The first church I ever pastored was tiny - maybe forty people. I arrived with all these ideas about growth strategies and leadership development. I had read all the books. Then an elderly woman - probably seventy - came to me and said, 'Pastor, I think you're trying too hard to be important here.'
I was offended. I was the leader. That was my role. But Paul's word 'lowliness' stuck in my head. The Greek word is tapeinophrosyne - it literally means thinking small thoughts about yourself. Not false humility that's actually inverted pride, but genuine small-ness.
I started showing up differently. I stopped making sure everyone knew I was the pastor. I sat in the pews sometimes instead of the pulpit. I asked for people's wisdom before offering my own. And something broke open in that congregation. Not because I became a better leader, but because I stopped leading from a place of needing to prove I was worth following. People relaxed. They became themselves. The church actually grew, but more importantly, it became kind.
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