working well, I have some good news. You don’t need an expensive, staff-heavy discipleship program to do great discipleship. And it doesn’t need to kill your already-over-busy schedule either.

After a few hit-and-miss attempts, our church has discovered a simple 5-step process that can work for any Small Church. And it looks suspiciously similar to what Jesus, Paul and many other early church leaders did.

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