In today’s episode I want to share some more insight into the story of my transition out of pastoral ministry and into the work I’m doing today.
During a very discouraging and frustrating season of my ministry, I encountered a question that destroyed me.
It came from the book Letters to the Church by Francis Chan:
“Imagine you find yourself stranded on a deserted island with nothing but a copy of the Bible. You have no experience with Christianity whatsoever, and all you know about the Church will come from your reading the Bible. How would you imagine a church to function? Seriously. Close your eyes for two minutes and try to picture “Church” as you would know it. Now think about your current church experience. Is it even close? Can you live with that?”
Problems I see in the church:
- Apathy
- Busyness
- Division
- Politics
- Love of the world
- Lack of spiritual growth
- Lack of community
- Tired, predictable ritual, void of any real power
- Pastors doing way too much work in the ministry
Even though I had a vision for a healthier and better way of doing church, I questioned my ability to make it happen for three reasons:
- I was tired and LONG overdue for a sabbatical rest.
- I had cast the vision for the very church we had built. (It wasn’t fair to switch it up on people now.)
- I didn’t honestly believe people wanted my vision of the church anyway.
I can see now that what I needed most was some time away…to get some perspective…and now I’m in a season where I am going to help a whole bunch of pastors who are where I was.
Links from This Episode
- STBC Free Resources
- Income Ideas For Pastors
- National Rural Matters Institute Conference
- Healthy Pastors Facebook Group
- Rural Matters Facebook Group
- Book: Letters to the Church
- How to UnChurch Your Church without Losing Your Income – [email protected]
Jon Sanders
Jon Sanders seeks to encourage pastors with the message that God delights in doing BIG things in small places. For many years, Jon served as the Lead Pastor of The RESCUE Church, a South Dakota based multi-site church with a huge vision to reach rural communities with the gospel. As a leading voice in the rural church arena, Jon spends his days coaching leaders and hosting both the Small Town Big Church Podcast and Courageous Living Podcast. In addition to his passion for the rural church, Jon also works full-time as a professional firefighter/EMT. He is married to his wife Jessica, and they have three children: Justin, Jenni, and James.