I believe the words of Jesus Christ with all my heart and being: the gates of hell will not prevail against His Church (Matthew 16:18). At the same time, I believe that some local churches will cease to exist, even as the Church advances the mission of Christ.
The Church will be fine; some local churches will not. It’s always tragic when a church closes its doors, and sometimes it is preventable. Those are the situations that concern me most.
The Millennial generation is composed of those born from 1982-2004.* At 74.5 million people, this generation is the largest group in U.S. history.
Millennials are notoriously hard for churches to reach and retain. Because of this generational dynamic, churches located in communities where the population is flat-lined and aging will need to take extraordinary measures to continue to be vital going forward. The problem with that is many churches are only taking ordinary measures (if that).
Einstein said doing the same thing again and again and expecting a different outcome is the definition of insanity. If churches want different futures, people must think deeply about the ministry decisions they are making right now.
Today, in many situations when a church has a leadership transition, that is a crisis for that church’s future. The kind of leader a church calls is crucial to its vitality. The process the church follows, the order and prayer and excellence that go into the work of calling a new pastor, can be a make-or-break decision. I truly believe for some churches it is just that serious.
Most churches need not only a preacher and chaplain, but a strategic leader, and also some key strategic partnerships. When I think of a chaplain in this context, I think of someone who provides comfort through the process of dying. A chaplain is helpful when the expectation is that vitality cannot be recovered.
Some churches need a chaplain. That’s their diagnosis and future reality. But many others do not, but because they are not intentionally looking for a strategic leader or for ways to create strategic partnerships, they end up with a pastor/chaplain.
Tom Feltenstein said, “If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance a lot less.” If it’s possible for a declining church to turn around and regain vitality, what should the congregation be willing to do to accomplish that?
Former Georgia pastor Wayne Bray, now pastor of Simpsonville Baptist Church in South Carolina, wrote: “I have preached for 20 years that we must yield our preferences for His purpose. While this is true in one sense, John Piper just presented a challenge to my thinking. Truthfully, the issue lies not in the reality that we possess preferences, but that and His glory and mission are not our greatest preference. If we prefer Him, His glory, and His mission more than anything ... we will be ready and willing to surrender secondary preferences for the attainment of the first.”
The question then becomes, what is required of us to be obedient to our Master?
If so, it is time to commit to full repentance about some issues and to reflect about needed change regarding some others. We at the Middle Baptist Association would be pleased to help you and serve you as your congregation considers these questions.
This post originally appeared at Bobby Braswell's blog.