The beauty of small churches

Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY is a large multi-site church that provides exceptional ministry to that community. When I was pastor of Hebron Baptist Church I went to several area minister gatherings there. I always took one of our lay leaders with me so they could see what a mega-church was like. My wife and I attended their Easter pageant one year. It was a magnificent portrayal of the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior. I have great appreciation for that church and the wonderful ways it ministers to the Louisville area.

At the same time, I have tremendous respect and love for the smaller churches. I have spent much of my life attending, pastoring and serving these churches. I have seen some struggle and close their doors, and I have seen others struggle and continue to serve their communities. Those who serve as pastors of these churches, many of them bivocational, are my heroes. Having been bivocational my entire ministry, I know the price these men and women have paid. Their faithfulness to the calling God has on their lives is an inspiration.

The theme song for the television show Cheers had a line that said it was a place where everyone knew your name. We all need places like that, and the smaller church often provides that. When I was pastor at Hebron I knew the people, many of their family members and much of their history, both good and bad. We knew one another, and we deeply cared for one another.

Many larger churches do that as well, but they have to form small groups for that to happen. Nothing is wrong with small groups, in fact, much is good about such groups. However, smaller churches do not necessarily have to form small groups because they are already a small group! In such churches, everybody knows your name.

I am currently serving as pastor of another smaller church. I can remember when this church was much larger, but after Covid and some issues that arose in the church, it is much smaller today. There is much work to do to bring this church back to where it needs to be, but I love this church. We laugh, we tease one another, but we also pray for one another when folks are going through rough times. Our worship service may not always go as smoothly as I would prefer, but the worship is genuine and, I believe, pleasing to God.

Smaller churches have fewer resources for ministry than larger churches, but it seems God always provides what is needed when it is needed. There is a certain beauty in that as these churches have learned to trust God as their provider and not some endowment that has been left them by previous generations.

Smaller churches rely on volunteers and not paid professionals to lead their ministries. None of the churches in which I was raised had paid staff except for the pastor. Everything else was led by volunteers, and these men and women richly blessed my life through their service.

I have nothing but respect for the mega-churches God has raised up, but I also continue to love the smaller church. Some predict the end of the smaller church. I do not believe that for a minute. There is a beauty found in smaller churches that cannot be duplicated in any other church. Those smaller churches that follow the will of God will continue to flourish, and I will always be in their corner cheering them on. 

Long pastorates

 About 20 years ago I got to meet one of my heroes, H. B. London, Jr. H. B. had retired from pastoral ministry. He was a brother-in-lay to James Dobson and was serving as the Director of the Pastoral Ministry Department of Focus on the Family. We were both invited to serve as plenary speakers at a leadership conference. He spoke three times that week, and I spoke twice and led three workshops. One day the conference director asked if I would take H. B. to lunch. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with him and learned much from him that week.

All of his books impacted my life, but one thing he wrote in one of them impacted me the most. He said that if you are currently serving as pastor in a strong, healthy church it is because someone stayed there long enough to make it such a church. If you are not serving in such a church, perhaps God has called you there for this time to make it that kind of church. I'll never forget those words.

When I became pastor at Hebron Baptist Church in 1981 they had experienced a revolving-door pastorate. The average pastoral tenure at that time was 12 months. That was the average! Veteran pastors in the association told me I wouldn't last that long. I stayed there 20 years as their bivocational pastor. That small, country church accomplished much during that time, and part of the reason for that was that I simply hung around. You can read some of those accomplishments in some of the books I've written.

While larger churches may accept leadership from a new pastor, that is not usually the case in a smaller church. George Barna writes that the average pastor will see his or her greatest ministries between their third and eleventh year of ministry. I am convinced that in the smaller church that will be greatly impacted by the pastoral tenure of the previous pastors. It takes time to earn the trust of a church to lead it, and the shorter the previous pastoral tenures have been, the longer it will take to earn that trust. In my case, it took seven years. Looking back I realize it was in my seventh year as the pastor of that church that two members of leading families in the church shared with me personal information from their lives. In both cases, after sharing this with me, they told me they had never told another pastor about this. Both came to me in the same week. I realized later that positive things began to happen in the church after that.

Depending on whose figures you read, the average pastoral tenure today in the US is less than four years. If Barna's findings are correct, most pastors never really lead their churches. They don't stay long enough to earn the trust and the right to lead. Maybe the pastor is climbing the pastoral ladder of success, but it is so unfair to the church.

Yes, serving in a smaller church can be a challenge. Many of them have been deeply wounded in the past and may not trust pastoral leadership. It can take years to earn that trust, and these will not always be easy years. But, maybe H. B. London, Jr. was right. Maybe God has called you to this place for such a time as this. May each of us be faithful in the place where God has placed us.

Starting new groups

 In our late 20s my wife and I gave our lives to Jesus Christ and began attending a church our neighbor attended. I still remember the first time we went into the Young Adult Sunday school class. There were about 40 people in the class, all who had been together for years. We felt like outsiders...because we were. It was an uncomfortable feeling, and it took several months before we felt we fit in.

After a couple of years the pastor asked if I would help him start a new class for that age group. It had stopped growing, and he felt a new class might appeal to new people who would visit the church. For the first quarter he taught the class, and I was his substitute. After that three months I became the teacher. We did not divide the existing class but did let anyone interested in the new class know they could transfer into it. When new young adults attended the church they were invited into the new class. In a very short while we had grown to a couple of dozen people, most of them new to the church. 

We have known for a long time that new churches reach new people. That is why so many denominations seek to plant new churches. What we often fail to consider is that new small groups also attract new people. Go into many smaller churches and you will find the same people sitting in the same classes they have been in for years. Now, consider what it would be like for a new person or couple to begin attending that class. They will feel like my wife and I did when we first attended the Sunday school class. Most small groups do not intentionally try to make new people feel uncomfortable, but they often do. New people are surrounded by conversations being held by people who have known each other for years (decades). It can be very intimidating.

Church growth experts recommend that a new adult Sunday school class should be started every 18 months. This allows new people to connect with other new people. That will be difficult to do in many smaller churches. There may be space limitations, leadership limitations and other issues that make this difficult. But, small groups include more than just Sunday school classes.

