Tag: encourage

  • Letter #47 (Announcement)

    Dear Small Church Pastor,

         This letter is more of an announcement than it is a topical letter directed to small church pastors.  The first forty-six letters were designed to encourage and motivate those individuals who lead small congregations.  Beginning with Letter #48, I will address small church congregations, including their lay leaders and members at large.

         It is my prayer that the Holy Spirit will direct my thoughts as I attempt to encourage and challenge small church congregations in several areas that have a direct impact on the operation of a small church. 

         In way of introduction to Letter #48, allow me to challenge every member of a small church to do something that will be difficult to do, but will benefit their congregation immensely.  I challenge you to drive onto your facility and to look at it as if you were attending a service there for the very first time.  Look at the buildings and grounds.  Look at the signage directing people to where things will occur during the service.  Look at the foyer, the bathrooms, the overall appearance of the sanctuary and even the walls from the entrance to the back of the platform.

         And pay attention to the attention given to you by people you do not know well.  Notice how greetings are done.  Notice who talks to whom and for how long.  Notice the general attire of the attenders.  Listen to the music and watch the music leader(s).  Pay attention to the flow of the service, the presentation of the sermon and the responses by the attenders to how the pastor ends the service.

         Take a good, long, intentional look at what goes on before, during and after the service.  The title to next week’s letter to small congregations is “First Impressions.”  We’ll deal with that topic after you’ve paid your “first visit” to your worship service.

    Sincerely,

    A Small Church Pastor

  • Letter #46 (Revival)

    Dear Small Church Pastor,

         Many pastors schedule a yearly “revival” during a particular season.  Some contact an evangelist, possibly the same one each year, to have that person come to encourage and motivate the congregation.  Others bring in two or more speakers for a series of worship services that will hopefully challenge the congregation to spiritually walk closer to God.  Unfortunately, a few rely on revival services to bring in new attenders who they hope will stay connected after the revival.  They get the new people to attend by inviting well-known speakers who have dynamic ministries established in other geographical areas.

         With such a variety of reasons for scheduling revivals, a couple of serious questions need to be asked before one is scheduled:  First, “Why have a revival?”  Second, “Who should dictate when the revival needs to occur?”

         The simplistic answer to question number one is that what seems to have died out spiritually needs to be revived, renewed and rekindled, like a physical fire that is only glowing embers needs to be rekindled with fresh fuel in order to burn brightly again.  The Holy Spirit anoints people to be evangelists for the sake of encouraging, motivating and challenging the body of Christ.  These special ministers are one of the people gifts given to the assembly of believers in Jesus by God.  Their function is to do that rekindling of the fire of the Holy Spirit in a congregation.  And thank God that He has anointed individuals to do this very service for the sake of the body of Christ.

         What about that second question above?  Who should initiate a revival, whether it is set for one service, three nights, a week, two weeks or open ended to last as long as is needed.  (Those last two durations do still occur in other countries, just seldom in this country nowadays.) 

         Allow me to give a couple of examples of revivals that were started in the past as a point of reference to the answer for question number two.

         #1—The story is told of a pastor who was impressed by the Holy Spirit while preparing for a Sunday morning service to simply read the entire book of Ephesians to his congregation and then to open the altar for prayer.  The following Sunday morning, when it came time for the sermon, the pastor asked everyone to open their Bibles to Ephesians Chapter 1, Verse 1 and to read along silently as he read aloud.  When he completed the final verse of Ephesians, he said it was time to pray and that the altar was open to anyone who felt it necessary to talk to God to make sure a right relationship existed between them and God. 

         The altar filled with weeping, groaning, repentant people who were revived spiritually through the public reading of the letter to the church at Ephesus.  The repentant attitude among the congregation lasted for weeks as the Holy Spirit revived His fire in their hearts.  (This is not fiction; it actually occurred.)

         #2—My wife’s best BFF ever, who has since this story passed into the presence of her Savior, related that once their pastor had announced he was stepping down from his ministry at that location.  The church leadership began a search for a new pastor, but a new pastor had not been chosen when it came time for their current pastor to leave.  They assured him the congregation would be okay with his leaving and continued the pastoral search process.

