Survival and Change

Churches all across the world face challenges pertaining to identity and mission. Some churches make choices to simply keep the doors open. They are in survival mode. A sense of urgency fills the air which contributes to active planning and the execution of those plans. While such urgency is good, it can also lead to compromise.

The Problem of Compromise
When a person and/or organization finds itself in survival mode, it becomes convenient for convictions to be thrust into the backseat and for matters of faith to be compromised on the altar of survival.

Granted, when a church finds itself in a steady decline, hard questions should and must be asked. The failure to address such a situation is tantamount to signing a death certificate. Throughout the life of every church, organization and person, changes are necessary to ensure not only growth, but survival as well.

A Bold Statement
The congregation I attend is wrestling with such issues. We have been in a slow decline for about 20 years. Methods have been examined and some have changed. One particular area we are addressing is how we conduct our Sunday morning worship assembly. We have made some changes, which while being embraced by many, are decried by others. The lines between what is scriptural and what are matters of opinion has been blurred. While the changes are necessary to wake up a slumbering congregation (and hopefully jar some people into making their relationship with Jesus a priority), no change has come close to circumventing scriptural authority.

This past Sunday one of the elders stood up and addressed this issue head-on. He talked about the changes, shared how there are times he is out of his comfort zone, but reaffirmed a commitment to changing methods in order to reach people for Christ. He boldly stated to the congregation the leadership's commitment to biblical authority and asserted that nothing has been done that has gone against scripture. He concluded by saying that nothing will be done that goes against scripture.

In that moment, I saw a glimmer of hope. In that moment I witnessed leadership.