A small group might include a church choir, a book study group, a group focused on more in-depth theological study, a sports group, a quilting group, a fishing group, or any other groups that might attract people to the church. Many of these groups would not meet on Sundays and often will not meet at the church. But, they do provide opportunities for people to build relationships with people from the church and to be exposed to the Gospel. People such as Gary McIntosh suggests that one of every five groups in the church should be less than two years old. This provides a comfortable place for new people to become connected to the church.

Many small churches will argue that they are already a small group so they don't need to start one. I suppose that's true if they are only interested in the persons already in their small group, but if they are interested in reaching new people they may find it easier to do in additional small groups.

What smaller churches need

A couple of days ago I posted my thoughts about the future of smaller churches. If my predictions are correct, what should denominations begin doing to serve these churches?

As a judicatory leader for 14 years I saw first-hand how the finances of many denominations and judicatories were impacted by the financial crisis of 2008 and some of the controversies that swirled around denominational life at the same time. Many denominations and judicatories were forced to significantly cut staffing and programs. The churches most affected by these cuts were the smaller churches. 

Denominations and judicatories were not the only ones ready to write off the smaller churches. How many seminaries and Bible schools offered classes designed specifically for the pastors of the smaller church? How many offered training for bivocational ministers? I'm glad to say that some did. The judicatory in which I served provided excellent training for church leaders, many of whom became effective bivocational pastors in some of our smaller churches. Unfortunately, this type of training was not available in every judicatory or from every seminary or Bible college.

Finding qualified pastoral leadership for smaller churches became increasingly more difficult. Seminary trained pastors with MDiv degrees seldom were interested in serving in a smaller church. Many churches quickly discovered their denomination could not help them find a pastor since there were so few pastors available willing to serve the smaller church. Some of these churches would call the first person who walked in their door wearing a cross around his neck. This often resulted in a disaster for the church. In many cases, these pastors had no affiliation with the denomination and no interest in supporting the denomination which drove the wedge even greater between the denomination and the church.

With this background, let me share two things smaller churches need from their denomination and judicatories. One, is assistance in finding effective pastoral leadership. For decades these churches have been told the denomination doesn't have sufficient pastoral leadership for the smaller church. Let me be very blunt: that excuse is getting old. If you don't have pastoral leadership you can offer to the smaller church, whose fault is that? Do you think God is surprised by the need of smaller churches to have effective pastoral leadership? He's been calling people to this work since the church began. It's time for denominations and judicatories to stop making excuses and begin working to identify those God has called to this work and train them. A person doesn't need an MDiv to serve a smaller church. He or she doesn't need an MDiv to be ordained. Stop pretending it's 1950 where every pastor had to have a MDiv in order to serve in a church. Our churches are constantly being told they need to learn to conform to the reality of doing ministry in 2023. How about our denominational and judicatory leaders think about conforming to the real needs of their smaller church?

Closely associated with this, the second thing our smaller churches need is a relationship with the denominational and judicatory leadership. The ONLY thing they can't get from outside sources is a relationship. There are many publishing companies where they can get Sunday school literature, bulletins and other resources. There are excellent evangelism tools available from any number of organizations. Many great workshops and conferences are offered every year from a variety of organizations. The only thing a denomination and judicatory can offer their churches that they cannot get elsewhere is a relationship.

A word of advice: some of these churches have been ignored for so long that any relationship will have to begin with you approaching them. If you try to invite a bunch of small church leaders to some gathering, don't be surprised if few show up. This needs to be one-on-one at first. 

The future of the small church

 I didn't realize it had been so long since I had published on this blog. I apologize to my followers and can assure you that you will be seeing more from me in the near future. In a couple of weeks I'll have an announcement to share with everyone. But, for now I want to address what I believe the future of the small church will look like.

I am in the process of re-reading a book I first read several years ago on how to turn around a small church. Even though the book was published in 1995 it mostly remains very relevant to small churches in 2023. As I began reading Appendix A, the author mentions that many were saying the era of the small church is past, and the future belongs to the mega-church and larger churches. People are making the same observation today. In my opinion, they couldn't be more wrong.

At a pastor's conference I led a few years ago I was asked about the future of the small church. My response was that the small church will be around for a long time. The larger and mega-churches probably will be as well. The churches that will feel the squeeze in the future will be the middle-size churches. I predicted then that people in those churches will be attracted to the programs and ministries the mega-churches offer. In an effort to keep those individuals, the middle-size churches will try to compete with the mega-churches. No doubt they will work hard and probably fail simply because they do not have the resources to compete with those churches. One of my mantras is that churches can often accomplish more by doing less. It's when churches focus on the few things they can do with excellence that they succeed. Doing many things with mediocrity is a sure recipe for failure.

That failure is likely to result in people leaving for the mega-church who offers those programs the people want. At the same time, some in the middle-size church may decide they miss the family atmosphere they experienced in the smaller church and decide to return to that smaller church. They are less interested in programs and more interested in the fellowship and family atmosphere often found in the smaller church.

If my predictions are correct, it is important that denominations stop writing off the smaller church and re-address the needs of those churches. As a retired judicatory leader for 14 years I found many smaller churches had decided they would get no help from their denominations. While most of them remained members of their denominations, it was a relationship in name only. Many of them ceased any financial support of their denomination, never attended meetings or training sessions offered by the denomination, and stop calling when they needed assistance in finding new pastoral leadership. They had, in essence, became independent churches.

Smaller churches will be around until Jesus comes. They have their problems and challenges, but they offer people a sense of family not found in larger churches. Many people want that. I suppose that's why the mean church in America is only 75 people. Bookshelves may be full of books about larger churches written by mega-church pastors, but the country is full of smaller churches, and it will continue to be so as long as the church exists. I love the smaller church and have dedicated my life and ministry to them because I know how God continues to use them to impact the lives of people and communities.

