One of the things I’ve tried to do with my blog is keep it real. I love that I’m often described that way by the people who know me. What you see is basically what you get.
There are times when things are going great for me, and there are times when I find myself struggling with things. This has been a great season. In fact, 2010 was a great year in just about every way. My gut feeling is that 2011 will continue in that way.
As you probably know, I am now pastoring two churches. (If you didn’t know that, read this post). It means double the duty. Two congregations, two leadership team meetings, two budgets, two of basically everything. The potential is there to overwhelm.
I have a few pastor friends who are following what I’m doing here in Ottawa because they are looking at similar scenarios. In fact, a District Executive member suggested to me that we are going to see a significant increase in the number of pastors who oversee multiple congregations. So, hopefully, the things I share here about the journey of pastoring two churches will be of value to them.
So, what are my initial thoughts after a few weeks “on the job”? Glad you asked.
I need a system.
It’s going to take me a few weeks (even months) to figure out a routine that works. Right now, I have people coming by at different times during the week. I have meetings with individuals and groups from both churches. And, I’m trying to connect with more pastors in the city. Along with that, I have a message to write each week. Originally, I thought I’d be able to write a single message and preach it to both congregations. And while that is still my goal, I’m certainly finding with this first series a need to speak to specific things each church is working through.
For example, this week I am speaking about a dependance on God. Now, that is a subject that can be preached in both churches without much change. After all, we all need to understand what it means to acknowledge our need of God. But, I’m zeroing in on how our dependance on God is communicated through worship and prayer. Each church is unique in where they are with those two areas of church life. The challenge I need to bring to one church is different than what I need to say to the other church. What it means is that while the skeleton of my message is the same for both services, some of the meat is different. I hadn’t planned on that, and it will take some time to establish a system for doing both.
I have to stop worrying.
Most people see me as a very easy going guy. I don’t seem to let much bother me. Those closest to me (especially Heather) know differently. I lay awake most nights considering how I can do certain things differently. These days, I find myself worrying about making sure that each church gets equal attention from me. I have had leaders from both congregations express concern over protecting the church’s identity. My goal is that while much of what we do here is done as “One church”, we continue to develop each service — and therefore each congregation — uniquely. Bikers Church is not City Church. And, City Church is not Bikers Church. No one understands that more than I do, and I’m guessing that no one worries about it more than I do.
It comes out in my writing, my sermon preparation, even my emails. Some of you would be shocked at how much thought I put into how I send out emails. I have three primary email accounts. A personal account, and one for each church. When I am emailing someone from City Church, I try to use my rdale@citychurch.net account. For Bikers’ Church people, it’s rev@bikerschurch.com. But what do I do when I am sending out something for both churches. As crazy as it sounds, right now I often send out two emails. It’s silly. I know it and yet I’m dumb that way. I have no doubt that the majority of people getting email from me could care less what email address I use, and yet I worry about things like that.
I need to stop. I need to get to the point where I stop worrying about the potential for offending someone with something silly like that. But, it’s easier said than done. I’m trying to get there.
I have to respect my team more.
I’m putting a lot of pressure on myself. That’s okay. It’s how I’ve always worked. But I need to protect my team and make sure that they are not being swamped with MY pressure. We have an amazing staff who are stepping up and taking on dual roles. At this point, they are doing it without seeing any increase in pay. Cam was telling me about a conversation he had with another worship leader this week. He was explaining to this guy how he was developing a worship team for two different congregations. The guy thought Cam was nuts. While I tend to agree with this individuals assessment of Cam’s mental capacity (he is nuts), I need to recognize that I am asking my team to go above and beyond what most church staff do. Two congregations is not the same as having two church services. As I type these words, Heather is putting together two bulletins, two screen announcements, and developing two e-newsletters. While much of the content is identical, the “presentation” is unique to each congregation.
What’s amazing is that they do it without complaining at all. In fact, they are clearly excited about being part of something visionary. It blows my mind. I’m sure this will come to a shock to you, but I can be a pain in the rear end as a boss. There are many things that I want done a very specific way. These guys get me. Heather, Cam, Marty, the leadership teams, and many others recognize that what we’re doing here is something special. But, it’s not easy. I need to respect the sacrifices of my team more.
A balancing act.
So, yes, in these early days, there is a lot of balancing happening. I’m sure we’ll find our groove and things will fall into a workable routine, but it’s going to take some time. Heather and I agree that we need to protect our day off (Friday) even more than ever. We plan on doing that.
Pray for us. I simply cannot put into words just how excited I am about all that is happening. I wish I could share all the stories of how God is blessing the churches right now, but I just don’t have time to write it down. It’s an amazing journey.
