Must We Reinvent?

I've been back in the Chicago area for the past few days. I say back because this is where I spent nearly 30 years doing ministry at various churches. Got the chance yesterday to return to the church where I served for over 12 years. It was so wonderful to see all the people again. It was great to enjoy a familiar worship service. It was shocking to see how old people are getting while I'm sure I'm not aging a bit!

The sad part of the visit was having the sense that the church is now in decline. The attendance is down and the energy seems to be dwindling. Sadder still is that I'm not surprised. Churches seem to have an arc. They rise as a new church with lots of energy and excitement. They do things that are edgy and reach a whole new population of people that had come to expect the same old thing from church. Then, slowly, over time they become entrenched in what they're doing. They get comfortable and the people who come week in and week out get comfortable. The energy fades, the edginess becomes threatening and goes away.

Two things happen to churches like this. They slowly die while holding annual events to remember how awesome they once were or they get an infusion of leadership that reinvents the church for a new era. The third thing that happens is new, edgy, energetic churches pop-up in the area drawing people who are still interested in ministry that takes them places and gives them an opportunity to make a difference. But that's not happening to the existing church so I'll stick with my theory that there are only two things that can happen. Death or reinvention. Both are painful. So my question is this...if your church is going to go through a protracted period of pain ending in it being dead or different and you could choose which it would be, which would you choose?

It's okay to choose dead, by the way. It gives definition to how you move forward. As with any dying thing you do things to provide comfort...anesthetic, some pillows, gentle music, soothing words and maybe a hospice nurse to empty the bedpan. In other words, keep doing things that won't upset the patient. Things they're familiar with. Things that don't cause any exercise or raise in blood pressure. No sudden moves and maybe Jeopardy playing quietly in the background.

Should you choose reinvention that sets a whole different course. It will probably necessitate a complete change in leadership. It will require a full review of everything that's currently being done and a ruthless elimination of things that aren't creating energy, enthusiasm and attraction to those who've yet to know Jesus Christ. It demands a willingness to see most of the people in the seats right now get upset and go elsewhere. That's okay because there are a lot of churches providing comfy pillows, an IV drip of morphine and the aforementioned Jeopardy playing softly in the background. Those who stay are the seedbed of edgy, relevant, powerful ministry.

There's the answer to the question posed in the title. We must reinvent or we die. Those are the only two options. And, as always, the choice belongs to those leading the church.