SMALL RURAL CHURCHES AND CHANGE

People have indicated for years and have even said that the small, rural churches of America are one of the most change-averse entities in our westernized nation.

So many wonderful preachers, pastors and ministry personnel so often throw their hands up and leave in utter defeat and frustration after a period of time. This happens when the people who are members of these small rural congregations continually and contentiously beat down any and every proposed change that has been announced. Then on the other hand so many of the lay people flee from these small rural churches saying they are tired of the pastor bring so narrow-minded, stubborn, and nonflexible in his approach and delivery of the Word. Yes, the lay people are expressing their feelings of not wanting strong strait preaching, but preaching that makes them feel good and comfortable even in their sin, as they come to church.

It does not seem to matter if the change is big and important or tiny and insignificant. The change may involve styles or elements of worship, staffing assignments, outreach strategies, teaching methodologies, Bible translations, furnishings, paint colors, church names, and on and on this list can continue on.

So as a pastor of a small rural congregation I ask, “What is the deal? Why are these small, rural churches so resistant to change?

Small rural church members along with the church leaders seem to always be at odds over so many things that take place in the local church. There is always a member or two that has no respect for the pastor’s call or position and these type individuals or groups will stop even the healthiest of change in the church. These type members become manipulative, demanding and controlling to the point they become harsh, mean, cruel and viciously destructive. These type members become self-appointed gatekeepers of the church.   

When these self-appointed gatekeepers hear suggestions for change they instantly take a stance against these suggestions. Instinctively they set up a defense of the status quo rather than a thoughtful reflection on the need of change.

So very often the other members of the small rural church congregation refuse to take a stand against these who are anti-change and they simply choose to ignore or deny that this problem or weaknesses exist among the church congregants. Thus, they have their eyes closed and they see no need to change, they are satisfied with status quo.

These self-appointed gate keepers immediately began to blame all of the problems in this small rural church on the messenger. It is always the Pastors fault, when there is no church growth. These self-appointed gate keepers always blame the pastor when people leave the church but never give the pastor credit when new people start attending the church. These self-appointed gate keepers blame the lack of praise and worship on the pastor, they also use this type terminology, and we are just not being fed from the pulpit.

These small rural churches often get so wrapped up in nostalgia. Yes, these congregants are possessed with residual warm memories of which so many are only imagined. They literally let these old memories from their past obscure their ability to have the will of God fulfilled in this new day.

I have noticed that so many people who attend small rural churches are literal cowards when it comes to facing up to those who resist change. The average saint will sit back and never confront the self-appointed gate keepers, even when they know and understand change is necessary and they realize only these one or two trouble makers are in the way of progress. The reason this happens is because of so much cowardice in the small rural church among the members, the work of God is thwarted, change is resisted and the small rural church becomes stagnate.

I have also noticed that so many pastor’s and leaders get to the place that they are so tired of having to press, push and even fight to have anything happen in the small rural church they pastor, that they become satisfied just coasting. Yes, these men of God do have a vision and they know there is a need of change, but they have been fought from every angle by these self-appointed gate keepers that they have become weary and they realize they have only a short while left as the pastor of this congregation that they become satisfied coasting and allowing the next generation to have to deal with reaching the vision which requires change.

When we start avoiding necessary change in small rural churches this will hurt the local church for years even generations to come. Clinging to old ways will only continue to deteriorate the small rural church’s influence and effectiveness in our communities.

Because of the influence of the self-appointed gate keepers of small rural churches, the work of God is really not happening as it should. Actually so many of our small rural churches are not affecting or changing the communities they are in at all. They Word of God is not being preached, teaching is not being done, worship has become stagnate and the small rural church is really accomplishing nothing but becoming the breeding ground for bad spirits as our world is plunging headlong toward the end-time with no hope.