Christianity has spread around the world from Rome to Rhode Island and Rio de Janeiro, and it has around a billion followers worldwide. That spread may be attributed to many things, with one of the most consistent and inspiring being the power of Christianity as a literary text. The written word has been critical to Christian identity and being from the very start. The Gospel of John itself begins with the statement that “In the Beginning, there was the Word” and that Word has continued to spread ever since in the nearly two thousand years which have followed.
The great protectorates of that Word have since then nearly always been priests and pastors. Indeed, a great church pastor is, for many, a cornerstone of a community, and that’s certainly the case with churches new and old in Hawaii today.
The Power of the Word
As stated, the spread of Christianity throughout its history owes a great deal to the consistent emphasis placed upon the text itself. The tradition of a church pastor carefully examining and extolling that text within the context of his or her own congregation is a long-standing practice, and for hundreds of millions of people across the globe, it is an impactful one. A great pastor should seek to keep that text alive in new and profound ways.
Encouraging Acceptance
Of course, one of the most important goals for any great community is to foster acceptance, especially in times such as our own. It is critical to remember that religion at its best serves to connect people with a sense of something grander beyond the mere mundanity of the everyday. Christianity has, at its noblest, championed the disenfranchised and a truly great church pastor can and should seek to help his or her community strive towards that goal as well.
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