Twenty-five years ago, I heard Church consultant Lyle Schaller talk about visiting Churches in an attempt to help them face the future. He said the very first thing I tell everyone is, “All of you are going to move, quit, or die. We cannot count on any of you to be here in the future.”

Although statistics vary based on the location of the Church, the average rate of attrition is around 20% for the local community of believers in the US. That means every year, a Church of 100 people loses around 20 people who are attending today. Reasons for this also vary, but Lyle’s categories are still valid: people move, quit the group, or go to meet Jesus.

Since this is true, for a Church to maintain its current size and ministry, it needs to be adding 20% growth of new people each year. Obviously, some of those people will be moving into your area as others move out. There is also a group who will quit one Church and then join another. So, some of the new people will simply come from a reshuffling of the deck. The rest must come from new converts, or the Church will begin to shrink.

For a Church of 100 people to grow each year, it will need to add at least 25 new people for minimal growth. As the numbers increase, the amount of people coming and going gets staggering.

When I heard Lyle say this, I thought to myself, “Not my Church. Everyone will love what I am going to build, and they will never want to leave.” Sadly, I was wrong. I could not control job changes, retirement, and death. I also had no control over people losing their faith and those choosing to join another Church because they had something more appealing. Slowly, I had to accept the fact that he was correct.

Whenever I hear someone say they are not interested in their Church growing or they wish their Church would stay the same because they love it so much, I know they are dreaming like I used to do. Churches are continually changing, and those who refuse to share their faith with nonbelievers are slowly dying because attrition rates are a real thing.

“Pastor, several people in the Church are upset about what you said on Sunday.”

“Some people here are not happy with the music we have been singing lately.”

“There is a group of people who would prefer that the elders lead the prayer requests.”

Those are all statements that I have heard as a pastor. There was always a group of unnamed people who hid in the shadows and were unhappy about something.

I spent years trying to do things to make “some people” or “a group of people” happy. I hated myself for never being able to do it because that meant many people didn’t like me.

Then, one day, I asked the person telling me this to give me names. I said, “Tell me who these people are, and I will go talk to them.” 

I was shocked when they could not produce a name. Slowly, I discovered that every time a complaint was registered and credited to other people, the only person who seemed upset was the person telling me the issue. I had been chasing after people who did not exist. One person was merely using a plural pronoun to describe their own opinion in an effort to sway me.

Today, if a criticism does not come with a name attached, I immediately dismiss it. I suggest you do the same.

Graduation season is upon us again. That has me reflecting on my high school graduation and the yearbook that accompanied it.

I graduated as part of a class of 125 students. Where I grew up, several small towns were consolidated into one high school. My tiny hometown only had three seniors that year, but I was part of a much larger class.

As an introvert who has always struggled to make friends, it may come as no surprise that my yearbook is empty of anything from my senior year. I was not involved in any sports, clubs, or organizations. I was not elected as “most likely” to do anything. There were no accolades or achievements listed, as I had none. When the books came out, no one signed mine, and no memorabilia was inserted.

At this point in the story, you might be depressed. Don’t be. I view my empty yearbook as a blank slate. Those years did not define my life or my future. They were a stepping stone on the way to what God had in store for me. High school was not my “glory days” that I will spend the rest of my life trying to reattain. They were a fun time that God used to mold and shape me for the next step in my journey with him.

Some people look at their lives and feel a sense of sadness about their lack of accomplishments to this point. What if you turned that thinking over and claimed the years ahead as an opportunity for God to use you in new and exciting ways? Everything up to this point has been preparation for the ministry that lies ahead of you. In Jesus, your past does not define you.

What if, during this graduation season, you saw your future as a blank slate, and you allowed God to write his story with the rest of the pages?  

What would your friends say about the current state of your spiritual life?

How about your mom or your grandmother?

Do you think your small group leader or Sunday school teacher would approve of your growth in Jesus?

What do you think your pastor would say about your spiritual maturity?

Sometimes, we do not grow spiritual depth because we ask the wrong person to give us their evaluation.

When I first entered the ministry in 1993, revivals were already a dying event. The Churches I led once held these annual revival meetings that used to draw large crowds of people. What had at one time lasted for eight days or more was now occurring for 3-4 nights with only a handful of people attending.

I tried to rally the people, and by 1996, I had given up the project as it took more time, energy, and money than the fruit being produced. The Church leadership did not put up a fight with me as they were tired of trying to generate excitement for this as well.

There are numerous reasons these revival meetings died. One of the biggest was the invention of mass media. Even in my early years, people could tune in on Sunday morning TV and see some of the best preachers in America every week. They could flip on their radio while driving around the farm and listen to fantastic preaching. The chance to hear a challenging word from the Bible was available to them every week, not just when the revival speaker came around. Nowadays, we have added all forms of digital media, which make it possible to hear a sermon on any topic at any time of the day or night. 

There are other reasons, like busy schedules, vacation opportunities, every night sports for youth, and endless entertainment options that also led to its demise. No longer were they opportunities for growth and outreach, but they were simply another event to fill Christian’s schedules.

For me, there was another reason I wanted to stop having revivals. I hated people treating faith like it was a one-time event. The speaker would come in and call people to turn to God. Several would get excited. A few would make their confession of faith, repent, and be baptized. Then, when the revival was over, they would disappear from Church. The revival led people to view their faith decision as a one-time, often emotional event. True faith is about a whole life transformation.

In the last couple of years, I have noticed Churches and groups trying to push to bring revivals back. I recently saw a friend of mine posting all about their “Old Time Revival.” For you, that may be exciting as they do generate a feeling of nostalgia. For me, as a Church leader, I am glad they happened, but I would like them to stay dead. Much like 8 track tapes, they served their purpose, and it is time to move on to new forms of outreach.

