Church Mistakes

Dear Victorious,

I'm in seminary and plan to be a church pastor for my lifelong profession. What mistakes do churches typically make that I should be aware of if I'm going to be successful as a pastor?

Gerald R. - Dallas, TX

Dear Gerald,

There are lots of mistakes that churches make. What are the biggest or the most important is maybe the better way to ask that question. But before I answer it, I have a question for you. How do you define being "successful as a pastor?"

The answer to that question is where I think most pastors get it wrong. Pastors are called to tend sheep - not attract large numbers of them. Pastors are called to grow sheep - not entertain or satisfy them. Pastors are called to lead and love sheep - not to write books or build a career as a motivational speaker.

So what are the most serious (and common) mistakes that churches (and their leaders) make? Here are just a few that come to mind.

1. Not loving the sheep. People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. So you can be a really great preacher - but if you're not also a really great lover, your sermons will just be noise. (Of course to love someone means to be in relationship with them.)

2. Focusing on the numbers. Large numbers of people can be the result of the spiritual growth in a church. But they are not the measure of spiritual growth in a church. Indeed some of the most spiritually immature churches can also be the largest.

3. Expecting the people in the church to "take responsibility" for their own spiritual growth. Sheep cannot teach themselves. They cannot clean themselves. They can actually do precious little for themselves. They must be very intentionally led and cared for.

4. Not spending enough time in prayer. Jesus Christ is the head of the church. Pastors are called to speak for Him and to do His work. It is impossible to serve that agenda if you are not constantly focused on that agenda (Christ's will). Too often churches have meetings to talk about problems or set goals and objectives. But the most important of such meetings is the one we have with God.

5. Focusing on the money. Too often we think that if the church is not in financial distress that everything is okay. Fiscal stability is not the measure of a healthy church. In fact, some of the most wealthy churches can also be some of the most lame and ineffective.

You can see that this list is robust. I could probably go on, but these are some of the most common and important (mistakes of churches) that come to mind.