Live Well and Strong

Loved Ones,

It is a joy to serve you! In the coming months I want to discuss church health. Our leadership chose this term because it is popular and relatable. It does not encapsulate all the nuances of understanding life in the Body of Christ, but Paul did use the human anatomy to describe church. The use of our bodies is a huge theme throughout Holy Scripture. As a source, I will use Tom Rainer primarily and sprinkle in Bishop Schnase, Pat Lincione, and Gary L. McIntosh along with others whose ideas rest in my subconscious and I do not remember their names.

Healthiness: The state of being in good health. Being physically fit without major issue; feeling good; looking good; living in a way where others want to be around me (definition by Rev. Barry C. Dunn). 

Pat Lincione clearly states that the health of any enterprise is directly related to clarity about its reason for existing. So, our reason for existing is directly related to our corporate relationship with Jesus Christ and understood in Sacred Scripture. This leads to His direction and our declaring His Gospel in word and holy living. You might say, we desire the highest quality of life for ourselves and others by showing them Christ and His holy way of life. There it is, our reason.

So, “why” do Churches die? They die for several reasons. I will defer to Tom Rainer. He identifies several causes which I will convey over the next few months, and all of them will be a loss of clarity. This month, let us examine “how” churches die.  

Churches die slowly. People usually die from health-related matters over a sustained period of time. So do churches. We, like frogs in a kettle, succumb to a slow cook. The erosion of health takes years. We easily see a building get old, but we rarely notice other things. A decline in vibrant worship. A decline in fervent prayer with expectation. A slow disconnection or relevance with our community and its soul. The loss of desire to witness to our neighbor or invite them to church.  An over concern for memories which leaves no room for hopes and dreams for a preferred future. A boredom within staff. A longing for once vibrant ministries but annoyance with current ones. There are others, but this slow erosion of heart leads us to becoming “beside ourselves.”  We embrace survival to maintain nostalgic memories and not Gospel engagement.  This is how churches die.  

So join me in a quest to live well and strong. We will study preventive health in the next few months because healthy is good. Let’s do it!

Brother Barry