There's Room of North Carolina

by Pastor John D. Blackshire

If I can be honest and vulnerable, there’s a small part of every pastor that wants to lead a mega church. I’m not saying this desire is so overwhelming that folks miss the mark of their call, but there is a little piece inside of us that wishes it was us being handed vanilla lattes from an assistant in our oversized office.

And, this desire is not without understanding.

Pastors are just humans after all, and we are constantly bombarded with social media posts, news reports, and TV shows that reinforce the myth of a prosperity theology. If you are unfamiliar with prosperity theology, it is the thinking that if you pray hard enough, believe hard enough, and give enough money, God in return will bless you beyond your wildest dreams – you will prosper. Conversely, if one is not living the most prosperous life of their dreams they must of course not be in the good graces of God.

Prosperity theology – a marriage between American exceptionalism and warped readings of scripture produces the deadly lovechild that small isn’t enough.

That God is only in the big and the easily recognizable.

We are taught as Westerns that large numbers in our congregations and a substantial budget is what legitimizes us.

And, if I can go back to the being human part, we as pastors want engagement and recognition because if people are attending, if people are giving, then it means we didn’t mishear God and all the work isn’t in vein. We want people in the pews because we believe it is symbolic of God’s support.

So with this context in mind, it’s understandable why pastors hold this secret desire. In our country, mega church = mega support from God, which is why those of us doing the work of liberatory theology have to constantly rebuke this desire.

In 2023, when TR first started I would worry so much about how small it was. I would worry that nobody was going to show up and I would let my own internalization of society’s standards influence how I felt about spending time with God and my comrades.

It took time, but I started to follow fellow pastors of small congregations, I learned about the micro-church movement, and somewhere along the way I really came to comprehend where two or three are gathered in His name, so He is there.

Stated another way, I realized that God is in the small moments.

I have experienced God via stage lights and lyrics on the screen, but I know for sure She’s in the shared cups of coffee, and hand-written cards. She’s in the gatherings in the park and the birthday gifts exchanged. She’s in the small moment of learning about a child’s favorite Pokémon and how they like to decorate their apples.

Of course I want our community to grow and for others to experience the special something we are building here, but more importantly I want us to be present with each other, and to be present with God.

I want us to always be intimate enough that we never lose our vulnerability or desire to grow and heal with each other. When we are present with each other in the small moments, we give ourselves the opportunity to stop worrying about the world and experience the God of now.

Let me simplify this.

Our love and our care and the time we spend with each other are gifts from God. They are true examples of God’s richly grace on Earth. When we marinate in these moments, we force ourselves to not only be present with each other, but with God Herself.

Trusting God in the small, present moments allows us to realize He is working on something BIG. Even if we don’t always understand it or feel it, our small moments of community are pieces to a puzzle God is still completing.

Saints, how blessed are we to create small everyday moments with such a big God?