No Longer Silent: Doing Pastoral Ministry with Excellence and Grace

By Rev. Mike Beck

QUOTES FROM THE CHAPTER, "LET'S BE REAL"


Do we have any understanding of the un-churched culture in which we live and the way these people view the church? Do we spend intentional time cultivating relationships with non-Christian people, or is our attitude one of "they know where we are, and they'll come if they want to?" If the church is truly to experience a revival, we must seek to understand the needs and thinking of "unchurched Harry and Mary."


We need to stop playing our pious, religious games and realize that the church is to be a haven for broken, hurting people who feel they don't have their lives all together. And if we look at the teachings of Jesus, He consistently taught that it was those people who felt "they had it all together" who in fact were farthest from God!


In no way am I diminishing the importance of sound doctrine, but I have often laughingly said that "we will be surprised when we get to Heaven at some of the people living in our neighborhood!" We must acknowledge our own struggles with complex issues and, at times, admit that we don't have God in a neat box and therefore don't have all the answers. Although sound theology is important, my Bible says first and foremost that they will know we are Christians by our love!


Christ said that He had come, not to "comfort the already comfortable", but to "preach good news to the poor...to proclaim recovery of sight to the blind...to release the oppressed...and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

Is that our message as well? If not, then it's time for us to be real!

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Nov 2, 2011
• ISBN: 9781467043656

Rev. Mike Beck

What if what you loved and felt called to do was taken from you in the prime of your career? That has been the struggle for the author of this book as his inability to speak clearly due to a rare neurological disorder forced him to go on disability in 2006. The situation has been further compounded as three other dystonias have caused spasms in his eyes, lower face, and right hand. Over the past 20 years, Rev. Mike (as he prefers to be called) has undergone nine surgeries, the last one being Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery at the Mayo Clinic, along with hundreds of botox injections in his throat and eyes to seek to stay in ministry. The years since going on disability have seen numerous times of frustration, discouragement, and isolation. But throughout this ordeal, God's grace has proven sufficient, and these recent years "on the sidelines" have led to the writing of this book. The book is thought-provoking, challenging, and filled with hundreds of practical lessons learned from 25 years in pastoral ministry. The book can be a great help to church leaders and pastors who want to see their church's ministry become all that God wants it to be. He hopes this book will be especially helpful to new pastors beginning their ministry. Rev. Mike Beck graduated from Taylor University in 1971 and spent ten years in education before sensing God's call to ministry. He graduated from Asbury Theological Seminary in 1985 and served in full-time pastoral ministry in the South Indiana Conference from 1984-2006. He served as the Associate Pastor at Greensburg (1984-1989) and was the Senior Pastor at Corydon Old Capitol (1989-1997) and Franklin Grace (1997-2006). Each of these churches grew by 50% under his leadership despite his struggle with speaking. Rev. Mike and his wife, Mickey, have been married for over 40 years. They have two sons and four grand-children. His hobbies are golf and travel.

Book preview

Contents

DEDICATION

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

FORWARD

BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED

MINISTRY IS A CALLING, NOT A JOB

KEEPING THE MAIN THING THE MAIN THING

LOVE YOUR PEOPLE

KNOW YOUR PEOPLE

GET YOUR EGO OUT OF THE WAY

LET’S BE REAL

HINDRANCES TO THE WORK OF THE CHURCH

THE MISSING INGREDIENT

BUILDING CONSENSUS

WELCOMING AND ASSIMILATING NEWCOMERS

REFLECTIONS ON WORSHIP

REFLECTIONS ON DISCIPLESHIP

REFLECTIONS ON MISSIONS

MINISTRY IN LIFE’S MOST SACRED MOMENTS

MAKING THE SACRAMENTS MEANINGFUL

THE CRITICAL ROLE OF COMMUNICATION

THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE

THE MIDDLE WAY

REMEMBERING WHO WE ARE

ERR ON THE SIDE OF GRACE

THE REST OF THE STORY

APPENDIX

A GUIDE FOR GROUP STUDY

MISSION STATEMENT

Life Lessons in Learning to Trust God

Dealing With Adversity

ENDORSEMENTS

"His Word burns in my heart like a fire in my bones.

For that reason, I can no longer keep silent."