Pastoral leadership for the smaller church

For the past 2+ years I have had the privilege of serving as the Transitional Pastor of a great church I dearly love. I explained when I went there that it was likely that I would be there for 1 1/2 - 2 years, and my time there has exceeded that estimate. As a former denominational minister who worked with dozens of pastor search teams I knew how difficult it is for smaller churches to find pastors. We have prayed much for this search team to find the person God has prepared for the position. I applaud the search team for their dedication and hard work. They have had to overcome more than one disappointment, but they have done so trusting God to lead them to the right individual.

During this process I have seen numerous other smaller churches struggle to find pastors. Some have been looking even longer that I have served in my present position. Some wonder what is wrong with them that no one is interested in serving there. One of the dangers is that they will lower their expectations and simply take the first person who shows an interest in being their pastor. That often turns out to be a big mistake.

I've addressed the reasons in previous posts about why it's so difficult for smaller churches to find pastors and will not repeat those reasons here. Many of those reasons are related to the candidates themselves. Sometimes the reasons have more to do with the church and its expectations.

When I still worked as a Regional Minister many smaller churches still believed they needed a full-time pastor even though their church had been in decline for some time. The hope was that with a full-time pastor they could return to their former glory years. I'm afraid for many that is a false hope. I recently spoke to a member of a church of a different denomination than mine who told me their current pastor recently announced his upcoming retirement. This person told me since Covid the church is down to about 20 people attending on a regular basis, none younger than retirement age. Because of endowments and the generous giving of former members the church has a large bank account. Although he didn't say anything, that combination historically has meant that the church would seek a fully-funded pastor believing that person would rebuild their church to its former glory. These churches fail to realize that they would be better served by a bivocational minister making more money available to reach out into the community that would allow them to minister to that community and grow the church.

Of course, this brings us to another issue. Just as there are not many fully-funded pastors willing to serve smaller churches; there are not many bivocational ministers available either. Now, this is just a guess as I do not have any actual data, but I bet there are at least 20 smaller churches who need a bivocational pastor within a 50 mile radius of me and cannot find one. Now, what is wrong with this picture?

Has God messed up and not prepared people for the needs of His church, or has God's people not recognized that He has been calling them to such ministry? Personally, I am not going to blame God. I believe there are many God has called to the ministry who are afraid to step out and commit themselves to that work. They are afraid of the commitment that would be required. They are reluctant to commit to the education they would need. (BTW - You do not need a seminary degree to serve as a bivocational pastor!) What you do need is to recognize that God has His hand on you and is calling you to serve Him in this role.

I cannot call anyone to the ministry and would not try. Only God can call someone to serve as a pastor. At the same time, I can challenge you to pray about what you may have felt for some time that might be a calling to such a ministry, and I can make myself available to you if you want to talk about it. Churches need pastoral leadership. If you think God might be calling you to that role, it's time to talk to someone.

The comeback of the local church

 About three decades ago big-box stores began to spring up across the country driving many of the local mom-and-pop stores out of business. People enjoyed the convenience of one-stop shopping for most of the items they used, and they enjoyed the lower prices these large stores were able to offer. Recently, after being in one of these stores, I told someone that the only people who looked sadder to be shopping there were the people who worked there. No one was smiling. Most people looked frustrated. Many of the shelves were bare because they couldn't get the inexpensive goods from overseas to the store. Many are now abandoning these stores to shop online. But, another thing is also happening.

Across the country you find small locally owned businesses reappearing. They're not trying to compete with the big-box store. They are offering goods and services the big stores do not. They have much smaller buildings and may be located in small strip malls, but they are attracting customers who enjoy doing business with local people who know them and know the community.

Around the same time the big-box stores were spreading across the country, big-box churches were doing the same. It seemed mega-churches were appearing everywhere in the cities that could support them. Untold numbers of smaller churches closed their doors as parishioners flocked to  these churches to enjoy the many services they offered and the new styles of worship they provided. Books were written and conferences held to teach all who were interested how their churches could grow like these churches had. However, some of these churches discovered they were not effectively discipling the thousands of people who attended their services. Much of their efforts were spent ensuring that each week's production was bigger than the preceding week. Some of the well-known leaders began to struggle morally and emotionally from the stresses associated with leading such organizations. And, while many who attended enjoyed the benefits offered by these churches, some also felt rather alone and isolated. Even the small groups they attended didn't always help them feel connected to the church.

Nearly every time I lead a conference for small church and bivocational leaders I am asked if I believe the smaller church has a future. I certainly do! While the mega-churches and other large churches will probably always exist, there are many who prefer to worship in a local setting where people know one another and know the community. I believe the neighborhood church is making a comeback, and this is going to lead to greater opportunities for evangelism, discipleship and ministry.

What impact does it have on an unchurched family when their Christian neighbors drive an hour every Sunday morning to attend a church service? Probably none. What impact can it have when this family is ministered to by their neighbor who attends a worship service down the street? How can lives be changed when we invite our neighbor to attend the local church with us and they find themselves surrounded by others from the community? I've never claimed to be a prophet, but I believe God will continue to use the local church in a mighty way to bring people to Him.

Of course, that local church must have a vision for being used in such a way, and it must be willing to invest itself in serving the community in which it's located. But, for those churches willing to do these things, they can look forward to an exciting time of ministry! 

2000th blog post

 This article marks the 2,000th post I've made on this blog. For many bloggers that is not a huge number, but I'm sure there are many people who cannot believe I would have 2,000 things to discuss! Frankly, I didn't realize I had written that many posts until I happened to see the number on my screen.

While the posts have covered a number of different items, most have focused on challenges and opportunities facing the small and bivocational church and those who lead these churches. I have always been, and always will be, an advocate for the smaller church. While there is nothing wrong with larger churches, I am convinced the smaller church can offer things that may be missing in the larger ones. For many people, a smaller church is simply a better fit. There is a sense of family and community commonly found in the smaller church that many are looking for. It is easier to provide personal pastoral care to individuals in the smaller church. Often, people are more engaged in ministry in the smaller church than they might be in a larger one. After all, it's pretty hard to hide in a smaller church. The list of things the smaller church can offer would include much more than I have space to list here.

