The Call

Current statistics say that anywhere from sixty to eighty percent of churches in America are plateaued or declining. Those trends stretch back for a couple of decades. That indicates that there is a problem with our system; the way in which we call, train, and support pastors. Let me make a quick note that I do believe God is ultimately responsible for His church and I am not arguing for a business solution to a spiritual problem.

To borrow terminology from Triperspectival Leadership models we are currently calling too few Prophets and Kings. For those tempted to say, "God determines who gets called, not us!", I counsel caution. That line of thinking leads to a place where God does not give us systems to accomplish His will. you might as well say that it does not matter how we disciple because God will bring growth to whom He wants. It does not mater how we evangelize, God will save who He wants. It does not matter how we serve, God will meet the needs He wants met. The fact is God accomplishes all of these things through His body and that is us. So, one of the tasks God has for us is to train up the next generation in such way that they see his call to ministry life.

At first I was going to say that we have too many Priests in lead-pastor positions, but that is not accurate. We don't have too many priests, we just have too few Prophets and Kings. It seems that we have been somewhat reactionary in the way we call pastors. By "we" I mean the churches who pay them and follow them. Forty years ago your premier pastors were mostly Prophets. They were the model that most pastors attempted to imitate, and most congregations wanted a "strong" pastor to "preach the Word!". These pastors spoke the Word with power and led in the confidence that God was directing their steps. They were extremely confident but not very personable. Perhaps that led to our current wave of Priests as lead pastors. These pastors are meeting a very real need in their people; to connect with their spiritual leader on a personal, meaningful level.

What we are discovering is that many Priests often struggle with things like Values, Mission, and Vision. So, the call has come out for Kings to join in leadership once more! Strategy will be the salvation of The Church if you listen to some voices. This is crucial time for The Church, because purely reactionary thinking could be devastating. Prophets bring God's Word, Priests bring God's heart, and Kings bring God's plans. The danger we face is that we focus so much on the plans God reveals that we lose our dependence on His Word for our power and His Heart for our direction.

We must become proactive in our thinking about what church would look like with the right mix of Prophets, Priests, and Kings all using their gifts and talents for His glory and to build up His bride. Right now most of our Kings have landed in the secular world, a place that values their input. For many years Kings have been seen as "less spiritual" because they dare to talk about things like systems and structures and measurable goals. The fact is there are many people who are completely committed to God spiritually who also have great strategic minds. God gave them those minds, and we need them in the church today. We also need a resurgence of the Prophets; men who will speak God's Word to God's people clearly and pointedly regardless of the reception or response. We need them to talk to The Church, not necessarily to the culture.

The solution to this issue is both simple and difficult. It is simple because in truth God is the one who calls His pastors. It is difficult for at least two reasons.

1. Our secular culture pays kings handsomely, making it hard for them to hear God's call.
2. Our church culture does not include kings, adding to the barriers they face hearing God's call. Kings are seen as those "outside business people" that you bring in for special needs, like capital campaigns or master site plans.

We must work to remove the barriers that keep people from hearing God's call. That will require a church-wide call to simplicity and a surrender of the "American Dream" which is so grounded in the physical and temporal. It will also mean that we encourage our thinkers to invest themselves into God's work. When thinkers get involved change often occurs. That may yet be another reason why thinkers have been kept at arms length for so long, because current leadership rarely likes continuous change, knowing that it might mean a loss of influence and comfort.