More than anything else, if there is to be hope for the plateaued or declining church, it must clearly show Christ to the world. That sounds like a no-brainer, but surveys are finding that, while Jesus is very popular, the church isn’t. It seems people want to know Jesus, but don’t want to know the people who represent Him. We have to find out what we’re doing that turns people off. What do we do that blocks, rather than magnifies the love and hope of Jesus? People crave love. They desperately desire hope. They want relief from the guilt and pain they carry, and they want to know that their lives have purpose. Jesus offers all of these things to everyone, but the church is often the last place people go to find them. What is it that congregations are doing wrong? Why don’t people realize that we want to share what we have found? Here are four common reasons that must be overcome for the church to turn around or get unstuck from a plateau.
1. Churches often seem irrelevant to people living in the 21st century.
The message of Christ is for every generation and every kind of person, but many people don’t believe that. To tell you the truth, in many cases I don’t blame them. Many congregations and some denominations are stuck in another century. For some it’s the 18th or 19th century; even if a church is still acting like it’s living in the 20th century, it’s passé. Congregations get hung up on traditions and appearances. These are things that only the members care about. A world that needs love, hope and salvation, doesn’t give one wit about worship or music style, and can’t figure out why it’s such a big deal to the church. If and when they show up to worship, they simply need to be able to understand the message. A congregation that puts its preferences for any kind of style over its desire to communicate the Gospel is asking to be considered irrelevant.
2. Congregations keep to themselves.
Declining churches talk about being a family, and perhaps they are, but not the kind of family Jesus envisioned. He declared that we would be an open family, always welcoming the new brothers and sisters that our Father adopts. Declining and plateaued churches are often great families to each other, but they are closed families. If you ask them if their church is friendly, they would say, “Oh yes.” More often than not, they are very friendly … to each other. They don’t realize how hard it is for a new person to become more than a guest. They aren’t prepared for new people. They don’t think about new people joining them. In the abstract they say they would like new members, but in reality they fear that new people would upset the way things are. New people can make the old-timers feel uncomfortable, and perhaps, dilute the old-timers’ position of power within the congregation.
3. Too many congregations present an angry face.
Unchurched people are repelled by congregations that show anger at people. God hates sin, but he loves sinners so much He sent His Son to be an atoning sacrifice for their sin. Some pastors and congregations seem to have forgotten that. They’re always against “this” or up in arms about “that.” It’s scary for people who aren’t part of their group and it doesn’t attract people to join. Don’t get me wrong. Sin is abhorrent, and Satan’s schemes should make us angry; however, we must not repel the very people who God loves and wants to save from sin. We do that every time we are perceived as hateful people. The face of the church should be God’s love. His judgment and wrath should not be hidden; they are parts of the story, but it was God’s love that drew Him down from heaven to bring the lost to Him. Love was the hallmark of Jesus’ earthly life. Churches that are plateaued or declining need to find ways to be seen as places where His love is shared.
4. Internal dissension turns unchurched people and new Christians off to the church.
Finally, the people God wants to reach often resist becoming involved in a congregation because of church fights and disagreements. Some people who have called themselves “Christian” for a long time seem to think (and some say it openly) that their role in the church is to be the “devil’s advocate.” Folks, the devil needs no advocate, particularly in the church. He does just fine advocating for himself. I have actually heard people say they wanted to make sure that someone kept the pastor in check. In other words, they thought that someone in the church should make sure the pastor didn’t get his way. If the pastor’s intention is to make disciples, and he is not proposing anything heretical, why does the church need someone to get in his way? If, in fact, the pastor’s way is the way God wants the church to act, these people are in God’s way. The Apostle Paul had an opinion of those who cause dissension in the church, “Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy” Romans 13:13 (NIV). Look at that! In Paul’s opinion, dissension is a sin on par with orgies. I think many church dissenters would be offended to be lumped in with orgy participants. If that is the case, they should quit dissenting and get with the program. The earthly consequence of this sin is not merely frustrating the pastor, it also turns prospective Christians away from becoming part of the Lord’s work in your congregation.
There is hope for the church! Even for churches that are plateaued or declining. That hope comes from the Lord and will become reality when pastors and congregations are willing to pay the emotional and financial prices, choose making disciples as their top priority, become willing to adopt new methods, organize for agility and growth, and become known as communities of God’s love that both want and expect newcomers to join with them.
(If you are interested in having Ray present the "Hope for the Church" series, or any other blog topics as a conference or sermon, you can contact me at ray.houser@gmail.com for scheduling information. If you are interested in seeing Ray speak, go to Vimeo.com and put Ray Houser in the search box. You will find several of my sermons there.)
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
Hope For the Church (Part 5) The Church Must Organize Itself for Growth
If there is to be hope for a plateaued or declining church to get back on track and become a place where people find Christ, it needs to be organized for growth. To get a church going and growing the congregation’s decision-making process needs to be nimble and able to make adjustments quickly to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves. Here are six questions for the congregation to ask itself about its structure:
1. Is the church over- or under-organized?
Many churches are over-organized. The decision-making process takes so long and goes through so many steps that a new idea doesn’t have a chance. If it makes it through the bureaucracy, approval often comes so late enthusiasm has waned. Sometimes the opposite is true. Some congregations are so unorganized that no one feels they have authority to make a decision. Everyone is waiting for someone else to get the ball rolling; consequently, nothing happens. Because no one knows who is in charge, things just keep going as they have been, until they are stopped by inertia. There is no vehicle for change. For a church to do its mission of making disciples, it needs to be organized in a way that encourages new ideas and finds ways for ministry to take place. Some congregations seem to be organized to prevent ministry instead of facilitate ministry.
