Every young minister has his dream
of becoming the hard working and anointed preacher that turns a small
struggling church into a huge mega church.
Reality soon sets in however as the elderly members and quarreling
deacons in that small struggling church became a nightmare instead of a
dream. To help these young men every
seminary should have a class called real ministry 101. The teachers should be working pastors in small
churches that teach from experience. Until
that happens here are some doses of reality.
One, most churches are small, 80%
of churches run under 100 in attendance.
This means 80% of ministers will pastor a small church. While this reality may destroy a few dreams,
it should also be an encouragement. It
means that most Christians are also part of small churches. While there may not be as much Glory attached
to pastoring a small church, this is where the real work is and where the real
impact for God is.
Two, God’s measurement of success is
not the same as the worlds. God measures
His servants by faithfulness and obedience, not by numbers and size. Keeping God’s standard in mind brings new joy
to the small things of ministry.
Ministers must get settled in their hearts and minds that they deal with
sinful fallen people and that they themselves are fallen creatures. Understanding these realities will enable a
minister to cope when the inevitable conflict arises.
Tradition in churches is also a
reality. Every church has
traditions. Some traditions are long
standing denominational and cultural traditions. Some traditions are unique to the
congregation. One of the greatest
mistakes new ministers make is to throw out these traditions. While it is true that some traditions need to
go away for revival to occur, it is often the traditions which are the threads
that cement people from generation to generation.
When a minister is willing to
accept that faithfulness to God is more important that the accolades of a
Christian community centered on worldly success the idea of pastoring a small
church offers different rewards. Rewards
like entering into a long tradition of faith and service. Recently I filled the pulpit in a country
church, actually at the corner of two dirt roads and across from a field of
corn. This church was established in
1887, 126 years ago. The 16 people in
attendance spanned three generations and were related to some of the
founders. Some could say this church
should be closed, that it isn’t reaching a community, that it is tradition
riddled and hopeless. But it could also
be seen as a faithful Christian community that has transcended time and
generations and is struggling to survive and thrive in a shrinking rural area. The minister of such a church may find the
reward of actually entering into the life of struggling people who are
searching for significance in changing times.
The joy of sharing in the births and deaths, the marriages and lives of
people, the challenge of leading these people before the throne of the God and
savior who is the only one who can give the significance they are seeking.
Ministers, are you up to it? Are you up to something that is far greater
than prestige and position? Are you up
to finding joy in the small things and ordinary people that God makes himself
known through? This is reality. This is real ministry 101
No comments:
Post a Comment