It is sad, very sad to see so many once great churches lose their vitality, strength and desire to grow. Like me, they get get old and tired and want to rest on the past rather than move quickly to the future.
As churches and denominations get older they also become more like a socialist country and think more of pleasure and taking care of their clergy than about competition. As clergy get more comfortable and well paid they stop recruiting people and spend more time in deep thought about themselves and less thought about others.
All we need to do is watch what happens when a senior minister retires or moves on. In the business world the person will be replaced almost immediately because there is nothing more important than a leader. All organizations live or die by the leaders they choose.
Old churches, especially those closely tied to denominational and clergy politics, do not replace their leader for two years or more. Such a long wait is a silent admission that the senior person is not thought to be very important. The energy, vision, challenge and abilities of a leader in business and industry are deemed to be critical but not so in the church because we can delay getting one for years and not worry.
The process for replacing the top person and his/her assistants is deeply flawed. It is long, cumbersome and expensive and carried out by people who know little or nothing about leadership, planning or what it takes to move an organization forward. And, they are in no hurry to finish the job.
And, when they do start the search, leadership and a track record of accomplishing growth are not always very important. We want a "spiritual person" they say. I want someone who will visit the sick and hold my hand when I am hurting. But leadership is hard to assess and harder to find.
There is little urgency to develop an attitude of outreach built upon stability or to find people who can make the system really effective. That is sad, very sad.
posted by Gary Sweeten @ Tuesday, July 18, 2006
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