What causes churches to be unhealthy?

We've heard for years that 80 percent of the churches in America are plateaued or dying. I think it's safe to assume that most of these churches have some degree of poor health. Although there some valid reasons for a church to not grow, most plateaued and dying churches are not healthy. That is why I wrote my book, The Healthy Small Church: Diagnosis and Treatment for the Big Issues. It has outsold all of my other books because it has obviously spoken to church leaders.

More than one pastor has written to say this book helped turn their churches around. I recently spoke in a church in Michigan for a pastor who told me he led the church through a study of the book four years earlier when he first went there. It was exciting to hear how the church had changed during his ministry.

Turning around an unhealthy church begins by first diagnosing the problems that are causing the poor health. While there may be many causes, I have found that six problems are often at the root of a church's unhealthy state.

• Poor self-esteem. This is frequently a major problem for smaller churches that were once much larger.
• Conflict. While conflict cannot be avoided in churches, it does not have to be unhealthy. However, it does need to be resolved or it will keep resurfacing.
• Lack of vision and purpose. A church that is merely drifting along hoping something good will someday happen will be a very unhealthy church.
• Focusing inward. Too many smaller churches are more concerned about their own survival than they are about making a difference in their community.
• Poor leadership. Everything rises and falls on leadership. If the pastoral and/or lay leadership is poor, the church will struggle.
• Cultural indifference. Too many churches want to live in the 1950s and cannot understand that the world has changed.

The book addresses each of these problems and offers some solutions. However, it does more than that. It offers solid ways to lead your church to become healthier and begin new phases of ministry.  This is why this book has been so popular among pastors and why my seminar on this topic has been my most requested.

You can order the book online or find it in most Christian bookstores. I encourage you to read it, and if you believe it will be helpful to your church, ask your lay leaders to read and study it with you. One congregation purchased 90 copies to give to every family in their church. May their tribe increase! Several judicatory leaders have purchased copies for each of the pastors in their districts. Thank you!

I have led several conferences this year where I've spoken on this subject and have more scheduled this summer and fall. If you believe this could benefit the churches in your area, give me a call and let's discuss doing one for your church or the churches in your district.

What are you teaching the church about giving?

In a meeting with a group of men one of them began to talk about the giving in their church. Thirty years ago the church was nearly broke. A new pastor came to the church and slowly the finances began to improve until giving nearly doubled the budget needs of the church. This church was able to become a significant support of mission work in its denomination as well as do some incredible ministry locally. After several years this pastor left. Today, the church's giving has declined significantly. It gives almost nothing to mission support. When I asked the individual why the church had such a financial roller coaster he responded it had to do with the pastors and their teaching on giving.

The one pastor presented a biblical view of giving which included tithing. He was not afraid to preach sermons on stewardship, and he backed his teachings with his own faithful tithing. The pastor taught that a church does not take up an offering but receives an offering as part of its worship experience. As money came in it was wisely invested in Kingdom work. In time, giving improved dramatically in the church.

When this pastor left the new pastor told the church that tithing was not taught in the New Testament. He eliminated receiving an offering as part of the worship service and put up a collection box in the back of the sanctuary where people could put their offerings if they so chose to do so. Many of the new people who came into the church under his ministry did not have a biblical view of stewardship and did not support the church financially at the same level as before. As a result, the church is financially unable to minister as it had been doing.

As I've often written in this blog, everything rises and falls on leadership. This is certainly true in the church. After about three years the pastor's ministry philosophy and theology will become that of the congregation. If a pastor has a poor understanding of some aspect of biblical teaching it won't be long before many in the church shares that same understanding.

If a pastor wants his or her church to be an evangelistic church, then he or she better be evangelistic themselves and need to teach people how to share their faith with others. If a pastor wants a church with a biblical understanding of stewardship then he or she better be tithing and teaching biblical stewardship to the congregation.

What is the giving like in your congregation? What does that pattern say about what you are teaching about stewardship?

Let your speech be with grace

The Apostle Paul reminds us in Colossians 4:6 "Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one."

I have to admit that there have been times I've struggled with this one. In fact, many times. Once, as I was reviewing my sermons for the previous few months, I noticed that many of them were quite negative in tone. The more I read through my sermon notes the more convicted I became. The next Sunday I began my message by apologizing to the congregation for the negativity that had been in my sermons for the previous months.

Many people come to church having been beaten up by life all week. They don't need to come to church only to have the pastor hammer them as well. As I shared that morning, I can say anything I need to say in a positive manner as well as in a negative one. I was committed from that time forward to eliminate the negativity from my sermons. I would not compromise the Gospel in any way, but I would also not beat up my listeners anymore either.

Writing this blog presents many opportunities to rant about some issue that is especially troublesome. Although I have written the occasional rant, I've tried to do so as graciously as possible. Believe me, there was much more I wanted to say in some of those rants! I tried my best to edit out the negativity and voice my concerns in a more positive and gracious way.

