A Decrease in the Increase

I have been thinking about church life and church growth lately. I've been wondering about where my church is in the scheme of these two areas - church life and church growth. It would be safe to say that these two areas are on every pastor's mind when they think about their churches. We pastors take these two areas very seriously, even if we are at a loss on what that should look like at our church or how it should be developed, cultivated and practiced. Church life and growth is, in may ways, an enigma, an ever evolving and fluid process. With all my reading about such I come away, more often than not, with more ideas to add to my coffer but no less unsure on how to go about the process. 

I don't believe the church is to be static, and what I mean by that is that I don't believe that we are to reach a certain level and then stable off. If we are doing what we are called to be doing, if we, as a church and as individual Christians, and are actively reaching out to others, sharing the Gospel and having them become a part of out lives (and we a part of theirs), then the natural expectation is that the church will grow. Maybe not in leaps and bounds but it will see growth non-the-less. Right?

And yet, so many churches have become static, if not in fact decreasing in their numbers. There are a lot of reasons that explain the decreases and I have not the time, space or the expertise to go into those but they do include such things as cultural change, structural (church facilities and use of space), generational styles (worship, music, experiential), and, of course, relevancy (what the church is offering as ministry outreach and growth). But we must also add to that not by any means exhaustive list the church's complacency. Sometimes, quite simply, the church likes they way it is, the size it is, they way it has been doing things, etc, and has very little desire or motivation to adjust and change. The problem with that is that attitude will ultimately lead to, first, spiritual death and, second, physical death (numbers). It may take years but it will come.

I pastored a church that suffered from that attitude. It used to be a large church, several services, active programs but after a series of issues (pastoral appointments and disagreement over ministry purpose) they began to decline. When I arrived they were averaging in the 30's (a long way from over 700). The community has changed but the church was too slow to adjust to that change. Young families that were raised in the church moved away from the area, in part because of school issues and community changes, and left their parents and grandparents at the church. It was literally a dying church. But church life has a unique way of pushing itself up through the growing darkness and these older folks began to adjust their way of thinking. They began to look at their community differently, a community that was changing again, and they took the initiative to change and reach out. Unfortunately, it was too late and the church was closed down but not before it doubled in its attendance in the five months that I was there.

By point to that account is this: why must the church wait to find itself dying before it comes to the realization that it must approach ministry differently? Why does the onslaught of dying serve (sometimes) as the motivator to members to change from thinking "what's in it for me?" to "what's in it for them?"

I've asked these questions before in other blog posts. And I will probably ask them again in the future. But to stop asking these questions, to stop having discussions on such issues, would basically mean that we in the church have accepted the status quo and impending complacency and growing lukewarmness and ultimate death. The church, it's members, attenders, committees, and councils must keep asking these questions and discussing and looking for answers. The church is to be growing and if we are not, then the question should be ask, loud and clear, "Why aren't we?"

I close with the following from Ed Stetzer, church growth and missional guru, from a recent blog post.

Seems to be that churches must be on some powerful birth control. They are not reproducing. And I don't get why.

It's natural. It's normal. It's essential. And we all know how to do it. But somewhere along the way, church reproduction and multiplication became unusual or strange in North America. And I am not happy about it.

The Church is the most powerful institution in the world. Where no electricity and running water exist, you will still find a church that is planting churches. When governments grow corrupt and economies crash, the Church still stands and plants more churches. Nothing in the world and nothing in the last two millennia of history can compare to the Church. It advances best by exponential and explosive multiplying. But not here.

The Church matters. It is God's agent of change for the hopeless. It is how He delivers transformation to a hurting world. Through the Church, God unfurls the banner of mercy and announces the kingdom of grace. He has assembled the Church to tell and model the most important issue in life--how to spend all of eternity with God Himself.

God has chosen the Church to make known His multifaceted wisdom to all in authority (Eph. 3:10). Whether a power in the heavenly realm or an authority on the earth, the Church is where God rolls out His message. It is used by God to speak to the weak and the strong, the poor and the rich, the hopeful and the hopeless.

We believe in the Church not only because of what we have seen, but because of what Christ can do next. He constantly amazes us at how lives are changed through the Church.

 Well said, Ed. What do you think? What should we be doing? Why aren't we doing it? Why aren't you?

Lining Up with God's Vision for Us

In my last blog entry, "Ramblings", I mentioned that I had been reading a book over the last couple of weeks (I’m a slow reader) that has gotten me to really think, concerning me as a pastor, my church, and the church in general. The book is called “Comeback Churches” by Ed Stetzer and Mike Dodson. The authors looked at over 300 churches that had become stagnant in their growth or were declining and what it was that brought about a turn around in their situations. The book is geared more towards pastors (and church leaders), which is why it has been a challenging, inspiring, and convicting read for me.

The authors analyzed the pastor's approach to ministry in these churches and found a number of things that contributed to the turn around in their churches (trust me, I am taking what they said about the pastor to heart). As best as I can, here are some of the things they found about pastors/leaders of comeback churches - churches that have and are experiencing renewal, revitalization, and growth. They:

• were committed to Christ
• strongly believed in and lead by example in the area of missions/evangelism/outreach
  
• were willing to acknowledge that their church was "stuck in the muck" of stagnation or decline
• recognized that the congregation must be part of the turnaround
  
• distinguished between obvious symptoms and underlying problems
• were proactive and intentional in their planning
• shared in ministry - involved others
  
• delegated non-ministry tasks to others
  
• intentionally planned spending their time doing "people stuff" (visitation, staff management, mentoring, leadership training, counseling)
• had a clear vision on the purpose of the church and shared that vision with others often
• were patient with the process - stagnation and decline in the church took time, change will too
• helped their people grow in love for their community and the lost through preaching, teaching, and prayer, turning the church focus outward
  
• led their churches to pray, pray, pray and then act on those prayers
• set goals to their vision - planning
  

There is, of course, more, and each of these areas are dealt with using examples, suggestions, statistics and good old fashion experiential insight. You can probably see why I feel very challenged by what I have been reading!

