Why We’re Going Big for Small Churches (From Leadership Journal’s Editor)

Why me? Have you ever wondered that? I guess we all do at some point. Usually, it’s in reaction to something negative. An unexpected disease, loss of job or some other tragedy. Lately I've been asking that question about something very good. Why me? is the question I asked Drew Dyck, the managing editor of Leadership Journal (LJ) to answer for all of you, the readers of NewSmallChurch.com. Why was I asked to be the first-ever Leadership Journal blogger? It’s a big step – and a bit of a risk – for such a highly respected publication to take. Here’s how Drew answered that question: "In 2013, Leadership Journal conducted a “Listening Tour.” We met with groups of pastors in six different cities across the U.S. One message we heard over and over again: we’re tired of resources—books, conferences, websites—that are all designed for doing ministry in a big-church context. These pastors weren’t down on large churches. But most of them, like the majority of pastors, led smaller churches—and they found the resources being offered simply didn’t work in their context. Leadership Journal has always been a champion of pastors. And we seek out contributions from large and small church pastors alike. But hearing the hunger for small-church specific resources made us realize we needed to do more for these leaders. When we reached out to people in our network, the name Karl Vaters kept popping up. Here was a guy who was leading a small church and successfully connecting with other small church pastors. After many conversations with Karl we invited him to be our first Leadership Journal blogger. We’re excited to see what this partnership will bring! We’re thrilled that we’ll be working with Karl to inspire and equip pastors from every kind of church in the days ahead."

LJ picWhy me?

Have you ever wondered that? I guess we all do at some point.

Usually, it’s in reaction to something negative. An unexpected disease, loss of job or some other tragedy.

Lately I’ve been asking that question about something very good.

Why me? is the question I asked Drew Dyck, the managing editor of Leadership Journal (LJ) to answer for all of you, the readers of NewSmallChurch.com. Why was I asked to be the first-ever Leadership Journal blogger? It’s a big step – and a bit of a risk – for such a highly respected publication to take.

Here’s how Drew answered that question:

In 2013, Leadership Journal conducted a “Listening Tour.” We met with groups of pastors in six different cities across the U.S. One message we heard over and over again: we’re tired of resources—books, conferences, websites—that are all designed for doing ministry in a big-church context. These pastors weren’t down on large churches. But most of them, like the majority of pastors, led smaller churches—and they found the resources being offered simply didn’t work in their context.

Drew Dyck, Editor, Leadership Journal
Drew Dyck, Editor, Leadership Journal

Leadership Journal has always been a champion of pastors. And we seek out contributions from large and small church pastors alike. But hearing the hunger for small-church specific resources made us realize we needed to do more for these leaders. When we reached out to people in our network, the name Karl Vaters kept popping up. Here was a guy who was leading a small church and successfully connecting with other small church pastors. After many conversations with Karl we invited him to be our first Leadership Journal blogger. We’re excited to see what this partnership will bring! We’re thrilled that we’ll be working with Karl to inspire and equip pastors from every kind of church in the days ahead.

(Drew used this statement as his intro to an interview I conducted with him to introduce Pivot to Leadership Journal readers. Click here to read the interview.)

Some Thanks

Thank you Drew Dyck, Leadership Journal and Christianity Today for doing something very rare. Conducting a “Listening Tour” in which you really listened. 

Thank you to those who spoke up on the “Listening Tour” on behalf of Small Churches everywhere.

Thank you to those in the LJ network who recommended me and my writing. I feel profoundly blessed and honored.

Thank you to all the passionate, hard-working, loving and prayerful pastors and other church leaders who have supported NewSmallChurch.com for the last three years. We tried this crazy experiment to see if anyone really cares about Small Churches, and the answer has been a big “yes!” Your support keeps me going. And it’s what caught LJ’s attention.

And now, Phase Two. On Monday, the Pivot blog really begins.

But keep coming back here, too. There’s a lot more coming.

Let’s do this.

Author

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