2. Do the committee meetings enable ministry to happen?
In many established churches members think that sitting on a committee and going to meetings is doing ministry. Committees, task forces, teams, or whatever they are called at your church should be seen as necessary to make the ministry in their charge happen. For example: the meetings of the Christian Education Committee are not the ministry of the Christian Ed. Committee. Its ministry is Sunday school, small groups, teacher training, etc. Team members should meet to find ways to organize, fund, and publicize ministry. They should work together to remove obstacles so the ministry can be more effective. There is no need to have a meeting for the sake of having a meeting. Meetings should be about receiving exciting reports about what is happening in the ministry and making plans for more great things.
3. Is the pastor a leader?
Another leadership problem in a lot of declining and plateaued churches is that the pastor doesn’t lead. This usually happens for one of two reasons. 1.) The pastor doesn’t know how to lead. He doesn’t have leadership gifts, has not been trained to lead, or is lazy and doesn’t want the responsibility of leadership. 2.) The pastor does not have the freedom to lead because he is constrained by the by-laws, the traditional way of doing things at the congregation, or someone or some family has control issues. If church is going to get unstuck from a plateau or turn around from decline, it is imperative that the pastor be a leader and has the freedom to lead the congregation. In some denominations leadership has not been a gift that was considered important in pastors, nor has it been rewarded. However, the word “pastor” means shepherd. Many churches see their pastor (shepherd) as a caretaker of the sheep (church members). Actually the biblical shepherd, (pastor) was first and foremost the leader of the flock. He also protected and cared for the sheep, but the main emphasis of his job was to lead them to pasture and water; and away from danger. See Psalm 23 for a description of the shepherd’s job. It was not by accident that this word was applied to the God-called leader of a congregation in the New Testament church.
4. Is the pastor doing everything?
In some churches one of the things that holds a congregation back from doing the mission God gave it is that the pastor does everything, either because he hasn’t learned to delegate and doesn’t trust others to do ministry; or because the people either don’t understand that each of them have a ministry to perform, or they refuse to perform it. The pastor can’t do it all. If he tries, the church’s growth is limited by his capacity. Besides, that is not the way God intended for the church to function. For a congregation to become what God intends it to be, the members must see themselves as workers, not spectators, ministers, not consumers.
5. Do the pastor, the board, the staff, and the members know their jobs?
A congregation should be organized so that the pastor can cast a God-inspired vision that the board endorses. The pastor, with the counsel of the church’s leadership, then sets measurable goals and objectives that will enable the church to fulfill the vision. In other words, the pastor’s job is to lead. Then board’s job is to hold him accountable to meet the goals in a Christ-like way. The staff’s (paid or unpaid) job is to manage the ministries that are necessary to meet the goals and objectives. And the job of church members is to do the ministry of the church. This is an accountable and measurable way of doing God’s work (often referred to as the governance model).
6. Are newcomers intentionally asked to get involved?
Finally, a church that expects to grow by bringing people to Christ must be intentional in getting new people involved in ministry. Declining and plateaued churches often make it difficult, or have no path to help people get involved. Leaders need to find out what new people are interested in doing and match them up with things that fit their gift mix. If there is nothing for new people to do, then the church needs to try some new things. New people may well also be the source of new ministry ideas. Encouraging them to discover and use their spiritual gifts and talents is the first, and possibly the most important step. The most exciting thing in the world is to discover and do the work that God equipped and called you to do. All church members must be challenged, encouraged and expected to somehow be involved in ministry.
Is your church’s structure helping or hindering your work of making disciples?
1. Is the church over- or under-organized?
Many churches are over-organized. The decision-making process takes so long and goes through so many steps that a new idea doesn’t have a chance. If it makes it through the bureaucracy, approval often comes so late enthusiasm has waned. Sometimes the opposite is true. Some congregations are so unorganized that no one feels they have authority to make a decision. Everyone is waiting for someone else to get the ball rolling; consequently, nothing happens. Because no one knows who is in charge, things just keep going as they have been, until they are stopped by inertia. There is no vehicle for change. For a church to do its mission of making disciples, it needs to be organized in a way that encourages new ideas and finds ways for ministry to take place. Some congregations seem to be organized to prevent ministry instead of facilitate ministry.
2. Do the committee meetings enable ministry to happen?
In many established churches members think that sitting on a committee and going to meetings is doing ministry. Committees, task forces, teams, or whatever they are called at your church should be seen as necessary to make the ministry in their charge happen. For example: the meetings of the Christian Education Committee are not the ministry of the Christian Ed. Committee. Its ministry is Sunday school, small groups, teacher training, etc. Team members should meet to find ways to organize, fund, and publicize ministry. They should work together to remove obstacles so the ministry can be more effective. There is no need to have a meeting for the sake of having a meeting. Meetings should be about receiving exciting reports about what is happening in the ministry and making plans for more great things.
3. Is the pastor a leader?
Another leadership problem in a lot of declining and plateaued churches is that the pastor doesn’t lead. This usually happens for one of two reasons. 1.) The pastor doesn’t know how to lead. He doesn’t have leadership gifts, has not been trained to lead, or is lazy and doesn’t want the responsibility of leadership. 2.) The pastor does not have the freedom to lead because he is constrained by the by-laws, the traditional way of doing things at the congregation, or someone or some family has control issues. If church is going to get unstuck from a plateau or turn around from decline, it is imperative that the pastor be a leader and has the freedom to lead the congregation. In some denominations leadership has not been a gift that was considered important in pastors, nor has it been rewarded. However, the word “pastor” means shepherd. Many churches see their pastor (shepherd) as a caretaker of the sheep (church members). Actually the biblical shepherd, (pastor) was first and foremost the leader of the flock. He also protected and cared for the sheep, but the main emphasis of his job was to lead them to pasture and water; and away from danger. See Psalm 23 for a description of the shepherd’s job. It was not by accident that this word was applied to the God-called leader of a congregation in the New Testament church.
