Part Six of A Radical, Modest Proposal for Younger Church Leaders
When you write about topics like holiness, the health of the church, or any other topic related to Christian living, you run the risk of sounding like you have it all together or, more likely, that you think you have it all together. So let me emphasize again that in all of these topics, I am much more a learner than a leader or expert. I write to process what I’m learning and to invite others to join the journey.
When Europeans arrived on the continent of North America, we rightly viewed it as a land that was rich in natural resources. Unfortunately, this led many to treat the land as if its resources were unlimited. Rather than receiving the gifts of the land with gratitude and using them in such a way to preserve the land’s health for future generations, many have exploited the land, taking more from it than it could sustain long-term.
In a similar way, the church has too often used up resources on visible, short-term gains and left longer term issues for future generations to wrestle with. Let me give just one example of the way I think that many of us have been short sighted, and where we need to learn to grow with a long view in mind.
For the last few decades, the church has been in a grow-at-any-cost mode. We have invested heavily in technological “solutions” to the challenges we face. We pour our resources, as if they were unlimited, into branding, marketing, and professional production of worship. We want to grow large and do it fast. We tell ourselves this is noble, because the more people who accept Christ the better.
But have we stopped to ask the question of whether there are ways to do more and reach as many or more while investing our resources in a different way? And more importantly, have we asked whether we are truly growing disciples? In most cases, we have left such questions unasked.
These are timely questions, though, because churches have been complaining for a few years now that their available resources are shrinking. Their big budgets are not as big; their large pools of volunteers are not quite as available. What will we do if, as I believe they will, the present trends continue?
We’ve become dependent on a resource-intensive means of growing the church. Many of us simply don’t know how to grow the church any other way. We don’t know how to “live off the land,” so to speak. And I’m learning that you don’t simply learn the necessary skills overnight. Much like gardening or actually living off the land, there is a steep learning curve.
And so, I believe we need to grow long. We need to get past our obsession with short-term, attention-getting results. We need to appreciate quantity but never sacrifice quality. And we need to think about what skills our children and grandchildren may need to sustain the church into the future.
Grow long. Believe me, it’s not glamourous. But the Kingdom needs you.
Continue the series – Grow Obscure
Originally posted Tuesday, 27 Mar 2012