considerable grace

TakeYourVitaminZ thanked Tim Chester for this (great!) Marcus Honeysett article ('tis hard to accurately thank everyone re: links to links to links in blogland, isn’t it? but I do try ...)

A Hole in the Fuel Tank? Ten Reasons Why Churches Stall

I encourage you to read the entire article (it isn’t long). And to tempt you, here are just a few summary points from Mr. Chester to consider as to why churches stall:

1. The church forgets who we are and what we are for … mission quickly becomes just one among many activities rather than the defining vision of who we are as a community.

2. The majority of believers are no longer thrilled with the Lord and what he is doing in their lives. When questions like ‘What is God doing with you at the moment?’ cease to be common currency, it is a sure sign of creeping spiritual mediocrity.

3. The single biggest cause of stalled churches is the belief that material comfort can be normative for Christians. It is the opposite of radical commitment to Christ.

4. [Christians] see church as one among many leisure activities, usually low down the priority list. They are unlikely to see the Christian community as God’s great hope for the world and unlikely to put commitment above self-interest.

5. Where people take no personal responsibility for their own spiritual growth a stalled church becomes more likely.

6. When preaching, teaching and Bible study become ends in themselves rather than means to an end, something is badly wrong.

7. A church becomes afraid to ask radical questions … People start to equate serving the church with living out the gospel. Few churches regularly evaluate every aspect of church life against their core vision.

8. Confusing Christian activities with discipleship …

9. Not understanding how to release and encourage everyone in the church to use their spiritual gifts for the building up of the church … There are two types of DNA in churches. One type of church says ‘we exist to have our personal spiritual needs met’, the other ‘we exist to impact our locality and the world with the gospel of the grace of God in Christ’. The first type is a stalled church.

10. No church was stalled at the point that it was founded. At the beginning all churches were adventures in faith and daring risk for God ... but at some point the mindset shifted from daring passion for the Lord to comfortable mediocrity … The mantra of the maintenance mindset is ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’. But just like buying shoes for growing children, if structures don’t take account of future growth then fellowships end up stunted and deformed.

Much to think about. And a great reminder to keep praying for our church leaders and actively look for ways to encourage and help them.

(Maybe today would be a great day for your family to begin memorizing and praying over all of your elders, deacons (council members / whatever term your church uses for leaders) and their families. It seems to me that one of the best ways we can honor and serve our leaders is to know who they are and pray for them.)

Blessed Sabbath to you all!

Yours,
Tara B.