Democracy is often called the great experiment. Some very learned men took the best of ancient and modern political systems and tried to build on a foundation of morality and Christian principles to build "one nation under God."
When I look back at the early work of the Spring Meadows Church of Christ, I see some similarities. I wouldn't venture to say that those of us involved had the wisdom or education that many of our founding fathers had, but it was a great experiment in this regard. There were decades of "church experiences," that played a role in what we tried to accomplish at Spring Meadows. Most of us had experienced periods of wonderful congregational growth and the tragedy of division and discouragement. We took those experiences into consideration as we planned.
As we drafted our by-laws, talked about our services and prayed about reaching the community of Spring Hill with the gospel of Christ, we were very intentional in the things that we did. Most of us understood that every step we took set a precident for the future. We did not want to establish human laws that were irrevocable and we wanted to insure that we preached the whole counsel of God. To date our experiment seems to be a success. I do however have some questions I would like your help with:
1) Can you take the lessons learned in a new church plant and implement them in an existing congregation? (i.e. How do you bring about positive change in a struggling work?)
2) As we grow, how do we avoid falling into unproductive patterns?
I believe that most works (new or established) have two fundemental challenges: 1) Not allowing standard practices to become unchangable traditions; 2) In an effort to stay fresh, not chasing every new trend and philosophy that comes down the pike. That takes deliberate prayer and planning. I am not sure what all the answers are, but I would love to hear from the readers about how to bring energy and enthusiasm into an existing work that is struggling and how to keep a good work on track.
A couple of quick items:
1) Please forward this blog to others for response.
2) Please leave your thoughts on the blog for others to see, or if you prefer for them not to be public, please send them to me at trent.wheeler@charter.net
1 comment:
Trent,
Challenges that an established congregation must overcome that Spring Meadows must avoid.
1] From my view and experiences a giant pitfall of todays congregations is becoming attached to things of the world. Most notable is becoming attached to a building or location. I have been involved with more than one congregation that from lack of forsight, planning or beyond their control has become landlocked and unable to expand. Over time the congregation (mainly the older generation) has become more of a worshiper of memories than of Christ. I have seen church splits, have disharmony and downsizing. At all cost we must focus on Christ and encourage noone to be comfortable in a pew. Even with all the young couples we currently have. At some point they will get old. Have children baptised and marry in the building and develop memories. Our memories should be of the act not of the facility.
2] Our service should never become a time event. One of the great aspects of Spring Meadows is the fellowship before services, between services and after services. When we become so concerned about getting someone out on time we deminish what service really is. It is devoting our lives to Christ and doing Gods will. I am fearful that the church today has become so concerned that we not beat others to the restaurants that we have lost what we are there for. If we lose someone because they only wish to devote 60 minutes to the Lord a week what have we gained if we lose the fellowship in the process. Lk. 9:25
I do not wish this to be a book so I will stop here. Your or others thoughts?
JC
Post a Comment