4. Is the pastor doing everything?
In some churches one of the things that holds a congregation back from doing the mission God gave it is that the pastor does everything, either because he hasn’t learned to delegate and doesn’t trust others to do ministry; or because the people either don’t understand that each of them have a ministry to perform, or they refuse to perform it. The pastor can’t do it all. If he tries, the church’s growth is limited by his capacity. Besides, that is not the way God intended for the church to function. For a congregation to become what God intends it to be, the members must see themselves as workers, not spectators, ministers, not consumers.
5. Do the pastor, the board, the staff, and the members know their jobs?
A congregation should be organized so that the pastor can cast a God-inspired vision that the board endorses. The pastor, with the counsel of the church’s leadership, then sets measurable goals and objectives that will enable the church to fulfill the vision. In other words, the pastor’s job is to lead. Then board’s job is to hold him accountable to meet the goals in a Christ-like way. The staff’s (paid or unpaid) job is to manage the ministries that are necessary to meet the goals and objectives. And the job of church members is to do the ministry of the church. This is an accountable and measurable way of doing God’s work (often referred to as the governance model).
6. Are newcomers intentionally asked to get involved?
Finally, a church that expects to grow by bringing people to Christ must be intentional in getting new people involved in ministry. Declining and plateaued churches often make it difficult, or have no path to help people get involved. Leaders need to find out what new people are interested in doing and match them up with things that fit their gift mix. If there is nothing for new people to do, then the church needs to try some new things. New people may well also be the source of new ministry ideas. Encouraging them to discover and use their spiritual gifts and talents is the first, and possibly the most important step. The most exciting thing in the world is to discover and do the work that God equipped and called you to do. All church members must be challenged, encouraged and expected to somehow be involved in ministry.
Is your church’s structure helping or hindering your work of making disciples?
Friday, July 15, 2011
Hope for the Church (Part 4): The Church must be Willing to Choose the Right Methods
So many congregations these days are plagued by stagnant attendance figures, or find their attendance dwindling, that the church is in crisis. Some churches realize the danger and are afraid of the future; others are as oblivious as the band that played on the deck as the Titanic sank. However, there is hope for plateaued and declining churches if they realize the danger and do what needs to be done to once again become places where people find the love, hope and salvation Jesus offers. In this series, we have looked at the price the pastor and the congregation must pay, and the priorities that the church must adhere to. The next avenue of hope for churches to fulfill God’s mission of making disciples is to discover and/or choose appropriate methods of sharing the Good News of Jesus.
Let me point out four assumptions which are both frequent and problematic, that congregations make when choosing the methods it uses for building God’s Kingdom.
It worked for Grandpa.
When a congregation, particularly one that has had past greatness, realizes that it must do something to regain its old vitality, it often decides to start doing the things that worked years ago. Tactics that were effective in days gone by seldom bring the same results today. So much of life has changed. Means of communication have changed. People have a higher degree of expectation for quality in preaching, teaching, and music. Also, most Americans these days know much less about the Bible and the claims of Christ than did the unchurched of a few decades ago. As much as it hurts some folks to realize it, Grandpa’s methods will likely fall flat these days.
It worked in another place.
The location of a congregation is unique. The fact that a method works well in one area does not guarantee its success elsewhere. A lot depends on the demographics of the community in which the church finds itself. Still more depends on the make-up of your church. The first thing a church must do is figure out who it is and who it has the best chance of reaching. Many churches balk at the idea of targeting a group because they like to say they want to reach everyone. But the truth is there is a segment of your community that you have the best chance of reaching. I would go so far as to say those folks are the people God has called you to reach. Now, hear exactly what I am saying, and don’t read any underlying meaning into that. A church should never be exclusive; in fact, I think God calls us to be inclusive. However, reality shows that there are some people that some churches can reach with greater ease, likely because that is who God has in mind for them to reach first. And as a practical matter if a church has no target, it will get what it aims at, nothing.
An idea that has worked at another church might work if that church works hard to tailor it to fit their situation. Very few methods or programs are “one-size-fits-all.” Assuming you can plug a program that worked in another location into your church is a mistake that many churches have made over the last 40 years. A better way might be to allow a borrowed concept to inspire an idea that is made for your church’s very special situation. Borrow ideas. Don’t transplant programs.
It worked for so-and-so
Methods that have worked for big name churches or leaders are a blessing to the Kingdom of God. Don’t expect those methods to work the same for you. You are not that other guy. You don’t have his personality, his resources, or his situation. Don’t assume someone else’s methods will work for you. Robert Schuller and his Crystal Cathedral inspired Bill Hybels as he developed Willow Creek Church near Chicago, and also Rick Warren in Orange County at Saddleback Community. Neither of those churches resembles the Crystal Cathedral, nor are they anything like each other. Hybels and Warren skillfully adapted Schuller’s principles to each of their unique situations. Learn principles and apply them … don’t copy. If you copy you will likely be disappointed when you don’t get the same results as so and so.
We never did it that way before
Congregations sometimes resist trying new methods simply because they are new. They fear doing something they haven’t tried before. Some will even keep doing things that haven’t worked in a long time because that is all they know to do. To discover the methods a particular church should use in a particular time and place takes study of both the community and the congregation; wisdom to choose the things that have the best chance of working, and, most of all, the courage to take a risk and try different things. Many churches are paralyzed because they fear that if they try something new it will fail. The truth is some things will fail, but the church and its leaders must have the freedom to fail and learn from the failures. You can learn a lot by failing. You can learn what not to do, and/or what needs to be changed to reverse a failure.
