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Building Projects vs. Church Planting Projects 1
Have you ever heard that statement before? It’s pronounced with such a conviction that one would think that it was taken straight out of the text of Holy Writ. But have you actually considered how biblical is such a sentiment really? Can you truly imagine the first apostles uttering such declarations?
Although both things are good and necessary, only one of them is mandated in Scripture. It takes but only a casual reading of NT Scripture to understand that the Bible does not even prescribe building projects, but rather prescribes and commands church planting projects. Nevertheless, it seems that the present day church is more focused on the task that has no mention in Scripture.
Now let’s be clear:
Every church should have as its goal to have a solid presence in their community with facilities adequate enough to perform the work of the Great Commission in the manner that they feel called to fulfill it.
The church of Laodicea is one where they are rich but inside are poor. The imagery is that the corporate church is more concerned about the material things than the soul things. The congregants like it, because there is less commitment in a bigger ministry. The preachers dream of it because the money and prestige is addictive. Although this principle reaches one on a personal level, one must understand that this speaks to the corporate level of the church. Although the focus of this blog is on conservative churches, this sentiment has reached across denomination lines and theological spectrums. Indeed it is a problem with what some consider “liberal” churches but it is a sentiment that also has poisoned the most conservative type of evangelical church.
There is much to say on this subject that can be addressed in other posts such as impure motives, manipulative tactics, theological errors, and negative impacts on spiritual lives that an infatuation with bigger buildings can create. Short posts are always the best. The one seed that I want to plant is the question I ask myself: At what point is a ministry too big for me to pastor?
Because pastors are not willing to ask themselves this inconvenient question they have fallen into the trap of becoming less of a pastor and more of a corporate executive or professional motivational speaker. The “deacon board” becomes an executive board that happens to have religiosity as the line of business. Consider that there is only 365 days in a year. Consider all the demands that a ministry has on the average pastor. How much time can he adequately dedicate to his people on a personal level to truly have spiritual impact?
During my spiritual training, I remember being part of a church for three years where I never received a casual visit from my pastor. I never received any type of a visit from any of the deacons. Now the sadder part is that I was an assistant pastor in such a ministry. If that is the type of soul care that I received as an assistant pastor, one which had more access to the leadership, I wonder what type of soul care the normal, everyday congregant receives. The young people under my care never received a visit from their youth pastor; the elderly did not even know the names of their deacons. These are things that I did not think of then (if I did I probably would not had stayed so long) but one that I reflect on now through the eyes of my responsibility as a pastor. As my ministry grows, I must make the selfless question of when will my church become too big for me to pastor. It’s much easier and prestigious to step back in executive mode and aim for bigger “things” under the guise of reaching more people. But if I, nor my deacons, no longer have the time to spend personal time with the sheep, are we truly reaching them?
On a different note, I know of a conservative church that has planted two other works and is helping a third one out with his. Sure it took them a long time to produce the leaders to send out, but the spiritual caliber of the congregants is extraordinarily different from the former example.
There is not a specific number where one can say the church has reached its limit. It would be ridiculous to even suggest the idea. Yet the sobering question MUST be asked. We, as conservative churches, cloak our spiritual superiority by pointing out the faults of those that are more “liberal” then us when it is clear that we have the same fundamental problem. We preachers sure know how to talk big. We have mastered the art of manipulating a response from our congregants. God help us if some congregants, who trust us so much with their souls, decide to check our claims with the facts.
The interesting thing about the churches described in the book of Revelation is that God’s presence is still there. Yet it does not mean that he does not take note of the areas from which we should repent. Just because we see that hand of God in our ministry, let us not ignore the handwriting on the wall.
Why is there no unity in fundamental churches? (part 1)
H.B. London Jr, Amercian Pastor to Pastors, in his book Pause, Recharge, Refresh shares his insight into this problem in some ministries. He states:
"In my work with pastors and church boards, unfortunately, I too often find
colleagues who see themselves as bigger than the churches they pastor and more
important than the causes they represent. They are intolerant of their
peers, disrespectful to leadership, and more interested in building their
kingdom than THE kingdom, their behavior is devastating to the integrity of body
of Christ. In nearly every case, there is heartbreak." (p 14)
Of course noone would admit to thinking this way, and almost every pastor has preached against such a carnal approach to ministry. Yet, sadly, there is a strong disconnect between what is preached and what is practiced in present-day ministry.
The Fundamental Baptist Movement is one of the most conservative sects yet one of the most divided sects. If there is nothing to fight about then there is no recent news to talk about. It's rare to ever see fundamental churches do ministry in the same town together and the ones that do, do so only because the ministers are related to each other. The small fundamental churches bad mouth the big ministries and the big ministries care little for the struggling churches. A spirit of competition and superiority is inbred into the members against brethren from other fundamental churches. God forbid that the pastor should find out that one of his congregants visited another church in town. The "this is the best church in town" quickly turns from a humble appreciation for one's church to a prideful disregard for all other churches in town.
We as pastors preach hard about unity within the local church but nothing is said of unity between churches. We hipocritically teach on forgiveness, when we cannot even forgive other pastors for the most minute differences that they may have. We exhort to care for the brethren, but we care little for our colleagues.
God thinks that it is a beautiful thing when brethren dwell together in unity. (Psalm 133:1). He considers it carnal when we are content to be divided (1 Corinthians 3:3). The Holy Spirit concludes that if Christ is not divided, neither should his body. (1 Corinthians 13:1). God also states that division and strife is a result of self interest. (James 4:1-2)
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About Me
- Pastor Yamil Luciano
- I am a pastor and church planter in the inner city of Las Vegas. I teach at Silver State Theological seminary. Currently, I am pursuing a master's degree with Golden State Theological Seminary But most of all I am a Dad.