For the past year I’ve been very quiet. I’ve not been as vocal about most issues, even being careful while utilizing Facebook and Twitter to not really share the depth of the journey I’m on. Truth be told, I’ve been changing, hopefully for the better but definitely not for the worse.

I still pastor an old congregation while trying to pastor both a community and a city. I still link arms with pastors inter-denominationally to seek God for regional transformation. I still teach seminars on prophetic giftings and learning to hear the voice of God. In a nut-shell, I’m still the same minister I’ve always been…yet something is different.

What is changing in me is my understanding of being both missional and Pentecostal, and how I apply that understanding to my assignment. I’ve found that I’m becoming more like David Wilkerson and less like Rinehardt Bonke (all through my early adulthood I strove to have it the other way around.) I’ve always been good at making converts, so I wanted to be the fiery evangelist who sparks revival in every community I visit…but unfortunately I’ve been weak on making disciples.

To truly make a disciple you have to be a part of the convert’s life…sometimes even before they are converted/sanctified/delivered, etc.

I’ve found that church as usual isn’t making disciples in my city. Church as usual can draw big crowds of already existing believers, and even make a small percentage of new converts (comparatively speaking), but, by and large, church as usual is not helping new converts grow closer to Christ. The recidivism rate in the church as usual would surprise some!

This is where, to a certain extent, I’m beginning to become more like David Wilkerson. My current mission field is what some would call the “Little Detroit” section of Huntington, WV. The new converts over the past year are coming out of a drug culture that has nearly ruined many of their lives.  As a result, our  outreach and discipleship ministries are having to be tempered with a Teen Challenge type approach. We pray for the liberty that brings deliverance while walking them through a relationship with Jesus…not just teaching about it, but showing it. We follow the leading of the limitless Holy Spirit, acknowledging that without Him our ministries are just another carnal activity or program which will only yield limited results.

By this September we will have totally revamped our Christian Education programs for teens and above to focus on discipling those with life controlling issues in small groups. This will be in addition to a mid-week Bible study and Sunday School for the traditional church goer so no one is left out. Our Sunday morning services are Spirit led worship experiences, with a focus on the faith, hope and love that flow in the lives of those who pursue Christ.

Here is the result we are already seeing–hurting people are coming to Christ, finding other hurting people to bring with them and are eagerly anticipating being discipled!  At the same time, God is drawing in believers who want to see God’s grace transform lives and set people free!

So the metamorphosis in me is beginning to become a metamorphosis for the entire congregation. Our longest living church member, a retired Church of God minister’s widow put it this way, “For the first time that I can remember, our church is growing with people from the community…and it is so encouraging to see!”

 

I haven’t written as much here over the past year as I wanted to do.  Pastoring while working with the prayer/prophetic/transformation movement(s) has taken up a huge amount of time, and most of my writings have been along those lines…some of which I may come back to in this forum as well. Yet I want to get back to some of the things that burn inside me for what I believe God wants to do through small churches. The idea that small churches need to be sold in order to make payments on mega church facilities is an absolute mistake. With a nudge in the right direction, these churches can be poised for the greatest harvest ever.

This summer I’ve had to come to grips with four essential things that are necessary to birth a break through with sustainability in the small church.  While I will number these, it goes without saying that my list is not set by priority. Depending on where your church is in each of these areas will determine which one should be the higher priority on your personal list. These deal more with the corporate aspects of the church than the personal aspects of your ministry, so bear that in mind as you read through them and don’t forget that there is nothing that can take the place of the depth in your personal relationship with Christ.

1.) Longevity: Most small churches have been small churches for a very long time.  Often they remember the glory days when Pastor So-in-so took them to the pinnacle of their history.  Sometimes they are younger works made up of individuals who have not shared a corporate relationship for any long duration. Which ever aspect your small church falls into, understand that your longevity in leadership will become a tool of God to direct the future of that congregation.

In the chaotic day and age that we live in, it is difficult for a pastor with two or three years of tenure to convince their congregation to follow the vision when either the pastor or the parishioner believe they may be leaving within the next year or two.  As a result, the power struggles that used to take three years to break through can now take eight or nine years to overcome.  Pastors need to be committed to their call and if the small church is going to break through under their leadership, their call needs to be specific to the community that they pastor.

