TO THE CHURCH
- Pastoral Newsletter - February 1, 2023
Blindspots are tricky things... they keep us from seeing things. Some blindspots, we are aware of. Most of us know that we have certain blindspots when driving. However, outside of driving, blindspots are so dangerous, because, typically, we aren't aware of them. We do not see that we are failing to see, because we don't see what we haven't seen. Make sense? Let's try it this way: if we could see it, then we wouldn't have been blind to it. Our blindspots often go undetected simply because, by definition, we don't detect them!
The easiest blindspots to see are others' blindspots. We can clearly see that they can't see something in their lives. It is for this reason that it's so important to surround ourselves with others who will be open and honest with us about our blindspots. And when they are open to us, we must be open with ourselves if there is any hope of removing our blindspot.
So, why are we talking about blindspots? As you know, our church's theme for this year is "Not About Me." One of the contributing influences to this theme came from a book that I've mentioned a couple of times in the past several months: Thom Rainer's book, Autopsy of a Deceased Church. If you aren't familiar with Thom, he was the CEO of LifeWay for over a decade, has pastored numerous churches, and has written a great deal about the church. One of his current areas of expertise is something called "church revitalization." In short, this means coming into an old and/or dying church and helping the church experience new life. He has researched and written about churches for a long time, and in that time, he has witnessed many churches that did not change and died. He wrote Autopsy of a Deceased Church in response to certain patterns that he noticed in many of these churches that ended up dying.
Well, in chapters 1 and 2, Thom pointed out that, in dying churches, many of the members do not acknowledge the decay that is taking place. Because the decay is not recognized, the need for change is not acknowledged and any attempted changes are not embraced. One of the reasons for this blindness is because the decay happens slowly. In reflecting on this reality, I believe that this "slow erosion" creates the mentality: "Nothing is broken. We just need to do ______. We just need to get back to ______. Then, we'll see growth, again." This is the idea in chapter 3: "The Past is the Hero." I quoted from this chapter at length in one of our last business meetings of the year. "Stop changing things. It ain't broken, so don't try to fix it." But that's the danger. What if something is broken, and our blindspot is preventing us from seeing it?
This brings me to chapter 4 of Thom's book: "The Church Refused to Look Like the Community." He uses the analogy of a fortress, which is designed to keep people out... to be difficult to enter... Listen to what he says:
"If you talk to members in a dying church, most will deny that their church is a fortress. But in our autopsy, we found that is exactly what was taking place. People in the community did not feel welcome in the church. Those in the church were more concerned about protecting the way they did church than reaching residents of the community." (p. 27)
"Whenever local churches are mentioned in the New Testament, they are always exhorted to be other-centered... Vibrant and living churches look after the interests of others... But dying churches are concerned with self-preservation. They are concerned with a certain way of doing church. They are all about self. Their doors are closed to the community. And even more sadly, most of the members in the dying church would not admit they are closed to those God has called them to reach and minister... Our autopsy revealed that the church had become self-centered and self-gratifying." (p. 28-29)
Do you see it? The chapter is about making changes in order to be others-focused. I'm not suggesting that we must do whatever we can to "attract" people to our church, and that's not what Thom is suggesting. His point is that we can be so consumed with "a certain way of doing church" that we struggle to reach those we're trying to reach. We can be "all about self," and not even realize it.
Thom noticed that these churches "would not admit they are closed to those God has called them to reach." It's not they they had no desire to reach them. It's that they had a blindspot. They could not see how their self-gratifying way of thinking about the church was actually working against their desire to see the church grow.
I believe that self-gratification, self-centered thinking, self-preservation... probably almost anything with "self" in front of it, is a natural blindspot for everyone. We often don't see when we're being driven by it. We all recognize it's bad. We all hate it when others do it. However, I believe that we are often like the man in Matthew 7 with the plank in his eye. We see more easily in others what we either cannot see or refuse to see within ourselves. It isn't until someone else points it out that we can see it for what it is.
