Bob Whitesel, in this short-form video, shares two strategies church leaders must begin to do now, if they are to effectively minister in a future of artificial realities.
View more at … https://www.biblicalleadership.com/videos/what-you-need-to-know-about-chatgpt-the-new-industrial-revolution/?
People often ask, “Why should we hire Leadership.church to coach our leaders and churches?”
It is because of four other reasons …
Here is more on “#3: Articles I’ve written baed upon my continual field-research.” (PS I am scheduling Consultations and monthly Colleaguing Calls.)
by Bob Whitesel D.Min., Ph.D.
In part 1 we learned that Angela Duckworth’s book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseveranceand thought-provoking TED talk describe some of the most important skills for long-term leadership success. And, we looked at the first two of five things you can do to stick it out, when you’re feeling stuck. Action one was, “Try something similar, but new.” Action two was “Accomplish something, even if it is small.” Now let’s look at three more actions that can help you stick it out when you are fed up with what you’re doing and ready to quit.
3. Change up your support system.
This may be one of the more challenging steps, but is often necessary because church leaders over time surround themselves with individuals who only reinforce the leader’s existing viewpoints. In most scenarios, leaders aren’t getting outside input, but rather getting internal confirmation. This is called “affinity bias.” Leaders experience this because they gravitate toward people with whom they share a connection. The result is that people with outside ideas are pushed away or blocked out. People around you are telling you what is the best thing to do and you’re usually going to believe it without looking at all the options.
So change up your support system and look for people who are outside your usual network. Look for those who will bring innovative ideas. But be careful not to create division by listening to people who are divisive. Instead look for the “peacemakers” Jesus describes in Matthew 5:9. I’ve written that “Leaders interpret this as a ‘go-between’ or ‘diplomat’ between warring factions. But the Greek does not carry an idea of ‘go-between’ but rather, ‘keeping aloof from sectional strifes and the passions which beget them, and living tranquilly for and in the whole’.” These are the people who find the commonality and good in different viewpoints. So switch up your support system, especially if it has developed into an affinity bias toward your ideas.
4. Recognize the power of grit.
Pick up Angela Duckworth’s book, read it or reread it again. Then introduce her short but powerful TED Talk video to your leaders. Help your leaders see that one of the most important aspects of leadership is the ability to stick it out when all you want to do is give up. The Bible is replete with messages about perseverance, including this helpful paraphrased translation of James 1:2-4 (MSG):
“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”
5. Look ahead further.
Finally, look farther into the future and look further than to which you’re accustomed. If you’re thinking about retirement in 4-5 years, look 6-10 years ahead and ask yourself, “What kind of relationship do I want congregants to have with me in 10 years?” Start looking further ahead. This that will give you a chance to focus on long-term goals rather than short-sighted barriers.
And, if you’re thinking about quitting a church, look at where you might be in five years. Will you be in the same situation, ready to quit another church five years from now, because you’re leading in the same manner? Or in five years will you regret that you left this church, because your kids might’ve enjoyed another 3-4 years in the same school system? Look ahead further and spend more time concentrating on what the future holds. Paul reminds us that is what sustained him, in
“I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.”
Read more at … https://www.biblicalleadership.com/blogs/gritty-leadership-how-to-stick-it-out-when-youre-stuck-part-2/
by Bob Whitesel D.Min., Ph.D., 12/15/22.
I’ve learned there are five things you can do to stick it out when you’re feeling stuck. Here are the first two.
Recently Angela Duckworth, in her thought-provoking TED talk and accompanying book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, has reminded business leaders of the role of “grit” in long-term leadership success.
Such perseverance seems to be reflected in church research as well. Professor and researcher Charles Arn cites research that, “Approximately three-fourths of their growing churches were being led by pastors who had been in their churches more than four years, while two-thirds of their declining churches were being led by pastors who had been in their churches less than four years. Their conclusion (with which I, Charles Arn, agree): Long-term pastorates do not guarantee that a church will grow. But short-term pastorates essentially guarantee that a church will not grow.”
But what if you’re stuck and ready to give up? What if you’re tired, fed up with what you’re doing and ready to throw in the towel? I would say that the majority of my consultations over the 30+ years have been with pastors in this quandary. I’ve learned there are five things you can do to stick it out when you’re feeling stuck. Here are the first two.
1. Try something similar, but new.
This means vary your tactics or your strategy, but don’t veer too far off your previous course. This allows you to work with some of the people and procedures you’ve been utilizing. But by adjusting the direction a bit, you create some newness. Newness creates excitement and creates new buy-in. You’ll also find new people will join your project, because even a little newness offers new volunteer opportunities.
