Not Everything is For Everyone
A while back, my friend Cory and I were talking about a church in his area, LifeChurch.tv, that was doing some pretty radical things. Billboard campaigns, buying virtual property in Second Life, being an internet church, etc.
One of the things that Cory said to me was that he respected LifeChurch for doing what they were doing, utilizing creative means to reach the lost, etc., but said that the things they did would not necessarily work for his church.
In fact, he wrote a post about it over at CCP.
During a meeting yesterday that same principle was reinforced. There are some methodologies, strategies, styles, that would not work at certain churches, and that’s OK!!!
I think it was in my original small church strategies post that I recommended that you know your audience (I also mentioned this in my Christian Excellence post). That means knowing how much they can handle before they start considering the church to be “liberal”. I salute pastors who are keen on what their congregation is able to handle.
So take this short encouragement today and realize that not everything is for everyone. Not all churches can handle what you may want for them, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. God makes everything beautiful in His own time, so don’t get ahead of Him. He’s got it all under control.
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Related posts:
- Stained Glass Masquerade
- Is Your Church a Lighthouse?
- In Defense of “Sex Sermons”
- More on Church-Change
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Nathan, you’re living this, bro, and I am sure proud to be called your friend.
I heard this quote one time (paraphrased) … that the only place to be is in the center of God’s will … but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be comfortable or “safe.”
Be led, my brother! Praying for you!
–Cory
That sure is a pastor’s job! But it gets even harder when you know what the congregation can handle and then God has you push them beyond that point!
My seminary professor, Steve Brown (of Key Life Networks), often says that “not all churches all called to be all things to all people.” Big churches may have that responsibility, but not every church needs to do everything. What are the things you can do well and faithfully to reach the people God has placed before you.
Thanks Chris and Steve,
Your points are both well taken. I guess the balance is knowing what the congregation can handle, while at the same time knowing what it is they need to handle.
hmmm….
any suggestions on how to keep the balance?
Well, I think you have just diagnosed the very task of Christian leadership. It’s a tricky deal to hold the carrot out in front of the people whom God has entrusted to you, while not making the task seem impossible. We want people to always be growing, always moving forward. Yet there are many just happy to be where they are and many who don’t want to change.
Our task is to call people to be like Jesus and show them the grace of God that transforms. And sometimes it is in big, dramatic changes, but usually it is “baby steps.” For example, if you wanted to develop a spirit of service in the church, the place to start is probably not a trip to Peru. It’s probably getting people to give away bottled water on a hot day in the park.
Anyway, all that to say that the challenge is to encourage people where they are, while always gently and humbly (two important words) pushing them forward into Christ-likeness, because often we know what it is our congregation needs better than they do.