BANISHING COMPETITION
Bob Rhoden
October 1, 1986
Seventeen years ago I came to Richmond to pioneer a new church. The prophet Joel described young men seeing visions, and at twenty-six, my vision was to see this infant congregation of twelve become a large, mature church. When I shared my vision at a denominational fellowship, I expected encouragement. But one of the older pastors looked me straight in the eye and said, "Young man, you work your side of the street, and I'll work mine." That was it; no one even bothered to respond to his statement. Driving home I risked asking the two ministers in our car if they felt bothered by what our colleague had said. They replied, "You have to understand that's just the way a lot of ministers feel." The often-unspoken and invisible competition between churches had become spoken and visible. At that point I had to decide how I would respond to competition among like-minded churches-and their pastors. Since I didn't want to play that game, I began to work out the plan I have employed over the years. Focus on the Word. In those early years, I decided to concentrate on clearly preaching the Word. Parishioners expect fresh bread when they come to church. Everybody will not prefer my brand of bread, but at least I can serve mine fresh. This decision has helped me deal with people who visit our church-or even join-but later decide they prefer another pastor's preaching. If they leave because of preaching, I am free to say: "You need to be in a church where you can develop your Christian life, and under a pastor's ministry that is meeting your needs. Go with my blessings." If I am investing time in the Word each week, then I am doing my job. I have not failed them. I can accept the fact that people may prefer another pastor. I don't have to feel ...
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