2. Our people are just different.
Yes, there is a difference between rural people and urban city dwellers. There is a difference between small churches and megachurches.
But don’t use this excuse.
When you can’t raise money for that project, don’t say, “My people are just different … they don’t make as much money as the people in other churches.” When your leaders don’t show up for a meeting, don’t say, “Our area is just different because people are busier here.”
People have been the same since the Garden of Eden—they are broken by sin and in need of grace. There are nuances that should mark your ministry, but people are people.
Don’t let a love for your city turn into arrogant thinking.
Just because you’ve spent six years ministering in downtown Chicago doesn’t mean that anyone from the South has no idea how to reach people living in cities. Just because you pastor an 80-member church in rural America doesn’t mean materials created in Nashville or a mentor from Atlanta can’t teach you a thing or two about ministry.
There are parts of your ministry that are unique to your community. And there is a human nature that’s the same everywhere.