One church had an annual “yard sale” in their parking lot. The members of the church had mostly moved out of the area and came from a higher socioeconomic level than people in the community. Therefore, they offered many good items for sale and the people in the community appreciated the opportunity. But over the years the yard sale declined in popularity and the pastor become discouraged. She knew it was the major outreach to the community and in the past the community appreciated it. But it was an increasing headache because the same group of church volunteers ran it every year. The pastor and I interviewed community members and they gave us a new perspective on the yard sale. “Instead of having a fixed-price sale, why don’t you have a pay-what-you-want price?” one neighbor asked. She continued, “We aren’t as wealthy of a community as we once were.” Another resident suggested, “You could have a backpack giveaway with school supplies for children at the yard sale too.” The church leaders took what they were already doing with a parking lot sale, changed it a little and added a new aspect of free backpacks which created a new energy for the event. This reenergized the church.
2. Accomplish something, even if it is small.
John Kotter, famed Harvard professor of management, noticed in the thousands of student papers he read, that change that was usually successful was when small changes were celebrated before big changes were implemented. This is because when people see small things accomplished it gives them a sense of enthusiasm and validation about longer-term changes.
If you’re stuck, find something small you can accomplish and celebrate that accomplishment. This takes the focus away from where you’re stuck and emphasizes progress toward a goal, even if it is small progress.
One client had relegated the Hispanic congregation to a small cafe upstairs in an outlying building on the church campus. The Hispanic church leaders asked if they could move into the gymnasium adjacent to the sanctuary. However, the youth program was holding a youth service in the gymnasium at that time. A small change was to ask the youth leaders to relinquish the gym on fifth Sundays. The youth leadership agreed and switched sites with the Hispanic church.
Surprisingly, both youth and Hispanic congregations began to grow in their new environments. Soon the every-fifth Sunday change was permanent. The Hispanic church had a bigger venue in which to grow. And, the youth program had a more intimate cafe venue in which they likewise grew.
In part 2 of this article we will discuss why if you are stuck you may need to “change up your support system” or “look further ahead.”
Commentary by Dr. Whitesel, 3/7/22: Below are 23 of the articles I wrote in 2022 to help churches engage what’s next.
Read more at … https://www.biblicalleadership.com/contributors/bobwhitesel/media/
Charles Wesley had an important leadership principle in mind when he penned this Christmas classic.
As Rebecca’s and my Christmas blessing to you, below is the story about an important “lesson” behind the Christmas hymn: Hark the Herald Angels Sing.
Your Partners in the missio Dei.
Rebecca and Bob
REBECCA AND BOB WHITESEL
by Bob Whitesel D.Min., Ph.D. (excerpted from Spiritual Waypoints: Helping Others Navigate the Journey, Abingdon Press, pp. 140-143).
Does conversion occur in a flash, with miraculous transformations and heavenly encounters? Does conversion take place over time? Or perhaps conversion is a stumbling process, where the conversionary experience takes place in what Richard Peace calls “fits and starts.”[i] Richard Peace, Scot McKnight and others have looked at the New Testament record and conclude that the answer is “all of the above.”[ii] Let us look at three basic categories.
Sudden Conversion. Sometimes conversion takes place “in a flash … a sudden point-in-time transformation based on an encounter with Jesus.”[iii] This is the experience of Saul/Paul in Acts 9, and has became the standard way the evangelical church looks at conversion.[iv] At the altar sudden and dramatic responses are often expected, door-to-door visits lead to a “prayer of commitment,” and mass rallies end with an appeal to come forward for conversion.[v] While this may be required to facilitate a person on the verge of a sudden conversionary experience, not all conversions happen in this manner. Psychologist Lewis Rambo, in an exhaustive look at religious conversion, concludes that “for the most part it (religious conversion) takes place over a period of time.”[vi] Thus, the evangelical church may be limiting the number of wayfarers she can help by focusing too exclusively on sudden conversion.
Progressive Conversion.[vii] A closer look at the Gospel of Mark reveals that Mark was describing a different, more gradual paradigm of conversion. As Peace notes:
“What Mark sought to communicate in his Gospel was the process by which these twelve men gradually turned, over time, from their culturally derived understanding of Jesus as a great teacher to the amazing discovery that he was actually the Messiah who was the Son of God. In showing how the Twelve turned to Jesus, step-by-step, Mark was inviting his readers to undergo the same journey of conversion.”[viii]
Peace concludes that “what happened to Paul, and what happened to the Twelve was identical in terms of theological understanding, though quite different experientially.”[ix]
Scot McKnight describes how progressive conversion can take place in churches that practice infant baptism. McKnight states, “for many Christians conversion is a process of socialization,”[x] meaning that nurture is confirmed later by personal affirmation. For example, an infant baptism or an infant dedication can be seen as a public affirmation that the church community and parents will nurture that child (i.e. via spiritual socialization). After growing up in this environment of spiritual socialization and religious community, the grown child will be expected to ratify this effort via further instruction (i.e. catechism) and confirmation.
