It used to be that great preaching and great music grew a church.
Now it’s more like the cost of doing business.
Bad preaching and bad music can kill a church, but great preaching and great music don’t automatically generate church growth.
Something more fundamental is shifting. And it’s not all bad. In fact, it could be the rebirth of the church based on God’s movement and activity.
Cool church is dying (here’s why) and something else is connecting with young adults in its place (I wrote about that here).
6. Your Church Members Follow a Dozen Ministry Leaders Who Are Not You
Go back to 40 years ago. Chances are the only pastor a church member knew was the pastor at their local church or their neighborhood church or someone they heard on TV or radio.
Even in the ’90s and early 2000s, as culture changed, to ‘follow’ another preacher meant ordering their cassettes or CDs or tracking them in a very limited way in the early days of the Internet.
Contrast that to today, when many Christians actively listen to, read and follow more than a few other ministry leaders, subscribing to their podcast, reading their blogs and otherwise tracking with their church.
Insecure pastors might struggle with this.
But if you can get over your insecurity, it’s not a bad thing.
Secure leaders don’t compete with other church leaders, they complement them. Most of us may never preach like some of the top leaders out there. That’s OK.
