Joshua writes in and asks,

I'm the pastor of a small congregation in Western North Carolina.

It has been very difficult to get people excited about serving the Lord in the local church

and hence there are only a few committed people serving here.

Because of this lack of interest to serve ministry growth is being stunted.

Pastor John, what advice would you give me to help people get excited about serving Christ?

Well, I am really eager to say something helpful if I can about that because I've seen it done badly

and I've seen it done well and I've tried to do it myself for 33 years as a pastor.

I know pastors want their people to love the church and love service and link arms with the pastor

and throw themselves in with joy and when it doesn't happen it can be really discouraging.

I've seen it done badly.

My wife and I were in a church, most probably 10 years ago in a on vacation in a town

and we decided to go to church Sunday evening and we went and it was the most berating sermon we had ever heard.

This pastor for 30 minutes was spanking his people, criticizing his people, complaining to his people

and the issue was, Wednesday night attendance.

And when we walked out, no, my wife never criticized anybody.

She said to me in the car on the way home, I don't think we'll go back there.

I mean, that's a documentation of how not to do it.

It just doesn't do any good to use the pulpit to spank your people.

On the other hand, when I was out of love with the church and wondering if the church, like an idiot,

wondering if the church had any future in 1968 and 69 when I was 20 years old.

No, no, no, no, 22 years old.

...