Two
Words that Have To GoTwo
Words that Have To GoTwo words we believe you need to eliminate from the church vocabulary are just and only! How many times have you heard people say "only four of us see the need for change" or "just eleven showed up for the congregational meeting." Eleven people managed to launch the Christian church. Four people wrote gospels that have kept Christianity alive and on fire all these years. "Only" and "just" need to disappear entirely from our church vocabulary.
In a congregation where 80 people come out to worship on Sunday, four new people constitute five percent growth. Five percent per year for five years would be 25%. That would be outstanding. It would certainly be better than the decline we are currently experiencing.
Those of us who have been part of the church for three decades or more remember the time when pews were full, the choir loft was bulging, and the number of children was overwhelming. We continue to carry that picture of success with us. It is a picture we need to redefine. Let's get back to Jesus' picture of success: "Where two or three are gathered together …" miracles can happen.
How do we create a culture that operates out of this new picture? We begin by painting a new vision of what we can be today. It is a picture that is rooted in our history, but re-framed to meet the needs of an ever changing environment. It is looking for areas of abundance rather than rehearsing what is missing, it is building on our strengths not bemoaning our weaknesses. It is a matter of letting go of the things we don't have the resources to do well and putting our energy behind what we do best.
Let's get rid of the words only and just, and replace them with language that celebrates what we are doing well.
Do you have words that you think we need to eliminate from our vocabulary? Send us a note and share them with us.
Thanks from your Centre Staff.
Congregational News August 2008 Vol. 14 No. 6