A Second Look
Sometimes it pays to take a second look. Especially when you buy a used car. In my teens I bought a 1970 VW Beetle. It seemed okay at first glance. I had an after school part-time job at a VW dealership. When I showed my mechanic friends what I had bought, they all had a good chuckle. The engine was only running on two cylinders, not four. Perhaps I should have taken one of those mechanics with me when I looked for a car. But I didn't have much time. The car was a dud. I should have taken a second look.
Taking a second look is not only important when buying a used vehicle; it is equally important when considering the health of your church. As part of the GROW strategy, we encourage church leaders to take a second look at their church's health:
> Full time ordained ministers re-evaluate their timetable and responsibilities to free up time (for example, at least one day a fortnight) to review existing initiatives and develop new initiatives inthe local congregations
> Full time ordained ministers take time to rethink ministry and seek further training in areas that would aid the fourfold task.
To do a re-view is do take a second look. A review simply means to look over, study, or examine again. This might include looking back. When you do a review you examine with an eye to criticism or correction. Take a second look. Do a re-view. Re-think. Re-examine. As churches we believe taking a second look is so important that we suggest that pastors of churches should free up at least 8 hours every two weeks to review what they are doing as a church. A whole day every fortnight to examine how their church is advancing the gospel by growing a healthy church, engaging in discipleship, multiplying leaders, and reaching the lost for Christ.
Why is taking a second look so important? Well, as I discovered when I bought my 1970 VW, a quick glance does not show you whether or not your church is running on all cylinders. It might look all good from the outside, but when you take the time to examine with an eye to criticism or correction you begin to notice some things. You go over your membership list and discover that a number of people have drifted away. You look at your statistics and realise that it has been far too long since you have seen a person converted to Christ. You take a second look at your people and you note that many are not part of a small group. Few are involved in a one-to-one discipleship relationship. Little training is given to existing leaders. A number of volunteers are burnt out. After deep re-flection you also realise, in the words of Robin Mark, that "the preacher is preaching when the well is dry."
Most often it helps to get help when you take a second look. We are often blinded to the truth of where things are at, whether personally or as a church. I was grateful to my friend the mechanic who immediately hooked up my 1970 VW to a diagnostic machine which quickly showed us where the problem was. We made some minor adjustments to the engine and it began to run a bit better. We also discovered that more work was needed. Some time later this same mechanic friend taught me how to rebuild the engine on my 1970 VW, which I did. Not only did my car run better, but I also learned how to keep it running well into the future. I was also able to use what I had learned to do many future car repairs, even engine re-builds, right up to the present day. And I will always take a second look when buying a used car.
Let me ask you: are you setting aside 8 hours every two weeks to take a second look at your church? If not, it is time for you to re-evaluate your timetable and responsiblities. Perhaps you need to have a serious conversation with your church session. It takes time to do a re-view, and it even takes longer to do a do a re-build, to develop new initiatives to increase church health and gospel impact. I discovered that quickly when I re-built an engine for the first time. But after all those hours of investment, I will never forget the joy I felt when I turned the key and the engine roared into new life. And as a church leader, you will discover the same joy when, after you put some effort into setting a new ministry direction, you witness your church roar into new life and vitality!
Perhaps you need some help to do this re-view of your church. There is nothing wrong in admitting you need help. I am so thankful for those mechanics who came alongside me when I needed help to rebuild an engine and do all kinds of other car repairs. All you need is a willingness to learn. As a Ministry Development Coach I have all kinds of diagnostic tools that will quickly show you where some problems might be in your church. I can also help you develop some new initiatives to turn things around. All you have to do is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.! Those 8 hours every fortnight will be a worthwhile investment of your time. And it all begins with doing a re-view, taking a second look.
About the author
Jack De Vries was hired on by the Christian Reformed Churches of Australia and began his work as Ministry Training Coordinator in January 2008. In 2012 this role shifted to that of Ministry Development Coach.
Jack came from Canada where he pastored three Christian Reformed churches: Alliston CRC, Alliston, Ontario(1983-87), a church plant: New Life Community Church, Pickering, Ontario(1987-95), and Bethel CRC, Listowel, Ontario (1995-2007). Jack is a graduate of Calvin Theological Seminary (Master of Divinity - 1983) and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (Doctor of Ministry - 2003) Jack and his wife Jeannie currently live in Petrie, a northern suburb of Brisbane in Queensland. They attend and are members of Bray Park Community Church. They have four adult children and seven grandchildren living in the USA and Canada.
In Isaiah 58:11 we read: "The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail." Australia has seen times of drought and floods. There is another type of drought in Australia; there is a spiritual drought. But God promises to provide refreshing rain, a never ending supply of refreshing water. The water he provides will satisfy the needs of all Australians. As we take up the missional vision God has given us we extend the life changing invitation of Jesus: "Come! Whoever is thirsty, come, and take the free gift of the water of life!" (Revelation 22:17)
