"But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever shall be great among you, shall be your minister: and whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister. and to give his life a ransom for many." (Mark 10:42-45)

It was the wedding day. My little brother was getting married. I was officiating the ceremony. All the family had come to our house, to either spend the night, or prepare themselves during the day of the wedding.

The hubbub prior to a wedding is frenetic, and tension usually runs high. Everybody was at our house: my sister, her husband, and their kids; my mom, great grandma (that's my grandmother, she's the funny one in the family), a couple friends wandering in and out, and ourselves. It made for a very crowded little house.

During the days preceding the wedding, we had more to do than usual. The whole gaggle of geese had migrated in our direction. Now it was the morning before the wedding, and they were all honking.

Bev did not have time to shop for a new dress, and now it was time to get ready. Adding to the pandemonium, she complained some, about having " nothing to wear."

(Enter stage right) Great Grandma (A.K.A. "the funny one in the family") "What are you worried for? Nobody will be looking at you. You're not the elephant in the parade." Great grandma has a way of putting things in perspective.

The small church is one of the greatest opportunities God has given us, to begin to turn this world upside down.

This may sound like a cocky statement to you. It may seem to be the strange surmising of a young man, or you might feel that I am justifying some weakness in leadership, by saying this. The fact of the matter is, I believe it, and so it bears repeating.

The small church is one of the greatest opportunities God has given us, to turn the world upside down.

The structure of authority in this world, is one which establishes strength for the leader, through the work, and support of those who follow him. The kings through the ages have grown rich through the suffering, and loss of others. Bosses have often required more out of their workers, than they have out of themselves, and then have reaped the benefits. Oh, how everyone seeks to be the elephant in the parade.

God forbid, that the church should look like this. Unfortunately, she does on occasion.

Too often, we do the work of the ministry, and expect the people in the congregation to support "our ministry." The shepherd stands behind the pulpit, and waxes eloquent, as the shivering sheep are expected to shave off their last bit of wool, to let him preach another day, in another land.

We are good at putting on a good show. We have learned what people like, and we do our best to accommodate them. But, who benefits the most from this process? Is it the people who watch us? Is it those who play supporting roles, and end up paying for the show? Or is it the leaders, who grow in stature among the community of the saints through the work, and the giving of those shivering sheep?

Oh, this sounds so hard, doesn't it? I've probably made some of you mad, but my point is this: In the small church there are so few temptations to be the elephant in the parade.

We small church leaders do not have enough people, to support all that we might dream of doing. We do not have a big enough crowd to generate attention in our own county, let alone the nation, or the world.

We are forced into relational ministry, and we deal with people one on one, more than we preach to the crowds. We are forced into frugality, because we do not have funds to keep up with the extravagance of the "greatest show" in town.

Yet, all of this is good. It is good because it requires us to do things outside the Gentile authority structure, which Jesus condemned. The size of the small church alone, is a gun pointed at the elephant in the parade.

In the small church, we can begin to establish a model of ministry which is opposite the world's leadership styles. We can begin to use the principles of Christ, rather than the activities of "The One Minute Manager." We can learn to serve. We can teach others to do so as well. Perhaps someday, we can learn to do it on a larger scale, but if we can't do it small, we'll never pull it off, if we are blessed (or perhaps cursed?) with something bigger.

There are two ways to reach the people of the world. One way is to identify with them, and call them in. The other is to oppose their ways, and call for change.

There is a time to do as the Romans do. But, there are times to oppose the systems of the world. Clearly, the way in which we lead others, is required to be opposite the worldly model. In our leadership, we must call for change.

In our leadership style, we serve, rather than be served; we support, rather than be supported; we give, rather than take. We shoot the elephant in the parade, and put everyone else up front.

When we begin to lead in this manner, the world will see something completely different than anything else they have experienced. Some will like it. They will be saved. Some will mock it. They will be lost.

Oh, there is an elephant in my heart. He wants to get all gussied up, and march for all the world to see. For the last twelve years, God has been asking me to shoot that elephant. You see, He made me the pastor of a small church. Wherever He has placed you, He is asking you to shoot that elephant too.