The Obdurate Church

Obdurate Churches exist throughout our cities. These churches are single race single class churches.  Obdurate churches are found in different racial and cultural groups.  In the South these churches are predominately Caucasian or African-American, although this continues to evolve as the South becomes more diverse.  Obdurate churches refuse to change to accept others races, cultures, or social classes.  They are only open to those who are exactly like them – same race and same social class.  The problem with obdurate churches is that they are governed by unyielding leaders.

A couple years back, Susan and I went to worship with an “Obdurate Church” in our city not far from the New Life Theological Seminary.  After the service I stood and talked with the Deacon Chairman about the dying congregation.  I offered the assistance of the Seminary, promised we would come along beside them, involve our students and faculty, and help the church transition.  He refused my plea.  The church no longer exists.  Over the past two decades Christians have averaged nearly 1,000 church starts every year in America, but every year more than 4,000 churches close their doors!   Half of all churches in the United States did not add any new members in the last two years, and it is estimated that every year 2.7 church members fall into inactivity.  What is going on?

Obdurate churches are disobedient churches and disobedient churches die!  Tom Billings, Executive Director of Union Baptist Association in Houston Texas is known for reminding churches that they “are responsible for reaching all of the people in the city, not just the folks that look like us.  It’s hard for us to cross over those barriers and boundaries in order to reach out, but we’ve got a responsibility for other people.”  With 584 people unengaged, unreached people groups in North America there is a tremendous demand for pastors to be trained and equipped to reach them.  Pastors must learn to think more like a missionary and more seminaries need to work to properly equip those called into vocational ministry.

Obdurate church can change through the power and might of the Lord Jesus!  What should you do if you find yourself in an obdurate church?  First, commit to serious prayer about your church.  Second, begin seeking out others in the congregation that are open to praying with you about revitalization.  Third, talk with your pastor about your concerns and let him know you have pulled together a small group and that you are all praying for serious revitalization of the church.  Fourth, work with your pastor to begin teaching and developing a true Christian love for people who are “different” from those already in the church.  Fifth, become personally intentional about developing friendships and socializing with people who are different from you.  Sixth, seek to diversify the staff of the church.  Sometimes this can be done with the help of a seminary theological school.  At New Life Theological Seminary we designed a special Mission and Mentoring program we refer to as “M&M” for this step.  Seventh, actively begin encouraging your new “different” friends into discipleship and worship.  Look for opportunities and create special events to purposes draw others into the church.

As a last result, if you can’t find others to commit to pray with you or your pastor is unwilling to help revitalize the church, leave.  Sometimes death has to happen for new life to begin.

Urban Churches Face Four Choices

Urban churches often face changing communities, and I'm not talking race.  Communities change spiritually, psychologically, economically, etc. This causes urban churches to face many different challenges as they often deal with decreasing membership, broken friendship, reduced budgets, and sometimes fear.  Faced with these changing communities, urban churches face four choices, and I have witness all of these here in Charlotte in the last few years.

Some churches look to relocate to what they believe to be greener pastures.  This means the church moves to the suburbs where land is cheaper and like-minded are more plentiful.

The second alternative churches have in a transitioning community is to disband the church.  These churches make a conscience decision that they are unwilling to make the needed changes to revitalize the church.  Not far from the seminary there was a church in decline.  I met with the deacon chair and asked if the seminary could come alongside them and help them transition to reach the community around them, but they chose to disband.  New Life Theological Seminary is the recipient of such a church.  The Whiting Avenue Baptist Church disbanded on the day of their centennial celebration, having earlier given their property to the seminary.

The third choice is to merge with another like-minded church.  While this may seem like a good idea, the reality is that few mergers work.  When two unhealthy congregations join, the problems of both continue and chaos follows.  Bringing two unhealthy churches together does not produce a healthy congregation.

The only biblical alternative is to adapt.  This is not easy but when God places a church in a community, God knows how that community will change over time.  God is never caught off guard.  He knew that your community and my community would transition.   In our area there are churches that were planted in rural communities that over time have been enveloped by a rapidly expanding city.  Once suburban churches now find themselves in the heart of the city.  Anglo-Saxon neighborhoods have become African-American and Hispanic neighborhoods.  Through gentrification some of the poorer neighborhoods have now become socially elite neighborhoods taken over by young professionals.  Was God taken by surprise by any of these transitions?  Of course not, God was not by surprise.  Adapting means that urban churches must develop a more diverse staff, become creative in meeting the needs of the community, and are willing to embrace change.  Urban churches must transition regularly.  Churches are living organisms and as such must change and transition in order to grow.

Why a Blog on Urban Ministry and Urban Issues?

Christian Ministry in urban areas is very challenging. Most church starts fail and their ministers give up and quit or burn out. The task is overwhelming and failure is the norm. The difficulty of the task causes many churches to flee the cities and relocate to the suburbs, attempt to merge with other churches to hold on a little longer, or to close their doors. If you have lived in any city for more than a decade and are observant, you should be able to name half a dozen churches that have closed, merged, or relocated. This blog is to help those with a heart for urban ministry. As the author of this blog, I do not claim to have all the answers, but I do believe I have learned a few things through my successes and failures as a pastor and educator on the subject. I invite you to ask questions and to share your thoughts on the forthcoming discussions.