Changing Things That Don't Work Anymore
I have found that some things that used to work in a church can stop working, and when that happens, it’s time to change something.
During the first years I was at Mountain View, while the elders handed out the communion elements I would ask for prayer requests and praises, and people freely shared things – even very personal concerns – with the group. Then I would lead in prayer for the requests, thank God for the bread or the cup, and we’d all share in the Lord’s Supper together.
But once we passed about eighty people in attendance, it was like someone flicked a switch. Suddenly no one had praise or requests to offer. There was only awkward silence as the bread and juice were passed around for communion. I concluded that people in general feel uncomfortable speaking publicly, and that our church had crested the ridge between “small intimate group” and “small group”. That’s when I introduced the singing of hymns during the passing of the elements – a practice we continue to this day.
Another example of changing things that stop working is multiple weekly services. It used to be that conservative churches had not only a Sunday morning service, but a second (and different) Sunday evening service as well as a mid-week prayer meeting. That’s how it was at Mountain View when I first came. Sunday morning was a traditional service (like we have now). Sunday evening was more like an adult Sunday school – hymn singing but then teaching rather than preaching. There was nothing for children, so they sat with their parents while I taught from the Bible. On Wednesday evenings, we had prayer meeting – which was exactly what it sounds like. I offered a brief devotional then we’d break up into pairs, get on our knees, and pray for between 30-45 minutes.
As our little church grew, Sunday morning attendance climbed, but neither of the other services did. The same faithful few attended the evening and mid-week services. When I say “few”, we may have had 25 or so in the evening service. Only 3-6 attended the prayer meeting.
The greatest difficulty was what to do with children. They got bored during an adult lesson and they struggled to pray for 30 minutes. As a result, church was not a place they wanted to be – and I felt strongly that that was a bad thing.
I was unable to get help to start a children’s ministry on Sunday evening. For a while I tried to lead the kids at Wednesday prayer meeting. We would pray briefly and then I’d lead them in Bible games I had created.
I put a lot of work into these services, but despite my best efforts, they didn’t grow. The congregation didn’t want an evening or mid-week service. I was burning the candle at both ends to keep a tradition alive for its own sake, needlessly sacrificing time that could be better spent with my wife and children. I felt it was wiser to develop the things that were working.
The elders agreed and cancelled the Sunday evening and mid-week prayer services. The majority were fine with it, but an immediate indignant outcry arose from a few who never attended either of the cancelled services! When I expressed surprise at their upset, they said the same thing as those who had left over praise choruses (see my two previous blogs): “The pastor should maintain high standards, even if we don’t!”.
Responses like this no longer surprise me. I expect them anytime we change something. Some people just don’t like any changes. Change is uncomfortable. Some would rather ride a comfortable horse to destruction than change horses and get used to a new road that leads to where you need to go.
As much as my pastoral heart wants to keep the flock together, I let those who insist on riding the same old horse do so somewhere else. I let them go. It’s not that they’re doing anything wrong. They just need to be part of a different flock, and the church of Jesus Christ is big enough and varied enough that He will lead them to where they need to be.
And He will continue to lead us through the changes to the place He wants us to go.
During the first years I was at Mountain View, while the elders handed out the communion elements I would ask for prayer requests and praises, and people freely shared things – even very personal concerns – with the group. Then I would lead in prayer for the requests, thank God for the bread or the cup, and we’d all share in the Lord’s Supper together.
But once we passed about eighty people in attendance, it was like someone flicked a switch. Suddenly no one had praise or requests to offer. There was only awkward silence as the bread and juice were passed around for communion. I concluded that people in general feel uncomfortable speaking publicly, and that our church had crested the ridge between “small intimate group” and “small group”. That’s when I introduced the singing of hymns during the passing of the elements – a practice we continue to this day.
Another example of changing things that stop working is multiple weekly services. It used to be that conservative churches had not only a Sunday morning service, but a second (and different) Sunday evening service as well as a mid-week prayer meeting. That’s how it was at Mountain View when I first came. Sunday morning was a traditional service (like we have now). Sunday evening was more like an adult Sunday school – hymn singing but then teaching rather than preaching. There was nothing for children, so they sat with their parents while I taught from the Bible. On Wednesday evenings, we had prayer meeting – which was exactly what it sounds like. I offered a brief devotional then we’d break up into pairs, get on our knees, and pray for between 30-45 minutes.
As our little church grew, Sunday morning attendance climbed, but neither of the other services did. The same faithful few attended the evening and mid-week services. When I say “few”, we may have had 25 or so in the evening service. Only 3-6 attended the prayer meeting.
The greatest difficulty was what to do with children. They got bored during an adult lesson and they struggled to pray for 30 minutes. As a result, church was not a place they wanted to be – and I felt strongly that that was a bad thing.
I was unable to get help to start a children’s ministry on Sunday evening. For a while I tried to lead the kids at Wednesday prayer meeting. We would pray briefly and then I’d lead them in Bible games I had created.
I put a lot of work into these services, but despite my best efforts, they didn’t grow. The congregation didn’t want an evening or mid-week service. I was burning the candle at both ends to keep a tradition alive for its own sake, needlessly sacrificing time that could be better spent with my wife and children. I felt it was wiser to develop the things that were working.
The elders agreed and cancelled the Sunday evening and mid-week prayer services. The majority were fine with it, but an immediate indignant outcry arose from a few who never attended either of the cancelled services! When I expressed surprise at their upset, they said the same thing as those who had left over praise choruses (see my two previous blogs): “The pastor should maintain high standards, even if we don’t!”.
Responses like this no longer surprise me. I expect them anytime we change something. Some people just don’t like any changes. Change is uncomfortable. Some would rather ride a comfortable horse to destruction than change horses and get used to a new road that leads to where you need to go.
As much as my pastoral heart wants to keep the flock together, I let those who insist on riding the same old horse do so somewhere else. I let them go. It’s not that they’re doing anything wrong. They just need to be part of a different flock, and the church of Jesus Christ is big enough and varied enough that He will lead them to where they need to be.
And He will continue to lead us through the changes to the place He wants us to go.