After reading Dever's 9 Marks of a Healthy Church, what 3 do you/your church
need to work on the most? Why? What steps could you/your church take to
implement those areas?
a a a a a a a a a a A brief background of my local church is necessary to partially
understand some of the perceived areas of the church that needs work. In late
2014, our pastor announced that he made a personal decision to leave our church
after twenty-five years of faithful service. He felt that church growth had become
stagnant, and it was time for a change in church leadership. After several months,
a pastoral candidate was brought forth before the congregation, and he presented
his sermon. Afterward, the church went into a conference meeting, which formally
accepted the pastor and his family. Most congregants understood that a change in
church leadership would entail changes in leadership style, priorities, etc.
a a a a a a a a a a The main area that needed to be worked on and steps implemented for
was church growth. Mark Dever wrote, “The New Testament idea of growth
involves not just more people, but people who are growing up, maturing, and
deepening in the faith. We read in Ephesians 4:15-16: "Instead, speaking the truth
in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From
him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows
and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."[1] My local church, at the
time, was mostly attended by senior citizens with little enthusiasm for change.
They were happy with the status quo and resisted change. If a new member or
family joined the church, it was by God’s blessing, not by church member
involvement. The church, in essence, was dying. A good effect of having a new
pastor is that the pastor will grow together with the church. Dever writes that a
pastor and church need to “increasingly work and pray together, walk together, not
forsake the assembling of ourselves, endeavor to bring up those that the Lord
gives us in his will and ways, rejoice and sorrow with each other, seek to live
carefully, work together in ministry, contribute to the expenses, contribute to the
needs of the gospel throughout all nations….”[2] Church growth is not a pastoral
concern only; it involves every member and facet of the church. Several programs
and opportunities have arisen that have allowed the church to be more visible in
the community. A community outreach program has been implemented,
DivorceCare was started in 2017 to address the spiritual needs of the community’s
divorcees, the church sponsors and assists in the yearly railroad festival, etc.
Within the church, new Sunday School classes have been implemented to
address the needs of the students. All these programs and resources have
contributed to an increase in church growth. However, church growth is an
ongoing mission.
a a a a a a a a a a While church growth is on the uprise, there is a “problem” with how
church leadership is handled. Unbeknownst to the church, at the time of the vote
for accepting the pastor, he was trained in a church organization where the senior
pastor handled everything. There was no delegation of responsibilities. This
leadership style has caused some members to feel negative towards the pastor
and caused others to leave the church. While it is not as big of a problem as in
2015, it is still present. Mark Dever illustrates church leadership by discussing
Matthew 18:15-17 and Acts 6:2-5. In both biblical instances, it was the whole
church involved in leadership decisions. Concerning Jesus’ teaching in Matthew
18:15-17, Dever states, “Notice to whom one finally appeals in such situations.
What court has the final word? It is not a bishop, a pope, or a presbytery; it is not
an assembly, a synod, a convention, or a conference. It is not even a pastor, a
board of elders, a board of deacons, or a church committee. It is, quite simply, the
church — that is, the assembly of those individual believers who are the
church.”[3] The apostle Paul expounded this ideal of church leadership in 1
Corinthians 5:4-5 when he grew agitated with the church’s lack of action. The
point is that the pastor and the congregation had to understand there are many
spiritual gifts within the church’s body. Dever states, “We need to trust that God
gives particular people gifts to serve as church leaders. We should therefore
desire to see in our church the right balance of authority and trust. It is a serious
spiritual deficiency in a church either to have leaders who are untrustworthy or to
have members who are incapable of trusting.”[4] It has taken several
pastor/deacons scheduled and emergency meetings to resolve the internal conflict
created by the pastor’s leadership style. I believe the pastor has good intentions
but is leading in a manner he was trained in. It is better now; however, he still
displays a reluctance to delegate authority at times. Just like church growth, his
evolving leadership style is ongoing.
a a a a a a a a a a Related to church growth and leadership is biblical discipline. While my
church has a covenant and bylaws that address when and how to discipline a
member, it does not address the character or conduct of a new church member.
Mark Dever writes, “when we're examining new members, we have to consider
whether those who are under consideration are known to be living Christ-honoring
lives. Do we understand the seriousness of the commitment we are making to
them when they join the church, and have we communicated to them the
seriousness of the commitment that they are making to us? If we are more careful
about how we recognize and receive new members, we will have less occasion to
practice corrective church discipline later.”[5] Fortunately, other than a couple of
recent incidents, my local church has not had to deal with corrective discipline.
Traditionally, my local church has left it upon Sunday School teachers, sermons,
and few pastoral counseling sessions to engrain the Christian character in a
convert. However, this is unbeneficial to that person. I was recently tasked with
developing a new class that involves the changed nature of a person after
accepting Christ. Dever states, “ Jesus intended our lives to back up our words. If
our lives don't back up our words, the evangelistic task is injured, as we have
seen so terribly this last century in America. Undisciplined churches have actually
made it harder for people to hear the good news of new life in Jesus Christ.”[6]
When a new Christian can differentiate between the Christian and worldview and
incorporate Christianity into their public and private life, their Christian life
becomes a positive witness for the church.
a a a a a a a a a a In conclusion, my local church is not perfect but has an increasingly
positive, healthy status. Some areas still need to be worked on; however, those
areas have been recognized and actions implemented. The focal point of the
church is to work together under the God-led leadership of the pastor to promote
Christianity throughout the community and beyond.
Bibliography
Dever, Mark. Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, 3rd ed. Wheaton: Crossway, 2013.
a a a a a a a a a a
[1] Mark Dever, Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, 3rd ed. (Wheaton: Crossway,
2013), 213.
[2] Mark Dever, Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, 3rd ed. (Wheaton: Crossway,
2013), 223.
[3] Mark Dever, Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, 3rd ed. (Wheaton: Crossway,
2013), 233.
[4] Ibid., 238.
[5] Ibid., 184.
[6] Mark Dever, Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, 3rd ed. (Wheaton: Crossway,
2013), 191.
