I've been in church all my life.
Along the way, I've seen and learned a lot. Almost all the insight I have into
church has come by experience.
I have observed, for example,
that paradigms can often shape a church's culture. A paradigm, in simple terms,
is a mind-set-a way of thinking. In this case, it's a collective mind-set of
the church, often programmed into the church's culture.
If the church is unhealthy, part
of the reason could be because it has some wrong paradigms. In that case, it
will almost always need a paradigm shift in order to be a healthier church
again.
Recently, I've been thinking of
some of the paradigms that impact a church. I'll look at some of the negative
ones in this post, and in another post I'll share some of the positive
paradigms that can impact a church.
Here are 10 dangerous church
paradigms:
1.
"This
is more my church than yours." No one would ever say that, but a sense
of ownership can set in the longer someone has been at a church. They have
invested in the church personally and feel, often rightly so, a need to protect
and care for it. The negative aspect of this mind-set, however, comes when
people don't easily welcome new people. They own seats. You better not sit
there, no matter how much the church needs to grow. They control programs,
committees and traditions. Obviously, the church is not your church or my
church. God has not released the deed.
2.
"We've
never done it that way before." If this is the "go to" paradigm, you
probably never will do it that way, either. People with this mind-set resist
all change-even the most positive or needed change. Small change is big change
to these people.
3.
"The
pastor needs to do it." Whatever "it" is, the pastor, or some church
staff, must be involved at some level. This keeps a church very small. (This
doesn't seem biblical to me.)
4.
"That's
for the big churches." Don't sell yourself short. Some of the greatest
people in ministry came from small churches. Maybe your only role, for example,
is to raise up the next generation of kingdom-minded leaders. That could be a
great purpose for a church.
5.
"That's
for the small churches." I've seen a few big churches with attitude.
Bad attitudes. This mind-set can keep a church from reaching the most hurting
people, because their only focus is on growing. A strong, narrowly defined and
driven vision is powerful. It builds churches. But a church operating under
this fifth paradigm never welcomes any interruptions in their plans. Jesus is
our best example of combating this paradigm. He kept the vision before Him, but
He was never afraid to stop for the interruption of yelling in the streets.
6.
"My
comfort level for change is ______." This negative paradigm says, "We
will change until it impacts our personal desires." Does it sound
self-centered? It is.
7.
"My
people would never support that." Well, pastor, maybe if they weren't
"your people," they'd be more willing to be "God's people." God has ways you
can't even imagine of leading His people to do His will.
8.
"I
can't." Not with that attitude, you can't. But let me ask you one
question: Where is your faith?
9.
"This
is the best we can do." Are you sure? Is that your opinion or God's?
Sounds like a dangerous paradigm to me.
10.
"We
have plateaued as a church." Really? You may have quit growing, but
plateaued? The word means "leveled out." That indicates you're
stable. In my experience, you're either going forward or going backwards.
Standing still is usually not an option.
Those are just some of the
dangerous church paradigms I've observed. You've seen far more, I'm sure.
Do you know of any other
dangerous church paradigms?
Ron Edmondson
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