Small Church Pastor
Coaching, Consulting, and Resources for Pastors of Smaller Churches.
"We have to remember that good leaders don’t miraculously appear
ready to go. They have to be trained, nurtured, and released."
- Ed
ready to go. They have to be trained, nurtured, and released."
- Ed
Ed and Lana serve at the Life Centre Foursquare Church
in Pennsylvania.
in Pennsylvania.
Dave: Ed, you are the Divisional Superintendent of the East-Penn Division of
the Tri-State Metro District for the Foursquare Denomination. Wow, that¹s a
mouth-full. What exactly does that mean, and what are your responsibilities in
this position?
Ed: I serve as an overseer for my own church, the pastors of four other
Foursquare Churches, and two Evangelists who live in the Division which
encompasses Eastern Pennsylvania. I see my role as that of a peer mentor
with them. I don’t want anyone to serve in my Division who would feel like they
are doing so alone or without emotional and Spiritual support.
Dave: On top of this you pastor a local church. Tell me about your church.
Ed: Life Centre Foursquare Church was founded via a church plant in 1972.
Over the years we have had four pastors, including myself. We are committed
to living out our vision statement; Knowing and Loving God, Loving Others as
We Love Ourselves, and Making Disciples who Make Disciples.
Dave: What would you say are some of the more common problems you see
pastors of smaller churches face?
Ed: Number one problem for ALL pastors is forgetting that our first
responsibility is to Love God with everything that is in us. It is so easy to focus
on our lack rather than on Him.
Second issue is the lack of resources. Not having enough money for ministry
and having to be Bi-Vocational is hard. At one point Lana and I had three jobs
between us, pastored the church and were raising two of our four children. In
addition we seem to lament the lack of people resources in the small church.
But we have to remember that good leaders don’t miraculously appear ready to
go. They have to be trained, nurtured, and released.
The third problem is attitude. We all seem to think that bigger is better and
when we get together with other pastors or denominational leaders our
attention is focused on the ABC’s; Attendance, Buildings, and Cash. Stop it! If
you know you are called to your city, and you know that God doesn’t make
mistakes, realize that He is the one who validates you. Let’s face it; being a
Pastor is a blast and there is no better job in the world, (I know because I think I
tried them all).
Dave: If you were starting over again as a pastor, what would you do differently?
Ed: I wish I had known that the role of a pastor should be modeled after that of a
loving, connected and compassionate Father rather than an academic teacher
or media personality. I tried to be somebody else for a long time, thinking that if
I followed after those who were “successful” it would all come together. In the
process I lost my God-given identity and spent too long being a poor imitation. I
would have been more personable and vulnerable from the get-go.
I would have also planned and kept a Sabbath day. This makes a huge
difference in my emotional and physical health. It just took me 20 years of
ministry to realize the importance of this.
Dave: What words of advice would you give to a new pastor just starting out?
Ed: By far the greatest thing to remember is that we are not called to “serve” the
Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, but to love Him that
way. It is really easy to forget that God is merely using the crucible of the
ministry to form a man or woman. And the focus has to be on loving Him, not
on working harder for Him.
The man who was my pastor for ten years told my wife and I on the night that I
was being installed as pastor that if we were going to make it in the ministry;
we “needed to develop a tough hide.” The reason for this , he shared with us,
was that if we did not stay focused on the fact that God had called us and that
he had appointed us in that place, we would be moved by the offenses of the
people we served, (intentional or non-intentional), by the tough financial times,
and even by our own discouragements. Best advice I can give? Be tough-hided.
Dave: Thanks Ed
the Tri-State Metro District for the Foursquare Denomination. Wow, that¹s a
mouth-full. What exactly does that mean, and what are your responsibilities in
this position?
Ed: I serve as an overseer for my own church, the pastors of four other
Foursquare Churches, and two Evangelists who live in the Division which
encompasses Eastern Pennsylvania. I see my role as that of a peer mentor
with them. I don’t want anyone to serve in my Division who would feel like they
are doing so alone or without emotional and Spiritual support.
Dave: On top of this you pastor a local church. Tell me about your church.
Ed: Life Centre Foursquare Church was founded via a church plant in 1972.
Over the years we have had four pastors, including myself. We are committed
to living out our vision statement; Knowing and Loving God, Loving Others as
We Love Ourselves, and Making Disciples who Make Disciples.
Dave: What would you say are some of the more common problems you see
pastors of smaller churches face?
Ed: Number one problem for ALL pastors is forgetting that our first
responsibility is to Love God with everything that is in us. It is so easy to focus
on our lack rather than on Him.
Second issue is the lack of resources. Not having enough money for ministry
and having to be Bi-Vocational is hard. At one point Lana and I had three jobs
between us, pastored the church and were raising two of our four children. In
addition we seem to lament the lack of people resources in the small church.
But we have to remember that good leaders don’t miraculously appear ready to
go. They have to be trained, nurtured, and released.
The third problem is attitude. We all seem to think that bigger is better and
when we get together with other pastors or denominational leaders our
attention is focused on the ABC’s; Attendance, Buildings, and Cash. Stop it! If
you know you are called to your city, and you know that God doesn’t make
mistakes, realize that He is the one who validates you. Let’s face it; being a
Pastor is a blast and there is no better job in the world, (I know because I think I
tried them all).
Dave: If you were starting over again as a pastor, what would you do differently?
Ed: I wish I had known that the role of a pastor should be modeled after that of a
loving, connected and compassionate Father rather than an academic teacher
or media personality. I tried to be somebody else for a long time, thinking that if
I followed after those who were “successful” it would all come together. In the
process I lost my God-given identity and spent too long being a poor imitation. I
would have been more personable and vulnerable from the get-go.
I would have also planned and kept a Sabbath day. This makes a huge
difference in my emotional and physical health. It just took me 20 years of
ministry to realize the importance of this.
Dave: What words of advice would you give to a new pastor just starting out?
Ed: By far the greatest thing to remember is that we are not called to “serve” the
Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, but to love Him that
way. It is really easy to forget that God is merely using the crucible of the
ministry to form a man or woman. And the focus has to be on loving Him, not
on working harder for Him.
The man who was my pastor for ten years told my wife and I on the night that I
was being installed as pastor that if we were going to make it in the ministry;
we “needed to develop a tough hide.” The reason for this , he shared with us,
was that if we did not stay focused on the fact that God had called us and that
he had appointed us in that place, we would be moved by the offenses of the
people we served, (intentional or non-intentional), by the tough financial times,
and even by our own discouragements. Best advice I can give? Be tough-hided.
Dave: Thanks Ed
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Copyright, Dave Jacobs 2008
| e-Newsletter |
Interview
| Ed & Lana Babcock |