Musings on Spiritual Matters

Well, I did a post on reasons to leave a congregation, so now to be balanced I should do a post on reasons to stay.  Probably, most ministers jump ship to quickly.  Sometimes, the minister does not have a choice, but this day and age is slowly stopping more and more.  Most elderships want the minister to stay.  The “try out” process is never fun.  The superstar preacher is not coming.  Often elders will search by calling all of the top preachers in their minds about the position, then all of them will say no, and then reality sets in.  Shockingly, not every preacher is wanting to go to the congregation.  A friend of mine says this is good for churches.  The elders prefer to know the issues, than to trade in old ones for new ones.  Preachers are staying longer and the elders like this so.  So what should you be thinking about in regards to staying at a congregation?

1. All churches have problems.  If you leave one congregation for another, trust me, they will have problems too.  At this point in life, I find it humorous for young ministers to go to another congregation, because the new one is always perfect, the elders are always perfect, and the members are just wanting to grow so much.  You will hear this in the halls of our graduate schools.  Well, give it two year or one, and it will still be a great church, but yes, there are problems.  Just realize that there are going to be issues at the new place.  Of course, sometimes issues are different, and not as bad, but issues will exist.

2. Trust builds leaders and congregations.  It takes time people.  You cannot enter a system and expect it to change quickly, and the members do not really care about your dreams for the church until they know that you are going to be with them.  Every year you are with a congregation, the trust factor goes up.  I have never really felt the two year honeymoon in churches, it seems with me, the longer I am at a place the better it is for me.  I think because people see my loyalty and will be loyal as well.  You can only lead when you have trust.

3. Realization of Truth about Elders and Members.  Sometimes ministers will feel that the elders will not do anything, but the members want change.  The minister is upset because he cannot “sell” the eldership on new ideas, but those members want it.  Really, if you cannot “sell” the elders on a idea, do not be too naive by thinking that the members want it so.  Group think mostly runs most congregations.  If the elders are “stick in the muds” mostly the members like it so.  If not, things would be different.  Instead of blaming someone else for your lack of growth or whatever, and moving to the next town, realize it might be you and work on yourself.

4. Set a timetable.  I had a friend recently state that he and his family had a timetable.  During this time, he is not looking at other offers, or listening to the calls from other congregations.  He is totally committed to the work at the congregation.  Set a time for work to be done, and stick to it.  If you are looking, you are not totally invested in the congregation that you are with.  If things do not get better, plan to get out, but before you do, totally give your heart and soul to the work.

Hope these things to think about helps.  Some times it is time to go and sometimes it is time to stay.  Knowing the difference makes all the difference.

Related posts:

1. Why Church Members Stay Immature
2. Time to Move
3. Time With Children
4. Predators Need to Stay
5. Bad Lost for WVU, But Great Time for the Morine’s

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This entry was posted by Matthew on Monday, March 28th, 2011 at 11:06 am and is filed under Church News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.