According to Impact Canada www.impactcanada.org 80% of Canadian churches are either plateaued, declining or disintegrating.
Such statistics are alarming but perhaps not surprising.
– How many boring church business meetings have you attended?
– How many board meetings seem to cover the same ground over and over again.
– Despite all of your hard work, is your ministry taking new ground for God?
The statistics would say that most Canadian churches are going around in circles. The nation of Israel spent 40 years going in circles because of her sin. Is the problem in the 21st century church sin?
The more I work with the church, (27 years as a lead pastor, the last three as a Coach and Catylist) the more I get the impression most churches don’t know where they’re going. They’re busy and they’re frustrated. Mostly they’re just tired of going around in circles, not getting anyplace. With the number of people willing to devote themselves to the endeavour declining all the time.
Have we confused busyness with effective ministry?
What’s the solution?
Would love to hear what you think?
YES!
I think we have confused busyness with effective ministry.
I think we have also given up listening to the Spirit for adopting patterns. You remember the story in the OT about Moses hitting the rock for water (Numbers 20) when he was told to speak? I may be young, but I look at the church and I see people who are repeating what worked before, or looking to others to see what is working for them to adopt in their own church instead of listening to God and doing exactly what He asks us to do.
It’s not easy, but it’s the only way to be effective – to reach the “promised land” we need to heed God’s voice.
We allow all the voices that are telling us why what we feel we should do won’t work to guide us, instead of the still small voice of God, which, while not always coinciding with our own logic… is the only way to get things to where they should be. The only way to get US where we should be!!
We allow busyness, fear, appearances, and many many other things cause us to compromise with the directions of God.
As such… His work is not being done.
The shame is not (only) that church numbers are declining, it is that there are so many of us THINK we are doing the work of God, all the while not even listening to his direction.
We do what is “wise” what is “necessary” – but are we doing what is RIGHT???
Galatians 5.19-21 has been on my heart lately. The results of following our sinful nature is listed very clearly there. Some of those “sins” outrage us, we fight them, we judge them, etc… the others, the ones that are choking us? The so-called “little” ones? They are thriving in our churches, and “no one living that sort of life will inherit the Kingdom of God”
“So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.” Gal 5.16
Do we even know how to let the Spirit guide anymore? We have our rules, we have our systems, our habits, etc… but do we have the Spirit?
Are we surprised that we are wandering when we have dismissed our guide?
Well, that’s my two bits. i’d love to hear what God has been saying to others as well.
Dec31 What a great post, I know of you and your post through bohlicaltbiught.com and Stephen Macasil, we are a new church plant in Aurora and this is what we are trying to do what a blessing of works and faith.thanksTravis