Leading the church of personal preference
His words were hard to hear. They upset some in the audience.
But they needed saying.
“You can listen to your favorite worship music 167 hours a week on the radio. For one hour per week, on Sunday morning, you might have to listen to something else. On Sunday, you’re here to serve others. That includes music that resonates with those your church is trying to reach for Christ.”
In 30 seconds the well-known and highly esteemed church consultant laid bare the heart of the matter. He pinpointed why the church slowly declined from more than 900 to fewer than 200 over the course of 20 years.
It was a church of consumers, not caregivers. They imagined the church existed for them, not for Jesus. Sunday services were designed to satiate their appetites rather than serving those journeying to faith and discipleship. They clamored for personal preference rather than providing a bridge to those God was drawing to eternal life.
This isn’t a new problem. It’s not unique to the 21st century, North-American church.
Thankfully, the solution is simple. Not easy. Simple.
Corinth: the Church’s first “me generation”?
Paul laid it out in his first letter to the archetype of the modern consumer church—Corinth. It is a matter of reminding the congregation of the first principle: God’s people can’t be in it for themselves.
The solution flows from the fundamental purpose of the believer’s ministry. The principle that service which benefits everyone is “greater” than service which benefits the individual must guide us when gathering as a church (1 Corinthians 14:5).
Self-serving communion
In 1 Corinthians, Paul addressed the Corinthians’ scandalous worship gatherings. Many abused the communion meal by indulging their own appetites. They ignored the needs of others (11:20–23). Their focus on personal preference produced nasty divisions in the congregation (11:17–19). This led to divine discipline, evident in sickness and untimely death of some members (11:29–30).
God does not endure self-centered, unseemly worship gatherings. He judges them sternly. His objective is repentance and a return to the mission. But if the church will not reverse course, they are eventually snuffed out (Revelation 2–3).
Self-serving ministry
The Corinthian believers abused spiritual gifts. These were to be used to bless others (1 Corinthians 12). Paul had to remind them that spiritual gifts aren’t for personal benefit. They are given for God’s purposes. The main purpose is to serve the whole group. Personal edification is an insignificant consideration.
Motivated by love
First Corinthians 13 enshrines the principle that love—not self-interest—must be pre-eminent in the gathering of believers. When we gather in the Lord’s name, we must cherish the fact that love “does not seek its own (13:6).” That is the believer’s prime mover. Love endures in the eternal state when faith is finally realized and hope is finally satisfied.
The worship gathering
First Corinthians 11–14 establish principles that govern behavior when Christians are gathered for worship. Instructions about spiritual gifts (chapter 12) and the essence of love (chapter 13) are bracketed by the guidance of the gatherings (chapters 11 and 14). This entire section articulates the principles that govern the mature believer’s thoughts, words and deeds in the worship service:
- God is serious about our conduct in the gathering (1 Corinthians 11).
- God calls us to serve others, not ourselves (1 Corinthians 12).
- Love motivates us to seek the welfare of others, not ourselves (1 Corinthians 13).
These principles are summarized in 1 Corinthians 14:5. Service which benefits everyone is “greater” than service that benefits the individual.
How will you lead?
My colleague hit the problem head-on. He identified that troubled church’s problem and called it like it is: they were a church committed to personal preference instead of the mission of Jesus. They gathered to satisfy themselves rather than serve those in need of the Gospel.
Some churches need a direct, plain speaking and no-nonsense leader to confront them. These leaders say, “Here’s the standard, and here’s where you are. What are you going to do about it?”
Others need a consensus builder to collaborate with them. These leaders say, “We know we have work to do and we’re willing to do it. How can we do this?”
Collaboration is best for churches that will set aside personal preference for the mission. Confrontation is probably required if they insist on the status quo. In that case, you may need to pack your bags and put on your sandals (so you can shake the dust off your feet as you leave), but that’s the risk we take when we accept the call to ministry.
What will you tolerate?
In Extreme Ownership Willink and Babin get to the heart of the pastor’s challenge.1
When it comes to standards, it’s not what you preach, it’s what you tolerate. When setting expectations, no matter what has been said or written, if substandard performance is accepted and not held accountable—if there are no consequences—that poor performance becomes the new standard.
Will you settle for a consumer church, pastor? Or will you lead that plateaued church to embrace the principle that service which benefits everyone is “greater” than service benefiting the individual?
1Jocko Willink and Leif Babin, Extreme Ownership, p. 54.
Photo source: istock
 | Bud Brown is an experienced ministry leader, writer and educator. He is co-founder of Turnaround Pastors and co-author of the ground-breaking Pastor Unique: Becoming A Turnaround Leader. He brings special expertise to change leadership in the local church, mentoring pastors to become revitalization leaders, training churches how to find and recruit the best talent, and training leadership teams how to achieve their shared goals. Learn More » |
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