Just an Associate Pastor
One man's experience of the first few years after seminary--mortification and edification.
David Epps
January 1, 1981
My name doesn't appear on the church stationery, nor does it appear in the newspaper or telephone book advertisements. I'm not in the limelight. No one refers to the church I serve as "Brother Epps' Church," and few in the congregation look to me for spiritual guidance. I'm the "silent partner," the "second in command." I am simply an associate pastor to a more mature minister who pastors a growing and thriving local assembly. And I wouldn't have it any other way!
Six years ago, armed with a college degree, I assumed the pastorate of a church consisting of 110 members, although there were only fourteen who attended regularly. Full of idealism and zeal, I mounted the pulpit with the certain knowledge that I was going to instruct these poor, neglected folk in the deeper mysteries of God. When I ran out of sermon material inside of six weeks, I began to sense that all was not going well.
I demonstrated my profound wisdom time and time again, as I attempted to minister to the needs of the people. I preached, for example, on the evils of hatred and prejudice-and ended up losing two families. How was I to know that my little church was in the heart of Ku Klux Klan territory?
I came down hard on astrology and superstition in another sermon. What I didn't know was that many of my members were farmers and planted "by the signs;" they misunderstood my intentions. I blundered along, unintentionally offending people and stepping on toes that had been sore for many years.
I thought tact was something one used to evade the issue, and diplomacy was tantamount to compromise of standards and a sell-out to all that was meaningful. Somehow the congregation had more patience with me than I had with them, and over a period of time we adjusted to ...
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