I recently read an article in the Midwest Covenant Messenger, the newsletter of the Midwest Covenant Conference. In the article, Dr. John Wenrich was quoted from a conference held this year. In talking about church growth, Dr. Wenrich stated there are two fantasies present in many churches.
- The first fantasy is that there can be growth (numeric and otherwise) without change.
- The second fantasy is that there can be change without some degree of pain.
I’ve been in a number of meetings and conversations, especially recently, where the subject of church growth (specifically, numbers) has come up. No one, though, is talking about making painful choices. There’s a fantasy that growth will just happen, I guess. It’s as though people are saying, “Let’s continue doing the same things we’ve always done, but just do them better!” According to Dr. Wenrich, that’s a recipe for stagnation, not growth.
My wife has a saying which has been speaking to me. She’s even drawn it up on a little poster. The saying is:
Dreams can quickly become fantasies if we are not willing to risk and bleed for our future.
I’m resolving not to have any dreams that I’m not willing to bleed for. How about you?
You can read the whole article in the Covenant newsletter here.