January 2014 Vol. I No. 1 Published by The International A Place of Hope. A People of Promise. Pentecostal Holiness Church Encourage Inspiration for IPHC Leaders ARTICLES THIS MONTH: Our Premier Digital Issue! 7 Disciplines SPECIAL FEATURE: of a Leader The Antidote Go for an Upgrade! for Despair By Mark Rutland The Forgotten Timothy Principle A Message from Our Bishop ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER This new digital publication will be a source of strength for our IPHC leadership. ometime in the late 1990s I was in the conference office in Georgia late in the afternoon. A pastor BY DOUG of one of our smaller congregations called and asked if he could visit me. Earlier in his ministry She had been a district leader in another Pentecostal denomination. At age 60 he brought wisdom BEACHAM and experience to the conference. I had no reason to suspect anything unusual other than the com- mon concerns related to pastoring local churches. He sat on the couch and began talking. In just a few minutes his voice began to halter, then choke up, then break as tears flowed. I sat and listened, praying silently for him and for me as he com- DOUG BEACHAM is the presiding bishop posed himself. I’ll have to admit, I thought of several things: Was he about to confess to stealing money? of the IPHC. He has served in various roles in the church including Georgia Conference Was he having an affair? Was he getting a divorce? Director, executive director of Church Edu- He finally composed himself and said: “I am a failure. I’ve pastored this church for four years cation Ministries, and executive director of and all we have are 30 to 40 people. I go to the church growth events the denomination sponsors; I read World Missions Ministries. the books; I try the new methods. Nothing works. I have failed as a minister.” He began to sob again. I was stunned. This was not the confession I expected. My heart began to break for him as the pain of the loss of his self-worth poured out. He felt he was a disappointment to me, to his denomination and to Jesus! It was almost more than I could bear. We spent the next hour listening, talking and praying as I tried to encourage a man who was Encourage broken by his failure to live up to perceived expectations. Through the years I’ve never forgotten that experience. That dear brother is now with the Lord. I A place of hope. A people of promise. spoke at his funeral and was reminded that “our labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). This first issue ofEncourage represents a new global outreach to IPHC ministers. I’ve been blessed to January 2014 Vol. I No. 1 visit our pastors and leaders on every inhabited continent and see where many of our pastors live and serve. Regardless of our cultural, social and economic differences, I’ve discovered that all of us need to Editor in Chief be encouraged. Dr. A.D. Beacham, Jr. From the new church plant meeting in a small home in North India to the largest of IPHC con- gregations in the U.S. and Hong Kong, ministry leaders need to know that brothers and sisters in Christ Publisher are standing with them. Those of us whose ministries are International Pentecostal Holiness Church no longer directly in the local congregation also need to be This premier issue of encouraged. This goes for those in conference and denom- Executive Editor Encourage represents a inational leadership as well as those who serve our institu- J. Lee Grady tions. new global outreach to It is my prayer that Encourage, through new Communications Director / IPHC ministers. digital technology, will become a resource of hope for you. Associate Editor It’s interesting to me that the Greek verb translated “en- Travis Rutland courage” is parakaleo. The noun is paraklesis and a similar word, parakletos, is usually translated “comforter” or “helper,” and it refers to the Holy Spirit. Evangelism USA It is proper that a Pentecostal church be an encouraging church! It is also proper that we begin D. Chris Thompson to see holiness not merely as something that applies to an individual; holiness has a corporate dimen- sion! The apostle Peter envisioned the church as a “holy priesthood” (see 1 Peter 2:5). World Missions Ministries I believe Encourage fits within the vision of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church as J. Talmadge Gardner we become “A place of hope and a people of promise.” We need to hear from one another around the globe. We need to learn from one another around the globe. We need to pray for one another around Discipleship Ministries the globe. We have a global mission, but our need for encouragement is local. Through God’s strength, Thomas H. McGhee we can do this for one another! As I reflect on Paul’s encouraging words in 1 Corinthians 15:58--“your toil is not in vain in the Clergy Development / Lord”—I remember that the apostle said this in light of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our personal vic- World Intercession Network tories and successes are never enough to sustain us. Only the resurrection of Jesus gives us the hope and Lou Shirey encouragement we need. I pray you will stand in that encouragement—and share it with others! o Encourage is published monthly except in July and December by the International Pentecostal Holi- 2 Encourage Magazine ness Church, P.O. Box 12609, Oklahoma City, OK 73157. Digital subscriptions are available free of charge by contacting [email protected]. 7 PERSONAL DISCIPLINES OF A LEADER These seven skills will help take the frustration out of your busy life. BY JOHN recent article by Richard Blackmon in the Los Angeles Times stated that pastors are “the single CHASTEEN most occupationally frustrated group in America.” Is that really true? I’m not sure if I agree with A his blanket statement; however, having spent more than 30 years in the trenches as a pastor and leader, I concur that ministry is a challenging vocation for several reasons. First, there has been a shift in the expectations of church members in recent years. People today have been trained to be individualistic consumers, so they have high expectations for a pastor and the JOHN CHASTEEN has served in pastoral church they attend. Second, the average pastor today wears many more hats than pastors in previous leadership for many years. He later served as generations. Third, many leaders today struggle with a “hurry up” mentality. We want to reach our goals, dean of the graduate school at Southwestern and we want to reach them now! Christian University. Today he directs The Regarding the third reason, it’s important to realize that ministry is not a sprint; it is a marathon. Chasteen Group, a life-coaching ministry Until we shift our thinking to this biblical view of ministry we will continue to be frustrated. based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He is So what does a disciplined view of ministry look like? Here are a few disciplines I’ve practiced and taught also the author of Coaching the Next Gen- over the years. They are simple yet often overlooked skills that can make a big difference in your life. I call eration. You can read more of his writing at them the personal disciplines of a leader. heycoachjohn.com. Discipline #1: You must become internally rather than externally motivated. Unfortunately we have far too many ministers today who are externally motivated. They require the right conditions for everything— a certain feeling, a huge crowd, big offerings and numerous other conditions—before they can get “inspired.” Something is wrong with that picture. There will be times when you and I do not feel like praying, reading our Bibles, preparing a sermon or doing any of the other tasks that ministry demands. But we must do them anyway! Could this be what the apostle Paul was saying to Timothy when he wrote: “Preach the Word, be instant in season and out of season...” (2 Timothy 4:1)? I think so. Learn to become internally motivated by the Holy Spirit rather than relying on outward conditions. Discipline #2: Become skilled in the art of crisis management. Somewhere in your church is a problem waiting to happen. I’m not being negative, just realistic. If you are dealing with human beings, you will have problems. We must quit thinking that most problems will take care of themselves. They won’t! At times ministry is about crisis management. How we deal with crises has much to do with our future. Ask Moses if crisis management had any- thing to do with his future! In Numbers 20 he mismanaged his crisis, and he got himself banned from going into the promised land. King Saul’s inability to handle a crisis led him to take matters into his own hands instead of waiting on God (see 1 Samuel 13)—and he was disqualified. How do you handle crises? Do you ignore them and hope they disappear? Maybe you explode and get angry with your staff? Or maybe you simply withdraw? Why not take a proactive stance and learn how to manage ministry crisis? Discipline #3: Become more than one-dimensional in your life and ministry. Being a one-dimensional pastor means you focus only on ministry all the time; if you do this you will certainly burn out. This is a simple Encourage Magazine 3 concept; however you would be surprised how many pastors violate it for months and years on end.