For any organization to grow, they need to cast a vision. The process of determining that vision can be tedious but the result, hopefully, will set that group up for success and the church is no different.
Churches that have a vision, and that the membership has bought into, are churches that grow. The vision takes times to create and has to be more than just a vision or mission statement. Statements without action are just empty words and lead to nothing in the end. Correct vision takes time, and honesty to create.
The church is no different than other organizations when it comes to conflict and other problems, but we are not always interested in facing them head on and working to correct what is not working. Not everything we try is going to work, and we have to face the truth when it does not, and yes, sometimes they are sacred cows.
One of the many blogs I read is The Unstuck Group. This group helps churches that are stuck get unstuck. Tony Morgan has written a blog post, “The 5 Most Common Core Issues Churches Face Today.” (link) In this post, Morgan writes about the things that hold a church back from being the church that God wants them to be. These core issues are not easy to admit, but unless we do we will never become what God wants us to be, I would say the same is true in our personal lives.
Morgan lists five of the most common, and I would add a sixth, leadership. Not all leaders are equipped to lead and sell the vision. The people of the church create the vision but it is up to the leadership, both clergy and lay, to cast that vision and not all leaders are created equal.
“The 5 Most Common Core Issues Churches Face Today” is a great short piece that is well worth the read.