Liturgical Acts and Conversion. McKnight also notes that in some liturgical traditions, such as the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, while conversion is experienced, the sacraments are more involved. Thus, baptism, the Eucharist and “official rites of passage” are where conversionary experiences often take place for “liturgical converts.”[xi] There is nothing to preclude that God can use such spiritual rites as touchstone experiences where metanoia (repentance) is combined with pistis (faith) in order to bring about epistophe (conversion).
Download the chapter here: BOOK ©Whitesel EXCERPT Spiritual Waypoints 10, 9, 8 & 7 and read more in Spiritual Waypoints: Helping Others Navigate the Journey (Abingdon Press, 2010). Please remember, if you enjoy the free download please consider supporting the author and the publisher who invested in this book by purchasing a copy.
[i] Charles Kraft, Christian Conversion As A Dynamic Process,” International Christian Broadcasters Bulletin, [Colorado Springs, Colo.: International Christian Broadcasters, 1974], Second Quarter; Scot McKnight, Turning to Jesus: The Sociology of Conversion in the Gospels; Richard Peace, Conversion in the New Testament: Paul and the Twelve, 6; Peace, “Conflicting Understandings of Christian Conversion;” Lewis R. Rambo, Understanding Religious Conversion (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1993).
[ii] Scot McKnight, Turning to Jesus: The Sociology of Conversion in the Gospels.
[iii] Richard Peace, Conversion in the New Testament: Paul and the Twelve, 6.
[iv] Peace, “Conflicting Understandings of Christian Conversion,” 8-9.
[v] Donald Miller’s analysis of the results of crusade evangelism in the Harvest Crusades with evangelist Greg Laurie discovered that only about 10 percent of the decisions for Christ resulted in long-term changes in personal behavior (Reinventing American Protestantism: Christianity in the new Millennium, Berkley: University of Calif. Press, 1997), 171-172. However, Sterling Huston’s earlier research on the Billy Graham Crusades suggested the results were six times this (Sterling W. Huston, Crusade Evangelism and the Local Church [Minneapolis, Minn.: World Wide Publishing, 1984]). Whether these discrepancies were the result of tactics, cultures, samples or eras remains to be researched. The answer may lie somewhere in between. The ambiguity of these results begs further analysis by researchers.
[vi] Rambo, Understanding Religious Conversion, 165.
[vii] Charles Kraft introduced terminology to distinguish the different types of people that experience sudden conversion or progressive conversion. On the on hand, Kraft saw people who undergo radical and sudden conversion as usually “first generation Christians” who previously had only been moderately influenced by Christian principles. On the other hand, Kraft saw “second-generation Christians” as those who were raised in Christian homes and in which “there may be little or no behavioral change evident as a result of the conscious decision to personally affirm one’s commitment to the Christian community in which one has been practicing since birth” (Charles Kraft, Christian Conversion As A Dynamic Process,” International Christian Broadcasters Bulletin, 8.) While the terms “first” and “second generation Christians” have been widely used, these terms cause some problems. First, Paul’s conversion was certainly radical and sudden (Acts 9), yet he had been practicing a devout lifestyle (Acts 23:6), so in Kraft’s paradigm he should have had a more progressive experience. In addition, McKnight’s story does not fit with Kraft’s paradigm, for in the interview that concludes this chapter McKnight states that he underwent a radical behavioral change in a progressive sequence. Thus, the value of Kraft’s insights may be that there are numerous ways that conversion is encountered and that whether a person is a first- or second-generation Christian has some, though limited, affect. Instead, the emphasis should be upon the fluid role of the Holy Spirit in individualizing conversion to each traveler, for as John 3:7 states, “So don’t be so surprised when I tell you that you have to be ‘born from above’—out of this world, so to speak. You know well enough how the wind blows this way and that. You hear it rustling through the trees, but you have no idea where it comes from or where it’s headed next. That’s the way it is with everyone ‘born from above’ by the wind of God, the Spirit of God” (The Message).
[viii] Richard Peace, Conversion in the New Testament: Paul and the Twelve, 4.
[ix] Ibid., 10. Some may argue that progressive conversion as described in Mark was necessitated because the Holy spirit had not yet been given at the Day of Pentecost. While this is a valid critique, Lewis Rambo’s research suggesting that most conversion is progressive (Rambo, Understanding Religious Conversion, 165) may indicate that both examples are valid.
[x] Scot McKnight, Turning to Jesus: The Sociology of Conversion in the Gospels, 5.
[xi] Ibid., 7.
These are for my current OD723 DMin students.
by Bob Whitesel D.Min., Ph.D. (excepted from Inside the Organic Church: Learning from 12 Emerging Congregations, Abingdon Press, 2006)
Recycling is no longer confined to diet coke cans and Evian water bottles. It’s become one of the dominant impulses in American culture today. . . . Whether you call it nostalgia, postmodernism or a simple vandalizing of the past, all this recycling essentially amounts to the same thing: a self-conscious repudiation of originality.
