#20
See It Big: Keep It Simple.
“Hello, Mel. This is the Pope.” This telephoned greeting from Florida delayed my response. What would you say?
It turned out to be a Pope – Rev. Don Pope, pastor of Smyrna Baptist Church in Smyrna, Ga. These Baptists!
He inquired about my coming for a Lay Pastors Seminar. In the course of the conversation, he asked, “Do you practice SIBKIS up there?”
“What’s that?”
“SIBKIS.”
“I don’t know. Tell me what SIBKIS is. Maybe we do.”
“See It Big: Keep It Simple. We believe in SIBKIS here. Do y’ all?” I told him that we believe it, but that we do SIB better than KIS.
Do you believe SIBKIS and practice it?
It is very important!!!!! To see “Tend The Flock of God” and all that means is to really SIB. To structure a ministry by which lay people will do the tending and KIS is a challenge.
The acronym PACE is a SIBKIS description:
P – Pray daily
A – Available in time of need.
C – Contact regularly
E – Example of a growing, through struggling, Christian.
As one lay person of the Ministry Group summarized after this ministry job description was formulated, “Lay people can understand it; they can do it, and when it is done they will know what they did.”
Don Esa, Associate Pastor of Madeira Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati, told me they use the formula CARE:
C – Contact A – Available R – Regularly pray E – Example
If you are developing a Ministry, SIBKIS! If you have a ministry on line, when you do your evaluations, the SIBKIS’er you can make it, the better. While not losing sight of its bigness, the more simple it can be the better understood it will be, by both those who give care and those who receive it. And the more that will actually get done.●
(Audio/Byeong) Dr. Melvin talks with one pastor about SIBKIS, that’s See It Big, and Keep It Simple. For me See It Big is Lay Pastors Ministry in the church, and Keep It Simple is PACE ministry individually. The Lay Pastors Ministry is a big picture, and PACE is a specific ministry and ministry description. Lay Pastors Ministry can be seen as a forest, and PACE can be seen as a single tree. We can’t say this one is more important than others, and neither reverse as well. We need to keep in mind the big picture always, but do it simple, that’s get down to business on the earth even if we are in the sky.
COMMENTS
in relation to DO YOU PRACTICE SIBKIS
Inoak Kim(Korea) says:
I think the meaning of PACE is commitment and services. I was interested in caring ministry through my church life, then I am grateful to know PACE ministry. To care and love others are basic duty to all Christians, but sometimes we don’t do that because we are so busy to the worldly life. So PACE ministry makes us to waken up from our natural laziness.
As we have meeting for lay pastors, I realize that my mission become more clear and get to know what I have to do. To make a report of the week’s ministry, we found what’s my weak point and keep in mind that I have to do more with passion for given ministry. Also, I found that through sharing our ministry, we become stronger and get helpful. Those who have caring gifts, they will be familiar with this kind of ministry.
I think PACE ministry is to listen, to be with and to be a friend. As we know PACE ministry is becoming friend as Jesus did. Of course listening is not everything and not solve some problem right now, but when we listen to others, we make their burden light, so I believe to listen is the good care! And also I found PACE ministry is something good for evangelism because today’s society is not relational with others, so through PACE, so called ‘relationship,’ we relate with others easily.
PACE ministry is doing something for others. Through this ministry, I became to understand senior pastors’ ministry difficulty. And this ministry is not only help others but also help myself to grow. That is the one of benefits of this ministry.■
Chand Analyser (Pakistan) says:
Duties of the Lay Pastor Although the program may be different in your conference, the ministry to which a person is called when he or she becomes a lay pastor can best be described in the following ways:
1. Teamwork. Lay pastors work under the supervision of a senior pastor or district leader, and they must work closely with the local church board and officers. It is important to keep in mind that a “lone ranger” style of leadership will only create problems and not build up the congregation. You must arrange to meet weekly, or at least every second week, with your supervisor for good, one-on-one communication. Only in this way will you ensure that you are supporting one another and working together.
2. Preaching and worship leadership. A primary responsibility of the lay pastor is to fill the pulpit, perhaps three out of four Sunday. This includes attention to the entire worship service, not just the sermon. The elders are the worship committee in small churches, and it is essential that you work with them in helping them to become co-leaders of worship with you. Any changes in the order of service need to be voted by the elders.
