True, but small churches (including the one I pastor) aren’t just in small towns. And has anyone followed that line of thinking to its logical conclusion? Do we really expect that every church in heavily populated areas will either be big/mega, or sick and dying? Of course not.

I was attending a ministry conference a few years ago, when they did a giveaway to the pastor of the smallest church in attendance. The pastors in the room applauded as the small church pastor ran to the stage to claim a free grab-bag of “books, CDs and more!” from the host.

Wow! I thought. That’s great! They’re acknowledging the value of small churches. Then the host said, “We’re so glad you’re here! We just love helping start-up churches!” [Cue the sound of bagpipes deflating]

I love helping start-up churches, too. But that wasn’t the question he asked, it was an assumption he made. Surely any pastor of a small church attending an innovative church conference has to be a start-up.

True, but small churches (including the one I pastor) aren’t just in small towns. And has anyone followed that line of thinking to its logical conclusion? Do we really expect that every church in heavily populated areas will either be big/mega, or sick and dying? Of course not.

Small churches exist for a lot of reasons. Many are in smaller towns, some are unhealthy, and a lot of them are start-ups. But there are other reasons, too ministry conference a few years ago, when they did a giveaway to the pastor of the smallest church in attendance. The pastors in the room applauded as the small church pastor ran to the stage to claim a free grab-bag of “books, CDs and more!”.

Has there ever been a more stark difference between a servant and a boss than when Jesus stood before Pilate. One man was the boss. We know it because he kept insisting that he was, by reminding Jesus he had the power to kill him (John 19). But Pilate was never in charge of that confrontation.

Even when he sentenced Jesus to death, Pilate was the boss but never a leader. Even the crowd had more power than him. Why? Because Jesus was always more concerned for others than himself, but Pilate (not to mention Herod and Caiaphas) were only looking out for themselves.

One man was the boss. We know it because he kept insisting that he was, by reminding Jesus he had the power to kill him (John 19). But Pilate was never in charge of that confrontation. Even when he sentenced Jesus to death, Pilate was the boss but never a leader. Even the crowd had more power than him. Why? Because Jesus was always more concerned for others than himself, but Pilate (not to mention Herod and Caiaphas) were only looking out for themselves.