A Great Question

Late last week I had lunch with my friend Randy Elster.  Randy is Pastor of Spiritual Formation and Leadership Development at NorthStar Church.  (I have a theory that the more spiritual you are, the longer your title, so Randy is obviously VERY godly!)  I always enjoy fellowshipping with Randy.  He is incredibly well-read and I am always uplifted and challenged by talking with him.  We share a common background as worship leaders, and we have the battle scars to prove that we served churches in "transition" in their worship style!

Freemason Abbey, one of of my favorite restaurants in Norfolk, Virginia.  The building used to be the Second Presbyterian Church.

During the course of our lunch conversation, Randy asked a really fascinating question - one that I kept thinking about for the rest of the day.  "What do you think is going to happen to the thousands of traditional churches when our parent's generation is gone?"

It's an insightful question.  So much attention is given these days to new church plants, as it should be.  New churches reach people at an exponentially higher rate than existing churches.  But what about the tens of thousands of existing churches, especially those who are "on the bubble" in terms of their very survival in the years ahead?

My initial response to Randy's question was to point out the example of a church in our area that once had around 500 people in worship.  Sadly, the combination of a changing neighborhood and an unchanging church resulted in them declining to the point that they approached a large church in the area asking them to take over the church.  They could no longer pay to keep the lights on, much less pay a pastor or staff. 

I've had a couple of days now to mull Randy's question over. While my initial response was to predict a negative outcome, happily, that is not always the case. There is no doubt that in the years ahead some, maybe many, small churches will cease to exist. But some, maybe many, will not. I think there are three basic scenarios that face smaller traditional churches over the next two decades. 

Scenario #1 - The church, motivated by a deep love for their community and a heart to do whatever it takes to reach them, makes changes and adapts their methods to fit the people they are trying to reach. As a result, new people - in many cases a new generation and/or a new demographic - become a part of the church. Their presence breathes new life, new vision and a new excitement into the church.  This is not simply a Utopian dream; stories of these "turn around churches" abound today. 

Scenario #2 - The church makes superficial change or change for change's sake in an attempt to fix the problem.  They do what they see growing churches do without understanding the why of the equation.  Those changes - the wrong things done for the wrong reason - cause friction in the church and don't appeal to anyone outside of it. The church's decline is accelerated by serious internal conflict.  They assume people will come if they make changes, and are surprised when they don't.  They essentially put a fresh coat of paint on a barn that was about to fall down.

Scenario #3 - The church refuses to change or adapt, believing the church exists for those who are currently members of it.  At some point, the doors will close forever.  The "death" of the church may happen quickly, or it may experience a slow decline, depending on factors such as the financial viability of the church, the stability of the community around it, etc.

The single most important change a church can make is to change it's focus from inward to outward.  Yet there are hundreds if not thousands of examples of churches making superficial changes in worship style, programs, or administration, none of which will make an significant difference in and of themselves. 

Harry Piland is an evangelistic visionary who was years ahead of his time. Decades ago, he famously observed, "Your church exists for those who are not yet members of it."  When a church truly embraces and embodies that idea, it can't help but grow. 

When that philosophy is rejected, the dying process has already begun.

Comments

[Randy Elster]

Great thoughts, Alan! Actually, having a long, nebulous title just means that nobody really knows what my job is, which means I can just do what I want! ;)

I pray for scenario 1. Although I actually think that it really doesn't mtter what "style" the church is, as long as it's outward-focused, as you pointed out. The fact is, I know very trendy churches who are focused on themselves instead of who they should be reaching. (I believe that's scenario 2.)

[Milan Ford]

Great Post Alan.
This may be closer than many think.