Former Glory

When I came to Calvary in April of 2009 I did not feel I was ready to take on the challenges of a church in transition. Twelve years of rapid decline and turmoil within the leadership crippled Calvary and led to an upheaval that brought the District in to re-establish control of the church. I have been called to minister in troubled churches on a smaller scale (one or two families in control), but I could not even perceive the depth of the problems I would face at Calvary.

Embracing Change, Kinda'

The one thing that greatly encouraged me was the willingness of the established core of the church to address these problems and work through the necessary changes to bring Calvary back to fruitfulness. So as I entered into ministry at Calvary, I set about to become the Pastor this church needed. I pursued my ordination, I amassed a great amount of new reading material, I afforded myself of every District training opportunity, and I even when outside the District for a week of church leadership school. Slowly but surely the feelings of inadequacy faded and a new confidence arose within my heart. God was saying, "I called you here and I'll equip you to do the job I've called you to do.

In the beginning we mustered the usual "new Pastor" rallying that all churches experience, and I used it to make much needed repairs to the facility. A certain level of excitement ran through the entire first year, until the realities of people's personal lives began to show up at church. Relational dysfunction was rampant. On top of that, many had lived so long in unhealthy relationship patterns that they had found workable solutions within their group that they were unwilling to give up for painful changes in their lives.

One thing I did in the beginning was to brag about how great Calvary was in the past and how influential of a church it had been in Union City. I guess I was just trying to say I recognized its history, but it just backfired. The people of the church today were not the people who led the church successfully then. They would readily embrace the glory of the past, not even having lived in any of its sacrifice.

Another Pair of Eyes

Things progressed and I went to David Delp of the District office for counsel about raising up new leadership at Calvary. I had already seen some people who had a heart for the church, a passion for ministry, and a kindred spirit with me. I wanted to appoint them to serve with me in areas of ministry. David agreed to come down and do a Saturday leadership meeting over lunch with our new ministry team and then preach the next morning. He took time to explain to our team the processes we needed to implement and told us to work slowly. However, in other areas, David's observations were alarming. He saw so many things that I did not even consider. However, even though I was naive about many things, God used it to uncover a host of ill will and past bitterness in the church.

Much to my dismay, the Lord also showed us (and most will admit) and lot of harm had been done in the past by a spirit of control permeating every ministry of Calvary. My first encounter with this spirit (even though I didn't recognize it at the time) was when I attended the Ladies Bible Study and suggested that Diana re-establish the Women's ministry. The harsh looks, the open rebellion, and the disdain I received, opened my eyes to the fact that things weren't as they seemed.

This also made me aware of some of the relational dysfunctions the church struggles with. We can call it gossip, but in a more gentle way, I understand the fears we have of confrontation with others. People would not talk to the one they had problems with and try to settle their differences. They would talk about them and use the grapevine to "feel out" their responses. Much like school kids, social immaturity was rampant. My question was, "Why?" Why do these people go to church together and exhibit so much hatred for each other. A hatred that would soon be shown towards me.

Just In Time

I could slowly feel myself being effected by the strong spiritual influences that swirled about the people of our church. I even mentioned to Pastor Sonny, "Why are there so many attacks here." His words were not only comforting, but revealing. He said, "Because, Pastor, there is power here." I believe that. God in his mercy had gotten a hold of me just in time. I could feel myself slipping into these dysfunctional ways. I needed to get away and regroup. Susan and I did just that in June of this year and it put me over the edge. I returned from the Church Leadership Conference in Michigan with the understanding that I needed to win. Change will not be easy. Even though our church mouths its willingness, internally they don't know how to let go of the hurt, the bitterness, and the pain.

Harboring woundedness is the root of many of the issues we have at Calvary, but people have developed strong defense mechanisms around their hurt. Not only do they not want a Pastor to address it, they don't want you to even say you see it. Their way of life has been built to include their hurt. Operating without it would dramatically change their lives. Although they would like to see the church change (i.e. more people, more money), they are unwilling to let this begin with their lives.

Two Things

Although this new understanding of what we face as a body of believers is disheartening, I see two important elements that will help us in the future. One, I am more able to recognize and deal with these personal dysfunctions as they are directed towards me. I am no longer being wounded by them. This is pretty hard to accomplish without just developing reciprocal feeling towards your attackers. You have to truly see them through God's eyes. Loving the wounded is hard. They can't return the love because it is bound up in their wounds. Their first obligation is to defend their wounded heart at all costs. Even if it means attacking those they truly care about. Removing the hurt is like the guy you have to strap down to the table and cut off his leg, all the while listening to him scream, "No, no! I need that!" No saint, hurt is not who you are. I like that song on the radio that says the scars don't define us, they just remind us of where we've been.