–Michiko Kakutani, journalist and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism1
Learn to “improv.” Michiko Kakutani’s quote that commenced this chapter reminds us that an infatuation with ancient-future elements can lead unknowingly to recycled predictability and triteness. Thus, improvisational originality can be a counterbalance. Solomon’s Porch has been a good example (for more insights on this church in Minneapolis that is profiled in the book see: Inside the Organic Church: Learning from 12 Emerging Congregations). This church embraces improvisation each Sunday, and on the fifth Sunday, attendees improvise beyond their customary parameters. Fifth Sunday experimentation may be a good way to introduce a congregation to this environment of Holy Spirit–infused creativity. To ensure this is done prudently as well as effectively, consider the following three keys to improvisation.
(1) Prepare. Preparation may seem contradictory to improvisation, but actually it is the most important element. Improvisation in worship must have a goal. And it should start with a biblical one, to “love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37), doing so “in spirit and truth” (John 4:23). Thus, improvisation begins with this objective, to connect people with God in essential and authentic ways. Collaboration follows, requiring prayer, advice from mature disciples, and an understanding of God’s vision for the future of a congregation. Then, the general parameters of the experience can be mapped out, including customary features. At Solomon’s Porch, several recurring features provide a general framework: scripture and potential implications, worship that is fresh and germane, prayer, and communion.
(2) Present and guide. The presentation must be conducted without tyranny. Solomon’s Porch uses a consensus among mature leaders to guide its improvisational environment. But as Pagitt noted, distinguishing between when someone has something to say from God, or something that originates from self, can be a challenge. Improvisation, however, creates a powerful communal experience, which Viola Spolin describes as “the sharing (union), give and take, of each and every one’s excitement, experience and intuitive energy.”21
(3) Debrief. Improvisation is not only potent, but also as noted above, potentially abused. Allow mature Christians to evaluate and discuss the outcome. Remember, improvisation is not just winging it; but a premeditated foray into God’s Word and its implications for his children. As Spolin explains, “Evaluation … is the time to establish an objective vocabulary,and direct communication made possible thought non-judgmental attitudes, group assistance in solving a problem, and clarification of the focus of an exercise.”22
Lesson 3
Release your innovation gene. As a human gene can reside veiled and obscure in an organism, innovation is a talent that can lie underdeveloped in a Christian community until released. To release this innovation in a timely as well as diplomatic manner, the following three steps have been adapted from Hamel and Skarzynski’s work on ingenuity.23
(1) Innovation doesn’t follow a schedule. Though Solomon’s Porch uses a Wednesday evening “musical collaboration” to craft fresh songs for the upcoming Sunday, church administrator Thomas Karki was quick to point out, “But that’s just one venue. Creativity happens throughout our community. Songs may come out of a Bible discussion group, from a ministry event, from personal reflection, anywhere. Songs come out of our community, from out of a place.” Don’t think you can schedule a time or place for creativity to rise. Rather, see the entire rhythm of the community to be one where creativity can arise from the least likely places. Nokia launched its successful line of rainbow colored mobile phones, not after a daylong strategy meeting, but after an afternoon when company execs lunched near California’s Venice Beach and noticed sun-drenched skaters awash in colorful clothes.24
(2) Shatter the innovation monopoly. Innovation and creativity arise from fresh, imaginative, and diverse environs. Thus, Hamel and Skarzynski discovered that innovation wanes if controlled by a small leadership segment. Many seeker-church models may unintentionally do this when they designate “creative teams” to design artistic environments for worship gatherings. My experience has led me to agree, for I have noticed the longer creative teams exist, the less innovation results. Thus, it is important to encourage creativity to come from all segments of a congregation. Unlock and then welcom ideas from across the community. Legendary British entrepreneur Richard Branson encourages employees of his Virgin Enterprises to E-mail him with ideas. Thus, when a Virgin Airlines flight attendant had trouble planning her own wedding, she pitched the idea of a wedding planning boutique to Branson, which eventually resulted in a successful new enterprise.
(3) Build a safe place for people to innovate. Darrell Guder pointed out that much like the temple in the Old Testament, today’s Christian community often becomes an immovable, inflexible, and ostentatious environment. Subsequently, the church inadvertently distances itself from the people it is trying to serve. Instead, Guder believes a better biblical metaphor for a church is that of the tabernacle, an adaptable, movable manifestation of God’s glory and presence.25 The flexibility and movability of a tabernacle best describes how the outward manifestation (that is, the methodology) of the good news may innovatively adapt, but the central essence, doctrine, and principles of the tabernacle’s purpose do not change with its adaptable locale.
