Stuck. It’s when you can’t seem to move in any direction. Most have experienced it in their vehicles, getting stuck in the sand at Galveston or in the mud out in the country. Many feel stuck in their personal or professional lives.
But stuck is also the situation many churches find themselves in. Some are stuck in patterns of disfunction, conflict or misguided priorities. Others find themselves stuck in the ruts of past success, unable to adapt to a new ministry environment. Lately I find myself stuck in the multitude of situations requiring attention and the numerous possibilities for each.
Stuckness, if I may invent a word, is so common among churches and ministry leaders that consultant Tony Morgan branded his consulting practice The Unstuck Group. Tony senses a profound calling to help congregations get unstuck. It’s a call I certainly identify with.
So, how does a church become unstuck? That’s what we’ll explore in the next several posts. For now, let’s understand that God created His church for His purpose. There’s a mission, something beside mere existence, which the Lord seeks to accomplish. We Baptists usually summarize it in two quotes from Jesus, the Great Commandment of Matthew 22:37-40 and Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20.
When a church does not display a supreme love for the Lord… when a church does not move their members to demonstrate Christ’s love to others around them… when it does not make disciples for Jesus Christ… it’s stuck. And when you’re stuck, it’s time to recognize it, confess it, and prepare to do whatever God in His word calls us to.
Faithfulness to our Lord and His purpose for His church, that’s what it means to be unstuck.
I’ll share more next time.
Bro. Jim