For 32 years, I served as a lay leader at a vibrant, medium-sized church in a college town. Then I retired and moved home to the family farm. One of our first questions was, “Where will we worship now?”
I remembered that years ago, I heard the great American preacher and homiletics teacher, Fred Craddock, being asked who his favorite preacher was. He answered, “The neighborhood pastor.” I loved that answer and vowed to make it my own. I never wanted to be what Darrell Harris has called “a glory-cloud chaser.” When I moved out to the northern edge of Bureau County, Illinois, I didn’t want to spend Sunday after Sunday hunting for the best worship destination. Instead, I planned to get up Sunday morning and worship at the neighborhood church.
Our neighborhood church is not within walking distance, but out here in the country, nine miles is still considered “in the neighborhood.”
It’s the church where Karen came to faith and learned to lead worship. Her parents were married here. We were married here. Two years ago, we started attending here every Sunday.
It has not been easy. The demographics of the county reflect the diminishing of the family-farm: larger farms but fewer children and more elderly residents of the land. This once-thriving country church has recently lost its part-time pastor. We regularly have about a dozen worshipers, including Karen and me. If there are children, they are visitors. I sometimes say that Karen and I are the youth group. During our first year, we held four funerals, a loss of a huge percentage of our small congregation.
In the months after we arrived, there was a different guest preacher each Sunday. The preacher would arrive, choose a hymn or two, preach for 45 minutes, and pray. An offering would be taken and announcements would be shared. The “praise team” was Carol, a much-beloved octogenarian, who had graciously moved to the piano bench when Karen’s mom turned ninety-five and became home-bound. Carol is not an experienced pianist, so she typically provides the key but not the tempo.
Every day, Karen and I prayed (as we still do) for our little country church. And every week, we asked ourselves whether we should continue attending.
We finally realized that we had fallen into the same mindset of those who get up Sunday morning looking for the best worship service to attend. We recommitted ourselves to be obedient worshipers. A year ago, we had a long conversation with Karen’s mom (shortly before she left us to go worship by the crystal sea). She told us that she felt people shouldn’t leave a church until they were called to leave. We decided that we would avoid the weekly wonderings by committing ourselves to one year before we asked again whether we should stay.
My next step was to ask for a conversation with the church board. I suggested that we build some continuity into our worship. I suggested that we add some simple imagery to start our worship: lighting a candle, pouring water, and opening a Bible. I suggested that every service include the sharing of how we have seen God at work in our lives during the past week. That every service include asking each other to join in prayers for each other and the world. That every service include a variety of short songs that we could sing without accompaniment. These were activities in which everyone could have a significant role.
I suggested to the board to stop depending upon the whims of the guest preachers. Since we couldn’t afford a pastor, I suggested inviting only two regular, excellent preachers, each of them taking one Sunday a month. On the two remaining Sundays, we would avail ourselves of Scripture (huge chunks of Scripture) and classic sermons which would be read by one of our congregation. When there is a fifth Sunday, we would have a singspiration, and everyone would come with a song and a story to go along with it.
The board agreed, and two wonderful preachers have emerged. One of them is Jon Gauger, a lay-preacher from Moody Radio. He’s related to one of our congregants, so he’s glad to come for a monthly visit. The other is Paul Butler, executive producer of World Radio. He works his job remotely, so he also lives in this neighborhood.
Why has God provided such excellent preachers for a little, rural, aging church?
Why has God asked me to help with worship design? I’m reminded that Jesus chose only a dozen. I’m reminded of the leaders of the ancient church who were called out to the desert.
And yet I’m reminded that those to whom much is given, much will be required. What is God up to in Kasbeer, Illinois? A year has come and gone, so we will soon be inviting our congregation to gather in our living room to talk with each other about what the Spirit is saying to the church . . . to this particular church.
What does God expect of the mega-church? Or the mid-size church? Or the tiny church?
When the Samaritan woman asked Jesus where should we worship, Jesus told her that the answer was not a place. The answer was and always is to worship God in spirit and in truth.