Friday, May 13, 2011
A no growth church
The author of this article gives four simple reasons to why churches are not growing. The first reason is that churches do not know their sweet spot. This mean that the church does not know who it is called to be and what it is called to do. The second reason is that the leader is not personally inviting people to the services. The third reason is that churches are not ready for the growth. This reason directly relates to number one. If churches do not know their sweet spot then they are not ready for growth in the way that is best for them. The last reason is that people do not have clear next steps to take. This refers to corporate and individual next steps. The two reason I found interesting as a leader are reasons two and four. I think it is important as a leader to embody the actions we want our followers to have, especially in terms of ministry. So if we want the members of our congregations to invite others to our services than we need to do the same. The fourth reason also shows the need for the leader to embody the desired qualities of his or her followers. As leaders, we need to take "next steps" in our own lives if we want to challenge and encourage people to take those steps in their own lives. Also, the fourth reason shows the need for leaders to help their followers plan out goals and action steps in order to change.
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dibbidy doo, I call this too.
ReplyDeleteChurch growth in North America is compromised due to lack of spiritual vision and relevancy. God had a plan to impact the earth with His kingdom, as Christ followers, we should follow the same plan. God decided to incarnate Himself within the human community in order to demonstrate how His Kingdom operated. He used a prototype model to express the full image of Him; God sent his son. When Jesus came into the earth, He led by example and He was willing to demonstrate a Kingdom of God model to everyone. Apostolically, Jesus goes ahead of His disciples, like a commander leading troops into battle. He was not like a general who sat at headquarters and sends his troops into battle. He enables and encourages them by leading them, not just by telling them. In this imagery, the words of Jesus have a different force. They all find their meaning in the central keyword, "Follow me." This is the character of missional leadership that the church in North America sorely needs. This type of apostolic ministry will either enhance or challenge the current model of community empowerment. As Christ followers, we need to incarnate ourselves within our communities. This allow us to develop koinonia with others and model God’s Kingdom.
ReplyDeleteNorm,
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if you saw that I called this post first. My language may have been a bit confusing as I was simply trying to be funny and rhyme.
Chris
Drew,
ReplyDeleteWhat is most striking is the emphasis on the embodiment of values by the leader (i.e. modeling). It reminds me of of something my pastor often says in his sermon--”I’m not asking you to do something I’m not already doing myself.” It may seem trivial, but too often we do not practice what we preach.
I also appreciate that Chad acknowledges reasons that a church may not grow despite a leader’s faithfulness. A certain congregation may just still be infant in their faith. They may be far more concerned about themselves than in the mission to which God has called them. What I struggle with here is the “how” of Christian maturity. How do we get our people to grow up? Do we try to take matters in our own hands and “force the issue” (what I think Chad calls “kick them in the rear”) or is Christian maturity a matter of a combined effort ? Christian maturity is a synthesis and fusing of people’s choice and Holy Spirit driven leadership.
Regardless, I do agree that many times church growth is stifled because of the leader’s unwillingness to tell people what the next step is in their faith. We can’t be people pleasers, rather God pleasers.