Thursday, May 27, 2010

3 Congregational Obstacles to Growth

I'm reviewing the book 27 Tough Questions Pastors Ask by Dick Hardy. For those of you that are in church work or considering work, you should buy this book. It is filled with practical insights from a pastoral perspective. Here are some of my favorite quotes from chapter 7.

The Past
The senior leader of a growing church will become a student of a church's past. He will appreciate and celebrate it.

While doing so he must position its future as something real and of God...

...set the church up for the greatest of futures.

Use terms that create excitement for the future (55).

People in the Church Think or Say, "We're Big Enough."
...regularly indicate that until every person within the reach of that church knows God, the church is never "big enough."

...anything less than one more coin, one more sheep or one more son was not enough. (56)

The Changing Demographic of the Congregation
God is neither red nor yellow nor black nor white. He is not American, European, African, Australian, Asian or Latino.
Understand that changes in demographics do not happen quickly, but our preparedness for those changes can be put in place proactively, rather than reactively (57).

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