Podcast Episode #228
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Discussion about few causes of negativity in the church and how pastors can help deal with negativity and even stop it from happening on the front end.
Some highlights from today’s episode include:
- Every church will go through a challenge or lull. The question is “how long will you stay in it?”
- Any time there is negativity, there is the possibility of it snowballing.
- To fix an issue without a needed apology is not fixing an issue at all.
- Be careful about having a perpetual naysayer in an outwardly-focused ministry.
- Those who are rowing the boat are less likely to be the ones rocking the boat.
- Transparency and truthfulness from church leadership are absolutely necessary for a healthy church culture.
- Some of the most significant failures take place because people are unwilling to face the facts.
- Even in the greatest negativity of the Old Testament, it’s still pointing to the greatest hope to come: the incarnate Christ.
The seven ways to address negativity in the church are:
- Apologize.
- Turn more outwardly focused.
- Get the naysayers involved.
- Be transparent and truthful.
- Bring together a coalitions.
- Willingness to face the brutal facts.
- Preach, teach, and speak about biblical hope.
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Feedback
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“Transparency and truthfulness from church leadership are absolutely necessary for a healthy church culture.” This is the best suggestion. Wagon-circling and secrecy are not good things in a church. Please be honest. If the pastor is asked why (s)he doesn’t teach any other Sunday school class but that of the elderly ladies and provides some PC reason, this is not good. The honest reason might be that some of the elderly ladies got the pastor teaching their Sunday school class in exchange for their votes/support for (or dropping opposition to) something else, even many years earlier. The people involved in this agreement may be long dead but the agreement remains. It is one reason why the younger people openly question if the pastor can actually teach the faith. Many have never seen it.
My suggestion is to periodically have a open congregational meeting where the facts are presented and then take questions and hear concerns. Leadership needs to talk and come out of the shadows. I attended the same church for 15 years (and one for 5 years) and never saw a congregational meeting occur once. I also never knew when the elders meetings were going to occur or the agenda or the minutes. I have never understood why every other organization has periodic open meetings but churches never have them.
Also, please let the pastor rotate through the really tough Sunday school classes for a few months and advertise it.
# 1, #4, #6 u wood think !
Listen to the perpetual naysayer who says that the church is not involved in outwardly-focused ministry. If that is what the person is constantly complaining about, you need to look to see if they are right. It is easy to lose that outward focus when so many members are inwardly-focused.
Yes……as a naysayer of this exact description I feel relieved that this was said. I was met by resistance because the past practice consists of thinking it won’t work and is a waste of money. I feel exhausted and despondent. Reading Autopsy of a Dead Church confirmed my thoughts.