A key challenge that pastors are grappling with is how to rekindle and deepen authentic community in our people. Recently a pastor shared with me about a couple who returned to in-person gatherings after over a year away. They looked like they had been through a war. Weariness was right at the surface.
We all agree: corporate worship and faithful fellowship are not just programs of the church. They are our DNA (See Acts 2). But there is a critical dimension we should not miss: pastors need community.
We are emerging from an era of independence. Autonomy has too often been worn as a badge of honor. The "non-denom" generation was an earnest response to increasingly tribal and ineffective old-guard denominationalism.
Make no mistake: the local church continues to be God's plan A to change the world. But what wise leaders understand is that the autonomy of our polity is not an excuse for walking alone as a pastor and church.
This is why I am honored and passionate to serve Converge Northeast. We a network of autonomous and interdependent churches working together to transform lives and communities by multiplying believers and churches. No church has it all figured out. No pastor is perfect. All of us need each other.
Lone ranger pastors will be the first to fall out, burn out, or fail out. Pastors and ministry leaders: we need each other. We need faithful friends, helpful advocates, wise mentors, and missional co-laborers. We need to humbly model what we are preaching. You do not need to fight alone.
If you are a ministry leader and are looking for help please reach out to me at andy@convergenortheast.org