God gave the church the mission to make disciples. He won’t leave us without a way to do that assignment. To reach this generation congregations must get creative and be willing to take risks. This could well be the dawning of the finest hour for the church in America, if she takes the challenge and refuses to retreat. First of all, open your heart to those who need to know Jesus, then open your head to the ideas God wants to give you for reaching them, and finally, do the life-giving work.
Comments?
Next time: Part 5: “The Church Must be Organized so that it Can Fulfill Her Mission”
Let me point out four assumptions which are both frequent and problematic, that congregations make when choosing the methods it uses for building God’s Kingdom.
It worked for Grandpa.
When a congregation, particularly one that has had past greatness, realizes that it must do something to regain its old vitality, it often decides to start doing the things that worked years ago. Tactics that were effective in days gone by seldom bring the same results today. So much of life has changed. Means of communication have changed. People have a higher degree of expectation for quality in preaching, teaching, and music. Also, most Americans these days know much less about the Bible and the claims of Christ than did the unchurched of a few decades ago. As much as it hurts some folks to realize it, Grandpa’s methods will likely fall flat these days.
It worked in another place.
The location of a congregation is unique. The fact that a method works well in one area does not guarantee its success elsewhere. A lot depends on the demographics of the community in which the church finds itself. Still more depends on the make-up of your church. The first thing a church must do is figure out who it is and who it has the best chance of reaching. Many churches balk at the idea of targeting a group because they like to say they want to reach everyone. But the truth is there is a segment of your community that you have the best chance of reaching. I would go so far as to say those folks are the people God has called you to reach. Now, hear exactly what I am saying, and don’t read any underlying meaning into that. A church should never be exclusive; in fact, I think God calls us to be inclusive. However, reality shows that there are some people that some churches can reach with greater ease, likely because that is who God has in mind for them to reach first. And as a practical matter if a church has no target, it will get what it aims at, nothing.
An idea that has worked at another church might work if that church works hard to tailor it to fit their situation. Very few methods or programs are “one-size-fits-all.” Assuming you can plug a program that worked in another location into your church is a mistake that many churches have made over the last 40 years. A better way might be to allow a borrowed concept to inspire an idea that is made for your church’s very special situation. Borrow ideas. Don’t transplant programs.
It worked for so-and-so
Methods that have worked for big name churches or leaders are a blessing to the Kingdom of God. Don’t expect those methods to work the same for you. You are not that other guy. You don’t have his personality, his resources, or his situation. Don’t assume someone else’s methods will work for you. Robert Schuller and his Crystal Cathedral inspired Bill Hybels as he developed Willow Creek Church near Chicago, and also Rick Warren in Orange County at Saddleback Community. Neither of those churches resembles the Crystal Cathedral, nor are they anything like each other. Hybels and Warren skillfully adapted Schuller’s principles to each of their unique situations. Learn principles and apply them … don’t copy. If you copy you will likely be disappointed when you don’t get the same results as so and so.
We never did it that way before
Congregations sometimes resist trying new methods simply because they are new. They fear doing something they haven’t tried before. Some will even keep doing things that haven’t worked in a long time because that is all they know to do. To discover the methods a particular church should use in a particular time and place takes study of both the community and the congregation; wisdom to choose the things that have the best chance of working, and, most of all, the courage to take a risk and try different things. Many churches are paralyzed because they fear that if they try something new it will fail. The truth is some things will fail, but the church and its leaders must have the freedom to fail and learn from the failures. You can learn a lot by failing. You can learn what not to do, and/or what needs to be changed to reverse a failure.
God gave the church the mission to make disciples. He won’t leave us without a way to do that assignment. To reach this generation congregations must get creative and be willing to take risks. This could well be the dawning of the finest hour for the church in America, if she takes the challenge and refuses to retreat. First of all, open your heart to those who need to know Jesus, then open your head to the ideas God wants to give you for reaching them, and finally, do the life-giving work.
Comments?
Next time: Part 5: “The Church Must be Organized so that it Can Fulfill Her Mission”
Monday, July 11, 2011
Hope for the Church (Part 3) The Church Must be willing to Change Priorities to Make Disciples
This is my third post in a series that is intended to give some reasons for hope in plateaued and declining churches. Not only must the pastor be willing to pay the price (part 1), and the congregation must be willing to pay the price (part 2), but it also needs to examine its priorities and adopt ones that will enable it to accomplish the mission God gave it.
Let’s look at some priorities that congregations need to change to accomplish its mission:
1. Congregations need to quit choosing neatness over usefulness. Some churches are so afraid that children or youth, or families will make a mess in their building that they prevent many programs designed to reach the very people they say they most want to reach. These churches may be in pristine condition, but if they’re not careful, they may find that they are also empty.
2. Many declining and plateaued churches hold the convenience of members as more important that attracting the lost. One example is the church that decides it wants to attract young families by starting a contemporary service. Then it schedules the contemporary service at 8 a.m., leaving the traditional service in the 11 a.m. time slot. Anyone who ever had children knows that’s not the best time to attract either young families that have to get little ones up and dressed, or the college age/twenty-something age range.
3. Churches that aren’t attracting people who don’t know the Lord tend to forget how to be good hosts. A good host/hostess does whatever he/she can to make the guest feel comfortable. All regular attenders should see themselves as hosts and go out of their way to make guests feel accepted, comfortable, and loved from the moment they come on the church campus until they go home. Some of these things are obvious, like not taking a seat away from a visitor because “I always sit there” or long time members taking up all the parking spaces close to the building. It could also mean doing some things that take organization and work, like valet parking and coordinated greeting. There are many ways to help guests feel welcome, if you are willing.
(If you are interested in more stuff I have to say about this, take a look at four blog postings I did titled “The Winsome Church” in the spring of 2010.)
