What percentage of people in your church are actively involved in your church’s rhythm of life?
It’s a challenging question because most churches don’t have a clear and consistent way of life that involves everyone as an active participant AND maps onto Jesus’ narrow way of life.
It’s a necessary question because the church-scandal-of-the-week continues to erode trust in church leadership and often calls into question the promise that “our church is a life-giving church.”
Growing a church in the West in 2024 isn’t a complicated equation:
Charismatic leadership
Hard lines drawn between “us vs. them” (culturally, ecclesiastically, politically)
The promise of “life giving” without the expectation of “life given”
Here’s what I mean on that last point.
Churches that are large and/or growing fast offer a particular set of promises to people:
We can be trusted. You’re safe here because size and growth equals “good.”
We have the answers. You’ll be successful in life, quickly and without a lot of effort.
We aren’t like other churches. You’ll be inspired in ways that aren’t possible at your grandma’s church.
I very much hope that any and every church inspires people, creates safety and helps people be successful. But without a shared rhythm of life together that syncs up with the way of Jesus, a church - large or small - significantly multiplies the risk of tricking people and seducing them with false promises.
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