One of the things I noticed as an Area Minister serving over 100 churches in my area was that the ones that had the most problems were repeat offenders. They seemed incapable of learning from their past mistakes and were determined to keep making them. One church called me with a number of issues in their church which they blamed on their pastor. When I met with some of their leaders one person complained their pastor didn't do things "the way Baptists do." I explained that was because he wasn't a Baptist, and they knew that when they called him as their pastor. I also reminded them that he was not anyone I had recommended! When he left they called another pastor from outside their denomination who created additional problems in the church. Today this once strong, small church is struggling, and many of their members have left.
I could easily write a book containing nothing but stories of churches who repeat the same mistakes over and over again and wonder why they are always having the same problems. However, no one would read it because healthy churches don't repeat their mistakes, and the unhealthy churches wouldn't read it because they would think it doesn't apply to them.
Every church will make mistakes at times. They will call the wrong person as pastor or select immature people to serve as lay leaders in their churches. They will make policies that do not advance the Kingdom of God. There are dozens of ways a church can get sidetracked. A healthy church will realize its mistakes and correct them; unhealthy churches refuse to admit they are doing anything wrong and will continue to repeat their mistakes over and over again until the spiritual life is sapped out of the congregation.
I once read that 100 churches in America close their doors every week. Why? It surely isn't because there is nothing for them to do. If we are to believe the statistics, every county in America is at least 80 percent unchurched. It seems to me that there is much work that the church needs to do. The reason many of these churches close their doors is that sometime in the past they began to make a series of mistakes, poor decisions, that they kept repeating over and over again until there were not enough people or reason for them to remain open. While there are likely other reasons some of these churches close, I'm convinced this is the reason for many of these closures.
My bestselling book has been The Healthy Small Church: Diagnosis and Treatment for the Big Issues. Judicatory leaders have purchased this book to pass out to each of the pastors in their districts. Churches have bought copies for each family and used it as a mid-week study. Other churches have provided copies for their leadership teams and studied a chapter at each of their meetings until they completed the book. I have been asked to lead conferences and seminars on the material found in this book for numerous denominational groups. A Christian university invited me to teach an online course on this material one semester. I have been honored and humbled by the number of pastors who have told me the difference this book made in their churches.
Any church can be healthier than it is today if it takes intentional steps to pursue health. The first step is to identify any unhealthy tendencies that might currently exist in the church. Only when a good diagnosis is made can a doctor prescribe treatment. The same is true of a church or other organization. This book helps church leaders diagnose any potential problems that might exist in the church and then offers ways to address them. At the conclusion of the book I offer a chapter of diagnostic questions that church leaders can use annually to study the health of their congregation. Like physical problems, the earlier a problem can be discovered the easier it is to treat.
A church does not have to keep making the same mistakes over and over again. It can take steps to become healthier again but only if it chooses to do so.
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