I began my pastoral ministry service in 1974 as a ‘student-pastor’ of a very small congregation in the Hoosier Mountains of southern Indiana. I was excited to take up this responsibility – even though I was only a part-time, weekend pastor. Saturdays were spent visiting in the homes of our members and making connections with the youth of the church. We had Sunday School, Sunday morning worship and an evening service. We made our late-night return trip to our home at Asbury Seminary to be ready for work and classes on Monday morning.
Little did I know the massive transitions that would occur before I finally retired in 2017.
I.
VISITATION
My first conference superintendent suggested that I make 40 to 70 home visits per week! He was an older leader and had served for many years as a superintendent; he was clearly out of touch with the reality of the 1970’s cultural climate.
However, visiting did play a part in the way I served my churches throughout the years.
In my first full-time appointment in Pittsburgh’s suburbia, I went door-to-door down the road that our church was located on, inviting people to attend while leaving a small gift and a flyer of information. I can’t remember anyone attending as a result!
I was taken – by two elderly ladies – to visit many former attenders, some of whom lived a considerable distance from the church. I don’t recall anyone attending as a result of those visits.
After spending my first six months teaching our forty congregants how to lead a person to faith in Christ, we were still only a congregation of forty! I was disappointed [the impatience and over-eager response of an inexperienced young pastor]!
The building of a brand new facility [including twelve acres] ideally located in an area ripe for new homes, I knew that we had great potential for growing the Kingdom of God! I stumbled on an idea. The congregation had splintered over the relocation and construction of our new facility. The forty remaining members were left with an overwhelming debt of over $70,000. It was a dire situation.
I began visiting in the homes of those who had formerly attended. After calling first to arrange a visit, I found that I was welcomed by many of these folks. After meeting me and giving me the opportunity to get acquainted with them, some of them began to attend. These were obviously productive visits!
Then, the family connections started to fall into place! In the next six months, the attendance doubled, with new faces almost outnumbering the congregation that I had inherited.
PASTORAL CARE VISITS
I had several visitation priorities as I began my ministry. One was hospital visitation. When I knew that one of our attenders was in the hospital, I was intentional about visiting them. I kept my visits brief and always shared some scripture, left a care-card, and prayed with them [with their permission, of course].
My own Grandma Haire had gradually been ignored by our pastors after she became a ‘shut-in’. This hurt and disappointed her – along with our family. As a result, I determined that I would visit our shut-in’s once-a-quarter and offer them Holy Communion each visit. Although I sometimes – through the years – found this to be a draining aspect of ministry, I kept it up faithfully. Later, as the churches I served began to grow, I trained lay-leaders to assume much of this ministry!
When I learned that members were dealing with major issues, I tried to offer support by calling to arrange a visit. This is when my counseling skills began to grow and emerge. Pastors are a frontline response to people in crisis – plus, we’re free!
CULTURAL SHIFTS
Somewhere in the 1980’s things began to change! Privacy became more significant. I often use the term: “A person’s home is their castle!” to describe this transition. In feudal days, castles had moats to keep others out! This became representative of American culture as well.
Just showing up at the door of a parishioner’s home became unacceptable! Home visitation became less and less of a practice of ministry [although I did continue to visit shut-ins]. I also would call to express concern when I learned that a person or family was facing a crisis. This sometimes opened a door for a home visit.
OBSERVATIONS
From my limited perspective, I believe that visitation is now rarely a practice of the newer breed of pastors. In a recent conversation, someone said: “I can’t even imagine my pastor doing hospital visits!”
The pastor as CEO has emerged from the 1990’s successes of Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, Andy Stanley and many others. As a result, even pastors of small churches are practicing ministry as though they were leading a much larger congregation!
It’s my perception that many of this newer generation of pastors spend the vast majority of their time working in their study. With Sunday evening services now gone, one wonders what they do with all that time?
II.
COMPUTERS AND CELL
PHONES
Somewhere around 1992, computers began to become increasingly available. I received my first computer around 1994, as a gift from two of my parishoners.
Cell
phones began to become commonplace at about the same time. I don’t need to tell
today’s generation about the massive influence this had on the church and its
ministers.
By the turn of the century, I was laboring at the end of every week to put together PowerPoint presentations to accompany our worship and even my messages. All of the church’s records were now being recorded and reported via computer. THE WORLD CHANGED!
