Small Churches (Part II)
Wow, Several of you have responded to my last post with some of the most thoughtful heartfelt Kingdom minded thoughts I had to date. Thanks! It means a lot to be able to feel connected with so many friends and family outside of my immediate hometown of Gadsden Alabama.
I feel like some context might help give my questioning of small churches some, uh... context. First of all I hope everyone understands that I like hard thought provoking questions. Sometimes I post things with a certain amount of righteous concern or irreverent questioning. That doesn't always mean I'm actually having a crisis. Usually I don't feel able to talk about my crisises online until they are past. Perhaps some of you saw through this one to my currant struggle to bring life and growth to a small church in Alabama. Perhaps you were right this time. Perhaps though God is showing me that I may be feeling a righteous anger (over struggling to grow) that he never asked me to have. These are things we have discussed somewhat openly in our church so I feel free to share them here.
But the context of my questioning small churches was a little different:
First, They are for the most part all I have ever known. (So file this under young man questioning his roots)
Second, In the midst of a conversation with a good friend we began to talk about one's own life as a thing that one must be a good steward of. A Christian doesn't just need to be good and go to church, etc, but must also be one that directs his or her life in a way that will hopefully have us hearing the words,"Well done..." at the end of our lives.
Third, This led to the question. Could a pastor ever be said to be investing his or her life unwisely by placing it in a small church where the potential to reach many people was shifted instead to deeply impacting a few?
Fourth, This led me to challenge myself. Has my long held discomfort with mega churches been in part a result of my life long comfort with small churches and most importantly for myself... Does God want to challenge my sense of safely and comfort around small ministries with the possibility that I may be better used by Him from time to time in much larger ministries.
This lead to my question for you, purposely intended to spark your thoughts... Are Small Churches a Good Place to Spend Your Life?
For two of the best answers I have heard, you simply must check out the responses to the previous post. The first by David Morris, of Hope Presbyterian (Cordova TN) notes that to answer that question one must seek the heart of the church in question. The second is by Dr. Doug Groothuis, my former Professor at Denver Seminary. Dr. Groothuis has his own very worthwhile Blog that can probably be found with a quick search.
As always please let me know your thoughts!
In Christ
Aaron
I feel like some context might help give my questioning of small churches some, uh... context. First of all I hope everyone understands that I like hard thought provoking questions. Sometimes I post things with a certain amount of righteous concern or irreverent questioning. That doesn't always mean I'm actually having a crisis. Usually I don't feel able to talk about my crisises online until they are past. Perhaps some of you saw through this one to my currant struggle to bring life and growth to a small church in Alabama. Perhaps you were right this time. Perhaps though God is showing me that I may be feeling a righteous anger (over struggling to grow) that he never asked me to have. These are things we have discussed somewhat openly in our church so I feel free to share them here.
But the context of my questioning small churches was a little different:
First, They are for the most part all I have ever known. (So file this under young man questioning his roots)
Second, In the midst of a conversation with a good friend we began to talk about one's own life as a thing that one must be a good steward of. A Christian doesn't just need to be good and go to church, etc, but must also be one that directs his or her life in a way that will hopefully have us hearing the words,"Well done..." at the end of our lives.
Third, This led to the question. Could a pastor ever be said to be investing his or her life unwisely by placing it in a small church where the potential to reach many people was shifted instead to deeply impacting a few?
Fourth, This led me to challenge myself. Has my long held discomfort with mega churches been in part a result of my life long comfort with small churches and most importantly for myself... Does God want to challenge my sense of safely and comfort around small ministries with the possibility that I may be better used by Him from time to time in much larger ministries.
This lead to my question for you, purposely intended to spark your thoughts... Are Small Churches a Good Place to Spend Your Life?
For two of the best answers I have heard, you simply must check out the responses to the previous post. The first by David Morris, of Hope Presbyterian (Cordova TN) notes that to answer that question one must seek the heart of the church in question. The second is by Dr. Doug Groothuis, my former Professor at Denver Seminary. Dr. Groothuis has his own very worthwhile Blog that can probably be found with a quick search.
As always please let me know your thoughts!
In Christ
Aaron
posted by Aaron McMillan at 8:36 AM
1 Comments:
Aaron, as you know I grew up and first ministered in a large church, but then went to minister in a church plant, where growth is the ultimate of all goals. At both of these churches I was involved in youth ministry. I sometimes wonder which was more beneficial and which was more impactful.
In the large church, there was the illusion of significance because many people were present in the ministry. Of course we were doing great work. And indeed, some of those students have gone on to be deeply involved in their churches, campus minstries, etc. Others, of course, I have lost all contact with. But it now seems to me like buckshot. Or maybe the seed scattered all over the ground. Some of it is going to take root. Some of that shot will hit the intended target. But what about all the others?
I often felt some frustration at that small church becuase I did not see the growth that I wanted to see, nor the growth that everyone around me was expecting to see. I felt that my efforts were less significant at times becuase fewer were there to benefit from them. Apart from my own failures as a minister and as a person, which undoubtedly affected the scope and reach of that ministry, I now think that we were doing what we were supposed to do. I was heavily invested in Kingdom work that resulted in who knows what. Indeed, I really only know of a few people who seem to be showing much fruit from my labor. Again, I don't know where many of those students are today or what they are doing.
But now the actual question at hand. Can we have a greater impact in large churches versus smaller ones. Yes. We can. But I also want to ask another question. Can we be have a greater impact in a small church versus larger ones? Yes. We can. I don't know where I can have a greater impact than where God places me and calls me to work. That may seem like an eay way out, but I feel that to be true deep in my soul. I think if I had stayed at the larger church when God was calling me to the smaller one, I would have had less of an impact, less fulfilling of a ministry, less of an education for future ministry, and less of an opportunity to make a difference.
I walked with people through a very difficult situation in both churches. But I know that I was more needed in the smaller one than in the larger one. And we both know how big problems can arise in even the smallest of churches. And we both know that small churches are often left to employ underqualified people (a harch, but true, observation), especially for things like youth ministry. Where would the millions of people in small churches be without faithful, qualified, invested pastors? In fact, over half of Christians in the world would be left underserved. So, in terms of impact, in terms of investment, let's not forget that we are part of a larger body and that we serve collectively to address the needs of the body. More people are ministered to in small churches than we sometimes remember. Just not in our small church. But who cares? It is like a mutual fund. Instead of having this huge investment in one place, we pool our resources and invest in hundreds of places at once. But the payoff can be just a great.
Ok, long blog entry, and somewhat of a rambling pursuit, but that is what I thought when I read your post.
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