Yeah I'm not sure I've ever referred to our guys as a "band", but it's better for word count than musicians 😁

This Sunday, don't complain about your church's: • Mediocre band • Average preacher • Tiny congregation • Small Sunday School Instead, thank God the gospel reached your community.

When post-mortems are conducted on failed pastors the same themes repeat: Too much time away from family No devotions No days off Pastors, rest is not for the weak. Spend time with the Lord, your wife and your kids today.

Does your village church feel pressure to look polished? What if professionalism isn't the best tactic for reaching a rural community? theruralproject.org/blog/avo…

A good word from Spurgeon about the dangers of too much busyness in service crowding out walk with the Lord HT: @SpurgeonMBTS

Yes I think the whole "strategic" thing has so many problems. Pretty good record of "farm boys" running things in Israel too!

5 Reasons to Not Neglect Britain's Villages 1. Rural is bigger than you think 2. The gospel won't just trickle down 3. God is already at work 4. God delights to use the weak 5. Jesus himself was a rural preacher What would you add?

5. Jesus himself was a rural preacher He was born in a village of 300-1,000 He ministered in towns and villages across Galilee He told his disciples to go to towns and villages. Jesus didn't favour urban or rural. He took the message everywhere. We should too

4. God delights to use the weak, not merely the influential. God doesn't need to be in places of influence. He uses the weak to shame the wise. He can work for good in rural areas as easy as the city. The history of revivals shows this

3. God is already at work People are being saved in villages. Rural churches are being revitalised. New churches are being planted. We don't always hear the stories because the numbers are smaller. But smaller does not mean less significant.

2. The gospel won't just trickle down We assume that reaching cities will eventually lead to rural churches. But churches don't accidentally appear in villages Someone must go Someone must preach Someone must plant Rural mission requires action

1. Rural is bigger than you think A village of 5,000 people might not seem strategically important. But when you add together the people in Britain's villages, hamlets and market towns you are talking about 16% of the population of the UK.

Why bother evangelising rural Britain? Surely our limited resources are better spent reaching cities where the people and cultural influences are? Here are 5 reasons we must not neglect Britain's villages:

I'm sure I've missed a load of important things, but I hope these thoughts get you thinking. Have you had to deal with secondary differences in your churches? What has helped? What has not?

19. Stand strong on the clear lines Some things you must stay strong on. You may be gentle and respectful. But you cannot give in on gender and marriage. Or the cross of Christ. Strong can be gentle. But it must be strong.

18. Bear all things We often forgive ourselves too quickly in debate, and forgive others too slowly. They may overstate their case. They may get angry. They may gossip in an ungodly way. Set the tone by forgiving and forgetting errors.

17. Don't take it personally People can disagree! As protestants we believe in Freedom of Conscience. It is not necessarily that the person questions your leadership. You difuse the situation by failing to make it us vs them

16. Avoid gossip It's so tempting with your wife or pastor to bad-mouth an opponent in church. Resist the temptation. If you stoke your anger in private it will spill out in public.

15. Consult other pastors Sometimes an issue comes up that you've never considered before. Seek the wisdom of elders in other churches on how they've approached it.

14. Have Strong Elders Once I was criticised for being too strong on a secondary doctrine in my preaching. My elders agreed and so I apologised. Elders should have this power. Also if they are this strong, when they say "Hold the line" you have confidence they aren't yes men