The Myth of the Good Shepherd Church Growth

The Myth of the Good Shepherd Church Growth Once upon a time there was a young man who feels called to become a pastor. It 'went to Christian College, where he ... many beautiful things, like people to love and to teach the Bible and Jesus' victory for the people. But if it was his first church, he realized that it was a big difference between what was taught and the skills needed to create a dynamic community. So read books and participate in conferences and sought advice from consultants and sure enough, his church began to grow. New people came to Christ as never before. They needed more worship space and parking, which has conducted a capital campaign. More people were baptized, his new job and staff. A few years later, the people, the growth of his church, and he found himself in a position to be of interest for advice. But the pressures of managing a growing church has begun to take its toll. Endless meetings. Long nights. Weekly anxiety were more or less budget. Management problems. Architects. Piles of calls and e-mail back. System. Schedule. Paperwork. Requests for advice. Inability to go anywhere in his community without recognition. Deep he wondered if all this worth it. But they exist. He led all the negative voices in his soul ever more distant. "I am for the kingdom," he stressed themselves. "Furthermore, I have too much debt abandoned hours. "Years later, his church was about all he has ever imagined. He had book deals and invites infinite space. The people praised him as someone who is following the model of their ministry. In other pastor's eyes, all that he had achieved. But as his soul was smaller than it had ever been before. End of an evening, after a meeting with his finance manager discourage sagging on contributions, he went in the bathroom of the office staff, was the first mirror, and slowly the water beat on her face. He stars on the person, he was forced to retreat to that growth. With every new building constructed, and with each new employee added, and with any given capital campaign that he felt a little 'of his soul shriveled and died. Numb felt. He muttered something almost imperceptible at first. Then he repeated it again. 'It is this that I have for me, if God in the service? "One of my favorite rock bands, Coldplay, a song a little 'back as" clocks "that are immediately on top of the charts. Buried in the middle of the song is a small matter, flies so fast you almost miss unless you listen carefully. The song asks: "I am a part of healing, or am I part of the disease? "How can I stop this late in my head. Four years ago my wife, children and in the suburbs of Philly, a new church for a very unchurched area. In just four short years, we have more than 800 pop and are ready to provide a multi-million dollar complex. People who say things are great. But what is more present, more unhappy. Why? E 'la question. I wonder if this is what we have just created, this entity, this country, adding the staff, the money raised, the people chuing, numerically and economically growing collection of people ... I wonder if they are part of one party or the cure of disease. In the meantime, you can probably tell where I am inclined, let me explain ... I do not like what I have Some 'time ago I asked a pastor and nationally recognized author to give me some direction. To be honest, I was quite surprised that he was ready to go with a stain, like me, but kindly. I had a long list of questions I need help, voice mail, but on top of my list was the question: "How can I do for the conservation of these long-haul? "When his plane landed, we spent two days driving around our region in conversation and prayer. Want to know what his first words are for me? "Brian, is a fairly unstable person to lead a church from 0 to 500 in 3 years. "I said," Ummm, thanks, I think. "I do not like what I have, is to lead, manage, to catalyze and drive system, which is in continuous growth of mass forward. In his book, Organization Genius, Warren Bennis says that the "Great groups are full of people who fight tirelessly to create a vision into a machine and its meadows and red died of neglect. "My problem is that they are out of the engineering company. In fact, I never wanted to be in engineering firms in the first place. The weight of the load on his shoulders never leaves. Money. Meeting. Schedule. A friend of mine in such a situation is called "the weeping prophet," not because of his passion for the loss, but because of the misery of the current machine. In fact, almost all the mega-church pastor, I have never spoken, and I think most people have whispered behind the scenes: "This is hell. I do not want this on my worst enemy. "lead to a growing church, you have become a job (and to lead a team of working horses out of print). The problem is, if I am a hypocrite. There is a disconnect between the life I am what I am and what we teach our people. Peace, freedom, freedom from fear and happiness ... are words that can not my lips with an amount of authenticity, if I am with the car. My question is: "Why is not any waing about the coming pastors? "If we are a communion of churches, with many communities look to the 1000 mark in his rear view mirror, someone has a problem? How can this be a part of the cure, if the people leading these organizations are miserable? I do not like what has become my vocation In 1920 a team of archaeologists excavating a section of a city under the name Dura-west Europe in Syria is a spectacular find, the first church. Stand at around 231 AD, was a house of worship space, including a tray for baptisms. In this pool is a beautiful fresco of a young shepherd Beardless with a lamb on his shoulders. While I am jazzed by the nature of this archaeological discovery, I am sad. Unlike me, for the first 100 years of its existence, Reich has been the people - that we baptize, teach them, and a new scholarship for them. This was their vocation. And this is what I thought that working for. They have not seen the construction of their building contract. The one who had a collection for the poor. There was no budget. N. Capital campaigns. Church leaders do not worry about things that consume our time, such programs and systems and mission statements and strategic planning. It 'was a small group of people met in a house. That's it. New Testament scholars all agree, these small grants have been no more than 25 to 50 in terms of size, and the apostle Paul seemed very happy about it. Sometimes I feel like the spiritual leader of an institution ... as a regional director for Wal-Mart or YMCA. Of course I was excited for people to reach for Jesus, but also constantly need money for this thing going. People who are necessary, not only on students, but to lead and manage, and complete programs. The people in the corridor sizes are now in my head, "Potential leaders ... Contact. Whine ... avoid. Sharp pair with great potential ... the connection. "I despise them. I can not imagine this is the vision Jesus had for his new community. What is the answer? Last summer I had the opportunity to visit a booming mega-church in the West. He had just received its billionth of a capital campaign, and had all new state of the art building, ha, ha of land, over-parking, a spacious library, snappy graphics and many happy, carb-counting worship leader. It also has the coolest bar I have ever in a church lobby. Walking in the Worship Center with my wife, I stopped halfway stage, threw his arms and said: "I do not want to do more. "They said:" What? "I said, 'L'. All of this. Each po 'it. Giving my life to this reduces my soul a little 'every day. If I were there to nothing. "I believe that what I am about to articulate, for the first time that I did was to build business relations machine. Mechanical engineering is a part of the disease. I want to be a part of healing. I do not want 55 years, look in the mirror and murmur to me: 'It is this that I have with God has called me into service? "The only problem is I do not know what healing looks like.