Paradoxology: Would Your Church Leave a Hole in the Community?

Blog-within-a-Blog

Seven Mistakes Every Church Should Avoid
Whether you agree with any or all of the "mistakes" mentioned in this article, it is certainly worth the read and can serve as a helpful springboard for discussion on the biblical/theological/historical nature of the Church.
Why men have stopped singing in church
A fascinating discussion is unfolding at churchformen.com regarding the disappearance of singing (especially by men) in most churches with a contemporary bent. Although I consider worship to be much more holistic and diverse than what the author is focused on, the discussion there is nonetheless a worthwhile read.
The Anglican-Episcopal Divide Widens Further
NT Wright offers a honest and somewhat heavy-hearted perspective regarding The Episcopal Church (TEC) in the U.S., and their decision to further formalize their decision to appoint to all orders of ministry, persons in active same-sex relationships. This marks a clear break with the rest of the Anglican Communion.
"I Am Second"- Incredible Personal Stories
Personal testimony stories are a dime-a-dozen on the internet. YouTube and a plethora of other sites offer them. But you will NEVER find striking personal stories about life and loss and struggle and victory and faith like you will encounter at www.iamsecond.com. This is a resource site you MUST visit for yourself and then bookmark.
Charles Wesley's secret code diary cracked by priest
An Anglican priest has unlocked the 270-year-old secrets of Charles Wesley's coded diary, throwing light on the turbulent relationship that he had with his brother John in the early years of the Methodist movement they founded... The “hidden” material offers an insight into Wesley's fierce determination to prevent the Methodist societies from breaking away from the Church of England, and disagreements with his more influential older brother.

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March 10, 2009

Would Your Church Leave a Hole in the Community?

Over the past several months I have repeatedly heard church leaders, it seems, talking about how important it is for the future of the church to move past our preoccupation with the numbers (i.e. people and offerings), and seriously start asking ourselves an important question:

How big of a difference are we making in our community, and if our congregation were to suddenly disappear, what size hole would we leave?

In part, as a result of our consumer-driven culture, most communities are filled with LOTS of churches. But how many of them are considered indispensible by the majority of citizens who live there? It's a notion most church leaders, I fear, have not given much thought to before, myself included. But since the beginning of this year, the idea surrounding how indispensible our congregation might be to our community has stopped being a question and has now become a challenge.

So where is your congregation in all of this? Where are you? Would you consider the question this post suggests to be valid? And if so, how might you suggest we measure this theoretical "hole?" To get you thinking, here are three possibilities:

How easy/difficult would it be for your community to replace your church's work among the poor and unemployed?
If your church were to stop doing for the community what it's been doing, would it make the front page? the back page? Any page?
Do the other congregations in your community look to your church for resources of any kind?

Photo credit: © iStockphoto.com

March 10, 2009 at 05:35 PM | Permalink