4. A congregation will not get unstuck from the plateau, or turn around from declining, if it finds its traditions to be more important than doing what needs to be done to share the Gospel in a relevant way. Many times the schedule of the church is pretty much the same year after year, and if something new is added and is successful, the church feels it has to do that event every year. Consequently, the schedule is ruled by stuff that may no longer be helpful in reaching new people. One example is the evening service. A half century ago the evening service was often the “evangelistic service.” It was well attended, people brought friends, and folks found the Lord, but, in most congregations, that ended many years ago. Consequently, church staffs spend time to prepare a worship service that few people attend. Also, Sunday evening might be a good time to have small group studies or fellowship events that could help make new disciples and/or train church members. Why do churches keep having an evening service? “Because we have always had one.” It is an example of tradition taking precedence over effectiveness.
5. This leads to a broader “must” for a congregation that hopes to return to effectively expanding God’s Kingdom by making disciples: Churches need to get their priorities right. If making disciples is the top priority for the congregation, all other priorities must fall in behind that one, and be in support of it. Here are some observable wrong priority mistakes that declining or plateaued churches often make:
a. Some choose neatness over usefulness. (ex. The church that gets a new carpet in the fellowship hall then bans eating or drinking in there)
b. Others choose the convenience of the members over attracting the lost. (as in #2 above)
c. Many congregations choose to satisfy the preferences of the members over making changes designed to communicate in a way that is relevant to people who don’t know Christ. (classic example: traditional vs contemporary music)
d. The overall mistake concerning priorities that declining and plateaued churches make is choosing to focus inward on those who are already members (and should be part of the process of making disciples), over focusing outward on attracting, converting, and assimilating new disciples.
Turning a declining church around is tough, and so is getting a plateaued congregation unstuck, but if a church is to do God’s assignment of making disciples, it must get serious about doing the difficult work. Being committed to God’s priorities is the place to start.
Reactions?
Next time: Part 4 - “The Church must be willing to Choose Appropriate Methods” to hope to accomplish God’s assignment for her.
Let’s look at some priorities that congregations need to change to accomplish its mission:
1. Congregations need to quit choosing neatness over usefulness. Some churches are so afraid that children or youth, or families will make a mess in their building that they prevent many programs designed to reach the very people they say they most want to reach. These churches may be in pristine condition, but if they’re not careful, they may find that they are also empty.
2. Many declining and plateaued churches hold the convenience of members as more important that attracting the lost. One example is the church that decides it wants to attract young families by starting a contemporary service. Then it schedules the contemporary service at 8 a.m., leaving the traditional service in the 11 a.m. time slot. Anyone who ever had children knows that’s not the best time to attract either young families that have to get little ones up and dressed, or the college age/twenty-something age range.
3. Churches that aren’t attracting people who don’t know the Lord tend to forget how to be good hosts. A good host/hostess does whatever he/she can to make the guest feel comfortable. All regular attenders should see themselves as hosts and go out of their way to make guests feel accepted, comfortable, and loved from the moment they come on the church campus until they go home. Some of these things are obvious, like not taking a seat away from a visitor because “I always sit there” or long time members taking up all the parking spaces close to the building. It could also mean doing some things that take organization and work, like valet parking and coordinated greeting. There are many ways to help guests feel welcome, if you are willing.
(If you are interested in more stuff I have to say about this, take a look at four blog postings I did titled “The Winsome Church” in the spring of 2010.)
4. A congregation will not get unstuck from the plateau, or turn around from declining, if it finds its traditions to be more important than doing what needs to be done to share the Gospel in a relevant way. Many times the schedule of the church is pretty much the same year after year, and if something new is added and is successful, the church feels it has to do that event every year. Consequently, the schedule is ruled by stuff that may no longer be helpful in reaching new people. One example is the evening service. A half century ago the evening service was often the “evangelistic service.” It was well attended, people brought friends, and folks found the Lord, but, in most congregations, that ended many years ago. Consequently, church staffs spend time to prepare a worship service that few people attend. Also, Sunday evening might be a good time to have small group studies or fellowship events that could help make new disciples and/or train church members. Why do churches keep having an evening service? “Because we have always had one.” It is an example of tradition taking precedence over effectiveness.
5. This leads to a broader “must” for a congregation that hopes to return to effectively expanding God’s Kingdom by making disciples: Churches need to get their priorities right. If making disciples is the top priority for the congregation, all other priorities must fall in behind that one, and be in support of it. Here are some observable wrong priority mistakes that declining or plateaued churches often make:
a. Some choose neatness over usefulness. (ex. The church that gets a new carpet in the fellowship hall then bans eating or drinking in there)
b. Others choose the convenience of the members over attracting the lost. (as in #2 above)
c. Many congregations choose to satisfy the preferences of the members over making changes designed to communicate in a way that is relevant to people who don’t know Christ. (classic example: traditional vs contemporary music)
d. The overall mistake concerning priorities that declining and plateaued churches make is choosing to focus inward on those who are already members (and should be part of the process of making disciples), over focusing outward on attracting, converting, and assimilating new disciples.
Turning a declining church around is tough, and so is getting a plateaued congregation unstuck, but if a church is to do God’s assignment of making disciples, it must get serious about doing the difficult work. Being committed to God’s priorities is the place to start.
Reactions?
Next time: Part 4 - “The Church must be willing to Choose Appropriate Methods” to hope to accomplish God’s assignment for her.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Hope for the Church (Part 2) The Price the People Must Pay
Some churches are flourishing in this culture at this time, but in this very same setting the attendance in the vast majority of congregations is on a plateau or declining. This is the second in a series of postings that offer some practical guides for declining or plateaued congregations that want to become places that change lives and their communities by making disciples. Last time, I wrote about the price the pastor must pay; this week it’s the price the congregation must pay to restore hope for the future of the church.
