Why Churches Die

Jesus was never interested in quick external fixes. He always went to the heart of the matter. He taught that if we get the internal part right the external will follow. For example if you truly love God with all your heart, mind and strength then all those tricky questions about what you can and can not do on the Sabbath work themselves out and are no longer questions. This being so why do denominational leaders, pastors,and others in leadership spend so much time focusing on the external. It seems as if the belief is that if we just change the way we do things then the church or organization will change. So leaders attempt to make changes and are meet with fierce resistance and in many cases failure. Jesus would remind us that first we must change the inside and then the outside will change. Erwin McManus makes this point very well:

There is a reason churches are dying. It is not about style; it's about values.
If you can change what people care about, you can turn things around or, more
importantly birth something new.

In seeking to renew a church focus on building Biblical values in the lives of people. If you do this consistently the external changes will follow.

Good leaders work to build biblical values in the people they lead. Mediocre leaders focus on externals.