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?
c c c c c 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.
c c c c c 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.
c c c c c 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.
c c c c c 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.
c c c c c 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.
c c c c c
[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.
