A Turning Point in our Journey

Critical Questions

Today we're going to wrestle with some of the issues that have prevented us from being as effective as we would like to be.  Fundamentally we're going to ask these questions:

• Where Are We?
• Where Do We Want To Be?
• What Do We Have To Do To Get There?

I've been a part of the COTA family for six weeks now and I am grateful for the warm welcome Charlene and I have received.  I've spent many, many hours listening to a wide variety of people share their thoughts about the church and I'd like to share my summation of these observations.

I approached my meetings with everyone by asking them to consider five questions:

1. What are the basic values of COTA that we should be sure to preserve and why?
2. What are the top three practices we need to change and why?
3. What do you most hope I do?
4. What are the greatest obstacles I will face?
5. What would you do first if you were me?  What advice do you have for me?   

Remarkably, there was an amazing unanimity to the answers to the first question.  Almost everyone said that the values we needed to retain were:

1. Great Bible teaching from Dr. Youssef
2. Solid theological stance
3. A history that affirms God’s work among us
4. Global impact - LTW
5. Tremendous resources, facilities, location

My Impressions

I'd like to share my impressions based on six week's worth of meetings.

1. First, it's obvious that God has blessed us abundantly.  The church I've served most recently is 157 years old and has accomplished much for Christ's kingdom.  What has been accomplished at Apostles in only 25 years is evidence of God's work among you.
2. Second, I believe that all the right puzzle pieces are in place.  In terms of personnel, facilities and resources, we have everything we need to be successful.
3. Third, I am impressed that we have a highly capable and deeply committed staff.  That commitment to the Lord and to Apostles is evident by the way you have "stuck with it" during a very difficult season of decline and frustration.

So as I approach the task of executive ministry pastor to define and diagnose the issues that are limiting our effectiveness, I recognize the danger of erring to one extreme or the other.

 
On one hand, there's the danger illustrated by "the boy who cried 'wolf!'"  He made a lot of noise and got a lot of attention when there was no real danger to be concerned about.

On the other hand I could be like Paul Revere who mounted his steed and went charging through the streets of Boston shouting his alarm.

I hope that I won't come across as unnecessarily alarmist by the content or tone of my observations, but out of respect for your commitment to Christ and the profound eternal significance of the work we are called to do, I'm also not going to soft pedal the issues.

Early in the 20th century, the editors of the London Times became increasingly alarmed about what they saw as a decline in society.  They contacted a number of respected journalists, academicians, philosophers and clergy to get their response to the question, "What's wrong with the world."

The philosopher and writer G. K. Chesterton is said to have offered a simple and profound reply to their question:

Dear Sir,
In regards to your question, “What’s wrong with the world,” I am.

Yours, G.K. Chesterton

I believe that our success in resolving these issues and moving forward into a new season of fulfillment and effectiveness hinges on each of us personally adopting Chesterton's understanding of the problem.

Our Options

So we have several options before us that are worth considering.

First, we can simply do nothing.  We can maintain the status quo.  To be honest, no one I've talked to cares for this option, but it should be mentioned because it is certainly the easiest alternative before us.

Secondly, we could simply try harder.  There's a popular cliche about doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, but I won't mention that here.  Frankly, after spending time with many of you I don't think there's anyone who really could try any harder.  Your commitment is not the issue.

Third, we could reorganize.  I've seen many organizational inefficiencies that need to be addressed, but none of these will actually get to the root issues.

Rather, I suggest that the best course of action requires us to be honest and face the spiritual realities.  The best course of action requires us to claim God’s promise found in 2 Chronicles 7:14,

“If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”  

A Spiritual Clean Slate

Before we move forward to reorganize and cast a vision for the future, I think we need to start with a spiritual clean slate.  As I've said many times already (and you'll soon tire of hearing me say),

"We are a spiritual organization with a spiritual product. To a great degree our effectiveness is determined by our own personal spiritual vitality."

My intention is that by our next meeting on Wednesday, September 24 we will bring a close to all of the issues named below and that we will turn the page to a fresh, new chapter in the history of The Church of The Apostles.  I'm not foolish enough to believe that simply writing a blog and holding an issue will resolve these issues, but there has got to be a point that we can all look back to together and say, "That was the turning point.  That was the day we decided 'enough is enough' and we determined to change the way we are treating each other."

The Elephant in the Room

So let’s put a name to our obstacles and put them behind us.  The issues I'm listing here for us to deal with will not be a surprise to anyone.  They are the issues you have told me about for the last six weeks.  These are the things we need to bring to an end:

