“It is helpful to understand why churches resist change. I want to look at some of the things that lead to crisis, understanding that if the signs are recognized early enough, it may not come to drastic measures.”

Leading a church into revitalization is a daunting task. It takes much prayer, grace, and strength. Churches that need revitalization have often drifted into a place of complacency. The change they need often comes about because of a cathartic moment.

Desperation is quite the motivator. The pastor who leads a church into renewal is doing a great service for the kingdom of God. But it is helpful to understand why churches resist change. I want to look at some of the things that lead to crisis, understanding that if the signs are recognized early enough, it may not come to drastic measures.

First, self-focus.

I’ve said many times that the church is God’s mission to the world. So a lot of time is spent making sure the church is what it should be. A large portion of the New Testament is Paul focusing on how churches and leaders should operate internally and outwardly. There is nothing wrong with self-awareness and examination. We need to take care of family, right?

But because we are human, we have a tendency to create environments to fit our comforts. This happens to individuals, to leaders, and to churches. We do things the way we like them. Eventually, when we do this long enough, we conflate what we like with what God demands.

Ultimately, as we find in the Old and New Testaments, this edges God out of the process. Ironically, we may not even recognize it until one day we are about to close the doors. Churches that turn their eyes from Christ and their hearts from the lost will end up with neither.

Certainly the church is a place of sanctuary, worship, and healing. But Christ didn’t establish the church for its own benefit. So when we live to benefit ourselves, we end up losing our purpose and naturally our place.

Second, God’s discipline.

Sometimes, churches don’t grow because they’re experiencing God’s discipline. I really believe that. I believe that God disciplines some churches because there is unrepentant sin, because the leaders are not following Christ, or because there is deep disunity.

God is not going to grow a church that will harm people. Sometimes, we still see rebellious churches grow. But I think ultimately we see God’s discipline. Scripture tells us that God disciplines those he loves. The Bible also tells us that those who become stiff-necked after many reprimands will be shattered.

God is patient with people, but not with sin. An unrepentant church has lost its saltiness, and is of no use to the work of God. There are churches that are closed today because they did not respond properly to the call of God to turn from their rebellion.

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