In Part 1 of this thread, I talked about reasons people should NOT change churches. The Church (all over the world) is plagued with “church hoppers” who bounce from one church to another for typically selfish reasons that benefit neither the church or the individual.
On the other hand, I believe the Church is also hampered by the fact that tons of people stay involved in churches when they really should leave. I know that’s an extremely controversial statement, but let me explain my thoughts behind it.
I believe the Church (made up of all Christians everywhere) is beautiful for many reasons, one being it’s diversity. The church I’m a part of looks different than others around here, and vastly different from churches in other countries. That’s a great thing. To take it one step farther, I think all churches have unique personalities and characteristics, and people should be part of a church they can fit in with from that standpoint.
However, the questions SHOULDN’T be:
- Do I like the music style?
- Is the preaching something extremely helpful to me?
- Will this church let me ______ (fill in the blank with some personal agenda, like sing, preach, be an elder, etc)?
Hopefully you see the common thread there, with me being the central focus. To spin that a little, here are good questions to ask when choosing a church:
- What is the church’s theology, doctrine, or “essentials” in terms of beliefs?
- What is the church’s mission? (why do they exist)
- What is the church’s vision? (what future do they hope to create)
- What is the church’s strategy? (how do they accomplish their mission and vision)
Then, in light of those answers, ask yourself:
- What is God’s purpose for my life? (The Chazown book would be a great start)
- What are my core values? (list them out and compare to the church)
- How does my personality, giftedness, skills and abilities fit with the church’s strategy? (if you’re a great organist, you may not fit with the hip-hop worship style church)
- Could I invite my friends & co-workers to that church?
Essentially you are searching to see if your greatest potential as a Christian servant, is found within that church. Your church should allow you to leverage your time, talent and resources in the greatest way possible to serve your community.
In the next part, I’ll talk about the problem I see, and one of the major challenges in overcoming that problem.
Nick, Great Topic! I love it when people discuss the tough issues about church and ourselves. You know, the one’s that tend to be undiscussed large elephants in our lives.
For me personally, I’m a strategic thinker. I can’t help but look at systems, rules, engagement with people, leadership and direction and not want to find a way to always make it better. Not that I think I always know best, but more of just a passion thing. I have found in the last few years of my life, that you cannot change something that does not want to be changed. And in many cases, those things just NEVER will change! I believe more than anything that Churches have to empower their volunteers and pull out their strengths and talents and help lead them in the churches strategic direction. Vision is KEY! Strategy is KEY! Silo’s have to be erased and everyone must realize that they are on the same team. As Andy Stanley said, “If you want a for sure way for your kids to grow up and leave the church, then stay in a church that you secretly wish you could abandon.”
Great thoughts Danielle. I think that thing you described about wanting to make it better is the gift of leadership in you. Great churches will help people use that in a positive way, even if it’s outside their specific church.
I wish churches that didn’t “get it”, would help the people in their church that do “get it”, move on and start something new or contribute to something they would be more in tune with. Instead, they typically hold them down and sometimes it burns out their passion.
I love that Andy quote, and will probably use that forever