3. Don’t ignore the Problem.
In all churches this is true but particularly in older well established congregations it is easy to be tempted to ignore a problem. A subtle smell in that antique house, which I constantly ignored and my wife constantly complained about, turned out to be a basement sewage leak. A faithful church member and friend told me about it nearly a year after we left.
My wife and I were almost constantly battling some sickness the entire time we lived in that house. Even though we had painted every room, re-carpeted the entire house, and generally made the home livable, even attractive on the surface, my lack of willingness to deal with the problem could have caused even more problems than it did.
In well established churches we often ignore problems either because they have been present so long that we aren’t sure how to fix them or because the personalities associated with them have been present so long that we are sure that we cannot fix them. That’s not good enough. Church leaders of ecclesial renovation projects will cause greater damage to their cause and the mission of the church that God has called them to transform if they ignore problems instead of facing them directly with compassion and truth in their leadership tool belts.
Church leadership isn’t easy and church renovation has its own unique challenges that church planters in the innovation business face far less often. However, if church renovators will perform maintenance, get the help they need, and face problems with honesty and integrity, the joy of serving revitalized and revitalizing congregations cannot be matched by any innovation.
4. Keep it in Perspective
For a few years prior to my arrival at church that old parsonage had become housing for men in life transition. The residents were at various stages in life recovery programs and at some point a pay phone was installed in the then lobby of the resident facility. That lobby later became my front entry way upon accepting the pastorate and moving into the parsonage.
I called the phone company every week for more than three months asking for the pay phone to be removed. I grew so weary of being ignored that the removal of that pay phone became a mild obsession. Every time I walked past that pay phone its presence became more and more of an irritant. That pay phone seemed to be mocking me. Every time I walked past it my irritation level rose, driving my normally low blood pressure into the stratosphere. When I had finally had enough, I called the phone company and informed then that I had a circular saw in my hand and that if someone did not arrive within the week I would be employing that saw to remove the pay phone myself. A technician removed the phone the next day.
That pay phone was annoying. It is even true that I was receiving rather poor customer service. However, it was just a pay phone. The house was huge and the pay phone wasn’t even in the way at all. In fact, I had a large piece of furniture nearby that camouflaged its presence. In that community I routinely helped homeless people with food and other necessities. Then I went home and became annoyed at what was by contrast, a minor imperfection in my home.
Church leaders must keep things in perspective. It is terribly easy to become angry when an unreasonable church member insults another church member with poorly chosen words, when you know that the wounded person is going through a personal battle in their life.
Every problem that arises has a potential for some kind of blessing. It may be an opportunity for growth, for healthy change in the church, or just an occasion for practicing and increasing in Christ like character. Some problems don’t even deserve attention while others may need to be prioritized behind more pressing matters. Church leaders who keep things in perspective will be able to differentiate between actual crisis which are rare, legitimate problems that deserve careful attention, and minor annoyances that can easily wait.
Church renovators must perform routine maintenance, get help when they need it, don’t ignore problems, and keep things in perspective. Renovation projects are potentially tiring, even exhausting, but when it comes to ecclesial renovation there is no end to the possibilities that God can bring out of renewed focus in the local Church. It is His chosen instrument for transforming the lives and putting the worth of Christ on display.
