David Murrow, author of Why Men Hate Going to Church and founder of Church for Men, recently blogged about the strength that comes when churches know who they are and work within that framework. For Murrow the importance of such was illustrated when he visited a traditional church that made a poor attempt at offering an occasional contemporary worship service. His sound counsel for all local congregations follows:
. . . be who you are. Do what you do well – and do it over and over. If you want to innovate, do so within the bounds of your culture.
So What?
No church should feel called to do all things equally well or reach all demographics in equal proportion. Instead, each congregation must discern its identity, then seek to ensure that understanding informs all of its many ministries as well as its mission.
Think of your local church/faith community:
- Who are you?
- What do you do better than any other nearby community of faith? (you may have multiple answers!)
- How well do your answers to the first two questions inform the actual ministry and mission of your congregation?