In hindsight I wish I would have better understood the high cost of church revitalization before I ever stepped into the deep end of the ministry pool. Had I known then what I know now maybe I never would have come to Freeport in the first place? Perhaps like Jonah I would have run away from God's calling on my life? I certainly hope not! "Here I am Lord. Send me!" is the heartbeat of every minister that is truly called into 'vocational ministry.'
The following resources have helped me and my leadership team put our challenging ministry into a larger context: Note this, this, and this. If God uses our experiences to help encourage and instruct other believers along the way that would be a tremendous blessing. May we all press on towards the goal of the upward calling in Christ! Wherever the Master takes us may we serve Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength! As Pastor Rick Holland says, "If it bears His name it is worth our best."
At times I have to remind my heart that it is a mercy to serve the Lord's cause no matter how difficult one's ministry lot may be. All ministry that is truly biblical is costly. If you faithfully honor Christ and seek to uphold the full counsel of God you will experience various hardships. However if the Holy Spirit leads you to a "Corinth like ministry" rather than taking you to "Philippi"" you will likely experience a different sort of ministry. I believe every church leader involved in biblical reformation work has experienced very similar challenges.
I was not fully prepared for the ministry of church revitalization when my family moved to Freeport. I am certainly not adequate for these things. God continues to refine me and teach me and shape me and mold me as I attempt to serve Him faithfully in the ministry trenches. Here is one quote that every pastor and lay leader involved in church revitalization ministry needs to prayerfully consider:
By this point in the book, you may be greatly inspired by the numerous stories of leaders who persevered in the midst of significant trials. On the other hand, you may be scared to death by the high cost these leaders paid to move their churches to new levels of excellence. You have already read of leaders who were dismissed, stressed-out leaders who found themselves in the hospital, and leaders who faced the wrath of those who were once supporters. Unfortunately, difficulties are commonplace in churches that move to greatness (greater biblical fidelity). Sometimes moments of crisis are sensed internally by those who lead the change in the church. Inevitably the crisis also takes place with many of the members. And more often than not, the members who experience the crisis blame the pastor for the difficulties they encounter. Thom Rainer.Below you can read various emails from former church members. I have chosen to include these unedited letters (without any person's name attached) in effort to illustrate three principles:
1) I want you to understand that Thom Rainer's quote (listed above) is very insightful and is often quite true of reformation ministries. "Consider the cost before building the ministry tower." On going conflict (growing pains) can lead ministry allies to leave the same ministry they once so esteemed. Self inflicted ministry wounds need to be humbly acknowledged along the way. At the same time fighting the Lord's battles and making tough/unpopular decisions as you attempt to do the work of church revitalization is at times very messy. You will get your hands dirty. Thom Rainer is correct. The one at the tip of the spear will be blamed and sometimes attacked when those crisis moments in ministry come. 2) I have included notes from different members to further validate that my overall evaluation of the work here is accurate. In the spirit of 2 Corinthians 13:1, By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established. As I open up my heart in this ministry blog I am trying my very best to not misrepresent the story. In other words, many members (current and former) have made these same observations. This blog does not just represent the perspective of one person. 3) To remind my readers that the work of church revitalization is not the work of one person. The "human heroes" of our story are actually the courageous lay leaders of the church. Their steadfast perseverance combined with the essential prayer support and encouragement of many faithful members is the chief means God used (outside Scripture) to bring about the necessary changes at First. Some of the letters listed below encouraged us to press on during those intense crisis moments in gospel ministry.
I was praying for you and your family this morning during my prayer time at home thanking the Lord for bringing you here to this “spiritual desert” and asking Him to continue to give you wisdom and understanding of people. I understand the nature of these meetings today and will be interceding for you dear brother.
XX
"Just a quick note of encouragement to keep pushing forward. Hope the recent attacks are not discouraging you too much. Remember the source that they are coming from; Not very reputable, not spiritual, definitely not very discerning. Again consider the source.
Now if someone like Phil Johnson wrote an "open letter to Caleb Kolstad" on Pyromaniacs that might be kind of concerning. =) But seriously, it's a comfort for us to know we have a pastor that will keep his "hand to the plow" and one who preaches the Word to us every Sunday.
More than likely FBC has been in diapers for the past 165yrs. so it will take time to get them out of them.
I continue to pray that one day FBC will be a healthy church and one that will "adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect" (Titus 2:10b).
Your friend,
XX"
"I just wanted to send you a little note of encouragement. I know last night couldn't have been easy. I was at times embarrassed, angry, and encouraged by what you were compelled to do. But the lasting impression I have is that God is good and has blessed us with a true man of God. I have never been under the shepherding of someone capable of doing what you did. I know last night was difficult, but at least for me, it was a HUGE blessing. I cannot explain to you how powerful it was to see my shepherd expose his heart and reaffirm that 1. he is a man that is 2. submitting in word and deed to the truth of the Word. The humility, grace, patience, and prayerfulness that has been consistently exhibited by you and the other men in leadership has not gone unnoticed. As you said last night, this is an exciting time! God is working!
Anyway, "John Doe" challenged me last night to be more vocal about the good God is doing in our midst and in the community at large. I guess sometimes it's just assumed that you know you are appreciated and loved. That's an incorrect assumption on my part. You have served to bolster me and my family in a time when what we need is a strong, gentle hand. I thank God and pray for you (almost) daily. :-) There is a peace I have in worshiping at FBC that I have NEVER experienced before. Much of that comes from your spiritual shepherding. Thank you for your testimony, your willingness to do the difficult job of shepherding, and your preaching of the Word."
XX
XX and I were talking afterward and wonder if some within the mutinous minority were expecting you to say ‘I’m sorry, please forgive me and I will accommodate your preferences’. That did NOT happen; and when you directed our thoughts toward ‘we have run out of pastors to blame for our inner turmoil and it is time to begin looking at the man in the mirror’ then this will be the dividing line. Yes indeed another line has been drawn in the sand and it is time for some folks to recommit or remove themselves.
The Lord has blessed your ministry efforts in leading us back toward a more biblical model what the Lord’s church was intended to be. The battles along the way will be necessary and yet I believe the Lord will reward us for our faithful obedience to His word both now and in the next life.
Grace to you dear brother!
XX
I thought Sunday night went wonderfully!!!! I am SO pleased we did not get/take questions…..it would not have facilitated the healing process or the working out of grievances…It was pretty clear to me that you had everyone’s attention, and my hope is that people got the message….doing things biblically is not always easy, it can be tough, but it’s right (that’s most important), and THAT is the direction we intend to stay on.
Had anyone jumped up with comments/questions I would have reminded them of the wisdom of Solomon recorded in Proverbs: He who troubles his own house shall inherit the wind……, and that we consider the words we have heard—they were heartfelt, biblical, well spoken….to lapse into a nasty congregational to/fro would have made that the headline of the night, and people would have talked about THAT. My prayer is that instead of talking about it, people think about it and consider what was said…..My prayer this week is that people look in the mirror a bit….
Keep at it….. XX
Thanks for the encouragement! Just know, that you and your family are precious to us and we thank you for bringing the true word of God through expository preaching and teaching and by the humble example you and Andrea lead on a daily basis.
In His Arms,
XX
