Issue link: http://denverseminary.uberflip.com/i/1041431
Hollywood, you are going to lose," said Reed, "but of course you have to speak in the parlance of the era. Fundamentally, we just want to teach people what it looks like to worship." CALLING IS A GIFT When the brothers looked back at their decades of co-pastoring a local church, they authored a checklist of wisdom for other pastors: • Beware of idols. The church can become an idol and often is for pastors. • Be bold and brave. The church thrives on gracious, loving, bold pastors. • Know your Bible. • Know your theology. • Love your spouse more than you love the church. • Love your kids more than you love the church. • Cultivate some interests outside of the church. Pastors can go for months without talking with, much less befriending, unbelievers. According to Reed, there were many times when they wanted to give up, when they saw other church planters call it a day, but they persisted. "Persistence is always necessary. Being a pastor is difficult. And it doesn't get easier as a church grows. In fact, it gets harder." Steve echoed that sentiment: "Be steady with your leadership over the long haul. Building a mature church takes patience and time. Learn to plod." They describe church life like any family. It has ups and downs, rapturous joy and debilitating disappointments, a few steps forward and a few steps backward. "If you are not absolutely convinced that it is God's will to work out His kingdom primarily through local churches," said Steve, "then you will have a difficult time being a pastor of a local flock." A BROTHER IN CHRIST AND NAME SBCC is thriving with home groups, comprised of roughly 900 people (45% of their church body), all of whom meet weekly. The recipe for these groups is simple: Read the Bible. Discuss it in small groups. Then hear it on Sunday. "If you have well-fed and happy sheep, they will make their own babies," said Reed, smiling. "We're about lives changed and disciples being made, but we wanted God to make our plans, not bless our plans." Steve brought the partnership into perspective: While our personalities and gifts are very different, there have been three ingredients that have enabled this pastoral partnership to flourish all these years. First, mutual respect. We have not always agreed on everything, especially when it comes to tactics, but when 18 FALL 2018 MBPROJEKT_Maciej_Bledowski/iStock TAKE IT FROM HERE