Church-growth consultant, Tom Bandy...
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Church-growth consultant, Tom Bandy, writes about the ways some churches have of
cherishing their origins more than their mission. Here are some things they commonly
believe:
* It's more important to protect our heritage than develop a strategic plan;
* It's more important to keep Uncle Albert happy than welcome newcomer Sally;
* It's more important to discern the gifts I've been given than receive new gifts God wants to give;
* It's more important for my children to emulate their parents' priorities than help them develop their own;
* It's more important to entrench sacred dogma than to let loose sacred imagination;
* It's more important to pay the heating bills than to invest in benevolences;
* It's more important to have orderly worship than open our hearts to the in-breaking Holy Spirit ...
... and the list goes on. The church, like much of our culture, is like a rocket ship attempting to escape the gravitational pull of the earth, but never quite generating enough momentum. The church accommodates to culture, not by accepting theories of evolution, but by believing (as do so many scientists, businessmen, and politicians) that our origins are more important than our destinies. Pull back, hunker down, slow down immigration, close the borders, educate the ushers, repair the organ … and get a youth group. But only get a youth group if the youth are educated to pull back, hunker down, defend the borders, educate the ushers, repair the organ … and so on and on.
Friends, here is the secret to church growth: Get a mission!
(From Byte-Sized Net Results ezine, 9/22/07, http://netresults.org/)
* It's more important to protect our heritage than develop a strategic plan;
* It's more important to keep Uncle Albert happy than welcome newcomer Sally;
* It's more important to discern the gifts I've been given than receive new gifts God wants to give;
* It's more important for my children to emulate their parents' priorities than help them develop their own;
* It's more important to entrench sacred dogma than to let loose sacred imagination;
* It's more important to pay the heating bills than to invest in benevolences;
* It's more important to have orderly worship than open our hearts to the in-breaking Holy Spirit ...
... and the list goes on. The church, like much of our culture, is like a rocket ship attempting to escape the gravitational pull of the earth, but never quite generating enough momentum. The church accommodates to culture, not by accepting theories of evolution, but by believing (as do so many scientists, businessmen, and politicians) that our origins are more important than our destinies. Pull back, hunker down, slow down immigration, close the borders, educate the ushers, repair the organ … and get a youth group. But only get a youth group if the youth are educated to pull back, hunker down, defend the borders, educate the ushers, repair the organ … and so on and on.
Friends, here is the secret to church growth: Get a mission!
(From Byte-Sized Net Results ezine, 9/22/07, http://netresults.org/)
