Preaching and Worship in the Small Church

by William H. Willimon

There is much value in "thinking small," say William H. Willimon and Robert L. Wilson. The importance of the small-membership church is illuminated in this thoughtful and insightful assessment. In Preaching and Worship in the Small Church, authors Willimon and Wilson identify the problems facing small churches and offer well-grounded advice for solving them. The need for this is seen in the fact that from one-half to two-thirds of Protestant churches in the United States are small (fewer than two hundred members). These tightly knit little communities of faith focus mainly on the very basic and much-overlooked fundamentals of Christian theology. As the authors note, "It is in such family-like churches that true worship renewal will occur, long before their larger counterparts will taste of this fresh new wine." This is an affirming "It affirms the role and basic values of the small church. It affirms the centrality of Word and Sacrament. It affirms the role of the pastor of the small congregation. It affirms the laity and their values. On this foundation of authentic affirmation can be built creative and inspiring ministries, as the laity and the minister serve God together, in and through the small church."

Genres: Church

126 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1980

About the author

The Reverend Dr. William H. Willimon is Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry at the Divinity School, Duke University. He served eight years as Bishop of the North Alabama Conference of The United Methodist Church, where he led the 157,000 Methodists and 792 pastors in North Alabama. For twenty years prior to the episcopacy, he was Dean of the Chapel and Professor of Christian Ministry at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.

Reviews

[Andrzej Stelmasiak · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mixed bag. Some nuggets, but loads of chaff. Very little of the Scriptural reasoning, plenty of dogmatic statements without showing how they got there. Some great observations but confused theology, which is shown by that vague language they have employed - we have read it together with my Pastor and noticed many times, how things they say can get approval of people from across the spectrum - from conservative Reformed, through Roman Catholic, to Liberal Protestants. It is sad that what they were struggling with as United Methodists in USA (definitely not the most conservative denomination out there!) 40 years ago, is something that conservative Evangelicals in Britain are going through today.

[Kenneth Garrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short book is packed with challenge and fresh perspectives regarding the pastoral ministry in the small church setting. Willimon's thesis is that there are but two, primary requirements for the faithful conduct of ministry in the small church (eg., less than a hundred worshipers): Preaching and the leading of Worship. He argues that the faithful preaching of the Word, and leading of worship in the small church represents the pinnacle of effectiveness in ministry, and that it is in these two areas that the small church frequently excels far beyond the preaching and worship in larger churches, who lack the personal intimacy between the pastor and parishioner, and the deep, historic experience of community that is found in most smaller churches. He also openly admits the deficits of smaller churches (lack of ability to pay a full-time pastor, inherent feelings of inadequacy of the membership when they compare themselves to larger churches in their community, lack of resources, etc.). I highly recommend this book for any pastor or church leader who desires a deeper exploration of pastor theology.