Decline Is not the Only Option  

John Ortberg | posted 11/04/2009

Nothing defeats the human spirit like stagnation.

I got to play tennis not long ago with a man about my age who used to be one of the top ten players in the world. He's not playing much any more. He plays golf much more. I asked him why.

"Because when it comes to golf I'm getting better, whereas with tennis the best I can do is to deteriorate as slowly as possible."

I thought about how hard it would be to recruit someone with that as a mandate: "Help us deteriorate as slowly as possible." People would rather risk total failure with a start-up in Silicon Valley than slowly steering the Titanic for the iceberg.

"Deteriorate as slowly as possible" is probably that shadow mission for all kinds of churches.

It’s a killer.  I must have a sense of hope that growth is possible. But growth does not begin with external results. It begins with the growth in spirit. Most are not aware of that subtle moment when they have crossed the line from "growing" into "receding."

So here are my candidates for the top diagnostic indicators of a ministry moving into "slow deterioration" mode. You may know of some group (or individual) that needs to do a little self-assessment:

1        Denial. Gary Hamel has a wonderful line, “Every successful organization is successful until it's not.”  If faith fervor cools, or prayer decreases, or community lessens, or volunteerism fades, those of us at the center are sometimes the last to know.  Don’t deny what is happening around you.

2        Loss of motivation. People do not lose motivation simply through age, or challenge, or even repetition. They lose motivation when they lose a sense that they are able to grow. People rarely plan vacations to spend two weeks sitting on the beach at the Dead Sea. Keeping expecting to grow.

3        Fewer signing up to lead.  My nephew is going through training to join the California Highway Patrol.  The ordeal is remarkable. Many do not make it. Those who have enormous commitment.  It's a sense of urgent calling that demands a sacrifice and opportunity to make a difference.  Keep expectations high.

4        Phoning-it-in, or just taking the easy road. Funny how this one gets sensed by everyone around before it gets sensed by the “phon-ee” himself.  Sermons get perfunctory; teams lose morale, planning gets second-rate effort, accountability for results diminishes.  Stay on your game.

5        Cynicism. When other ministries are being effective, instead of producing joy, it creates a sense of envy or a feeling of being threatened.  Rather than learning from success around you, stagnant people will find some pretext for judging and dismissing it.

6        More time is spent looking in the rearview mirror than out the windshield.  More stories get told about how things once were than about what may yet be. Who wants to be in a car with the driver who never watches the road?  Keep looking forward.  

The good news is that t God has plans.  God never aims at deteriorating slowly.

John Ortberg is editor at large of Leadership and pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in Menlo Park, California.