Insanity in the Church
Someone said Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. We laugh at that quote but it’s sad when we see this in the church. Unfortunately I’ve seen it often due to our work as church consultants. Churches usually don’t call us when they are doing great but when they have stopped growing. Or even worse when they are declining at a rapid pace.
When Todd and I go in as pastoral consultants we spend hours and hours on assessment and evaluation. Sometimes a church will ask us to give them a plan for growth that is working at other churches. Denominations will ask us this too. We don’t give a cookie cutter strategy and plan. What works at one church or part of the country may be totally irrelevant at another church.
A common issue to overcome when we consult is implementing change. Even though a church is in trouble they still hold onto doing church the same as in the past. People fear change and loss of control. Our job is to help them realize the answer to the question How is that working for you? After 25 years I’m still amazed at the resistance to change. Here are a few of the partial comments we hear when there is insanity in the church. See if you can fill in the blanks…
- We’ve always done it this way…
- The pastor has always…
- We don’t spend money on this…
- In the past the leaders…
- The music…
- The service time…
- The children and youth…
- The Wednesday night service has always been…
- The prayer meeting…
In consulting with a declining church the first principle we must get accross is IF NOTHING CHANGES NOTHING CHANGES. Is your church declining? If so, what are you afraid of and what are you controlling?