Clogged Pipes

Here is the scenario. You agree to become the pastor of a church that has been in existence for 35 years. The church has a reputation for being fairly healthy in terms of finances and attendance. The church is able to pay you a good salary and the church is fairly full each Sunday and is not short of volunteers to man the various church ministries that exist. Everyone gets along well and there are no major issues. As you begin your ministry you notice two things. First there are no children in the nursery program and the average age of the leadership core of the church is in the mid forties to fifties. Secondly you notice that most of the pastor's energy is expected to be directed towards ministering to the needs of those who already attend the church.

Is there a problem?

If so what is it?

Give me some feedback and then I will give you my perspective and tell you about clogged pipes.

The above scenario is very common. On the surface the church seems to be doing well. However the seeds for decline and death are present in the church. In determining the health of a church what you measure is the key. If you are measuring attendance figures and budget amounts this church would seem healthy. However if the church is measured by the health of the pipeline then the church is in deep trouble. Each church needs to have 2 clear pipelines to maintain health. By pipeline I am referring to the flow of people into and in a church. The first pipeline is the flow of people from outside of the church into the church. This encompasses several systems which I will not discuss here. There must be a pipeline that reaches people from outside of the church and brings them to faith - disciples them - incorporates them and deploys them in ministry and leadership. Any blockage in this pipeline is a sign of an unhealthy church. The second pipeline is the age pipeline. The church must have significant ministry to every age group and in effect provide for the continued development of a person as they age. Any gap in this pipeline indicates an unhealthy church.

Generally leaders pay attention when the budget or attendance declines. However waiting for that to occur may be to late. As leaders we must be aware of the health of the 2 pipelines and unclog them before attendance and budgets decline. Better to buy a little draino and unclog the pipes than wait for the sewer to back up and call a plumber.

Turning Losers Into Winners

I remember watching the Green Bay Packers when I was younger. They were a football dynasty. It seemed they were always winning. Winning and Green Bay football somehow seemed to be synonymous. The coach at that time was Vince Lombardi (do the math - I am old). When he first came to Green Bay as head coach the team was the worst in the NFL. They were losers. Under his leadership they completely turned around. How did he lead such a turn around? Yes he brought in some new players. Yes he changed some of the plays. Yet it was not new players or new plays that led to the turn around in the team. It was a new team culture. By culture I am referring to values, worldview and priorities of a group of people. Lombardi changed the way the team saw themselves and their destiny (an excellent biography of Lombardi that brings this out is 'When Pride Still Mattered'). Without a change in the culture of the team none of the new plays or even new players would have led to a turn around. Lombardi built a culture of winning as the only option. He had bull dog like focus and tenacity in building this culture. Once the culture changed then the team changed.

The reason many efforts at church renewal fail is because leaders do not change the underlying culture of the church. Real renewal must happen at the level of the culture of a church. It is easy to bring in a new worship leader or change the name of something or purchase the latest DVD curriculum or change a structure but if a leader does not work to change the culture of a church nothing will change.

The good news is that the culture of a church can be changed. To do so a leader must know several things:

1. What is the current culture of the church? Not what people say but what do they really desire in their hearts. Do they really desire to see lost people saved and lives transformed or is that just something they know they must believe?

2. What is the culture that the leader wishes to build. Lombardi knew what he wanted to see. The leader must know clearly and specifically what the culture needs to look like for the church to be renewed.

3. How to systematically and deliberately build the new culture. An excellent book on this is the book by McManus, 'An Unstoppable Force' listed in the resources section. McManus writes that a pastor is a cultural architect. There are specific things that a pastor can begin doing that if done consistently over time will change the culture of the church. I have put these practices into place in the church I serve and I have seen the culture change - slowly but surely. One practice is to see every interaction, every crisis, every problem as an opportunity to build the new culture.

Culture building takes time, commitment and perseverance. Become a cultural architect. That is the road to the super bowl.

Why is it so Hard?

I often ask myself, "Why is it so hard to bring renewal to a church?" After all I reason doesn't everyone in the church want to see an alive growing dynamic church that impacts the community around it in relevant ways? The answer of course is no. People attend church for different reasons. In fact people have differing views of what a church should be. People have differing expectations of what a Pastor should do. I believe that church renewal is hard precisely because there are differing views of the church. Often Pastors and those seeking renewal assume that everyone has the same view of the mission of the church as they do. Others may even say they have the same view of the mission of the church. However at the root level there are different expectations and views of what the church should be. These roots become painfully exposed when a leader seeks to bring renewal to a church. Hence the answer to my question of why it is so difficult to bring renewal to a church.

I am training myself not to be surprised at how difficult ministry is. I am expecting it to be difficult. I anticipate people disagreeing with me and opposing me. My challenge is to always respond in a redemptive manner that advances the mission of the church. John Wesley once wrote to one of his leaders, "Do not imagine you can avoid giving offense." I still wish ministry were easier and that someday I would reach a plateau and the struggles would be over. However I am realistic and recognize that difficulty is the norm and to be expected. Unless of course we decide not to seek renewal and instead are satisfied with the status quo. That is the easy road. But that is a road that I am not interested in traveling.