Tuesday, August 31, 2010

The Church and the Kill Switch



"Yes, 'the church has a mission.' But it's better to say that 'God's mission has a church" -Ed Stetzer


One question I have been asking myself often over the last year has been an observation on what the purpose of the church is. Depending on who you ask this can be a very loaded question and I won't pretend like it's an easy question to answer. In fact I'm sure I'll be making adjustments to it for the rest of my life. I've already made some pretty substantial changes to my own views even in recent months.

Let's just go ahead and jump right into where I've landed on this. The purpose of the church is to:

1. Share the gospel with outsiders
2. Disciple insiders
3. Maintain accountability
4. Develop Community

Regardless of your views of the mission, every program your church uses should be an answer to a question that arises from that mission. How do we develop community? Introduce small groups. How do we maintain accountability? Introduce covenant membership and develop consistent church discipline. That may not be how you would choose to answer these questions, but they are an answer. This is what churches should do; continuously ask themselves how to actively chase after the mission that God has set before his church.

In that same vein, if one of your programs is not an answer to a "missional question" then that is an excellent excuse to kill the program. Many churches are willing to sacrifice themselves on the altar of their programs instead of crucifying their programs on the cross of God's mission. When we stop asking ourselves how to actively introduce the gospel to outsiders and instead try to figure out how to maintain a two hymnal songs per service quota, it's a good indication that your church has lost the plot.

A culture of change is paramount in a church. A church should constantly evaluate their programs to insure that everything they do is an answer to achieving the mission given the church. They shouldn't be afraid to flip the kill switch the moment a program no longer answers a need and instead becomes a comfortable tradition. When they don't, churches have a tendency to collect "ugly couches" (an Andy Stanley quote) furniture that worked well and looked great two houses, three paint jobs, and twenty years ago. The problem with an ugly couch is that everyone who visits you instantly recognizes that you own an ugly couch, but every time you see it all you recognize is a thousand great memories and a really comfortable butt groove.

It's important to recognize that even though the questions should never change, the way we answer those questions will constantly change. The way a question is answered right now is not necessarily how it will be answered next year. This is why evaluation is so important, so that answers do not become ugly couches.

I'd love to read your thoughts on the mission of the church. What do you agree with? Disagree with? What would you tweak, take away, or add? Feel free to share any other thoughts you may have, I'd love to hear them!