When I began pastoring–that would be 61 years ago, in 1962, I’d just finished college and gotten married–what I did not know was there were 100 things about the church of the Lord Jesus Christ I still had to learn. What follows is a few of those. And yes, I’m still learning.
In no particular order….
One. Bigness is overrated.
“It doesn’t matter to the Lord whether He saves by the few or the many” (I Samuel 14:6).
Most pastors, it would appear, have wanted to lead big churches, wanted to grow their church to be huge, or wanted to move to a large church. Their motives may be pure; judging motives is outside my skill set. But pastoring a big church can be the hardest thing you will ever try, and less satisfying than you would ever expect. (Now as a very-senior citizen, I find myself admiring and even envying those pastors who put in decades serving churches in small or rural communities. And I hope they know how well they have things!)
Small bodies can be healthy too; behold the hummingbird or the honeybee.
Trying to get a large church to change its method of operation can be like turning around an ocean liner. The Lord’s parable about the mustard seed (Matthew 13:31-32 and Luke 17:6) should forever disabuse us of the lust for bigness.
I groan at the stories of pastors who have manipulated God’s people and lied about numbers in order to create the illusion of bigness. Forgive us, Father!
Two. Lack of formal education in the preacher is no excuse.
The pastor of the small church often has far less formal training and education than he would like. As a result, he often feels inferior to his colleagues with seminary degrees. I have two thoughts on that…
One. It’s a mistake. He can be as smart as they are and more if he applies himself. Let the Lord’s preachers not be overly impressed by certificates on the wall or titles before their name.
Two. He can get as much education as he’s willing. All seminaries have online programs that make seminary education attainable, practical and affordable. So there is no excuse.