Camp Selah
Camp Selah, A Private Retreat Site for Small Churches and Pastors

TOPICS OF SPECIAL INTEREST TO SMALL CHURCHES
  • Prepared by Dr. Neil Chadwick


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    HANDLING OF CONFLICT.

    Prevalent ideas about conflict management need to be adapted to the special situation and relationships in the small church. An examination of N. T. teaching would be helpful. What is paramount is the need for openness about conflict. Problems must be recognized, called by their right names, and dealt with according to a responsible process. If small churches attract people who do not feel comfortable in larger (and they assume wealthier) churches, these people may indeed be people who, in the society's eyes, have not "made it." These people then will have their own self esteem issues, and consequently be less likely to be able to handle conflicts in the church. Also, the small church may well attract people who feel that their influence elsewhere is not counting for much. They then will find themselves in a church where they unconsciously think they will be a "big frog in a small pond." These people then will push harder to "win", so that they can prove that they indeed do have some power. The subject of unity needs to be explored. What's the difference between unity, and uniformity? What is the latitude for differences in the church, and who decides?

    LEADERSHIP STYLE.

    There needs to be an awareness of the particular kind of leadership that is needed in the small church. This must take seriously the special needs of the small church while not merely "giving them what they want." Hopefully this will promote the idea of Servant Leadership, and include a discussion of lay leadership involvement. A serious question arises concerning the "strong leader" expectation, or the Pastor-centered congregation. What happens when that Pastor no longer has the energy to sustain that kind of leadership, or when another Pastor who does not have that kind of "charisma" comes to the church? Proactive leaders, I believe, can learn to exercise their leadership gifts in the direction of developing other leaders in a team approach, letting that become the challenge to motivate their energies. But it is much more difficult for a "less than inspiring" leader to adapt to that style. The style of leadership adopted should be chosen for reasons that are in the best interest of the church, rather than according to the personality style of the leader. We must be converted to the idea that leadership is not inborn, but a learned behavior. A person can alter their style through intentional effort.

    Proactive, Reactive, Inactive, and Interactive leadership styles should be examined in light of the small church.

    Of Jesus it was said, "He doeth all things well". Perhaps pastoral leadership problems begin at the point of trying to be too much like Jesus! To reword a saying of Jesus, "One thing thou lackest. Go rid thyself of all other ambition, and come edify the church." The one thing that is needed is pastors who will see their calling as a mandate to encourage, develop, train, affirm, and cause to be fruitful many members in the Body of Christ.

    NETWORKING.

    Efforts need to be undertaken that will pool resources of small churches, providing them with information that will help this to happen. However, this should not be limited to doing things together, that is, bringing people from different churches to the same site, although this may have potential. Some form of information sharing instrument needs to be devised to allow small churches to find out what others are doing as well as, on occasion, to see their name in print. It seems that most denominationally based programs mainly celebrate bigness, such as size of Missionary contribution, size of Sunday School, or percentage of growth. Open praise needs to be offered to churches that are doing well in meeting up to goals they have set, or criteria that are commonly accepted. Various kinds of leaders could meet for training and/or sharing of ideas and experiences. Pulpit exchanges could be organized, as well as music programs. Explore the possibility of using case studies to help small church leaders to identify issues, needs, and resources for problem solving. Perhaps an "A/A" model could be helpful: "Hi, I'm . I'm a small church member." Saying it out loud (if only figuratively) just might get the unspoken out in the open. (As if smallness is akin to cancer.)

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    NEW TESTAMENT PATTERN.

    It appears that the small church may find an easier time of patterning its life after the model found in the N.T. This needs to be examined, perhaps using Acts 2:42-47 as a starting point. The seven elements noted here are: Worship, Teaching, Fellowship, Breaking of Bread (sacraments), Miracles, Caring for the Needy, and Accepting New Members. It should also be noted that Jesus's training of His disciples was accomplished in a small group. Also, the earliest churches centered around the home - i.e. house churches. It may also be helpful to look at the seven churches in Revelation to understand what is expected. (Especially note the affirmation given to all but one of the churches.) In addition, clues can be picked up from the Epistles - by listening in on the instructions and corrections given to those churches, we may, indirectly, learn about those churches, and what it was that the Apostles expected of them. However, care must be taken not to fall into the trap of believing that "only we have a truly N.T. church". No church will ever arrive to perfection. But continued efforts to improve must be made. The small church may have an advantage here in that there are not outside voices applauding them, as may be the case with larger churches. Pride then may not so likely keep them from admitting their need. The small church may be more open to evaluation according to the Biblical pattern, whereas the larger church may be prone to self-satisfaction; "how can you argue with success?"

    OUTSIDE COUNSEL.

    Small churches may not have among their members persons who have the particular skills and information needed for certain decisions and procedures such as: calling a Pastor, financial management, dealing with discipline problems, conducting larger evangelistic programs, special musical presentations, etc. However, care must be taken that this help is not offered in a condescending manner. There is a need for sharing ideas and insights, not from perceived 'experts', but rather colleagues. A pastor or other church leader in one particular congregation may have developed certain skills which may be shared with another congregation that is experiencing a need in that area. Emphasis must be placed on underlining principles and transferable ideas rather than details - "how we succeeded in ".

