Last week, one of my new FLAME friends gave me some advice about drawing more traffic to this blog, so I went out and registered my own domain name.  While you could still “google” Reflections from the Southside or Dale Argot, my new domain name is www.daleargot.com.  So, that’s all you have to remember from no on if you don’t have it set up in your favorites.

Last year, an average of 57,821 people attended the 49 largest Wesleyan Churches.

55,755 people attended the smallest 1,210 Wesleyan Churches.

ht: Mark O. Wilson: Revitalize Your Church

If you do the math, you will find the 49 largest churches average about 1,100 worshipers while the bottom 1,210 average just 46.

Mark Gorveatte (District Superintendent of West Michigan) quoted that 50% of the Wesleyan Churches in America average 58 or less.

I can relate to these comments, because I pastor one of those 1,210 churches and I pastor one of the churches that average 58 or less.  Yes, we have many rural churches scattered in small towns and rural areas around the country.  In fact, my friend Mark Wilson will be presenting a 2 1/2 day seminar on pastoring in the rural and small church setting.  He will be presenting these at FLAME “X.” (More on that next week.)  Last year, at The Gathering (a convention for Wesleyan pastors), Mark’s seminar overflowed the room.  I think he is scratching an itch many of us Wesleyan pastors deal with.

The other thing that I realized as I looked at these statistics is how many of our Wesleyan pastors are either bi-vocational or their wife works to support the ministry.  I don’t know of many churches averaging 58 that could afford a full-time pastor, especially if they have children.  As the economy struggles, how many more of our pastors will have to find a secondary source of income?  Just some interesting things to think about.

Seventh Sunday of Easter
(If Ascension not observed here)
May 4, 2008

Acts 1:6-14; Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35; I Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11; John 17:1-11

As I looked through the texts for this week, the scripture from 1 Peter 5 stuck out at me.

6 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. 7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters^[a] all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.

10 In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. 11 All power to him forever! Amen.

All of these scriptures this week point toward the coming of the Holy Spirit which we will celebrate next week as we celebrate the birthday of the holy, catholic, apostolic church.  What’s more is that each of these scriptures admonish the believer to stand firm in times of trouble.  In Acts, like I mentioned yesterday, the disciples are told to get busy doing the things of God.  Throughout the rest of the book we are reminded of the trials they go through as they become witnesses to all the earth.

We often think trials are a result of our lack of faith, but what they are designed to do is to strengthen our faith.  Stand strong — stand firm — the Lord is with you.  There will be times when you feel like you are being torn limb from limb, but our God is with us.  Stay alert, because the devil is looking to devour you.  I have heard too many stories of pastors who have been devoured.  Just last week at FLAME, I was told of more pastors who have fallen by the wayside.  Pastors are the only target, but the devil wants to seek out all believers and trip them up.  So, stand strong — stand firm — the Lord is with you.