In a recent newspaper article, a local pastor made this remark about his church: “We exist for the community, not our members.”
Excuse me!!?????
This strikes me as a particularly inane remark for a couple of reasons. First, from a theological/ecclesiological perspective, the church IS its members. No members, no church.
Ok, I think I know what this pastor is getting at. The mission of his church is to reach the community with the good news of the gospel, and to bring the unchurched (or the other-churched) into his church. Which, of course, begs the question, “How long do you get to be a member before this church is no longer for you?” Judging by a comparison of the most recently published church directory with the previous one, the time frame appears to be something less than two years. Yes, lots of people are coming in the front door, attracted by such meaty programs as the annual community Easter egg hunt (and a visit from the Easter bunny on Easter Sunday morning), the fall Super Fest, Drive-Your-Tractor-to-Church Sunday, and a ‘50’s café in the basement. Meanwhile, church leadership continues to ignore or shrug off the quiet exodus out the back door. While the article mentions a grossly inflated weekly Sunday morning average attendance of 650, the true number appears to be closer to 350 and falling. Clearly, many have discovered that the church no longer exists for them.
How do we strike a healthy balance between reaching our communities with the gospel, and nurturing those already in the church? And if those in the church are hard-pressed to nourish themselves, how can we expect them to reach out to others? Why would they want to? Sadly, this scenario is not unique to this church. Over and over, I hear the same story repeated. The names and faces change, but the punch line remains the same.
We keep bees, and one of the recent concerns in the beekeeping world is Colony Collapse Disorder. As I understand it, the mature worker bees simply disappear, leaving the queen and a handful of nurse bees in the hive to care for the larva and newly hatched bees. Because there aren’t enough bees to feed and care for the brood that’s left behind, the colony starves and dies in a matter of days. Sadly, I’m beginning to fear that I’ll live to see the day when that happens in the church as well.
Whoa! That colony analogy really hits it…it’s okay if I post these on FB, isn’t it?
Since our goal is public conversation, yes, go ahead.
This is something we hav struggled with seemingly forever at our church. Is providing discipleship for long-time Christians, mnistering to seniors who have lived in the church all their lives a vocation worth celebrating? Now , certainly mature Christians should be able to graciously coexist with younger baby believers, modeling stability and doctrinal confidence that comes with experience, but can’t we be in community with people at all stages of spiritual journeys? Can we worship together? Will we need different kinds of “Sunday school” experiences? Yep. Do we expect the paid staff to lead both kinds of ministries? Are we talking about it at all?
I’m glad your church continues to ask these questions. In many churches it seems that decisions are made, and programming planned, with very little reference to the needs and character of the congregation. And the funny thing is that all these churches look exactly the same. We were at the fair the other night, and of the 6 or 7 churches represented, all advertised “dynamic contemporary worship,” “life-changing youth program,” “exciting children’s program,” “relevant messages,” etc. None of these things are bad. It’s just that there’s a one-size-fits-all approach that makes me wonder if–just like one-size-fits-all clothing–it really doesn’t fit anyone at all.
To Geoff Isley: Yes I think we can be a community of believers at all stages. However, if the mature believers are continually told that their views are antiquated and invalid they will eventually go away. In Titus a beautiful picture is given of the older women teaching the younger women. Experience/tradition need not be eliminated to reach young Christians. I have seen this work powerfully in my own life.
I have a question: is “grossly inflating” the truth the same thing as telling a lie? If I exagerate the truth about myself in order to impress others am I not lying? But if I krnow the truth and tell the truth, the truth will set me free.