You are not a leader.

The person said, “No one seems to want my leadership gifts.”

John Maxwell used to say, “You can call yourself a leader, but if no one is following you, you are only taking a walk.”

Leadership is not about a title, taking a position, asserting yourself, or calling yourself a leader. It is about people who see something in you and want to follow what you are doing. Other people want to hear what you have to say, and they see how you sacrifice yourself for others. They observe you making wise choices and how you influence people. And they want to lean in and learn more from you. That is leadership: The ability to influence other people in a way that benefits them.

In the Church, I am not trying to find more leaders. I am trying to identify those who are already leaders and use their influence for the kingdom of God.

After Jesus’ resurrection and shortly before his ascension, he gave his closest followers what we now call “The Great Commission.” It is his marching orders for the Church.

Matthew 28:19-20 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

There are three active words in the original Greek: going, baptizing, and teaching. Jesus’ followers are to be going out in the world sharing their faith and helping people become mature disciples. They are also supposed to be baptizing those new followers into the name of the Godhead. Finally, they are teaching those newly baptized disciples to obey everything Jesus taught.

Most Christians tend to land on the last one. We came to Jesus, and now we want to be taught, and we want to be taught more and more. In our desire to know God’s will and a hope of obeying everything, we want to learn every facet of what the Bible teaches. I am not opposed to this type of thinking, as I want people to grow in their knowledge, but it can lead to us living in a Christian bubble where all we do is attend Bible studies, listen to Christian teaching, read Christian books, and spend time with other believers.   

One of the biggest challenges I have with people who have followed Jesus for more than five years is getting them to share their faith with nonbelievers. There seems to be very little interest in going outside of their Christian circle. I mean, honestly, ask yourself, “When was the last time you shared your faith and led someone to become a disciple of Jesus?”

Here is my challenge: for every hour of learning you do the rest of this year, would you equally invest an hour in a person or family who needs to know Jesus? So, if you spend an hour a week at a Bible study, then also spend one hour a week trying to build a bridge with the purpose of sharing your faith. Would you pray for them, invite them out for a meal, bring them into your home, pray with them, and intentionally share the story of the Gospel?

I am happy when someone knows a lot of the Bible, but I am even more joyous when someone comes to know Jesus as their Savior. Faith is a balancing act of learning and sharing.

In the original Karate Kid movie from 1984, we are introduced to Mr. Miyagi. He is a wise older adult who is going to teach Daniel karate in order to defend himself.

In a now iconic series of events, he has Daniel sand the floor, wax the car, paint the fence, and paint his house. Finally, Daniel feels like a slave and wants to get out of the situation. Little does he realize that Mr. Miyagi was using a method to teach him some basic maneuvers. He was having him make a motion over and over to develop his muscles and have a consistent pattern of movement. The shift happens when Mr. Miyagi shows him how it has formed several basic defense strategies for fighting. As it all comes together, it suddenly becomes clear that he is using simple tasks to teach more significant lessons. 

This way of teaching can be used in several disciplines, including spiritual ones.

In discipleship, one of the things I am trying to accomplish with a person is developing daily habits. Going through a book with daily readings forces people to set aside time every day to do spiritual reading. Having a one-year Bible reading group pushes people to read their Bible daily or at least weekly.

I hope that people will not only complete a book or read the Bible one time; it is that they will develop a habit that will stick with them for years to come. The point is not always the task but the mindset and “muscle memory” that is created in the process.

When growing disciples, this pastor uses a little of Mr. Miyagi’s technique. So don’t be disappointed if you do not instantly grow as a believer. Sometimes, your basic movements need to be mastered in order for you to take the next step.  

It happens weekly. I am preaching, and something happens that is a distraction. They come in all forms. Some weeks, it is a cell phone, while other weeks, it is someone going to the bathroom, a child crying, a loud noise, someone walking around, or a hundred different things. In over thirty years of preaching, I think I have seen almost everything while trying to deliver a sermon.

In some senses, it doesn’t usually bother me. I am focused on what I am going to say, and I will be able to get the words out. What bothers me is how it impacts other people. I can watch from the stage as all the eyes look in one direction. The heads will all swivel, and at that moment, I know that no one is hearing what I say. It could be the most valuable piece of information, but it has little impact while everyone is watching little Johnny crying while he dumps his candy on the floor.

What I have come to believe is that our enemy, the devil, will try to use any means necessary to keep the word of the Lord from impacting lives. In fact, in Mark’s account of Jesus’ parable of the soils, he says, “Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.” (Mark 4:15)

Lately, I am starting to approach distractions with less disdain and more prayer. Evil wants to use everything, including Johnny’s candy, to snatch the word of the Lord from people’s lives. Now, each week, in my prayers, I include the worship team and the people running the projection system, but I am also asking God to eliminate distractions from the crowd.

I think any public speaker will tell you how they hate distractions, but instead of complaining, I am using it as an opportunity to pray. I hope you will join me.

Then what happens? What happens after we have confessed our faith, repented of our sins, and been baptized into Jesus? What then?

I explain it by using marriage as an analogy. A wedding is vastly different than a marriage. A wedding is an event. Marriage is a process of becoming one. 

Unfortunately, just like marriage, too many people are focused on the big event and not the long-term commitment.

One pastor friend used to take out a paper calendar. He would tell people, “If you decide to follow Jesus, please understand that impacts every day after. It will impact where you go to college, who you will date, which job you take and where, who you marry, what you will do for fun, and what you will do every Sunday for the rest of your life.”

Following Jesus is more than saying you would like him to save you from your sins. It is daily waking up and saying that you are going to live for him. He is both Savior and Lord.