Introduction I
The Small Church
Lessons From Desert Man
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I think I'll call him "Desert Man." I don't remember
his name. I suppose I could look it up in the church
records somewhere, but the anonymity seems almost
too perfect.
Desert Man and his wife came and went. They were with
us for such a short time. They had moved from the
desert, to the beach. It was a bad time to do so.
They were an older couple, who were hoping to be close
to retirement. He was a real estate agent, and the
real estate market was in the beginning of one of
the worst slumps in Southern California history. The
desert where he had previously lived, had gone through
the same problem for a number of years prior to this
decision to move to the "greener pastures" of San
Diego County.
We invited this friendly couple over for dinner at
our house. Breakfast, dinner, or maybe an evening
desert; it's something we have done with most of the
people who have been a part of the church, over the
last eleven years. In a small church, it is easy to
manage such personal encounters.
We talked about what they liked. We talked about the
difficulty he was having in his business. We talked
about the church he, and his wife had attended in
the desert for many years. As we talked, I remember
being cut to the heart by a comment concerning his
church in the desert.
They started going to this desert church when it first
began. They were there in the stages of its infancy,
and they watched it grow from a very small church,
to a very large church. Desert Man loved the pastor
of his desert church, but there was something he didn't
like about the growth of that church, as he remained
there over the years.
Desert Man said it this way, "When the church grew
large, I felt like I didn't know anybody." The people
this church began with, were no longer there after
just a few years. Newer people cycled through, and
then Desert Man felt like he was alone in the crowd.
Desert Man may have felt alone in the crowd, but he
was not alone in his thinking. Over the years, I have
heard many people speak this way about church life.
As a church grows large, they feel as though the personal
touch is lost. Most of the people, who fill the many
congregations of the small churches in America, are
people who feel just like Desert Man. That's why they
are in the small church.
"When the church grew large, I felt like I didn't
know anybody." These words have burned in my mind
for years. I have spent large blocks of time in prayer
and meditation, pondering and questioning the Lord.
How could one have the best of both worlds - the exciting
growth of the large church, and the personal touch
of the small church?
Yes, I'm an idealist. I suppose that I'm looking for
Heaven on earth. I know that Heaven will have this
dynamic duo - grand scale excitement, and the personal
touch. Heaven will be the best of everything. So,
I would like the church to have at least a touch of
Heaven. I figure that's why we have been praying for
centuries, "Thy kingdom come...."
For every Desert Man and Desert Woman out there, for
every Desert Pastor, with a church full of Desert
People, I have been praying for you, for some time
now. I have been meditating on this dilemma for some
time now.
Others have done the same before me, I am sure. But,
as far as I can see, they have mostly journeyed into
the discovery of how the church might experience the
dynamic growth promised in God's kingdom. It is natural
to want to be a part of the excitement. I too, am
looking for that dynamic growth, but my journey has
started from the other side.
For you Desert Man, I have journeyed into smallness,
learned its painful lessons, and discovered its joys.
I am in the process of taking the better side of smallness,
and making it the norm for church life. This compendium
of thoughts on life in the small church; its joys,
its sorrows, and the model it presents for all churches
is written for you, Desert Man.
Without the haunting challenge I have felt from Every
Desert Man I've met (and perhaps even from the Desert
Man I've been), there would have been no lessons learned. |
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