I was at a funeral wake yesterday and I met someone I had not seen in a while. She and her husband attend a mega-church. And all the time we were talking, she was praising the pastor of her church and how great a man he is. I was blessed to hear that she had such awesome respect and admiration for her pastor. When I left the wake, I just smiled to myself quietly. I tell you why....
In the big picture, a toolbox with all hammers isn’t very effective. You can hit nails, pry, and no more. A good toolbox has hammers, wrenches, files, and screwdrivers. It has a drill, some pliers, and plenty of other tools.
We each have a unique God-given calling, but many times we look at some minsters in the limelight or some famous mega-churches and come to think that smaller churches with less charismatic pastors don't count as much. But every church has a unique God-given calling, right? Yet too many of us distract ourselves by comparing with mega-churches. Consider how 1 Corinthians reads when substituting in church terms:
The Church has many different parts, not just one part. If the house church says, “I am not a part of the Church because I am not a mega-church,” that does not make it any less a part of the Church. And if the community church says, “I am not part of the Church because I am not a city church,” would that make it any less a part of the Church? If the whole Church were a city church, how would you reach the heartland communities? Or if the whole Church were a community church, how would you reach marketplace?
But the Church has many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange the Church would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one Church. The small church can never say to the mega-church, “I don’t need you.” The city church can’t say to the community church, “I don’t need you.”
In fact, some parts of the Church that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary.
To clarify, I do think it is good to study successful churches when the principles learned are considered within the context of your church’s unique calling. And I believe that good ministry typically grows churches. However, if you do careful research, you will find that some of the greatest ministries have the smallest numbers. Sometimes small is needed to be effective. Sometimes huge is needed.
I recommend that we study them all. We need to learn from mega-churches, mid-size churches, small churches, community churches, and the rest.
Above all else, never lose focus of staying true to your church’s purpose. If God wants you to be a hammer, be a hammer. If God wants you to be a wrench, be a wrench. Be faithful to your calling and your station.
And every now and then, you will meet someone who is totally floored by what God is doing elsewhere. Just celebrate with them. Then you can walk away and smile at how blessed the Body of Christ is because of all kinds of churches, yours included!
