Get Moving Again!
"Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper
and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." 3 John 1:2
I often get the opportunity to spend time with pastors and church leaders from
across America. Most confess they are frustrated that their churches are stuck
at a certain size. They tell me they try repeatedly, but for some reason, they
can't spur their ministries on to start growing again. They are disappointed
that things aren't going as they had once dreamed. While they want good things
for their people and they desire to see God bless their ministries, they are at
their wits end and don't know what to do next. They are desperately trying to
engage their people and get them involved in moving the church forward, but
nothing seems to work.
If this sounds like you, don't give up; the Bible has the answer. Nothing worth
doing is easy (Eccl 5:3), but God is more than able to propel you and your
ministry far beyond your greatest expectations (Eph 3:20). All you have to do is
stop doing what you think will work and start doing things the Bible way.
Jesus Christ did not do whatever he wanted. He modeled what he did after what he
saw the Father do. "Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I
say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father
do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise."
John 5:19 If we hope to see God bless our ministries we must, like Christ, model
what we do after what we see in the Bible. We are not intended to spend our life
vainly trying one new system after another. Instead, we are to lead in the power
of God by leading as he commanded us to lead. "For the kingdom of God is not
in word, but in power." 1 Cor 4:20 Remember, the increase is of God (1 Cor
3:7). Success will never be about you or how hard you work. Success and growth
will always originate with God and will result in people glorifying God.
Most pastors I know are great preachers and teachers. They do a good job
teaching their congregations and they see people saved consistently. Yet,
conversions don't translate into church growth. They teach their people to live
holy and separated lives before God. Their people are pure vessels meet for the
Master's use, yet their ministry has stagnated. They lead their church to do all
the things churches are supposed to do, but nothing seems to bring the growth
they desire.
To overcome stagnation and propel a church forward, leadership must do the
following four things effectively:
Purpose
Leaders need to consistently communicate why the local church is important and
what role the people play. People should know that what they are doing is
important. They need to know why they need to pray, sacrifice their time and
finances, and work hard. Far too many churches appear to members to be doing
nothing more than having church. While it is comforting to see a full church,
numerical growth is only of secondary concern. Members will not consistently put
forth the effort required to accomplish great things for God simply to see more
people sitting in the pews.
Leaders must keep the church focused on their God given mission and judiciously
guard against distractions. A busy schedule does not necessarily mean you are
doing what you should be doing. Activity that does not contribute to
accomplishing a ministries' God given purpose will dilute efforts dedicated to
the things that matter. Leaders must tie all they do to the Scriptures. They
need to have a verse for each thing they do and each method or strategy
employed. The power is in the Word.
Without a clear connection between purpose and activity people will not be
excited about what they are doing. Church will become just another routine
competing for time in their busy life. Unless the leadership clearly articulates
the importance of showing up and participating in the corporate church effort,
people will not be inspired to act and they will be ambivalent about church
programs.
Vision
Leaders must continually communicate their vision for the future. Vision is a
clear picture of an achievable and desirable future state. "Where there is no
vision, the people perish: .." {Prov 29:18a) Vision creates momentum that
keeps the church moving forward. As the above verse states, a church will die if
the leadership does not paint a believable picture of how the church can
accomplish the purpose God has given them.
The vision must be large enough to capture people for life. Nobody wants to
sacrifice their lives just to avoid going out of business. When the vision is
clearly connected to the purpose of the church and the people understand why
they are important to the effort, they will commit and sacrifice. If the leader
does this effectively the vision will transfer to the people and they will take
ownership for making it happen.
Plan
Leaders must develop and communicate a plan that people believe will make their
vision a reality. The plan must be simple, workable, and reproducible. A good
plan will incorporate biblical models. The bible is full of leadership patterns
and tools. Leaders should study not only what God says about planning and
organization: they should also look at what God did when he was creating or
setting up growing systems.
When God created man he built the infrastructure first. He created the earth and
everything man would need to live and multiply. The systems he put in place
accommodated expected growth. The plan empowered man to do all God commanded him
to do.
Leaders should incorporate the advice of others as they develop plans. People
will work the plan with more zeal when they have a part in formulating the plan.
Leaders should also consult other pastors who have successfully led their
churches through similar transitions. Credibility is the currency of leadership.
I would advise against imposing a plan on the people without validating the plan
by checking the working parts against what others have done. Leaders only have a
limited amount of grace when making decisions. Fail too often and the people
will stop following.
Execution
Leaders must move beyond making plans and do what they have advertised.
Knowledge and wisdom mean nothing if you don't act upon what you know. There is
risk involved in anything that is worth doing. Every door of opportunity has a
giant standing in it that is capable of killing you.
Two things often prevent leaders from executing their plans, the first of which
is fear. Failure often has terrible consequences, but you must act. Do not let
fear of failure prevent you from implementing your plan. Failure to act is much
more dangerous than doing nothing. Without action failure is certain.
The second thing that hinders execution is apathy. Too many pastors and leaders
are quick to start things and quick to quit. After a while their plans lose
steam and people lose interest. After this happens a few times people won't even
pretend to support the leader. The leader gets frustrated with the people
because they don't enthusiastically support his program and the people get
frustrated with the pastor because nothing he tries ever works out. Soon both
parties stop caring if the church accomplishes its missions. When this happens
the ministry is in serious trouble and death is only a matter of time.
Jeff Wade, DBS
BibleLeader.com
|