Yesterday, a friend of mine posted something on Facebook. I agreed with him, but another of his friends attacked his post. I responded in a very sarcastic manner, published my response, and was immediately convicted. I instantly deleted my post.

We seem to live in a world of crudeness. We have lost the ability to be civil with one another. People on social media say the most disgusting and cruel things to each other. If you read a news item online the comments that follow are often crude and ugly. Rather than commenting on the article these comments are more often than not personal attacks on the persons mentioned in the article. Unfortunately, Christians are included among those who resort to personal attacks and rude comments towards those who disagree with them.

Political events result in arrests as mobs run wild. Road rage incidents continue to escalate. Just yesterday the news reported that a car purposefully ran over a motorcycle injuring both riders after words were exchanged at a stop light.

We cannot control the actions of others nor can we control what they say and write. But, we can control our own speech. Maybe if each of us takes personal responsibility for our speech we can begin to restore some civility to this nation once again. Let's make sure our speech is always full of grace.

Have fun this summer

Summer is usually a slower time for many churches. Church attendance often drops during the summer months as families try to squeeze in vacations, family reunions, and other activities before school resumes. In some churches, the choir disbands during the summer and other committees and/or boards may not meet.

All of this makes the summer a great time for pastors to get away and enjoy more family time as well. I will be preaching for a friend of mine soon as he and his family enjoy a two week vacation on an Alaskan cruise. Another church recently called asking about my availability to fill their pulpit while their pastor goes on sabbatical this summer.

Unfortunately, not every pastor will take advantage of the slower summer months to get away. I know because for many years in my earlier ministry I didn't, and in my work as a judicatory leader I met many other pastors that made the same mistake I made.

I shared before in this blog about my bout with clinical depression in the 1980s. The root cause for the depression was that I had over-extended myself. I had pushed myself almost to the point of exhaustion until I had nothing left. I never slowed down even when I had the opportunity. The counseling I received during my recovery helped me learn to take better care of myself.

It wasn't long after I had conquered the depression that I bought my first bass boat. At least once a week after work my wife and I would be on a nearby river fishing or just enjoying the summer evening eating dinner in the boat while floating down the river. The factory where I worked had a bass club which we joined. We tried to fish all the Saturday tournaments which took us to some great fisheries in Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

After taking early retirement from the factory our fishing slowed down to the point that I sold my boat. I replaced it with my first motorcycle. Now, instead of heading to the lake we took to the road. We rode it on a 10-day vacation out west. Some evenings we would ride a couple of hours just to get an ice cream cone. One weekend we had free, and my wife asked what I planned to do. We ended up riding to Nashville, Tennessee for the weekend and came back Sunday evening. We still agree it was one of the best weekends we've ever had.

The point of all this is for you to enjoy the slower months of summer. Take advantage of the longer days and do things that are fun and relaxing. Visit your state parks and hike their trails. Take in a music festival (and it doesn't have to be a religious one!). Go to a ball game. Start a new hobby. Please take some vacation. It doesn't really matter what you do, just have some fun this summer.

Living on purpose

In 1995 Rick Warren published his best selling book The Purpose-driven Church: Growth Without Compromising Your Message And Mission. In 2007 he followed that book with The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? Yet, after all these years, churches and individuals are still drifting through life with no sense of purpose or direction. It's no wonder many of our churches make little to no impact on their communities.

The church is called to be a transforming agent in our communities. As we see the social and moral climate of our nation today we have to admit that the church is doing little in the area of transformation. The salt has lost its savor.

One writer summed up our problem very well when he described the church in this way. "The Church is like a ship on whose deck festivities are still kept up and glorious music is heard, while deep below the waterline a leak has been sprung and masses of water are pouring in, so that the vessel is settling hourly lower though the pumps are manned day and night." Few observers of the church would disagree with this assessment, but what makes it so frightening is that these words were written in 1957! In the past 59 years the band has continued to play while the ship has continued to sink even deeper into the depths, and little is being done about it.

Church leaders have chased one fad after another trying to find ways to fill their congregations with new members. Denominations are seeking ways to become more inclusive to appeal to a broader mass of people. In some situations our theological teachings have become so watered-down and dumbed-down that they are hardly recognizable as Christian. In our efforts to become all things to all people we forget to be the one thing God has called the church to be: an agent of transformation.

The mission of the church is simple. It exists to fulfill the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. This is the mission of the church regardless of its size. How each church goes about doing these two things will differ, but each church shares the same purpose. In fulfilling this purpose we become transforming agents in our communities.

Is your community different because your church exists? That's a fair question for every church to ask. If your church was to close its doors tomorrow, how would that impact your community? Another fair question. If you can't identify a good answer to these two questions then you need to take a long, hard look at what your church is doing.

The church needs to stop complaining about the state of our society and begin to do something about it. We will begin to change our nation one person, one family, one neighborhood, one community at a time. The time to start living our purpose is right now.

What does the future hold for the local church?

We hear much talk about the state of the local church today, and much of it is negative. As some look at declining attendance and giving statistics they wonder if the church will continue to exist much longer. I think it would be a big mistake to count the church out. After all, Jesus Christ said the forces of hell would not prevail against the church. The church does have a pretty solid foundation!

