Following is an opinion/guest editorial piece- Part 3 of 3: The American Church – The path to effectiveness- submitted by Pastor Tom Fillinger, IgniteUS Ministries- info@igniteus.net.
The decline of the American church is an issue that is beyond dispute. That being the case, what is the cure for what ails the church? I suggest that every church embrace the following profile for Reformation and Renewal.
Assessment – Max DuPree states with precision and accuracy, “The First responsibility of a leader is to define reality.” Until a church knows the truth about their current condition they cannot and will not stem the decline that is sweeping the churches in our nation. Assessment provides a vivid portrait of what the dysfunctions are and how they impact ministry effectiveness.
Confession – When a credible assessment has been completed the church must face reality. They must confess the veracity of what the assessment has revealed. This must be done with precision and it must be done publicly, that is to the entire congregation. All persons must accept the truth about the church’s condition and lack of effectiveness.
Repentance – There must be both personal and corporate dedication with unwavering persistence to turning around. That is the basic meaning of repentance. This will require some dearly loved and cherished activities will be terminated. It will mean that some new and effective ministry venues must be added. Healthy traditions are the living faith of those now dead. Traditionalism is the dead faith of those still living. You must know the difference and abandon those things that hinder true ministry effectiveness.
Purpose – The purpose of every church is the same – Make Disciples. In most churches the average person in the pew has no idea what the purpose of the church is. They may recite a variety of objectives but very few have a clear understanding of the NT purpose of the church. Since about 1950 numbers have dominated the measure of ministry effectiveness. More is better and biggest is best. At the National Convention of Southern Baptist adopted the tag line – “A Million More in 54!” The proper metric for measuring ministry effectiveness is transformation. Are people that participate in a given church being transformed into the character and likeness of Jesus Christ? When the church embraces this purpose, making disciples, and consistent transformation, they must then have a well defined process to measure that transformation. People must both understand this process and apply it in their daily spiritual journey.
Biblical Literacy – All of the above will not be accomplished if people do not know what the Bible teaches. Formal research has shown the tragic lack of competence in this area. R.C. Sproul produced a report titled “The State of Theology.” I urge my readers to locate this via Google and study the content. You will be stunned at what many people who claim to be evangelicals actually believe. Every church should have a formal process of reading through the Bible together each year and being accountable for what they learn.
Process – Accomplishing genuine lasting reformation and renewal in a local church is a marathon not a sprint. This cannot be done in 90 days. Expect to invest 3-5 years of focused effort applied with persistence to achieve your goal. There is a tipping point. I refer to what I label Critical Mass. If a church has declined beyond the point at which they have adequate human, fiscal, and facility resources, transformation cannot be accomplished apart from the direct intervention of God’s unique provision for that assembly. It is the rare exception not the norm.
Leadership – This is the key. The number one cause of decline is incompetent leadership. Leadership in the NT is an issue of Character first. Zenger and Folkman writing in “The Extraordinary Leader” state that Character is the center tent pole in leadership. If the character of a leader is flawed those flaws will always lead to failure both for the individual leader and for the church. The church often chooses leaders because of their professional endeavors. That is a serious mistake. Better to have a humble and godly blue collar man with sterling character than a Lawyer with multiple character flaws
Conclusion – Read Neh. 1:9. God is incredibly gracious. Israel had disobeyed God for 1,000 years. He is still ready to forgive and restore. He is the same God today.
Contact me at info@igniteus.net or 803-413-3509.
