People Spots
Online
Produced by James W.
Moss, Sr., and Church Consultants
Provided as a service by New Life Ministries
Characteristics of a Healthy Church
Part 1
by James W. Moss, Sr.
Health is a very important word to many in our society. Much concern, money, and energy are spent for the appearance of health. There is an overwhelming preoccupation with conditions that enhance or disrupt health. Weight, sunlight, chemical abuses, and stress are but a few of the subjects that whirl about the general topic—"health." This newsletter and the next three describe the characteristics of a healthy church. Most of the characteristics need to be present in a vibrant, loving congregational body.
1. A Healthy Church Loves People
The Christian community was brought into existence as an expression of a loving God. An attitude of love for people is the only adoration worthy of such a God. The Biblical instruction is precise. Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Song into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love each other, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us (1 John 4:7-12 NIV).
Pastors must love their people. A pastor can fool the congregation for only a short period of time. The people generally only have one person to read. The members become experts at reading the pastor's mood swings. The one in the pulpit may say all the right words but the real intent will be read clearly and precisely. Whenever a pastor belittles the congregation, ministry is finished. A minister who does not love the people will be permitted to preach but will not be granted the privilege to pastor.
To paraphrase Paul...If I understand church growth principles, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I know all the church growth actions, and know all the latest communication techniques, and understand all the behavior of people, but have not love, I am nothing. If I build "people spots" for all kinds of needs, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.... 1 Corinthians 13:1-8 NIV
This love is expressed when a person's absence is lovingly recorded and followed up. This attitude of love is shown when personal commitments are built between participants. Such relationships have been established when a member experiencing difficulty turns to another member for assistance. The aid requested may be for serious counsel or for something as mundane as borrowing a pair of jumper cables to start a car.
Rev. Thomas Hebron pastors Hempfield Church. The average attendance, which was one hundred thirty when Rev. Hebron arrived twenty years ago, now exceeds nine hundred. A guest pastor was making house calls with him. They sat in a living room for thirty minutes with seven family members of three generations. In that time Rev. Hebron was careful to communicate his love by making every person in the room feel special. He loved them and they knew it.
The guest pastor stood beside Rev. Hebron as the congregation was dismissed on Sunday morning. Rev. Hebron called nearly every person who passed by name, and he frequently inquired about missing family members. This was a church with an average attendance of nine hundred. The church knew the shepherd's voice--he called them by name.
2. A Healthy Church Stays Close to the People
The capacity to provide meaningful ministry is directly related to knowledge of the people. A church can be out of touch with its own people. Congregations change rapidly, so the perception of a church's leadership may be as much as a decade behind reality. Decision-makers must know the people, then develop programming to meet needs rather than to pursue personal whims. Jesus knew and understood his disciples. A look, a word, or a gesture communicated much.
In football, Vince Lombardi was a great coach-communicator who knew his men. He knew whom he had to scream at, whom to pat on the back, and whom it would be best if he said nothing to. Lombardi's knowledge of people was the key to his recognition as one of the greatest motivators of men in this century. Study the congregation to have a better comprehension of who the people are. Completion of the prescribed exercises in this book will assist in that effort.
Exercise: Identify the needs of a specific segment of the population in the community-at-large outside the church. Design a strategy to meet those needs and incorporate some of those people in the life of the church. Keep in mind the skills and resources of the people in the church.
Remember that a church isn't able to meet the needs of everyone. Wide ranging attempts to meet all needs generally end with a failure to satisfy anyone. The mere study of people and their needs is never enough. That may become what has been called "spiritual navel gazing." This process of accumulated knowledge must end in action.
Continue to Part 2
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June 17, 1999. Volume 2, Issue 7. People Spots Online is prepared by James W. Moss, Sr., and Church Consultants. It is provided as a service by New Life Ministries, www.NewLifeMinistries-NLM.org. Articles may be duplicated and reproduced in any way. A new article is produced about every two weeks. To be added to a list to receive these messages directly by e-mail, send a request to churchconsultants@yahoo.com.