6. The Internet happened
A decade ago, there were no smartphones, and a meaningful percentage of people were still on dial-up.
No more.
Today, anyone can listen to any preacher or worship leader any time, anywhere, on any device, pretty much for free.
Courtesy of the Internet, the local pastor is not the sole voice in a congregation’s life.
You and I are being compared against people who are often far more talented that we are. And again, that’s not a bad thing. It’s just a thing.
There will always be a role for a local communicator and pastor who knows his or her people and loves them. A powerful role.
But many in your church now have a handful of pastors and leaders they follow. Maybe dozens.
It’s just different.
Why None of This Is Hopeless
So, is it time to lament and console ourselves?
Not at all.
First of all, it’s Jesus’ church, not ours. Jesus has more invested in the future of the church than any of us do.
The church will prevail because it’s His, not ours.
The first step in solving a problem is diagnosing it, and hopefully this helps get us up the field.
As I outlined in this post, great leaders never make excuses. Instead, they study the reasons things are the way they are, and then they make progress.
Where one leader sees obstacles, another sees opportunities.
I encourage you to see all of these as opportunities.
What does that look like? Well …
If you’re relying on the automatic return to church, stop that. Develop a strategy to reach the unreached.
Speak into the gap between what you believe and the culture believes with love, not with judgment.
If you’re seen as irrelevant, develop some common ground and even friendships with people who don’t understand why you do what you do.
If you have a leader crisis, challenge some leaders to leave what they’re doing and serve full-time in church leadership.
If lots of churches are doing what you’re doing and what you’re doing isn’t working for you, change what you’re doing.
Instead of feeling threatened by the Internet, use it. We just completely redesigned our website at Connexus Church to become mobile optimal, added an online campus and made many more changes to reach the unchurched. Everyone who’s not in church is online. Go to them if they haven’t come to you.
That’s what I’m learning these days about some of the challenges facing all church leaders.
I address numerous practical solutions in my book Lasting Impact: 7 Powerful 6 Reasons Ministry Is Harder Than It Used to BeConversations That Will Help Your Church Grow if you want more.
In the meantime, what are you seeing and how are you responding?
