Helping Churches Thrive

A Ministry of Church Health Consulting

Four Perils Of The Internal Candidate

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The senior pastor has just resigned. Before anyone can say “search committee,” the board chairman lets it be known that his nephew, a missionary in Botswana, would make a great candidate. The missionary is a favorite son candidate and there are dangers involved in how he is handled. Much more dangerous, however, is the situation […]

The Two Best Things I Never Knew About The Holy Spirit

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I could not more highly recommend Fred Sander’s, The Deep Things of God (How the Trinity changes everything). This is theology at its best: Biblical, thought-provoking and heart-warming. It has changed my thinking and my worship. It has shown me that the gospel and the God I cherish are even better than I thought they […]

When Is A Pastor Like The New Sheriff In Town?

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In earlier posts I’ve written about the analogies I use to help people understand the new varieties of transitional (or interim) pastoral ministry. I’ve explained that proactive interim specialists, variously called “strategic interim pastors,” “restoration pastors,” “redevelopment transitional pastors” or simply “interventionists,” are like: “This Old House” crew members Dog or horse whisperers Special forces […]

When Is A Pastor Like Nanny McPhee?

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In an earlier post I wrote about some of the analogies I use to help people understand the new varieties of transitional (or interim) pastoral ministry. I explained in “Three analogies for understanding the redevelopment transitional pastor” that these proactive interim specialists are like This Old House crew members, dog or horse whisperers or special […]

Three analogies for understanding redevelopment transitional pastors

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I’ve found that the following analogies are helpful for understanding the new paradigms in transitional (interim) pastoral ministry. The redevelopment transitional pastor is like: A “This Old House” crew member – If you’ve seen the long-running public television show you know the routine: A couple of homeowners sit down with the “This Old House” leaders […]

Not Your Father’s Interim Pastor

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It wasn’t so long ago that almost all interim pastors were of the traditional variety. They preached sermons, gave pastoral care and basically just kept things afloat until the congregation could call a “real pastor.”  Things have changed. Today’s interim pastors, who sometimes prefer to be called transitional pastors, are doing interim ministry in some […]

Five Ways To Practice Spiritual One-upmanship

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We might as well admit it. We’ve all used spiritual one-upmanship to win an argument or get our way in a board meeting or committee debate. My dictionary defines one-upmanship as “the technique or practice of gaining a feeling of superiority over another person.” Spiritual one-upmanship uses questionable appeals to the Bible, claims to godly […]

Three Trendy Imperatives The Bible Doesn’t Teach

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The Apostle Paul gave his beloved young co-worker Timothy some timeless advice when he admonished, “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.” (NAS) With a little imagination we could paraphrase that […]

Six Ways You Can Help Unhappy Church Families

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I’ve done some writing in this blog on the subject of dysfunctional church systems, which I’ve referred to casually as “unhappy church families.” By whatever name, these congregations are often characterized by one or more of the following: Unofficial heads of the family – Someone other than the pastor is the leader Triangles – Three […]

Four More Characteristics of the Unhappy Church Family

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In an earlier post I wrote about how family systems theory applies to local churches. Family systems theory says that families are more alike than different. They’re characterized by patterns, roles and habits which show up in the Jones family from First Street, the Smith family from Second Street and the Swanson family from Third […]

One Big, Unhappy Family

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For several decades family therapists have been thinking in terms of family systems. Family systems theory says that a key to understanding the behavior of individual family members is the family system to which they belong. Just as individuals affect the system, the system affects individuals, in many cases assigning certain roles to members without […]

Two Decent Reasons – And The Best Reason – To Join A Church Fellowship

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Whether you call them church fellowships, associations or denominations, organizations through which local churches join forces have always been controversial theologically and hotly debated as to their utility. Rethinking what we do and why we do what we do is always in order, so I laud the current round of re-examining the worth of these […]

What Structure Can And Cannot Do

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I have to admit it. I’m a structure guy. Even during periods when evangelicals seem intent on denigrating the importance of Biblical, workable, church structures, I’ve stuck to my guns: good structure can help a church to function well. But it certainly can’t do everything. Biblical, workable, understandable constitutions, by-laws, governance systems and policies have […]

Six More Evenings When Boards Are At Their Worst

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The meeting began almost on time but ended well past everybody’s bedtime. At seven pm the members were still sharing prayer requests about their relatives’ physical ailments. At eight pm everybody started reading their reports. At nine pm the long discussion about what kind of baptistery heater to buy commenced. At ten pm the real […]

Three More Evenings When Boards Are At Their Best

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In spite of all the snide remarks, jokes and complaints we pastors make about church boards, in the last analysis, most of us know that they are necessary. No, not a necessary evil, just necessary. “What’s the definition of a board?” “Dead wood.” What’s the other definition of a board?  “A group of highly competent […]

Testimonials

Brian A. Thorstad

Call: 651-319-1953

Email: churchwhisperer@gmail.com

1931 Cook Avenue
Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54494

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