3. Visitation. You cannot do an adequate job of preaching unless you have regular contact with the congregation in their homes and places of work. The lay pastor is usually expected to systematically visit the church members, give Bible studies to interested persons, and make contact with all visitors. You need to clarify with your senior pastor and the church board their expectations regarding visits to the sick, funerals and referrals for pastoral counseling.
4. Chairing the board. Sometimes the lay pastor is expected to chair the church board half the time or two out of three meetings, while the senior pastor is present and chairs it once a quarter. Perhaps your local church elects a board member as chairperson. You will need to clarify this responsibility with your supervisor and the board.
5. Midweek meetings. You should plan to conduct a prayer meeting, a Bible study group, seminars such as the Revelation Seminar, or a lay training class one evening a week, with the possible exception of the weeks the church board meets. This is a vital part of a healthy, growing church. In many churches today there is no longer one general midweek meeting, but a number of home Bible fellowships and seminars offered on different days in various locations. This allows for maximum attendance and the meeting of a wider range of needs.
6. Planning. Every congregation needs to have a yearly plan for church growth to ensure an ongoing, balanced program of outreach, soul-winning and nurture. The process by which these plans are developed is as important as the actual plan. If the church leaders and members do not participate in planning, they will not likely support the plans. Support and church growth take place when the church board or church ministries council has a planning council each year, and then presents the plan to a general church business meeting along with the church budget. Will it be your responsibility to act as facilitator for this process, or will your senior pastor lead out?■
Byeong, Melvin University, says:
This might be very helpful once you start this ministry! What’s that mean to you and to them?
Lay Pastors and other congregation: There is also another issue in this ministry that between lay pastors and other congregation. One side wants to give it, and at the same time the other side has to receive it. Both need to work nicely. Lay Pastors want to give pastor care, PACE, to their peer congregation, but people might resist1 to receive it because, there are many reasons, but one reason might be that people think their lay pastor are not qualified to care for them, or they don’t believe lay pastors are real pastor.
We have to stress the qualities of lay pastor themselves. Once they become lay pastoral care minister, called it ‘lay pastor,’ they have to take this position, role, function seriously. That is not just playing game. Mostly churches give the designation in the end of December, give them ‘certification of appointment’ for next year, so once we visit people’s home there are many certificates they have received from the churches, even they attended other churches they also have those certificates from different or former churches. They are proud of it, showing and displaying because they receive it every year, they don’t value them and forget those are precious. This happens all the time to the people, so once they became a lay pastor they think same mindset, if it is just one of those previous certificates, they do not take it seriously.
So I am talking at PACE seminar about this issue seriously, because of no more appointing certificate at all, but SENDing….so we call it Certificate of Sending. We need major sending only once in our lives. For me, I have received these sending letters from Dr. Melvin about 15 years ago. I still have it and deal with very seriously, because I still believe God SENT me to do this ministry for a country and beyond one country, and for the rest of the world. Because I felt very strongly that God wants me to do this. Likewise, lay pastors who are sent should take their job seriously.
What is their job? Their job is not only PACE-ing for people but many other qualities. For instance; sincerity, persistent, pure-hearted, integrity. People look at them and expect them to have these qualities, so if they couldn’t find these qualities from lay pastors they turn off right away.■
ADDITIONAL COMMENT
by BYEONG
How does change come about?: Change in church or in any ministry is actually a rather uncomfortable term. However, it is a problem that must be dealt with by pastors or leaders. That’s because the ultimate responsibility for change lies with the leader at the top. In fact, if the church members first mention that “change is needed in our church,” the pastor is a little burdensome. So I think it is necessary for a leader to first sense the need for change. There will certainly be signs of that.
However, the word CHANGE usually comes first from the mouths of pastors, but the results are often not good. Both pastors and laity expect changes to occur if the word change is brought up and announced. However, change does not happen just by informing and talking. We already know this. In other words, what process will it take to actually make a change happen after the word change is announced? In other words, how does change come about? This is the key.
