by Tim | Nov 30, 2010 | The Church World |
Most congregants in your typical local church remain largely ignorant of what goes on “behind the scenes” at their church. It’s not until they are thrust into some sort of lay leadership role that much of this stuff becomes apparent. Many people thrust in these roles are unable to cope with the things they see or hear. Many leave the church, disillusioned.Perhaps it is a good thing that only a few people in a local church see these things; otherwise we might have a mass exodus from the Church. Some argue that this mass exodus is already happening. Maybe people see/hear more than we dare admit. Fewer and fewer people are attending church as time goes on. Despite our best tactics to get them to come, people continue to be turned off to church. As a person who has served on staff at a few churches, I can’t say I’m entirely surprised. As much “junk” as lay people see when they rise to leadership roles, often staff members see even more. Some of the things that seem innocent enough to congregants, if you were on staff at a church, you might feel differently. In my last blog post, I lamented over the way most churches are run: either with a government atmosphere or a business atmosphere. As a staff person who has served in both environments to a degree, I feel I can confidently say that neither atmosphere is spiritually healthy, even though it may appear so to many of the congregants. While it may look good to the congregant that their church is bringing in new visitors, that...