A Pain-Free Zone

Secondly, God will then be able to send additional wounded people to our church for healing. There is a great need to help dysfunctional families in our community. While we are struggling to get it right, these families are developing stronger and stronger defense mechanisms around their woundedness. If we continue to delay and just fight among ourselves, the work gets harder in reaching our community. We lose their trust a little more each day.

Little Evidence

There is still little evidence that we still have what it takes to be an effective church in Union City. Much of the reputation of the past has faded. Many of the people have moved on. One's that do come back to Calvary are looking for the Calvary they remember from year's ago. We still get a whoop and a holler when something happens in service that reminds someone of the former glory.

The truth is we need nothing from the past. It is the past that is now holding us back. Growth does not come from retreating into the past. That is unhealthy. We need to envision a new Calvary. A glorious new church built on a present day work of the Holy Spirit. And, yes, I believe I know what that new move of God is. It is the rebirth of prayer.

No, we are not going to sit down and figure out were we go from here. No, we are not going to take a consensus and fill out survey cards. No, we are not going to hire advisors and consultants. We are going to humble ourselves in prayer and seek the Lord. We are going to make a solid commitment to pray until the Lord makes clear to us the next step. That is all this Pastor needs from God — the next step. He has shown us what it is. Now we just need to start doing it — pray! The other steps in God's plan are irrelevant until we commit our lives and our church to a season of prayer.

3D Glasses (three demons - Jezebel, Absalom, and Judas)

The evidence we now need is that God is still involved in the direction of Calvary. Let me give you one example that will help you understand where we are as a church today. We have dealt with some powerful spirits here at Calvary, spirits that defeat many churches — the Jezebel Spirit (control) and the Absalom Spirit (rebellion and pride). However, a trifecta of spirits have been sent by the devil to drive Calvary into the ground and make sure it never rises again to the influential place it had in the past. A say "trifecta" because there are three. We have exposed and dealt with the first two, Jezebel and Absalom. Each spirit tried to get me to bow to the fear that they had more influence than I did at Calvary. In each case I stood my ground and they were exposed for what they were. However, recently my prayer team has revealed to me that a Judas Spirit (betrayal) remains. I had been feeling this, but did not even know what my apprehension was about. My prayer partners came to me with this word and when I took it before the Lord it was confirmed.

The Lord told me something interesting. It moved me deeply. He said this spirit is empowered by the actions of the Pastor. It is directly attaching itself to me. It is out for one purpose, to do as much damage to me as possible. Its betrayal is designed to remove my credibility and render my ministry in Union City marginal from now on. See, the devil doesn't want to remove Pastors, he wants to cripple them, destroy their reputation, and have them remain in the pulpit, thus marginalizing the entire church forever. This makes sense. I'm currently working hard to establish respect for my ministry and for the church among the leaders of this community. It would be an optimum time to raise questions about my personal integrity. In the face of this final battle, I am glad we are building a tower of refuge, a hiding place from the storm, a place of prayer. I will need it more now than ever.

Building versus Tearing Down

Finally, the example I spoke of above is this: Once we are through this final spiritual battle with these forces assigned to defeat us and our victory is in hand, the work of building church can ensue. Be aware that although war is very messy, building church is difficult also. However, I believe we have the beginnings of a quality leadership team at Calvary that will take our church farther than we have ever imagined. As I meet each month with our leadership team, I become more and more encouraged by their progress. When others in the congregation recognize their calling and commitment, they will fall in line and become great encouragers and helpers of our leadership. I pray for the day when a team spirit arises to guide us in all we do. Sacrificing our personal preferences and self-glorying for the sake of the team's effort is what hallmarks a team spirit.

The Season of Prayer

Our greatest need right now is not more money or more people — it is prayer. Only the Lord himself can see us through all these traps and pitfalls and bring us into the victory he has always planned for the people of Calvary.

Remember this one formula: Successful saints equals a successful church. Calvary is simply to church-centered instead of ministry-minded. This is changing.

Calvary Assemblies of God | 720 N Plum St Union City IN 47390 | Pastor Brian P. Jenkins |  (765) 964-3671 | www.calvaryassembliesofgod.org