The price a congregation must pay if there is hope for the church
1. The people must truly want new people to become part of their church family. People in some congregations have an intense love for the folks in their church. The church has become a second, and in some cases a first, family for them. This is wonderful for the members, but, if that family feeling includes excluding new people, it’s dangerous for the Kingdom of God. The church should have a family feel, but if it hopes to fulfill its great commission, it must be a family that is open to new members. Not only must the established members welcome visitors and new members, it needs to be anxious for new folks to become part of the family.
2. The people must be willing to make changes. First, it is important to know for sure that the one thing that can never change is the wonderful message of the Gospel. However, the way the message is delivered and packaged needs to be continually changed to keep it relevant to the people God wants your church to reach for Him. Churches find it hard to change. One of the reasons is that they find it almost impossible to stop doing what they have done before, even if a program lost its effectiveness long ago. It’s hard to start new efforts when the church calendar is cluttered with events and old programs.
3. The congregation pays a price by surrendering leadership to leaders, particularly the pastor. This may seem like a no-brainer to some, but it’s very hard for many congregations. Congregations are led by various things. Sometimes it’s the past. Perhaps the church has had some glory days and it attempts to repeat those wonderful times by doing the same things. The problem with that is the culture and their community keeps changing. In other churches, a pastor once did something bad and caused the church a lot of grief, so they want to make sure that doesn’t happen again. As a result of their distrust of anyone in the position of pastor, there is very little real leadership (by the pastor) taking place. In other congregations, there is an influential family, or person who is the acknowledged leaders. Too often this person or family refuses to let anything, or anyone threaten their position of power, and they see a pastor who leads as a threat. If a congregation truly desires to get off its plateau or turn around from dying, it has to pay the price of allowing the pastor to be the real leader.
4. The people must be willing to be trained and to work. The pastor’s job as shepherd is to lead the church. The job of staff is to manage the various ministries of the church. And the role of the members of the church is to do the ministry. (Don’t believe me? Check out Ephesians 4:11-12.) Too many congregations believe that it’s the job of the pastor and staff to do everything, but that’s not the way God planned the church. Ask many members what ministry they do in their church and they will tell you about a committee that they’re on. The extent of their idea of their ministry is to attend committee meetings. My experience tells me that a great majority of committee meetings are not ministry; they are bureaucracy. If the church is to win the world, the people need to discover their spiritual gifts, hone those gifts with training, and then actively pursue an area of ministry that requires their gifts and training.
5. The people need to accept God’s vision for their congregation with enthusiasm. The vision that God gives them through their pastor may well be different from what they have seen before. The pastor will ask the church for input, but when it comes to the future of the church, the input that really counts is God’s input. You have a say, the pastor has a say, but the vision must come from God. The congregation that is plateaued, or declining, should expect the vision to challenge them to do something new. Don’t make the pastor have to pull and prod you to do what God has assigned the church to do. The pastor should lead the church like a shepherd leads sheep. He should not have to drive the church like a cowboy drives cattle.
6. The people must pay the price of sacrificial giving. Increasing the influence of the church so that it can make more disciples costs money. Church members should arrange their personal finances so that they can give 10%, and sometimes more, of their income to the church. Also, church members need to remind themselves that when they give money to the church it is God’s. Some want to attach strings to their gifts. By doing so, these members are seeking to control the vision and the future of the church. Make sure that your tithes, offerings and gifts are given to the church to be used as God sees fit. It is sad to see a congregation unable to seize an opportunity that God has laid before it because all of its savings are designated for someone’s favorite project. Give it to God. Pray for the leadership of the church. Trust God to lead the leadership.
7. The congregation must do all it can to keep the pastor long enough to see the trajectory of the church change. Even in the best circumstances, change takes time. Churches that change pastors often, almost never grow, and almost always lose influence in their community. It only takes a small minority of people in the church to dishearten a pastor and make him/her want to find somewhere else to minister. Pastors become open to the possibility of moving because of the pain generated by unrelentingly difficult people. Your pastor, particularly in a church that votes their pastor in, is God’s gift to the church. He should stay until God removes him. The congregation should do its best to make a long stay with them a pleasant prospect for the pastor and his family. Pay him as well as you can. Encourage him to take his vacation time. Provide money and time for him to take training and find spiritual refreshment. Protect him from any people associated with your congregation who somehow feel it is their duty to make life hard for the pastor. The church should hold the pastor accountable to live a moral live, take care of his/her family, and lead the congregation to accomplish the goals that will enable it to fulfill God’s vision. It should also love him and reward him when he/she does a good job. Most of all, the congregation should pray for their pastor and his/her family.
I encourage and welcome your comments.
Next time we’ll look at “The Price of Having the Right Priorities.”
The price a congregation must pay if there is hope for the church
1. The people must truly want new people to become part of their church family. People in some congregations have an intense love for the folks in their church. The church has become a second, and in some cases a first, family for them. This is wonderful for the members, but, if that family feeling includes excluding new people, it’s dangerous for the Kingdom of God. The church should have a family feel, but if it hopes to fulfill its great commission, it must be a family that is open to new members. Not only must the established members welcome visitors and new members, it needs to be anxious for new folks to become part of the family.
2. The people must be willing to make changes. First, it is important to know for sure that the one thing that can never change is the wonderful message of the Gospel. However, the way the message is delivered and packaged needs to be continually changed to keep it relevant to the people God wants your church to reach for Him. Churches find it hard to change. One of the reasons is that they find it almost impossible to stop doing what they have done before, even if a program lost its effectiveness long ago. It’s hard to start new efforts when the church calendar is cluttered with events and old programs.
