5. You think culture is the enemy.
If all you ever are is angry at the culture around us, how are you going to reach people in that culture? Christians who consistently expect non-Christians to act like Christians baffle me (I wrote about that here).
If you treat your unchurched neighbor like an enemy, why would he ever want to be your friend?
6. You’re afraid to risk what is for the sake of what might be.
Let’s face it, at least you’ve got something going for you. You’re paying the bills. You at least have X amount of people.
And if you’ve had any modicum of success recently, you’re going to be hesitant to risk what is for what could be. The greatest enemy of your future success is your current success.
When you’re perpetually afraid to risk what is for the sake of what might be, you might as well cue the funeral music now.
7. You can’t make a decision.
Governance will become a major issue for future churches. When your decision making is rooted in complex bureaucracy or congregational approval for every major change, it makes decision making difficult and courageous change almost impossible.
To get a glimpse of the kind of constitutional set up effective churches will need in the future, don’t miss Jeff Brodie’s awesome post on what every church constitution needs.
8. You talk more than you act.
Most church leaders love to think and love to debate issues.
Effective leaders add one more component. They act.
Most church leaders I know overthink and underact. If you acted on even a few more of your good ideas, you could possibly be twice as effective in a very short timeframe.
9. You don’t think there’s anything wrong with your church.
I still run into a surprising amount of leaders and church members who love their church but can’t figure out why anyone else does.
Well, those churches are on their way to soon having not much more than a small club for the already convinced.
10. You’re more focused on growth than you are on God.
Some leaders get so jacked up about growth that they forget it’s about God and his mission. This is just a danger every motivated leader needs to keep in mind.
We’re leading people to Jesus, not to ourselves or our awesome church. Keeping the focus on Christ ensures genuine life-change happens and lasts.
These are 10 things I see holding our churches back.