2.) Link Arms: It didn’t take long for me to realize our church was not the only small church struggling in our city. Praying together, across denominational lines, with other pastors has helped me stay focused on reaching my city for Christ.  The relationships built in those prayer times have provided many opportunities to team up and reap a harvest.  Even partnering with larger missional churches has helped to reshape the perception of The Church in our city.  Now instead of being seen as competitors we view each other as co-laborers.  These churches rejoice with us in our triumphs as we do with them.

There are also countless resources available in every city through different agencies.  While not all agencies make good partners with churches, many (if not most) can and will.  Through these networks we are able to help those in need find the assistance that is available to them with little or no financial strain on us…just a lot of relational equity that creates plenty of open doors for sharing the Gospel of Christ.

In other words, you are not alone.  Don’t try to be a Lone Ranger…besides the price of silver bullets is on the rise.

3.) Love: Most older small churches are not typically known for their love.  They are known for their mess ups and mis-perceptions.  They are known for their doctrines and dogmas.  They are known for their antiquities and attitudes.  Yet what Christ said should be our predominant attribute is at best camouflaged and at worst non-existent. We must return to an unconditional love.  It’s not about loving the sinner but hating the sin.  It’s about loving the sinner in spite of the sin-just like Jesus did for us. If we can not be a church full of love then maybe it is time to sell the building and use the proceeds for something that will.

4.) Let God Transform: Pray, pray, pray…Ultimately, we must be dependent upon God.  It is HIS church, not ours.  Even the oldest most traditional of churches can be transformed.  Often we quote Scriptures about new wine needing new wineskins. We forget Christ’s first miracle was to change water into wine using ceremonial stone pots…he took dead traditions of men and transformed them into new wineskins to bear forth the greatest wine of the feast.  God specializes in saving the best for last, and using the least to produce the greatest.

In conclusion: If seemingly dead small churches will allow God to transform them into being conduits for His love, networking with Kingdom connections, and if the pastors will be called to their communities instead of looking at it as one rung on the ladder of success, then God can and will allow those churches to be a part of birthing the greatest break through since Pentecost, and therefore harvesting the greatest harvest in all of history!

Things are constantly changing around here.

Our youth ministry has been going full steam ahead, and now with a music minister our services are becoming more and more contemporary.

Most folks in our church are very open and receptive to the changes even though there are a few who seem quite content to stay in the 1950′s and think everyone should follow suit. It has made for interesting conversations and occasionally tense situations.

Sometimes it feels as though the church is gaining so much momentum that nothing could stop it. At other times it seems that the slightest obstacle could create a massive collision.

In the midst of it all, I’ve felt like Sarah’s midwife, trying to assist in delivering Isaac while surrounded by Abraham’s antiques.

Sometimes as the speed is picking up I want to pull the emergency break and slow it down to a more manageable pace…other times I want to put the pedal to the floor and fly past the obstacles. Here is what I’ve learned in this process:

1.) If I can control it, it might not be God. I have to listen intently to the voice of God to know His timing…if it’s my time and not God’s time it’s doomed to mediocrity, shallowness and ultimately failure.

2.) If it’s not happening naturally then it’s not giving birth and can do more damage than good…a forced change can be just as deadly as avoiding change.

3.) Let the Spirit monitor the speed. Don’t panic if it’s too fast…don’t give up if it’s too slow. Trust God that you are where you are for a reason and stay there until He says otherwise.

There will be times when God tells you to pull the break…there will be other times when He says to floor it. Just be obedient no matter what He says, and you will get to the goal.

You do have a goal don’t you?

In Him,

Darrell B. Jr.

This summer has been chaotic for me. Hit by a drunk driver, personal finance in a tailspin, the flood at the church…it’s been a greater challenge than I expected. In the midst of it all, one of the things I’ve been trying to work on is a series on unleashing the potential of the small church. While we hear so much about the mega-church success stories, the idea that only mega-churches can be healthy life giving churches is a sad representation of the Body of Christ.