Thus, Christian communities must become safe, even welcoming places for innovation to be tendered and shared. Solomon’s Porch does this by welcoming ideas from all community quarters, even from the floor during sermons. While some churches may shy away from this due to the potential for dissenting thoughts arising from the floor, Solomon’s Porch sees this as an opportunity to engage in discussion with modern philosophies and apply God’s truth. And they do so in much the same way that the early church engaged Hellenistic philosophical ideas–at Solomon’s Porch.
Read more in the book: https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Organic-Church-Learning-Congregations/dp/0687331161
[1] Michiko Kakutani, “Art is Easier the Second Time Around,” New York Times, October 30, 1994, p. E-4.
[21] Viola Spolin, Improvisation for the Theater (Evanston, Ill.: Northwestern University Press, 1999), p. 299.
[22] Viola Spolin, Improvisation for the Theater, p. 26.
[23] Gary Hamel and Peter Skarzynski, On Creativity, Innovation, and Renewal, Frances Hesselbeiin and Rob Johnson, eds. (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2002), pp. 13-14
[24] Hamel and Skarzynski, On Creativity, Innovation, and Renewal, p. 13.
[25] Darrell L. Guder, Be My Witnesses: The Church’s Mission, Message, and Messengers, pp. 182-190.
“Growth by Accident – Death by Planning: Why Growing Churches Plateau” by Bob Whitesel, Oct 22, 2004.
This is a copy of the original article I wrote for Strategies For Today’s Leader Magazine. To my surprise Rick Warren emailed me and told me this was the most helpful article in the issue. This led to Abingdon Press later publishing it as the book: Growth by Accident – Death by Planning.
——— “I don’t know why we are growing. I’m at a loss to explain it.” ———
As Yogi Berra famously intoned, “its like deja vu all over again.” Have you ever experienced a word, phrase or idiom spoken with such familiar expression that suddenly you were swept away to a time long ago? As a church consultant, a recent statement by the young pastor of a rapidly growing congregation triggered such a recollection.
“I don’t know why we are growing. I’m at a loss to explain it,” he declared. The congregation he shepherded had grown from 100 to 1,500 attendees in five years. Now, on the cusp of purchasing land and building their own facility, the pastor mused about how his lack of knowledge about church planning had not hampered the church’s growth to any perceivable degree.
As the pastor stood ruminating over his predicament, I daydreamed, if but briefly, back to a similar scenario almost exactly 20 years earlier and 3,000 miles away. On that occasion I had sat in another pastor’s office and witnessed the same bewilderment. He was the shepherd of a fast growing Southern California congregation, and I had been sent by my doctoral facilitator to interview him as part of a research project. “I don’t understand why this church is growing,” he confided. “People come from all over the world and ask us what we are doing, and I don’t know what to tell them. I can’t explain it.” His words were so similar to my present encounter that on this nearly two decade anniversary I felt if I had been swept back to my former experience.
Yet, the disturbing thing is that the need to know how young and rapidly churches grow was just as elusive and bewildering two decades ago as it is today.
——— Young and Growing Churches Plateau Too Soon ———
While interviewing pastors of young and growing churches I have found that the pastoral vision for the eventual size of the church usually never materializes. In fact, young growing churches seem on average to attain only about half the size of their intentions. Often, this lack of goal attainment begins with a marked slowing of growth and ensuing plateau. Then, due perhaps to a disappointment in the attainment of the stated growth goals, schisms and conflicts often arise to divide the shepherds and sheep into competing offspring.
If these pastoral growth goals are imparted by God, as I believe in most circumstances they are, then these churches plateau too soon. With this in mind, I decided to craft a list of actions that in my mind distinguish the growing periods of young churches from the customary growth plateau that follows.
——— Unplanned Strategic Decisions ———
The accompanying list is based on the thesis that unplanned or “accidental” strategic decisions are often made by young and growing churches, and that theses decisions lead to growth. Their leaders employ many of these strategies not because of familiarity with their potential, but because of necessity brought on my the church’s circumstances. Thus these decisions are not planned strategies, but strategies that often occur by accident, owing their genesis to circumstances. These unplanned strategic decisions are driven, not by knowledge, but by the church’s environment.
As the church grows the leaders often become perplexed over the causes of this extraordinary growth, and seek to uncover causal factors. Because the factors are so elusive and since many church leaders are not trained in the literature and axioms of church growth, they often become bewildered. Soon this bewilderment surfaces in sermons and casual conversations; belying an inner conundrum over the forces involved.
Eventually and typically, the leaders of the young and growing church begin to read church growth books, periodicals and case studies. Often the leaders begin to make strategic planning decisions that are similar to other churches they perceive to be in their situation. Because the majority of larger churches have adopted strategic plans that have plateaued their congregations, the young church follows suit. And herein rise the factors that inhibit growth.
——— Our Future May Lie in Our Past ———
It is my thesis that it is not planning that is wrong, but rather planning that does not fully understand the factors that contributed to growth in the first place.
