Do you really want to improve?

Yesterday evening I read an interesting statement that said if a person really wanted to improve himself or herself that person would already be making the necessary changes. We often talk about wanting to exercise more, eat healthier, lose weight, quit a habit, start a new hobby, learn a new skill, etc., but we never take the first step towards achieving any of the changes we claim we want to make. This is an indication we don't really want to change; we just want to talk like we want to change.

What's true of individuals is true of churches as well. Almost any church will tell you they want to grow, but they never do. The reason for that is they never take the first step towards anything that would encourage growth in their church. They may not be pleased with the size of their church, but they are more displeased with changing anything that might them uncomfortable.

This past Sunday I preached a sermon on "The Consequences of Our Choices." In that message I stated that their church is today what they decided 5 years ago, 10 years ago, and even 20 years ago they wanted it to be." Now, I'm sure nobody made a motion in a business meeting to keep the size of the church at its current level, but decisions made in those meetings impacted the size of the church today. I also told them that their church will be 5 years from now, 10 years from now, and 20 years from now what they decide today they want it to be. Choices have consequences. Decisions impact directions.

Towards the end of my time as a regional minister I was working with a pastor search committee of a small church. I always asked those committees what they wanted in their next pastor. The answer I got that evening was the same I often received, "We want a pastor who will grow our church." That evening I responded with a statement I had never made to a previous search committee. I said, "Are you sure about that? You do know that if you could grow your church by doing what you've been doing you would already be growing. So, are you telling me you want a new pastor who will come in here and change everything so you can grow?" The chair of the committee smiled and said that they might want to reconsider their answer to my earlier question.

No matter where you are in life, you can make changes to improve yourself. No matter the condition of your church, you can make changes to improve the way you do ministry. That is...if you really want to improve.