I remember working at a large church during this period with a dynamic lead pastor. She became perturbed observing younger attenders using their cell phones during worship. On an occasion, she had an opportunity to speak with a few of them at a luncheon. Inquisitively, she asked what they were doing on their phones during worship. She was shocked at their response! They were texting one another about the points she was making as she preached! 😀
You see, all the changes were not negative! Who would want to go without computers today? No one! They are an integral part of the way that we operate in all the venues of our lives! We’re often reminded that the massive bank of computers that sent our first astronauts into space - are now small enough to carry in our pockets or purses!!!
I recently observed that for the first twenty-two years of my ministry I either hand-wrote my messages or typed them on a typewriter! Those paper messages were then filed in filing cabinets along with the paper research that I had accumulated. Seems hard to believe now, don’t you agree!
III.
MEGA CHURCHES
The late 1980’s saw an explosion of mega-churches across our land. These massive congregations had already existed in other countries. I remember reading before this that the four largest congregations in the world were all located in South Korea!
Eventually, we began to see the pastors that had grown these churches [some names mentioned earlier] become the teachers for all the rest of us who were hopeful of seeing a similar level of accomplishment.
These mega churches were able to hire huge staffs and maintain a wide variety of programming for every age group! They were busy throughout the week with nearly unlimited options available for their members. It was the kind of broad-based impact that could not possibly be offered by smaller churches with significantly limited resources.
Meanwhile, these mega church pastors became more and more highly recognized through book sales, speaking engagements and major teaching events like Willow Creek Community Church’s Leadership Conference or Catalyst – to name just two. I even flew to southern California for a week one winter to attend a Church Planting Conference at Saddleback and a corresponding Church Growth Seminar led by Rick Warren!
Mega church pastors became our models and our teachers – even though much of what they taught was not directly applicable to our smaller more traditional situations.
In time, when one of these highly recognizable leaders experienced a ‘fall’ – usually due to sexual dalliances – the whole Church felt the pain! Massive shock waves and after-effects impacted all of us who were in ministry!
_________________________________
What continues to amaze me is that churches are still following these mega church leaders and models! Many churches mimic their worship styles and structures. Darkened sanctuaries became a common feature for many churches across America during the 1990’s. Initially the reason was to be able to maximize the use of screens for videos, dramas and other effects that were intended to shape the experience for the worshippers. This stands in stark contrast to sanctuaries that were flooded with natural light – often filtered through stained glass windows with Christian symbols embedded.
Many churches operate like small clones of mega churches, singing songs that our people don’t know and developing casual formats that are designed to create and sustain familiarity and connections. However, without accompanying small group interaction and accountability, the people never really become connected to one another through the single 90 minute Sunday worship experience!
Several years ago, I visited a nearby multi-site megachurch for a Sunday experience. When the service ended, I simply stood and watched the people leave. They rose from their theater-seats, progressed back the aisles through the foyer and out the doors to their cars. I observed no interaction whatsoever! These people didn’t know one another and weren’t connected to one another in the least. They simply worshipped at the same church! This was quite a contrast to the churches I served where I often said to people as I left: “Make sure the door is locked when you leave.” They would smile, nod and agree to do so!
And the result:
·
It
is estimated that 15,000 churches closed in 2025.
·
The
number of people attending weekly worship in America is at an all-time low of
20% of the population.
·
Many
denominations are finding it difficult to find enough pastors to lead their
churches.
·
The
Pew and Gallup polls indicate that about 20% of Americans attend worship weekly
at least three times a month. However, a Washington
Post breakdown of America’s faith habits – using data from the U.S.
Religious Census – reports that as few as 5% of the population regularly attends
religious services.
It is not a pretty picture for the American Church and consequently for our culture. The WOKE agenda has clearly infiltrated the Church and is undermining its desire and passion for being spiritually fruitful!
Having led growing churches for forty-four years, I can tell you that leading a healthy church is HARD WORK! I know that we get teased about only working one day a week, but I have log books that document well over fifty hours per week throughout most of my ministry!
A recent survey done by Lifeway Research indicates that pastors are tempted to leave ministry because of conflict in the church and/or burn-out. The isolation in their role and the rapid decline of the Church in our culture only add to the burden of leading a church. I learned to live with a continual sense that my work was never done!
Not too many years ago, I had a conversation with a fellow pastor – six years younger than me - who had recently retired. He had endured a difficult appointment and felt the need for a respite. However, after having a year of “doing other things”, he later reengaged in ministry! This is another example of a pastor who desperately needed a sabbatical, but had to find his own way of getting it. He literally stated to me: “Harold, the only way that a pastor can get a sabbatical is to either have a heart attack or a moral failure.” What a shocking and sad statement!
