The enemy of success

One day while I was serving as a Regional Minister in our denomination I was attending our monthly staff meeting. We began to discuss how ministry was changing and the problems many of our pastors were having with those changes. I commented that I felt that I had enjoyed a good 20 year ministry in my previous church, but I was certain that if I returned to pastoral ministry, I could not repeat doing what I had been doing and have a successful ministry. I also shared that I wasn't certain I could make the changes necessary to have an effective ministry in today's climate.

John Maxwell reminds us that "the greatest enemy of tomorrow's success is sometimes today's success." We think we can just keep repeating what has worked in the past or is working now, and it will work in the future. That's not always the case. Ford no longer only offers its cars in black. Families no longer watch television programs in black and white. Things change. People's expectations change. New and better ways of doing things are constantly being developed, and, yes, this even includes the church.

There is nothing especially wrong with traditions unless they block progress. Many churches are driven by their traditions, and any attempt to circumvent the traditions is often met with great resistance. What we forget is that many of our traditions today were challenges to the traditions of the past. Those older traditions had to be replaced by new ways of thinking and acting for the church to move forward in its culture. The same is true for today's church.

One of the great needs of today's church are people who are willing to think outside the box. Instead of just learning what the traditions of a church are we need people who will ask why those traditions exist and do they continue to serve any purpose. Do they help or hinder the church in fulfilling its purpose in today's world? When we find traditions that hinder we then need to have the courage to replace them with new ways of doing things.

I realize how scary that sounds to some people, even leaders. Many pastors like church traditions because they know what's expected of them and they don't have to learn new ways of doing ministry. But, this is not a mindset that leads to successful ministry. This kind of thinking does not lead to changed lives.

Someone once said the seven last words of a dying church are "We've never done it that way before." In 14 years of regional ministry I have seen those words played out in too many churches who would prefer to die than change. We used to hear people say that if something wasn't broken, don't break it. A better saying might be "If it isn't broken, break it, because it will soon be obsolete anyway." Not all traditions need to be discarded, but most churches would be well served to take a look at their traditions and determine if they are helping or hindering your ministry. Boldly replace the ones that hinder ministry and prepare for a greater harvest than your church has perhaps seen in years.