Pastor, You Are A Work of Art Too.

Is God mad at you if your church doesn't grow right now?

If church attendance doesn't climb or goes backward, how does God feel about you? If you have to reduce the number of kids classes because the children in your church are growing up and no one replaces them, what does God think? Is God's dream for you and your church growth or nothing?

There are many reasons you could be in this situation. You might be compromising on doctrine. Or your community could be shrinking. You might be unfaithful to do evangelism and discipleship. Or there is a waiting period between your faithfulness and your fruitfulness. I don't know why your church is struggling.

Here is one thing that I do know, God wants to do something in you and not just through you. Pastor, God is working on you and that is work that God thinks is worth doing.

In a writing lecture Brandon Sanderson gave to a Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy college course, he explained that writing fiction is worth doing even if you never publish or go professional. He argued that it is good work. Then he said, "You are a work of art too." He argued that writing and art are good not just for money and fame but because they do something to the artist. I think the same is true for pastoring.

Shepherding faithfully is good work and not only when numbers go up. It is good work intrinsically and because of what it does in the pastor himself. I think we need to throw away the idea that pastoring is only good if it is bigger. God is using pastoring to build his church and to build his pastors. How amazing is he? He is glorious enough to work on you and me and not be embarrassed of us. He would lavish his time, attention, and presence to mold and shape one man.

Pastor, you are God's work of art too. Not just your church.