A friend of mine used to say in response to critics who
complained about growing Ministries, “I like the way we are doing
ministry better than the way you are not.”
I think that is a summation or paraphrase of what Jesus said to His
critics in Luke 11:14-28. When we face
criticism in the midst of effective ministry that might be a good thing for us
to say to those that meaningful ministry offends.
Anytime there is meaningful and productive ministry there
will be critics and opposition. We need
not imagine or assume that these critics will come from the enemies of the church.
More often they will come from supposed disciples and people within the church.
It is a mistake of Titanic proportions
to believe that we can fulfill our calling as a disciple without the opposition
and criticism of lukewarm disciples. Write it in stone, “If you have an effective ministry
you will receive false and unfair criticism from some quarter within the
church.” If the leadership of the church
rebukes that criticism you have good leaders. If it is allowed, supported, or
comes from leadership in the church you are more than likely wasting your
time. Do not give
one second trying to work within that system. The goal of such bad leadership
is to protect their comfort and the status quo and that will make you as
ineffective and lukewarm as they are. Have you noticed by the time we get to
the 11th chapter of Luke we almost never see Jesus in the synagogues? He had
moved his ministry out. The effective
ministry of Jesus resulted in criticism and false accusations. If you have been in a bad church and your
ministry began to have positive results you very likely experienced this as
well.
My deepest personal regret in Ministry has not been the
failed projects. I have several of these; bold, creative, and exciting flops.
In measurable terms they were a waste of time, energy, and resources. I regret
these, but only a little. My biggest regrets are the occasions when in the
midst of dramatically growing ministry I faced opposition from those who were threatened
by the growth and who were supported by, or in many cases were, church leaders.
In attempting to work with them, grow beyond them, or leave graciously, I only
allowed the ruin of the good things the Lord had done. I misunderstood what “peaceful”
meant and trying to prevent collateral damage to new believers I would acquiesce
and walk away. Of the five churches I served in which this happened, the result
was not the protection and sustaining of the ministry. Three of the churches followed bad leaders
and have closed the doors and two have become what I call religion clubs*. If I could go back and have a conversation
with my younger self, we would study this passage together and I would tell my
younger self, “When good ministry produces opposition from within the church
that is when the good fight for the gospel really begins.”
 |
| When the preacher Duncan shook the dust off his feet it started the 1935 Dust Bowl |
*A
word concerning the difference between the church and a religion Club. In short,
the church concerns itself with making disciples and fulfilling the great
commission. A religion club is only
focused on it own members. A religion
club is a group of people who gather consistently, typically on Sunday morning,
for their own good pleasure. They will
study religious documents, typically the Bible, some religious music and will perform
a few rituals. Religion clubs generally do not want a minister who focuses on
reaching lost people. Religion clubs do not want a Shepherd or Pastor that will
tend the flock and do the unpleasant task of disciplining wayward sheep.
Religion clubs prefer a chaplain, someone who will hold their hand in moments
of difficulty, tell them they're really wonderful people, and assure them that
everything is just fine. The chaplain’s primary job is to meet the wishes and
whims of every member of the religion club so that their religious experience
can be pleasant on every occasion. The point of the religion club is
primarily about making members feel comfortable about themselves and the club.
The conversation of religion clubs generally circulates around how bad people
outside their religion Club are, in contrast to what good people the members of
the religion club are. The religion club gives lip service to the idea of
growing its membership, being a positive influence in the community, and
bringing renewal to the moral character of their world. But this is more pipe dream than
reality. There's little or no genuine
repentance of the religion club members for even the most egregious of
behaviors. Should the chaplain frequently speak about the sin of hard-heartedness
or the selfishness of the members of the religion club he will soon find
himself unemployed.
How
can you tell if yours is a church or a religion Club? You might find these questions helpful:
#1
Do the members of your congregation want to be challenged or comforted by the
worship and the sermon of the weekly gathering?
#2
Do more than half of the events on your monthly calendar focus on activities
for the membership or those outside of the church? Is there a general
expectation that new people will come to the church building and join in
scheduled events?
#3
Is it more important to avoid change for the comfort and ease of members or is
it more important to endure the discomfort of change in order to more
effectively reach those who are outside of the church?
If
yours is a religion club here is what you should do:
Go out to the curb outside of the church. Shake you left foot then your right foot
vigorously. Once the dust is off your
feet use those feet to walk away!
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