Thus, I have graphed three types of factors:
1.) Factors that I see contributing to growth in young and growing congregations,
2.) The strategic actions that are typically and erroneously taken (which plateau a church),
3.) Followed by solutions that I believe are more in keeping with the factors that contributed to growth in the first place.
——— Let’s Not Forget the Holy Spirit’s Participation ———
Before we undertake our list, let me acknowledge in the strongest terms, the role of the Holy Spirit in all church growth. Because church growth is first and foremost a work of the Holy Spirit (John 16:8-9), no real and enduring growth can occur without His participation. Granted some churches briefly grow by purely secular powers and processes, but the churches I am referring to are those that have God’s unseen hand of blessing clearly upon them. As a result, I believe this unseen hand has led them to employ certain fundamental and God-derived principles that have resulted in growth. I cannot stress too highly the indispensable nature of the Holy Spirit’s participation in growth.
However in this article, I am addressing the fashionable strategies that often replace the God-derived tactics that contributed to growth in the first place.
——— Why Growing Churches Plateau: And What You Can Do About It ———
| Factors that Cause Initial Growth (in young churches) | Erroneous Strategic Decisions that Lead to Plateauing | Corrective Steps to Regain Initial Growth |
| Focus is on meeting the needs of the congregants. | Focus is increasingly on the needs of the staff. | Make planning decisions based upon congregational needs (via surveys, focus groups, etc.) … not on the conveniences of the staff (which are usually expressed more vocally and assertively than congregational needs). |
| Celebration Convenience: multiple church celebrations are held at varying times. | Waning Celebration Convenience: celebrations are combined together in larger facilities. As a result fewer options are offered for congregants (but convenience increases for the staff). | Maintain as many multiple celebrations as feasible in order to offer as many convenient worship times as possible. |
| Prayer focus in on the unchurched and dechurched, (Dechurched is defined as those who have terminated their attendance elsewhere due to some real or perceived hurt, conflict, etc.) | Prayer focus in on church attendees. Most of the prayer is centered on the personal needs of a burgeoning congregation. | Employ 50/50 prayer (see “A House Divided: Bridging the Generation Gaps in Your Church”). 50% of the prayer focus addresses congregational needs while the other 50% is faithfully reserved to address the needs of the unchurched and dechurched. |
| Urgency in prayer due to potential for failure. | Institutionalization of prayer takes place. Prayer forms are standardized and systematized, especially in the church celebration. Security in circumstances robs prayer of its urgency. | Don’t wait for a crisis to reinvigorate the prayer life of a church. Consider the enormity and significance of the task you are undertaking: the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19) |
| Low overhead due to rented facilities. | Dramatic increase in overhead due to purchased or constructed facilities. | Rent longer than you think you need to. This will place hardship upon your staff, but increase your financial viability and future flexibility. Read “When Not To Build” by Ray Bowman. |
| Rented facilities are usually multi-functional. | Owned facilities are often segregated into activity specific spaces; i.e. immovable pews in an auditorium, small Sunday School rooms that cannot open up into larger facilities, etc. | Retain flexibility in your facilities. When it is time to build, employ architects who build malls, college classrooms and theatres; not those who primarily build churches. |
| Budget is based on money in hand (i.e. past performance). | Budget is based upon projections of continued growth. If growth slows, fiscal flexibility will tighten quickly and dramatically, often leading to conflict and friction. | Budget more conservatively than you feel you should. Church leaders are often optimists, but basing budgets on anticipated performance can be reckless. In addition, lower numbers can be deceptive; e.g. a church that was able in the past to increase a $100,000 budget by 10% will find it exponentially more difficult to increase a $500,000 budget by 10%. |
| Experimentation is encouraged. Almost all theologically non-compromising ideas are considered. | The church begins to stay with “what has worked in the past,” even if that is the immediate past. This often leads to incipient traditionalism. | Foster an environment of experimentation and exploration. Rapid changes in cultural predilections and preferences require this. |
| Housecleaning. Ideas that don’t work are quickly abandoned. Limited resources and the precariousness of the church’s survival creates this situation. | Programs and ideas that may not be productive are given extra time “to develop.” Jesus’ parable on repentance (Luke 13:1-9) is often misdirected to rationalize extending the life of unproductive programs. | Be prepared to use vigorous analysis and empirical evidence to confirm productive programming. Often supporting evidence of a program’s viability is anecdotal. Look for clear evidence of productivity (James 3:17). |
| Dysfunctional people become functional. All people, regardless of physical, social or economic dysfunction are actively recruited. Prior leadership experience in another church is not required. | Functionally adept people are actively recruited. Prior leadership experience in another church is highly valued. Unproductive programming is often unintentionally cross-pollinated. | Inaugurate a lay-training system to mentor dysfunctional people into functional and productive lives in both church and society. |