         That process included having prospective pastors minister for one or more Sunday services, while the leaders handled the remaining services and activities of the congregation.  During the process, through no planning by the congregational leaders, the members or the prospective pastors, a revival among the members broke out, flowing from week to week in every service held, regardless of who was leading it.  The revival spirit remained in the congregation for several months, with the congregation increasing in number and spiritual maturity, even in the absence of having a definite pastor.  When the new pastor was selected, he arrived to a congregation in full revival mode.

         Now, for my answer to question number two–It is my opinion a revival should be set up when the Holy Spirit indicates it should be.  The only way I know of learning when to schedule a revival is to pray, talk to God, listen intently to His voice and be open to opportunities for revival to arrive through God’s timing, the guidance of the Holy Spirit and, when appropriate, God’s evangelists.  It has been my experience that a “Holy Ghost Revival” that is initiated by the Holy Spirit will do wonders for the spiritual, and possibly physical, growth of a congregation.

    Sincerely,

    A Small Church Pastor

  • Letter #40 (Be an Encourager)

    Dear Small Church Pastor,

         One of the things I’ve noticed over the years is the important, absolutely necessary, job of being an encourager to those who attend worship services.  Over twenty years ago I ran across a statistic that startled me.  It stated that by the time a child in this country reaches his/her teen years, the person has heard over 10,000 negative statements directed toward that child.  In other words, a North American teenager has been told he/she is a failure, stupid, condemned and not a benefit to a family or society over 10,000 times.  That is a travesty!

         It’s small wonder that modern teens have identity crises and seek encouragement from any place they can find it.  They are starving for someone to tell them they are loved and valuable.  They are seeking affirmation, and they’ll accept it from any source that is available.  The devil knows this, because he is the one initiating the negative, demeaning statements to try to destroy their self-worth and personal image.  And he is doing his best to provide affirmation in as many wrong places as he can arrange to bring into a life that is seeking acceptance.

         Now, consider this—there are just as many adults who have negative self-images because few, if any, have ever encouraged them in their whole lives.  They have been knocked down by life and constantly see themselves losers with no talents or positive future in sight.  Those adults need as much encouragement as the teens you will encounter.

         Teenagers and adults alike need to be encouraged.  When someone chooses to follow Jesus, repents and is forgiven through the grace of God, that individual brings into the new Christian life all that negativity from the past.  God has forgiven sins and made them a new creation through faith in Jesus, but the devil will use anything from their past he can in order to try to make them think they are still losers, just saved losers.

         This is where your influence as a pastor becomes so valuable.  You can show them changed lives in scripture and in modern life from people you know and how God uses regular people with regular problems to fulfill His work.  You can disciple them and help them to see they are now part of a great kingdom, a great family, a great spiritual nation, of priests, overcomers and saints.  You can help them learn just how important they are to the body of Christ and how much God loves them and will help them become all He wants them to be.  You can guide them into the knowledge that they are winners because of what Jesus has done in them, for them and will do through them as they lean on Him to become more and more like Him every day.

         You can be the person who gives them the opportunity to develop spiritual power in their lives as you disciple them.  You can help them discover their talents and the gifts given to them by the Holy Spirit.  You can be their encourager.

         Celebrate any good thing that comes into the lives of your attenders.  Congratulate them openly when they achieve something.  Send them birthday, anniversary and special occasion cards.  Make a big deal about it when they are baptized or join the youth group or decide to lead a discussion group.  Shake their hand when they enter the building and tell them it’s good to see them.  Talk to them, really listen and respond sincerely when they have questions, especially tough questions.  Build a supportive relationship with them as part of the family of God. (Remember Letters # 10 & 11)

         You can be the person who helps replace the thousands of negative comments in a person’s life with the powerful, encouraging words that come to them through scriptures, testimonies and acts of kindness and love centered in Jesus.  Be an encourager.

