This is such a great read for all of us. I serve the smaller Churches and I find the Holy Spirit presence in all! Rural New Mexico folks are the salt of the earth. Our rural areas are facing many challenges, such as declining population, losing their young people. Appreciate your Pastor more than ever folks! Ask your Pastor how you can help the Church! My faith heroes are the Pastors and leaders of the smaller Churches in America!!!! PTL!!!
One of the Churches I fill in from time to time is the First Baptist Church in Magdalena, New Mexico (Pictured above) which is the Church Pastor Paul Holt serves. Pastor Paul and his wife Jo are such awesome leaders in the community, the Church is alive because the TRUE WORD OF GOD is preached! Amen! Such a precious congregation! I have served at the First Baptist Church of Reserve for 9 years on and off as a circuit preacher and have learned so much about God and people and being a Pastor! Better education than any seminary school for sure! I love all the people in Reserve, they have been so super nice to me and Sharon. I also served for 3 years on and off at the FBC in Quamado, and once again I learned much. I also fill in for Pastor Dave Schumm every so often at the FBC in Glenwood. This month I head back to FBC in Reserve twice to fill in for Pastor Sheldon Wolf, and I get to visit by dear friends in Clayton, New Mexico. Pastor Randall Floyd and family at the Assembly of God in Clayton is a Church that shines its light so brightly for Jesus! I am fired up in our Lord to serve! There is a strong core of folks in the Churches that I mention….they keep the light of Jesus shining in their respective communities, Sharon and I love these folks so very much!
If you lead a small to mid-sized church, you face struggles leaders of large churches don’t.
I can totally relate to the dynamics of leading a smaller church.
When I began in ministry, I spent about 3 years leading a small congregation (under 100) that grew into a mid-sized church (under 500) and then grew into a larger church of 1500 I’m part of today. You learn a LOT about leadership (and yourself) at every stage.
I remember the emotions that swirl around small and mid-sized churches. I also have lived through the struggles those congregations face.
Tensions Small to Mid-Size Church Leaders Face
The following letter to The Editor of the El Defensor Chieftain out of Socorro, New Mexico makes clear the challenges the community of Socorro is facing. I am posting this because it not only takes a look at Socorro, but many of the problems facing Socorro, are the same all over rural America, like declining population. Trying to keep staffing up in positions like law enforcement….extreme poverty, hunger, (Joann Young of the Reserve Food Bank tells me they have never been so busy) child well-being, crime, drug addiction, losing young people to the bigger cities. I was just reading that Las Cruces, New Mexico, one of our bigger cities here in New Mexico, is suffering from a shortage of police as is Albuquerque. This is a huge problem all over America as the progressive movement destroys our law enforcement. Who would want to be a police officer in America? I asked a young officer here in Albuquerque that very question awhile back and he said, “Sir, it is because I want to serve.” That made me choke up with tears…..It’s like being a Pastor, It has to be a calling!
The other point I want make is that a mistake made by many here in New Mexico is that they think the state begins and ends in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Thankfully we have more than a few very strong legislators in rural New Mexico who stand up against that nonsense. The Governor does not focus much at all the problems facing rural New Mexico, she is all tied up in pot being the savior of our state. Huge mistake! What about the suffering of our farmers and ranchers during the extreme drought? If you have heard anything from the Governor on the suffering of our farmers and ranchers let me know!!!! A whole new batch of problems are going to come about because of legalized pot! MARK MY WORD!
I have traveled through Socorro so many times in the last 9 years serving as a circuit preacher at FBC in Reserve. I am impressed with the ‘clean up’ of the town in the last couple of years. The community is served by State Representative Gail Armstrong, she is such a strong advocate for the area!
I have to add in the last month or so Reserve, New Mexico has 3 new businesses, a brand new wonderful hotel, a huge flea market, and a new restaurant! Love it! There are sparks of new life in Reserve! It takes people coming together and working toward the same goal of building up their communities. Amen!
Letter to the Editor: Population decrease Story by El Defensor Chieftain
THE GREATEST PROBLEM AMERICA FACES:
Is humanism the same as today’s progressive movement?Jul 7, 2021 |
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 From the writings of the Rev. Billy GrahamQ: I struggle with living in the Christian world and still being part of the whole world. Is humanism the same as today’s progressive movement? — P.H.A: Humanism is the worship of man. It has taken on the form of religion; glorifying self and taking God out of His rightful place. This has always been prevalent in the world and is called by many different names.
A London magazine carried a story that said, “No more subtle enemy has ever faced the Christian church than this one which dethrones her God and replaces Him with His [creation].” Young people today may not know who Julian Huxley was, but he said that if humanism is to acquire a wider appeal, it must become a religion. And so it has. Humanism has become for many a polite name for a vocal and aggressive movement against God’s truth to advance its own brand of social influence. Humanism is not new; it emerged in the Garden of Eden. It is the yielding to Satan’s first temptation of Adam and Eve. He told them they could be gods (see Genesis 3:5). Mankind continually rejects the revelation of the Bible concerning the true and living God, substituting gods of its own making. Many intellectuals have come to believe that the human mind can understand everything eventually. This is nothing but total rebellion towards God and Satan is behind it all. The underlying principle of all the devil’s tactics is deception. The Bible warns, “The devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him” (1 Peter 5:8-9). The Lord will help us stand strong in the face of deception if we will stay in the Word of God and pray that He will give us discerning minds. The important thing for all of Christ’s followers is to live “in Christ” as the Bible teaches. ======== (This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.) ©2021 Billy Graham Literary Trust. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. (c)2021 BILLY GRAHAM DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC. |
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