Those years between 1974 and 2017 were
marked by several other smaller transitions.
IV.
PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT
Somewhere along the way [late 1960’s and into the 1970’s] we experienced a flourishing of the Pentecostal movement that created a lot of controversy – especially regarding ‘speaking in tongues’. This was followed by an enormous surge in praise and worship music that was made available through Integrity Music, Hosanna Music, the Hillsong movement from Australia and, of course, the music videos and events of the Gaithers. Worship leaders became sought after for their skill, charisma, and ability to lead worshippers into the presence of God. Names like Don Moen, Darlene Zschech, and Ron Kenoly [who, remarkably just died as I was constructing this blog – February 3, 2026] stand out in my memory. There were many others!
Although not all churches were impacted by these smaller movements, many were! Concerts by Christian artists became worship events. Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, Cece Winan, the Gaither Vocal Band, and many others followed this pattern by filling large venues with worshippers!
V.
THE CHURCH GROWTH
MOVEMENT
The Church Growth Movement emerged in the 1970’s and 1980’s as a network of church consulting firms, conferences and publications focused on helping pastors develop strategies to increase the size of their congregations. This movement was led by figures such as Donald McGavran, Dr. Wynn Arn, C. Peter Wagner, and Robert Schuller, who emphasized the importance of cultural relevance and marketing strategies in church growth. The movement’s emphasis on consumer-oriented church growth led to the rise of megachurches, with the number of megachurches increasing significantly during this period!
I remember attending the Free Methodist Church’s [eastern area] Minister’s Institute of the Northeast at Painted Post, New York during my second year in the ministry [1977]. We were required to bring exhaustive studies of our church’s attendance and membership trends over the past twenty years. Dr. Wynn Arn was the speaker and he presented a whole new wave of thinking regarding growing our churches. Within the next year, every church in our conference was required to submit a ‘Mission Statement’ to our leadership!
A whole new way of thinking about our churches was initiated that clearly impacted the future for many of our churches!
_____________________________________
I have tried to give a fair assessment of what it was like to be in ministry from 1974 through 2017. I am not suited to speak to the pressures and changes that have occurred or been added since then. However, I can assure you that the pressures have NOT diminished.
I remember feeling compassion for pastors during the COVID-19 Pandemic of 2020. In order to survive, almost all churches had to find ways to broadcast their services for home-viewing. Most of these ended up being poorly done simply due to limited expertise and equipment. Churches that had already been live-streaming their services had a huge advantage with this dilemma.
It’s also difficult to imagine leading and trying to grow churches in the volatile environment we’ve known in recent years. Think about it! How do you grow a church today when Christianity is in such significant decline?
For the most part, churches are radically slow adaptors! This has been the most frustrating aspect of leading churches for me to deal with! To maintain vibrant contacts in the current age, quick adaptors are essential!
The denomination that I have associated with throughout my ministry is facing challenging times! They have recently decided to eliminate [or significantly alter] their pension plan for pastors. Plans are underway to merge conferences to facilitate greater fiscal responsibility. Although this American-based denomination has fostered – through vigorous missions’ investments over the decades – a global community of over 1.6 million members in 106 countries, the American membership has dwindled to less than 70,000 members [4% of the total world membership]!
Imagine the pressure on American pastors to grow these remaining churches!
__________________________________
Lord of the Church,
We who are part of the American community cry out to You
for help!
Your ‘body’ – the body of Christ –
has a desperate need to be infused with a renewed presence of
Your Holy Spirit!
Today, we pray for our bishops, leaders and pastors as they
seek to discern the next generation of pastors!
Lord of the Harvest,
You are still calling willing servants to lead and serve
Your Church and to grow Your Eternal Kingdom!
May those who hear Your call respond with soft hearts and
willing spirits!
May You give them courage to lead from the strength that
only comes through Your Holy Spirit! Fill them! Feed them! Use them for Your
sovereign purposes!
And may we see an army of the faithful fall on their knees
and cry out to You for renewal, infilling, wisdom, guidance, courage and
boldness
as we move into the future with renewed hope!
Raise up a new generation like the men of Issachar -
mentioned in I Chronicles 12:32 – who ‘had understanding of the times, to know
what Israel ought to do.’
AMEN.
