ministry, The Church
One Bad Apple
Last week I asked the question “If your church only did one thing really well, what would you want that thing to be?” (You can check out that post here.) There were some great (even passionate) responses.
Today I want to flip that question on its head. If your church did everything great, except for one thing, and missing the mark on that one thing would actually cause you to leave your church, what would that one thing be? Would poor worship make you leave? Lousy hospitality? Rotten preaching?
It must be a pretty big deal to you if everything else is done really well. What is it?
OK go.
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ministry, The Church
I have a quick question for you.
If your church only did one thing really well, what would you want that thing to be?
Even if everything else really stunk, you’d still stay because this one thing was done superbly.
Would it be the worship? How about the speaking/ministry? What if the children’s ministry was off the hook but everything else was a turd? What if everything was lame but they did a fantastic job of making you feel welcome?
What would be that one thing for you? Let me know!
OK go.
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ministry, The Church
I was listening to a message recently that listed the top four reasons people give for not going to church. They are as follows:
Services are boring
The people are unfriendly
They just care about money
The questionable safety of their children
I know I’ve felt all four of those things at one time or another, but I still love church.
Do you think those reasons are valid? Can you think of any other reasons why people don’t like to go to church? Feel free to list them in the comments.
But hold on! Not so fast! It’s no good listing faults if you can’t suggest any solutions. What are some realistic things the church can do to remove these excuses? Let’s hear your best ideas!
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ministry, The Church
In my last post, I made the observation that great leaders love to learn. They read, attend conferences, and keep growing as a leader.
I was talking with a friend recently. He’s a professional counselor and works hard to be able to give his best to his clients. In fact, he has to prove that he’s investing in his professional skills with something he referred to as CEUs (Continuing Education Units). He explained to me that this is a common requirement in the fields of counseling and medicine.
This makes perfect sense! Think about it. If your doctor graduated from medical school twenty years ago but hasn’t picked up a medical journal or continued to learn new and better methods since then, would you have a whole lot of confidence in him or her? I know I wouldn’t! I want to know that the guy treating me or my children is prepared with information and methods that are more effective than the ones used twenty years ago.
So if it’s so important for people who work with temporary things (our bodies) to keep educating themselves, then why shouldn’t those working with eternal things (our spirits) be required to keep learning? Honestly, I don’t understand how someone can obtain a minister’s license and never even have to pick up a book from that day forward!
So that’s my proposal to credentialing bodies and denominations: make ministers have to prove that they are investing in their growth as a minister and leader. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy or complicated. Submitting a list of books they’ve read each year would be better than the current system. Hold them accountable to grow or lose their license.
I know that proposal might make me unpopular. That’s OK with me. As a credential holder, I’d be held to the same standard. I just feel that the people we minister to are worth it. Don’t you?
Let me know what you think. Should this type of accountability be in place?
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