There may be several books about change, but I got a lot of help and utilized it in the following two books. One is “Leading Change” (Prof. John Kotter), written by Professor John Kotter of Harvard University. He talked about eight steps, and among them, the term Sense of Urgency and its concept helped me a lot. Change is difficult if we don’t feel the urgency. That makes a sense. The other book is “Managing Transitions” written by Dr. William Bridges, which means to manage changes well. The subtitle is ‘Making the Most of Change’, which I understand means ‘bring change well’. In other words, it seems to be an answer to not bringing about change properly. I’m going to focus on his idea in this column.
Dr. Bridges said that there are two terms of change, and that there are three stages of change, which is the key point of this book. The terms “change” and “transition” are used. The word CHANGE means to change something in a location, but it is said that something changes externally, such as moving out or getting promoted (e.g., Physical change), and that the word TRANSITION is not an external but an internal, psychological meaning. (e.g., Psychological change). For an easy example, when we were promoted as an elder from a deacon in the church, we changed our position externally, so it is CHANGE. But if we become an elder, but still we haven’t changed our thoughts or commitment as a deacon, it’s that the real transition hasn’t changed yet. In other words, it was very helpful for me to distinguish the meaning of CHANGE and TRANSITION.
Then Dr. Bridges’ excellence was that there are three stages to change. It means that we need to forget the past (Ending), and go into and through the middle zone (Neutral Zone), and then we have a (new Beginning.)
But what I’m most interested in here is the second one, the Neutral Zone.
In fact, I had never thought about this step until I came across this book. For example, even when the Israel people left Egypt and to entered Canaan, it was significant that they went through this second stage, that is, the Judean wilderness. In fact, neither Moses nor the people of Israel had imagined that they would have to go through this stage, this process. People are exhausted in the wilderness. However, the leader has to do his duty anyway, and to enter Canaan. People’s reactions were twofold. It’s a group that wants to keep on going, and another to go back to the past, Egypt. It’s kind of a dilemma to Moses.
Furthermore, it’s just like turning on the radio and there’s no sound, or turning on the electric switch and no light on. This is just like what people who follow and look at leaders. This is the real difficulty a leader has. This is why the will and determination of the leader are needed. The word OSCILLATION means swinging of the weight of a large clock. This is the reality that comes to the leader.
First, the leader should be aware that there are these processes and steps. If we don’t admit this, we can’t handle it. It’s a natural reaction from people. However, there can be no major change in whether to quit here or continue. If Moses is also struggling with this problem, it is a lack of leadership qualities. In other words, there should be no [major] Oscillation. [minor] Oscillations are acceptable to everyone. This is what every leader has. The question whether to do this or not is a natural. However, if a leader is contemplating too much whether to go back to the past, or continue forward, people will immediately sense it and begin to conclude, “Our leader is shaking!”
My personal case was when I made a difference from the Institute to the school. When I was in my sixth year at the LPM Korea Institute, I felt the need for a school and began to worry. At that time, I went to Yale Divinity School in New Haven, the U.S., for a while, and I started talking to Korea Institutes and core staff about the necessity of the school. First, I’m talking about the necessity, but it also meant to expect changes.
There were some different reactions when we talked about the transition to school. There were some staff members who looked at it positively, and some people responded that they couldn’t believe it, and even said “the U.S., the headquarters of the ministry, didn’t set up a school, so is it necessary to set it up in Korea?” Furthermore, even some responses, “isn’t the direction of this ministry a school?”
What I felt at that time is that the person in charge of the ministry and the people who help it have different thoughts. The other is that the more I do that, the more I should not be swayed. I also learned that I should not be too shaken while converging the various thoughts of the members with the leader. I was becoming more and more determined to establish a school. Almost no one can’t stop me. Of course, I thought that I was entirely responsible for the failure and success of the school establishment.
As we proceeded, the three steps presented by Dr. William Bridge were working, so moving forward slowly. There were “Ending,” then “Neutral Zone,” and “new beginnings” which is preparing for School Establishment. It was a three-step process: [notification] to them; [giving time] to think; and [new beginning].
