Do you remember the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale, “The Emperor’s New Clothes”? It’s about an emperor who loved his royal clothing. One day he heard about two tailors who could make the finest clothes from the most beautiful cloth in the world. These tailors, who were really swindlers, said their cloth had the special characteristic of being invisible to anyone who was either stupid or not fit for his or her position.

Well, not to appear either dim-witted or unfit to be a ruler, the emperor did not say anything when he tried on his new wardrobe of nothing. The townspeople were too scared or embarrassed to say anything either. Instead of speaking truth, they lavished lies about how beautiful the emperor’s new clothing of nothing was. Only in the end did a child point out the obvious truth that the emperor had nothing on.

So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:11, NLT)

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. (Hebrews 10:24-25, NLT)

Doing things a new way is rarely easy. Rather than being welcomed with hurrahs, innovation is repeatedly pooh-poohed with a “We’ve never done it that way before” attitude. But the fact is, times are changing, and the church is following suit. In part two of our interview with Brian McLaren, author of the landmark book The Church on the Other Side and pastor of Cedar Ridge Community Church, McLaren talks about fresh thinking and how to prepare for transformational ministry—especially when you face resistance.

You talk about the necessity of fresh, innovative, and bold thinking to navigate ministry during transitional times. What would you say to a seminarian who is trying to do this but is not making the grade?
BMcL: If you're asking me about seminarians who think boldly and innovatively, but their conservative or regressive seminaries punish them for doing so, I would say a couple of things. First, I think they should transfer if they can! There are other settings that would nurture them.

Second, if they can't transfer, I would try to find the most open and innovative professors and spend as much time as they can with them.

Third, I would be sure to connect with people outside the seminary who will encourage innovative and creative thinking—groups like emergentvillage.com, the Allelon network, or (for Latino leaders) El Red del Camino.

When seminarians enter ministry, how do they transform their churches?
I don't think this is a fair assignment for new pastors. Even "mature" pastors in their forties, fifties, and sixties find that church transformation can be brutal. If a new pastor is in a church that doesn't want to change, I think they shouldn't do anything abrupt.

Instead, they should faithfully serve, learn to preach, and learn to care for people who are in the midst of marital crisis, the death of a loved one, mental illness, or family stress. They should seek to be an example of a Christian, which is what Paul told Timothy in reference to managing his own young age.

Then, in their next assignments, whether it's pastoring an existing church or planting a new one, they will have learned a lot and left a blessing in their first assignment.

What if they’re in a church that actually wants change?
It's still hard. But the first thing I'd suggest for a young leader is to find a good consultant! The money spent would be well worth it in saving them from making certain predictable mistakes. Those mistakes would be far more expensive in terms of money, pain, division, discouragement, and other negatives.

What else can leaders do to prepare for transformational ministry?
First, I'd encourage them to make use of books. This is why many of us authors write—so we can put out resources that will stimulate people to think. Then all of that pressure doesn't fall on the pastor. The author can take some of the heat for introducing new or uncomfortable challenges.

I often talk with fellow students who want a deeper educational experience than what the standard curriculum supplies. Certainly the course catalog represents a comprehensive smattering of what you need to know for ministry. But there is a longing for more. Often, a seminarian’s educational experience lacks something vital, something personal yet somehow intangible--a mentor.

Before seminary I worked at a large church on the janitorial staff. Preparing to move on toward ThM training at Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) and knowing I needed some intern experience in ministry, I approached several pastors on staff. Their responses were all nearly identical: “We don’t have an intern program right now.” But I wasn’t looking for a program; I was looking for a person.

Get Aggressive
Not far from our home sat a very small church pastored by a DTS alumnus. He hadn’t spent much time mentoring people in ministry either, but he made himself available. In many respects, I was the aggressor, acknowledging that the demands on his time simply did not afford him the instinct to initiate and maintain our interaction.

He was, however, willing to pour his wisdom and experience into a young man who was eager to learn. I had the tenacity of Elisha who stayed glued to Elijah in 2 Kings 2.