Being the Best?
I used to work for Marks and Spencer, whose Mission Statement at one time was something like, "Making the Best Even Better." They then were, very good at what they did, and as a former employee I'm pleased that they seem to be over the low patch they went through.
Some years ago, I was part of an outstanding church (pictured) that, like M&S, had hit a bad patch and was re-building and re-discovering its purpose. For a season, it felt like we were fighting back to back for our very survival, let alone trying to advance the kingdom, and some of the strongest friendships we have ever forged were made in that time, with people who are now scattered all over the country, being salt and light in their communities, and some who are now working abroad.
Every few months or so during this difficult time, we used to have what was called a, "talkback evening," to give members of the church opportunity to hear from the leaders about future plans, and to express their views. As a teacher, I am a professional communicator (and most of the time a pretty good one) who leads a team of sixteen, teaching over two thousand students. By nature, I am both an analyst and a strategist, and as such, I will not dodge an opportunity to ask a challenging question if it is pertinent. I think the leaders used to dread the moment when they asked, "any questions," knowing that I would have some and they wouldn't all be easy to answer... Sometimes I was in my overtly analytical way, unhelpful in that my comments were perceived as being critical, but there was (usually) no wrong intent on my part, and (usually) a gracious response from my leaders, who were on reflection extremely patient with me.
One of the presentations once given to us concerned the emerging vision of the church. There were listed 1-2 year goals, 3-5 year aims, and a 10-15 year vision of where they wanted the church to go to. The free-spirited amongst you are probably already reaching for your demon-slaying devices, but what was contained in the presentation was all good. I am not presenting this as a good, or bad way to move a church forward: it was how it was done by many then and now. The only problem was that, however well-intentioned the goals were, they bore no relation to the aims; the aims themselves were very good, but were completely detached from the stated vision. There was little structure or development in how the church hoped to progress in the next 2, 5 and 10 year time periods.
When someone casts a critical eye over our labours, it is very easy to react in a hostile way. However, just because someone identifies a weakness in what we are doing, it does not mean they have a critical spirit - they may actually have God's wisdom for our situation (unless it's one of my year 11 students telling me my lessons are boring)!
When it comes to church, we have been guilty of having a, "that will do," approach, where we constantly settle for second best. I have lost count of the number of times when I have been in meetings where there have been apologies for the late start becuse the PA team didn't turn up, or the guitar player had borrowed all the church's leads for his band and was now on holiday, or the OHP was broken, or they'd run out of milk for the coffee...
I know it's not how slick our meetings are that will save people, but how sloppy they are may be the reason why some don't come back. However, sometimes, despite our disorganised efforts, people's lives will be changed. A friend of mine was invited to a church, and only went because he was asked to have a look at the PA system. He was bored by the talk, embarrassed by the worship, yet became a Christian because of the passion of an old man's prayer of thanks to God for His love. We still need to aim to be the best we can be, without making excellence into an idol that strangles freedom.
Some years ago, I was part of an outstanding church (pictured) that, like M&S, had hit a bad patch and was re-building and re-discovering its purpose. For a season, it felt like we were fighting back to back for our very survival, let alone trying to advance the kingdom, and some of the strongest friendships we have ever forged were made in that time, with people who are now scattered all over the country, being salt and light in their communities, and some who are now working abroad.Every few months or so during this difficult time, we used to have what was called a, "talkback evening," to give members of the church opportunity to hear from the leaders about future plans, and to express their views. As a teacher, I am a professional communicator (and most of the time a pretty good one) who leads a team of sixteen, teaching over two thousand students. By nature, I am both an analyst and a strategist, and as such, I will not dodge an opportunity to ask a challenging question if it is pertinent. I think the leaders used to dread the moment when they asked, "any questions," knowing that I would have some and they wouldn't all be easy to answer... Sometimes I was in my overtly analytical way, unhelpful in that my comments were perceived as being critical, but there was (usually) no wrong intent on my part, and (usually) a gracious response from my leaders, who were on reflection extremely patient with me.
One of the presentations once given to us concerned the emerging vision of the church. There were listed 1-2 year goals, 3-5 year aims, and a 10-15 year vision of where they wanted the church to go to. The free-spirited amongst you are probably already reaching for your demon-slaying devices, but what was contained in the presentation was all good. I am not presenting this as a good, or bad way to move a church forward: it was how it was done by many then and now. The only problem was that, however well-intentioned the goals were, they bore no relation to the aims; the aims themselves were very good, but were completely detached from the stated vision. There was little structure or development in how the church hoped to progress in the next 2, 5 and 10 year time periods.
When someone casts a critical eye over our labours, it is very easy to react in a hostile way. However, just because someone identifies a weakness in what we are doing, it does not mean they have a critical spirit - they may actually have God's wisdom for our situation (unless it's one of my year 11 students telling me my lessons are boring)!
When it comes to church, we have been guilty of having a, "that will do," approach, where we constantly settle for second best. I have lost count of the number of times when I have been in meetings where there have been apologies for the late start becuse the PA team didn't turn up, or the guitar player had borrowed all the church's leads for his band and was now on holiday, or the OHP was broken, or they'd run out of milk for the coffee...
I know it's not how slick our meetings are that will save people, but how sloppy they are may be the reason why some don't come back. However, sometimes, despite our disorganised efforts, people's lives will be changed. A friend of mine was invited to a church, and only went because he was asked to have a look at the PA system. He was bored by the talk, embarrassed by the worship, yet became a Christian because of the passion of an old man's prayer of thanks to God for His love. We still need to aim to be the best we can be, without making excellence into an idol that strangles freedom.
posted by Sparky at 10:51 am
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