service and ministry

Help for New Pastors-Planning a Funeral

/ Richard Bargas / 1 Comment

Although there isn’t a substitute for actually conducting a funeral yourself, it is possible to be better prepared to have those conversations that will make for a better memorial and graveside service. Like many things in pastoral ministry, after struggling to figure out how to do something as a new pastor, I figured out a way that worked for me and then standardized a format that made my “system” repeatable.

After being contacted by a church member or someone who has lost a loved one, it is best to set a day and time as soon as possible to meet together to talk about planning their service(s). Because most people have been to a funeral, we can assume that they might have some idea about how they would want the service of their loved one to be ordered. That assumption is almost 99% incorrect. Most people have no idea how a service should be ordered, what elements they might want to include, who they want to speak, or even how long they want the service to be.

We obviously think about the need for comfort as a part of ministering to those who are mourning, but part of bringing comfort is helping the loved ones walk through a very confusing and difficult time by leading and guiding them through a very scary and unfamiliar process.

I developed my Funeral Service Planner as a way of walking through the typical services that people desire for a funeral, including a viewing/wake, memorial service, and graveside service. I not only ask about the particular elements that the family might want, but I also mark the order of each element in the service as well as which family members will be involved. The lines to the right are for names of those involved, including the pastor, if desired. The short lines to the left of service elements are to place a number for the order of the element when it will occur in the service.

Viewings or wakes are normally connected to Roman Catholicism, but sometimes they are conducted by a family of different faiths. If no priest will be present, then a Protestant pastor might be looked at as one who should do something. If this is the case, you might want to choose some passages of Scripture to read and pray. The rest of the time can be left for family to mourn together and if the casket is open, for them to say their goodbyes.

The last element, “full burial” follows the graveside service. Some families opt to wait until the casket is lowered and the vault (a concrete protective box) is placed over the casket, and then the whole thing is covered by dirt. In many funeral services, this is done for an extra fee and must be pre-arranged. If this occurs, it extends the time at the cemetery, and can be somewhat traumatic for the family to watch because it involves heavy machinery pounding down the ground to compact the soil. It would be best to know this so the family will be aware of the extra cost and what happens.

My form looks like this:

Funeral Service Planner

Decedent’s Full Name:__________________________________ Age:______ Saved? ____

Viewing/ Wake? Date, Time and Location: ______________________________________

Officiating? ____________________________________ Scripture Reading ____________________________________

Prayer ____________________________________

Other elements? ____________________________________

Memorial Service Date, Time and Location:_________________________________________

Suggested Order of Service (Length of Service? _________)

Welcome _________________________

Opening Prayer
___Scripture Reading _________________________
___Eulogy- Writing _____________________ Reading _________________________

___Video Presentation/Slideshow (How long? ________)

___Family and Friends Memories (Prepared or open? _________ How many?____ )

___Prayer
___Gospel Message

Closing Prayer

Other elements?

Special music? _________________________

Other minister co-officiating? __________________________

Graveside Service? Date, Time and Location: ____________________________________

Scripture Reading (Jn 11:25; Ps 103)

Words of Interment
Prayer

Other elements? ____________________________________

Full burial?

Contact info: Pastor Richard Bargas Office: (XXX) XXX-XXXX
Email: XXXXXX@gmail.com

When I fill out the above form, I make sure to include as many details as possible. Some things, like particular family involvement, will sometimes be confirmed at a later date. After I have sat and walked through this process with the family, I will usually either photocopy or email a copy of the completed form to the family so they can know the order of the services and who is doing what. This is especially helpful the next day when they have a hard time remembering the meeting details because of their grief.

Normally, people are so overwhelmed with stress and the emotion of the day that they will need to be guided through each service element during the funeral, but it is good and comforting for them to know that you are in charge and know what is happening. I have included at the bottom of my form my church office number and my email in case they needed to get ahold of me, since I sometimes conducted funerals for friends of friends.

One last thing. There is a place in my form for a gospel message in the service. For me, this is a non-negotiable element. I won’t do a funeral if I’m not allowed to freely share the gospel, and I normally only take about 15 minutes to do so. I once had a person say they didn’t want me preaching at their guests. I replied that as a minister of the gospel I don’t know of any other hope to give to people than the hope of salvation in Christ. If they didn’t want this hope presented, then they didn’t want me to conduct the service. I spoke with a gentle but firm resolve. The widow took a second to think about what I said and then agreed that she did want this and asked me to do the service. She even thanked me after the service for the great comfort the Word of God brought. Fellow pastors, don’t fail to point the grieving to Christ, our only hope!