Church growth is something most pastors are striving for, but if our definition of church growth is all about how many we have in attendance and not about how we are impacting our community then I have to question if we are really in this for God’s Kingdom or our own. Even many of the largest congregations admit that bigger churches without small group interaction are not adequately discipling our congregants. As Willow Creek’s www.revealnow.com states on it’s opening page, the question of how many we have “is a good question, but it only measures what we can see. When it comes to the spiritual growth of people we need to get to the heart of things.”

If the vast majority of churches in America have less than 120 in attendance, then it stands to reason that there is a small church dynamic that appeals to the majority of those in our communities. I firmly believe that a church of 40 can be just as effective as a church of 4000…and considering that many large churches started out with 40 or fewer in attendance, I think their existence is proof enough.

What I am hoping to do is establish some parameters, insight, encouragement and admonitions for small church leaders who are looking for a means to understand their potential and tap into it. Some of the topics I’m hoping to discuss are: “A Biblical Understanding of Success in the Kingdom”; “Don’t Limit God”; “Don’t Limit Your Expectations”; “Understand Your Community”; “Becoming A Life-Giving Force in Your Community”; “Connect in the Kingdom”; “Redeem the Time”; and I’m sure there will be others along the way.

Hopefully, with summer winding down I will be able to use this blog to bounce around some of these thoughts. As always I appreciate input, but also recognize that most of those who stop by this page don’t comment, and that’s fine too. I just need to get these thoughts out of my head and my heart, and hope to help someone other than myself along the way.

So, if you want to go along for the ride, buckle in and we’ll see how fast we can get to where we’re going. If you’re already there, any suggestions for the journey are greatly appreciated.

Blessings!

Darrell Buttram, Jr.

I know I’ve been out of the loop for the past several weeks, and I hope to get back in my groove and get to a point where I am at least posting bi-weekly. During this season I’ve been very contemplative. With Twitter and Face Book I’ve been following so much in the community of Christ, that I am constantly inundated with challenges and thanksgiving for what God is doing today in America, and around the world.

As I said, I’ve been very contemplative. I’ve been re-evaluating mission…not the substance, because Christ remains the same, but the paradigm by which I live and minister. I’ve realized that most of my pastoral training, and even some of my missions training, both experiential and non-experiential, has both prepared me for where I am and hindered me in approaching where I am going.

I’ve been taught how to preach, I grew up preaching…Now I am having to transition into more teaching.

I’ve been taught how to counsel, I’ve enjoyed counselling…Now I have to take people by the hand and walk with them through their darkness. 

I used to preach to the churched…Now I am a part of the lives of the un-churched.

I used to fight against un-righteousness…Now I show righteous compassion when I hug the dealer, pray with the prostitute, weep with the addict and share hope with the hopeless…not ever compromising, but constantly striving to always live love.

I used to say prayers…Now I pray. Everything comes out of prayer. Every witness has first been prayed. Every encounter is first covered. The dealers and prostitutes don’t come to me asking for a sermon, they come asking for prayer because they know I pray, and I am helping them to pray. When they don’t pray I pray in their place, knowing Christ intercedes for us.

I used to just go to church. I used to pastor just a church. Now I seek the Kingdom, pastoring a community, being a part of the Body of Christ which is in constant motion, only at rest when the Head says to be still…I am hopefully the feet of the Bride, moving her closer to where the Bridegroom said to meet Him…among the least of these.

I look at this list and think “Wow I’ve come a long way”, but I know I’m only scratching the surface. There are deep issues within me that the Spirit is dealing with, deep issues in my community that need addressing, and seemingly bottomless issues within the congregation that have to be faced. If anything this list serves both as a reminder as well as a set of goals. Tomorrow the mission paradigm may change even more…I hope it will. Today though…well there’s much to be done.

I’m not there yet, but I’m on my way.

Sincerely,

Darrell Buttram, Jr.

Have you ever been so focused on something that you thought was important that you missed something more important? I think about all the times that I missed special events with my kids because I had a conference to attend or a meeting to facilitate. I just knew what I was doing was the right thing, but after missing some of those events with my sons I realized that I was putting more equity into an institution than I was into my own family.

In the same way, I have come to an eye opening understanding of what is important in God’s Kingdom and its contrast to the kingdom work I’ve been so busy doing.

