There were dozens, maybe hundreds of churches in Houston that didn’t open their doors to help flood relief victims last week. But you only heard about one, didn’t you? Joel Osteen is not above criticism. If you enjoy the spotlight when times are good, you have to take the heat when things go bad. But […]
Joel Osteen, Houston Relief, And The Downside Of The Megachurch Spotlight Read More »
How did the church of Jesus grow for the first 1900+ years of its existence without any megachurches around?
That’s how long it took for the first megachurches to appear on the landscape. They’re the new kid on the church block. Until the middle of the 20th century, the relentless growth of the church moved forward, not through growing bigger churches, but almost exclusively through the multiplication of smaller congregations. And that’s where most of the growth of the church still happens today.
The church must always grow. The church will always grow. We know that because Jesus said he’d do it. In some places, that means larger congregations. In most places that means more healthy small congregations.
Real Church Growth Doesn’t Just Make Bigger Churches, It Heals Hurting Ones Read More »
Church turnarounds are hard, but so rewarding.
When a church that was sick and dying goes through a revitalization that puts them back on the path of effective mission, it’s something we ought to celebrate and learn from.
And it can act as a huge encouragement to other churches that are struggling, because it’s evidence that they can turn around, too.
Because we love stories told in big, broad strokes, the turnarounds we usually hear about are the ones that went “from 30 to 3,000 in three years!” But it’s important to guard ourselves against the expectation that such spectacular stories are the usual way church turnarounds happen.
Church Turnarounds Are About Direction And Consistency, Not Speed Or Size Read More »
You can’t program a church from unhealthy to healthy.
No amount of special events, Big Days or new ideas can cause a broken church to become whole.
There is no book, no conference, no blog post or podcast that will give you the key to church renewal or revival.
Sure, those things might give you the tools to attract a bigger crowd, or generate more buzz, but church health isn’t about more people or greater enthusiasm.
It’s about more of Jesus. His Great Commandment and Great Commission.
Church Turnaround Is An Attitude, Not An Event Read More »
Recently I’ve heard several podcasts in which former Christians talk about why they left the faith. In some of them, the host and/or guest have laughed about Christian clichés and how shallow they are. Not as the main reason they left, but certainly as a contributing factor.
But instead of going deeper, they’ve often traded clichés like “let go and let God” and “please pray for traveling mercies” for platitudes like “the universe wants you to be happy” and “not all who wander are lost.”
Several times I found myself hitting the pause button, staring at my phone and muttering something like “why would anyone leave shallow expressions of truth for shallow expressions of falsehood? Or even for shallow expressions of lesser truths?”
…But I’m Okay With MY Clichés Read More »
Whatever happened to grace?
Not God’s grace for us. That’s more sure than tomorrow’s sunrise.
But what about giving grace to others? Assuming the best of them instead of the worst? Giving people – especially fellow believers – the benefit of the doubt?
It seems like we’re growing more polarized every day, not more grace-filled.
Jesus didn’t value crowds. He didn’t even trust them (John 2:23-24). But he valued the people in them.
Even though they chased him everywhere he went, Jesus and crowds had, at best, a strained relationship. As pastors, we need to keep this in mind as we look at how many (or few) people come to our churches every week.
It’s important to keep an accurate account of attendance numbers, offering, salvations, and more. That’s a basic component of good stewardship and proper pastoring. But we need to be wary about chasing the crowd, because numbers cannot measure ministry success.
Jesus And Crowds – An Unhappy Marriage Read More »
“I like the idea of small churches. But if they’re so great, why do I see so many more unhealthy small churches than unhealthy big churches?”
A small church pastor asked me that question recently. Not from cynicism or unkindness. It was out of genuine concern for a reality he saw.
To be honest, it’s a reality we all see. The vast majority of unhealthy churches are small. That’s unarguably true. What’s not true is his unspoken concern that most small churches are unhealthy.
The truth is that while the vast majority of unhealthy churches are small, the vast majority of small churches are not unhealthy.
Why Are There So Many Unhealthy Small Churches? (Don’t Worry, It’s Good News) Read More »
Too many small church pastors are doing most, or all, of their ministry alone.
Most wonder if anyone outside the church even knows or cares that they exist. That isolation can become toxic. And it can start to bleed out into their congregations, confirming the worst stereotypes about why small churches remain small.
On top of that, when we look for help, we often find more frustration than encouragement – as we discussed in my last post, 5 Things You Should Never Say To A Small Church Pastor.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. If we took just a little time and energy to reach out, we could help reverse this trend.
5 Simple Statements Any Small Church Pastor Would Love To Hear Read More »
There’s more than one way for churches to grow.
But over the last forty years or so we’ve been given one model of church growth almost exclusively. Get more people in the building.
That model is so prevalent that when I dare to suggest that many small churches are healthy churches with something to add to the body of Christ, I’m met with an incredulous chorus of how can it be healthy if it’s not growing?
The answer? Nothing in nature keeps growing continuously. Everything grows bigger until it reaches maturity, then it grows in other ways after that.
Why would we expect local churches to be any different?
Do We Need A Broader Definition Of Church Growth? Read More »
