Outer Rim Territories

Musings, ramblings, and nonsense from the fringe of space and time
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How to Shrink a Church | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

Lest there be any confusion, I don't post things on this blog necessarily because I agree with them. Most often they are to serve as conversation starters. An essential part of pastoral formation is learning to clearly articulate the Word, confessing it with precision. Theological wrangling on campus helps but is nowhere near as useful as interaction with the greater church and the world. I am discouraged that many of you chose not to post comments in either the affirmative or the negative. I am the one who has the most at stake here, especially if I teach falsehood. I am encouraged though that Rev. Chryst took the bait and has already posted a comment. I encourage you to consider his words in response to the following: How to Shrink a Church | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

This is the dilemma we evangelicals find ourselves in at the beginning of the 21st century — how to present the gospel in an emotionally and spiritually shallow culture. It is a commonplace that in this effort evangelicals have succumbed to the culture. So it may be time to move the conversation forward and suggest a practical solution: church shrink conferences. I'm not kidding. Many pastors and lay leaders recognize that they are in a superficially successful church, and that it's time to introduce the harder edges of the gospel. But how? How do we get comfortable people to listen to a gospel that includes a lot of discomfort? How do you deepen discipleship without introducing despair? How do you insist firmly on faithfulness without becoming legalistic? Most important, how do you manage the loss in membership? That will happen. The more strictly you adhere to the teachings of Jesus, the smaller the church will "grow." One of the most crucial skills of a military commander is, in the face of defeat, to lead a retreat that doesn't turn into panic or a massacre. And one of the most crucial skills for pastors and church lay leaders is to manage church decline when people are leaving because they see, finally, what Jesus is asking of them. This is not a job for the faint of heart, and will require great wisdom to manage resources, personnel, and morale in such a time. Evangelicals have become the unmatched experts in church growth, but often end up with a truncated gospel. If we are to live into the full counsel of God in the years to come, I believe we'll need a few experts in church shrink.

Posted April 30, 2009 by Christopher Gillespie 
Apr 30, 2009
Chryst said...
It's not an inescapable conclusion that a faithful church will grow OR shrink. Numerical growth or decline is really beside the whole point.

Sometimes the faithful church grows - like when they "added to the number daily of those being saved". Sometimes it's remnant-mode, where God preserves those who "haven't bent the knee to Baal". But that doesn't make either Peter or Ezekiel a better preacher.

The CT quote smacks of a confusion of law and gospel - when he says "gospel" he means "law". The gospel is comfort, not "expectations". The author seems to know (rightly) that something is missing from the shallow church-growth approach, but his answer is just as wrong. It's not more law they need (after all, they have their own forms of it). It's the proper distinction of Law and Gospel. It's not just "hard edges" but it's also pure grace. It's Jesus Christ crucified for sinners, not Jesus demanding things of you.

No, I am not interested in church growth OR church shrink. I am interested in faithfulness to the whole counsel of God.
Apr 30, 2009
dizziness said...
Rev. Chryst,

Sorry, I baited you (as I indicated at the top of the revised post). You are absolutely correct, its far too easy to fall off on the other side of the cart. Some of us swing both ways - church growthers or church killers.

I'm thankful we Lutherans are tempted to resolve the tension between the extremes. Yes, we will do quite a bit "in order to save some" but we won't sabotage the Word preached or taught or its proper expression in the liturgy in order to be more acceptable to the lost.

The expression "a gospel that includes a lot of discomfort" is one such phrase wrought with difficulty. Surely the author intends the "gospel" in the wide sense of the whole of Scriptures. But I think you're on to his problem, his Gospel has no comfort. His "hard-edged gospel" is never cured by the gifts of the cross.

Thanks for your post. The numbers game is never a good idea. I should have given a hat-tip (HT) to http://concordiansisters.blogspot.com/2009/04/shr... . As Rebekah said: "Mark Galli's argument is valuable in a church culture obsessed with growth. If anyone took it seriously, it would certainly help the social status of small church pastors in our gross hairy neck of the theological woods. But the bottom line for me is counting=not the best use of the church's time. We see Scriptural examples of both increase and decrease as a result of faithful proclamation. The numbers just don't tell us whether we (or anyone else) are doing a good job. Membership trend analyses and judgments are so not a mark of the Church."
May 02, 2009
dizziness said...
A commenter says: "Hmm...our church is growing in size BECAUSE we are doing something very right...and "stealing" those from the happy clappy churches."

I guess the point is that this is true sometimes. Other times they try the opposite, doing the seeker model poorly and aren't successful. I would hesitate that if everyone taught and acted Lutheran their church would grow. Its possible and maybe likely but not necessarily true. Our guiding principle of church practice, teaching, and discipline cannot be our visible success.