Welcome!
The first set of entries to this weekly blog (#1–#47) is entitled “Letters to a Small Church Pastor.” These are brief letters that are focused on topics I have found important in the life of a small church pastor. The second set of entries (Beginning with #48) is entitled “Letters to a Small Church Congregation” and is directed to the lay leaders and other members of small churches.
Although I often use examples from my own ministry, the bulk of the information in the letters comes from what the Holy Spirit has taught me through many years of ministry, reading insightful books or articles and listening to people who are much wiser than I am. It is my prayer that these letters will encourage and challenge you as a small church pastor or as someone who attends a small church.
Introductory Letter (Read First)
Letter #52 (It’s Jesus’s Church)
Letter #51 (Whose Church Is It?)
Letter #50 (Inevitability of Change)
Letter #49 (First Impressions–2)
Letter #48 (First Impressions)
Letter #29 (Dare to Be Different)
Letter #27 (Remember Your Source)
Letter #24 (Changing Others–2)
Letter #23 (Changing Others–1)
Letter #22 (Changing Yourself)
Letter #17 (My Wants vs God’s Will)
Letter #16 (The Greatest Obstacle)
Letter #11 (Expand the Family)
Letter #6 (You Failed at Something)
If you would like to be notified via email when new letters and other posts are placed on this site, please let us know via a comment after one of the letters and check the “Save My Name” box before you post your comment. Your email will not be shared with anyone, and we will not clog up your email with unnecessary links, posts, ads, promos, or other “junk mail.”
If you are a Small Church Pastor and would like to receive additional encouragement beyond these letters, send me a note via the contact info supplied. By the way, this site is not designed for debates about doctrine. It is designed for mutual encouragement as you lead your small church. (Be sure to read the Introductory Letter.)
God Bless, and I look forward to helping other small church pastors to achieve all God has planned for them and their congregations.
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Letter #32 (Unity–3)
Dear Small Church Pastor, The following is a list of various scriptures that deal with the topic of unity. I encourage you to read them, including the contextual verses around them. Unity—Ps 133:1, John 17:23, Ephesians 4:3 & 13 (NLT); Unified—Ezra 3:1, Nehemiah 8:1 (NLT); In One Accord–Acts 1:14; 2:1; 2:46; 4:24; 5:12 (NLT);…
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Letter #31 (Unity–2)
Dear Small Church Pastor, In the last letter I discussed one of the challenges that will need to be overcome in order for a congregation to become cohesive. Allow me to invest this letter in presenting a technique I found useful more than once in my ministry. That technique involves focusing on identifying everything…
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Letter # 30–Unity (1)
Dear Small Church Pastor, Unity is an elusive characteristic that we are told to strive to achieve. We are told it is good when brothers can dwell in unity. We should pray for unity. We should seek it diligently. We should encourage it. But just how can we do this? How can we…
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Letter #29–Dare to Be Different
Dear Small Church Pastor, Have you noticed that many people seem to dress alike when they go to the same places regularly? Or when they belong to a specialized group? Or at work? Or if they belong to a particular clique or social circle? There exists in our societies today that thing called…
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Letter #28–Heritage
Dear Small Church Pastor, I had occasion recently to attend a Christmas worship service in the church house where I officiated my first funeral message. One of my uncles passed, and I was asked by the family to present his eulogy and the funeral message. The building was erected in the late 1800’s. …
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Letter #27–Remember Your Source
Dear Small Church Pastor, I need to call and check on that new couple who visited last weekend. There’s a board meeting tonight at 7pm. Someone from the thrift store called and wanted to know if we can do the bicycles for kids again. The HVAC company is coming at 9:30 this morning. Family…
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Letter #26–Frustration
Dear Small Church Pastor, Let’s talk about frustration for a bit. We’ve all felt frustration. When someone is a pastor, that feeling can appear from nowhere and last much longer than we would like to admit. A carpenter can work on building a structure, and, at the end of the week, he can…
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Letter #25–Generosity
Dear Small Church Pastor, (This letter may strike a nerve or seem controversial, but I present it with all the grace and concern I can muster from my experiences.) According to a minister who was associated with it, there is a very small church located in our area that has a bank account…
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Letter #24–Changing Others–2
Dear Small Church Pastor, In the previous letter, the third suggestion I made for a pastor attempting to make a change in the operation of a congregation was to be patient. I gave the example of moving a piano one inch at a time. Please pay attention—fast changes that occur through the authority of…
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Letter #23–Changing Others–1
Dear Small Church Pastor, This letter will begin a mini-series on the topic of changing others. The very first thing you need to understand is that YOU cannot change anyone. You can lead them, advise them and make suggestions to them, but you cannot make the decisions that must be made in order…