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A Tale Of Two
Churches
I
visited two churches today, Sunday, September 23, and the contrast
could not have been more stark. For obvious reasons, I will not
name them. What follows is not for them, but for churches and
pastors who could benefit from what these two have to teach us.
One
had 91 in attendance, the other half that. The first one has a
stable pastor with a great attitude and a winning personality.
He loves the Lord, is committed to the Word, and has a genuine
affection for the people. The other church has no pastor and hasn't
for some time.
The
first church is on the upswing; the second church on the decline.
The Upswing church relocated less than a year ago from a neighborhood
that had rapidly changed around them to the point that none of
their members lived nearby. They purchased the campus of a church
of another denomination that had gone out of business in post-Katrina
New Orleans, not more than 2 miles away. The "new" plant
is lovely in every way, located in the heart of a solidly middle-class
neighborhood, a perfect reflection of their membership. In leaving
behind their old neighborhood, they turned over their plant to
the mission congregation which is just like the people who live
around them.
There
is an adage in church-growth that a congregation will reach people
who are like themselves. That's why an elderly membership has
trouble attracting young folks, an Anglo congregation has difficulty
reaching African-Americans, traditional churches are usually unable
to attract post-modernists, and so on. The African-American congregation
of the mission church is reaching their neighborhood and this
"new" Anglo congregation is reaching the people in their
adopted area.
Meanwhile,
the second church, the Downswing congregation, is struggling to
stay afloat. They are an older generation and absolutely wonderful
people, but are declining numerically and running a financial
deficit every month. The leaders are investigating various avenues
to survival, from sharing their buildings with another congregation
to reverting to mission status under the supervision of a stronger
church.
I
was delighted to see that both churches received new members this
morning. The Church-On-The-Upswing also dedicated several families
with small children toward the end of the service. A gentleman
introduced himself and told how he and his wife had just joined
the church, and that he will be baptized soon. The pastor's wife
said she knows another couple who plan to join next Sunday.
Both
churches are Anglo, both are in middle-class respectable neighborhoods
with attractive buildings and lovely green lawns, and both are
made up of the kind of people who would fit right in with just
about any Southern Baptist church in the country.
So,
why is one on the upswing and the other in trouble?
There
are a dozen contrasts between the two churches. Downswing Church
has an old decor that appears unchanged from the 1950s, while
the Upswing Church is bright and cheery and fresh. The Upswingers
burst into applause when the new members were presented; at Downswing,
I started the applause and noticed only a handful of people joined
in. Joy reigns in one but not the other. Spontaneity in one. Hope.
Life.
I'm
going to venture here however that the difference in these two
churches is all about one thing: leadership. One has it, the other
hasn't had it for some years.
Take
the Church-on-the-Downswing. When I came into this associational
position over 3 years ago, I met the pastor for the first time
even though he had been at that church several years. He had rarely
attended anything with the other pastors and few of us knew him.
I quickly found out why.
He
had an attitude problem. "I don't want to sit around with
a bunch of preachers bragging about what a great day they had
Sunday," he scoffed in my office. I assured him our monthly
pastors sessions were anything but that, although we'd love to
have something to brag about. That day, before he left my office,
that pastor told me a joke. A dirty one. He said it and walked
out the door, leaving me standing there, stunned that such had
come out of the mouth of a man of God.
Only
later did I find out his attitude and filthy mouth were symptoms
of deeper problems. Reports came in indicating that he could be
found regularly at local casinos, and the owner of a restaurant
told one of our pastors that this preacher always ordered alcohol
with his meals.
Not
like any Baptist pastor I've ever known!
Someone
remarked to me, "He's not a Baptist." And he named the
denomination that pastor came from. (Again, it will go unnamed.
This is not to slam anyone else.)
Even
then, that church was declining in every measurable way. Some
of the leaders asked me to meet with them and the pastor in order
to negotiate his departure, which everyone wanted, including him.
I'll not belabor those discussions except that the preacher's
main consideration at all times seems to have been for himself,
never for the church. He left just before Katrina hit, moved to
another town, and we hear he is serving a church in his original
denomination. Meanwhile, the congregation that desperately needed
visionary and faithful leadership during his pastorate has continued
to suffer from his failure in that area.
After
his departure, the Downswingers named their part-time assistant
pastor as interim. It was not a good match and they basically
marked time for the next two years, while continuing to hemorrhage
money and members.
The
story of leadership in the Upswing congregation involves the pastor
and several key laymen. When they found the church campus they
presently occupy was for sale, they began to work on several levels.
They got the congregation to praying, they began negotiating with
the denominational leaders who had placed the plant on the market,
they brought in their mission pastor to see if his small congregation
would be interested in taking over their present buildings, and
they invited the associational leadership (that would be Freddie
Arnold and me) to review all these aspects of the relocation and
to make suggestions.
What
impressed me most about these men is that when the mission congregation
checked into every source for financial help they could identify
and could locate only half the money the church was asking for
the property, these men recommended that the congregation sell
the plant to the mission for half the asking price. They said,
"The Lord has been very good to us and we want to be faithful
to Him." Having dealt with churches and laymen in leading
positions in churches for nearly half a century, this attitude
was remarkable and refreshing.
Originally,
the Upswing Church had planned to get the entire amount from the
sale of their old property and not have to borrow any money for
the new property. Once it became apparent the mission church was
seriously limited in its resources, these men led their church
to cut the price, then to borrow the remaining funds so they could
complete the purchase of their new plant.
Every
time I have seen the pastor of the Upswingers this year, since
they made the move to the new location, he has been bubbling over
with reports of better attendance, great attitude, new members,
and other positive signs. What the pastor of the Downswingers
called "bragging," we recognize for what it is: a shepherd
reporting the blessings of the Lord. What goes unsaid in my visits
with this pastor is that I know the church he served before moving
to the Upswing Congregation a year ago. He would have loved to
have had such glowing reports to turn in there. So, it's not bragging;
it's pure joy.
So
much depends on the leadership of a church--particularly the pastor
and a handful of the most influential laymen (and by that, I mean
laywomen too).
If
I could write a description of the lay leader "to die for,"
meaning "the kind every church wants," it might look
like this.
"WANTED:
a man or a woman who is solidly Christian with excellent mental
health, who thinks clearly, listens well, speaks carefully, loves
the Lord, knows his Bible, and wants the people of the Lord to
do well. He supports his pastor until the day he does something
unethical, unbiblical, or immoral. He seeks no glory for himself,
does not need to chair a committee to be an effective member of
it, and is as faithful a follower as he is leader. His personal
life is beyond reproach, although he is thoroughly human and enjoys
telling a great joke or funny story. His family is a reflection
of his godly values. The bulk of his spiritual life is lived in
private, with the part seen in public only the tip of the iceberg."
How
does that old line go--"Give me a handful of men (and women)
like that and I will change the world."
A
final word.
Perhaps
after reading this, you identify yours as a Church-On-The-Upswing
with faithful and godly leaders. Consider clipping out the above
paragraph identifying leaders "to die for." Then, the
next time you're at church, hand it to one of those leaders. Tell
them (he, she) what an inspiration they are to you and thank them
for helping to make your church healthy.
Say
that and walk away and I guarantee you he (she) will stand there
stunned.
No
one ever tells them. All they hear are the complaints.
Be
the first.
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