"Leading Ideas: So That: Two Powerful Words for Mission Results | Does Your Church Have Barking Dogs?" from Lewis Center for Church Leadership from The Wesley Theological Seminary of Washington, D.C., United States for Wednesday, November 16, 2016
So That: Two Powerful Words for Mission Results by Lovett H. Weems, Jr.
Lovett H. Weems, Jr., says that churches often invest a great deal of energy in activities without ever asking how they relate to what God is calling the church to accomplish. He says that one of the simplest ways a congregation can stay focused on the ends it seeks to achieve, rather than becoming preoccupied with the means, is to formulate a "so that" statement.
A new church sees the possibility of reaching more people for Christ by constructing a new church building. Members of the congregation begin to make plans and project costs. From that moment, what had previously been a focus on the purpose of the new building now becomes a discussion almost exclusively about whether to build, the cost of the project, interest rates, and a host of other legitimate issues. How did it happen that the building receives 90 percent of the attention when the church set out to reach more people for Christ?
We can easily become so preoccupied with what we are doing that we lose sight of why we are doing it. In the case of the church constructing a new building, they lost sight of the fact that they must have more space to fulfill the mission of reaching more people for Christ.
Using the two important words “so that” has the power to change the way leaders work with their congregations so that everything that God’s people do is shaped toward mission and results in fruitfulness.
One simple way a congregation can stay focused on the ends it seeks to achieve, not just the means of achieving those ends, is by formulating a clear “so that” statement:
We will do X so that Y occurs.
These two simple words can help assure that everything a church attempts will begin with a concern for the fruit of the proposed effort.
We Will Have Vacation Church School So That …
While this approach sounds simple, it’s often harder than you think to articulate the “so that” of a given ministry. Leading a workshop for a group of church leaders, I once gave a seemingly simple assignment. I invited participants to complete the sentence: “Next summer our church will have a vacation church school so that …”
They began working. Soon I could sense a level of struggle I had not anticipated. To break the logjam, I asked a few to share what they had done. The first volunteer reported: “Next summer our church will have a VCS so that the children of our church will experience a VCS.” The second example offered was: “Next summer our church will have a VCS so that children will experience church as fun.” My first thought was: I’m not sure you need curriculum for that. They next worked in small groups, but most of the group offerings were not appreciably different from the early individual ones. After a time, however, there was one that captured well the purpose of the exercise:
Next summer our church will have a VCS so that the children of our church will come to know and love God more and we will reach children in the community with God’s love whom we have not reached before.
For a moment, imagine that we did not have this “so that” statement. We simply knew we were going to have a VCS next summer just as we do every summer. You likely would begin by addressing a series of tasks: setting a date, selecting curriculum, recruiting teachers, recruiting other volunteers for refreshments and activities, and so forth. Then you would conduct the VCS and follow up with the concluding details. Perhaps you would be invited to the church council to report on the VCS, and the group would express thanks to you and say they heard it was one of the best VCSs in recent years.
But now imagine a different scenario. This time the church has invested the time to discern the “so that” statement offered above. Now, everything you might have done before needs rethinking. The “so that” will shape all decisions. For example, some of the people you would have invited to teach previously may no longer be the best choices given what this “so that” would require them to do. And think about how other decisions may be altered based on this particular “so that.” It may determine whether the VCS should be in the daytime or evening, whether a fee can be charged or not, what curriculum you will choose, whom you must recruit as volunteers, where you will place the publicity, and whether the publicity will need to be in one language or multiple languages.
In other words, the task is no longer to hold a VCS; it is now to ensure that “the children of our church come to know and love God more and to reach children in the community with God’s love whom we have not reached before.”
Focusing on Outcomes Not Activities
What else do churches do each week without any effort to name the changes we are seeking through those ministries? We might ask, “Do we have a choir?” But we do not ask, “Is our choir accomplishing the outcome for which the choir exists?” We might ask, “Did we have ushers last Sunday?” But we are not asking, “Did the ushers last Sunday do their work in such a way as to produce the outcomes for which the usher ministry exists?”
We often spend much effort on activities without clarity concerning what God is calling us to accomplish through those activities. The activities were never intended to be ends in themselves, but that is what they tend to become. Using the two important words “so that” has the power to change the way leaders work with their congregations so that everything that God’s people do is shaped toward mission and results in fruitfulness.
This article is adapted from Bearing Fruit: Ministry with Real Results (Abingdon Press, 2010) by Lovett H. Weems, Jr., and Tom Berlin. Used by permission. The book is available through Cokesbury and Amazon.
