Pastors have a great responsibility to shepherd the people God has entrusted to our care. That responsibility must not be neglected. If we’re not careful, however, our intense focus on the local church we oversee can isolate us. In our narrow focus and isolation, our Kingdom vision can grow weak. Without realizing it, we can drift from a focus on God’s Kingdom to building our own little kingdom. When that happens to a few of us, then more of us, the collective witness and impact of the Church as whole in a city is weakened.
Here are some ideas for not only how to protect against that trend, but to reverse it:
Pray personally for other pastors and churches in your city. It’s hard to make things all about us when we’re praying for others.
Lead your local church family to pray for other churches. It’s a simple, but powerful way to increase Kingdom mindset and greater love for one another.
Make meeting with other Kingdom-minded pastors in your city a priority in your schedule. And invite other pastors to join you. We make each other better. And that makes the churches we lead better.
Choose to do Kingdom things with other churches in your city. Even if your church is large enough that it can do “big” things alone, it may not always be the most fruitful path in the bigger picture. I can’t tell you the number of people whose first response to efforts in our city is: “I’ve never seen churches work together like this.” The unity of God’s people enhances the witness of God’s people.
Participate in joint worship gathering opportunities with other churches. Even if you have to reshuffle your regular church schedule to participate, it’s worth it to be with the greater Church for a few moments and catch the greater vision.
If you want to take it up another notch, consider a “pulpit swap” on a Sunday with another local pastor you trust. It’s a pretty powerful way of letting our churches know that we’re on the same team in our city. I’ve watched pastors do this and believe it or not, nobody’s congregation walked out to follow a new pastor. :)
Would love to hear any other ideas you have for how pastors can help foster unity in a city.