However, this three-step process and progress are not marked like a radish, and of course, I felt that it was clear for me to lead the change, but the overall flow was almost overlapping. In other words, Ending, who forgets the past, felt that it was entering the Neutral Zone, which is a little overlapping between Ending and the Neutral Zone. And we went into the new Beginning, but it was also slightly overlapped with the previous Neutral Zone. Namely,
I felt it was the responsibility of the leader to make sure that these three steps were smoothly overlapping, and at the same time, I felt that we had definitely entered the next stage.
It is natural to go through these three stages of change. We can’t go straight from stage 1 ‘ending’ to stage 3 ‘new Beginning,’ and it’s actually pointless to hope so. People must be given an intermediate level of second stage. It doesn’t go straight from the past to the future. No, they can’t move. If we try to go right away, problems arise and efforts to change are likely to end in failure.
We have to give people time. In other words, time should be given to accept new things, to decide whether to do it or not. Doesn’t it take time for mushrooms to grow, and doesn’t it take for bamboo to grow, or even to give birth ten months to a baby! Some could take years. Thus, it is necessary to give people time to think, to embrace change and prepare for new things.
지구력(grit)의 의미
미국 뉴욕의 육군사관학교 West Point는 힘든 4년 과정을 거친다는 것이다. 미국 전역에서 고등학교 2학년 때 지원하는데 14,000명 이상이 지원하고, 그중에 4,000명이 서류를 통과하고, 체력 등의 과정을 거쳐 2,500명, 그리고 더 테스트를 거쳐 최종합격은 1,200명이 된다는 것이다. 그런데 도중에 2∼300여명이 탈락하여, 최종 졸업식에는 1,000여명 정도 참석한다는 것이다.
그런데 이런 2∼300여명의 탈락자들은 입소하여, 첫 여름훈련 7주간 사이에 (BEAST, 신병훈련) 거의 포기한다는 것이다. 2년간의 모든 입학 과정을 거쳐 들어가서는 첫 7주 만에 포기하는 것이다. 첫 여름 7주간의 최고 어려운 훈련을 시키는데, 소위 신병훈련생/생도에서 군인으로 바뀌는 과정이라는 것이다. 아무래도 사회에서의 생활습관을 완전히 고쳐주려는 의도인 것 같다. 어쨌든 신병에서 군인으로 바뀌도록 커리큘럼이 짜여져서, 아침 5시부터 밤 10시까지 강한 훈련이 진행된다는 것이다, 주말도 없고, 식사시간 외에는 휴식시간이 없고, 바깥의 가족, 친구도 만날 수가 없다. 그러면서 더운 한여름에 두달 남짓 강한 훈련을 시키니 포기하는 자가 수백 명이 된다는 것이다.
그런데 왜 탈락하는가? 에 대해 조사해서 분석해 보았다는 것이다. 조사분석의 결과 거의 다 똑 같더라는 것이다, 즉 고등학교성적, 리더십경험, 체력수준도 다 갖추었더라는 것이다. 그럴 수밖에 미국 육군사관학교에 들어가려면 미국 동부의 아이비리그 대학들에 들어가는 수준은 갖추어야 되니 학교성적 등등의 수준은 최상이라는 것이다,
그러면 결국 7주간을 견디는 자들과 탈락자들의 차이점은 무엇인가? 그것은 바로 지구력(Perseverance, Grit, 투지)이더라는 것이다. 실력과 재능과 천재라기보다는, 이 지구력이 최고로 작용한다는 것을 몇 년간의 조사를 통해서 (입소 첫 주에 조사) 발견되었다는 것이다,
성공한 사람들 대부분을 보면 IQ좋고, 머리좋고, 타고난 재능이 좋은 사람들이 아니었다. 대개 한 분야에 열심히 한 사람들이었다. 어쩌면 스탠포드대학의 심리학교수 케롤이 말한 것처럼 좀 부족하다고 느끼는 학생들은 지구력을 갖고 계속 노력하다보니 결국 상위권으로 가더라는 발견과 유사한 맥락이라 보여진다.
나 개인적으로는 이렇게 생각해보았다: 다 가졌다고 생각하는 사람들, 즉 100%의 IQ와 재능을 가진 사람들은 더 애쓸 필요가 없으니, 더이상 노력할 여지가 없다는 생각? 100%이면 다 된 것 아닌가?
