Surely you have heard of congregations with names such as The Church of the Resurrection, The Church of the Redeemer, and The Church of the Reformation. But, have you heard of The Church of The Rationalization?
You may not know them by this name, but I am sure you have experienced them many times. It is those churches who provide endless rationalizations as to why they cannot function with vitality and vibrancy as Christ-centered faith-based worshipping communities.
These churches are full of excuses.
They know all the reasons why they cannot move forward under God’s leadership. They know why their situation is tougher than anyone else’s. They know why their opportunities are few. They know how to trust themselves, but their lack of faith does not allow them to trust the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
They have lacked vision for so long that they would not recognize vision even if it is personified and walks alongside them on their journey. They struggle with a low self-image as a congregation. They have tried everything they know and these methods have not worked.
They have moved over the years from functioning as high expectation congregations to now functioning as low expectation congregations. They are afraid if they place too many expectations on people that they will leave the church.
We Have Excuses!
Here are some sample excuses I run into or that have been suggested by some of my ministry colleagues.
First, one of my favorite is when people say they may not be as great as the church down the street, the new church started out on the interstate, the fast growing campus of a multi-site church who has located in their town, but they sure are faithful. This is one of the most common excuses around.
Faithful in this case is a euphemism for, “We ain’t much, we can’t be much, we aren’t like those other churches, but we really are faithful.” When there are a bunch of these churches within a denominational family, they create a whole culture around the fact that mediocre churches really are all right.
I say God has a unique vision for every congregation. God has gifted, skilled, and given congregations preferences in ministry. I suspect many have not figured out what that is for them at the current time. But, it is there.
Second are the churches who compare themselves to other churches and say, “We can’t compete with them. We will never be successful.” Rather than try, they just give up. They blame other churches for the loss of their young adult families.
I say I did not know success was the goal for congregations. Two more powerful words for a Christ-centered, faith-based community are significance and surrender. God has something significant for every congregation to do. To fulfill God’s vision requires surrender to God’s will.
Third are congregations who say they cannot attract young families because there are too many sports events on evenings and weekends their children demand to attend. These churches believe that an attraction ministry to connect with young families requires them to have exciting programs, ministries, and activities that draw children and youth.
I say it is not the children and youth who need to be captivated. It is the parents. Adult discipleship development that is rich and meaningful attracts the heads of households. These people will also help congregations have the highest possible quality programs, ministries, and activities for their children and youth.
Fourth are congregations who believe they are in the wrong location, the other side of the railroad tracks, the other side of the interstate or in another school district. They believe that reaching people is about location, the outside look of their buildings, and the easy accessibility to their location with adequate parking.
I say this is a good reason to get out of the four walls of the church facilities and encounter people in their community context. Establish missional communities in homes that focus on the presence of Christ throughout the community context. Get to know people there. Help them understand the unconditional love of God through Jesus Christ. When the time is right, invite them to join you for worship at church. They will not likely have problems at that point with any physical barriers such as location.
What are other excuses you hear from The Church of the Rationalization? As you can see we often develop our own excuses for why we do not move beyond faithfulness to effectiveness and innovation.