Here is how it came about. I have been taught for decades that a successful pastor is a pastor of a large church. Somehow, if I am to really be a man of God, I have to pastor a church of over a hundred people, and then a church of over two hundred, and on and on until I am pastoring a church with more than 1000 people in attendance. That was the definition of success that was planted in me, and that has been my focus through the majority of my pastoral career. As long as I could show that I was bringing in the large harvest then I was on my way to being a success.

We all know to recognize the Kingdom of God in the harvest, and the Kingdom of God is constantly growing. However, I’ve recently begun to understand that the Kingdom of God is just as much in the seed as it is in the harvest, it is in the individual as well as in the masses! So while I’ve been focusing on the masses, I’ve been neglecting the seed. Which comes first, the harvest or the seed? Until the reapers overtake the sowers, it is the seed which comes first!

Jesus was once asked, “When are You going to show us Your Kingdom?” Jesus responded, “The Kingdom does not come with observation. Some will say it is here, others will say it is there, but in all reality, the Kingdom is within you.” (Luke 17:20-21 The Authorized DBjr Version).

Sometimes we become so focused on showing what the Kingdom looks like in mass that we stop building up the Kingdom within each other. Not to say we should stop building our churches and reaching the lost! But it serves very little purpose to win someone to Christ if we will not disciple them! How many Kingdom seeds sit in our seats and leave without having grown the Kingdom within themselves?

If the average pastorate in our churches is less than three years, then how are we as pastors really building the Kingdom when there is no relational equity put into the seed thus developing a Kingdom harvest that will outlive us?

The last church I pastored grew at a phenomenal rate. Had I stayed, there is no telling what it would be like today, (I would have had to pray the elders through or prayed them on into glory, but there is no telling where that church would be today.) After almost three years there, thinking the new blood in the church would keep it growing, I took the biggest challenge of my pastoral career and moved to WV. Unfortunately after we left, because the relational discipleship in the lives of the new converts was short term, they either found other churches or gave up on serving Christ all together.

So what is the point? Growing churches and reaching the harvest is a desired part of building God’s Kingdom, but more to be desired is the ability to build with relational discipleship. Remember, spreading the Gospel is only one half of the Great Commission, the other half is making disciples!

So if you are pastoring a large church, make sure you have enough small group leaders who can truly disciple; working to nurture that seed of the Kingdom inside.

If you are a small or medium size church pastor, nurture that Kingdom seed in your converts and pre-converts, because it is that seed which is intended to bring forth fruit, and you won’t have to be stressed out trying to force in the harvest. Know that God has put you where you are, and don’t leave it until He is done with you!

If you are a leader within a church organization, stop focusing on observing the Kingdom growth, and start empowering your pastors to make disciples. Help them to realize the Kingdom is not only about big churches and big budgets, but is about making disciples of all men.

Remember we are only stewards of His Kingdom, it is not our own. Sow, water, nurture, reap…but since its His Kingdom, it is ultimately His job to bring the increase.

Almost a year has gone by now since Engage21. I find myself looking back over this year and gauging both myself and my denomination.  Overall I am very encouraged.

• Encouraged by what I’ve learned through the networking over the net, as well as the direction our state offices have taken toward a more missional mindset of ministry.
• I’m encouraged by the new leadership that our denomination has received. 
• I’m encouraged by the refined vision that our local congregation is taking as we don’t settle for “good things” when we can have “God things”.  As I said, overall I am greatly encouraged.

However I still deal with frustrations.

• I’m frustrated with a denomination that promotes membership statistics to support pay scales, even though many of our members haven’t darkened the door of a CoG in ten years or more.
• I’m frustrated with the sharp decline in morality that has crept into many of our churches…not from sinners coming in, but from our members living in morally grey areas with no desire for a greater manifestation of grace.
• I’m frustrated that the CoG is not promoting internet communications as part of the listening tours for the sake of those of us who may not be able to attend, but have real questions we want to ask.
• I’m frustrated with a lack of communication regarding how the “re-alignment” of resources is really going to pan out.

But the best part of everything over the past year is the fact that I am expectant.

