IS THIS MY FATHER'S WORLD?
An interview with Warren and David Wiersbe
January 1, 1990
Thirty-five years ago, the church steeple rose above the rooftops, calling the community to worship. Today the church, often dwarfed by neighboring structures, is one building among many and overlooked by many passersby on their way to Sunday fun. A generation ago, phrases like equipping the laity and small groups hadn't entered the church vernacular. Homogeneous sounded like a word to describe milk not churches. And pastors weren't as likely to talk about "staffing the programs," "setting the vision," or "planning strategically." About thirty-five years ago, Warren Wiersbe was pasturing Central Baptist Church in East Chicago, Indiana, and his wife was giving birth to their first son, David. Today, David pastors Hope Evangelical Free Church in Roscoe, Illinois, his second pastorate. And Warren, after pasturing Calvary Baptist Church in Covington, Kentucky, and the historic Moody Church in Chicago, is currently general director of Back to the Bible, a radio ministry based in Lincoln, Nebraska. Warren and David have written three books together, the most recent being Making Sense of the Ministry (Baker, 1989). LEADERSHIP asked these two pastors, from two generations, to talk about the ways ministry is changing. Warren, tell us about your first church. What were the priorities of that congregation? Warren: Central Baptist Church in East Chicago, Indiana, was a neighborhood church of 150 blue-collar folks who were always waiting for the next steel strike. The area was changing. A lot of folks were moving up from the South, getting jobs, seeking more income. In addition, the church had been through a split. I was a member of the church before I became pastor. I was going to Northern Seminary. When the pastor of the church left, they ...
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