Below you can download a PDF copy of my form. Be aware that the contact info at the bottom of the form is no longer valid for me, so please don’t try to contact me at the phone number or email address.

funeral-service-plannerDownload

The Lord’s Provision for Ministry (part 5)

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

Ministry can be a lonely place. Sometimes there are very few people that could understand what you re going through, and there aren’t many that you can share your thoughts and struggles with. Ministry partnerships and fellowship can definitely help alleviate this, but there is still the reality that the road of ministry leadership is sometimes still fraught with times of isolation and discouragement.

In the last four parts of this series, I have been laying out six areas of the Lord’s provision for those in ministry. These have included the provision of co-workers, financial support, focus, boldness, and souls saved. You can read the first four parts of this series here: The Lord’s Provision for Ministry (part 1), The Lord’s Provision for Ministry (part 2),Part 3: https://always-reforming.com/?p=1834, and Part 4: https://always-reforming.com/?p=1842

Finally, The Lord Provides for ministry when he gives us encouragement.

He Gives Us Encouragement

“And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.” (Acts 18:9-10, NASB95)

Think about the English word, “encouragement.” It has the word “courage” right in the middle of it. This English word originally was, in-courage, and it meant “to give courage.” And that is what the Lord is doing in verses 9-10. In a vision one night, the Lord reminded Paul what he often told his prophets in the Old Testament, “do not be afraid!”

In Exodus 3:2, as God called Moses to redeem his people from Egypt, He told him that He would be with him. In Deuteronomy 31:6, Moses told Israel to trust the Lord as they entered the promised land. In Joshua 1:5, 9, the Lord encouraged Joshua that he would be with him as he was with Moses and that he needed to be strong and courageous. In Isaiah 41:10, the Lord told the prophet Isaiah that he is not to fear or be dismayed, because the Lord God will strengthen him, help him, and uphold him. And in Jeremiah 1:8, when Jeremiah was called to go out as the prophet of the Lord, God told him that he was not to be afraid of them because the Lord was with him to deliver him from all dangers.

Paul needed that kind of supernatural encouragement as he faced the daunting task of the ministry the Lord had given to him. And so he gave Paul these instructions:

“Don’t be afraid any longer”…When we react in fear we are lacking faith in the Lord our God who is our strong tower. In our fear we must trust the Lord and turn to him by faith to accomplish his will.

“Go on speaking and do not be silent”…Fear of persecution often silences the faithful witness. Paul needed to be courageous and keep on speaking the truth, in spite of the high probability that he would continue to suffer greatly for the gospel.

And then he gave him three encouragements:

“For I am with you”…Paul was never alone. God was always with him. Just as he was with Moses, Joshua, Israel, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Habakkuk, and so many others.

“No man will attack you in order to harm you”…No one can touch us if God’s protective hand is upon us. This would be limited to the time that Paul was evangelizing in Corinth until those God would save had been saved. It wasn’t a promise that Paul would never be attacked again. But it was an assurance that for a while, Paul would be able to do the work of the ministry without violence breaking out in Corinth for a while.

“I have many people in this city”…The Lord was saying to Paul, “there were many people left who would be saved. Go find them!” When the time to move on had come, the Lord would let Paul know. He was to be encouraged with the fact that there was a good harvest of souls right there in that city.

We know how the Great Story ends, don’t we? No matter how dark things get, no matter what twists and unforeseen trials we encounter, in the end, Jesus has already won! Therefore, we need to be encouraged and see with the eyes of the Ascended Christ. He is not dead and in the tomb. He is seated at the right hand on high. He is coming again. And he has given us work to do. 

Let your hands be strengthened with this truth and carry on with the Lord’s work. Look at our last verse, verse 11: “And he settled there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.” (Acts 18:11, NASB95). Do you see the result of these provisions? God had provided co-workers, finances, focus, boldness, souls saved, and words of encouragement. And Paul continued on and so we must carry on as well.

Hope for Leaders Who Have Made Dumb Decisions (weekend repost)

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

It’s not hard for me to think about multiple examples of personal failure over my 51 years of life. I can recall so many bad decisions–dumb ones, sinful ones, immature ones, naive ones, rash ones, prideful ones. Like I said, I remember too many. The problem is, leaders have to make multiple decisions all day, every day. The more decisions we need to make, the greater potential there is to make another bonehead decision. So what do we do?

