During my last post, I outlined some very different conversations that I had had recently with 3 individuals describing their church and what they thought was important.
In essence, they were detailing their church identity.
The basic premise of this entry is about identity and how we've got to figure out who we are, both as individuals and as organizations (i.
e.
, church).
I believe it is a serious challenge with momentous implications.
So, let's see if we can begin to figure this stuff out.
So, the questions that need answered are: What really matters most about a church's identity? There are many contributing factors that tell folks what is important and that ultimately defines a church's identity.
Probably too many to list in this post.
To name just a few: 1.
Are they fulfilling needs? Is the church there just to serve itself or is it trying to understand the needs of its' community? 2.
Is it a voice in the community? If no one knows about or understands your church, maybe that is not the identity you are attracted to 3.
Like minded individuals? Does your church embrace all forms of people? How about belief systems? Are there some types that are less than welcome for whatever reason? 4.
Does your church deliver an incredible experience? This means different things to different folks.
But are enough folks who come leaving with that feeling? Here are some things that negatively affect a church's identity are: 1.
We think we're all that matters.
As such, there isn't a lot of room for new ideas.
Things are done the same way month after month, year after year.
Have you had the exact same Christmas Service multiple years in a row? Another aspect is that we'd rather be the church on the cover than the church on the corner.
We're too quick to package something that seems to work for other churches vs.
seeing if it is going to meet the needs of the people who might attend.
That begins to makeup our church identity.
2.
We forget about what really matters.
Too many times, we are so focused on being "like that church", that we need to be reminded about who we are and showing up authentically in the community.
As a result, it becomes a slippery slope to go from what really matters to ending up with a church identity that is totally different than was desired.
3.
We would rather deal with smaller matters.
Some folks call it fragmentation.
Others term it disintegration.
No matter.
Just like folks facing foreclosure who refuse to open the delinquent mortgage notices, many churches don't have the fortitude to face themselves in the mirror and be honest about what is important.
We've departmentalized everything, creating turf wars and competing agendas.
Somewhere in our quest to delegate, we have lost our cohesiveness.
In the interim, the church's identity gets lost in the shuffle.
4.
We can't agree on what really matters.
Whether your church is struggling for their identity or knows what it is and just can't seemingly carry it out, oftentimes the reason for that is there is not a consensus of what it should be.
This usually comes when one leader decides what identity the church needs or is going to have and doesn't bother to find out what everyone else thinks.
The result of that action is that there isn't buy in and just like my conversation with Sheryl in my previous article, you have the "25 players/25 cabs" approach to church identity.
Does a church's identity have an effect on not only how they are perceived in the community, but on their ability to grow and sustain themselves? There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that a church's identity has an impact on the successfulness of that church.
And just like you don't think that problems/challenges your church has encountered have leaked out to the congregation, don't believe for a moment that people outside the church don't have some sort of idea of what your church is about.
Every church has an identity.
It is up to the leadership and the church community to determine what they want that identity to be.
The good part is that you can change it if you aren't happy with your current situation.
But, just like you didn't develop that identity in a week or a month, don't think you are going to instantly change people's thoughts about your church by writing one article or attending one inter-denominational meeting in your community.
As I tell people all the time, "Your continued track record is going to tell the world what your church is about.
Be steady, Be consistent.
I can't tell you when the perception will change.
But it will" Does a church need a unique identity to not only survive, but thrive in today's environment? I see a lot of churches trying to emulate other (usually more successful) churches in their pursuit to grow.
I am not saying that is a bad thing if you are willing to do what the successful churches have done.
Typically, this will entail getting buy in from the church community, putting procedures into place and then following through with all oars pulling in the same direction (aye, there's the rub).
Usually, most people, never mind churches only go so far and think "that is good enough".
And then they wonder why they are not achieving the results they had intended.
Or because of their actions, have made the situation worse rather than better.
I am more of the mind that I don't think any church should be "just like" any other church.
If that were the case, why not just have one big church to serve everyone? I think we would all agree that is not likely.
There is always going to be some differences between churches.
Yes, even those churches that have the same doctrine have their own uniqueness about them.
And like Martha Stewart would say...
"That's a good thing" In summary...
It is from our uniqueness (for good or bad) that your church identity grows.
What needs are you fulfilling? How tolerant are your beliefs? How are you accepted into that church's community? Those are just some of the things that make your church unique! This might be a good time for you to sit down and ask yourself...
What makes my church different? And then follow up with...
"Is that a good thing?" While it is fine to take on some of the better qualities that some other churches have, I don't think any church should be just like another church.
There should be an understanding that we are all unique in our identities as human beings.
Churches should be no less different.