I’m not quite to the point of suggesting that every pastor ought to subscribe to Sports Illustrated–that swimsuit issue coming to your house might not be a good idea–but almost. Every time I pick one up, it seems, I find a great sermon illustration or idea for a message.

The February 1, 2010, pre-Super Bowl issue carries articles on the Saints and the Colts. I bought it more as a memento, but will keep it for its account of the way Saints Coach Sean Payton inspired his team to win the game that would send them to the Super Bowl.

Football coaches are saddled with one of the toughest assignments possible. In addition to preparing their soldiers for the big battle–one that gets repeated against a new enemy every week during the warring season–they have to come up with a motivational speech or inspirational gimmick for that last minute burst of energy. A few pre-game or half-time speeches are legendary. Every fan knows about Knute Rockne’s “Win one for the Gipper” speech to the Notre Dame players.

In high school, it’s hard to do. In college, it gets tougher. But in the pros, the NFL, where every player is a multi-millionaire and many are celebrities with huge followings, the challenge to come up with words to inspire a team before battle is off the charts in difficulty.

We pastors are motivators–or should be. We can learn from the masters of the craft. In Coach Sean Payton, the New Orleans Saints have a leader who has motivaton-of-his-troops down to a fine art.

On Saturday night, January 23, Coach Payton met with the team at their hotel in downtown New Orleans. Twenty-four hours later, the Saints would go head-to-head against the tough Minnesota Vikings for the NFC championship. The winner would represent the NFC in the Super Bowl against the Indianapolis Colts on February 7.

For their entire 43 year history, the Saints had never won an NFC championship game. In fact, only one other time had they played for the championship, in 2006, a game they lost in a frustrating, frigid, snowy Chicago stadium.

The Saints were in uncharted territory. They had never been here before. Win this game against the Vikings and earn a ticket to the big show.

What would Payton do to motivate the team?

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(This is part 2 of a two-part article, 6 through 10 reasons on why small churches usually do not grow. Click here for part 1)

6. No plan.

The typical, stagnant small church is small in ways other than numbers. They tend to be small in vision, in programs, in outreach, and in just about everything else.

Perhaps worst of all, they have small plans. Or no plans at all.

The church with no plan–that is, no specific direction for what they are trying to do and become–will content itself with plodding along, going through the motions of “all churches everywhere.” They have Sunday School and worship services and a few committees. Once in a while, they will schedule a fellowship dinner or a revival. But ask the leadership, “What is your vision for this church?” and you will receive blank stares for an answer.

Here are two biblical instances of church leaders who knew what they were doing.

In Acts 6, when the church was disrupted by complaints from the Greek widows of being neglected in the distribution of food in favor of the Hebrew widows, the disciples called the congregation together. They said, “It is not right for us to neglect….(how they would fill in this blank reveals their plan)…in order to wait on tables.” And then, as they commissioned the seven men chosen, the disciples said, “We will turn this responsibility over to them and give our attention to….(fill in the blank).”

In the first instance, the disciples saw their plan as “the word of God” and in the second as “prayer and the ministry of the word.”

How do you see your ministry, pastor? What is your church’s focus?

Earlier, when Peter and John were threatened by the religious authorities who warned them to stop preaching Jesus, they returned to the congregation to let them know of this development. Immediately, everyone dropped to their knees and began praying. Notice the heart of their prayer, what they requested: “Now Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to…..(what? how they finished this is how we know their plan, their chief focus).”

“…to speak your word with great boldness.” (Acts 4:29)

When the Holy Spirit filled that room, the disciples “were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” (v. 31) Clearly, that means they spoke it into the community, the world around them, and not just to one another.

When I asked a number of leaders for their take on why so many small churches do not grow, several said, “They need to focus on the two or three things they do best. Not try to be everything to everyone.”

Some churches need to focus on children’s ministry, others on youth or young adults, young families, or even the oldsters. (Tell me why it is when a church is filled with seniors, we look upon it as failing. It’s as though white-haired people of our society don’t need to be reached for the Lord.)

Some will focus on teaching, others on ministry in the community, some on jail and prison ministries, and some on music or women’s or men’s work.

One note of explanation: this is not to say that the church should shut down everything else to do one or two things. Rather, they will want to keep doing the basics, but throw their energies and resources, their promotions and prayers and plans, into enlarging and honing two or three ministries they feel the Lord has uniquely called them into.

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(This is part 1 of a two-part article, the first 5 of 10 reasons on why small churches usually do not grow. Click here for part 2)

First, an explanation or two, then a definition.

I know more about getting smaller churches to grow than larger ones. I pastored three of them, and only the first of the three did not grow. I was fresh out of college, untrained, inexperienced, and clueless about what I was doing. The next two grew well, and even though I remained at each only some three years, one almost doubled and the other nearly tripled in attendance and ministries.

By using the word “grow,” I do not mean numbers for numbers sake. I do not subscribe to the fallacy that bigness is good and small churches are failures. What I mean by “grow” is reaching people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you reach them and start new churches, your local church may not expand numerically, but it is most definitely “growing.” If you are located in a town that is losing population and your church manages to stay the same size, you’re probably “growing” (i.e., reaching new people for the Lord).

There are not “ten reasons” why small churches tend to remain small. They do tend to stay that way, you’ve probably noticed. But there must be hundreds of reasons for this, and no two churches are alike.

This is simply my observations as to why stagnant, ungrowing churches tend to stay that way. I send it forth hoping to plant some seed in the imagination of a pastor or other leader who will be used of the Lord to do great things in a small church.

I have frequently quoted Francis Schaeffer who said, “There are no small churches and no big preachers.” I like that. But it’s not entirely true. We’ve seen churches made up of just a few people and stymied by lack of vision and a devotion to the status quo. And here and there, we may encounter a preacher with the world on his heart and the wisdom of the ages on his lips; that for my money is a “big preacher.”

But this is not about being such a preacher. We’re concerned with not being one of those churches.

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