Anxiety in the Water
by Mark Tidsworth, Founder and Team Leader
As we go to and fro consulting churches and coaching clergy, we are observing a strange mix of dynamics at play in congregations. We certainly get to see disciples of Jesus who are enlivened and vitalized, moving forward in mission and ministry. The volatility of our times is calling out the best in some churches, fueling their progress toward living into their best selves.
On the other hand, there is so much anxiety in the water.
Church leaders are concerned about the numbers – membership, participation, money… institutional strength. Rightly so. Your pastors, church staff, and lay leaders are tasked with stewarding your church’s assets. During these volatile times when people are re-evaluating their relationships with everything, including church, leaders are watching the numbers and are concerned. They don’t want the church to decline on their watch. They want the church to be able to continue onward with vitality, meeting its financial obligations and managing its assets well. They recognize it takes people and money to do this. Unsurprisingly, your church leaders are concerned.
For some, this concern has ratcheted up to a state of anxiety. Fear and almost desperation permeate the church. Every decision becomes about whether it may yield greater participation or financing, rather than advancing the mission of God through this church. Some of these churches will tell you outright their current goal is to increase their participation and membership along with increasing funding. This is what they see as their first priority, the primary focus of their current efforts.
But… if you’ve been around church very long, you know church cultures permeated by anxiety are very quick turn offs to prospective (and current) participants. On a very practical level, I can clearly tell you that there are not people in your community who want to join your church to rescue it from institutional decline. In fact, fearful and anxious churches actually repel others from joining them. Who is attracted to fear and desperation?
Fortunately, that’s not what Jesus calls us to do anyway. As far as I can tell, Jesus created the Church to become the beloved community. The Church’s purpose is to be a sign of what it looks like when the kingdom comes on earth as it is in heaven. The Church’s purpose is to turn ordinary human beings into followers of Jesus Christ. The Church’s purpose is to join God’s movement toward transforming our world, aligning with God’s intentions.
Apart from this theology, even the most theologically obtuse among us can recognize the practicality of remaining true to our purpose. Larry Osborne, that wise Southern California pastor writes in his book Sticky Church, “What matters is not the size of the church or the slickness of the programming. What matters is that those who come find a ministry and relationships worthy of spontaneous word-of-mouth recommendations.”
Practically speaking, more of us are drawn to groups of people authentically pursuing the Way of Jesus, the great hope for planet earth. Practically speaking, none of us are drawn to groups of people cowering in the corner, desperately inviting us to join them in their paralyzing anxiety.
Practically speaking again, what happens when churches reorient toward faith? What happens when they reconnect with the good news of the gospel, gathering around the Way of Jesus? Though I can’t guarantee anything, three outcomes are typical.
Churches find their souls, reconnecting with their faith, growing vitalized in spirit. Mood, morale, and energy rise as they regain their taste for spiritually-focused living.
Then, some people in their community want to join them, which in turn helps ease their institutional concerns. The trick here is to avoid trying to spiritually revitalize for the sake of institutional needs. When institutional growth is our underlying and secret purpose, we undermine spiritual renewal, leaving us right where we started. When we actually are renewed in faith as churches, we become far more attractive to others. Some in the community will be drawn to these churches.
Then, whether anyone new from the community joins with vitalized churches, they are now able to deal with their institutional concerns in healthier ways. When renewed, churches reconnect with spiritual strength, which empowers them to make whatever decisions they must make in order to be healthy organizations. Now they are not afraid to do what they need to do, adjusting their organizational paradigm as needed.
So in these days of high anxiety, may we become people of faith. Rather than swim in anxious waters, may we dive again into the waters of baptism, claiming God’s promises and reconnecting with the One who is never afraid.