When Disruption Comes to Church

To the public, the typical Protestant congregation comes in three basic forms: the small country church, the stone or brick “First Denominational Church” on Main Street or the town square of the county seat, and more recently, the large suburban program-oriented church. Occasionally, we might imagine a church that is larger or more struggling than most, but generally our assumptions about church -- what it looks and acts like -- have long been fixed within a constrained set of expectations.

Likewise, for generations, individuals entering pastoral ministry have also assumed that their careers would play out within these same limited boundaries. They would start in a rural congregation, gain experience in a slightly larger one, and conclude at a “First Church” or a large suburban congregation.