Then the authors looked at the churches themselves (the congregations/members) and it was very interesting what they found, as well. Comeback churches:

• think and live missions/evangelism/outreach
• took prayer seriously
• had an attitude of servanthood
• cared more about their communities that their personal preferences
• valued worship and their presence in the worship opportunities
• were willing to incorporate a more contemporary than traditional style of worship (the vast majority of churches went to blended or contemporary styles, leaning more towards the contemporary but not forsaking creeds and liturgy)
  
• emphasized a celebrative and orderly approach to worship that was both informal and expressive
• lifted up biblical preaching and held to biblical principles
• tried to involve all members in ministry and new people is small groups
• didn’t just lead people to make decisions to accept Christ; they engaged them in discipleship
  

There is much more that is addressed but I think you can get the idea.

As I have been reading this book, I have been asking myself a number of questions about both myself and the church where I pastor, and even about churches I have been part of throughout my adult life. I've wondered how we/they are measuring up in these and the other areas addressed in the book. Although I feel positive about the direction I and my church have begun to head, I realize that there is still much more work that must be done. In fact, it is work that is never done but progress must be continuing.

Another book that I read some time ago that had just as much impact on my approach on ministry and how the church functions is by Kent Hunter, "Discover Your Windows". He looks at the windows through which we see the world and see the church and how that "view" impacts us. How biblical is our worldview? He looks at 10 "windows" and how they relate to how we view, approach, and act as the church.

Let me simply list each of the windows that serve as the chapter titles and their subtitle:

1. The window of purpose - your purpose determines your mission
2. The window of comfort - your comfort determines your sacrifice
3. The window of image - your image determines your impact
4. The window of priorities - your desires determine your priorities
5. The window of stewardship - your blessings determine your giving
6. The window of financing - your abundance determines your possibilities
7. The window of change - your past determines your future
8. The window of leadership - your pastor determines your potential
9. The window of teamwork - your giftedness determines your involvement
10. The window of attitude - the power of God determines your attitude

As I read through this book I was forced to address some, OK, many of my preconceived ideas about the church and my role, both as a member and a pastor, in it. And yes, I have had to make some adjustments and reframing in my philosophy and approach to ministry. But as I have, I have felt that I have become a better pastor - or, if not better, certainly more open to the leading of the Spirit and a better understanding of the purpose and call of the Church and the Christian.

I have decided that my church will begin a study of "Discover Your Windows" on Wednesday nights. I expect the discussions to be interesting, insightful, and even intense because making adjustments and reframing with what you believe isn't an easy thing.

I think it would do every church a whole lot of good if they took a serious look at these books. I think what they hold before us can change the direction the church is heading, which has been stagnation and decline.

Ramblings

My mind is in a very wandering mode this evening. I want to write, have had things I've wanted to write down but it's been difficult to get them in order and to keep focused.

I went with the youth of my church to Columbia, SC for the concert Winter Jam that consisted of about 6 Christian bands: one I don't remember, Mandisa, Newsong, Skillett, Barlowgirl, and MercyMe. 15,000 people were there, mostly under the age of 25. Truly felt like the odd man out, as I sat and watched these kids/young adults dance, sing, and worship. It was a great night, except I lost my hearing about half way through when Skillett took the stage. Straight hard metal rock. If you've seen the film "Spinal Tap" you might remember the scene where the group is talking about their sound system and how all the other groups turn up their sound to 10 but they can do them one better because all their equipment can go to 11! Well, I believe all the groups had their volumes up to 11. However, MercyMe actually turned it down a notch or two. They said that about 1000 kids accepted Christ for the first time that night!

I have read many books on church growth and about changing the direction of a church. I have often found them discouraging, beyond my abilities, or I was unable to connect with what they were saying. A few weeks ago I picked up yet another book about church revitalization, with some apprehension, entitled "Comeback Churches," by Ed Stetzer. I have been very surprised. I have found it very insightful, challenging, and inspiring. It is a book that should be read by every pastor and even church leaders. The author(s) looked at 300 plus churches that had stagnated in their church growth or that were dying (or almost dead) and what they did to turn around and grow again. They first looked at "comeback" leaders/pastors and what their role is in the process and then at the church itself and what was done in attitude, outlook, and outreach to turn things around. What they find is quite an eye opener.

Another book along the same lines that I read a couple of years ago was "Discover Your Windows: Lining Up with God's Vision." It is another book that I found very helpful. In fact, at the church I pastored in Birmingham (Lee's Chapel) we had the congregation read the book and then discussed on Wednesday nights. I believe it was instrumental to turning that church's thinking and direction around. Whereas I think every pastor and church leader should read "Comeback Churches," I think every member should read "Discover Your Windows."

I've been doing a series of Sunday messages on the Holy Spirit at my church. Started a few weeks ago - not sure how long I will go but I have found it not only challenging to my own life but have found the church very responsive as well. I haven't had a Sunday go by during the series that I haven't had someone tell me that what they heard was new to them. And what it has be asking is, when it comes to the things of the Holy Spirit (doctrine, experience), I wonder if we in the UMC are really making Him know as we should through our preaching and teaching. How can we expect God to use His church if we aren't open to the power of the Spirit and how can we be open if it's not be preached?

Just some thoughts running around my head...