With my commitment to the smaller church I am also committed to those who lead such churches, especially those serving in bivocational roles. For much of my bivocational pastorate there were few good resources available. I'm excited that has changed dramatically in the past two decades. Books, journal articles, doctoral theses are now available that focus specifically on bivocational ministry. Some schools and seminaries now offer programs especially developed for persons planning to enter bivocational ministry. There are also a growing number of ministers who do plan to serve in that capacity. I cannot tell you how rewarding this is to me.

I've now served in ministry for 40 years. Not everything I've seen change in ministry has been good, but some have. As I continue to view the church world I see many more changes coming, and I am certain there are far more I cannot see. I do believe God is doing a new thing in His church, and as we make the transition to whatever that might be it will be a glorious thing. After all, this is God's church, and no power will prevent it from accomplishing His purposes for it.

Going where you are needed

One of the challenges for a bivocational minister is finding a place to serve. As I've written elsewhere, bivocational ministry is mostly geographical. Chances are a bivocational minister will not travel more than an hour to serve a church. He or she has to take into consideration their other employment and the amount of time they would spend on the road if they traveled further than that. About an hour's drive would be far enough, and even then it's going to create occasional problems.

A friend of mine felt called to bivocational ministry. He is self-employed so his hours are somewhat flexible. Still, he was struggling to find a church nearby to serve. He sent me a message recently to let me know he had accepted the call to serve a church in a different denomination that was about 20 minutes from his home. Although he expressed surprise at serving a church in that denomination he felt their theology and ministry philosophy was very close to his own. I'm happy for him and praying that he does well.

I had talked with one of the leaders of that denomination several years ago when I was doing a sabbatical study on how different denominations were addressing bivocational ministry. That leader told me that several of their smaller churches were calling bivocational ministers from different denominations including the one in which I serve. While serving in different denominations may not always work because of theological or polity differences, it can be a way for a smaller church to find a pastor and a bivocational minister to find a place in which to serve.

One of the dangers associated with this is when a minister feels he or she needs to bring that church into his or her denomination. We often hear about sheep stealing, but I've known some pastors who were into church stealing. In our denomination we've had some pastors from other denominations come in and lead the church to join the denomination they came from. I consider this highly unethical and should not be tolerated. 

When I began my pastoral ministry the denomination in which I was a member offered me no assistance in finding a church. I heard from a neighbor about a small, rural church that was seeking a pastor and sent them my resume. We each decided to take a chance with each other, and I served that congregation for 20 years. God opened a door, and I went where I was needed. My friend has done the same, and I'm sure God will bless his ministry in that church. Be open to hearing God's leadership when seeking a place to serve.

Small church leaders conference

 I had the privilege of leading three workshops at a  conference for small church pastors and leaders held in Champaign, IL this past weekend. This conference was sponsored by Northern Seminary, Judson University, the ABC of Indiana and Kentucky and the Great Rivers Region. I understand about 100 people registered for the event. They offered a number of interesting workshops and had some excellent speakers.

It continues to excite me when such conferences are held. As I told the participants in my workshops, such events did not happen when I began as a bivocational pastor in 1981. All the focus was on larger churches, and those of us serving smaller churches were mostly ignored. While that may still happen in some places today, I think most denominations have recognized that a significant number of their churches are small and unlikely to grow to become megachurches or even larger churches. They have learned the importance of providing relationships and training for the leaders of these smaller churches.

The only thing I regret about the weekend is that I wish twice as many people had registered for the conference. It was well done and offered workshops that were relevant to small church leaders. It was not expensive at all and was a good investment in both money and time.

Of course, Covid was given as one reason the registrations might have been down, and I suppose some people are still reluctant to gather in larger crowds. I doubt that was the main reason more people didn't attend. For years I have cautioned sponsors of such events to not be disappointed if there is a low turnout. In my experience, bivocational ministers tend to not attend such events. This was held on a Friday, and some would argue that they have to work Fridays. I served as a bivocational pastor for 20 years so I understand that argument. However, I also know if I wanted to take a day off work to do something I wanted to do, I took that day. I might have used a personal day or a day's vacation, but I would take the day off if I wanted to do something else.

Those of us who serve smaller churches need to stop using our jobs as an excuse to not attend training opportunities that are designed for us. I realize that we can't attend every event that is offered, but, frankly, most of them are not developed for small church leaders. Those that are should be seen as an investment in our ministries and our lives. Would you not invest a few dollars and a day of your time in something that will provide you with a lifetime of benefits?

As other opportunities present themselves I hope you'll consider making such an investment. You might leave thinking it was one of the best things you've done in a long time.

Where does a church find a bivocational pastor?

 For years churches worked with their denomination to help them find a pastor. Many still do, and this was an important of my ministry as a Regional Minister for our denomination. Smaller churches in our area often sought help from the placement office in a nearby seminary. They could usually provide the names of seminary students seeking a ministry position while they finished their studies. However, as more and more churches have begun seeking bivocational leadership seminaries and denominations can struggle to provide good candidates. Where do these churches look to find a bivocational pastor?

Denominational leaders should still be the first contact. Like I often told smaller churches, I didn't have bivocational ministers growing on trees, but sometimes I would know of a retired minister or someone feeling led to enter the ministry who might be willing to serve their church. Sometimes I would know of lay leaders who felt called to do more and who had the gifts to serve a church as a bivocational minister who might consider a call to a church. Because denominational and regional leaders network with so many churches and people, they are the first contact a church should make when seeking bivocational leadership.

Your bivocational pastor is going to come from the same general geographical location as the church. It's not likely a pastor will move from New Jersey to Iowa to serve a bivocational church. When I worked with churches seeking such pastors I would try to keep within a 50 mile radius from the church and much closer when I could.

Sometimes the best person to serve as a bivocational pastor will come from within the congregation itself. Several times I saw someone from within the church accept the call to serve as the church's pastor and enjoy a very successful ministry. These are people who are known by the congregation and community, they are trusted, and they have shown good leadership in the past. Often, they will lack training, but there are numerous ways that can be addressed today.

Retired pastors can make great bivocational ministers. While they may have been glad to leave the stresses of fully-funded ministry, I have found many who were willing to serve a bivocational church. They bring a wealth of experience and wisdom to the role that a church will not get from someone just out of seminary. If they are willing to consider returning to the ministry it probably reflects a passion to serve people, and that is important in a bivocational church.