(Personal paraphrase of Jeremiah 20:9)

_____________

Write me in, Father, to your eternal manuscript that pens the eloquence of a life lived in accordance with your will. Fix my eyes on the unseen treasures of an abundant storing that happens now, on the front side of a final and certain witness that is soon to be. Thank You for the temporal treasures that You have allowed in my life—treasures that bring comfort and joy and sustenance for the journey. Forgive me when they have become too much, too important, and too necessary. You are my strength and great reward. How I look forward to sharing Heaven with You. Amen.

(Prayer from her book, Peace for the Journey, by Elaine Olsen.)

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my dad, Rev. Glen Beck, who died on December 12, 2010. Dad was not only a father, but he was also an example and mentor to me in the art of pastoral ministry.

Dad was a farmer by trade. He was active in his church, and outwardly appeared to be a fine Christian man, even holding numerous offices in the church. However, at age 30 he came under conviction at a revival meeting in the small church he attended in southeastern Indiana. He came home from church, sat down at the table for Sunday dinner, and suddenly pushed his meal away, saying to Mom and the rest of the family: What that preacher was talking about today, I don’t have. But I want it with all my heart. He made his way to the parsonage where the evangelist was staying, and that day he moved from playing church to a deep and passionate relationship with Jesus Christ.

It wasn’t long until that passion led him to visit with the District Superintendent where he expressed a calling of God to pastoral ministry. He was assigned part-time to serve two small country churches. Over the next nine years, those churches doubled in size, and in 1965 Dad sold the farm and entered into full-time ministry.

Dad would serve in only three appointments (his first appointment being a two-point charge in Shelby County) during his 25 years of full-time ministry. The churches that he served were basically churches that no one else wanted to take! And yet in each of the places where he served, the church grew by over 50 percent.

Dad never had a college degree and attended the Course of Study at Garrett Theological Seminary prior to his ordination as an associate member of the Annual Conference. He always felt uneasy about his lack of formal education, but he more than made up for it with his passion for boldly proclaiming the transforming power of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He had no reason to feel any lacking, as in his last church he had two different seminary-trained associate pastors!

Dad’s philosophy of ministry was very simple: Preach the gospel and love and truly care about people. He loved to tell stories in his sermons that would resonate with his congregation, and he never failed in his messages to challenge people to accept Christ as Savior or to embrace an ever-deeper level of discipleship.

Dad retired in 1989, yet retirement was never really a word in his vocabulary! Dad had a passion for missions, and shortly after retirement, he was appointed as the Director of Mission Interpretation for the South Indiana Conference. During that time, he made six trips to Africa, numerous trips to Haiti, and one trip to India. On those trips, he took pastors and lay persons with him, being firmly convinced that if they could see those things that break the heart of God, their individual lives and the lives of their churches would be radically changed.

He worked with over 100 churches to help them begin Faith-Promise Mission Conferences. During his time in this role, close to $3 million was raised by these churches for mission projects, both at home and around the world. In honor of his service in the area of missions, the Glen & Myrna Beck Mission Guest House is being constructed in Tanzania under the direction of Rev. Lowell Wertz, a long-time mission friend of my dad. A portion of the profits from the sale of this book will go toward this project.

Dad’s love for people caused him to become a part of the staff at Franklin Grace United Methodist Church in 1991 as a Minister of Pastoral Care. People loved him and looked forward to his visits, as he had a unique way of making them feel comforted and at ease in his presence. He made his final call less than two months before passing away from a three-year battle with cancer.

Thank you, Dad, for imparting to me the witness of a steadfast faith and a deep love for people, both by word and example. You enriched and guided my ministry in so many ways. Your love for Jesus genuinely touched the lives of people in the churches you served as well as literally thousands of other individuals around the world through your work in missions.

No doubt you have now heard our Lord say: Well done, good and faithful servant. I look forward to the day when we will be re-united in that eternal home that God has prepared for us.

Rev.%20Mike%20Beck.jpg

Rev. Glen Beck

(1923-2010)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

What if what you loved and felt called to do was taken from you in the prime of your career? That has been the struggle for the author of this book as his inability to speak clearly due to a rare neurological disorder forced him to go on disability in 2006. The situation has been further compounded as three other dystonias have caused spasms of the muscles in his eyes, lower face, and right hand.

