Five Things I Wish People In The Pew Knew

It doesn’t matter if you are non-churched, de-churched or over churched, I want to share with you five things from a Pastor’s heart that I believe you need to know:

Don’t emphasize monuments and maintenance; emphasize momentum and movement. While it is important to remember and honor the history of your church, you can’t stay there. You also can’t stay like you are.
Too often we enjoy living on yesterday’s memories and we fail to see the potential in the fields before us. We are not called to sit in our pews when the world passes us by. They need a real, relevant, and refreshing congregation to speak life to them.

Don’t emphasize personalities and programs over power. In many churches, busyness equates to godliness; the more we do the “better” we are with God. The truth is that busyness could be indicative of a much bigger issue- a lack of power.

There is no substitute for God’s power at work in His church. Pastors have their flaws. Leaders will let you down. That is why it is imperative the church understand those who lead them are finite and capable of failure. The church must be about something greater than the persons leading it.
We may be good enough to pull off some neat ideas or fancy projects but inevitably they will run their course. Man is not good enough to accomplish only what the Holy Spirit can produce and sustain-which is total life change. Apart from Christ and abiding in Him, we can do nothing.

Keep Your Perspective. Maybe I missed the memo, but when did choosing the color of paint for the building become a more passionate emphasis than penetrating the community with the hope of Jesus? I am AMAZED at how we allow Satan to use the smallest, most insignificant issues in church to distract us from becoming a life giving place. Don’t allow the minutia to consume you. Remember, your church has a God ordained calling to fulfill. Don’t surrender that calling to issues that have no eternal significance.

Let your Leaders Lead. Let’s be honest; from time to time the leaders in your church will make mistakes. Keep in mind they, like yourself, possess great abilities to really make a mess of things! With that said, they are still the leaders that God called. Honor them. Even if you don’t agree with them, respect them. It’s ok to disagree and even tell them about it, but do it in a respectful way. Pray for them…OFTEN. Encourage them-God knows they need it. Support them-even when it’s hard. God has gifted them, the Holy Spirit has empowered them, and your church has called them so now let them lead.

Lighten up and Enjoy Life. I recently attended a conference on church leadership and one of the speakers said, “Church should be fun.” At first, I was taken aback by the comment. Church? Fun? But I thought about it for a moment: maybe he’s right. We of all people have the right to be excited…and exciting…people should see our excitement! Not only have we been rescued from death and given new life in Christ, but we have been given life and life more abundantly to share with one another! Yet, many brothers and sisters in the Lord live their life as if they are sucking on lemons. Look, life is short. The world is dying and going to hell and we’re arguing over paint colors? Somebody needs to be excited about the hope that resides within them. Who better to do that than those in the pew that have experienced that hope?