Myopia and inertia: deadly maladies that destroy churches

In his book, The Breakthrough Company: How Everyday Companies Become Extraordinary Performers, Keith McFarland, identifies myopia and inertia as two diseases that lead to stagnation, decline and death in an organization. Churches are not immune to these diseases.

Myopia causes a church to look only to itself and fail to see both the needs and the resources around them. A myopic church is more concerned with the present than the future. This disease will lead a church to separate itself from the Kingdom of God.

Inertia paralyzes a church even when they know what to do. Even when denominational consultants point the way out of decline the church suffering from inertia refuses to act. They won’t apply for available grants nor take advantage of mission teams or interns. Every idea seems impossible.

When these two maladies combine, the church will change in negative ways.

Churches that are can see opportunities, locate resources and act quickly will create positive change. They will make things happen instead of sitting around wondering why things happen to them.

Opportunities abound for urban churches to partner with other churches and parachurch groups to expand their ministry. Grants are also available from a variety sources to fund projects of all sizes.

A church that wants to impact its community with the gospel needs to open its eyes and act.

Reaching for the future

Declining churches need to rediscover the hope that the founders had when they first established the church. When a group of people gather to form a church they are willing to take risks to make it happen. They take out loans, give sacrificially and make big plans for the future. In some cases members take small personal loans to cover initial expenses.

In the early years of the church everything will be new, many things will be innovative and a spirit of hope in the future drives growth. New churches account for more baptisms per member than established churches.

At some point the new church becomes an established church and goes into preservation mode. Fear of losing what one has replaces hope in what God will bring. The new way of thinking leads to a plateau in growth and, eventually a decline.

Fewer members means fewer dollars. The church begins to start saving money just in case. Eventually the church will disband and turn over its assets to the local association (if it is Baptist). The assets will include a surprising amount of money in the bank and a valuable piece of real estate.

People like me will wonder why it never occurred to them to use the money in the bank to fund an innovative ministry or hire some staff. Why didn’t they sell the building and start over?

Churches go through a bell curve of growth, a long plateau, and inevitable decline. The decline begins when the church starts trying to conserve its gains. Leaders are now more concerned about keeping the people inside happy than reaching the people outside.

One church in Chicago continues to grow by thinking ahead. After 10 years of meeting in rented spaces, they built their first building. Some thought it too big but they soon filled it. Most churches would stop here but this church decided to fund three satellite campuses within a few years. Critics believed that they over-reached but, again, they continued to grow. Two more satellite campuses were established before the 10th anniversary of their building’s completion.

Declining churches can turn things around when they recapture the desire to stretch beyond their own capacity and trust God for the results. Declining churches can turn things around when they realize that the worst thing that can happen is they close their doors a few years earlier than expected. On the other hand, God’s blessings could result in a revival.

It’s Time for Hope

During the darkest days of exile and defeat, God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah, “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jer. 29:11).

It is hard to find hope today. People have lost faith in the government, in the church and maybe, even, in God. Global warming, terrorism, and financial crises dominate the news. Church leaders seem to spend more time attacking each other than being a blessing. Not all the troubles are national. We suffer physical pain, emotional turmoil and spiritual struggles.

Despite all this and BECAUSE of it, IT IS TIME FOR HOPE.

Biblical and historical revivals have come during times of turmoil and despair. The Great Awakening and Second Great Awakening came to America during times of moral decay and political turmoil. They left hundreds of new churches in their wake. More localized revivals have occurred that have resulted in establishing institutions and movements that have spread the gospel in new areas and in new ways.

Revivals eventually begin to wane but they leave a new high-water mark for the Kingdom. God is building His Kingdom but 2000 years later some still doubt its existence. God’s Kingdom didn’t seem impressive at first because it was often hidden and unseen. His kingdom dwells in hearts rather than the halls of government. For two thousand years this unstoppable kingdom force has been on the move.

The tiny mustard seed has mushroomed and multiplied across the world. An escaped slave named Patrick returns to his captors and establishes the church in Ireland. A shoemaker named William Carey goes to India and translates the Bible into the indigenous languages and establishes the church there. John Wesley preached in the streets of London and sparked a revival that spilled into America.

Even so, the forces of darkness continue to terrorize us. Our most ancient Christian churches in Palestine, Iraq, Turkey and Egypt are persecuted by the non-Christian majority. Our historic inner-city churches are closing, Innocent people still starve to death, and children still die in wars. Marriages still fall apart, and churches still split. Injustice still plagues us, greed and lust still devour us, and lost people still die and spent eternity apart from God.

Biblical hope reminds us that none of these dark forces will have the last word. This hope kept Paul preaching the gospel while sitting on death row.

Our hope greater than the world we live in. We live in hope as an ever-present reality in our lives. A selfless hope that knows, “All things work together for good to those who love the Lord.” (Ro 8:28)

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