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Over the past twenty years, Rev. Mike (as he prefers to be called) has undergone nine surgeries, the last one being deep brain stimulation surgery at the Mayo Clinic, along with hundreds of botox injections in his throat and eyes to seek to stay in ministry. The years since going on disability have seen numerous times of frustration, isolation, and discouragement.

But throughout this ordeal, God’s grace has proven sufficient, and these recent years on the sidelines have led to the writing of this book. The book is thought-provoking, challenging, and filled with hundreds of practical lessons learned from 25 years of effective pastoral ministry.

The book can be a great help to church leaders and pastors who want to see their church’s ministry become all that God wants it to be. He hopes this book will be especially helpful to new pastors beginning their ministry.

Rev. Mike Beck graduated from Taylor University in 1971 and spent ten years in education before sensing God’s call to ministry. He graduated from Asbury Theological Seminary in 1985 and served in full-time pastoral ministry in the South Indiana Conference of the United Methodist Church from 1984-2006.

He served as Associate Pastor at Greensburg (1984-1989) and was the Senior Pastor at Corydon Old Capitol (1989-1997) and Franklin Grace (1997-2006). Each of these churches grew by 50 percent under his leadership despite his struggle with speaking.

Rev. Mike and his wife, Mickey, have been married for over 40 years. They have two sons and four grand-children. His hobbies are golf and travel.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you; I always pray because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:3-6)

Thanks for the heritage of faith, passed on to me in my earliest years, and so exemplified by my mother. She and my dad were married for 67 years. She was indeed a quiet but wonderful partner to him in ministry.

Thanks to my wife, Mickey, for her constant love, sacrifice, and words of wisdom during my years in full-time ministry. Thanks also for the dozens of ways you have been there for me in these recent years of disability. I love you!

Thanks to my oldest son, Aaron, whose professional sound expertise provided me with the very best in microphones which allowed me to remain in full-time ministry for 14 years after the onset of the illness that impacted my voice.

Thanks to my youngest son, Adam, who has offered up numerous words of wisdom in recent years as I have struggled with my disabilities.

Thanks to a dear friend, Sue Gauck, who many years ago in a dream, provided me with the title for this book.

Thanks to the thousands of people who I have had the privilege to serve in ministry and who have taught me so much through their example, love, and encouragement.

Thanks to Dr. Ken Callahan, author of Twelve Keys to the Effective Church, whom I had the privilege to train under for one week each summer for three years early in my ministry. Your insights have guided my actions innumerable times and have given me a firm foundation for pastoral ministry.

Thanks to Rev. Adam Hamilton, pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas; to Rev. Mike Slaughter, pastor of Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church near Tipp City, Ohio; and to Rev. Bill Hybels, pastor of Willow Creek Community Church outside of Chicago. The insights that I have gained from attending numerous conferences in your churches have provided me much food for thought and kept my ministry fresh and vibrant.

Thanks to Sharon Rothrock and Jane Hughey for their help and advice in the final editing of the book.

Thanks to my many doctors whose expertise, concern, and encouragement have kept me going these past 20 years.

Most of all, I want to thank God who has taught me so many lessons through this ordeal. Your grace has indeed proven sufficient, and You have used even my infirmities to give me a greater love and compassion for people who are hurting and in need.

FORWARD

There was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger from Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me: My grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect in weakness.

(II Corinthians 12:7-9)

I will never forget that Sunday morning in the spring of 1992. The sermon had been decent and my congregation attentive, but I noticed that I had great difficulty in getting out my words. This problem had appeared in recent Sundays as well, but not nearly to the degree of that day. Compounding the problem, spasms in my right hand were now making it extremely difficult for me to hold a pen and write.

By the next Sunday, I could get out about two words of every five, and what speech I had was very strained and required great effort. My associate pastor read my sermon that day and for the next few Sundays while I searched for answers to the problem. Needless to say, when a preacher loses his voice and also his ability to write, anxiety becomes a constant companion!

Unlike most other persons who suffer from this strange illness, I was fortunate to get a quick diagnosis. This was due to a man in my congregation who had the same problem and was among the first individuals to receive an experimental treatment in New York. What are the odds of that occurring when this illness affects less than 31354.jpg percent of