Read the rest of the post here: Hope for Leaders Who Have Made Dumb Decisions

The Lord’s Provision for Ministry (part 2)

/ Richard Bargas / 3 Comments

Ministry can be an exhilarating challenge at times, and some people thrive on that rush. But it can also be a daunting challenge with lows as deep as the highs. Some people can become overwhelmed with the special challenges that they find in ministry–and either burn out, give up, or simply grow bitter. But the Lord provides for those he calls into service.

Yesterday we began to look at six ways which the Lord provides for His servants.The first way he provides is: He Gives Us Ministry Co-workers. You can read part one here: The Lord’s Provision for Ministry (part 1)

He Gives Us Financial Provision

“and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers.… “But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.”” (Acts 18:3, 5 NASB95)

When Paul first arrived in Corinth, he needed a place to make a living. The blessing of meeting Aquila and Priscilla was more than a blessing and provision of co-workers in the gospel ministry. Verse 3 tells us that they shared the same trade: tent-making. This would make good sense because when Paul arrived there was no church to take an offering of support for his work. So, when the small group formed a tiny little church, he didn’t accept any financial support from them but supported himself from his own labors.

Verse 4 shows us that his need to work limited his ministry to the Sabbath day. It may have been that he used the evenings as well to teach and preach, but this would have been limited as well.

Paul later wrote to the Corinthian church that he did not want to take from them any financial support so that they would not be put under the financial stress. In 2 Corinthians 11:9 Paul wrote, “and when I was present with you and was in need, I was not a burden to anyone; for when the brethren came from Macedonia they fully supplied my need, and in everything I kept myself from being a burden to you, and will continue to do so.” (2 Corinthians 11:9, NASB95).Instead of burdening the Corinthian Church, Paul wrote that he took the support he received from the churches in Macedonia. We see that in verse 5 when Paul and Silas returned they brought a financial gift to help Paul so that he didn’t have to work as a tentmaker anymore.

This wasn’t an issue of laziness on Paul’s part, but an issue of mission. Paul was called to plant churches, not make tents! When Paul wrote to the Philippians he thanked them for their generosity in providing for this ministry. He said in Philippians 4:15, “You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone” (Philippians 4:15, NASB95). How encouraging it is to know that the Lord provides for his minister’s needs!

Do you know how much an F/A 18 Hornet twin engine fighter plane costs? $94 million dollars! [2] Do you think the pilots that fly those beautiful machines pay for their own jets? How about the fuel? Of course not! They are serving us as they protect the United States. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:7, “Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who tends a flock and does not use the milk of the flock?” (1 Corinthians 9:7, NASB95) 

We all pay taxes that pay for those planes, the fuel, the rockets and the pilots. I happily pay for those things because I want those men and women who defend our country to be safe and to keep us safe. Ministry is no different. Some people don’t pay taxes, and some begrudge the taxes they pay. Same thing goes in church. Some people don’t give, or they give very little. They begrudge God. Don’t be that person. Support the ministry of your church, missionaries and other ministries which the Lord is using to promote the gospel of Jesus Christ.

He Gives Us Ministry Focus 

“And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.” (Acts 18:4–5, NASB95)

Whenever Paul and the missionary team entered into a city, they didn’t need to figure out what they were supposed to do. The Lord had laid that out for his Apostles when he was with them, and nothing had changed. When Paul entered a city, he proclaimed the gospel to the people. After souls were saved, he established a church where Christ was worshiped. Then he discipled the Christians until there were some who were mature enough to be leaders. Then he moved on to plant another church somewhere else.

In Acts 2:42 we see how the church conducted its services when it gathered: “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42, NASB95). This isn’t mysterious. No need to be creative and reinvent the wheel of worship. 

Verse 4 says Paul reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath trying to persuade the Jews and Greeks of the truthfulness of the gospel. He did that everywhere he went. And in verse 5 when Timothy and Silas find him, he was still at it!

As a pastor, whenever we gathered together to conduct board meetings we always had an agenda. Perhaps you have been at a meeting that goes nowhere and is just a giant time waster. I hate that. I don’t know about you, but If I have to meet I want to have a purpose and know where I am going, and I want the meeting to stop when we are done.

