Paul Clark Interview with Brian Fisher 

Recently while speaking at a church in New Jersey, I met for breakfast with Pastor Brian Fisher. I always enjoy hearing the highs and lows what pastors have experienced over the years of ministry. In this E-Letter I interview Brian and he will shed light on the difficult challenges and victories he experienced at the former church he led.

Paul: Brian, describe what it was like at when you became pastor of your previous church.

Brian: It was deeply divided, and you could say there was a toxic atmosphere. Being without a pastor for 18 months the church was divided with one group of members supporting the principal of the church’s small school and about one-third were more loyal to the associate pastor.

Right from the beginning some disgruntled members raised their voices and said mean things to me.  The confrontations, words, and spiritual battering weighed heavily on me.  Those words were played out over and over and repeated in my mind. Groups of people would leave when my wife and I entered the room.

It’s seems now a funny story but looking back it was the reality. One time when I was preaching, I looked out and I thought to myself, 50% of the people love me, the other 50% don’t like me, and I thought I don’t like those 50% either

This situation began to impact me emotionally, and I even experienced some panic attacks, which I had never had before.

Paul: How did you make it through such a difficult situation?

Brian: The whole time, my goal was trying to keep this church from splitting. We tried to win people over and achieve a win-win outcome in various situations. Unfortunately, the divide was too big and some members could not be won over and they decided to leave the church. This was the best thing for the church, even though I didn’t know that at the time. It took me between three and four years to get the church on a more heathy path.

Paul: Tell me about what you did to get the church on a healthy path?

Brian: 1 My wife and I simply just tried to love people.

2 I was confident in my calling. Yet I knew the Lord needed to do more in me so He could do more through me.

3 I had a “stubborn faith” somehow knowing that God would turn things around.

4 Of course there was much personal prayer and prayer in the church!

5 I had several pastor as mentors who always encouraged me not to give up.

6 Early on, someone said to me, you need to “fight” In a good sense through prayer and being very intentional about loving people. This will bring new life to New Life Church.  I had no idea how true that statement was untill a few years later.

7 I like what Andy Stanley teaches: “My responsibility is to love my wife and family and be faithful to the Lord.  It’s the Lord’s Responsibility to build the church.” Realizing this took a great weight off me.

8 Sam Chand in his book Leadership Pain writes:  “Growth equals change; change equals loss; loss equals pain; so inevitably, growth equals pain.” This is what I experienced at New Life Church. Painful opportunities, if embraced and utilized effectively, are opportunities for personal and spiritual growth.  On the other side of Pain, is gain.

Paul: Did you ever hear from the people who left your church?

Brian: Interestingly enough, some of these people joined other churches and became good workers, loving the Lord; however, they did not have the power or influence that they did before.

Paul: Brian, so speak about how things ended for you at New Life Church.

Brian: After 10 years we transitioned to a new ministry assignment. it was tough for us because we loved the church, and things had developed well, and the church was healthy. When you know the backstory, it makes the present story more beautiful!

In the end, the experience of my former church helped me grow in my ministry and prepared me where I have been ministering for the past five and a half years. Good things are happening here and the church I now pastor is growing. My time at the previous gave me confidence that the Lord will build His church. I leaned there to keep “fighting and holding” onto the call of God!

One more thing I want to say. A turnaround church is worth pressing through.  To see God take something that was unhealthy and dying to something healthy and alive is a beautiful picture of what God wants to do in all of us.

Paul: Thanks Brian for taking the time to speak with me.

Brian is the Lead Pastor of Life Chapel in Point Pleasant, New Jersey since 2019. His wife Jeannie coordinates women’s and children’s ministries. They have been married for 22 years, and their greatest joys are their three children: Keith, Kyle and Katie.

 

https://www.lifechapelpoint.com