Although it often takes time to find a good bivocational pastor, they are out there. Churches should not give up or decide to settle on someone who really isn't a good fit for the church. Work with your denominational leaders and trust God in the process. You'll be glad you did.

The challenge for denominations Part 1

 For years many have been saying the time for denominations is over. They point to the decline in most denominations and the fact that many churches are abandoning their denominational names. There has certainly been an exodus from denominational life for many churches, and this is likely to continue unless the denominations figure out how to respond to the concerns their churches have about the direction of their denominations.

I have been a denominational pastor since entering the ministry in 1981. I served as a regional denominational leader for 14 years. During that time I heard many of the concerns of our churches and saw several withdraw from our denomination over those concerns. Some of those concerns I shared myself. Other concerns were based on half-truths and a misunderstanding of denominational polity and policies. I found that many churches and church leaders read headlines without reading the entire article or look for things that easily fit into their personal agendas. It's like preaching a text without the context. Doing so makes it easy to prove just about any point you want.

Having said this, denominations are facing tough times. Perhaps some will disappear from the American landscape in the next few years. Others will struggle to survive and become must less than they once were. The struggle will be much worse for those who refuse to address the concerns their churches and church leaders have.

Because of my work with smaller churches and bivocational pastors one of the most common concerns I hear is that denominations care little for these churches and leaders. Because the smaller churches and bivocational pastors feel neglected and ignored by their denominations they, in turn, have little or nothing to do with the denomination. They may remain a member in name only, but they do nothing to support the work and ministry of the denomination. They give nothing to denominational missions or ministry.  Many of these churches refuse to even fill out the annual reports their denominations may require. As a result of this sense of abandonment, as many as one-third of the churches affiliated with a denomination may have no relationship with that denomination.

II would remind denominational leaders that there is only one thing you can offer your churches they cannot get from para-church organizations or from other sources, and that is relationship. They can purchase materials and literature from a variety of sources. They can support independent missionaries. They can seek pastoral candidates from seminaries and online. They can get everything they need to continue their ministry from many places. The only thing their denomination can offer them they cannot get elsewhere is a relationship with the people in that denomination. If they feel abandoned or ignored by their denominational and regional leadership do not be surprised if they refuse to support the denomination and region.

If denominational leaders read this post and wonder what they can do to create such a relationship, that is a good indicator that such a relationship does not currently exist. Otherwise, you would not have to wonder what to do to have such a relationship. It is probably past time that you look at your denominational calendars and see how much time you are giving to your smaller churches and their leaders. How many training events are you offering that specifically address their issues and challenges? How much are you investing in that training? How many speakers from these churches do you use in your annual and biennial meetings? How many of these leaders do you use to lead workshops? What resources do you provide that speak to the smaller church?

It takes time to rebuild a relationship that has been allowed to be ignored so don't expect instant results. One regional leader told me a few years ago he was glad I told him to not be disappointed if few people came for his first small church leadership training event, because few people did attend. I had reminded him that it had been so long since his district had done anything for small church leaders that it would take time to build up that relationship. It will likely be true for you as well, but it you want to rebuild the relationship between your denomination and its smaller churches it will be time well spent.

Will your bivocational church close due to the pandemic?

 Since the Covid pandemic began last spring many church consultants have predicted that a number of churches would be forced to close their doors. Most of these are expected to be smaller congregations often led by bivocational pastors. One reason these churches are expected to close is because these churches closed down when people were being told to stay at home and did not offer online services as  other churches did. In some cases, those with primarily older members may not have resumed services yet due to the higher risk Covid presents to persons in that age bracket. Many of these churches are waiting until things return to "normal" at which time they will reopen. This may be nothing more than wishful thinking on their part.

As I have written before on this blog, we will have to find a new normal. Covid and the fear it has generated among many will be with us for a long time. We are now seeing even larger numbers of Covid cases across the country leading many states to issue new guidelines. In my home state churches are currently exempt from the new guidelines issued this week, but that doesn't mean that we will continue to be if the pandemic grows worse. Nor does it mean that everyone will feel comfortable attending worship services. In fact, we currently have about three times the number of people watch our service on social media than we have in attendance in our sanctuary. I wonder how long those churches who have remained closed believe they can continue before closing their doors permanently. Fortunately, this does not have to happen.

It's past time for the pastors and lay leaders to quit waiting for normal days to return, and it's past time for them to argue that no one in the church knows how to air their services online or that no one would watch them. A Facebook account, a sound system, a laptop and a camera with video capabilities is all you need. Yes, other equipment might make for a better production, but you can get by with the above listed items. Chances are someone in the congregation knows how to use the video on their phone and can record the service and then air it on your Facebook account. If no one in your congregation has that capability, I'm quite sure some of them have grandchildren who can teach people how to do that.

The church where I currently serve as Transitional Pastor airs our service live on our Facebook page, and that afternoon it is downloaded on our FB page and website for people to view any time. As I mentioned above, about three times the number of people view it online than attend the service. We are in the process of encouraging those viewers and others in the community to contact us with their prayer concerns and seeking other ways to reach out to them.

Churches do not have to twiddle their thumbs while waiting for the Covid to go away. Even with social distancing and other limitations there are ways to continue to serve our congregations and communities. Sunday school classes are meeting on Zoom. So are mid-week Bible studies. We just finished our Bible study on Zoom. Our last leadership meeting was held over Zoom. There is no reason for your church to shut down just because there is a pandemic. In fact, there are some in your community who need your church even more.

While no one wants to see a church forced to close its doors, if it happens it happens because the church made the decision to close. Now is the time to become creative, to think outside the box, to throw the box away and find new ways of provide ministry to those your church is called to serve. Bivocational ministers are entrepreneurs, and it is an entrepreneurial spirit that is needed right now. I regularly tell churches that their best days are ahead of them if they choose for them to be their best days. I hope you'll make that choice.

Smaller churches and pastoral leadership part 2

Yesterday we began looking at the realities of calling a pastor to serve a smaller church. Our focus was on calling bivocational pastors. Today we will look at some other options.