| Staff has low educational experience in their ministry field. Thus, they do what they “feel” is right. | Staff becomes trained in the “classical” fields of theology, Christian Education, church music, and ministry. These newly acquired skills are probably those that are practiced in influential, but plateaued, churches. | Embrace 50/50 Learning. Learning engendered in the “classical” milieu of seminaries, workshops and Bible Colleges, must be tempered by 50% of the learning coming from alternative sources such as non-accredited institutes (e.g. the Wagner Institute), workshops and secular experience. |
| Small groups are not needed. The church is driven by the “event status” of the celebration. | Small groups, though needed, are not developed, because the “event status” of the worship celebration drives the church’s emphasis and reputation. Because intimacy is missing due to the lack of an expansive network of small groups, people feel the church is “too cold” or “not personal enough” and they go elsewhere. | A celebration event can sustain a church only initially, and soon must be accompanied by a network of small groups that encourage intimacy and commitment. All types of small groups should be developed, including adult Sunday School classes, leadership teams, home groups, ministry groups, interest groups, etc.. |
| Christ is exalted as the instigator and sustainer of growth. The miraculous nature of growth inspires awe and a sense of the supernatural. | Leadership principles are credited as the cause of growth. | Fully understand the factors that contributed to growth in the first place and adapt these God-derived strategies to current needs. |
The strategic approach I have outlined may not be for everyone. Some churches will chafe under the thought of being so flexible, creative, and adaptable. But for those young and growing churches that were birthed in a milieu of cultural adaptability, an understanding of the God-given factors that initially caused their growth, along with an adaptation of them to the modern context, may be necessary to grow into the congregation God desires it to be.
(If you enjoyed this article, consider buying the book: Growth by Accident – Death by Planning
Commentary by Dr. Whitesel, 8/11/22. Take a look at the chart below from my seminar, Growing the Post-pandemic Chruch. On the fourth line you will find research which research reveals two important points:
This chart shows the harvest field has moved with the majority now preferring churches that offer both online and on site options. In my seminars (and book) I give many reasons for having onsite AND online options. Here are just a few:
For more reasons and ideas see Growing the Post-pandemic Church: A Leadership.Church Guide.
by Bob Whitesel D.Min., Ph.D., 7/11/22.
Digital natives are people raised in a world in which digital communication is the main form of communication. Rather than radio, TV or the telephone, the main way digital natives expect to communicate is over the Internet.
Yet, 30 years of church research has shown me that churches will adopt online communication—but will not raise it to the level of their onsite communication. This causes a problem in seven areas. Here are those areas with suggested solutions.
1. Foremost, those who tune in to online church services usually feel second class.
The leaders speak, the vast majority of the time, to the onsite attendees. Only occasionally do we mention the online attendees. This lack of parity can create the feeling that the onsite is a preferred class of congregant.
2. We communicate a biblical theology that prioritizes face-to-face communication.
Oftentimes church leaders will say a variation of: “There’s nothing like being together face to face.” But if we look at a Bible-based theology, we see that most of the Old and New Testament were not communicated face to face, but by Spirit-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16-17) writings.
Whether in Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, or more than 700 languages today, most people learned about the miracles of Jesus, not by being face to face with the miracles He performed, but by reading an account of it. Little wonder that Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to empower us in our communication the message secondhand (John 14:26, 16:15).
The Holy Spirit is still alive and vibrant today, and can anoint our online communications as well. If you’re going to embrace a biblical theology, consider the theological principles of Spirit-anointed online communication.
3. Fully reaching out to guests and getting to know them is largely missing in online experiences.
Almost weekly I analyze online services for clients and colleagues. Repeatedly, I observe they are staffed with only a minimal crew. There might be one or sometimes two people.
Yet most churches tell me that they have a sizable online audience. One colleague has about 80 people in person. But his church reaches double that weekly that through their online service. Yet he only has two people designated to interact with the online congregation.
Now ask yourself, would you have just one or two greeters for an onsite service of 80? So why do we minimize our online workers when online watchers are often double our onsite size? Perhaps we do so because it’s “out of sight out of mind.” Maybe we do so because we have an unrecognized bias toward seeing people’s faces.
Or it can be argued we are unsure how many people are actually watching, because some of the data might be generated by a brief click. Regardless, we need to look at where the sheep are, and shepherd them. Appropriately, Jesus gave us the parable of the good shepherd (Matt. 18:10-14) who leaves the 99 to reach out to the one. And, Jesus tells us to see what the “Lord of the harvest” has sent … and pray for more laborers (Matt. 9:38).
4. This brings us to prayer.
Prayer opportunities are not usually as vibrant or prevalent during online worship services. Flavil Yeakley, a researcher at the University of Illinois, showed that people come to a church because of “needs” in their lives. These needs can be ranked as because of a) grief/bereavement, b) health problems, c) marital/family problems and d) financial problems.
