excellent list chad. and jim!

Love this list Chad! Thanks for posting. Think I didn’t do most of them and that’s why I didn’t last in ministry! And all I can say to that is THANK GOD! To “succeed” in ministry, one has to adopt the things on the list….

Does all this come about because the church is too identified with the human institution rather than the spiritual community?  As soon as the fellowship has a building you’re into paying bills, keeping it maintained and secure, etc, so you then need an income, so you need people contributing, so you need loyal members, so you need a nice building to attract them…

Katie and Jo, my church has no building and I can tell you from experience that they are more into programs and meetings than relationships. They have nice slogans and signs they put up. They have protocols for all kinds of things. They ask for feedback and when you give constructive feedback they tell you why you are wrong and how you need to seek Jesus more. Complete and utter nonsense and no building.

Starfielder – thanks for the head’s up about house churches! And the beat goes on…

I love this list Chad.  I have to say that when I decided to return to the church in my early 20s, I didn’t know exactly what kind of pastor I was looking for, but I  found exactly the kind of pastor I needed.  My ex-pastor, with whom I’m still great friends, wasn’t exactly what I was used to coming from a legalistic Baptist background.  We met in a school gym, and though there was a stage, he stood at the same level as us.  He wore jeans and t-shirts, drove a 10 year old Toyota, and most importantly he talked to us, not at us.   I can rarely think of the word grace and how it relates to religion without thinking of him.  Being in a church that felt like a small home group was an amazing experience.  Unfortunately he moved on to start his own church in another state.   As I read through that list I could check off the things about him that he did right – the fact that he gave priority to the things that really mattered most.  If only more senior pastors had the freedom to place emphasis on what really mattered, without interference from Church Inc.

Thanks Chad.  I’m grateful for that too.  Had I never experienced that pastor, I probably would still be a non-theist now, but I would have never learned what he taught me about grace and acceptance.  Quite frankly, I wouldn’t be on this site, and I’d have a much uglier view of religion than I do.  Don’t get me wrong, I still see the bad in it, but I’m able to recognize the good that exists as well, especially in the people.  Like the people here.