The Church in America

Much effort ,thought and strategy go into Church growth. We get excited when it’s a full house. Soon we need more room for various ministries, staff, more or not enough funds are available for the building fund, maintenance and staff. How can we get more volunteers to fill the need? On and on it goes.

Such is the life of a growing church ministry. It can be an exciting time. However If you are part of a large growing ministry, Watch out !. You may be growing the wrong thing and putting your time and effort in the wrong place.

Some of you are thinking. Thats not us. It’s exciting what God is doing here. People love to come. Souls are being “saved”, baptized” and are attending classes and small groups. We have a great kid’s program and give to missions.

It may not be as healthy as you think. In coming days we will look at one of the biggest “elephants in the room” regarding church ministry.

This discussion will make most ministry leaders, pastors, either shaking their heads in agreement, frustration, defensiveness or outright anger. This issue must be wrestled with and can not be rationalized away for the many various reasons that exist. I’ll do my best to bring it out in a clear and concise way.

The goal of this discussion is to grow a healthy Church that transforms human hearts, which in turn transforms our world, one community at a time.

As a ministry analyst it is my role to help the Kingdom of God flourish. No matter what form it’s in. To break down the processes to it’s finest point, then make practical suggestions which create practical solutions.

If we ignore or water down the obvious, it becomes a detriment to the Churches health, functionality and credibility.

What is your church and ministry really growing?

What will be the impact years from now?

Could you have a bigger impact doing something else?

End of Part 1

   In America, most congregations perceive the term pastor as a title for the job description of the leader of their local Church.

Pastor: Definitions>

1. A Christian minister or priest having spiritual charge over a congregation or other group.

2. A layperson having spiritual charge over a person or group.

3. A shepherd.

The word itself is derived from the Latin word pastōr which means shepherd.

    The usage of pastor comes from its use in the Bible. In the Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament), the Hebrew word רעה (transliterated: ra`ah) is used. The word is used 173 times, and is used to describe feeding sheep like in Genesis 29:7 and also in regards to human beings like in Jeremiah 3:15, “And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding” (KJV).

    In the New Testament, the Greek word ποιμην (transliterated: poimēn) is used and is normally translated pastor or shepherd. The word is used 18 times in the New Testament. For example, Ephesians 4:11, “And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers” (KJV). Jesus also called himself the “Good Shepherd” in John 10:11.

    Historical usage: Around 400 AD, Augustine, a famous North African bishop, described a pastor’s job

“Disturbers are to be rebuked, the low-spirited to be encouraged, the infirm to be supported, objectors confuted, the treacherous guarded against, the unskilled taught, the lazy aroused, contentious restrained, the haughty repressed, litigants pacified, the poor relieved, the oppressed liberated, the good approved, the evil borne with, and all are to be loved”.

    Many Protestants use the term pastor as a title (e.g., Pastor Smith) or as a job title (like Senior Pastor or Worship Pastor). This usage is particularly common among Protestants who believe in the priesthood of all believers, and, therefore, they reject the use of the term priest for their leaders. Such denominations include the Lutherans, Mennonites, Methodists, Presbyterians, Reformed tradition churches, Baptists, Pentecostals and most non denominational churches.

Pastor – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Which definition of a Pastor do you want to be?

Do you need to join staff, get a title or the be the head of a church in order to be a pastor or are you already functioning as a Pastor in your everyday life?

A Final Word.

    If being a pastor is who you are in everyday life, acknowledge it and with greatfulness and enthusiasm, be a pastor at all times to whatever flock is around you whether it’s a school, neighborhood, ministry or work place.).

    People will naturally follow you because of who you are and who you represent rather than the title you carry.).

    If you happen to get hired later to run a ministry or join a staff, make sure you have or learn the administrative and management skills neccesary to do so.

    Do not allow your organizational tasks, allegiance or paycheck drown out your allegiance to Jesus whom you serve and the usage of the natural pastorship gift he has given you to serve him.

Here’s the usual order of how one usually becomes a Pastor in the USA.

• “Accept Jesus into your heart”, get baptized, attend discipleship 101 classes, attend small group meetings, ext..

• Begin volunteering in service areas of your local church, ushering, youth or children’s ministries, ext..

• Begin teaching adult Sunday school or facilitating a small group meeting.

• If you show natural public speaking or story telling abilities you may get opportunities to teach or preach in front of groups of people.

• At some point you may start attend bible college or seminary or start the process.

• The opportunity may present itself to go on staff at your church, a local ministry in your area, another city, state.

• You feel God is calling you to start a Church.

• Your Dad was a pastor

• It can be a combination of these circumstances or events but these are the most common.

If you are now a pastor, or desire to be one in the future, Should you be a Pastor because…?

• You are a gifted speaker

• You went to bible school or seminary

• You are a good teacher

• You are a good evangelist

• You are a good administrator

• You get along with people

• You are a natural leader

• You have a charismatic personality and have different talents.

• You find yourself naturally walking and nurturing people in their spiritual journey on a daily basis whether inside or outside the church walls.

Do you see pastors as…?

1. The top dog
2. The muddy servant
3. A man of the people.
4. A servant of Jesus empowered to guide people in their spiritual journey no matter the environment you live or work in

Do you believe people see pastors as…?       Hint:  It’s number 1.

1. The top dog who runs the Church
2. The muddy servant
3. A man of the people.
4. A servant of Jesus empowered to guide people in their spiritual journey no matter what enviornment they work or live in.

Important Note:

1. Most people who volunteer in ministry see themselves as 2 - 4.

2. A successful transformational ministry is when your volunteers see you as 2 - 4.

3. A Church organizational enterprise can run successfully without  the Pastor being percieved as 2 through 4, but it will not be transformational.

 If you see pockets of transformation, there is another reason it is happening.