Methodist churches have had pastors serving more than one congregation for many years. One pastor serves three churches in the area in which I live. I once led a conference for a Methodist district and preached in one of their churches on Sunday morning. That church was one of four that pastor served.

As a Baptist I have found many in my tribe do not want to share a pastor with another church. I was once asked if I would consider serving another church that was much smaller than the small church I was already serving. After speaking to our leadership I agreed if the other church was agreeable. They weren't. They wanted their own pastor. This happened years ago, and they've been without a pastor more often than they've had one. There is no reason a pastor cannot serve more than one small church. I predict we will see more of this in the future or we will see more churches closing their doors.

Another option is to allow your small church to be a satellite of a larger, nearby church. The pastor of that church would serve your church as well. Sermons would either be live via technology or be on video to be played a week later. I know many want a live person presenting the sermon, but these folks also have no problem watching a movie or a TV program. There's really no difference. The pastor would provide leadership to the church as well as preach. One big advantage to the smaller church is that they would probably have an experienced pastor serving them for an extended period of time rather than someone lacking experience who would stay a year or two before moving on.

A third option is one that many churches will not consider: calling a woman pastor. My denomination, which supports women in ministry, has many churches that will not consider a woman candidate. Other denominations will exclude one of their churches that would call a woman as pastor. It's hard to justify that from Scripture (Please don't send me your proof texts. I know them all.). I also struggle to understand this mindset when so many conservative denominations welcome women as pastors in their churches. Can so many denominations be wrong about this? To exclude women pastors is to exclude a growing percentage of the people who might be candidates for the position.

A fourth option is to select someone from your congregation to serve as pastor. I've seen this done a few times, and it worked out well. Such a person is committed to the church and is known and trusted by the members. There are training programs available to help such a person acquire basic pastoral skills and theology. One big advantage is that the person is a known commodity and is already trusted by the congregation.

A fifth option is to restructure your church into small groups with a pastor/small group leader for each group. This might entail selling your building and meeting in homes. As one church planter told me once, a church of 30 people can do the same things in homes as it can in a building. You might decide to keep your building and come together each week for fellowship and worship. The small group leaders might take turns speaking or you could use video courses to study together as a church body. There are a number of possibilities associated with this option.

Smaller churches need to rethink what they can expect from future pastors and what these persons will look like. As I wrote yesterday, it's not 1950 any more. What worked then will not work now no matter how much you might want it to. If you are flexible in your search for new pastoral leadership, you will find the person God has for your church. If not, you are going to struggle to find leadership in the future.

Smaller churches and pastoral leadership

For the past few years we have seen smaller churches struggle to find pastoral leadership. I've written about the problem several times in this blog and in some of my books. One of my responsibilities as a judicatory minister was to help churches find pastors. This became an increasingly difficult task as time went by. In talking to people doing the job I used to do I'm hearing it's even worse now.

In our area a majority of our smaller churches were served by students at a nearby seminary. Several years ago that seminary became non-supportive of our churches and many of their students would not consider serving in our churches. When that source dried up our smaller churches found it difficult to find pastors. Studies regularly find that many seminary graduates are not willing to serve in smaller churches. Bivocational pastors are often the best hope for these churches, but there are problems finding these pastors as well.

Bivocational pastors are going to come from the local area. Few people are going to move into rural Indiana from New Jersey to pastor a church of 40 people. An hour's drive is about the maximum distance that is feasible for a bivocational pastor. Many bivocational pastors lack a seminary degree, and some churches still insist on a seminary-trained pastor. The vast majority of bivocational pastors I've known have been dedicated servants of God and to the ministry He has given them. A handful I've known have been train wrecks looking for a set of tracks. Just because someone comes down the road with a cross around his neck calling himself Reverend doesn't mean you want him or her as your pastor. Calling any pastor without taking the time to check references can lead to real problems for a church.

Since it's getting more and more difficult to find good pastoral leadership for smaller churches, what's the solution? The solution is that churches are going to have to think differently about their pastors in the future. Let me talk straight about this. I don't want to make anyone angry, but it's time for some straight talk. If your small church wants pastoral leadership in the future you are going to have to be willing to be flexible. This isn't 1950 when you could expect 20-30 candidates all wanting to be your next pastor. You may be fortunate for find 2 or 3, and that could take a year or two. We are in a much different time,and finding pastors for smaller churches is only going to get more difficult in the future.

Before I retired I found that many smaller churches do not want a bivocational pastor. They still believe they can have a full-time seminary-trained pastor, pay that person $25,000 a year and believe that individual will be there forever. It's not going to happen. If you argue they shouldn't be in the ministry for the money, I would ask you when was the last time you turned down a pay raise in your chosen field? Few people go into the ministry for the money, but pastors, like everyone else, have a responsibility to provide for their families. That includes a home, safe vehicles to drive, medical care, food, education for their children and savings for retirement.

I cannot tell you how many times a pastor search committee explained to me that if the pastor grew the church they would be glad to increase his or her salary. I finally started telling those committees that it sounded like they weren't looking for a pastor, they wanted to hire a commissioned sales person. The more sales that were made (increased attendance) the more they could earn. That is not an acceptable way to look for a pastor.

Numerous studies have found that smaller churches do not suffer by having a bivocational pastor. In fact, as I pointed out in my book The Bivocational Pastor: Two Jobs, One Ministry there are numerous advantages for a church that calls a bivocational pastor. These individuals may or may not have a seminary education. While one might be preferable, such an education is not a necessity if the pastor is solid in his or her theology, is able to present good messages and is gifted in pastoral skills. Chances are good that if your church have an average attendance of 100 or so it will be led by a bivocational pastor in the near future. If your church is under 60 it's almost a given.

Tomorrow we will look at some more realities in calling a pastor for the smaller church.

Pastoring in a smaller church

Some people seem to think that a smaller church is just a miniature version of a larger church. Nothing could be further from the truth. Small churches are unique in many ways and require a different set of skills and gifts to pastor. This is one reason pastors often struggle to serve in a smaller church. Seminaries train everyone alike with the assumption that every church is the same with identical needs. This is one reason I've often argued that the traditional MDiv may not be the best degree for a bivocational pastor or one who serves in a smaller church. Many seminaries today offer MA degrees in ministry that might better equip the minister who will serve the smaller church.