    Sincerely,

    A Small Church Pastor

  • Letter #12–Encourage List

    Dear Small Church Pastor,

         Let’s look for a moment at the Old Testament figure of Jacob’s son Joseph.  God moved for Joseph by giving him two audacious dreams as a youth that became reality as an adult.  He put Joseph in the right place with the right people at the right time.  (Potiphar, the jailer and the cup-bearer were all connected to Pharoah, who was later introduced to Joseph.)  God gave Joseph opportunities to reflect his faith in God to others.

         God moved in Joseph through his trials.  Romans 5:3-4 lets us know that “we can rejoice when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.  And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.” (NLT)  God used his trials to develop Joseph’s character to prepare him to guide a whole nation.

         God also moved in Joseph by giving him wisdom to be an administrator, wisdom which demonstrated itself as he was promoted by Potiphar, the jailer and, eventually, Pharoah.  Additionally, God gave Joseph an understanding of God’s purposes that were working in his life.  He realized God had set into motion events in his life that would lead to the saving of his own family.

         Finally, God worked through Joseph to be a blessing to others.  Every time he was promoted, his overseer was blessed by God.  Joseph’s ultimate authority in Egypt set the stage for the whole country to be blessed when every country around Egypt was in famine.  That action led to his own family being saved from the famine when they all moved to Egypt at Joseph’s invitation.  When Israel’s family moved to Egypt, God’s plan to give His chosen people their promised land moved another step closer to fulfillment.

         I’m writing this letter to admonish you and challenge you to create what I call an “Encourage List.”  We all need to be reminded from time to time that God will work for us, in us and through us.  We all need to remember just how far God has brought us, how much He has recreated us and how much He has accomplished through us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

         I suggest you write down what God has done for you, in you and through you.  It will be okay if you need more than one piece of paper.  Then put that list on your refrigerator door so you can see it every time you open that door.  Read it to yourself.  Read it to your family.  Remind yourself of all that God has done for, in and through you since you became one of His children.  Encourage yourself with an “Encourage List.”

    Sincerely,

    A Small Church Pastor

  • Letter #5–Relationships

    Dear Small Church Pastor,

                Build supportive relationships with other small church pastors.  You’ve already read my suggestions to involve other people in your ministry.  You need the help of your congregation as you minister to them and with them.  You simply cannot do everything alone.

                There is another source of help available for you, if you will make contact with that group and build meaningful relationships with the people in it.  That group is made up of all those other small church pastors in your area.  Those folks can help you, and you can help them.

                When you begin to reach out to other pastors, avoid the temptation to center your conversations on the bad stuff you encounter.  Satan would like nothing more than for you to tear each other down by constantly dragging up past or present hurts and disappointments.  Do not avoid problems, just don’t only rehearse and nurse them.  Use your time together to talk about how to reverse them.

                Ask questions to gain knowledge and insights the other pastors have.  Talk about successes and future plans together.  Listen to what’s in their hearts and share what’s in yours.  You can help each other.  You can encourage each other, pray for each other and remind each other that each one of you is not working in the kingdom of God alone.  You are on a great and powerful team, and good team members work together to win the game.  You are in the most important “game” of all time—the contest between the kingdom of light/good and the kingdom of darkness/evil.

                Getting together with other pastors is an action you are going to have to intentionally make.  You must intentionally choose to associate with other pastors for mutual support.  If your fellowship/denomination has regular opportunities to gather for support, take advantage of them.  (If not, create some.)  Go to the trainings, conferences, meetings and luncheons every chance you get.  I understand you can’t attend every meeting available, but you can stop making excuses for not attending and go to some of them. 

                One last thought before I close—I used to be like Moses and thought I had to deal with everything by myself, because I was the pastor.  A fellow minister stepped up as my “Jethro” and helped me to realize that not seeking help, advice and encouragement from others was a bad decision on my part.  I’m glad I listened to him.  I chose to set aside my pride and self-sufficient attitude and get help with what I was facing.  I sometimes forget his advice, but when I follow it, I am a better pastor.

                There is help out there for small church pastors.  Part of that help lies in other small church pastors.  Build supportive relationships with other small church pastors.

    Sincerely,

    A Small Church Pastor