Tying all this together... in regards to our theme, "Not About Me," we must ask the question (both collectively and individually): "Is this us? Is this me?" Remember... those churches that struggled here would not admit it. I don't believe it was a stubborn refusal (though I suppose it very well could have been...). I believe it was more likely poor self-analysis. I am reminded of Romans 12:3…
"For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” | Romans 12:3
Sober judgment is hard. But, as the verse above hints at, it comes alongside humility and selflessness. By thinking of ourselves less highly, we will be in a better position to exercise sober judgment.
Application as a Church
Are we a fortress? How?
The question is not: "Do you want more people to come into our church," or "Do you want our church to grow," or "Have visitors ever felt welcomed before?" Even churches that are fortresses would answer "yes" to those questions, but those aren't the right questions to ask. They miss the whole point. The point is that we can do things in the favor of our own self-interest that could inadvertently keep us from reaching or serving other people. Are we vocal and strongly opinionated about matters that are purely related to gratifying our own self-interests? Do we ever ask questions like, "What would [this kind of person] like? What would help [these kinds of people] come to faith or grow in the faith?" If we do ask those kinds of questions, do we actually move on them?
By necessity, we will have to make certain decisions that take into account what "our preferences" are. I'm not suggesting we never consider preferences. We simply need to be aware and on the lookout: our preferences can easily, and often do, become some type of fortress that keeps us from connecting with someone else. And if we are not reaching others or strengthening our relationships with one another, then what are we here for? Ourselves only?
Personal Application
How am I building?
God's desire for His church is that it would be "built up." We are all contributors to this great task. The church is to be built up in two ways: strength and expansion. We are to grow in our maturity, and we are to grow in our reach. This is what it means to make disciples. We help lead others to the faith, and then we help one another grow in the faith.
This means that we could think of ourselves as being builders. This analogy is not foreign to the Scriptures and is often used as an explicit instruction to the church:
"Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself…"
| Romans 15:2-3a
"'All things are lawful,' but not all things are helpful. 'All things are lawful,' but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.”
| 1 Corinthians 10:23-24
"Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”
| Ephesians 4:15-16
"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”
| 1 Thessalonians 5:11
I am convinced that we are all builders. That doesn't mean we all build well, and it doesn't mean we are all building the right things, but we are all building. We're either building walls (fortress) or bridges (reaching out). So, how are you building? Here is what each might look like:
Buildings Walls (Fortress)
- Openly complaining about things that are purely a matter of preference.
- Constantly thinking about what you don't like.
- Exhibiting abrasive social behaviors:
- Being rude
- Excessive sarcasm
- Displaying your "grumpy face" when things happen that aren't in line with your personal preferences
- Selective involvement in the church (Only participating with your church when it's something you like):
- Songs or music style
- Church ministries
- Sermon topics
- Defending various "traditions" against change...
- Despite lack of Biblical mandate
- Without considering the reasons behind change
Buildings Bridges (Reaching Out)
- Refusing to complain about things that are purely a matter of preference.
- Considering what others might like when making decisions.
- Exhibiting friendly social behaviors:
- Being quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger
- Being willing to talk and discuss with one another despite disagreements
- Giving others the benefit of the doubt and treating them accordingly
- Being involved with others, even if it's not your favorite thing:
- Songs or music style
- Church ministries
- Sermon topics
- Willingness to part with old traditions or be a part of creating new traditions...
Everyone is a builder. How are you building?
Gospel-Building
Here's the good news: Jesus Himself has built a bridge to us, that we might come to Him and be with Him. He has modeled for us how we are to be towards others. Our call is nothing short of living out the wonderful gospel of Jesus Christ! I'll leave you with one final passage:
"Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus…"
| Philippians 2:3-5
Jesus emptied Himself and became obedient to the point of death on the cross so that we might have life (Phil. 2:7-8). This is the gospel. May we love Christ's selflessness for our sake, live sacrificially for the sake of others, and give to others what Christ has freely given to us. In these ways, we will: Love the Gospel, Live the Gospel, and Give the Gospel.