What are the skills you need to effectively serve in a smaller church? The most important one is people skills. Smaller churches are often referred to as family churches with good reason. They function more like a family than an organization. Relationships mean everything in the small church. People don't join a small church; they have to adopted into the family. The same is true of the pastor. A person called to pastor a small church may serve in the position, but he or she is not going to be most effective until the church adopts him or her as one of their own. If a person lacks people skills that individual will never effectively minister in a smaller church.

Patience is another necessary virtue in the small church pastor. It seems that everything takes longer to accomplish than it should. People sometimes complain that small churches dislike change, and in some cases it's true. But in other cases it's not that they dislike change, but they are wary and need confidence that the change is warranted. Small churches remind me of the scene in the Lord of the Rings when the trees (the Ents) are meeting to decide what to do about the war the Hobbits claim is coming. The Hobbits are wanting immediate action, and the Ents plod along slowly with their discussion and finally make a decision that has nothing to do with the approaching war. (I've sat in church meetings like that!) Small churches will make changes, but they will not quickly happen.

Small church pastors need to be able to preach theologically sound messages. Many small church pastors lack a theological education which can be a challenge to effectively minister. This may seem to conflict with what I wrote in the first paragraph, but it doesn't. I am not opposed to education. I just encourage people to pursue an education that best fits with their ministry plans. As a judicatory minister I sat in many worship services in both small and large churches and heard sermons that were very weak theologically. These messages came from pastors who ranged from no theological education to a few with terminal degrees, although most of them came from ones who lacked education.

The people in smaller churches love God. They do not want a watered-down gospel. They want to hear sermons that are theologically sound, sermons that are applicable to their lives and will make a difference in their lives. In a recent post I mentioned a young pastor who preached over the heads of his congregation. That helps no one, but the folks in smaller churches can be challenged to go deeper in their understanding of Scripture than many of them have been challenged in the past. They need a pastor who can consistently deliver such sermons.

Certainly, pastors of smaller churches need more skills than the ones mentioned, but these seem to me to be perhaps the most important. If you can manage these skills you should do well serving in a smaller church.

Leading the smaller church

After over three decades of focusing on smaller churches I am more convinced than ever that the one thing needed most in these churches is pastoral leadership. What I have witnessed is a lot of small church pastors who manage the churches they serve well, but they don't lead them, and they fail to develop their lay leaders. This results in a leadership vacuum in the church, and churches (like nature) abhors a vacuum, someone will rise up and claim that leadership role whether or not they have the spiritual maturity to do so.

A strong pastoral leader will have a vision of where God wants to take the church and will be very intentional in leading the church in that direction. A manager will do everything possible to avoid rocking the boat. He or she will work hard to keep everyone happy even if that means sacrificing the mission God has for them. Yes, good management is needed in churches just as it is in every organization, but leadership is also needed or else the church becomes stagnant and stuck until it eventually declines.

I am aware of how difficult it can be for a pastor to assume a leadership role in a smaller church. In many of these churches there are strong patriarchs and matriarchs who have lead that church for decades and sometimes for generations. Some of these individuals can be very reluctant to give up that leadership to the pastor or anyone else.

When I first went to the church I pastored some of the pastors in our association told me I would not last there six months. They even named the people who would run me off. As I got to know these people I soon learned they were not bad people or mean-spirited people. They were people who loved their church. They had attended that church for decades as their parents did before them. I also learned that they had to assume a leadership role in the church because over the years no one else did. The average pastoral tenure of that church when I went there was 12 months. That was the average! No pastor earns the right to lead a church after only one year. That meant they were not about to turn over their leadership to me until I earned it. It took seven years before they trusted me enough to allow me to lead. As far as being told I would not last there six months, I served that church for 20 years. The ones who gave me six months were long gone from their churches within 3-4 years of warning me to expect a short tenure.

Your title as pastor will not automatically make you a leader in the smaller church. You have to earn the right to lead by proving yourself to be trustworthy. In order to keep the right to lead you have to actually lead. You don't have to be right all the time, but you do have to lead all the time.

This means, among other things, you have to keep a fresh vision from God for the church and be able to share that vision to the congregation in a way that will result in buy-in. As you move towards that vision, you have to lead the way. You don't lead from the back of the pack. You keep the vision fresh in the minds of the people, and, prayerfully, lead them in the steps that will result in the vision being fulfilled. As small visions are achieved, God will give you larger ones, and the congregation will be willing to accept these larger visions.

In smaller churches that have been managed, not led, it's likely that little of significance has occurred in recent years. This may make the church reluctant to try new things. Smaller churches often struggle with self-esteem issues which can make them fearful of failing. But, as you lead them in small things, and they achieve them, it will cause them to be willing to attempt larger things. There is nothing like getting some wins under your belt to create the momentum necessary to achieve greater tasks.

I am convinced many smaller churches want a pastor to lead them, but the pastor must first earn the right to do so. Stay long enough to earn the trust of your congregation so they will let you lead, and then lead. You'll be amazed at what God will do.

Missional vs maintenance-minded churches

Every author hopes that his or her book will sell a million copies. The reality is that most will sell far fewer than that. Way fewer! Occasionally, someone will call me asking how to get a book published. I explain how I did it, but I also explain to them that writing books, especially for the Christian market is not the most profitable endeavor, unless you're writing about end-times or are a well-known pastor of a megachurch. I always tell the caller to not plan on quitting their day job any time soon!

The one book I wrote whose sales have most disappointed me is Intentional Ministry in a Not-So-Mega Church: Becoming a Missional Community This book explores the differences between maintenance-minded churches and missional churches and discusses how to transform from a maintenance-minded mindset to one that is more missional.

For much of my ministry I have heard small churches complain about their lack of growth and the limited impact they've had on their communities. Much of the reason for this is they are stuck in a maintenance mindset. They continue to do the same things over and over that they've done since the 1950s, and they wonder why it's not working any more. They remain stuck in their ruts because these ruts are comfortable, everyone knows their role, and no one has to do anything differently.

