Topic: Healthy Church Ministry
After reading Dever's9 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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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, 3rded. Wheaton: Crossway,
2013.
[1]Mark Dever,Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, 3rded. (Wheaton:
Crossway, 2013), 213.
[2]Mark Dever,Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, 3rded. (Wheaton:
Crossway, 2013), 223.
[3]Mark Dever,Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, 3rded. (Wheaton:
Crossway, 2013), 233.
[4]Ibid., 238.
[5]Ibid., 184.
[6]Mark Dever,Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, 3rded. (Wheaton:
Crossway, 2013), 191.
