Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Big Difference
MMI quotes Peter Drucker:
Look, no one can deny the church in this country has a big problem, but I think this is entirely too simplistic. Christ analogized the church to a grapevine. In the life cycle of most perennial plants a die-back is a part of healthy growth. We know that fire helps aid the general health of a forest, while unchecked growth creates a conflagration when it does burn from which the forest may not recover.
Ours is a confessing, humble, broken church, our strength, not unlike the examples I just cited, flows not from the apparent growth cycle, but from our response to the die-back or fire periods. Our best is found not in our "success" - for we have none - any success we enjoy comes from the grace of God. Grace which we access on our knees in confession.
The success of our Lord's ministry began with His death and ended with His resurrection. I am not so keen to write the story of church success in growth.
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Leadership and management guru Peter Drucker once said, “Management is doing things right; Leadership is doing the right things.” When I read that recently, I thought that this statement could be very true in today’s American church. Here’s my theory: Could it be that while most churches are ‘doing things right, a smaller group of churches are ‘doing the right things’?and then wonders if the 10% of growing churches are "leaders" and the 90% stagnant or dying churches are "managers."
Look, no one can deny the church in this country has a big problem, but I think this is entirely too simplistic. Christ analogized the church to a grapevine. In the life cycle of most perennial plants a die-back is a part of healthy growth. We know that fire helps aid the general health of a forest, while unchecked growth creates a conflagration when it does burn from which the forest may not recover.
Ours is a confessing, humble, broken church, our strength, not unlike the examples I just cited, flows not from the apparent growth cycle, but from our response to the die-back or fire periods. Our best is found not in our "success" - for we have none - any success we enjoy comes from the grace of God. Grace which we access on our knees in confession.
The success of our Lord's ministry began with His death and ended with His resurrection. I am not so keen to write the story of church success in growth.
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