Johnnie Godwin
By Johnnie Godwin
Contributing Columnist, B&R
Stanton, Texas used to have a sign at the city limits that said, “Three thousand friendly people and a few old soreheads.” That sign probably describes most churches to one degree or another. If the church is the size of a rowboat, it just takes one or two to upset the whole boat. As the boat becomes larger — or like an ocean liner — a good bit of the church may be less happy than the majority of the folks know about. But the pastor and deacons and some others know about it. The truth is that no church is going to be equally happy all the time, but joy is the keynote of the New Testament. And joy ought to be the keynote of Christians and local churches. So let’s look at some joy factors.
Happy churches are like happy marriages. Pastor and people begin in love and commitment under God and fulfill their vows. Couples are happy to say “I do” when they get married, but they don’t really know what they’ve gotten into until they’ve gotten into it. As soon as a couple settles down to daily life, realities challenge the happiness factors in the marriage. Mates and circumstances change. In the church, changes occur: pastors, music, church members, and church polity — or how a church governs itself. If churches don’t change, the same old soreheads stay unhappy. But if churches do change, you can count on more folks becoming unhappy. And today, a lot of folks are unhappy in the church they belong to. The reasons are too many and complicated to go into, but they usually lie on both sides of the pulpit.
When a church grows unhappy, bad things happen. If churches fail to take care of the fellowship, more of the members become church hoppers and move to another church. More members offer criticism about the pastor, the music, the education program, how the church does its business, etc. The fellowship begins to fester, and a church can become unhappy. Joy is the keynote of the New Testament, and churches need to deal with factors and factions that upset a church’s enjoyment, unity, worship, and testimony for Christ. The New Testament tells us how to love one another and kindly deal with our differences. Ephesians shows us that unity in the church is critically important to please and serve God and one another.
Consider just the pastor, the music, and the functioning of a church. No pastor is perfect, but each called pastor needs to match pastoral requirements given in Timothy and Titus. Each pastor has the call to be a servant leader instead of the boss of a church — after the model of Jesus Christ. The music tastes vary among church members of similar ages and different ages. No one will be happy with all the music all the time. But all churches should sing music that is theologically sound, singable, and participative instead of just being a performance. Ministry relates to how a church governs itself: namely, Episcopal, Presbyterian, or Congregational. Baptists claim to be congregational, which means each person has a voice and responsibility under God. Baptist churches vary from dictatorships to democracies in how they function. But the overall mix of a church ought to be joyful and host happiness.
Factors that fracture church memberships. My parents belonged to the same church all their adult lives. We’ve belonged to our church for 45 years. I’ve been pastor or interim pastor for a third of my life. So I’ve witnessed why folks unhappily leave a church.
Pastors: Pastors tend to be like quarterbacks on a football team. They get most of the credit or blame on whether a church is winning or losing. Pastors need God’s call, common sense, and preparation lived out in pastoring. How pastors and people feel about each other is important. But even more important is their commitment to God and one another. Neither pastor nor people can afford to have a relationship that negatively affects the church. They need to be friends. I pledge to support my pastor and offer loving coaching when necessary. I’ve gotten that in return from all my pastors. The church member who mouths about his pastor and erodes his ministry is unbiblical. Fix it, or move. And, of course, sometimes an unfit pastor needs to move. Church unity is more important than either an unhappy pastor or a crossways church member.
Music: Chances are the pastor you love and fellowship with will have a partner whose music leadership style matches the pastor and fits you too. Sadly, there’s more conflict and upheaval in music tastes today than in my earlier generations. I don’t know an easy fix when members love a pastor but don’t care for the music style in a church. Music in churches varies from a deadly metronome beat to a monotonous and jazzed up repetitious style. People have different worship music tastes. We all need to be charitable more than critical and try to worship in whatever setting we may find ourselves. One church mostly fixed this matter with different music styles and leaders in different services. Like Paul, it’s good to be all things to all people to win some.
Happy churches are organized and functioning. One evangelical dictionary says that there are three styles of church government: Episcopal, Presbyterian, and congregational. We Baptists claim to be congregational in governing ourselves. How we actually practice that varies considerably. Suffice it to say the pastor isn’t the boss, nor is he a hired underling. The deacons aren’t the board, but they are leading servants. Church members all have a voice, but their “followship” is to be stronger than their dissent. Happy churches have pastors committed to servant leadership and Christ-like shepherding. Happy churches have deacons that “deke” and link with the pastor in servant leadership. Members are also a part of the servant fellowship. And all the church finds its joy in looking to Christ as the head of the church, the cornerstone, the groom, and the one they’re to obey.
Happily belong to a church. Jesus purchased the church with His own blood (Acts 20:28). So no Christian should ever think he is above the church or can please God in divorcing himself from the church.
Ideally, Christians happily belong to a church and commit themselves to serving God in Christ together. Happiness is largely a matter of choice, and so is church membership. How are you helping the happiness factor in your own church? It’s a stewardship matter with God.
— Copyright 2015 by Johnnie C. Godwin. Write the author at johnniegodwin@comcast.net.
