I believe the words of Jesus Christ with all my heart and
being: the gates of hell will not prevail against His Church (Matthew 16:18).
At the same time I believe that some local churches will cease to exist, even
as the Church advances the mission of Christ. The Church will be fine; some
local churches will not. It’s always tragic when a church closes its doors, and
sometimes it is preventable. Those are the situations that concern me most.
What will your
local church look like in one more generation? The Millennial generation is
composed of those born from 1982-2004.* At 74.5 million people, this generation
is the largest group in US history. Millennials are notoriously hard for
churches to reach and retain. Because of this generational dynamic churches located in communities where the
population is flat-lined and aging will need to take extraordinary measures to
continue to be vital going forward. The problem
with that is many churches are only taking ordinary measures (if that). Einstein
said doing the same thing again and again and expecting a different outcome is
the definition of insanity. If churches want different futures, people must
think deeply about the ministry decisions they are making right now.
Pastor/leader or
chaplain? Today, in many situations, when a church has a leadership
transition, that is a crisis for that church’s future. The kind of leader a
church calls is crucial to its vitality. The process the church follows, the
order and prayer and excellence that go into the work of calling a new pastor
can be a make or break decision. I truly believe for some churches it is just
that serious. Most churches need not only a preacher and chaplain, but a strategic
leader, and also some key strategic partnerships. When I think of a chaplain in
this context, I think of someone who provides comfort through the process of
dying. A chaplain is helpful when the expectation is that vitality cannot be
recovered. Some churches need a chaplain. That’s their diagnosis and future
reality. But many others do not, but because they are not intentionally looking
for a strategic leader or for ways to create strategic partnerships, they end
up with a pastor/chaplain.
Do you prefer an experimental
church culture, or death? Tom
Feltenstein said, “If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance a
lot less.” If it’s possible for a declining
church to turn around and regain vitality, what should the congregation be
willing to do to accomplish that? Wayne
Bray, pastor of Simpsonville Baptist (SC) wrote: “I have preached for 20 years
that we must yield our preferences for His purpose. While this is true in one
sense, John Piper just presented a challenge to my thinking. Truthfully, the
issue lies not in the reality that we possess preferences, but that [God] and
His glory and mission are not our greatest preference. If we prefer Him, His
glory, and His mission more than anything ... we will be ready and willing to
surrender secondary preferences for the attainment of the first.” The question
then becomes, what is required of us to be obedient to our Master?
Is your church
experiencing any of these symptoms of lost vitality?
·
Very little meaningful corporate prayer.
·
Little investment in cultivating leaders.
·
Little interest or priority given to cultivating
corporate holiness.
·
Very little evangelistic behavior among members
reflected in few or no baptisms and no new members being added.
·
Limited financial resources. I call this a
symptom because in vital churches people are being reached and discipled and
they give to God’s work.
·
Stifled creative atmosphere. No discussions
about strategic leadership are happening.
·
Focus is primarily on maintaining traditions
more than reaching people.
·
No process to invite guests and regular attendees
into meaningful participation in ministry.
·
No Vacation Bible School.
·
No greeter ministry, or a poor/ineffective one.
·
No new Sunday school classes. No intentional
multiplying of Sunday school units.
·
No discussion of ways to know, engage or serve the
community.
·
A bad attitude toward the community, or an
expectation that “they must come to us.”
·
No discussion or reflection about innovation or
improvement.
·
Little attention to facility maintenance.
Conversely, slavish commitment to the facility to the exclusion of people.
·
Little attention to the importance, accuracy and
effectiveness of the church’s internet presence.
·
Missions participation is limited to missions
education, but there is no personal participation in missions by members and no
congregational mission strategy.
·
Members are insiders and the community is viewed
as outsiders.
·
The pastor is figuratively a chaplain (as
described above).
If so, it is time to commit to full repentance about some
issues and to reflect about needed change regarding some others. We at the Middle Baptist Association would be pleased
to help you and serve you as your congregation considers these questions.
* Researchers Neil Howe and William Strauss, Millennials Rising.
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