At the risk of making this sound like a human interest sob story; allow me to tell you about what happened to me recently as I visited a local church and what I learned from it.
My family and I drove the short distance to a local church in hopes to find a warm welcome to worship with the people around God's Word. The first service was a Mid-Week Prayer Meeting and Bible Study. The people were most friendly and we enjoyed the laid back change of pace. The following Friday Evening two men from the church paid us a visit. It was a good time getting to know them. The following Sunday Morning we visited again. Through small talk we found out that they were not going to have a piano player for the morning service and they asked if my wife could fill in. We were more than happy to help. The morning service came alive through the energetic piano playing and congregational singing. The people were excited to see us there and we had some good fellowship together. I asked the Pastor if I could talk with him and ask some questions about the church, polity, and direction. He seemed to brush me off in a polite way. At first I thought it was just me being overly sensitive since I just resigned and left the ministry for a time being as we transition. That Evening service there was a strange feeling in the air as we found our place and prepared ourselves for the service. The sermon seemed to be altered and was rather obvious that he was chasing a rabbit trail. In the sermon he seemed to use the shotgun method and was looking at us while he did so. The words he spoke didnt match up with the text or the flow of the theme of the message. Again I thought that I was being overly sensitive. The next service was a mid-week service and make no bones about it....he was definitely out for blood. He openly stated to the whole assembly "We don't need you here. If you want to ask us why we do this and why we dont do that....you might as well find somewhere else to go. We aren't going to change and we don't need anyone else to come along and disrupt what we have going here. I like us just fine." I looked at my always discerning wife and she had a look of hurt on her face. It was definitely not our desire to change anything. We were just looking for a church to find sanctuary and soon service as we rejuvenate ourselves for the ministry.
I like to think analytically. So naturally, I began to think of how I behaved in my previous pastorate. Did I shun visitors? Was I warm and welcoming? Was I threatened by visitors?
Then I began to realize the truthful report that there ARE those kinds of Independent Baptist Churches (or of any stripe/camp/denomination) that are nothing more than family related country clubs. It will never be more than just a handful of families getting together and playing church. They complain that others are not going to their church but they shun and RUN OFF anyone that would be interested in the possibility of worshiping with them.
Take away lessons:
1. Small churches are full of people who do not want growth. They fight against it with all their might. Unless God moves people's hearts they won't change. The Holy Spirit is silenced and most assuredly the candlestick is removed.
2. Don't scare off visitors with immediate service. Whether it is pressuring them to join or thrusting them into service - don't be talent starved. Church is a time of worship - not of program. Learn to get along with weaknesses and bare spots.
Oh, there are tons of lessons that could have been learned from this experience but two will suffice.
