Answer

Pastoring a church of any size is associated with its own set of responsibilities. Most of the pastors will work well for more than 40 hours a week while dealing with events and situations which are physically, emotionally, and spiritually taxing. This discussion post analyses the emotional, spiritual, theological, and personal impact felt by the small church pastor after the big churches with big names obtains overwhelming attention.

                When the big churches and those with big names get extensive attention, it is evident that the small church pastor will experience an emotional impact. This is reflected by the fact that the pastor will feel  overwhelmed to work alone in shepherding the needs of the members of the congregation due to the lack of the required support[1]. This further result to a personal impact as the pastor will be focused towards the provision of quality sermons to ensure that they focus on growing the size of the congregation. The increased personal commitment towards the growth of the size of the congregation is regarded as a factor which every pastor needs. However, in order to grow the quantity of the followers, it is recommended that the pastor should grow the quality of the sermons. The studies completed by the Hartford Institute for Religious Research established that only 20% of the churches which had members of less than 100 recorded a high spiritual vitality level[2]. However, when the large churches continue to obtain an increased recognition, the small church pastor will focus on improving his/her spiritual vitality through the delivery of quality sermons with a focus on attracting the interest of many and later increasing the size of the congregation.

                Offering much attention to the churches with big names or large sizes is also associated with a strong theological impact on the small church pastor. Evidently, the small church pastor will recognize the need to shepherd the congregational needs even better with a primary focus of increasing the size of the church so as to obtain the attention as in the case of the big churches.[3]

The experience would encourage me. Notably, this is a step towards ensuring that the people feel loved and accepted. Evidently, in Psalm 23, John 21, and John 10, it is a basic requirement that fulfilling the needs of the people by offering them with care as a church, it is a fundamental requirement that the people should always feel loved to exhibit growth.  The pastor is considered  the primary care giver. Therefore, offering unwavering attention to the large churches or those with big names will encourage the small church pastor to undertake the responsibility of caring for the members even better.[4] This is regarded as the first step towards caring for the people in the right way without experiencing burnout. Although the increased attention may prompt the pastor to develop false expectations, it is still a source of personal motivation towards achieving the care needs of the people.

[1] Onongha, Kelvin. “Spirituality, Sexuality, and Christian Leadership.” The Journal of Applied Christian Leadership 12, no. 1 (Spring, 2018): 92-100

[2] Ibid, 97

[3] Dockery, David. Christian Leadership Essentials. B&H Publishing Group, 2011.

[4] Ibid, 12