Some time ago I went to a church that was dealing with ... issues. The primary indication that there were ... issues ... was the loss of members. People were leaving. They went from 250 or so a week down to 100 or so a week. The pastor called the elders together to ask, "What can we do about it?"
There were lots of ideas thrown around (as you might imagine), and not all of them were "bad" or "wrong". They all, however, focused on "What can we do to keep from hemorrhaging members?" I found myself wondering, "What if God wanted to close the doors on this particular church?" (As you can imagine, voicing that question in that company of fellows wasn't exactly welcomed warmly.)
My question isn't about that church. My question is more broad. I can't tell you how often I've heard pleas on Christian radio from various ministries that say something like, "Please, help us with giving. We're facing a serious shortfall." I can think of one right now that I won't listen to anymore because that's the constant message ... rather than the original intent of expressing the truth of God. And I've been receiving messages (plural) recently from a ministry I deeply appreciate that say the same thing. So it's not that church. It's all Christian ministries.
It seems to me that ministries are temporal in nature. That is, they last for a period of time and then they stop. They change. They shift. They disappear and something else takes their place. That's not a bad thing. It doesn't suggest (as too often people do) that there was something "wrong". It simply says that God has used that ministry as He intended and now He plans to use others. But people attached to those ministries seem to lose sight that ... it's God's ministry, not theirs. They lose sight of the fact that the glorious results that they've seen weren't due to their own marvelous efforts or good hearts or real wisdom, but to God's working. And since it is God's work done God's way, it stands to reason that God may, when He so chooses, stop doing that.
So ... while we are clinging so desperately to "our ministry", how would God go about putting an end to it? How would He let us know, "Well done. Now, let's move on."? Conversely, if He wanted to continue a ministry, would He need fancy money-gathering schemes? Is God up there fussing about? "Oh dear, one of My favorite ministries is having financial difficulties. How can I supply their needs when people won't step up for it?" I just don't see it.
So how would we know when God intends to stop something, and when is it wrong to beg for funds (etc.)?
Questions ... always questions ...
7 comments:
Stan, I think all ministries (churches included) are temporal. After a time they become organizations as opposed to living organisms.
My point exactly, Jon. So ... how can we tell when it's time to let it go?
Henry David Thoreau
The way in which men cling to old institutions after the life has departed out of them, and out of themselves, reminds me of those monkeys which cling by their tails -- aye, whose tails contract about the limbs, even the dead limbs, of the forest, and they hang suspended beyond the hunter's reach long after they are dead. It is of no use to argue with such men. They have not an apprehensive intellect, but merely, as it were a prehensile tail.
There is a sense in spoiled America that God has an obligation to bless even the tepid ministry as long as His name's on it. Just how forgotten is the concept of Dark Providence in our country?
I forgot to mention that I loved the post!
""What can we do to keep from hemorrhaging members?" I found myself wondering, "What if God wanted to close the doors on this particular church?"
This is something that seems all too common in churches today; forming committes or planning things, but the empahsis is always on our doing, and not what God is doing, what God can do if we beseech him instead of relying on our own innovations to fix whatever the problem is. God is Sovereign, but man still thinks he can do things without really beseeching God's help, in the way that the churches of old used to do. So that man and his ability is the thrust, rather than God's will or deliverance, or relying solely upon Himself.
"Man still thinks he can do things without really beseeching God's help, in the way that the churches of old used to do."
I am reminded of King Jehoshaphat's approach when an army that he couldn't defeat was approaching (2 Chron. 20). He brought it to God. God said, "Watch Me work." So the king's battle plan was "Let's put the choir up front and watch God work." (2 Chron. 20:21).
I wonder if any ministries today try that approach?
My spouse is a Christian school administrator. The enrollment level can rise or fall as much as 30% from year to year. Our prayer has always been for the Lord to fill the desks with the students He wants to come. In some years when the enrollment was especially small, and the income was especially lean, we rejoiced that God had "weeded the garden," as it were. Frequently those who did not return for the next school year represented very vexing disciplinary problems. As my spouse put it, "Let's see... Do we want that $8000 dollars in tuition that family would have brought in, or do we want peace in the classroom?" Peace wins out every time.
I believe that not only will God honor his promises to individuals who tithe, but also to ministries. I wonder how many of these strapped-for-cash ministries have tithed on the donations that are made to them? There is always another ministry that an organization can support. For instance, the school mentioned above pays tithes to a church on every dollar of tuition money it collects. Just a thought. God bless you, Stan! ~10km
Post a Comment