Romans 15:14-22

All preachers must answer a question. It is a question as old as the prophets are. The question is very simple. “Do I stay, or do I go now?” This question is important because if the pastor answers it incorrectly, the local congregation can suffer great harm. A pastor can harm a church by staying too long.  Paul recognized his call was to organize congregations. He went and preached the gospel to those who had never before heard it. He founded churches, and then he moved on. There is reason to believe that Paul did a better job of founding churches, than he would have done pastoring established churches. He was careful not to stay too long.  When the work that God called him to do was completed, and a church was ready for a new pastor, Paul was willing to hand the mission off to another.

Studies indicate that the greatest harm to local churches does not come from pastors being too slow to leave, but rather from pastors leaving too soon. Quite often, this problem originates with denominational leadership. They use smaller churches as testing and proving grounds. If a new pastor does well at his first church, they feel safe to move him to a larger one. Small churches often feel as if pastors are using them as steppingstones. Pastoring is not at all like a regular occupation where advancement is a goal. Pastoring is a calling that comes from God; it is a calling to service. Paul recognized that his ministry was both a service to God, and a ministry to those to whom he preached.

As he wrote his letter to them, the church at Rome was the largest in the gentile world. Paul did not rush to Rome because he was not seeking glory or position. He was not seeking to pastor the largest church or the one that could afford to pay the most. Paul allowed only one thing to influence his decision to stay or go; God’s will.