It would appear that the biggest challenge that comes to the district pastor is that of running a practical, steady, and enthusiastic program of evangelism along with giving leadership to the many other promotional demands that need his attention. Most of the time he is caught between the many things he should be doing and the many things he must be doing. He must overcome his own frustrations regarding the constant pressures of his work as well as satisfy his superiors, his members, his family, and last but not least, himself.
The first temptation that comes to the young district pastor is to run, constantly trying to please everybody but never really seeming to accomplish all he sets out to do. He is tempted to sacrifice study time and time with his family in favor of the "work of the congregation." He teaches his church by his actions that no task in the church can be done without his personal attention. The church members endorse this program, since they personally feel less responsible for the work because the pastor is doing most of it.
They bring all the work to the pastor's attention, and instead of being taught to do the work themselves they are taught to keep away from doing the Lord's work. The pastor may think himself a hero or perhaps even a martyr as he humbly follows the demands of the members. The pastor feels he is doing his members a service, but in reality he is doing them a disservice, because they become lazy workers and weaker Christians.
It may seem hard at first for the young district leader to do, but he must lead his members into service. He must teach them to enjoy the Lord's work and to gain the sense of satisfaction in doing their own work and solving their own problems. This does not mean that the pastor now becomes free to become lazy, but it does give him more much-needed time for study, and enables him to spiritually feed his people. He will also have more time for evangelism and more time to be with his family.
Teach the Members to Work
Not every member has the intellectual preparation or the personality to give Bible studies, but surely there are a few in every church who can be taught to do this. Perhaps the pastor should begin by taking with him to observe him giving Bible studies, one or two of those in his church who have the potential. Then there are men in almost every church who can be given the responsibility for the care and maintenance of the church building.
The old saying that "idleness is the devil's workshop" is never truer than in the church. If the church members are not busy in the Lord's work, Satan will keep them busy doing his work. The member who is seldom or never asked to work in the church soon gets the idea that he is not needed or wanted and in reality is excluded, and like the burning coal that is removed from the pot of burning coals, soon grows cold and goes out.
The happy church is the busy church, and the busier the church members are in the Lord's work, the more the church will grow and the more the members will take pride in their church.
Although church socials are important in the life of the members, the pastor should never have to become a recreational instructor to entertain them. If he can teach his church members to be friendly to one another and especially to visitors who come to church, he is doing much to make his own work easier. Articles in the newspaper about the church will increase the members' sense of pride in their church. They will then be more apt to invite their friends and relatives to attend.
Invite the Members to Visit
One way to teach the members to work is to ask every member present at a church worship service to draw one name from the church roster, which has been carefully cut up into families. Have them make a personal visit that week, and as they enter the church the next Sabbath, have them return the slip of paper with the name and address of the person they visited to the church receptionist, with their own name signed on the paper as having made the call. The pastor can then reassign the names of those members who were not reached. This will also give him a check on the effectiveness of the visitation program. The members in this way are taught to visit. They should be told that if they are unable to visit personally in the homes, they should telephone the name they have drawn, and that positively no promotion program should be mentioned or implied, or anything else said that might lead the member to question that the motive of the call is anything else than one of a friendly concern. The call should be brief, with a genuine interest in the person called, and if the caller feels comfortable in doing so, he should tell what the Lord has done for him—perhaps how he became a member of the church, or he may discuss the interests or hobbies they may have in common.
The district pastor must ever be alert to better methods of helping his congregation work for the Lord, and the better organized his methods, the more he will get done and the happier he will be in his work. And as more time is devoted to study, his preaching will improve, more people will come to hear him speak, and greater evangelistic results will follow.