When visitors come with these needs they are usually looking for someone who will sympathize and then pray for them. So, if you have hundreds of people watching your service online, how many do you have designated to pray for their needs they bring?
In my observation, to be a healthy church you need about 20 percent of your service attendance deployed in prayer ministry. If you have 100 online attendees, do you have 20 people reaching out to them online? And it’s not just about praying on Sunday morning, but it also means offering to them synchronous or asynchronous prayer chats during the week.
5. Online ministry reaches people who have physical challenges that make it uncomfortable for them to attend church.
This means many people cannot physically attend the church because of health or physical challenges. But they can tune in. And, we know that people with physical challenges can often feel second class.
Are we contributing to their feeling of being second class when they turn to our online services? Recently a series of articles drew attention to how people needing a wheelchair are often left in planes after everyone leaves. It makes them feel singled out and uncomfortable.
We too often make people feel singled out or uncomfortable when they visit our online churches. Are they feeling like they can worship with their eyes on the Lord and without people’s eyes on them?
6. Online ministry reaches people who have moved away.
Another type of physical challenge is for those who may have attended for many years, but because of family or vocation now live in another city. They often miss the smiling faces, the familiar leaders and the songs of a church.
Again, they can be made to further feel second class when leaders say, “I’m glad you’re here with us. Isn’t it better being together face to face?” For these people who still feel a strong historical and/or family connection to the church, this can make them feel like a hidden figure and even possibly an outcast.
To address this a Presbyterian church in Ohio, after hosting my seminar “Growing the Post-Pandemic Church,” decided to let congregants come by the camera after church and greet those online. The camera became a communication avenue between current and former attendees.
7. Online communication is often seen as a stopgap, post-pandemic measure . . . when in reality it’s the future.
Technology is pushing the quantity and quality of human communication. Online experiences now include holograms and immersive experiences. And in these new digital frontiers more of evangelism and discipleship will take place online.
In fact, some churches already are entirely online. As a professor, I couldn’t imagine such a scenario when I was told over 20 years ago that education would one day be largely online.
I was an onsite professor and enjoying the face-to-face community of my students. But here we are today with the majority of students getting their education online. It’s time for the church to see the future and begin to treat online ministry with equality.
| Bob WhiteselBob Whitesel (D.Min., Ph.D.) is a sought after speaker, church health consultant and award-winning writer of 14 books on missional leadership, church change and church growth. He holds two earned doctorates (D.Min. and Ph.D.) from Fuller Theological Seminary. His website is http://www.Leadership.church.Learn More » |
Read more at … https://www.biblicalleadership.com/blogs/7-ways-churches-can-make-digital-natives-feel-welcome/
Register at www.Above.org
by Bob Whitesel D.Min., Ph.D., 11/21/21.
In my consulting practice, I’ve analyzed hundreds of church transitions. And, I’m preparing a Doctor of Ministry course for a nationally respected seminary on this subject. I’ve observed that many times a retiring pastor often puts forth, even informally, their successor. This can be a misstep for five reasons.
Check out my other writings on this topic on how to survive (and thrive in) pastoral transitions. And, if you are intersted in auditing or earning seminary credit studying better church transitions, email me.
Read the entire article at … https://www.biblicalleadership.com/blogs/5-reasons-why-a-retiring-pastor-is-not-the-best-person-to-choose-their-successor/
Here is a video introduction to articles I have written (for anyone) and assignments (for students in LEAD 600, etc.) that deal with controlling change (which we call theories of changing). It introduces the viewer to “The Four Forces that Control Change” and how to manage each.
©️Bob Whitesel 2017, used by permission only.
Articles mentioned in the video as well as additional articles are available at the following links:
Download the Church Executive article by Bob Whitesel here: ARTICLE_Four Forces-Whitesel (Church Executive Article)
Fownload the article in the Journal of the Great Commission Research Network here: article-whitesel-gcrn-toward-a-holistic-and-postmodernal-theory-of-change-in-cg-literature-gcrn . To subscribe and/or receive more information about The Great Commission Research Journal (the new name) click here: http://journals.biola.edu/gcr/
And find more “theories of changing” articles on ChurchLeadership.wiki here: https://churchhealthwiki.wordpress.com/?s=four+forces
Check out the book here … https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Organic-Church-Learning-Congregations/dp/0687331161/ref=nodl_
by Bob Whitesel, D.Min., Ph.D., 4/27/17.
In the Abingdon Press book ORGANIX: Signs of Leadership in a Changing Church I described characteristics of worship that promote an organic atmosphere. Here is an updated brief list:
Worship flows from the audience to the stage, not the other way around.
The focus is on what is going on inside of your head and heart, not what is going on on the stage.
For more see ORGANIX: Signs of Leadership in a Changing Church.
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