I am not quite sure how it came to be, but somehow, some way, somewhere along the line, I became Pastor Yoda. I realized this when a preacher in his early 30s reached out to me to tell me how much he appreciated “older men of God like you who both stand firm and still get things done.”
Life comes at you fast. One day, you are the fireball kid preacher. The next day, people are climbing the Mount of Wisdom to seek your venerable counsel.
For context, I am 54 years old and have been pastoring my church for 27 years, otherwise known as “half of my life.” And, getting calls and texts asking for advice is actually a very common occurrence for me, and one that I do not mind in the least; I have learned enough things the hard way to be more than willing to try to keep others from having to do the same.
Ministry and church-wise, I do recognize what most people would view as success, though I certainly do not take credit for what God has done. Our church started with four people and zero dollars and now has 250 people or more and two lovely debt-free buildings on a beautiful piece of property. We help to support 40-ish missionaries. We have a vibrant presence in the community. And I personally get to travel and preach in many other churches across the country and even in schools and universities.
So please allow me to fulfill my role as Pastor Yoda in this column and give churches and pastors some noncomprehensive advice that you are free to adopt or ignore.
First of all, preach the actual Word — not your opinion, not propaganda, not hobby horses, the Word. Failure to do so cuts across the entire spectrum of Christianity, from the foaming-at-the-mouth “facial hair is of the devil” crowd on one end to the purple-haired, rainbow-clad “God is a she and all of Scripture is about economic inequality” crowd on the other. Our church has attracted a good crowd of people of all ages and races and backgrounds, mostly because both in the pulpit and in every Sunday School class, we open the Bible up week after week, read it, explain it properly and in context, and apply it. We preach and teach through books of the Bible verse-by-verse on a consistent basis. We do not start with a goal and go looking for a verse to twist and contort to achieve that goal; we just preach the Word. When the people gathered together in Nehemiah’s day, hungry for something from God, their request to Ezra was “Bring the book!”
Be serious about prayer; God empowers a church from the knees up. The church was filled with the Holy Ghost when the people prayed (Acts 4:31), Peter was sprung from prison when the church prayed (Acts 12:5-11), Paul and Silas were freed when they prayed (Acts 16:25-26), and a very sick man was healed when Paul prayed (Acts 28:8). Even Jesus, the Son of God and God the Son, constantly prayed. In fact, his prayer life was so notable that his followers, who never did ask him to teach them how to do miracles, did ask him to teach them to pray (Luke 11:1).
Clear truth, especially when spoken out of love, is far superior to fuzzy platitudes. People who come to our church will hear me clearly speak of sin — and name those sins. Adultery, fornication, homosexuality, stealing, lying, abortion, murder, self-righteousness, pride, covetousness, cursing, pornography, and the list could go on. We still call them what they are: sin. But we do not do so out of glee or in an insulting manner; we do so with a broken heart over the temporal and eternal damage those things do to people. And when we do so, we never fail to end with the good news: Jesus died to pay for all of that, and whoever will repent and place their faith in him will be saved, changed and blessed.
Be joyful. I suspect more people are convinced to stay away from church by sour saints than by any other means. Don’t be afraid of smiling and laughing and rejoicing. An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but grumpy preachers and members keep most everyone away.
Be organic. When I was in Bible college, I got the distinct impression (whether intended or not) that I was to leave school with a church mold in hand and then start a church and cram everyone and everything into that one-and-only-correct mold. Fortunately, I had enough sense to put that mold in a drawer somewhere, along with old audiovisual cables that no longer fit anything. And that has resulted in a one-of-a-kind church, complete with a concert-level Hawaiian piano player in his island shirt, a huge Grenadian guy who often leads us in West Indian praise medleys, ultra-Southern duets and soloists, my lightning-in-a-bottle daughter on the bass or electric drums as her mood dictates, and a congregation of jeans and T-shirts all the way up to crisp suits and ties enjoying it all. And as a cool bonus, this organic nature also provides us with the most unique and delicious church dinners you could ever imagine.
Dream big, and always push forward. Paul put it this way in Philippians 3:13-14, “I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Churches that merely try to “hold on till Jesus comes” die well before he ever comes. Churches that always push forward to do more for God tend to not merely survive but also to thrive.
Trust Pastor Yoda on this stuff. If you do not, sorry you will be!
Bo Wagner is pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church of Mooresboro, North Carolina, a widely traveled evangelist and the author of several books available on Amazon and at wordofhismouth.com. Email him at 2knowhim@cbc-web.org.