Step 5 to Church Failure: Abandoning Hope
The last Step according to the book "How the Mighty Fall", by Jim Collins.
As I read this chapter, I was disheartened and discouraged. I hate to see anything (that is built on the good of others) fail. Especially the Church!
But do Churches fail? It's an interesting question. A few weeks ago, I drove by a building with a steeple that had a "for sale sign" in front of it. From it's appearance, the community had run out of money and, from the condition of their building, they had run out of hope. They couldn't even mow their yard or freshen up the exterior.
But does that mean the Church failed?
I believe what Scripture says when Christ says "I will build My...
Step 4 to Church Failure: The Scramble Begins
As we read last time, Step 3 is when the "turn" really happens. People start to leave, offerings suffer, staff start to withdraw, and visitors no longer "hear about great things" from your church. The local church is in serious trouble.
Then, the Senior Pastor or Board of Deacons, reach for a "silver bullet" (as Jim Collins puts it in his business book, "How the Mighty Fall"). And Step 4 begins.
Grasping for Salvation.
This can take many forms in the Church. Perhaps changing Pastors or key staff positions. There has to be someone out there that can solve all the problems in the church! Or perhaps the church leadership starts a new amazing product: reinvent the Sunday School, start another campus, change...