Making a Healthy Church Unhealthy

There’s another Rainer in the house!

We all have benefited from insights that Dr. Thom Rainer has shared through his blogs and books.  Now there’s another Rainer you may need to start following – Sam.

I’ve copied the following article from his blog (http://samrainer.com/) that gives warning how a healthy church can quickly become unhealthy.  Good stuff!

How a Healthy Church Can Spiral Quickly into Dysfunction

By Sam Rainer

 Churches are more like organisms than they are organizations. Of course, organizational management is important in churches. Finances, staff reviews, and operations are among the many management activities in the church. Ultimately, however, churches are alive. Biblically, the church is a body. As a functioning organism, the church body is always changing. Like our own bodies, the church either becomes healthier or less healthy. Churches grow. Or they start dying. Congregations may plateau for a season. But no church remains static in perpetuity.

Like an organism, when church health declines, it typically does so slowly. But there are cases when an otherwise healthy person experiences a sudden deterioration. Healthy churches can also experience a sharp decline in health. There are cases of healthy churches quickly becoming dysfunctional. Below are five ways I’ve seen churches spiral downward quickly, almost overnight.

Killer gossip. There is a reason gossip and murder are listed together in Romans 1. Gossip kills. While every church probably has a gossip or two waiting to ambush an unsuspecting soul, killer gossip is a more sinister monster. Killer gossip is more than a Twitter rant or an intentionally misleading question (“Did you hear what the preacher said at his son’s baseball game?”). Killer gossip has as its goal the complete destruction of another person. This kind of gossip destroys families, careers, and churches. It’s viral and can spread so quickly through the church body that it leaves a permanent sickness—one ultimately resulting in death.

A silent majority during a moment of crisis. A small group (it’s usually less than a dozen) can do a lot of damage in any church. Healthy churches can spiral quickly, however, when this small group takes advantage of a crisis in the church to get their way. The crisis magnifies their voice and power. If the silent majority does not speak out against this kind of power play, then a healthy church can become dysfunctional in a short time period.

Moral failure of a pastor. Few disasters affect a healthy body like the moral failure of a key leader. Indeed, even the healthiest of churches will likely struggle through the after-effects of leader’s moral failure. Unfortunately, there are too many examples of healthy churches becoming dysfunctional following a moral failure in leadership.

Force majeure event. Force majeure is often used as contract language to free both parties from liability or obligation in the event of a major natural disaster, like a hurricane or flood. When these types of events affect entire communities, churches suffer. For example, when a large manufacturing firm left a small town, it meant most of the community was either unemployed or had to move. Every church in the community struggled. Some became dysfunctional quickly.

A snake is allowed to slither. Evil is real. And it’s not a vague concept. People sin. Sin hurts other people. Not every sinner is a snake, of course. On occasion, however, an evil person enters the body. When you have an unwanted snake in your house, you don’t pet it and ask it nicely to leave. You strike it. Don’t play games with evil. Get rid of it or your church could quickly spiral into dysfunction.

The powers of darkness will attack. In fact, healthy churches should expect evil to oppose an expanding gospel work. Most healthy churches are prepared. But no church should get comfortable. Satan’s goal is to make healthy churches fall . . . quickly. However, God is infinitely greater. Even the most disastrous of situations do not necessarily lead to dysfunction. In fact, it is the body that will determine whether the infection will spread or cause a response that leads to greater health.

THINGS YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN ….

FOR BIBLE STUDY LEADERSHIP: Groups Matter Event at Ridgecrest, NC, August 27-29, 2015, discussing issues like disciple making, DNA of healthy groups, responding to the homosexual question, missional groups, etc. - http://www.lifeway.com/n/Product-Family/Groups-Matter-Event?type=events

FOR HELP IN WRITING YOUR OWN BIBLE STUDIES: http://home.smallgroup.com/

FOR CHURCH LEADERSHIP: 11 Places to Use Greeters by Chuck Lawless - http://buff.ly/1EgS16E 

FOR BIBLE STUDY: January Bible Study 2016, Second Corinthians; The Church Ministry’s Handbook - http://www.lifeway.com/n/Product-Family/January-Bible-Study

FOR BIBLE STUDY LEADERSHIP: a video explaining what’s coming for adults in The Gospel Project/Chronological - https://vimeo.com/122668812

FOR SMALL GROUPS: Hebrews Initiative, living out your faith in a post-Christian world - http://www.lifeway.com/n/special-emphasis/hebrews-initiative

FOR DISCIPLESHIP: Jesus Continued by J.D. Greear & Trevin Wax -  http://buff.ly/1Q3sHVX

FOR DISCIPLESHIP: Ordinary by Tony Merida - http://www.lifeway.com/Product/ordinary-bible-study-kit-P005644105

FOR DISCIPLESHIP: Counter Culture by David Platt - http://www.lifeway.com/Product/counter-culture-leader-kit-P005703479?intcmp=Counter-MTX-Text-Kit-20150109

FOR DISCIPLESHIP: Fight Back with Joy by Margaret Feinberg - http://www.lifeway.com/Product/fight-back-with-joy-celebrate-more-regret-less-stare-down-your-greatest-fears-leader-kit-P005699446

FOR STUDENT MINISTRY: a video describing what’s coming for students in The Gospel Project/Chronological – https://vimeo.com/122668813

FOR STUDENT MINISTRY: Counter Culture, confronting today’s issues redemptively - http://www.lifeway.com/Product/counter-culture-student-leader-kit-P005647994

FOR STUDENT MINISTRY: Virtuosity: A 40 Day Devotional Guide for Guys - http://www.lifeway.com/Product/virtuosity-P005720882

FOR STUDENT MINISTRY: My 8, helping students understand the heart of evangelism - http://www.lifeway.com/Product/my-8-embrace-and-engage-the-wonder-of-evangelism-leader-kit-P005737563

FOR CHILDREN’S MINISTRY: a video describing what’s coming for kids in The Gospel Project/Chronological - https://vimeo.com/123430346

FOR CHILDREN’S MINISTRY: ZIP, a easy, ‘build it yourself’ day camp, summertime, anytime fun time - http://www.lifeway.com/n/Product-Family/Zip-For-Kids?intcmp=ZipForKidsSearch-MTX-Button-20130819

FOR CHILDREN’S MINISTRY: Evangelism and Discipleship materials - http://www.lifeway.com/n/Product-Family/I%27m-a-Christian-Now

FOR MEN’S MINISTRY: The Main Event, Nashville, June 19-20, 2015 with special speakers Mike Huckabee, Dr. Tony Evans, Jim Kelley, Derwin Gray and more - http://www.lifeway.com/event/mens-event-the-main-event-2015-nashville-tn?intcmp=TheMainEvent-MTX-Button-Nashville-20140803

FOR WOMEN’S MINISTRY: How Balanced is Your Women’s Ministry - http://www.lifeway.com/womensministry/2015/05/13/how-balanced-is-your-womens-ministry/