• I expect God to do great things in the CoG, especially at Tenth Avenue in Huntington, WV. It will continue to be hard work, but God is bringing us into a season of harvest. 
• I expect God to do great things in our state. Our prayer conference was great and portrayed a commitment to missional values without sacrificing our Pentecostal distinctives. Our Link conference was a plus…even though they’ve had to cancel the remaining conferences due to financial constraints…I’m glad I got to be a part of the one that took place.
• I expect God to open doors in our city to truly heal our land.
• Most of all I expect to win souls for Christ. Sometimes I get so busy with everything else on the pastor’s desk that I forget the real reason I am here…not to provide spiritual Hospice care, but to help build a Birthing Center.  I am looking forward to the drunk that I ministered to tonight to come to church sober and be an active part in our church’s future. I look forward to the addict down the street who sends her daughter to church to herself come to Christ.
• I expect all the seed that has been planted and the roots that have been growing, to begin to show new signs of life above the surface. New ministries, new wineskins, new wine…I expect that which is exceedingly abundantly beyond what I can ask or imagine.

I believe that on the two year anniversary of Engage21, I will look back with great thanksgiving for the relationships that continue to be built, the lessons that so many are sharing with me, and a level of marked victories that will have been attained in my own life, community, city, church and denomination.

Continuing to engage,

Darrell Buttram, Jr.

One of the drawbacks to the modern American church is our propensity for closing churches down instead of retooling them to be life giving and hopefully giving them a fresh start to grow from. The short answer to the question of “can a small church be life giving” should be “yes”, but it can be a relatively arduous task with little fruit over long periods of time.

Perhaps we should re-evaluate what constitutes “life giving churches” in regards to smaller congregations, but at the same time, we need to be honest about how to know when you’re beating a dead horse.

It goes without saying that if you have a small church in a small community that by simple ratio of membership to population you should be able to have a life giving small church. But what about smaller churches in those larger communities that have not been able to overcome church growth constraints such as facilities and parking?

I ask this because having pastored both of these types of churches over the past ten years, and having spent time gleaning from some of the best pastors inside and outside the Church of God, I have come to the conclusion that being a life giving church has nothing to do with the size of your congregation but everything to do with the size of your vision.

I don’t want to be a small church pastor…my church does not want to be a small church. As long as I can continue to cast a realistic over arching vision with tangible marks to attain, then my church will continue to be life giving both when it is small and as it grows. For small churches to be life giving, there may be seasons when winning souls causes an increase in other churches before it brings an increase to your own. The point is that you keep the vision in front of you and your congregation while celebrating every achievement along the way.

Vision does not have to include only property, attendance and finance. While vision should always include conversions, discipleship and assimilation, we should not limit the scope of our vision to just the tangibles of church growth. Our vision should go beyond us, and constantly be enlarging as our sphere of stewardship grows within the community.

For me, the vision that I continue to cast is one in which our entire city is impacted with the Gospel and presence of Christ. On the grand scale this is something with tangibles and intangibles. For our local congregation the tangibles include increased property, new services, new worship experiences, greater community involvement, and increased attendance through soul winning and discipleship. The area I am lacking the most in this vision is assimilation…an area I will continue to work toward.

In the midst of all of this, there is a heartfelt cry for revival that continues to rise. The renewed focus on prayer has been great. The citywide prayer and fasting has been awesome. God is doing things all around us, and prayer has been the key. I believe that as the vision continues to be saturated with prayer the church will continue to grow. Until the growth is obvious, we will continue doing our best to give life to the community around us. 

With this in mind, let me ask you to pray with us:

• Our new focus will be “Pray 75″, a prayer campaign designed to pray for and bring in 75 pre-Christians over the next year.
• We will be launching “Victory Celebrations” in May, a Saturday evening outreach to the urban sector around our church.
• I will continue working with the City of Huntington to try and be a part of the solution to the problems of drugs and violence within our community.
• Finally, it is time to dream big…I am going to be looking into the possibility of utilizing an old boarded up bowling alley, trusting God to supply enough finances to purchase the entire city block that the bowling alley is on as well as retrofit it for a church that will seat 400-500 with ample parking.

So as I cast this refined vision to a small land locked church with grossly inadequate facilities, I pray they will not only be receptive, but will take the vision and run with it…because even small churches can be life giving churches.

Darrell Buttram, Jr.

