Collins Books are in trouble. They’re selling off or closing down stores in an effort to survive. The reason? Competition from Amazon and newcomers to the Australian market like Borders.
Collins had a secure place in the world of bookselling. But the world changed. Collins has been left behind. It happens all the time. Proud businesses go out of business.
Most declining churches are shielded from this harsh reality. They survive for decades on artificial life support.
If you’re not in that category, you may like to know what successful change looks like for a church. Here are my three commandments:
1. Thou shalt be conservative
Too many attempts to “modernize” or “post modernize” the faith erode the non-negotiables to accommate a godless culture. If you want a case study you can’t go past the mainline churches that modernized in the 60s and 70s. Once trendy, the party is now over. Their churches are in free fall. No one’s listening. Along the way they lost something.
2. Thou shalt take a risk
In a changing world, if you’re not moving, you’re being left behind. Core beliefs are your anchor while you change everything else in order to get the job done. Keep making that innovative return to tradition. Again and again and again.
3. Thou shalt keep the best
Ruthless evaluation. I love the first two commandments. I hate this one. Hard choices have to be made. At the end of the day is this innovation true to our core beliefs? Is it working?
Here are my biases:
- Are people coming to faith in Christ?
- Are they growing in obedience?
- Are disciple-making groups and communities multiplying?
- Are we developing godly and effective leaders?
- Are healthy churches growing and multiplying?
- Is the surrounding community and culture being transformed by the presence of the Kingdom?
If the answer is “no” – do something about it. Make an innovative return to tradition. Try lots of stuff and keep doing what works.
If you don’t, eventually the Owner of the business may visit you and close down your store (Lk 13:6-9).
6 Comments
Good article Steve but seems that these three points however much that I agree with them still are insufficient for me to just leave it at that. They could end just with individualism and need the bigger focus that this website brings. I’d add a fourth… ‘Thou shalt have a vision bigger then yourself of your church’. That encompasses a kingdom vision for the lost locally and to the ends of the world. I know too many church not risking closing their dors like Collins but who contribute little either to the mission of God.
Hey 3 out of 4 isn’t a bad score! I like you’re 4th commandment. Survival is not mission.
On reflection, I think I covered the individualism with the last bullet under the 3rd Commandment: Is the surrounding community and culture being transformed by the presence of the Kingdom?
Love it. I’m all for relevant churches and believe in Darwin or not, churches will rise or fall by survival of the fittest. Antiquated values and traditions will not cut it. Reaching people is the only way, with low down, exposed, dirty, but relevant, churches on the streets. Keep up the great work my man.
Wondering if you could define ‘conservative’ Steve? I friend emailed me this list and implied that anything pomo or emergent wasn’t ‘conservative’ and therefore failed your checklist.
Brett
The question of what the church needs to look like in a post modern world is legitimate. Just as past generations needed to come to terms with the modern world. But not all attempts will be equally valid. It’s important to stay true to the heart of the faith while expressing that faith in fresh and authentic ways in a changing world. Contextualization without syncretism. There are some sobering lessons of denominations that bent over backwards to be relevant to the ‘modern’ world in the 60s and are paying the price today of their irrelevance. Lesson: make an innovative return to tradition. Adaptive methods is only one of five key characteristics of dynamic movements.
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[...] Good question from Brett the other day regarding my views on the “emerging church”. Was I concerned the emerging church was not “conservative” in the best sense of the word? [...]