I'm not a pastor, but I'm pretty sure these problems give a lot of anxiety to one. If I were a person I would stay loyal to the community and try to get some real spiritual ministry going.

I can feel 'im.

A similar post of mine (http://theaestheticelevator.co... a couple weeks ago made similar laments, at least in my mind they are similar. Seems to me it might be wise for leadership to take note of OpenSource's observations and reconsider structure, strategy and so on . . .

It's worth noting, I think, that my generation (I'm either X or Y, depending on who you ask; I fall on the line) is generally averse to institutions. There are some good reasons for this, but getting rid of them isn't a very good answer as far as I can tell.

But the house church IS appealing . . .

I agree with much of the list. I also agree with the sentiment about perfection (or excellence as it is often termed at my church). While I agree that we should do things well, the difference between well and incredibly well requires a cost. It is like the difference in a web server being up 99% of the time verse the web server being up 99.99999% of the time. The cost to make that changes of less than 1% is usually about 10 times higher than the difference between an up-time of 80 and 99%. What it means in the church is that the emphasis on excellence means that somehow we value the large church that has the resources to let one person (or a small team) do nothing except the video introduction to the sermon. Yes it is catchy, but does it really add that much to the sermon. Do you remember it more than the sermon? Do you remember it several days later? There are times that I just wish there were more opportunities to actually serve and work and less to participate. Even the men's prayer group that I occasionally attend, spend 80 percent of the time listening to someone talk, not actually praying.

Summary, I feel the frustration. But at the same time I don't want to minimize the good that large churches are doing.

My number one reason for not being in the church is simple.

In churches today the entire focus has become the building and all it's various programs. There is no concern for anything that happens outside the four walls of most church buildings.

I can sense his frustration. I'm on my 4th church in 18 years.

OT: HDR (the method used by Stuck In Custom and created through either Photomatix or Photoshop) is the bomb!! If you like photography and want your pics to jump...check out the site, download the trial and have at it!

Eric

After nearly 30 years in a church in which 5, 3 & 1 on the above list were true along with judgmentalism, a closed and clubby atmosphere and a dwindling congregation which was desperately clinging to the first half of the 20th century, we left our church. We found a congregation that is other centered, where everyone who wants to contribute gifts and talents are welcome, where it's about the seekers and people in need. We never realized how disfunctional the church we attended was until we found one where it's about Christ: building relationships with him and one another and revealing him to those who do not yet know him.

To me, there are really a couple of issues discussed here:

1. Not knowing everybody in the church.
2. Pastor seeming to want to hold onto control

For the first part, that is the whole reason for the small group inside of big churches. I believe that small groups are the pillars that hold the church up. They are where relationships are built, and in my opinion, should be the main outreach of the church since in that small group you can accomplish quite a bit.

As for the second part, there are 2 sides to this. Sometimes pastors do try to take on too much and their own lives suffer because of that; including their relationships with their family, friends, etc. They do need to learn to lean on others that God has placed in their path to provide assistance.
On the flip side of that, the pastor is responsible for the flock God has installed them as the shepherd of. I have seen first hand where a pastor has a person seemingly on fire for Christ lead up a ministry only to cause major problems and dissension within the body. That falls back on the pastor and causes more work and more stress. I can imagine how that would be multiplied by having over 1000 congregants in a church and trying to figure out how to best handle each situation.

The bottom line is, church is not there to suit our needs; it is a place that we go to honor, worship, and glorify Christ. I don't need a pastor to lead something in the church for me to go out and share God's love with others outside the church. But I do know that our pastors need a heck of a lot more support than most of us are willing to give. There is no perfect church, so quit looking, and help out right where you are. Commit yourself to the body you find yourself in.

Your points of frustration are valid - heres' some thoughts

5. What did he say when you asked him about this?

4. Busyness is often projected onto us as pastors - sometimes wrongly (yes I am a pastor!)

3. Agreed - one man bands are unhealthy but you can have both large churches & new plants

2. Fact of life - your point is?

1. This is bad news - move to Australia & we will get you busy doing ministry in our church!! I'm more frustrated by gifted people who won't take up ministry opportunities!

Thought provoking post - thank you

I think he raises some valid concerns! I agree with what he's saying and thinking.

1. WE ARE THE BODY! we need to all do ministry!!!! not just a single professional, it's RIDICULOUS! we need to work together, but this one man show model is not that !!! !! ! ! !

2. Can't grow close with a large group like that. This is not what Jesus intended! We need community - to grow, to love each other - amen, I agree.

3. yes

4. aren't all leaders workaholics. But I agree, the body is there for a reason, to distribute the work.

5. we all need to be reaching out to non-Christians. I agree.

Top 5 reasons for staying:

5. The Holy Bible's is authoritative - for my church's members, in services to others & in ministry to the lost.
4. My pastors are gracious, with vision for our church's direction & how to get there.
3. Humor, cultural icons (TV shows, movies, songs, gizmos, etc) are used as touchstones of commonality instead of tokens of condemnation.
2. Both legalism & liberalism are abhorred here.
1. The Lord Jesus Christ is uplifted, and His love is palpable at our church.