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April 16 - April 26, 2019
God, open my eyes that I might see my church as You see it. Let me see where change needs to take place, even if it is painful to me. And use me, I pray, to be an instrument of that change whatever the cost.
It is rare for a long-term church member to see erosion in his or her church.
Check out this quote.
God, please let me be part of the solution and not the problem. Show me what I need to see. Open my eyes to Your reality. And give me the courage to move forward in the directions You desire.
There were several points where these churches could have reversed the decline they were experiencing. But the remaining members in the church refused to see reality.
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The most pervasive and common thread of our autopsies was that the deceased churches lived for a long time with the past as hero.
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According to the writer of Hebrews, all of these men and women were heroes of faith because they obeyed God even though they did not know the consequences of that obedience. They saw themselves as foreigners of this land and life, temporary residents of the earth (v. 13). They sacrificed their comfort, their homes, their ways of life, and their possessions because they knew that this life was only temporary, that a better and eternal life awaited them. The “good old days” did not exist in their minds. The future held the best days. They understood that this life is not a time to get
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Yes, we respect the past. At times we revere the past. But we can’t live in the past.
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Vibrant and living churches look after the interests of others.
But dying churches are concerned with self-preservation.
Thriving churches have the Great Commission as the centerpiece of their vision, while dying churches have forgotten the clear command of Christ.
The more vocal members usually left the church. The comfortable members remained behind for the deathwatch.
A church cannot survive long-term where members are focused on their own preferences: My music style. My desired length and order of worship services. My desired color and design of buildings and rooms. My activities and programs. My need of ministers and staff. My, my, my.
It’s like Paul described in 1 Corinthians 12:12–31. We are members of the body of Christ. We do not exist to serve ourselves; instead, we exist for the greater good of the body.
A church by definition is a body of believers who function for the greater good of the congregation.
For the majority of the churches, pastors came and went at a pace of every two to three years, especially in the two decades leading to the deaths of the churches.
Indeed most of them left in the second stage of pastoral tenure, conflicts, and challenges. When these pastors initiated or even suggested change, there was fierce resistance. They really didn’t see much hope based upon the patterns and the history of the church, so they left.
And the cycle repeated itself until, finally, the church shut its doors.
Lord, teach me to pray. Teach me to pray consistently. Teach me to be a leader in prayer in my church. And teach me to keep passionate and believing prayer as the lifeblood of this church.
The church understood her purpose. The members at Philippi knew what they were supposed to do. They were to live the gospel. They were to proclaim the gospel. They were to partner with Paul in the gospel. Their purpose was totally and completely gospel-centered.
The point is not the memorials themselves; the point is that memorials became an obsession at many of these churches. More and more emphasis was placed on the past, and the future was neglected.
Jesus’ words apply to all of us. We are to be good stewards of personal finances and possessions. Likewise, we are to be good stewards of the material items in our churches. But if we focus on “things,” no matter how meaningful they are, so that we become distracted from the eternal, we have lost our focus.
the church has a lot of program and ministry clutter.
Pray that God will open the eyes of the leadership and members for opportunities to reach into the community where the church is located.
Take an honest audit of how church members spend their time being involved.
Take an audit of how the church spends its money.
Make specific plans to minister and to evangelize your community.
The challenge with the very sick churches is like the challenge presented with Frank. Once they move to this stage, reversal of the deterioration is incredibly difficult. Had the members recognized the problems earlier, help is more likely to be beneficial.
The church must admit and confess its dire need.
The church must pray for wisdom and strength to do whatever is necessary.
The church must be willing to change radically.
That change must lead to action and an outward focus.
No one wants his or her church to die. No one desires to let go of the church he loves. No one wants to lose the church to which she gave so many years. But churches die.
Sell the property and give the funds to another church, perhaps a new church that has begun or will soon begin.
Give the building to another church.
If your church is in a transitional neighborhood, turn over the leadership and property to those who actually reside in the neighborhood.
Merge with another church, but let the other church have the ownership and leadership of your church.