As I point out in the book, a rut is just a grave with both ends kicked out. There's not much life around a grave, and there's not much life around a rut either. God is doing new things today, and the church that signs up to be on mission with God will have to do new things as well.

In order to do new things, some old things will have to change. Some will have to be eliminated. Churches don't like eliminating their sacred cows, and they certainly don't enjoy change. In the book I try to help church leaders lead their churches through the changes they might need to take. I try not to identify what those changes are because they might differ among churches, but I can almost guarantee that some things will have to change to develop a more missional mindset.

If your church is stuck I encourage you to consider buying this book. it may help jump-start your way out of your ruts. I think it's a book that can help a lot of churches.

Various denominational groups have invited me to present seminars based on this book, and these seminars have been well received by those attending. If you think this material might be helpful to your church, association, or judicatory please contact me so we can discuss my sharing it with them.

Is your church's best days behind or ahead of you?

As I have worked with smaller churches over the years I have noticed that many of them have old pictures hanging in their foyers or in hallways showing large crowds of people posing for the picture outside the church building. Some churches have had three or four such pictures lined up in a row.  Many of these churches now have maybe 30 people attending on a good Sunday. One had the sense after talking to folks about these pictures that they represented a reminder of when people felt good about the church. Maybe things aren't so good now, but as they looked at these pictures they could think about a time when their church was something special.

Before I go any further let me state that I have nothing against such pictures being displayed in the church. They represent an important part of a church's history, and people need to be reminded of what God has done in the past. What is tragic is when people look at the pictures and walk away shaking their heads believing the best days are behind their church. Such beliefs do nothing but create a defeated mindset in people's minds.

One of the few questions the pastor search committee asked me in 1981 when I interviewed for the pastoral position of that little church was, "Do you think there is any hope for our church?" Only later I was told that there had been a vote as to whether to call one more pastor or lock the doors. A picture such as I described above hung in the entrance area of the church, and I am sure many of the members believed that their best days were behind them.

What such thinking forgets is that what God has done in the past He can do again. I am convinced that He has a plan for every church, and the church that catches His vision and begins to live into that vision will enjoy a fruitful ministry. However, a church that believes it's best days are behind them and the only thing they can do is to try to survive isn't likely to see things improve much.

The apostle Paul wrote that he forgot those things that were behind him and pushed forward for the prize that was set before him. That is good advice for churches trapped in the mindset that their best days are behind them. Forget the past - the good, the bad and the ugly - and look to the future that God has set before you. The fields are white unto harvest and more workers are needed.

I've read that at least 80 percent of every county in the US is unchurched, and in some counties the percentage is higher. That is an incredible number of people who need Christ in your community. That is your Jerusalem! Will your congregation rise to the challenge of reaching out to these individuals, or will it just walk past pictures of bygone days and wish things could be like that again?

Our nation and the world desperately needs the church to rise up once again and be the church God intended. We need to speak up and point the world to Jesus Christ as the answer to the pain and confusion they are experiencing. The solutions to our nation's problems will not come from the White House, the Courthouse or the state house. They will come from God's house as we boldly proclaim the truth of God's Word and humble ourselves as we pray and seek His face. When we do that we can be sure that the best days of the church will always be before us!

Does anyone know your church exists?

A number of years ago I was scheduled to meet with the pastor search committee of a small church. This was before GPS was available. The chair of the search team had given me directions to the church, but they weren't the best directions I've ever had. It was my first time to be at this church so I was very dependent on the directions to find the church. Once I got off the main highway I realized how poor the directions were. As I drove around the country roads trying to find the markers the church had given me it started to grow dark. I had no cell phone service so I stopped at two houses to ask for directions to the church, but the people at these houses had never heard of the church. It was now about 15 minutes after our meeting was scheduled. I decided to turn around at the next drive way and return home. The next driveway was into the church's parking lot. It was within a mile of the two houses where the people said they had never heard of the church!

It's very hard to grow a church or have an effective ministry if people within a mile of your church has never heard of you. Unfortunately, this is true of many churches. These churches may think their long history and the fact that they "are the friendliest church in the area," should make them well-known, but the reality is that people near them may not even know they exist.

Even larger churches can have this problem. Several people told me to let them know if I was scheduled to preach in their community so they could come to hear me. A larger church in their community did invite me to preach there a few weeks later so I let the folks know that. Even though this was one of the largest churches in their community, none of them knew where it was located. These folks lived within blocks of this large active church, but did not know where it was.

This was a problem for the church I pastored when I first went there. This small, rural church was nearing its 150th anniversary when I became its pastor, but many people had never heard of the church and many others did not know where it was. A few years after I went there we began to intentionally address that problem.

One of our men put up a sign at the highway with the name of the church and an arrow showing where to turn. At the end of that road he put up another sign with another directional arrow that would lead people to the church.

We bought a number of professionally prepared videos that promoted some aspect of ministry featuring our church's name and service times. These video ads were ran for free on our local cable company on select channels. We also purchased a quarterly newspaper that featured positive stories and insights into family living that included one-and-half pages highlighting information about our church that was sent to the homes in our county. Both the videos and the paper gave us an opportunity to minister to people and allowed us to get our church name out into the community.

Today, if I was pastor of a church, we would be active on social media. We would have a web site and a Facebook page promoting the church. Someone has said if your church isn't on social media it doesn't exist. I believe there is a lot of truth in that. A Facebook page is free, and web sites can be very inexpensive so both are possible for even the smallest churches.

When people are interested in knowing about a business the first thing most will do is to check out that business online. If they do not have a web page it's likely the person will be less interested in the business. The same is true when people are wanting information about churches. Not only does your church need to be on social media, your content must be fresh and current. When I'm looking at a web site or a FB site and I see that the last posting was two or three years ago I lose interest. Your social media pages should be updated at least weekly to keep them fresh and appealing to those who are looking at them.

So, do people know your church exists? Are you sure? Can you prove it? How will new people get information about your church? If people cannot get information about your church before they visit, why should they bother visiting? Tough questions, but they need to be asked and answered.