Church HEALTH is almost always associated with pastoral LONGEVITY. Of course no pastor is perfect, but longevity provides stability to a church. A pastor may not be setting the woods on fire, but if he is willing to devote his entire life to a certain flock, that church will be a healthy church. The church is a family and all families need stability. Less turnover translates into long-term relationships.
The average stay of a pastor today is about 24-36 months. That is an extremely short amount of time when trying to provide care to the flock of God and developing disciples because not very much can be accomplished in such a short time. Departing after a brief tenure leaves spiritual orphans in the wake.
When a pastor stays for the long haul you are sharing life together. Over a lifetime he will be with you in fair weather, stand with you in crisis, dedicate your babies, baptize your children, marry those very same children when they have grown, and bury your aged loved ones. He’ll be there to teach and preach God’s Word every week pointing you and your family towards Christ. And should life become difficult for him and his family one day, you will be there for him in his hour of need. After a lifetime of his influence on you and your influence on him, you will have built a lifetime of memories together. In short, you know him and he knows you.
Just look around in our own community. The strongest, healthiest churches are most often those who’s pastor has been there a long time. There is less conflict, the congregations are typically larger, are full of growing disciples, and the church maintains a good reputation in the community. In contrast, think about the churches that are known for fights, turmoil, have scattered sheep all over the place, and remain very small – there is usually a high turnover rate of the both the pastor and sheep. It's not too hard to connect the dots.
Imagine a dentist or physician who set up a practice in a certain town. Then about every two or three years he uprooted and moved across town to another establish another practice. What would the end result be after twenty years or so? The landscape would be dotted with failed or struggling practices and none would have a loyal customer base. The same is true for pastoral ministry - after a lifetime of hopscotch service the landscape becomes dotted with struggling unhealthy churches and spiritual orphans. This is not very commendable for a lifetime of work.
Myself, I have made a lifetime commitment to PCC. I usually communicate this in our membership class and mention it from time-to-time in the Sunday services. In return, many of the sheep in that flock have reciprocated the same to me. It appears that a goodly number of us will be together for a very long time.
I have pastored two churches prior to PCC. Leaving those two churches, especially the last one, was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. There were people there who I had invested my life into, and they had invested into me. It was heartbreaking. So when Renae I moved to Santa Rosa County to start PCC I asked God one thing, “Please let me stay here for the rest of my life.”
I think this is how God would have it.
When a pastor stays for the long haul you are sharing life together. Over a lifetime he will be with you in fair weather, stand with you in crisis, dedicate your babies, baptize your children, marry those very same children when they have grown, and bury your aged loved ones. He’ll be there to teach and preach God’s Word every week pointing you and your family towards Christ. And should life become difficult for him and his family one day, you will be there for him in his hour of need. After a lifetime of his influence on you and your influence on him, you will have built a lifetime of memories together. In short, you know him and he knows you.
Just look around in our own community. The strongest, healthiest churches are most often those who’s pastor has been there a long time. There is less conflict, the congregations are typically larger, are full of growing disciples, and the church maintains a good reputation in the community. In contrast, think about the churches that are known for fights, turmoil, have scattered sheep all over the place, and remain very small – there is usually a high turnover rate of the both the pastor and sheep. It's not too hard to connect the dots.
Imagine a dentist or physician who set up a practice in a certain town. Then about every two or three years he uprooted and moved across town to another establish another practice. What would the end result be after twenty years or so? The landscape would be dotted with failed or struggling practices and none would have a loyal customer base. The same is true for pastoral ministry - after a lifetime of hopscotch service the landscape becomes dotted with struggling unhealthy churches and spiritual orphans. This is not very commendable for a lifetime of work.
Myself, I have made a lifetime commitment to PCC. I usually communicate this in our membership class and mention it from time-to-time in the Sunday services. In return, many of the sheep in that flock have reciprocated the same to me. It appears that a goodly number of us will be together for a very long time.
I have pastored two churches prior to PCC. Leaving those two churches, especially the last one, was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. There were people there who I had invested my life into, and they had invested into me. It was heartbreaking. So when Renae I moved to Santa Rosa County to start PCC I asked God one thing, “Please let me stay here for the rest of my life.”
I think this is how God would have it.
2 comments:
Pastor Ron,
I am glad that you are staying for life. This church is my family, and you do a great job of leading this family.
Ray,
Write me another comment and leave your e-mail. I will then send you an e-mail and you'll have my address.
Your e-mail will not be published on my blog - after I get it, I will delete your comment.
Ron
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