3. The congregation pays a price by surrendering leadership to leaders, particularly the pastor. This may seem like a no-brainer to some, but it’s very hard for many congregations. Congregations are led by various things. Sometimes it’s the past. Perhaps the church has had some glory days and it attempts to repeat those wonderful times by doing the same things. The problem with that is the culture and their community keeps changing. In other churches, a pastor once did something bad and caused the church a lot of grief, so they want to make sure that doesn’t happen again. As a result of their distrust of anyone in the position of pastor, there is very little real leadership (by the pastor) taking place. In other congregations, there is an influential family, or person who is the acknowledged leaders. Too often this person or family refuses to let anything, or anyone threaten their position of power, and they see a pastor who leads as a threat. If a congregation truly desires to get off its plateau or turn around from dying, it has to pay the price of allowing the pastor to be the real leader.
4. The people must be willing to be trained and to work. The pastor’s job as shepherd is to lead the church. The job of staff is to manage the various ministries of the church. And the role of the members of the church is to do the ministry. (Don’t believe me? Check out Ephesians 4:11-12.) Too many congregations believe that it’s the job of the pastor and staff to do everything, but that’s not the way God planned the church. Ask many members what ministry they do in their church and they will tell you about a committee that they’re on. The extent of their idea of their ministry is to attend committee meetings. My experience tells me that a great majority of committee meetings are not ministry; they are bureaucracy. If the church is to win the world, the people need to discover their spiritual gifts, hone those gifts with training, and then actively pursue an area of ministry that requires their gifts and training.
5. The people need to accept God’s vision for their congregation with enthusiasm. The vision that God gives them through their pastor may well be different from what they have seen before. The pastor will ask the church for input, but when it comes to the future of the church, the input that really counts is God’s input. You have a say, the pastor has a say, but the vision must come from God. The congregation that is plateaued, or declining, should expect the vision to challenge them to do something new. Don’t make the pastor have to pull and prod you to do what God has assigned the church to do. The pastor should lead the church like a shepherd leads sheep. He should not have to drive the church like a cowboy drives cattle.
6. The people must pay the price of sacrificial giving. Increasing the influence of the church so that it can make more disciples costs money. Church members should arrange their personal finances so that they can give 10%, and sometimes more, of their income to the church. Also, church members need to remind themselves that when they give money to the church it is God’s. Some want to attach strings to their gifts. By doing so, these members are seeking to control the vision and the future of the church. Make sure that your tithes, offerings and gifts are given to the church to be used as God sees fit. It is sad to see a congregation unable to seize an opportunity that God has laid before it because all of its savings are designated for someone’s favorite project. Give it to God. Pray for the leadership of the church. Trust God to lead the leadership.
7. The congregation must do all it can to keep the pastor long enough to see the trajectory of the church change. Even in the best circumstances, change takes time. Churches that change pastors often, almost never grow, and almost always lose influence in their community. It only takes a small minority of people in the church to dishearten a pastor and make him/her want to find somewhere else to minister. Pastors become open to the possibility of moving because of the pain generated by unrelentingly difficult people. Your pastor, particularly in a church that votes their pastor in, is God’s gift to the church. He should stay until God removes him. The congregation should do its best to make a long stay with them a pleasant prospect for the pastor and his family. Pay him as well as you can. Encourage him to take his vacation time. Provide money and time for him to take training and find spiritual refreshment. Protect him from any people associated with your congregation who somehow feel it is their duty to make life hard for the pastor. The church should hold the pastor accountable to live a moral live, take care of his/her family, and lead the congregation to accomplish the goals that will enable it to fulfill God’s vision. It should also love him and reward him when he/she does a good job. Most of all, the congregation should pray for their pastor and his/her family.
I encourage and welcome your comments.
Next time we’ll look at “The Price of Having the Right Priorities.”
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Hope For the Church (Part 1) The Price the Pastor Must Pay
The truth is a lot of local churches in North America have a very uncertain future. The state leader of the church group with which I am associated estimates that as many as 90% of our churches are plateaued or declining. He is afraid that many of them are in grave danger. Some of them can’t see it; others see it, but think that somehow it will just get better. These congregations just keep doing things they always have and wish for better days to return, instead they of facing their problems and taking steps to overcome them. It is tempting to give up hope on such local churches.
I think there is a lot of hope for the church, but some things have to change for that hope to be more than a wish. Some prices have to be paid by both the pastor and the congregation. These are emotional as well as financial prices. Churches need to check their priorities and make sure that they are God’s priorities for His church. Even though it’s hard, there has to be a willingness to adopt new methods to deliver the old Gospel. The church needs an agile organization that can adapt to opportunities. Finally, congregations must get an idea of how they are perceived by the community they wish to win for Christ.
I’m going to deal with hope for the church in my next several blog postings. Since he should be the key leader to get the congregation off a plateau or turn it around from a decline, I want to start with the pastor.
The Price the Pastor Must Pay if there is Hope for the Church:
Many years ago C. Peter Wagner said that the first thing a church needs if it wants to grow is a pastor who wants the church to grow and is willing to pay the price. That’s still true. Pastor, do you want your church to grow? Now, don’t answer too fast. Growing churches are a lot of work! New people can bring messy lives into the fellowship. Change is a challenge for long-time members. You may have to learn some things and stretch yourself to lead a growing church. Here is a short, non-exhaustive list of the prices a pastor has to pay to lead the church he serves off a plateau or to recover from decline:
1. The pastor must completely and continually yield himself to being the pastor God wants him to be. Being God’s kind of pastor must be what your heart is set on, and what your life and ministry are built around. Only two things can come before your commitment to God’s vision for the church: your personal relationship with God and your relationship with your family.
2. The pastor must train himself. Even if you have an advanced seminary degree, you may not know what you need to know to lead a church in this crucial time. Fortunately, we live in a day when books, on-line courses, seminars, and other training opportunities abound. Maybe what you need is to get someone who has led a turnaround church to coach you through the process.
