Thom Rainer, head of LifeWay Christian Resources studies
church health dynamics for Southern Baptists. His influence has carried beyond
our denomination to the Christian community at large. He has written or
co-authored a number of great, insightful books that are helping churches think
through some of the challenges that face us in our current ministry context.* It
is commonly reported that most churches in North America are in a season of
numerical decline and that we are now doing ministry in Post-Christian America.
This is not something we have to guess at, data confirms it. SBC churches (for
the most part) fill out an in-church document called the Annual Church record
(ACR) that records their vital information. The trends indicate that when SBC
churches are experiencing growth and spiritual vitality in these days, they are
like an oasis in the desert. What can churches do to interrupt the pattern of
decline and experience renewal and health?
Commit to
meaningful private and corporate prayer. I am constantly quoting D.L. Moody:
“Every great movement of God can be traced to some kneeling figure.” Strategy
and vision are important, but God’s activity in response to prayer is the key
to it all.
Prioritize getting
the Gospel out. Honestly, what happens in many declining churches is that
the focus on reaching those who do not know Christ becomes a casualty to the
pursuit of comfort. Churches become “family chapels” where everyone is known
and fellowship is the chief aim. Of course fellowship is a purpose of the
church, just not its sole purpose. In
some places it feels like we have put a “do not disturb” sign up to a broken,
hurting world. Jesus said, “Don’t you say, ‘There are still four more months
and then comes the harvest’? Listen to what I am telling you: Open your eyes
and look at the fields, because they are ready for harvest” (John 4:35).
Constantly
evaluate and adjust the minutia of ministry. I know why this is difficult:
we are so busy doing ministry that it is hard to take time to think about the
ministry we are doing. This is like the proverb of the person so busy cutting
wood that he doesn’t take time to sharpen his ax, or the person so busy driving
around that they run out of gas. Qualitative evaluation is worth the
interruption. Sometimes people are doing this informally in staff meetings, but
since most of our churches are small, a different approach is probably better.
Maybe making evaluation part of a church council or doing an annual or
semi-annual retreat would help. If you aren’t sure how to do this, the MBA can
absolutely help.
Think and behave
like a missionary. With as many as 200 million lost Americans, some have
labeled the US the third largest mission field in the world. The problem is
most churches aren’t looking at our communities that way. Missionaries know
that to reach an indigenous population they must build relationships and make
an effort to understand the people they are trying to reach. Above all a
missionary has to care for the people he is trying to share Christ with. Hudson
Taylor, founder of China Inland Mission “adopted Chinese dress, ate Chinese food with Chinese implements; lived
among the Chinese in Chinese housing; had high standards … for acquisition of
the languages of those whom they intended to reach; observed local customs and
etiquette; studied traditional Chinese culture, including elements of Chinese
science; and refused protection from British consular authorities and the
military power at their disposal” (Dr. G. Wright Doyle). What can we learn from
missionaries about how to be missionaries in our communities? How can we
exegete and interact with our own culture? I fear if we do not think carefully
about these questions we shall become obsolete.
Cultivate an
atmosphere that encourages experimentation. When I worked for Westinghouse
years ago, I learned about creating a culture that invited experimentation.
They actually rewarded employees monetarily for “Quality Improvement
Suggestions.” If you could submit a proposal that bettered the effectiveness of
the workplace and its environment you were paid a small bonus. Yet in churches,
at the risk of sounding critical, we actually often pour cold water on
innovation. We create an atmosphere that discourages experimentation.
Naturally, because we believe in absolute, revealed truth from the Bible we are
not monkeying with doctrine, but programming and methods are a whole other
issue. We ought to constantly be asking, “What can we do differently to
increase our effectiveness in our purposes?” This both pleases and honors the
Lord. My prayer is that with the aforementioned caveat, we will do whatever it
takes to turn around decline in our local churches.
*See for
example, I am a Church Member, Autopsy of
a Deceased Church or one of the books that influenced me years ago High Expectations.
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