I found an article that parallels a lot of things I have experienced in my experience with the ICoC.

We Can’t Do Megachurch Anymore

Here was a church that dreamed big and got themselves into massive debt because they were going to be the largest church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Yet, somehow it never really happened. Twenty years later, they are still trying to pay for it.

A new minister came in and the wave of new teaching and attitude was hoped to change things. In truth, things appeared to change. To those concerned with headcount, though, it could look like a disaster. They lost over a third of their membership.

Reading the article, I almost thought it was my experience all over again. Older members are leaving, there are issues with past leadership, the list goes on. Yet in the middle of this, there is still a great reflection on the way ahead for them. Considering steps 1,3, and 4, I think this is also the way ahead for the ICoC specifically, and any recovering megachurchaholics out there.

1. Be Honest with the Present Condition

From the article:

People kept asking: Why have our long-term members left? When are things going to get back to the way they were? What’s wrong with us?

Such questions can squelch even the most sincere brainstorming sessions. The hard truth we’ve tried to communicate through all of this is that the glory days of the past are exactly that—past glory days. We’re not to try to return to them. Garnett will never again be the church it once was. We have to do the difficult thing of letting go of our former glory in order to allow God to do a new thing in us.

Saying that the old days were better is considered unwise. Not just by this group of church leaders, but by Eccl 7:10. I agree with Wade that the worst thing during a brainstorming session is, “Let’s have an event like we used to have.”

2. (Gee, we never had a building)

3. The most life-giving activities of our church aren’t necessarily going to happen when we meet on Sunday, Wednesday, Friday, D-Time, Leader’s Meeting, Prayer Breakfast, Evangelism Seminar, Teaching Conferences, Unity Delegation Events, etc. etc.

Again, from the article:

Church leaders in event-driven and personality-centered churches tend to gauge success by headcount, the number of people who show up. This is what leaders talked about, and subsequently members tended to judge success by how pews and collection baskets were filled.

Some things are just good to do for the sake of doing them. Jesus certainly didn’t have to turn water into wine. It saved the wedding couple from embarrassment. Isn’t it tempting to think, “Wasn’t there a better use of Jesus’ energy than saving a couple at a small wedding some embarrassment?”

Seriously, there’s the Open Door Mission in town that folks here have embraced for 10 years or more. That’s good stuff. I need to include these things into my Christian life. HOPE events are fine, but really, just be a part of something already existing. It’s important to join things like Habitat for Humanity or even smaller things as mentioned in the article. One of their events was teaching Spanish to local fireman. Where’s the headcount in a thing like that? Where’s the headline for a website or investment prospectus for these things?

4. Be a part of the community.

The Church of the English Majors loves jargon and bless their hearts, I’m sure it helps someone. Whatever living missionally means, or whatever being a missionary into your own culture means, what comes across is pretty straightforward: be involved in the community.

Being involved in the community helps us (me included) to *be* Jesus for others, not *do* Jesus for others. Again, from the article:

Anything aside from a Christ-centered approach is out in favor of teaching one another how to be incarnational presence of Christ, in practical ways in our jobs, neighborhoods, PTAs, and sports teams.

I know I quoted a good part of the article, but it is a good read.