Mission drift is one of the greatest challenges for church leaders.
One common cause is getting stuck in stale traditions that have long ago stopped meaning anything. Just as common, but far less noticed, is drifting from the mission by chasing after the latest trend.
In this guest article, pastor Kurt Lammi addresses that end of the problem in a way we need to pay attention to.
— Karl Vaters
We live in a culture that is always after the next big thing. We want novelty, excitement, and innovation. Companies often launch new products both to satisfy the cravings of their current customers and entice other people to become new customers.
Sometimes pastors and congregations try to follow this model too. They try to find out what’s the next big thing in ministry. Maybe it’s this new book, or that new conference, or listening to a certain new celebrity speaker, or buying this new curriculum, or developing this new ministry, or hiring this new staff person, or constructing a new building. Whatever it is.
We think that doing something new is going to bring in more people and get us more money – as if getting more people and more money was our ultimate goal.
Now I’m not against new ideas. At some point, every idea was a new idea. However, change simply for the sake of change isn’t a good idea. If a change is necessary, then, sure, do something about it. If this new idea will improve something that is currently going on, then give it a try. But, at same time, as the old cliché goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” If something is going well, then don’t mess with it.
So then how do you tell the difference? How can you tell when you need to bring in a new idea and when you need to keep doing what you’re doing? It’s simple. Are you sharing the good news of Jesus? If so, then keep doing it. If not, then figure out a new way to do it.
If you are sharing the good news of Jesus, though, don’t stop – even if it looks ridiculous to others who think you should be doing something “new”.
Starfish
You know that story about the guy throwing starfish back in the ocean, right? “It mattered to that one.” It’s right up there with the “Footprints in the Sand” poem as little stories that most Christians seem to know.
However, most of the time, we misunderstand the starfish story. Typically, we hear it like this. “I did my good deed for the day and threw that one starfish back into the ocean. Even though I can’t help all the starfish, I was still able to help that one, so what I did still mattered.”
The point of the story is not that the person helped that one starfish on that one occasion and then felt good about helping. No, the point of the story is that he kept throwing starfish back into the ocean even when there were so many things that told him it was pointless.
There were a great number of starfish on the shore, the waves kept bringing them back to land, and the passerby thought this was a futile effort. However, the guy continued to throw them back in. Discipleship isn’t about the next big thing. It’s about consistency. It’s about dedication. It’s about faithfulness.
The Parable of the Sower
Consider the parable of the sower. (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23). Here is a guy who repeatedly throws seed onto all kinds of ground. He has no control over how the ground is going to respond to the seed. The only thing he has control over is if he keeps throwing the seed.
That’s it. After he throws it out there, it’s not up to him anymore. The rest is up to God. His work looks very monotonous and boring. It’s the same thing every day. There’s nothing flashy or attention grabbing about it. Then again, that consistency shows faithfulness.
Even if the sower doesn’t feel like doing it, even if he’s discouraged due to the lack of fruit being produced, even if he wonders if it’s all worth it, he still chooses to do it – because that’s what discipleship looks like. If you look at the end of the parable, only one in four types of ground produced any fruit. By all worldly standards, 25% is not very “successful”.
Redefining Success
Success isn’t about how much fruit gets produced. It’s not about whether you used the newest trend or participated in the latest fad. It’s not even about how many people are in the pews or how much money is in the offering plate.
Success is about consistently doing the thing to which God has called you, even if it looks monotonous and foolish to everyone else.
It is not flashy to have bread and wine on the altar every week. It’s not exciting to have a baptismal font sitting in the sanctuary all the time. It’s not the latest thing to have someone read scripture and proclaim the good news of God’s love to those who are listening.
But those things are consistent. They are anchors in a world that seems to be changing too fast. They are reminders of God’s faithfulness. They are promises of Christ’s presence with us.
Our culture thinks the “newest, latest, greatest thing” should be our focus – even in the church. However, there is something to be said for continuing to cast out the seed and continuing to throw the starfish back into the ocean even when it looks ridiculous to everyone else.
That’s because we know that God is still at work – and God’s promises are always consistent. So, in a world that keeps changing, continue to tell people about Jesus. That’s what success looks like.
Keep it up! Your work is never in vain.
(Photo by Joshua Ganderson | Flickr)
