My bookshelves are filled with books on church health. Most claim to hold the key to seeing your church break the “code” for effective ministry. There is not one pastor I talk to in Converge MidAmerica that doesn’t want their church to be all that God has called it to be. So what is the key that unlocks the church health door? I don’t want to disappoint you with the “Jesus answer”, but the truth is that the church is a living, breathing organism that is sustained, grown and unleashed thru the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Mt. 16:18). God has built, is building, and will build His church! Do you really believe that? As we become more and more confident in this truth that God is building His church, we will increasingly recognize that our role is to simply remove barriers in our little “c” part of the big “C” church movement that God is already building.
What are indicators that help us to know that we are removing the barriers to a work of God in our church?
First, we need to understand both the vision that God has given us, as well as the unique DNA he has built in our church. We talk a lot about vision, having a dream that God has given us to see His kingdom expanded through our church. But we don’t often realize that he has also given us a unique DNA. Simply put, there are 10,000 churches that are seeking to be faithful to the Great Commission. The question we need to ask, is what is the unique personality, giftedness and culture that God has placed within our local body to see God’s Kingdom expanded? We often look at 1 Corinthians 12, and the description of the parts of the body, representing our particular church and its people. But, in a larger sense, it is also speaking of your local church body in relationship to the larger church body of Christ. He has put your congregation together as an important part of the whole. Quit worrying about the church down the street that has ministry and staff you don’t have. Quit worrying about the church plant that started 2 miles from you and are supposedly “stealing” all your people. Be what God has called you to be. Be clear about who you are AND where you are going, and trust that God will do “immeasurably more than you could ever ask or imagine”.
The second critical indicator of a healthy church is that healthy churches are willing to take an honest assessment of their current health, and diligently plan to improve. Much like the person who refuses to go to the doctor to discover why they aren’t feeling well because they’re worried about what might be revealed, we often cover our eyes as pastors and leaders, hoping that by ignoring our situation, everything will somehow turn out, and it never does! Or, we know that something is wrong in our church, but think the solution is to do the same thing over and over, thinking this time we will see different results. It is critical that if we want our church to be healthy, we must take heed to what is our current reality, and do whatever it takes to dream about a more fruitful future.
I believe the last indicator might be the most important. Healthy churches have strong, healthy pastors. Pastor – How healthy are you? Are you maintaining your physical health by eating well, exercising and getting enough sleep? Are you maintaining your emotional and relational health by regularly dating your wife? Do your kids always know you are there for them, or do they see you treating the church as more important? Most importantly, how is your spiritual health?, Do you talk a good game, but inside, you are wasting away because you are not nurturing your spiritual relationship with the Father? When’s the last time you took a spiritual retreat? When’s the last time you fasted? When’s the last time you recognized that the evil one is trying to destroy you, your family and your church, and the only hope you have is to stay connected to the one who is greater than the one in the world?
So how are you doing?
Do you have a clear sense of who you are (DNA) and a clear sense of where you are going (Vision)? Are you taking an honest assessment of where you are as a church and working thru a plan to remove barriers to a preferred future? And are you taking care of yourself physically, emotionally, relationally and spiritual? We stand ready to serve you in a variety of ways that will help you on the journey to answer any of these questions.