God has an agenda for the Church, doesn’t he? He wants us to go out into the whole world and preach the gospel, baptizing them and making disciples. He wants us to admonish and teach everyone with wisdom so that everyone is complete in Christ (Philippians 2:30). He wants our churches to focus on Scripture teaching, biblical fellowship, communion and prayer. That’s the plan and we need to stick to it and not wander off into a spiritual drift pattern.

Let me ask you honestly, how are you involved in these purposes? Are you personally helping the church in moving forward to be faithful to this purpose or are you slowing it down?

The Lord’s Provision for Ministry (part 1)

/ Richard Bargas / 4 Comments

It’s hard to imagine the hardships that the Apostle Paul must have faced at times. Having travelled so far away from family and that which was familiar would be enough to cause most people to struggle. Add to that the immense physical strain in travelling by foot, having poor accommodations and little to eat at times. We could understand if Paul and his teammates grew weary. The beatings and imprisonments compounded and heightened the suffering he endured for the sake of Christ.

As Paul wandered about in Athens (Acts 17), he was all alone. His travelling companions would catch up with him later, but for now he walked the streets and engaged people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. As he moved about the city, his heart was provoked by the widespread idolatry, and as he left Athens his ministry did not show as much fruit as he hoped. How did Paul continue for so long without being burned out and frustrated?

A Lifeway Research Survey completed in 2015 states conservatively that the number of men leaving the ministry are about 250 per month. Some statistics are as high as 1,700 a month.  The reasons given in the Lifeway survey would have been understood by the Apostle Paul and experienced by him in some form:

  • 84 percent say they’re on call 24 hours a day.
  • 80 percent expect conflict in their church.
  • 54 percent find the role of pastor frequently overwhelming.
  • 53 percent are often concerned about their family’s financial security.
  • 48 percent often feel the demands of ministry are more than they can handle.
  • 21 percent say their church has unrealistic expectations of them. [1]

So, it is fair to ask ourselves once again, how could Paul continue so faithfully in the ministry under such difficult circumstances? This isn’t just important for those in ministry to know, but everyone in the Body of Christ as well. We are all called as ministers of the New Covenant. You may not preach a sermon every Sunday, but you might teach Sunday school, or AWANA or lead a weekly Bible study. All of Christ’s disciples are called, even if not vocationally, to minister to one another and to carry the gospel to the world. In this series of posts I’d like to examine six ways which the Lord provides for His servants. The first way he provides is…

He Gives Us Ministry Co-workers 

“After these things he left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He came to them,” (Acts 18:1–2, NASB95) 

“But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.” (Acts 18:5, NASB95)

Leaving Athens, Paul was still all alone. Back in Acts 17:13-15 the missionary team was broken up in order to get Paul out of the area because of the physical danger he was in from the angry Jewish leaders who were stirring up riots in Berea. Paul went to Athens alone and then travelled to Corinth, a little over 50 miles away. If Athens was noted for its philosophical and religious nature, Corinth was known for its sensual attractions. The city was one of the largest and most prominent ports in the ancient world and it was a melting pot of money, religions and fleshly sin, much like Los Angeles and New York City.

The need was great in Corinth for the gospel. As Paul came to this great ministry opportunity, the Lord provided for him ministry partners named Priscilla and Aquila, a married couple. Aquila, whose name was Latin for “eagle,” was originally from the Roman province of Pontus, near the Black Sea in what is now called Turkey. Aquila and Priscilla had been living in Rome but had been commanded to leave along with all other Jews. This was because of a command in 49 A.D. from Emperor Claudius.

Along with this couple, the Lord brought back Silas and Timothy from Macedonia (v. 5). When they found Paul, he was busy faithfully proclaiming the gospel in the synagogue. Paul now had a full team that joined him in preaching and discipling those that came to Christ. Even as gifted as the Apostle Paul was, he needed the help of co-workers to be able to faithfully carry out the mission he had received from Christ. 

This reminds me that when the Lord Jesus sent out his disciples, he sent them out in groups of at least two, sometimes more. I don’t think this is a command, but it is good wisdom.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 says, “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, NASB95)  

Think about those in your church. These are your ministry partners and co-workers for the gospel ministry. We should be working together, encouraging one another, stirring one another up to love and good deeds. We should be making incursions into enemy territory in teams.

If you’re not doing anything, that means that you aren’t just disobeying the Lord in not serving, but you are not being a co-worker for someone else. Others are needing to carry on without you! Get in the game! The team needs you!