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A Note From the Minstries Council

 

I have both the gift and curse of thinking too much. I ask questions—lots of questions. This is a curse because it can lead to what some call the “paralysis of analysis.” Sometimes, ok - often times, I think when I should be doing! But I propose that, at least occasionally, many of us are guilty of doing without thinking. I was recently rereading two books: Rethinking the Church by James Emery White and 7 Practices of Effective Ministry by Andy Stanley. These two books prompted me to ask some questions of our congregation’s leaders that I would like to pass on to you.

 

If you follow baseball much you know there is a big difference between hitting the ball and getting a hit. Lots of batters connect the bat with the ball, but relatively few actually get on base. The goal, of course, is to get on base and then around the bases to home plate. Hitting the ball doesn’t get counted. Hits, RBIs, and Runs get counted! Is it possible that we have lost sight of the object of the game in our churches? We have lots of events and programs. We expend a large amount of effort on making these events “successful.” Shmack! A lot of people show up! Shmack! Everything goes off smoothly! Shmack! The offering is big! It feels good when we hit the ball just right. It sounds awesome. It even looks good right up to the time that the ball is swallowed by the outfielder’s glove. Could it be that many of our churches are having a fun time at batting practice? We are hitting lots of balls, but we aren’t getting many people around the bases. Lots of activity, lots of money spent, lots of hard hours worked, but the kingdom is not growing in America. Maybe, just maybe, we should rethink what we are doing.

 

This question is similar to the first, but bear with me for a moment. Sunday School, VBS, camps, conventions, retreats, small groups, youth groups, men’s groups, women’s groups, projectors, bands (or organs)—and these are just considered the basics or bare minimum for a successful church. Yet the areas of the world where the kingdom is actually growing doesn’t have many if any of these items. Someone in our leadership team interjected at this point, “But we have a different culture; we have to do these things to reach our culture!” We all instinctively think this, but is it true? If it were, our churches would be growing! In virtually every area of our lives we have bought into the notion that more is better. We have fallen for the lie that we can and should have everything, be everything, do everything: Successful people have it all; successful churches do it all. Scattered or diffused light is not very powerful. Focus it through a magnifying glass and you can start a fire. Focus it even more and you have a laser that can cut through metal.

 

Jesus is not impressed by how well we hit the ball. Jesus does not evaluate us based on how many successful programs we have. Jesus cares about how many disciples we are making. He cares that we are becoming more like Him as we strive to make these disciples. I hope these questions will stir up some thought, discussion, even debate. It’s easy to hit balls, its hard to get on base. Don’t hurry through the answers. Be willing to be uncomfortable. When you think you know, focus on it like a laser!

 

Blessings
Tom Newell