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Church Leaders; A serious look at your church culture.

 

Bursting the Bubble.

Last night I was scrolling through one of my social media sites, as you do, just before you sit down to dinner. I came across a friend's page and saw an advert, suitably captioned, that she had posted from her local church. As I continued to scroll through my site, I saw the same picture with the same caption posted a dozen times by a number of people who went to that church. The Ad in question was a photo of their pastor, on the platform, saying how great a preacher he was and how they couldn't wait for Sunday.


Here is what I see and what I think is the problem with a great many church cultures:

·         The social media post I have mentioned was only circulated among the Christians of that particular church.

·          The post wasn't targeted at 100's of non Christians in the community.

·         The caption praised the man not the message. If the caption had said something like "Come and hear a message that will change your life forever" or words to that effect, I would not have a problem.

So what has happened in the last decade that has made a great many church cultures insular, that is inward looking, in their approach to outreach? Have we gone back to the 1970's and 80's when churches became fellowships and outreach was put on the back burner? Why do communities see churches as irrelevant to society?

·         Churches have followed society in looking down at the small screen in our hands rather than looking up and seeing the deprivation and hopelessness around us.

·         Churches have developed a culture of patting each other on the back for a job well done, when in fact we are not certain on exactly what the job is or was.

·         Our behaviour has become one of entitlement rather than one of service, we have become entertainers.

·         We see sin as a social norm rather than a spiritual roadblock to relationship with God.

What can we do to turn back the tide without becoming even more irrelevant in our communities?

·         Use social media to target those who are far from God, rather than just our friends and leaders in church.

·         Focus our social media on reaching the lost with a life changing message rather than promoting our own perceived gifts and attributes.

·         Our service is to God in our pursuit of the lost and desperate rather than on how well we perform in church on a Sunday morning.

·         Preach Christ and him Crucified and use modern technology to do so whenever and wherever we can.

Food for thought?

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