Deacon ministry is facing new challenges as we end the first decade of a new century. Demographic shifts, ethnic & cultural shifts, economic and leadership shifts are birthing challenges many churches and deacons have not encountered before. Concerning ethnic and cultural issues for instance – The December, 07 edition of Outreach Magazine focuses on Hispanics in America. http://outreachmagazine.com/library/features/ND07ftrHispanicsReport.asp How’s the church to respond to these new horizons? Another illustration to consider, according to observation, census records and many of our family structures it is clear that the traditional family structure is changing. Singles and single parent households are over half of most households in America….marriage is taking on new configurations – co-habitation, multi-racial families, starter marriages, same-sex couples and a variety of divorce/remarriage situations will likely continue to grow in number and the challenges they present to deacon ministry and to our churches. This is the world God gives us to work in – He still calls us to reach this world and all it’s challenges. My new book Reaching People Under 40 While Keeping People Over 60 offers some practical tips. Here are some thoughts from chapter 5. (order at our estore HERE. )
Denial or avoidance is not a healthy characteristic of the people of God – so now what’s our next step?
Looking Inward, Looking Outward
If you walk into a church where most of the hair is gray, where the sanctuary is much too large for the congregation, and those who sit in the pews are scattered all over the church, sitting where they have sat for many years, chances are that this church has an inward focus. If you’re looking for a church where the people love and care for one another, this is it. They may even do some good ministries that care for people outside the walls of the church; but somehow they haven’t learned to connect with people in the community—at least not enough to get them to come to church. The worship and Bible study meet the needs of the people in this church. The fellowship inside the church is warm and friendly, and guests who find their way inside the church are welcome, just not sought after or pursued.
In a day when the number of unchurched Americans has increased 92 percent between 1991 and 2004, we are confronted with church values and systems that are designed to be more inwardly focused than outwardly focused. 1 Today if you walk into a church that is vibrant and alive, with people talking with one another in crowded corridors, children filling the halls, and a mix of adults under forty and over sixty, chances are this church has an outward focus. And chances are this church is reaching people and growing.
The difference isn’t just about worship style, though that may be part of it. Eric Swanson and Rick Rusaw, in The Externally Focused Church, suggested four attributes of an externally focused church:
1. Externally focused churches are convinced that good deeds and good news can’t and shouldn’t be separated. Just as it takes two wings to lift an airplane off the ground, so externally focused churches couple good news with good deeds to make an impact in their communities. The good news explains the purpose of the good deeds.
2. They see themselves as vital to the health and well-being of their communities. They believe that their communities, with all of their aspirations and challenges, cannot be truly healthy without the church’s involvement. It is only when the church is mixed into the very life and conversation of the city that it can be an effective force for change.
3. They believe that ministering and serving are the normal expressions of Christian living. Even more, they believe that Christians grow best when they are serving and giving themselves away to others. They are convinced that Christians can learn through good instruction, but they really cannot grow if they remain uninvolved in ministry and service.
4. Externally focused churches are evangelistically effective. People are looking for places of authenticity where the walk matches the talk, where faith is making a difference. These words are carved in stone at the entrance of Vineyard Community Church in Cincinnati: “Small things done with great love will change the world.” 2
What are the consequences if you or your church does not prepare for ministering in times of challenge and cultural change?
©Eddie Hammett – www.transformingsolutions.org or www.ncbaptist.org
