If you find yourself the pastor of a church in which attendance is low, financial support is poor, and there is little spiritual or numerical growth, you need to ask yourself, realistically and searchingly, Why?
We read often of healthy, vibrant congregations that are increasing by leaps and bounds, venturing out in faith to accomplish incredible feats for God. As a matter of fact, however, ailing congregations composed of spiritually ill members are no doubt much more common. If your church fits this unpromising diagnosis, the first step is to be sure that the condition cannot be laid at your own doorstep. After all, if as pastors we feel entitled to the credit when our congregation is thriving, should we not be willing to assume the responsibility when it is ailing? Often a church reflects to a surprising degree the spirituality, personality, and attitudes of its pastor.
Assuming, however, that the church's unhealthy condition cannot be traced to a glaring deficiency in your ministry, consider the individual components of your congregation. Usually the malaise demonstrated in an ailing congregation results from one or more of the following causes: carelessness, neglect of private devotions, failure to gain the victory over some cherished sin, Biblical ignorance, divided homes, spurned Christian standards, active resentment against church leaders or other members, a knowing and intentional violation of health laws, and, in far too many cases, the utter loneliness of not feeling needed or wanted. By conducting a healing ministry in an ailing congregation you live up to the highest ideals of your calling. To nurse a sick congregation to health and vitality justifies your ministry and identifies you as a genuine pastor. (Beware, however, of the prevalent occupational hazard of ministers in which you see yourself as indispensable the spiritual champion who rides off on his white horse in all directions righting every wrong and restoring harmony.
How does one go about this healing ministry? The first step is to think of yourself as the servant of your people. Jesus Himself, the true Shepherd, the great Healer, said, "He that is greatest among you shall be your servant" (Matt. 23:11). The followers of Christ should labor as He did. Your governing emotion, then, will be compassion. Your business and pleasure in life will be to help people help them move from where they are to where God wants them to be. If you find yourself annoyed by people who make demands on you or by unattractive members you're certainly in the wrong business. Yours will never be a healing ministry.
Home visitation is of vital importance in pastoral work, for that is where the healing process usually begins. Yet it is a work that is often neglected. "I haven't the time to do all that I'm supposed to be doing already. How am I to find the time to visit?" This common lament is in tended to excuse a lack of pastoral visitation. Pastors are busy, no doubt about it, yet some with congregations of 2,000 and more manage to visit each of their members once a year if not more often. It is largely a matter of setting priorities, proper management of time, scheduling regular visits by neighborhoods, and advance planning. It may not be easy, but if you are convinced that visiting your members is one of the more important of your pastoral duties, you will find the time.
As an essential part of healing, visiting is not a mere social diversion; it is a tool that the faithful shepherd uses in the accomplishment of his work. Your primary purpose in visiting must be to draw your members closer to the Lord Jesus, not to yourself. Avoid useless chitchat, criticism, gossip, fault-finding, or self-praise. You are not in the home merely to pass the time of day; you are there as an ambassador of heaven to direct the thoughts to eternal values. This doesn't mean that you must be pompous or formal. It doesn't mean you cannot laugh or be a friend. But it does mean that you will keep to the business at hand. Don't stay too long, tempting though that may be on occasion, nor appear to be in a hurry to leave. No pastoral visit is complete without prayer for the person, his family, his home. All you say and do during the visit prepares the way for this prayer, and few in your congregation will forget that you knelt in their living room and earnestly committed them to the care of God.
Especially seek out those who need your gentle care—the disenchanted, the disheartened, and the lonely. Among these will be the ill, the elderly, the youth, the backslidden, and those with financial or domestic problems or a strong sense of guilt. You will have to visit most often those members who need it most, not merely your officers and most congenial supporters. And you'll soon learn, if you haven't already, how much people appreciate a visit from their pastor. You will see how much you can accomplish in private that you never could do in public, especially since a substantial number of your most needy members seldom attend services.
Exactly what do you do when you visit a member? If you are a new pastor in a particular church getting acquainted with your members, or if for some other reason it's a first call, explore gently. En courage the person to talk about himself; ask questions near to his heart without being nosey or offensively personal. Make the questions arise naturally and draw him out by your interest in his spiritual welfare. For example: How long have you been a member of our congregation? When were you baptized? Who baptized you? Are you enjoinig a good Christian experience? If not, why not? What spiritual exercise gives you the most joy, the greatest uplift? Are all your children in church school? Do they enjoy a good Christian experience? What literature are you reading these days? Do you get the church paper? What kind of sermons do you feel our church needs most? How can I be most helpful to you as your pastor? Allow time for the responses to come out. Everything about your first visit should be natural and comfortable; remember, you are not an inquisitor nor a survey taker. End your visit with prayer. When you leave there should be a glow that will be remembered with pleasure, an empathy between you and this member of your flock.
