This past week I attended a church conference in North Carolina (with my associate Tom) keynoted by Pastor Perry Noble. Perry is pastor of one of the fastest growing churches in the country so obviously he knows something about church growth and health. Perry has some strong opinions about the problems which are inhibiting church growth and health (you can read his list on his blog, Perry Noble.com). After listening to him, here are a few (some of them his) I’d like to share…this is in no way a complete list (or even close) and it comes in no particular order.
1) We’re answering questions that no one is asking.
In churchworld we endlessly debate theology and law and, above all, liturgy. Nobody cares. The people in your pews this weekend are not coming to learn about the kenosis of Christ. And nobody who’s not coming cares about the new Roman Missal. They’re asking “Why is my life falling apart?” “How do I get through another week as a single Mom with three kids?” “Am I going to lose my job?” “Do I really have cancer?”
God’s word can speak to all these issues, but if we’re caught up in our questions, instead of our communities’ questions, they’ll never know it. And church will continue to be irrelevant to their lives.
2) We call laziness “authenticity.”
The Church is the Body of Christ and it is the hope of the world. Our message and our work are more important than anything. There is more at stake here than Disney and Apple and Facebook put together.
So why is churchworld so widely perceived as boring and bad? Why are so many of our efforts poorly planned, our services amateurish, our facilities unkempt and dirty? Lazy efforts on behalf of God’s Church dishonor God, and his people. And just because you’re canonically correct or liturgically correct or “authentic” to our Tradition, it doesn’t excuse you.
3) We call failure “faithfulness.”
Same with the inaction and lack of courage that masquerades as “faithfulness” or orthodoxy. Sorry, just because your parish is dying doesn’t mean you’re any more faithful than the parish that’s bursting at the seams. Our growth and success at Nativity is not an indicator of our skirting the rules and getting away with murder (as we have been accused by our detractors), it is the fruit of faithfulness.
4) We use “discipleship” as an excuse to not do “evangelization.”
Many, many people in churchworld, Catholic and Protestant alike, are only concerned with the people already in the pews (an exercise they would call discipleship or pastoral ministry or whatever).
The people in the community who aren’t in their pews don’t exist for them. Only problem is, Jesus told us they’re his priority.
Disciples make disciples, so if the people in your pew aren’t involved in evangelization, they’re not really acting like disciples. In the New Testament the disciples did not form a holy huddle and hang together discussing the color of the new carpet in the sanctuary. They went out to the whole world to share the good news. That’s authentic discipleship.
5) Parishes don’t know their “core” business.
I know, I know, the Church isn’t a business. But we have a job to do, there is work to be done and if we don’t do it, no one else will. Think about it. Others will educate, others will provide health care and social renewal…I’m not saying that churches shouldn’t, I’m just saying that others do, too. Who is going to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the world if we don’t? No one, that’s who. And yet parishes can get so caught up in everything else but. We need to know our core purpose and get focused on it.
Stay tuned and I’ll add to the list. Meanwhile, comment if you want to. What are the problems you see that inhibit church health and growth?
Discipleship and evangelism are different. Evangelism shares the Gospel message, disciple-making happens after someone enters into a relationship with Jesus, helping a follower become more like Christ. Discipleship implies an inward focus on the body of Christ. Evangelism focuses on the unbeliever.
awesome. way to go. we are pulling on the same rope.
I think a big problem the church needs to deal with is the generosity problem. Often churches think they have a money problem and go about solving it with fundraising, instead going back to what the bible says about stewardship and generosity. As a consequence alot of effort is spent just keeping the institution going with fundraising. Imagine if that effort went into evangelisation?
I agree with Megan’s comment and want to add some comments about the the bible, God’s Holy Word. the word of God is alive and active. I feel some churches are forgetting about their bibles and how important it is to memorize scripture, to read their bibles daily and hear what God is saying to them on a personal level. How else are we to hear from God if we don’t communicate with Him in this way. I think bringing our bibles to church is a must. Reading scripture together is powerful and to me seems a prerequisite in preparing for worship.
First, I would like to say congatulatons to Nativity on making church relevant to me again. I feel as if I am part of a family that is trying to help me through life by showing me how relevant God is to the sucess of my life. I always thought that God was reserved for the devout and holy parishners. I just wish I had come to this realization alot earlier in life. I can’t imagine where I would be and how much I could have acomplished if I had figured this out ten years ago. I wish other churches could approach mass in the way that Nativity has. I believe that others would feel the same way as I do. Perhaps if traditional churches focused on spreading God’s word in such a way that everyone could relate to its message and not so much on the rules and regulations of the Catholic religion, people would want to come to church. A simple comparison for me, is that in my life I have been in contact with many people that have lots of advise and comments, but very few have really touched my heart and moved me to action. I feel as if Nativity is one of those few people. Some times its not what you say, but how you say it. Thank you Nativity for placing me in God’s path so that I may have a relationship with Him that I have never had before. I hope to do great things to spread His word in the years to come.