WHAT YOUR PASTOR NEEDS MOST

PART 1

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A few weeks ago I was listening to a seasoned pastor describe his ministry. It was easy to see that he loved people. He had a pleasant personality. He was a good communicator. Most churches would love to have him as their pastor.

The more I listen the more I realized his success was the result of something much deeper than personality or methods. My friend was a man of prayer. But just as important my friend also has a prayer support team.

Most pastors I know begin their ministry with enthusiasm. They love God. They are excited to teach God’s Word, and point people to Christ. They want to make a difference in people’s lives. So they whole heartily give themselves to the ministry.

But within time a serious problem develops. Pastors are not taught to lookout for this problem in Bible College or Seminary. Nor do their best friends in ministry warn them. They simply do not realize that they will soon become a target of Satan. And since they do not have a prayer support team they get machine gun down by the enemy.            

I am amazed at the unfair criticism pastors receive today. The very people they love and serve can bite them. Sometimes the wounds are so deep that pastors and their family members feel that they cannot continue in ministry. So they drop out. In fact, around 2,000 pastors dropout of ministry each month.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying that all pastors are perfect. Pastors make mistakes. There are times someone needs to come alone side of them, and speak into their lives. There are times pastors need to be corrected.

But I wonder what would happen, if instead of unfair criticism, we got behind each pastor with prayer. I wonder what would happen if each pastor had a prayer support team. Perhaps less pastors would drop out of ministry. But more importantly, we would see the church taking more territory away from Satan rather than Satan destroying a pastor’s ministry and family.

The Apostle Paul understood the need for a prayer support team. In Ephesians 6:19 Paul asked the Christians at Ephesus to pray for him so that he would make the Gospel clear. We actually have eight recorded events in the New Testament where Paul directly or indirectly ask for prayer. (Rom. 15:20; II Cor. 1:11; Phil. 1:19; Col. 1:4; I Thess. 5:25; II Thess. 3:1; Phm. 1:22)

Now this is the bottom line. If the Apostle Paul understood the need for a prayer support team how much more do pastors today need a prayer support team. Paul understood that God has ordained prayer as the means by which we together take more and more territory away from Satan.

Years ago I attended the memorial service. After the grave side service the family members met for dinner. The pastor who led the memorial service joined us for dinner. I was delighted that I was given the privilege of sitting beside him. We had a great conversation.

At the end of dinner a short man stopped by our table. He placed his hand on his pastor’s shoulder. Then he made this announce to me. The proclamation was made with love and respect for the pastor.  Now this is what he said to me. “Sunday is Easter, and our pastor is going to do a great job. He is going to do a great job because we pray for our pastor.”

My pastor friend was embarrassed by the over exuberance of emotions from one of his church members. But I was delighted that my friend had a prayer support team. Most pastors I know do not have this type of support.

Let me raise this important question to you. “Will you be your pastor’s prayer support team?” Please think about this for a moment. Today you might be the only person who takes time to pray for your pastor and his family. We know prayer makes a difference because God has ordained the means of pray to take more and more territory away from Satan.

  

WHY MILLENNIALS ARE LEAVING EVANGELICAL CHURCHES

The alarm has been sounded. Millennials are leaving evangelical churches. Some millennials have completely walked away from the church. They plan never to return. Others have join the Roman Catholic or the Greek Orthodox Churches.

During the past four decades evangelical churches have worked hard to find the magic bullet to retain their young adults. A lot of energy has gone into developing youth groups, Sunday school programs, Christian schools, and homeschools.

I am not saying all these programs were a waste of time, money, and energy. Young adults can testify how God has used these efforts to change their lives. But in the end, none of these efforts have kept the vast number millennials in evangelical churches.

It is important for us not to put all millennials in the same box. There are a variety of reasons why millennials have left evangelical churches. Let me share with you five reasons why millennials have left evangelical churches. There may be other reasons, but let me focus of the following five reasons.

First, some millennials have rebelled against the Gospel.

There comes a time when every young adult needs to make a choice. Is the Christian faith my religion, or is it just my parent’s religion? In this case it is wrong to blame the parents or the church for their rebellion. They decided on their own not to follow Jesus.

I sat a long time with Doug. He was raised in a Christian home. He made one objection after another against Christianity. But none of my answers satisfied him. I soon learned his objections were just a smoke screen. He did not need more information. He rejected the Gospel because he wanted to hold on to his immoral lifestyle. He was in rebellion against God.

Second, some millennials have been deeply wounded.

Sally was deeply hurt by her church experience. The leaders of her church accused her mother and other church members of faking their illness. The leadership rejected her brother because his hair was slightly long. The leaders also put down other young adults when there was absolutely nothing wrong.

You might conclude this was just an unusual situation. But this type situation happens more than we want to admit. Some millennials have been deeply wounded by church bullies. No one cared to do anything about the situation. The church was not a safe place for them. So they left.

Third, some millennials have not been trained.

Whether a young adult enters the job market, goes to college or joins the military they are going to raise questions about the faith. But if we focus on making disciples rather than converts then we will welcome their questions. We will also do our best to answer their questions. It’s not enough to say to them-“Just have faith.” We need to help them find the right answer.

When I was a university student I had an important question. “How do I know the Bible is God’s Word?” I am so glad there were Christians in my life who could answer my question. It made a difference knowing that I could trust the Bible.

Fourth, some millennials are surprised by suffering.

A few years ago my son started a business. A Christian lady said this to him. “If you walk correctly before the Lord then your business will be a great success.” I know this Christian lady meant well. But I also know Christians who experienced a business failure. It was not their fault. And they were walking correctly with the Lord.                                                                                                                                                                          

We sometimes give the wrong impression that Jesus will give u a life of ease. But we need to make sure everyone in the church has a proper theology of suffering. Without a theology of suffering a person may be blown away by Satan’s fiery darts. We need to teach that God calls us to suffering, and the Christian faith is worth dying for. (Phil. 1:29)

Fifth, some millennials are surprised by hypocrisy.

It is a shock for a young adult to suddenly discover there is hypocrisy in their church. When they were young their understanding about their church was limited. Now that they are older they can see the conflict in the church. The hypocrisy and self-righteousness in their church may lead them to conclude- the church is no different from the world. So why bother?

Most millennials are not looking for perfection. But when they see church leaders come down hard on young adults, but overlook the sin of older adults, they know something is wrong. And that’s not the type of church they want to be part of.

Conclusion

How should we respond to the millennials leaving evangelical churches? In some cases we need to ask for forgiveness. We also need to better prepare teens and young adults for the future. And we need to provide solid answers to their questions.

But I think the senior citizens in my hometown church had it right. They met Monday through Friday from 10 am to noon for prayer. They prayed fervently for the young adults. They refused to give up. They continued to pray even for those who walked away from the faith.

They understood something important. It is the preaching of the Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit that regenerates a person’s life. (Rom. 10:17) And that’s why prayer is so important. I know of a mother who prayed for thirty years for the salvation of her daughter. God answered her prayer. And now she is so glad that she never gave up. She kept praying.

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