Subsequent visits will have more specific purposes, tailored perhaps to one of the nine sources of spiritual ill health mentioned above. When a doctor is con fronted with a patient, he must first diagnose the problem correctly, and then he must prescribe an effective cure. Likewise, your success in treating the spiritual maladies of your congregation will depend on how well you diagnose their needs during visits and on the specific remedies you prescribe. When you knock on the door of a spiritually ailing member, it is important that you have clearly in mind a definite purpose that corresponds to the particular needs of that individual.
Some members do not have a clear, Bible-based understanding of what they believe because they have not discovered the benefits of regular Bible study. Your first goal will be to get them to study their Sabbath school or Sunday school lesson. As they advance, encourage them to deeper study. They may also need to learn how to pray beyond the formalized prayers of public worship.
Family worship, according to numerous surveys, is rare even among active church families, and you will find many opportunities to emphasize its importance. It should not be drudgery or a boring exercise, but it often is and is therefore abandoned. Successful family worship may take many forms, but it must always include togetherness and involvement based on an appreciation of God's goodness. Children will find it the best part of the day, when it is done with love and forethought. They will look forward to this close fellowship with their parents and with God. In the case of small children, brevity helps; if adolescents are in the home they should be given an active role. Although it is ideal to start the day with morning worship, any time convenient to all is preferable to none. If you succeed in getting family worship into a busy home you will definitely be performing a healing service.
Another objective in your visiting will be to foster the reading of good Christian literature. In this electronic, fast-paced age, in which television reigns supreme, not many people read substantial books. Novels find a wide circulation; fantasy-feeding literature gets attention, but too few take advantage of the vast wealth of Christian literature now available. You will find those whose spiritual weakness stems from the "junk food" with which they fill the mind, and it will be your healing privilege to introduce them to the soul-strengthening menu of great Christian literature. A word of caution needs to be sounded at this point. Religious publishing has exploded in recent years, and here, as elsewhere, not all that glitters is gold by any means. Much froth, glorification of personalities, and human theories can be found. Encourage your members to feed on that which is of lasting value to the soul.
Another recurring reason for visiting a home will be domestic strife. Here, perhaps more than in any other area, the pastor may be the only human source of help. Each such situation is unique, and you will need to ask divine counsel for each one. However, keep in mind that it is easy to become part of the problem instead of the solution. These circumstances require much skill and under standing, and it is easy to blunder by taking sides, by taking a position when none is required, or even by speaking of the problem to others or in public.
You will sometimes visit parents who do not know how to train their children, who expect surrogates to handle this chore for them. Far too often television is the main source of children's home instruction. The results speak for them selves. You may need to make frequent visits to some homes to give tactful guidance in child training.
Health and nutrition will be the reason for some pastoral visits. Many diseases of the soul can be traced to improper diet and other poor health habits. For these problems you will need to fortify your self by example and by a thorough acquaintance with reliable sources. Some times people secretly violate health laws and develop a crushing load of guilt. Others resent what they consider to be an intrusion of the church into their private lives. They need to learn the connection between physical and spiritual health.
But perhaps the most frequent source of weakness in a congregation is in the area of human relationships. In any church, there are those who are especially sensitive to either real or fancied slights and who are easily offended. Too many church members drop out of active participation because of hurt feelings. Your task is not to take sides but to heal the wounds. Hurt feelings are often a sign of immaturity. Psalm 119:165 tells us, "Great peace have they that love thy law: and nothing shall offend them." So when you're confronted with a case of hurt feelings, what do you do?
First, offer up a silent petition for tact and guidance. Avoid all dogmatic statements, demands, and criticism. You must be gentle, patient, and understanding. Many times a member needs only a little sympathetic understanding to help him see how foolish is his hurt.
Never argue the merits of the case from the other side, as that only adds fuel to the flames. Instead say, "I can see why you feel the way you do. If I were you, I'm sure I would feel the same way." (Of course, if you were that per son you would feel just as he does.) This simple approach nearly always stops arguments, eliminates ill feelings, and creates good will. Having thus soothed jangled nerves you are then able to ask, "But have you tried to understand how the other person thinks about this?" With gentle delicacy, suggest the member ask himself, "If Jesus were in my place, what would He do?" Once it becomes clear that there are other ways to look at the situation, the healing process has begun. Of course, in some cases there will be a legitimate cause for offense, and at any rate you will need to help facilitate a reconciliation of all concerned. However, be careful not to allow yourself to be manipulated by various feuding factions. To carry out your healing role does not mean you must be the mediator of every disagreement that arises. Indeed, your healing efforts will have the goal of educating church members to handle their own conflicts in a Christlike manner.
So if you find yourself the pastor of an ailing congregation, don't isolate your self for fear of catching the disease. Mingle with your members, let them see that you desire to help them, and point them to the One who can heal.