3. Get God’s vision for the church you are serving. It’s not as hard as it may sound. You know the outcome he wants: make disciples. To get His vision for your situation, you simply ask him, “Given my gifts and talents and the talents and gifts of our people, how can our church make disciples of people in this community? Who should we try to reach first? What can we do to deliver the Gospel to them in a way that is relevant to their lives and that they will accept?
4. Work hard. You know what I mean. A rut can be comfortable because you don’t have to dig. If you’re leading a turnaround, you will be building some new roads. It takes work!
5. Lead the congregation. Don’t be satisfied with maintaining status quo. Lead the church to fulfill the Great Commission in your local community with your ideas and your teaching. God called you there to be the leader. This may be news to some of the people in your church, so be prepared to deal with opposition. Remember you are doing God’s assignment, not your own.
6. Stay there long enough to see the vision fulfilled. If you start making progress, other congregations will hear of it and want you to be their pastor. Make sure you have completed God’s assignment at the church you’re now serving before you entertain a move.
I think there is a lot of hope for the church, but some things have to change for that hope to be more than a wish. Some prices have to be paid by both the pastor and the congregation. These are emotional as well as financial prices. Churches need to check their priorities and make sure that they are God’s priorities for His church. Even though it’s hard, there has to be a willingness to adopt new methods to deliver the old Gospel. The church needs an agile organization that can adapt to opportunities. Finally, congregations must get an idea of how they are perceived by the community they wish to win for Christ.
I’m going to deal with hope for the church in my next several blog postings. Since he should be the key leader to get the congregation off a plateau or turn it around from a decline, I want to start with the pastor.
The Price the Pastor Must Pay if there is Hope for the Church:
Many years ago C. Peter Wagner said that the first thing a church needs if it wants to grow is a pastor who wants the church to grow and is willing to pay the price. That’s still true. Pastor, do you want your church to grow? Now, don’t answer too fast. Growing churches are a lot of work! New people can bring messy lives into the fellowship. Change is a challenge for long-time members. You may have to learn some things and stretch yourself to lead a growing church. Here is a short, non-exhaustive list of the prices a pastor has to pay to lead the church he serves off a plateau or to recover from decline:
1. The pastor must completely and continually yield himself to being the pastor God wants him to be. Being God’s kind of pastor must be what your heart is set on, and what your life and ministry are built around. Only two things can come before your commitment to God’s vision for the church: your personal relationship with God and your relationship with your family.
2. The pastor must train himself. Even if you have an advanced seminary degree, you may not know what you need to know to lead a church in this crucial time. Fortunately, we live in a day when books, on-line courses, seminars, and other training opportunities abound. Maybe what you need is to get someone who has led a turnaround church to coach you through the process.
3. Get God’s vision for the church you are serving. It’s not as hard as it may sound. You know the outcome he wants: make disciples. To get His vision for your situation, you simply ask him, “Given my gifts and talents and the talents and gifts of our people, how can our church make disciples of people in this community? Who should we try to reach first? What can we do to deliver the Gospel to them in a way that is relevant to their lives and that they will accept?
4. Work hard. You know what I mean. A rut can be comfortable because you don’t have to dig. If you’re leading a turnaround, you will be building some new roads. It takes work!
5. Lead the congregation. Don’t be satisfied with maintaining status quo. Lead the church to fulfill the Great Commission in your local community with your ideas and your teaching. God called you there to be the leader. This may be news to some of the people in your church, so be prepared to deal with opposition. Remember you are doing God’s assignment, not your own.
6. Stay there long enough to see the vision fulfilled. If you start making progress, other congregations will hear of it and want you to be their pastor. Make sure you have completed God’s assignment at the church you’re now serving before you entertain a move.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
The Business of the Church
Several years ago, when I was working on a management degree, an instructor asked our class “What business are you in?” At first I thought that his question didn’t really apply to me, because I was a pastor. I took these management courses to help me lead the church better, but I wasn’t really in business. But the teacher continued by saying, “By business I mean this: at the core, in simplest terms, what is your business all about? Why are your doors open? Why have you hung out a sign?” Then he went around the room asking each person. What in the world was I going to say? Most of the others were in the automobile business, so they were answering things like, making cars, providing safe transportation, or making cars more efficient, or more fun, something like that. I didn’t really listen very well because I was trying to figure out what I could say when he finally got to me. Finally it came to me, one important word—relationships. The business of the church is relationships. Jesus was asked a similar question once. When someone asked which of God’s commandments is the greatest, he was actually asking Jesus what all his teaching was really about. Remember what Jesus answered? “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Therefore, what we Christ’s followers are to be about is spreading love by building relationships. In the church we endeavor to:
1. Bring people to a relationship with the Lord through faith in His Son in which they find love, forgiveness, and new life.
2. Bring people into a fellowship relationship with God’s family, the Church.
It is not enough to think of the church as a place where we simply sing songs of praise, preach and teach. What we are to be doing is encouraging full-fledged relationships between people and God and between God’s people. We can’t be just a sign post that tells about God or even a lighthouse that warns of danger. We must be a loving family: a family that loves the Father; loves our brothers and sisters; and constantly encourages more brothers and sisters to join us.
So church, how’s business these days?
1. Bring people to a relationship with the Lord through faith in His Son in which they find love, forgiveness, and new life.
2. Bring people into a fellowship relationship with God’s family, the Church.
It is not enough to think of the church as a place where we simply sing songs of praise, preach and teach. What we are to be doing is encouraging full-fledged relationships between people and God and between God’s people. We can’t be just a sign post that tells about God or even a lighthouse that warns of danger. We must be a loving family: a family that loves the Father; loves our brothers and sisters; and constantly encourages more brothers and sisters to join us.
So church, how’s business these days?
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