Pastor's Circle - Kevin Dodd

Kevin Dodd serves as senior pastor at Grant Avenue Baptist Church in Springfield, Missouri. He joined the Pastor's Circle to discuss . Below are the "CliffsNotes" of his interview.

How can a church get back to its purpose?

I think some of it comes back to getting back to some foundational things. 

What's our view of God? What's our view of his purpose? Why are we here? What has he called us to do?

I think sometimes we try to complicate so much, and sometimes we need to just strip away and get back to some basic things.

If you do that, it helps people knit together a little better. You see God's blessing, you see fruitfulness. It keeps taking you forward.

Why do we continue to do things when they've lost their effectiveness?

I think there are always programs or "ministries" that are legacied or institutionalized. 

Or even events; there are events that our church has done for decades that have lost their effectiveness in the community.

But something I've tried to present to our leadership since we came is that it's a question of whether we're effective.

I think we always need to be examining what we do, asking if it's effective, or glorifying, or even good stewardship. 

If not, even though it might be painful to us personally, let's move on and focus on our mission.