Once, around 10 years ago, I was giving the announcements on a Sunday morning. At the end of it I mentioned the Sunday evening service, and said something along the lines of "visitors are welcome, members are expected." Afterward, one of the elders came up to me and jumped all over me for that. "You shouldn't say that people are expected to come back on Sunday night. It will just drive more people away." That elder would also not be in attendance on Sunday nights from time to time, so maybe I stepped on a nerve. It struck me as an odd way to lead. "We are having this service, and it would be beneficial to people, but we should not say that we expect people to be there."
Jack, you nailed it. Thank you for this article. The church is a spiritual entity. It isn't a business. Too many elders apply a business model to shepherding, and if there is little to no spiritual growth in the church, the preacher is usually blamed and often gets axed. No one ever criticizes an eldership for low spiritual growth. Some preachers have an annual review. What would be wrong with an annual shepherding performance review of an eldership?
Once, around 10 years ago, I was giving the announcements on a Sunday morning. At the end of it I mentioned the Sunday evening service, and said something along the lines of "visitors are welcome, members are expected." Afterward, one of the elders came up to me and jumped all over me for that. "You shouldn't say that people are expected to come back on Sunday night. It will just drive more people away." That elder would also not be in attendance on Sunday nights from time to time, so maybe I stepped on a nerve. It struck me as an odd way to lead. "We are having this service, and it would be beneficial to people, but we should not say that we expect people to be there."
Jack, you nailed it. Thank you for this article. The church is a spiritual entity. It isn't a business. Too many elders apply a business model to shepherding, and if there is little to no spiritual growth in the church, the preacher is usually blamed and often gets axed. No one ever criticizes an eldership for low spiritual growth. Some preachers have an annual review. What would be wrong with an annual shepherding performance review of an eldership?
Great article Jack. Thank you for calling attention to this. How can we as members help our leadership step up to do the job they were entrusted with?