Real Message. Big Challenge. Urgent Question For Your Church.
Bill Taylor at the Harvard Business Review always has a habit of asking uncomfortable questions. Here is a message, challenge and question he threw out for business. I've ammended it to make it relevant for churches.
Real Message: If your community can live without you, they eventually will.
Big Challenge: If you do church the way everybody else does church, you'll never do any better.
Urgent Question: If your church disappeared tomorrow, would anybody notice?
Uncomfortable anyone? I am.
What do you think?
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Tough. A small church I was on the leadership team of asked this question. Eventually, we closed it down, largely after realising that all the money and effort being put into it was simply not affecting the community positively – not to the degree we would have wished, anyway.
Other factors came into play as well, but I wonder how many other churches could honestly say ‘no, were fine: we are having a huge impact on our local community outside of church’? I would like to think the answer is ‘loads’, but I suspect a period of painful introspection might follow anyone serious about this question (in the UK at least).
Good post!
I work with churches around the country and have found many churches that have a huge impact on their community. Granger Community Church IN, UBC Miami, The Village Church TX, New Hope Church Pearland TX, and New Life Foursquare Church Everett WA are a few that come to mind. They have partnered with their community to build a stronger community. These churches have no preconceived notions that by building a stronger community it will eventually build their coffers larger. Rater they seek the opportunity to serve because they love their community and the people that live in it.
Great questions!
Matt McMaster
Bill Taylor’s question is spot for business. Church has never been and will never be like business. If only five people in a community of 5000 believe and worship Christ, should they disband because they have only been five for a definite period of time? Who adds to the number of church? Is church for the community or for the believers?
John Banks
Francis Chan said these exact words in his book “Forgotten God.” It is a great book, but only read it if you are willing to change.
http://www.forgottengod.com/
When churches meet needs, they are missed when they are gone. Meet the needs of your community, and you will become an indispensable part of it.