MFA - Ministers Friends Association

MFA wants to encourage the development of Ministerial Development Programs (MDP). Each denomination and its pastors’ equippers may take advantage of Topic Brasil (www.topicbrasil.org) suggestions for this theme. Each pastor should be invited to follow a progressive line of training, avoiding the habit of participating in all novelty programs that appear, since these isolated programs, have proved to be less efficient in producing healthy development in ministry skills.

Only in Brazil, the number of pastors should be over 150,000 and the percentage that receives ministerial updating courses regularly is small. This isolation contributes for a high rotation in pastoral ministry. The average length of ministries is startlingly short. The general goal of MDP is to improve the pastoral leaders’ abilities in Latin America extending the average length of full time ministries, with a healthy growth of local churches.

We understand healthy churches as therapeutic communities where God manifests himself through a community that love its members and the non-Christians, producing healthy character, worship services and commitments.

The emphasis in long term and full time ministries is considered as the ideal one. There are pastors with an itinerant vocation. They receive a specific mission and when it is finished, God takes them to another ministry, but such situations are exceptions, not the rule. We should encourage and desire long term ministries.

Systematization of pastoral experiences is also needed. There is a tremendous loss in pastoral ministries experiences. The positive and negative experiences should be recorded, systematized and shared to help other workers. Besides these, experiences from the secular world should be taken in account also. The church is not like a company, it is much more complex. Some pastors, however, do not practice even the leadership principles that the secular world have already approved. Spurgeon made reference to a comment he heard from a business man about a leader of a church, “If I acted in my business the same way he does in his ministry, I would bankrupt in three months”.

To seek excellence in selecting the contents is another important aspect. History, ministries and current programs have great contributions for the pastoral ministry.

Without any political concern and without the intention of creating a fraternity of pastors, what is possible only through denominational programs or small groups of pastors’ friends, MFA will support all MDP whose target is pastors who are in the ministry, ordained or not.

1) Discovering and selecting the called ones, what normally is a local church task;

2) Ecclesiastical and theological preparation, offered by a local church or theological institutions;

4) Pastoral care for pastors or follow-up during ministry, which can be subdivided in three areas:

4.1) Supervision - this happens in denominations with centralized power and in missionary agencies;

4.2) Pastoral care - setting time apart to hear God with a colleague pastor. [3]

4.3) Improvement of ministerial abilities - distinguished from the training of future pastors.

When a pastor is performing his tasks well, many problems in the relational, family, personal devotional and personal achievement areas will be avoided. Small and sometimes irrelevant administrative issues may produce difficulties in the personal life of the pastor and in his ministry. They may also generate a lot of complaining among the church members

It is necessary to administrate the great resources of knowledge and experiences men and women of God have collected and canalize them to help to fulfill the needs of ministers. In a survey done in Brazil in 1986 by the Home Mission Board (Brazilian Baptist Convention), lack of training was appointed as the second major obstacle for church growth. [7]

A denomination must invest in pastors training. This will guarantee pastors and churches satisfaction and a financial return. This could be seen in a study done in 1988. In a specific denomination the average of missions offerings was compared to churches offerings where the pastor received a week of training. In these situations there was an increase of 30% in the offerings. Imagine if all pastors of the denomination had received training. What an impact it would cause in a missions goal of millions of reais!

Above all, this program justifies itself by the fact that nobody is more interested in learning than the pastor himself. The seminary student can not have the ideal concern for pastoral issues until he faces the ministerial reality. Friedman says, “…they are not capable of understanding advices before they experience their real world of influence. …They often complain that the things they learn in congresses after their ordination should have been taught to them while they were studying. Well, they were.” [9]

Training courses, seminars or congresses may update their knowledge dealing with general themes. Following there are some examples of courses that may be ministered isolated or together:

In all situations common classes as devotional life, the character of the Christian leader and biblical contents could be ministered. The more specific the courses are, since financially feasible, the better the ministers will benefit by them.

Facilitators should be rigorously selected, using moral, spiritual and ability criteria.

Good training courses offered to pastors by services organizations will be supported by MFA. It is very important to analyze the profile of each pastor: courses already taken, what he was able to apply and even his specific concerns. A continuing process of individual survey is fundamental to help a worker in selecting what really may be relevant to his updating process and to avoid wasting of time participating in courses with small benefit.

