A Volley from the Canon, #68

Saying ‘Uncle’

You have one middlin’-size pot of resources, money and personnel, and you have two sets of voices competing for that pot. First, there are the leaders of new, up-and-coming enterprises, or new takes on traditional ones, that are taking off. They have energy and drive, they have exciting leadership, and they are gathering momentum. They will probably prosper whether they get further assistance or not, but they will certainly benefit from some help right now, and it could make a crucial difference. Second, there are the leaders of declining congregations or projects. Dull and uninspiring, they are down to the dregs, in energy and money. They are attracting no resources of their own. Without a quick infusion from outside, they will go belly up, and soon. You have a big investment in this second lot, over the years, financially and emotionally. You very much hate to see them fail, and feel loss and defeat in their demise. As a group look at you with those hound-dog eyes. “We’re going under, and on your watch,” they seem to say, “and if you let it happen, it will be all your fault.” What can you do?

You can put your resources where they will do some good, that’s what. Apply them to the new, growing, energized situations where something positive is happening. That is where your resources will have some positive effect.

Shocked? That is rarely what the church does. We, institutionally, are schmucks for a lost cause. Guilt is our middle name. The bigger the fiasco, the harder it is to say ‘no.’ And that is why we fail so often. We pour money and energy into sad, failed projects. God is constantly telling us that certain practices, certain activities, certain approaches, are not working. But we are constantly not listening to God, for we are fixated on those congregational puppy-dog eyes.

The pot of resources is not what it was. Maybe that fact will finally help us wake up to some realities, and start feeding success rather than failure. Maybe it will help is realize that, in church life, the “crash cart” is no model for congregational development.