I ran across an article on Seth Godin’s blog titled “disaster tolerance” which had two profound statements: 1) Not all disasters can be avoided and 2) Not all disasters are fatal. As I pondered these nuggets of wisdom, I wondered how it related to ministerial and congregational life. How does it relate to leadership within the church?
Not all disasters can be avoided. From the beginning of the church we have seen disaster strike. Jesus was crucified, followers were brutally murdered, Christians were blamed for acts they did not commit, and churches began to fall apart. We face similar threats today. Over and over we see congregations falling apart and never recovering because they cannot accept the two stated truths in Seth’s blog. Elderships buckle under fear and second-guess the right decisions. We try to avoid ever problem we will ever face when in reality we need to do our job and let God take care of the rest.
Not all disasters are fatal. We have this unhealthy view in todays church that failure is fatal. When something goes wrong, we fear the worst. We don’t dicipline because it could turn out disasterous and could demolish the congregation. We don’t shepherd because we are afraid of any possible negative responses to doing our God-given duty. Ministers don’t lead because they fear the fatal desaster of losing their job for obeying the Word of God (ironic isn’t it?). We have allowed disasters, hard times, and potential failure to cripple us for fear of the churches fatality. However, not all disaster leads to death of a congregation!
What are mistakes we fear will lead to the “fatal blow” in our congregations? How can we overcome our misunderstandings of “disaster” for the benefit of the Kingdom of God? Any other applications we can glean from this concept?