1. Frustration over lack of teamwork.  I've learned that many of you are actually pretty good at developing teams.  You coordinate the work of many volunteers in an effective way, but this increases your personal frustration because you have not had the opportunity to serve on a team yourself.  Many of you have previous experience at ministries that did function with teamwork and you know what could be accomplished if we did the same.
2. Disunity between ministry departments.  We are theologically aligned -- that is, we all believe the same things about the scripture -- but we are not philosophically aligned.  There is not a unifying strategy to ministry around which we can all rally.  This lack of strategic unity has developed into a real, discernible disunity between various ministry departments.  This must come to an end.
3. Personal insecurity/fear resulting from staff turnover.  Unfortunately we have lost a significant number of staff due to attrition and dismissal over the last few years.  Out of respect for the employee, it is not always possible for senior leadership to share with the staff all the factors that led to the person's departure, but these changes have caused many people to lose close friendships and become fearful that they might also lose their jobs. 
4. Hurtful words that have been spoken.  There are cases where people on staff have spoken critical and unkind words about someone else on staff.  I'm not aware of any cases where this has happened directly to the other person, rather (and perhaps even more destructively) the critical comments were shared with a third party.  
5. Finger-pointing to explain attendance decline. Let's face it, the church has been in decline for several years.  I've been told that there was a time when we approached 2800 in worship attendance, but we are no where near that number now.  Many families have left; in some cases families who were a part of COTA from the start.  This is obviously very troubling and painful for everyone, but the problem has been exacerbated by finger-pointing between departments as to who is to blame for the decline.  Please review Chesterton's quote above.
6. Lack of mutual support between departments.  I have heard of numerous instances where individuals have given audience to complaints about other people and departments.  Not only does this give legitimacy to the complaint (whether it is valid or not), but it also drives a wedge of disunity between people and departments.  This practice is unbiblical and must cease immediately.  If someone approaches me with a complaint about you, I will immediately do one of two things: either I will stop the person and tell them that they need to talk to you directly about their concerns or (more often) I will offer to come to you with them immediately to discuss their issues.  Rarely will someone agree to speak directly to the person who can really address their concerns.  We must stop disrespecting each other in this way and allowing disunity to grow.  
7. Unreconciled offenses.  There are many cases where offenses have been incurred in the past but have gone for many months or years unreconciled.  It may be that the offender does not even know what they have done to cause hurt.  In some cases, in time hurt has become bitterness and festered into resentment.  It will take a deep level of courage to address these issues, but this must be done.  In 1 John 4, John writes, "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."  We cannot truly say that we love one another as long as fear keeps us from resolving our unreconciled offenses. 
8. Lack of honesty.  Fear of confrontation.  Broken trust.  If I fear you, I cannot trust you.  If I cannot trust you, I cannot be honest with you.  We must work to restore the relationships where honesty and open dialog is impossible by returning to a deep, sincere love for one another. This will require repentance and forgiveness.  
9. Retreat to the safety of personal and organizational silos.  Silos are terrible places.  They are incredibly lonely, but they are also very safe.  We have retreated into our own personal silos because it's the safest place to get our job done.  We pass in the hallway and smile and occasionally have lunch together after the monthly Staff Chapel, but there's not any real koinonia, the spiritual glue that holds us together and makes the Christian life enjoyable. 

We have crossed the tipping point defined by "the benefit of the doubt."  By this I mean when things are going well and we are experiencing healthy relationships with one another, if I do or say something that could be interpreted as either innocent/playful or malicious/hurtful, you will give me the benefit of the doubt and assume that I meant nothing unkind.  However, when a group of people allow offenses to go unresolved and become internalized over a long period of time, they presume malicious intent from anything they hear.  This becomes justification for the resentment they are harboring and the bitterness calcifies within their heart.  This is a sad and dangerous place for any organization to be, particularly a family of believers and follower of Jesus Christ.

How Do We Move On?

Alright, enough of that.  No one wants to stay mired in this pit; everyone wants to move on to a place where we are personally fulfilled and as a group spiritually and organizationally unified.  Imagine working in a place where there is an overabundance of the fruit of the spirit.  You would wake up each morning with an urgency to get to work if you knew you were going to be met by a flood of...

Love          Joy          Peace          Patience          Kindness          Goodness
Faithfulness          Gentleness          Self-control

As with every other area in the Christian life, the gospel provides a template for the way we can approach our need for reconciliation and spiritual renewal.

The left column outlines the shape of the gospel, the story that we all know and love so well.  The gospel is a life-changing story, not only in regards to our eternal salvation but also in every other area of life.  The right column indicates how we can apply the gospel template to our relationships.

Next Steps

There are several important steps we can each take immediately to begin the process of restoring spiritual health to our staff.

1. First, let's each allow the Holy Spirit to examine our hearts.  
2. Secondly, many will realize that they need to seek forgiveness and reconciliation with one another.  Some will need to be courageous enough to offer forgiveness even when it is not yet being sought.  I don't believe there will ever be a case when you will approach someone to resolve your difference and be met with coldness or resistance.  Jesus said, "If you come to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift at the altar, first go and be reconciled to your brother and then return to offer your gift."  The work that we do as believers and church employees is a daily offering.  I would suggest that we take Jesus' words seriously.  We should not return to our work until we have resolved our differences.  
3. Pray for each other throughout this week.  Since joining the staff six weeks ago, I have used the time of the morning and evening commute to pray for each of you.  Mentally, I begin outside Zack's office (I begin with Zack because with a name that begins with "z" this guy has probably always been last in line for everything for his entire life!) and walk through the hallways, pausing at each door to pray for each of you.  Your prayer card follows that pattern.  I have extra copies of the prayer card on my desk.  If you were unable to attend the meeting on Thursday, please stop by and pick one up.  Keep it with you throughout the next week and pray sincerely and earnestly for each other.  Please bring the prayer card to next week’s meetings.  We are going to meet for prayer -- anyone who's available at the time -- from 8:30-8:45 a.m. on Monday and Tuesday, September 22-23.
4. Come and talk to me; let’s pray together.  I want to hear what the Spirit is saying to you.  Regarding the past offenses that have created this disunity, I haven't been here long enough to know who is right and who is wrong; at this point that doesn't matter any more.  If you want me to go with you as you approach another person on staff, I would be happy to do so.

As I said earlier, it is my intention that by the time we get to our next meeting on Wednesday, September 24 at 11:00 a.m., we will have brought this time of decline and disunity to an end. That will only happen if we each do the spiritual work we need to do.  Our gathering next Wednesday will be a time of worship and rededication.  We will share the Lord's Supper together and then gather to share lunch together.

Let’s prayerfully anticipate a joyful harvest.  What might God choose to do if we embrace this opportunity for spiritual renewal?