It's not such a bad idea to occasionally be forced to reflect and theologize about Christian ministry. As much as I might like to have been nationally influential in ministry, I realize that privilege and responsibility is given to a very few specially chosen by God. I was not one of them, and to be honest, I'm quite glad. People like Joel Osteen, Rick Warren, Billy Graham, Mike Bell, et al, live their lives under a microscope few of us could handle. When one has been in a position of leadership, even in the minor leagues like myself, it is easier to understand the pressures of such high profile leadership. I don't envy those boys one bit.
The question has to do with what I call nominal Christianity; people who claim Christ but not the cross. It's the old Paretto Principle: 20% of the people do 80% of the work of any organization. It's true across the board, which is why the core leadership of any church are running on fumes most of the time. By the way, a corollary to this principle is that at a church supper, 20% of the people eat 80% of the food. I read an article just the other day predicting that the era of nominal Christianity is fast ending as our society becomes not only increasingly secular, but also increasingly hostile to Christianity. Most of my ministry of over 40 years was taken up trying to care for that 80% while encouraging the 20%. Inevitably, unless the pastor is quite intentional about it, the inactive 80% gobble up most of the pastor's time, leaving precious little to give to the 20% who are actually doing the bulk of the work. It takes a brave pastor to say "no" to the clamoring of those who want all the attention but will never pick up a cross to become an active follower of Christ.
As I reflect back over my years of ministry, a few things to which I hadn't before given much thought became clear to me. First, it helps to have been able to spend the bulk of my ministry in one place. Discipleship isn't taught as much as it is caught, and that takes time. It's not a matter of lessons as much as of life; simply doing life together. Two or three men with whom I can talk not only about politics, sports, hunting, or motorcycles but also about disappointment, success, integrity, values, priorities, and faith are worth more in the long run than a stadium full of hangers-on. Discipleship is up close and personal. It doesn't happen en masse.
The people Linda and I have influenced in any significant way were the kids to whom we opened our doors and hearts forty years ago in Alma, NY, the young couples we hung around with in Alabama, NY, and the men and women with whom we've walked through life's triumphs and tragedies here in Sinclairville. Sure, there were sermons preached and lessons taught, but it has been the living together that has made the difference. When added up, there aren't too many of them, but they've had influence far beyond their numbers as they've taken whatever we were able to give them, added their own growth and faithfulness, and multiplied it far beyond our sphere of personal influence.
Then there are our kids. We somehow knew early on what end product we wanted, and what it would take to get there. God blessed our parenting, and the youthful vitality of Park church today is not a direct result of our influence in the lives of the young couples who populate our services. It is to a great extent the product of our kids' influence in the lives of their friends. There are others of my generation who have similar testimony. This kind of discipleship takes a lifetime before the years of faithful (but not always successful) family leadership bear fruit.
Jesus' parable of the sower tells us the importance of faithfully sowing the seed. If the story be taken literally, only 1/4 of the seed bore any fruit at all, but when it came in, the result was stunningly fruitful. As I look back over the years, I can't point to any major revivals, hordes of youth wanting to go into Christian ministry, or loads of baptisms. But turtle that I am, in the end I believe I've beat a good many hares across the finish line, and for that I am grateful.
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