그런데 사실 뭔가 좀 부족하다고 느끼는 사람들, 즉 60%만 갖고 있다고 가정해보자. 그런 사람들은 100% 채우려고 애쓰고 또 애쓰다 보니, 어쩌면 지구력과 투지를 발휘해서 계속 가다 보니 100%에 도달함과 동시에 그것을 넘어서 120%, 130%로 진행해 갈 수도 있다는 것이다. 즉 종착지의 문제가 아니고 방향의 문제인 것 같다. 훌륭한 사람들은 많지만, 그중에서도 더 뛰어난 사람들은 후자의 경우가 아닐까! 세상에서 정말 뛰어난 사람들은 100%를 넘어서 150%, 200%까지라도 간 사람들이다. 다른 말로 그것은 IQ, 재능의 문제가 아니라 불만족에 만족하는 사람들이다. 뭔가를 이루고 나면 거기에 만족치 않고 또 더 높은 단계를 추구하기에 불만족에 만족하는 사람들로, 마치 성경 속에 사도바울의 고백처럼 나는 잡은 줄로 여기지 아니하고, 계속 잡으려고 달려간다는 개념이라고 봐진다.
미국 육군사관학교에서는 다양한 면을 개발시키는 것을 목표로 하는데 정신적, 신체적, 군대정신, 사회훈련을 시킨다고 한다. 그런데 이런 어려운 훈련과정을 통과하면서 자신의 약한 부분을 발견하게 된다는데, 이것이 또한 견디기 어려운 것들이라고 얘기한다는 것이다. 어쩌면 자신감, 또 자존감이 떨어진다고도 볼 수 있을 것이다. 그러니 지구력(투지)이 없이는 탈락하기 일쑤라는 것이다. 그런 힘든 과정 4년을 누가 통과하여 졸업까지 가겠는가? 더구나 도중에 사관학교 자체 테스트를 다 통과한 생도들 중에서도 또 탈락자가 생기더라는 것이다. 다 갖추어진 생도들 임에 틀림없다. 그럼에도 불구하고 결국 끝까지 가는 학생들은, 즉 포기하지 않는 생도들이 있더라는 것이다.
이것은 비록 군대에서만의 얘기는 아니겠다. 여러 가지 직업, 사업, 목회, 학생 등등에 다 적용된다고 본다. 성공한 사람들을 분석해보니 두 가지로 귀결되는데 하나는 열정(passion)이고, 다른 하나는 지구력(perseverance)이더라는 것이다, 열정은 식어버리지 않는 것이고, 지구력은 어려운 문제를 극복하는 것이라고 본다. 이 두 가지가 성공의 필수요건이라면 어불성설인가! 열정은 시작할 때 필요하고, 지구력은 계속 추진하고 더 발전하는데 필요하다고 생각된다.
실패의 가장 흔한 원인 중 하나는 일시적인 실패를 완전 실패로 받아들이기 때문이라고 한다. 누구나 다 이런저런 실수를 하는데 그때에 “나는 틀렸구나” 하고 그만두는 습관이 있기도 하다. “Three feet from Gold”라는 책이 있는데, 제1장에 실화를 소개하고 있다. 내용인즉 몇 달 동안 금을 캐내던 한 젊은이가 금이 안 나오니 그는 그만두기로 하고, 모든 도구와 장비를 폐품수집가에게 헐값에 팔았다. 그런데 그 폐품수집가가 장난삼아 좀 더 파보기로 하고 파기 시작했는데, 이전의 젊은 광부가 그만둔 거기서 3피트 더 들어가니 금이 발견되었다는 것이다. 결국, 이전의 광부는 3피트만 남겨놓고 그만두었던 것이다. 혹시 이것은 우리 자신들의 얘기는 아닐까? 어렵고 힘든 것은 이해하지만, 그러나 조금 더 해보면 어떨까! 대부분의 경우 이 3피트를 남겨놓았을 때가 제일 힘든 것이 사실이다. 종종 우리의 가장 큰 성취와 성공은 우리가 생각하는 것보다 훨씬 더 가까이 있다는 것을 암시해주고 있는 예화 같기도 하다. 힘들어 포기하고 싶은 그때가 곧 끝이 얼마 남지 않았다는 신호가 될 수도 있을 것이다.●