Take Another Look at the Church (Part 1)

I heard Stan Toler make a statement a few years ago, at a conference I went to in Oklahoma, he said,  "If you haven't pastored in the last five years...you've never pastored."
I thought to myself, here's a man who has pastored for 40 years.  If anyone has the right to make that statement...he does.

He was speaking in context to the issues we face in ministry today regarding culture, mindsets, end times, ministry methods, etc.

Today, I believe every current pastor/leader is looking for a clear cut path to lead their congregation past merely surviving to thriving.

The truth is...there isn't just one clear cut path to follow.  What works for one congregation may not work for another.  If you're a pastor reading this blog, then you already know that trying to mimic a "style" will not sustain real foundational growth and church health.

Styles come and go just as fast as they emerge. 

When I came to Indianapolis, twelve years ago, I came ready to love people, win souls, cast vision, chart new territory, fulfill my destiny and advance the Kingdom of God.  Little did I know the full complexities of trying to navigate a group of people through uncharted territory with a changing culture breathing down our necks.

If you think you can pastor your church today like your father's generation did...you are sadly mistaken.  The truth is, many are still attempting to do so and although they are extremely frustrated with the results they're seeing...they're sometimes STILL unwilling to make any changes for fear of the unknown, fear of what people might think, fear of being ostracized, fear of not being able to make the cut and a fear of overcoming their own personal internal struggles.

 If you stop and think about all the challenges you face today, you might not even want to pastor:

• Attitudes, dysfunctional mindsets of what a church should look like, personality conflicts, cultural conflicts, pressure to be all things to all people, relating with relevancy, Christian consumerism, disloyalty, sin, laziness, victimized theology, stubbornness, spirit of entitlement, etc.

However, Jesus knows what it takes to pastor "today's" church.  He knew what it would take when He told Peter, "Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it!" (Matthew 16:18)

Friends, there isn't just one model or method to look at when attempting to build a church.  It's not a style of music, a new worship service geared to a select age group, a particular dress code (jeans or suits), small groups, home groups or even terms like "conservative/traditional" versus "casual/contemporary."

There is no "one-size-fits-all" way of doing things!  The focus shouldn't be on METHODS!  Our first focus should be on understanding the FOUNDATIONAL issues of the church today.  This will require some SERIOUS THINKING (Yes...more things to boggle our already bombarded minds).

A change is coming (already upon us) whether we want to face it or not.  God is raising up leaders who have a desire to reach their culture and generation. 

How we think about church will have to change
rather than just trying to change our methods
to accommodate the change.

In my opinion, we are going to have to get a new set of glasses so we can view the church through a different set of lenses. 

I still believe that God is wanting to do a
NEW THING in an OLD FASHIONED way. 

Bottom line: We shouldn't focus so much on trying to be "modern, trendy or up and coming" with the outer wrappings of ministry.  But rather, we should focus more on the INNER CORE of who and what we are as a church.  We are going to have to look from the INSIDE OUT in order to have the mindset needed to make healthy, life giving changes!

More on this subject to come...