It was March 1981. I had turned 20 just a few months before, and I was in conversation with a small country church in Ohio about becoming their pastor. Looking back now, 45 years later, the whole story is a bit unusual.
I knew the church because one of their previous pastors had been the youth pastor where I was a member as a teenager. God saved me when I was 13, and the church had a few youth pastors during my teen years—but this pastor really challenged me to consider my calling to preach. When he himself became the senior pastor of the church I would later pastor, he invited me often to preach so I could grow in this task. He opened the door for me to do what I still love to do so much today: to preach the Word.
I have no idea why that church called me as pastor, except that they were looking for someone who would come cheaply. And I would have preached for nothing! The crowd was small (only 19 people attended on the first Sunday), but those few made a difference in my life. Here are some things I remember:
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- They invited me into their lives. Because I was so young, I wasn’t sure how pastors were supposed to act with members. I’m sure I was sometimes isolated and introverted, but these folks welcomed me into their homes. From the grandmother who invited me to breakfast with her family every Friday morning to the folks who allowed me to live in their home, they loved me. I was not only their pastor; I was their friend.
- They loved me enough to let me make mistakes… and start again. I’m honestly surprised they didn’t fire me at times because of my poor leadership. I was arrogant about my “success” as a young preacher and thought I was almost always right. I wasn’t, and they knew that fact. Still, they loved me. They gave me room to err, gently but necessarily corrected me, and still allowed me more opportunities to lead.
- They drove me crazy sometimes, but they deeply loved the Lord. I remember out-of-control business meetings that were hours long and conversations that were not always easy, but I also remember people who loved the Lord deeply. I often think of members who told everyone they knew about Jesus. Over the course of two years, we saw someone follow Christ in faith and repentance almost every Sunday. God blessed our craziness that began with me.
- They taught me about simple faith. Thinking back, I’m amazed by how much they trusted the Lord through difficulties like the loss of a job, the death of a child, the wandering of an adult child, the rage of alcoholism, and the ravages of cancer. Many of the members could not have explained things theologically, but they trusted God with their questions. They simply leaned on Him, and they modeled faith for me when they faced things I had never encountered in my young life.
- They graciously launched me into my next steps in ministry. I had no idea how much it would hurt when I resigned from that first church to move to my second place of ministry. I was excited about the move, but the pain was great when I announced my departure to my first congregation. To their credit, they blessed my leaving even as they grieved with me. All they wanted was for me to follow the Lord, even if that meant my going to another church. Many of those folks remained friends for years, and I still have some of the cards they gave me on my last Sunday there.
I don’t know how long you’ve been in ministry, but I pray you can look back and see God’s hand in your history. Sometimes, the passage of time helps us see differently, even those church members who were problematic in the past, and we learn to love even the unlovable members of yesterday. We eventually learn that we’re all products of folks who once trusted us to lead them, even when we weren’t really ready.
I don’t know about you, but I’m really grateful for those folks today.
Posted on March 26, 2026
Dr. Chuck Lawless is a leading expert in spiritual consultation, discipleship and mentoring. As a former pastor, he understands the challenges ministry presents and works with Church Answers to provide advice and counsel for church leaders.
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