Devoted to Life But Surrounded By Death

I just started a new job working fulltime as a minister at a church. Okay, assistant to the minister but whatever! Part of my job is to help revitalize the church and help it grow, so naturally I have been thinking about a lot about how we do church.

Here is what I can say I firmly believe at the moment.

1. The church has one task and that is to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). Within that one task is really two jobs the church must consider: The first of those jobs is to disciple. Everything the church does must meet the criteria that it is teaching and forming those that are there to be more like Jesus. And I mean everything we do! We need to ask ourselves, does the sermon help those who listen to be more like Jesus? No? Then change it or get rid of it all together. Does the music played and the songs song in church help those participating to become more like Jesus? No? Then we need to change the music, the songs or do something completely different. How about the programs we put together? Children’s ministries, youth ministries, adult ministries, men’s and women’s ministries, Bible studies, etc... are they helping people become more like Jesus? As the church we must answer these questions honestly and then do something about it!

The second job that the task making disciples of all nations entails is to reach out to all people who do not follow Jesus and share the good news with them. Church must be reaching out and must be inclusive of all peoples, cultures, and races. I have heard the argument that as long as the worldwide church is reaching out to all people then we are doing our job. But I see a problem when a church like my own is located in a very ethnically and culturally diverse area and yet the church does not reflect the reality of the community. This reality about our job as a church has some profound implications on what we are doing as well. It means in all our programs, all our activities, everything that we do we need to consider others before we consider ourselves. I will be honest, that is hard to do. I personally enjoy contemporary worship music in church. It helps me connect to and worship my God more fully then any other type of worship. But if I am to be part of a church that only does contemporary worship because that is what I like then I am only thinking about myself. Church, including worship must not be all about me! It has to be all about you! So the question I wish to ask my pastor and my congregation is why do we not do things that are for our children? Our Grandchildren? Our neighbors? All of these people are not coming to church. Instead of making church all about ourselves, we need to make it all about them.

2. The other thing I know right now about how we do church is this truth: If we keep doing what we have been doing, then we will keep getting what we have been getting. When churches and the leaders of churches say they wish to grow and they wish to fulfill their mission as a church better then they have been, then that means they have to embrace change. A vast majority of churches in the United States have been stagnant, declining, or have completely died in recent memory. Until a church is ready to embrace change, is ready to question everything that has been done in the past, is ready to call into question all traditions, then they will continue to stay stagnant, decline and die. That is the reality. We have to do things differently or we have to be satisfied with what we have been getting.

I have been working at my job for just over a month now and I have experienced joys and frustrations. I have felt movement and I have smacked my head into walls. I have been told, “Yes we can” and “No we wont”. I expect I will continue to get more of all of the above as I move forward in my new job but I am not ready to say that this place is beyond hope. Out of death comes life and I for one am devoted to life.