Related Resources:
- Do Your Church Events Serve a Healthy Purpose? by Tony Morgan
- Launching Sustainable Ministries by Ann A. Michel
- Bearing Fruit: Ministry with Real Results by Lovett H. Weems, Jr., and Tom Berlin
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Does Your Church Have Barking Dogs? by Lee Kricher
Lee Kricher, pastor of Amplify Church in Pittsburgh, says every church has things that distract members and visitors from the church's mission. He writes that churches sometimes need to eliminate things -- even good things -- to be able to focus limited time and energy on the most important things.
Several years ago, I met an elderly pastor of a storefront church with about a dozen members. After talking with him, I soon understood at least one reason why his church never grew much larger. He told me that he would take his dog with him to church every week, and the dog would lie down in front of the podium and frequently bark during the service. The regular attendees got used to having the pastor’s beloved pet in church, but a visitor mentioned to him that the barking dog was a distraction. The pastor told me that he responded, “My dog is my best friend, and he stays even if that means you don’t.”
Most churches have their share of barking dogs — things that distract members and visitors from the church’s mission. Dealing with the barking dogs of your church is touchy business because dogs are beloved creatures, part of the family. Most of us have become so accustomed to the barking dogs that we don’t even notice their presence; but as soon as someone suggests getting rid of them, we grow upset or angry.
You may need to eliminate some good things because they are competing with and distracting you from the best things for your limited time, resources, and energy.
We all know that there are times in our lives when we need to eliminate good things — even things that we like — from our schedules so that we can focus our time and energy on the most important things. The same principle is true for churches. Time, energy, and resources that we invest into unnecessary programs or ministries are time, energy, and resources that cannot be invested in the things that will directly fulfill God’s vision for our church and have an impact on our ability to reach the next generation. To use an analogy, think of your church as a hot-air balloon. Some programs, ministries, and practices are like bags of sand that will have to be jettisoned if you are ever going to soar.
Because someone champions, nurtures, or defends them, some church program and ministries continue to exist long after they should have ended. These guardians come by their love honestly. The program they champion may have once had a positive impact, and it may still be having some positive impact. But we need to exercise wisdom and discernment regarding when our church programs and ministries have run their course.
What about your church? Chances are you have programs, ministries, and practices that should be eliminated. They are not bad things. They exist because they have accomplished or are accomplishing some good. But you may need to eliminate some good things because they are competing with and distracting you from the best things for your limited time, resources, and energy.
The writer of Hebrews speaks wisely about laying aside distractions: “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1). We can understand how sinful things can be a distraction — sin entangles us and keeps us from running the race that God has marked out for us. But discerning when good things have become a distraction is far more difficult.
While we cannot eliminate every distraction or barrier or “barking dog,” we can try to reduce them and limit their impact.
Taken from For a New Generation by Lee Kricher. Copyright © 2016 by Lee D. Kricher. Used by permission of Zondervan (zondervan.com).
Related Resources:
- So That: Two Powerful Words for Mission Results by Lovett H. Weems, Jr.
- To the Point: How Do New People See Your Church?, a free resource from the Lewis Center
- Bearing Fruit: Ministry with Real Results by Lovett H. Weems, Jr., and Tom Berlin
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The Right Question
Leaders do not need answers. Leaders must have the right questions.
The future is always uncertain. We do not know what lies ahead, and no one can guarantee what tomorrow holds for us or our churches. But there are questions that leaders can use to help think about the future and not just worry about it. Here are questions suggested by someone who helps leaders do that thinking about the future:
- In a world filled with uncertainty, what are you certain about?
- What problems are you about to have and how can you solve them before they happen?
- What actions should you take now to have a better future?
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Read "Leading Ideas to Reach Young Adults"
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Learn more now.
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Quotable Leadership:
Always make new mistakes.[Esther Dyson]
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How Do New People See Your Church?
The Lewis Center asked church members in several states to attend nearby churches as visitors and report on their findings. Many reflect the difficulty churches have in viewing things from the perspective of persons new to their church. The challenge is to think of everything from arrival to departure from the perspective of someone who has never been to your church before. Read "To the Point: How Do New People See Your Church?" for tips on signage, hospitality, bulletins, and more.
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Free Lewis Center ebook for "Leading Ideas" subscribers
Lovett Weems lewiscenter@wesleyseminary.edu via churchleadership.ccsend.com
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Because you are a Leading Ideas subscriber, we invite you to download a gift of the PDF ebook 50 Quotations for Fruitful Leaders, 2016 Edition as a token of thanks. We trust that the words of insight and inspiration it contains will bring help and hope to you and those with whom you work so that together you will bear much fruit.
With appreciation,
Lovett H. Weems, Jr.
Director, Lewis Center for Church Leadership
Wesley Theological Seminary
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Editors: Dr. Ann A. Michel and Dr. Lovett H. Weems, Jr.
Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary
Connect with the Lewis Center:
Lewis Center for Church Leadership
Wesley Theological Seminary
4500 Massachusetts Avenue NorthWest
Washington, D.C. 20016, United States
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