One of the tougher realities is that established church tend to drift towards and inward focus. Even churches that have embraced an outward focus can after several years, and if there is any loss of momentum, begin drifting inward. Thom Rainer has come excellent counsel on how to deal with this dynamic. - STEVE
On my blog earlier this week,
I noted some of the signs of internal drift in established churches. I
noted that an established church could be any congregation that has
existed for three or more years. The church has developed certain
patterns or traditions while simultaneously forgetting its original
purpose and passion.
By almost any metric, the majority of North American congregations
are established churches. They often include discouraged leaders and
frustrated members. Conflict in these churches is often normative.
So how does a church move from an inward drift to an outward focus?
Though I provide ten succinct steps, I do not want to leave the reader
with a false impression. I am not suggesting that these steps are
necessarily sequential, nor am I suggesting that they are a quick-fix
for any and every congregation.
- Find a small group of trusted members who will commit to pray for the church every day. Ask
them to pray specifically for the church to move from an inward focus
to an outward focus. More praying members can be added to the number at
any time. The key is simply to get some people praying daily for the
church.
- Commit to love the church members unconditionally. They
may not always be loveable. But love is a conscious choice. Leaders can
make that decision regardless of how the members respond.
- The pastor must be willing to stay with the church through and beyond the changes that will take place.
The pastor cannot make unequivocal promises about his tenure. Still, he
should have a commitment not only to lead the church through the
changes toward an outward focus, but to remain with the church to deal
with the impact of the changes. Too many leaders make changes and then
leave the congregation to deal with the unintended consequences of the
changes.
- Begin leading members to do hands-on, outwardly focused ministries. It
may be something as simple as delivering a welcome basket to new
residents. It may only involve a few members initially. The idea is to
get members focused on the needs of others rather than their own
preferences.
- Begin casting an outwardly focused vision. After a
number of members are involved in ministering to others, they will
become receptive and even eager to embrace a vision to reach and
minister beyond themselves. Begin to paint a word picture of what a true
Great Commission church could look like.
- Avoid attacking “sacred cows” if possible. There
are traditions and other areas of the church that many members hold
dearly. It might not make sense to the leaders why they hold onto a
seemingly silly item, but the reality is that it has deep emotional
attachments for some. Attacking those sacred cows usually creates
unnecessary conflict and takes the focus off the outward focus.
- Celebrate small victories. In the early stages of
turnaround, celebrate almost any victory toward an outward focus,
regardless of its overall impact on the congregation. That will send a
message of what is really a priority in the church.
- Keep reasonable metrics. Many churches have moved
away from focusing on metrics such as attendance, conversions, and
people involved in ministry for fear that the statistics will become
ends in themselves. But a reasonable focus on some of those metrics will
be a regular reminder of the progress the church is making toward
becoming a Great Commission church.
- Learn to deal with criticism in a healthy manner.
Any leader moving an organization toward change will be the recipient of
criticisms. Some criticism is worth heeding. Some can be discarded or
ignored. But the leader must learn not to respond in anger or to seek
retaliation. Most critics are hurt or nervous about the changes that are
being made. Many of them just need a listening ear.
- Raise the membership bar. Require all new members
to go through a new members’ class. Raise the bar of expectation in that
class. Let them know that their membership is not in a social club, but
a church that is committed to reach its community and the world. These
new members must understand that their membership is a commitment to be a
part of that mission.
Leading an established church toward an outward focus is like eating
an elephant. You can eat only one bite at a time. Progress may seem
painfully slow.
But the process is worth all the toil, pain, and prayers. In many
cases, the old staid church transforms into a dynamic Great Commission
force. We have tens of thousands of established churches in America,
many of them with members who have little hope for the future of their
congregations. We need leaders and members who will no longer accept the
status quo. The challenge is indeed great; but the reward of seeing a
church become transformational is incalculable.
Pastor to Pastor is the Saturday blog series at ThomRainer.com.
Pastors and staff, if we can help in any way, contact Steve Drake, our
director of pastoral relations, at Steve.Drake@LifeWay.com. We also welcome contacts from laypersons in churches asking questions about pastors, churches, or the pastor search process.
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