Small groups with no more than 30 ministers, can be selected for the Workshop or Clinic. [10]

Training without a follow-up is like a seed among thorns. Its benefits probably will not pass 5%. Much of what was learned is lost because of pastors’ personal limitations, or because they can not put in to practice the contents or even because they are pushed forward towards the next event. Another harm caused by the lack of follow-up and advice resides in the repetition of mistakes. Each pastoral mistake has eternal repercussion. Ministers should have a mentor who pass them life; who help them in their formation, beyond passing them information; somebody who can walk side by side with them; a friend who has discernment. He should not be too young, but somebody who had succeeded in the pastoral ministry and who has a good theological education.

It is necessary to substitute the culture of ministerial autonomy for one of interdependency and humbleness enough to accept help from others colleagues and friends. Some ministers deceive themselves, thinking that they can solve all kinds of trouble by themselves. The major cause for a fall could be exactly the false comprehension about the dangers and limitations of pastoral life.

Missionary agencies are doing surveys and symposia to find out ways to improve the supervision and pastoral care of missionaries. The fact of the matter is that the current generation of pastors know how to work in a team better and is more open to advices and mentors than the previous one. These new workers do not want so much “autonomy”, but ask for follow-up and support. A survey developed by Topic Brasil showed that Brazilian pastors want to be trained, especially in the ministerial area. The survey showed that seven out of ten weaknessess in their ministries were related to this area. [11]

MDP can use all means possible to reinforce training in the field, as for instance, sending texts, cassettes, video-cassettes, etc., systematically.

MFA will encourage men and women of God, especially the retired, to become mentors to pastors, in a proactive action, without denominational concern. The possibility of these master-pastors being paid for their systematic work of hearing, calling, writing, sending e-mails and even visiting in some cases, could be studied. Mentors are chosen according to a 16 criteria list (adapted from David Kornfield’s list):

[2] Rick Warren said the “long ministries are not a warranty for church growth, but short ministries warrant that they will not grow” (Warren, Rick. A Purpose Driven Church, Ed. Vida, p.)

[3] This includes the development of a close relationship with a minister. It is fundamental that all organizations encourage this important ministry aspect which can only be achieve through a network of several groups of pastors that care for each other. “The church is the only army in the world who leaves the wounded behind” (anonymous).

[5] Stephen Brown commenting about John the Baptist said, “The rope of John, had been tore (Mathew 11:2-6). And if Jesus was not the Messiah? And if I had spent my life in a false objective? And if I blew everything? ...” It would be easy for Jesus to say to the disciples of John: ‘I can not believe! John the Baptist, the prophet is having doubts? Is he afraid?’ But Jesus did not say so”. At that moment he healed many people and sent messengers to John to tell him what was going on. Jesus knew that John needed to hear the news. When the disciples of John left, Jesus told the multitude that “among the men born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John”. We would like to tell Jesus, further says Brown (Quando a Corda se Rompe. Stephen Brown. P. 1228 -ver o título em inglês na contra-capa do livro): “You should never use somebody who is confused as a model…”, but Jesus Christ’s vision about the prophets is different from ours. Praise the Lord! In Jeremiah 23, God is disappointed with the shepherds. He says: “I myself would gather the sheep”. And when the text seems to suggest that God will eliminate the shepherds from the scene, he says, “I will also raise up shepherds over them.” Even with a lot of flaws, God does not have another plan, but to have a pastor in each local church.

[6] When a pastor is wounded the whole flock is scattered. This is a biblical concept. And the flock is God’s strategy for the expansion of His Kingdom.

[7] The first feeling was lack of power or anointment of the Holy Spirit.

[8] Taylor, William D. “Valioso demais para que se perca” (Too valuable to lose: exploring the causes and cures of missionary attrition). Editora Descoberta

[9] Kath Donovan and Ruth Myors cited in William Taylor’s book “Valioso demais para que se perca”; Editora Descoberta p.82.

[10] The expression clinic comes from the medical vocabulary. Several medical doctors gather themselves with the purpose of giving health back to a person.

[11] AITP/TOPIC questionnaire for ministers and future ministers about the ministerial formation.