Dear Small Church Congregation,
I have a question for you. Do you want a pastor (a local shepherd), or do you want a weekend evangelist who leads people to Jesus for you and visits the sick? The answer to that question will determine how far you grow spiritually. It also will determine how long any numerical growth will last in your congregation.
May I be honest and blunt with you? If you are seeking the weekend evangelist, you have doomed your congregation to failure. The desire for a weekend evangelist often reveals that the congregation does not understand the role of a pastor as opposed to that of an evangelist. The spiritual and physical growth you expect the weekend evangelist to bring to your congregation will probably not last when that dynamic minister decides to leave your presence. Allow me to elaborate for a moment.
If the leader is the only one bringing in more sheep (more disciples) to the fold, too many times those sheep are connected only to that leader. More often than I like to recall, I have witnessed a great preacher lead numerous people to Jesus and encourage them to become involved in the ministry of a congregation, but the congregation had not accepted those new people as an integral part of their group. They loved to see them at services so the numbers were higher, and they would let them do as much work as they wished to do, but the “core group” of the congregation simply did not accept them into their number.
The core group had not been involved in the “birthing” of the new sheep. They had wanted, even expected, the weekend evangelist to do that. When the time came for the leader to move on to the next season of ministry, the new sheep too often left with the leader or shortly thereafter. Their connection to the congregation had been severed, and they didn’t feel like they were part of the “core group.” And, in reality, they never were.
If a congregation desires to have a local shepherd, a pastor, and understands the Biblical role of a pastor, then the dynamics for spiritual and physical growth have the opportunity to change dramatically. People who want a pastor (shepherd) must be willing to fall under the pastor’s authority, which exists spiritually and physically. They must be willing to be corrected and guided as much as they want to be encouraged.
There’s something else about those who want a shepherd to lead them. They understand that they are the primary ones to birth new sheep into the fold. (As a disciple of Christ, the pastor will work to lead people to repentance and forgiveness, but the shepherd should never be responsible for birthing the sheep that the sheep are supposed to birth. That’s not his job description.) They understand the shepherd’s primary focus is to guide, feed, water, protect, correct and nurture the sheep.
A congregation that honestly seeks a pastor has a much better chance of growing spiritually and physically. They know the shepherd will be led by God to be committed to them, and they, in turn, will commit to the shepherd’s leadership and authority. They have come to understand that, in order to succeed as a congregation, they will have to be under a spiritual umbrella, and that umbrella, that protection and first line of defense against evil that wants to harass them, is provided by the pastor.
I’ll speak more about the local shepherd and the connection between the congregation and the shepherd (pastor) in the next letter. Until then, it is my prayer that your congregation has sought a pastor and not a weekend evangelist.
Sincerely,
A Small Church Pastor