    PURPOSE CLARITY.

    Efforts need to be made to help members identify what are their beliefs about the church, their expectations and goals. Assumptions have to be openly discussed. There is a sense of overall purpose, related to measuring up to set criteria. But also the church may have a focused purpose. (An example is the Cambridge Christian Center's special ministry with Aids victims.)

    RESOURCE IDENTIFICATION AND DEVELOPMENT.

    In order to avoid wasted energy, small churches need to know how to evaluate special attributes, gifts, abilities for particular kinds of ministry. One of the goals of the church may well be to help develop people's gifts so that they may use them in the world outside the church. Care must be taken not to selfishly hold on to developed talent. Church programs should be developed which intentionally utilize identified gifts and resources.

    SECULAR IDEAS ABOUT SMALLNESS.

    Of interest to many in leadership of small churches may be the significant interest in the business world concerning the value of small working groups. It really is possible to learn from others. Just because theirs is not a spiritual goal, it doesn't mean they haven't learned something of value to be shared with the church. Hail the day when the situation becomes reversed, and the secular world looks to the church for direction!

    SELF ESTEEM OF CHURCHES.

    The tendency is for small churches to feel inferior in comparison with larger churches. This is often reinforced by denominational inferences and programs. The result is that they do not approach fulfillment of their potential for effective ministry. The goal is to have an accurate perception of the church, not by comparison with others, but by an ongoing process of evaluation, affirmation-correction that is based on commonly accepted, Biblically based criteria. (An illustration about an archer shooting at the target, trying to improve his accuracy, is helpful here. CT 4-8-88 p.16) Praise of men is not sought, but an inner feeling of satisfaction, feeling that the Lord is pleased with His church. Note the words of approval and praise that are given by writers to the N.T. churches, both Paul's and John's. Equally urgent is to see an improvement of the self esteem of pastors of small churches.

    SMALL CHURCH IN THE CITY.

    It seems that most of the writing done regarding small churches is done from the perspective of rural churches. More needs to be said about the value of the small church in the city. Perhaps we fall into the cultural trap of believing that people live in the city because they like bigness, and therefore want their church to be big too.

    SUPPORT OF PASTORS.

    Small churches need to examine the level and effectiveness of their support systems; financial, emotional, spiritual, vocational (growth), family, and friendships. This process could perhaps be overseen by an area minister, denominational official, or consultant. If the Pastor promotes a climate of dependance on his abilities and gifts (Super Pastor), then the congregation will not be as prone to provide support in return. How many children or teens appreciate what their parents do for them, never mind offer support? The attitude of members in the small church may well be, "We called this guy here to carry us along to a new level of success, and now we find out that he can't carry his own weight. We need to support him?"

    THEOLOGICAL IDEAS ABOUT SMALLNESS.

    Some things to consider are:

    - Metapahor of the body.

    - Covenant meal - breaking of bread.

    - The least among you being the greatest, defined by servanthood.

    - David and Goliath.

    - Gideon and the Midianites.

    TRAINING FOR SMALL CHURCH LEADERSHIP.

    It must be admitted that there needs to be a different approach, both in methods and content to ministerial training for pastors in small churches. While it may indeed be possible to train pastors and other leaders to manage larger groups of people, the question is: Why? Note that the first training class consisted of twelve people. For one thing, pastors of small churches need to know how to do training within a highly relational framework, as opposed to an institutional context. The small church offers the opportunity for training through example, and on the job learning. Candidates for pastoral ministry would greatly profit by having the major part of their training done in the context of the church. Note that most pastors of small churches get there by way of the larger church both in terms of their background and their ministry experience. (The Assistant Pastor finally "makes it", he takes his own church.) One of the issues here is financial, as many students coming out of Seminary have large student loans to begin paying on. What is needed, more and more, is training that will help leaders know how to think as well as act.

    STRESS FACTORS.

    There are many factors that cause a high level of anxiety for members and leaders of small churches. A list of these would include:

    - A feeling of always being on the edge of extinction. This feeling of fragility is especially predominant in a mobile society where a couple of people moving away from a small church could cause a sudden lack of resources.

    - Conflicts which in a larger congregation are generally kept out of the view of most of the members.

    - Not being able to adequately provide financial support, especially for the Pastor.

    - Not being able to provide a minimum of programs.

    - High expectations from members who come from larger churches.

    - A feeling of never having quite enough workers.

    - Buildings that cause leaders to fuss over space allotment.

    - Denominational expectations.

    - Leaders taking on too many roles, causing confusion and burn-out.

    VOLUNTEERISM.

    Especially helpful for leaders of small churches would be a review of principles and methods related to the involvement of volunteers. At the same time, some exception must be made to the viewpoint of the church being a "Volunteer" agency. Are we not commissioned (drafted) by the Lord to perform duties connected with the church?

    WOMEN AS SMALL CHURCH PASTORS.

    It seems that women have been prepared by their upbringing and conditioning to have some of the primary traits needed for successful pastoring of small churches. If business is making room for the growing numbers of women and their gifts, why can't the church?

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