Something is Wrong

It was a proud moment. The church had just welcomed eighty-three new members. The pastor began his sermon. “This is great, isn’t it?” he began. “But before we get too giddy about new members, let me ask you a question: Why should we bring eighty-three new people into something that isn’t working?”

The pastor, Bill Hull, describes this as the first time he had unmasked himself in thirty years of ministry. “Something his wrong,” he said. “All the formulas, strategic planning, mission statements, and visionary sermons are not making disciples.” In his book, Choose the Life, Hull comments, “We were stuck in the same rut in which so many churches find themselves - religious activity without transformation.”

Almost everyone agrees

As I listen to people, I get the sense that almost everyone agrees something is wrong in the church. I recently sat in a room full of pastors of churches, and you could sense the despair in the room, even among those in churches that appear to be successful. In another meeting, a Canadian denominational president observed that the denomination had “islands of health in a sea of dysfunction,” and nobody reacted with shock.

Then there is the pastor who silently prayed as he began his sermon, “I’ll take it from here God. If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like for you not to be involved in this one. I’d like to see what happens when I do this by myself.” Nobody noticed a difference in his preaching.

Darryl Dash - ChristianWeek