A church's vision and structure

I recently received an e-mail from a lay leader in a church outside the United States who was concerned about some changes occurring in his church.  He explained that the church was trying to seek a vision and was changing the way it's boards and committees were structured.  One of the proposed changes was the reason he was contacting me as he wanted my opinion on the change.  I responded to the question, but then said that I would also respond to a question he didn't ask.  One does not discern God's vision for a church by changing the structure of a church.

A number of churches and denominational groups are making this same mistake.  They are changing their boards and committees and other aspects of their structure thinking that these changes will enhance their ministries.  Let me say up front that most smaller churches need to make major changes in the way they are structured.  Most are highly over-structured for their size and to simplify their structure makes a lot of sense.  But, this is not done until after they have spent some time discerning a fresh vision from God for their future ministry.  Once such a vision is determined the church can then create a structure that will enable the church to achieve that vision.

Changing the structure first is like re-arranging the deck furniture on the Titanic.  Doing so creates a sense of involvement and keeps people occupied, but the ship is still sinking.  I see churches that have painted everything that can be painted, they've remodeled everything in sight, they've bought new hymnals, installed computers, video projectors, and screens.  They started calling their committees teams and formed a church council and introduced some praise music into their worship services, and once they have done everything they can think of to do they step back and realize nothing important has actually changed.  I see judicatories and denominations making the same mistake.  Does structure need to be changed?  Often, the answer is yes, but not until the organization has clearly identified a fresh vision from God for its future.  Why is this so important?  Because without a vision the people perish, and we have a lot of churches and denominational groups that are perishing despite all the structural changes they are making.

Vision discernment is messy work and can take time.  Many of us in American churches like microwave solutions to our problems.  We want the quick fix.  Give us three steps to take, an opportunity to vote on the proposal, and we're good to go.  Vision normally doesn't come easy, and it's not something a church can vote on.  Because the only vision that matters is God's vision, it can only come as God's people pray and do the work that can lead to such discernment.

A church's vision for its future must be congruent with its core values and bedrock beliefs so time must be spent identifying what those are. This can be difficult because churches have a tendency to list the ones they think they should have.  (I once led a church through a process to identify its core values, and one they identified was cliques.  Someone said that cliques must be a core value of their church since they had so many of them.  At least the person was honest!)  The vision must also be congruent with the spiritual gifts of the membership and their passions for ministry so a church must spend time identifying those as well.  Only when all these things are identified can a church begin the process of discerning God's vision.  It's easy to see how this can be time consuming, but when the work is done the church will have a clear sense of purpose and direction for ministry, and in most cases will see their ministry become much more productive.