Today is the first day of Spring, which reminds me, in 1609 the British were fighting the French for control of the St. Lawrence River. British Admiral Phipps was ordered to take his eleven ships and anchor outside Quebec. He was to wait for the land forces before launching a joint attack on the city.
Arriving early, Phipps was annoyed by the statues of saints that adorned the roof of the Catholic cathedral. So he spent the next few days shooting the statues off the roof. Days later, when the land forces arrived, he was out of cannonballs. He had used up his ammunition shooting at the Saints.
When was the last time you witnessed a Christian wasting his/her spiritual energy taking pot shots at another Christian?
Tags: Christian, church
Did you hear the story of the man who was shipwrecked on a deserted island? When a passerby saw his fire and stopped to rescue him, he saw he had built three huts. The rescuerasked, “I have to inquire, what are the three huts?”
The shipwrecked man replied, “Well, this hut is my home. That’s where I live.”
“And the second hut?”
‘That’s my church. That’s where I worship.”
“And the third hut?”
“That’s my previous church. There were things I didn’t like there.”
At least he went to a new church after he left the first one. What’s the most lame excuse you’ve ever heard for someone leaving their church?
Tags: church, Excuses
During a recent ecumenical gathering a secretary rushed in shouting, “The building is on fire!”
The Methodists gathered in the corner and prayed for the situation.
The Baptists cried, “Where’s the water?”
The Quakers quietly praised God for the blessing that fire brings.
The Lutherans nailed a notice on the door declaring that fire is evil.
The Jews fastened sumbols on the entryway hoping the fire would pass over.
The Congregationalists shouted, “Its everybody for themselves!”
The Fundamentalists proclaimed, “Its the vengeance of God!”
The Christian Scientists concluded that there was not a fire after all.
The Presbyterians appointed a chairperson who was to appoint a committee to look into the matter and make a written report to the Session.
The Episcopalians formed a procession and marched out.
The Roman Catholics found no precedence in Canon Law for spraying water in a consecrated worship space, so ignored the flames.
And the secretary grabbed a fire extinguisher and put out the fire.
Tags: church, denomination, humor
When a church first begins, the number one focus is people. So all our effort, finances, and time goes to reach people and get them in there. Once we’ve got a few people, the focus begins to change to caring for the people we’ve won, including a building, childcare, ministry opportunities, etc. The values of the church have now moved from evangelism to management. The church’s effort, finances, and time must now change to take care of the people who are there. And the new evangelistic church has lost its evangelistic focus. It happens in the best of churches.
If a church is to keep its “balance” as it matures, it must find a way to keep its eyes on both evangelism (reaching new people), and management (facilitating people we already have) at the same time. Both are critical to a healthy church. Otherwise, the natural evolution within any church will cause it to turn inward upon itself.
Have you seen this happen in a church? Tell me about it.
Tags: Change, church, evangelism
Several years ago the pastor of a church in a neighboring community and I were visiting. He had come from a rather large church which was led by his Senior Pastor. He had been accepted as the pastor of a church with an elder-led system. He had been their pastor only about two months and was complaining about how the Board thought it was their job to tell him what to do. I just listened.
He announced his plan to change the governmental system of this church so that it became a pastor-led church. He was insistent that only his way was the scriptural way to govern a church. I encouraged him to slow down and give this transition time, but he was adamant that the Board step down. Sure enough, he lead a challenge publicly to change the governmental structure of the church. And within the month he was moving back home to Michigan, fired from his position.
He may have been correct about the scriptural way a church should be governed, but he was too new to be trusted, and had not gained sufficient clout to influence the people. He was without a job and the church was without a pastor. He tried to change the value system of that church and didn’t give it the time necessary.
Have you seen sad stories like this?
Tags: Change, church, patience, time
It is evident that established churches are resistant to change. Why is that?
1. These people are content and do not see a need to change things. They think all is well.
2. These people prefer the status quo. Change will cost money and take work.
3. These people have vested interests. They have sacrificed to build the church to where it is and don’t want to surrender what they’ve worked for.
4. These people are cautious in trusting new leadership who have not proven themselves. This is the number one problem with denominations that relocate pastors every two or three years.
5. These people have a tendency to grant to old values and traditions a sacred quality that is not realistic. Over time they become organizational sacred cows.
6. These people tend to be self-centered. They cease to look outward and only focus inwardly, caring for their own needs. Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 are an example of people who only look out for themselves.
In his book Managing By Values, Ken Blanchard says four times that it takes two to three years for values to change in a church. If a church changes leaders every two to three years, it will be impossible for that church to ever change.
Can you add to this list of why it is difficult for established churches to change?
Tags: Change, church
When a pastor starts a church plant from scratch, his values become the values of the church. Those who join after automatically see him/her as the leader and adopt his/her values. When a pastor takes an invitation to shepherd an existing church, it can take three years before he earns the right to begin to persuade a church with established values to change, and usually longer. That’s why church growth experts say the most effective way to reach new converts is through a church plant. So why don’t we all just leave our churches and start new ones?
For starters, its a lot more expensive to start over. Secondly, we have deep relationships with the members of the old church. Thirdly, God has called us to unite and not divide (split). Fourthly, our kids are watching our example and need to see stability in God’s church. Fifthly, its a waste of the church’s resources to keep reinventing the wheel. Sixthly, the man/woman who starts the new church may actually just be rebelling against the spiritual authority God has placed him/her under.
What’s the solution? Find out what the values of the church are early on and see if you agree. If so, support it. If not, don’t even begin to get involved there, because you will eventually be disappointed. At New Hope, what you see is what you get.
Tags: church, values