I placed this topic in this forum because I'm interested in a broad response:

What do you think of multiple church districts? Adventists are used to it, but some of my Baptist converts are having a hard time with a part-time preacher. Do they have a point?

I've always been assigned to two relatively small churches over an hour apart. The power brokers in my congregations never agree on afternoon services so I can get to both churches in one day.

Here's a thought: Would you watch Star Trek if Captain Kirk was at the helm of the ship only every third week?

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"He Restoreth My Soul"

Pastor Andrew

[This message has been edited by A. Marttinen (edited August 06, 2000).]

Last things first, I gave up the godless, evolution-humanism based Star Trek years ago when I returned to the church. I am glad to say today that I am no longer a "Trekkie."

About churches that share a pastor? That's been about all I know. Growing up in West Virginia, churches were small, far apart and pastors few. Our district always had from 3 to 5 churches depending on how the district was composed at any one time. Some churches had no choice but to have afternoon services. Sometimes we had SS first, sometimes we had worship first.

Our present church is sharing a pastor with another church about 45 minutes away. The pastor makes it to both churches 3 Sabbaths a month. Something that has helped is the time of church. The other church begins their worship service at 9:00AM, we begin a 10:00AM, not including song service. Our worship service begins at 11:30AM. That gives the pastor time to get to both churches on Sabbath morning.

How to help those who want the pastor all to themselves? Why not go to the SOP and Bible and show them what the real work of the pastor is? (Teach, teach, teach) Then train them to take care of themselves.

Our pastor here has 3 churches, about an hour from each other.
The last one fixed the 'problem', he drafted 2 people to help him.

He has one church he did every week and jumped back and forth with the other 2.

The new pastor plans to be at each of them for the whole day at least once a month.

Guess what that means?

Besides, if we look at the reports, where is the greatest growth located?
In the areas where the laity does the most of the work.
I have read about pastors that take care of 20 or 25 churches , and some of them have even more.

Did Paul or the apostles stay at one church?
That was why they directed the installation of elders and deacons for the local church.

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Is what you're living for worth Christ dying for?

Gerry B.

What I find strange in my experience is that the younger ones in the congregations can handle video sermons, elders reading their messages and all the other things that go with a preacher having several churches.

Its the older members that want a pastor every week. When I leave for Camp Meeting or to the General Conference, they speak in terms of be being away for "months" even though that is a factual and mathamatical impossibility. (It was only 2 weeks--I missed one weekend of preaching).

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"He Restoreth My Soul"

Pastor Andrew

[This message has been edited by A. Marttinen (edited August 07, 2000).]

Review Lesson #3 of this quarter's Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide (Formerly referred to as the Adult Sabbath School Quarterly. It has some interesting things about the pastor, his churches under him, and his members of those churches under him.

In Wednesday's study, July 12th, I read the following:

quote:

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In some parts of the world, the average pastor will have ten to fifteen churches.

Statistics show that in those areas where the ratio of pastor to member is higher (for example, one pastor for 1,000 members, in contrast to one pastor for 50 members), the church tends to grow faster.

This is not to suggest that churches should not have pastors. Neither is it to suggest that the number of pastors in the field should be reduced. It simply indicates that the more members are involved in the work of the church, the more the church grows.

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In other words, the pastors should be equipping the members to do more than they are doing now.

We are a three church district. We normally see our pastor every 2nd Sabbath morning. We take care of the whole service ourselves on those other alternate Sabbaths.

Our members in the North American Division are spoiled and thus lazier and more stagnant. Those in the other divisions are doing the work of the pastor in most cases themselves and are thus more active or less lazy and growing.

Our churches need to say to our pastors, "Go work for souls that are perishing in darkness. We ourselves will carry forward the services of the church. We will keep up the meetings, and by abiding in Christ, will maintain spiritual life. We will work for souls that are about us." (Christian Service, page 171)

Our pastors need to "teach the members how to labour in the church and in the community."
(Christian Service, page 69). In other words, our pastors need to do the work of equipping the saints for service in the church as lay pastors.

Does this answer your question, Pastor Andrew?

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In His Love, Mercy & Grace

Daryl Fawcett

[This message has been edited by Daryl Fawcett (edited August 07, 2000).]

Our pastor that just left ( Karl Tsatalbisidis) said the same thing you just said, daryl.

He 'drafted' me and another member to help with preaching in the 3 churches he pastored here.

Our new pastor is cut from the same jib, only he plans to spend the whole day at easch of the churches every month.

There is no reason for a pastor to be running a 'marathon' every sabbath, besides, it interferes with the teaching the pastor is supposed to do.

If he can be with members for the service and Bible study, he can get a better perspective where they are in their walk and help to guide them in what they need to do.

My perspective, anyway.
You can't get to know someone unless you spend time with them.

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Is what you're living for worth Christ dying for?

Gerry B.

Thank you for these "weapons" to arm myself with the next time someone tries to force the issue.

One of the reasons I became a preacher was that a minister needed a speaker in a pinch and asked me, a student, to cover for him while he was on vacation. I found a gift.

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"He Restoreth My Soul"

Pastor Andrew

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[This message has been edited by Joan Rügemer (edited January 16, 2001).]

He'd need it.

Whew! All that preaching might make him rethink about being a pastor.

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Is what you're living for worth Christ dying for?

Gerry B.

Joan, your idea has actually crossed my mind. I'm just worried that the camera puts on 10 pounds!

Seriously, though, I tried video-taping sermons but I found that TV evangelists use at least 3 camera angles to keep things interesting. I don't think I could bear the scrutiny of that one, unblinking eye staring straight at me.

Here's another story from the Radio Shack Church:

In Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, they actually considered having a live feed of me preaching go electronically from one church to my other congregation. I took a call to Ontario before it could get too much consideration.

The problem there, along with many of the 2-5 church districts, is that local members are finding out what many pastors know--too much work is dependant on too few people. For instance, last week I made several visits where laity are not allowed to go (at least in my community)--prison and a hospital psych ward. These are lonely, must-see people whose job I cannot, absolutely cannot enable the laity to do.

It's a miracle of God that some churches continue to exist with their dedicatied staff, but sometimes reality hits. In Saskatchewan, just before the "nets," church after church were closing down like dominoes. The Conf. Prez. was actually toying with the idea of selling most of our church buildings an members in many communities going back to having services in their homes. It seems, though, that Satellite technology has been a Godsend.

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"He Restoreth My Soul"

Pastor Andrew