While I sit here and look at the snow piling up on the deck (again) I’m going over everything that’s gone on since my last post. So much has been taking place inside of me and all around me during the “Divine Experiment”. Here are just a few of the highlights that I will hopefully come back to in future posts:

1.) It was refreshing…like getting saved all over again. I dealt with so much junk that has been going on in me, my home and my ministry, that it is like a whole new me. God’s grace is so wonderful! At the same time I am so intensely aware of areas of my life that God is working on that I feel drawn to going through the process all over again.

2.) It was revolutionary…seven churches coming together daily for prayer. Testimonies of what God has done are continuing to come in. Healings, employment, deliverance, family restorations…awesome stuff. Now we are transitioning to weekly prayer times to keep the united nature of this movement going, and looking to invite other churches to join in.

3.) It was renovative…God took my plans and dreams and began to dismantle them so He could give me clearer vision for my life, family, ministry and church. As a result, our ministry team has a new focus. In May we will kick off a new service designed specifically for the un-churched within our community; not a program but a real mission.

4.) It was real…not just a “let’s pray” meeting but a “let’s get together with God and see what He does” encounter.

In addition to the awesome experiences of the experiment, there are so many other things taking place with the folks at Tenth Avenue CoG, and the community around us:

1.) Our youthdepartment is growing rapidly…and the community is responding. We are looking at sending several youth to Winterfest for the first time in six years. We are also hoping to send as many kids as possible from the neighborhood to youth camp, and our STAND OUT drama/dance team is beginning to move out from behind the church walls.

2.) While most churches in our area are showing declining finances our church is doing the best financially that is has done in at least five years…not yet enough to increase our payroll, but we are getting close. There is increasing momentum toward ministry.

3.) The Federal Weed and Seed program is moving forward. I met with the local director and one sub-committee today. 25 agencies and organizations came together to begin a network for supporting community improvement. A week from tomorrow I will have my first meeting as a part of the steering/oversight committee. $1 Million to help us turn the tide in the “war” on drugs…which isn’t anything like what Nancy Reagan used to tell us.

All in all there is an expectancy in the air. Something is shifting, and I’m shifting with it. The very atmosphere is changing and I’m getting so excited! I’m like a 5 year old on Christmas morning!

God is just so…wow…awesome!

Darrell Buttram, Jr.

Today I took part in my third annual Cabell County Drug Summit, combining numerous agencies and outreaches that are trying to tackle the problems of drug addiction and the violence associated with it.

Today’s primary focus was prescription drug abuse. We learned that the problem is huge in WV (5th largest in the nation) and we learned many of the reasons that perpetuate the problem. For instance keeping pain killers in a family medicine cabinet that is unlocked with children in the house. All in all it was very informative.

I was a little concerned that there was so little participation from the faith leaders in the community. Then when I began hearing the reports from each of the roundtable discussions, I was surprised that many of those at the tables brought up issues of faith and the involvement of churches.

Three years ago, the faith community was off to itself, disconnected from most of the forefront in the war on drugs. Now it seems that the faith community has become intertwined on several levels with the agencies that are leading in the fight. For this I am truly grateful. Yet, there were only a handful of churches that had official representation at the event. What surprised me more was that this years speakers didn’t seem to be real favorable toward churches…possibly because of the defensive attitude of one clergyman early on in the seminar.

I wonder if pastors are becoming dis-enchanted with the secular models of treatment and would much rather preach about the problem than get involved with being a part of the solution.

I wonder if I can retool some of my networks to address the problem.

I wonder if I’m really ready for the next level.

The challenge for everyone in attendance was great, but I feel that the challenge for faith communities is perhaps greatest. In this next year will we come together to help solve the problem, or will we continue our backwards slide into the abyss of apathy that has held the church back from really making a difference?

One thing that is for certain is I must one up my commitment level. I need to do more to help and do all I can to not hinder. I also need to find a way to bridge some obvious gaps in this exchange of ideas. Some of the faith community walked away from the table today, saying the separation between church and state was too great to continue. Not me. I believe that as the church continues to become involved in the various agencies that already exist and we begin to uplift each others outreaches while working in our own fields that God will honor our efforts and bless all levels of this conflict.

No matter what, we can’t give up. With 90% of my church’s youth being directly affected by illicit drugs I can ‘t give up. With my kids growing up in this community I can’t give up. For the sake of the Kingdom of God, I can’t give up…and I won’t.

DBjr