Welcome to 2011! We are excited to begin sharing some of the "illusions" that churches and other organizations non-profits face every day. If you missed the intro to this year, please feel free to check it out at http://cmi-blog.blogspot.com/.
At the beginning of a new year, many people make resolutions to exercise and to pay more attention to their health. So, we have decided to begin the year by discussing the "illusion of health".
A number of weeks ago, I had a conversation with someone working through a situation involving their aging parent. This parent had had a serious stroke losing 20-30% of their brain function, now experiencing difficulty in hearing, some sight impairment and reduced "perception" or problem solving abilities. After a week of being in the hospital, with all of the tests associated with something this serious, the parent was released under the condition that they were to have 24 hour care. As time went on, it was interesting to talk to the care-giver as their parent, persistently, tried to convince them that they were fine and could be at home, on their own... that there was nothing wrong with them.
Since we have been working in the area of stewardship development for over 20 years, we set out early in 2010 to try to determine which churches were struggling in the area of giving. We started to look at the receipted giving of churches (mainly) over a 5 year period, based on amounts declared to Revenue Canada - since every charitable organization in Canada is required to file a T3010 form annually.
Stay with me for a moment... we are aware that finance is only one measure of church health. However, our logic behind this particular assessment was that, if a church's participating members are more engaged in the vision of the church, over time, they will give more to see that vision accomplished. In addition, we reasoned that if a church is reaching more people for Christ, then the church would be growing and, with more people attending, more people would be discipled, and overall giving would increase, as more people became engaged with the cause of Christ. And so, the cycle would continue.
With this in mind, we tested our assumptions. We conducted research into over 3,000 churches spread over 12 different denominations/associates and some 22 districts or dioceses, with two significant findings. First, we found that even through poor economic times, there are some churches that actually grew financially - even exponentially - while others continue to experience decline. Secondly, we found that 60-70% of all churches had stopped growing...regardless of their denominational affiliation.
But most striking was the response we received as we started to contact churches that appeared to be in the biggest season of decline. A few responded right away, recognizing they needed help, and they have moved forward in 2010. Some asked for more information, but did nothing with it. However, the most shocking response we received from several churches was that "We are fine but certain that everyone else needs help!"
After looking at this information and taking time to reflect on 2010, I wonder if many churches today are like this aging parent - unaware of what is really happening to them, convinced that they are fine (or at least as healthy as everyone else is) and not in need of any help.
This all begs a couple of questions: What DOES a healthy church look like? Does it make sense to spend more & more money to reach & serve fewer and fewer people? Exactly when is a church at its best? How do you as a church leader, assess your own church's health?
Remember, when an organization or organism is healthy, it grows naturally.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Thursday, December 16, 2010
I was angry, upset, frustrated and generally depressed. Ever been there?
I was home, talking to my wife, dumping all that I had in me out on the table to/about/with her all the while searching for the root of how I was feeling. Ever done that?
It has been an interesting journey the last few years...Dad handing things over to me after leading CMI for 18 years, moving back to Canada from the US, meeting hundreds of pastors representing tens of thousands of people, taking on a business partner and taking a more active role in helping people develop both from an individual and Christ-follower perspective.
I felt tired, burned and hurt. I took a lot out on my wife that day.
For some reason, she asked a question that has stuck with me and it immediately changed my attitude, she asked, “Why don’t you stop fighting?”
Great question!
Immediately my mind went in 50 different directions, why don’t I stop fighting? Who am I fighting? What am I fighting against? Why is it important to me? Who is in the same battle with me? If I stop fighting, who else would pick up the mantle of change? This is what we plan to write about the next year: the battle that we, as workers for the cause of Christ, are in.
Much of the battle, I believe, begins with being able to get to the root of what I “believe” to be true. No, I’m not questioning my faith in Christ. I am, however, talking about being more inquisitive about what I believe to be true about life, about ministry, about church - but have never challenged before.
We all have perceptions or beliefs that drive our behavior that can dictate our response to any situation. Sometimes, however, it really is more of an illusion than the reality. I am finding that there may just be some beliefs I’ve held since I was a child that don’t particularly align with what I truly value (sorry, Mom and Dad). Is it possible that many of us, as Christians, as pastors, are living our lives out of these beliefs rather than out of faith and based on our values? Do we really understand the difference between faith, beliefs and values?
In response to this question, throughout 2011, we’ll be looking at what we’ve observed as “Illusions” - those things that appear on the surface to be real, some behaviors that may, in fact, be an illusion. The main themes come out of our learnings as we have talked to several denominational leaders, dozens of districts, hundreds of churches, and thousands of church leaders in the last couple of years.
Hopefully you will feel encouraged in the realization that you are not alone in how you are feeling. For some, it may be cause to stop and think. Others will not bother to engage in reflecting on the issues we raise. Still others will simply get angry and want to lash out. All reactions we have seen through the last few years. However, I hope that YOU will keep an open mind about what we write and, at least, think about it. If you have questions or want to disagree, please do so!
We look forward to what is to come in the New Year. Merry Christmas!
Duane...
I was home, talking to my wife, dumping all that I had in me out on the table to/about/with her all the while searching for the root of how I was feeling. Ever done that?
It has been an interesting journey the last few years...Dad handing things over to me after leading CMI for 18 years, moving back to Canada from the US, meeting hundreds of pastors representing tens of thousands of people, taking on a business partner and taking a more active role in helping people develop both from an individual and Christ-follower perspective.
I felt tired, burned and hurt. I took a lot out on my wife that day.
For some reason, she asked a question that has stuck with me and it immediately changed my attitude, she asked, “Why don’t you stop fighting?”
Great question!
Immediately my mind went in 50 different directions, why don’t I stop fighting? Who am I fighting? What am I fighting against? Why is it important to me? Who is in the same battle with me? If I stop fighting, who else would pick up the mantle of change? This is what we plan to write about the next year: the battle that we, as workers for the cause of Christ, are in.
Much of the battle, I believe, begins with being able to get to the root of what I “believe” to be true. No, I’m not questioning my faith in Christ. I am, however, talking about being more inquisitive about what I believe to be true about life, about ministry, about church - but have never challenged before.
We all have perceptions or beliefs that drive our behavior that can dictate our response to any situation. Sometimes, however, it really is more of an illusion than the reality. I am finding that there may just be some beliefs I’ve held since I was a child that don’t particularly align with what I truly value (sorry, Mom and Dad). Is it possible that many of us, as Christians, as pastors, are living our lives out of these beliefs rather than out of faith and based on our values? Do we really understand the difference between faith, beliefs and values?
In response to this question, throughout 2011, we’ll be looking at what we’ve observed as “Illusions” - those things that appear on the surface to be real, some behaviors that may, in fact, be an illusion. The main themes come out of our learnings as we have talked to several denominational leaders, dozens of districts, hundreds of churches, and thousands of church leaders in the last couple of years.
Hopefully you will feel encouraged in the realization that you are not alone in how you are feeling. For some, it may be cause to stop and think. Others will not bother to engage in reflecting on the issues we raise. Still others will simply get angry and want to lash out. All reactions we have seen through the last few years. However, I hope that YOU will keep an open mind about what we write and, at least, think about it. If you have questions or want to disagree, please do so!
We look forward to what is to come in the New Year. Merry Christmas!
Duane...
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