There's no doubt that the church is going through some difficult times right now, but I see these times as more of a transition than anything else. What we don't know is what the church will look like on the other side of this transition. This uncertainty is what scares some people.

One of my favorite images of today's church is that of a trapeze artist. The trapeze artist must go from the swing he is on to the one that is swinging towards him. To go from the safety of the swing he holds onto to the other swing he must let go of the one. For a brief moment he is suspended in mid-air waiting for the other swing to reach him. During that time of suspension he is most vulnerable because if the other swing is not timed correctly he will fall to the ground. I see today's church as being in that in-between time.

Much of what's worked for the church in the past no longer works, but many still want to hold on to it because it's safe and reliable. Before we can experience something new in the church we have to be willing to let go of the one we are clinging to. That in-between time is scary for church leaders just as it is for trapeze artists. It's so hard to let go of the known for something that we don't know in hopes that it will be better.

As the church goes through this time of transition there will be many changes. I'm convinced the church will look much different twenty years from now than it does today. Despite not having a crystal ball I will venture some changes I believe are likely to occur.

• More churches will be led by bivocational pastors and/or bivocational teams. Some of this will be driven by economics but not all of it.
• Seminary training will not be a requirement for a growing number of churches. Growing numbers of seminary students will earn their degrees online. Persons going into pastoral ministry will often pursue degrees other than the traditional MDiv. They will want more practical MA degrees offering courses that will speak more to the needs of pastors. Look for the MDiv to be the degree of choice for those planning to earn a PhD.
• Mid-size churches will face a lot of pressure to compete with much larger churches in the programs and ministries they offer. Some will be able to meet those expectations and will grow. Others will not and will begin to lose people to the larger churches.
• There is already a lesser commitment to the denomination in which people were raised. Expect to see this continue and even increase. A growing number of people simply won't care about the name of the church as much as what ministries the church offers.
• Lay people will be much more involved in ministry that they are today. This is be partially due to their churches calling bivocational ministers but mostly due to more people realizing they have been gifted and called to do ministry.
• Churches will become more creative in raising funds. This will become critical in the next few years as the Builder generation continues to decline. Churches that are effective in teaching sound stewardship will see more of their people supporting the church financially. Growing numbers will begin offering online giving if they want the Millennial generation to support their church financially.
• Expect to see more home churches. Zoning restrictions in some communities, the cost of new construction, and a desire to plant new churches rather than erect great buildings will cause many to decide to meet in homes. Some denominations will be forced to determine how they will recognize these churches.
• Speaking of denominations, they will also have to make some major changes as their churches go through their transitions. The same is true of seminaries. While there's not space in this post to address these changes, they will be significant. I'm not sure all denominations and seminaries will survive this transition.

Ministers and retirement planning

Over the years I've heard that retirement is not found in the Bible so there is no justification for ministers to consider ever retiring from the ministry. While I will admit that we should not abandon God's call on our lives, that does not mean that we will serve in a ministry position throughout our lives. Because of health reasons, limitations as we grow older, or the sense that our ministry skills are no longer effective in a changing world, most of us in ministry will retire at some point. To not plan for that eventuality is foolish on our parts.

As a judicatory minister for 14 years I met several pastors who wanted to retire but could not for financial reasons. They had very little in savings, and their Social Security would barely cover their monthly expenses, especially if they had debt. Some of these pastors resented having to continue working, and they were not doing their churches any good by their continued service.

Many of these pastors had been fully-funded throughout their ministries, but their salaries were meager at best. In many cases their churches did not pay into any kind of retirement account on their pastor's behalf leaving them at the mercy of Social Security. However, when your income is low your Social Security payout is going to reflect that as well.

Those of us in bivocational ministry may be better able to fund a good retirement. Not only do we have outside income paying into Social Security, we often have more disposable income to invest in retirement planning. The secret is to not dispose of it before doing so!

As one reaches a certain age (like me!) he or she wishes they had done some things differently. One of the things I wish I had done was to begin early in my working life living on 75 percent of my income. That would leave 10 percent for my tithe and 15 percent to invest in retirement. One of the things I've learned late in life is that investing 15 percent in a good retirement account throughout one's working life will often lead to over $1 million dollars in retirement. And that's not even including Social Security!

I know many will argue that it's not possible to do that. It is possible but it's not easy, especially if you started out living on 120 percent of your income and you've piled up a bunch of debt that has to be paid off before you start saving for retirement.

Seminaries need to teach every ministerial student a course on personal finance. Of course, most won't because if they taught the course no one would take out student loans and they would lose income. But, their students would have a much better idea of what to expect financially in the ministry and how to prepare financially for each phase of ministry including retirement.

If you feel that you are sinking financially it's time to do something different. I would suggest start by reading The Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness by Dave Ramsey and following the Baby Steps he presents in the book. By doing that you can begin to better prepare for retirement. Believe me, you and your family will be thankful you did.