Comments on: 11 of the Most Common Mistakes Churches Make

By: PaulSteinbrueck

PaulSteinbrueck — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 02:21:11 +0000

In reply to Dr. R. C. Leonard. That's a good point. Music is by it's nature cultural, so it helps to worship in the musical style that is engaging and familiar to the culture and demographics of the area.

By: PaulSteinbrueck

PaulSteinbrueck — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 02:19:31 +0000

In reply to Hierofalcon. I agree with much of what you've written, but I also think Jesus loved and accepted people as they were and He cared enough to go into the world and speak with the language and concepts people could understand. I wish more Christians and church leaders were more like Jesus online.

By: Dr. R. C. Leonard

Dr. R. C. Leonard — Sat, 20 Dec 2014 02:54:29 +0000

Of course, the most common mistake is to fail to be the church — as described on the pages of the New Testament — but to be just a religious club. But I won't go into the theological details of that. I believe a common mistake is to ignore the demographics of your community. If your community is long on retirees and short on millennials, for example (as is the case with churches in many smaller, semi-rural communities) it's a mistake to try to go "contemporary" or "seeker-oriented." Staying "traditional" will create a more satisfying worship experience for the constituency you have. And, remember, the percentage of senior citizens in the population is growing, so a church that appeals to older people can grow — whereas if you try to appeal to younger people in a community where seniors are a predominant and influential group, you may lose even some of the people you have.

By: Hierofalcon

Hierofalcon — Fri, 19 Dec 2014 23:20:00 +0000

All of the items he mentioned can be problems at churches. But these are really minor things.

If you read Christ's condemnations of particular churches in Rev. 2 and 3, none of these things matter. The major problems that churches have today are not much different than then. Too many tolerate sin. Too many allow and promote leaders who sin. Too many do not let the Holy Spirit work in their midst. Too many have left their first love (Christ). If you can't see a difference between the church and the world, there is a problem.

Maybe it's just been a long week and I'm in a particularly negative mood, but if you look at Christ's ministry when He was around and look at the typical church's ministry today – would He recognize it?

If we got those big things fixed, we wouldn't have to worry about the little things like parking and visitors wouldn't care if they had to stand.