Pastor's Life - The Call

Whether your church is mega or small, the call and the work matter the same by Rev. Lorenzo Small, Sr. A CNN article was recently sent to me regarding the success of a mega church in Atlanta that I will not name. The premise of the article was that this pastor has figured out how to reach young people in the thousands, while highlighting the continued failure of the mainline church in America. The article actually names the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) as one of those failing denominations. Now, before I write the rest of this devotion, let me say that we, disciples of Jesus Christ, celebrate wherever God is at work and persons are being reached with the glorious gospel of Jesus regardless of size and denomination. However, I refute any notion that says God is only at work in these mega places. Furthermore, I refute any teaching that says unless we employ a particular strategy, we are doomed for failure. So today, I write to encourage and warn us one-talent pastors, that is, pastors who serve in communities like mine, Battle Creek, MI. Pastors who serve in places where the membership of these mega churches exceeds the population of your entire city. I am writing to us lest we become discouraged and, like the unprofitable servant in Matthew 25:14–30, fail to take seriously the call God/Jesus has given to us to be just as productive in our small places as our brothers and sisters in these big places.

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Rev. Lorenzo Small serves as Lead Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Battle Creek, Michigan. He is a graduate of North Carolina A & T State University where he studied Finance. Following graduation, he moved to St. Paul, Minn., where he worked for a number of years in the corporate world (for such companies as 3M Corporation and Eli Lilly). While there, he felt the call to the ministry and was ordained as a Baptist minister. Following graduation from Union Presbyterian Seminary he was ordained and installed as pastor of Pleasant Ridge Presbyterian Church of Lancaster, S.C. Rev. Small is a board member of the Foundation for Reformed Theology. He previously served as pastor of First United Presbyterian Church of Charlotte, N.C.

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