8/10/2020 By Larry Barker
Is it possible to stay at a church too long? Yes it is, but it is probably more of a temptation to leave too quickly. There are certain signals about the length of your tenure where God has placed you. If God gives you a clear sign that it is time to leave then you must be obedient to His leadership but make sure it is God speaking and not difficulties, criticism, or conflict. There will always be challenges in ministry but God needs us to lead through those times and not run from them. Have you accomplished what God called you there for?
Last weeks article discussed 4 traps (Maintenance-Only, Heart-Loss, Vision-Hijack, and the Discouragement-Pit) and now we will address four more. These traps must not be ignored but rather must be faced by going to the scriptures, listening to the Holy Spirit, and seeking wise Godly counsel. There will be valleys and low-points in the ministry and they are to be expected. How will you or your church ever learn to work through the difficult times if every time there is a conflict the pastor leaves and the problem remains unresolved?
The fifth trap a leader is tempted to fall into is the “Bitterness-Landmine.” This is where conflict hardens you instead of maturing you. You must guard your heart to make sure it remains tender while maintaining a thick skin at the same time. Being passionate about living for Christ is a good thing but passionate people will have minor disagreements that can become major conflicts. How you handle conflict will determine the personality of the church. A healthy church must embrace healthy tension and a difference of opinion must be valued.
Just because someone disagrees with you does not mean they are your enemy. Make sure you communicate well with them, pray with them, and strive to know their heart instead of trying to read their motives. Bitterness takes root when you become an unfinished issues church. This is where suspicion and resentment flourishes in the shadows. Eventually unfinished issues begin to build walls and it causes your church to choose teams and to square off against one another on those issues. Practice biblical confrontation by speaking the truth in love.
The next is the “Pedestal” trap where you begin believing and listening too much to the praise people give you. When you allow yourself to be placed on a pedestal you are in danger of thinking that you are responsible for the success of your church. This would be a good time to check in on I Corinthians 3. You may plant and someone else may water but it is God who gives the increase. The other challenge is to make sure you do not base your worth on how “successful” the church is but rather on how much God loves you!
If you give in to the pedestal trap you will either be corrupted by the applause or crushed by the criticism. One leader has said that the greatest challenge of a leader is to refuse to lead. It means that you are constantly aware that Jesus is the leader, not you. He is the Head of your church, He is your leader and you are challenging everyone to follow Him. This little reminder helps you to never forget who is really in charge. Your calling is to equip and empower with a strong belief in the priesthood of the believer. Don’t just preach it; practice it.
That “leads” us, pun intended, into the “Leadership-Development” trap. This is where you adopt a free-agency mentality instead of a farm system by primarily looking to other churches to supply leaders for you. The alternative is developing a leadership pipeline that is the natural outflow of your discipleship pathway. This requires remaining focused on and dedicated to growing new converts to become key leaders a year or two from now. What do you need to begin doing today in the area of leadership development in order to have more leaders tomorrow?
Then there is the “Tradition” trap when you allow traditions you have built to steer you in the wrong direction (Matthew 9:16-17). Every group builds traditions and those traditions shape the personality and focus of your church. There are good and bad traditions but you must be aware that they can be dangerous. When you do not build any traditions the church will suffer from an underdeveloped personality but building too many can freeze the church and put her in a maintenance only mode by protecting a tradition more than living on mission.
The greatest danger is allowing traditions to remain that are contrary to the mission, vision, and values of the church. This becomes apparent when the tradition is valued over necessary change. This can be true even when the tradition is not clearly stated in the scriptures nor is it helping to produce and make disciples as Christ instructed. In Planting Missional Churches, Ed Stetzer and Daniel Im say, “God used the mega-church to reach Korea and the house church to reach China. The lesson here is to hold models loosely and the gospel firmly.”
Should you stay or should you go? There is no formula except seeking His face and listening to His leadership. Stay and work through the difficulties, conflicts, and stay away from these traps. My prayer is that you will have a long pastorate that produces mature and missional disciples. Let the Bible be your guide and remain sensitive to following the leadership of the Holy Spirit.