A number of years ago a wise mentor told me to occasionally look over my shoulder to see if the group I was leading was actually following. This is the acid test of leadership, you know. He concluded that if no one is back there, it is most likely because I had not explained where we are going or why we are going there. This seems so elementary to the leadership thing. If no one is following we usually conclude that, (1) there's something wrong with them, or, (2) there's something wrong with me. Really, however, he said it was most often the result of not answering the "where" and "why" questions. Interesting!
The drawing above depicts a basic advertising process. Idea, story, escalation, and results. OK, it is a business model, it isn't universally accepted, and it's doesn't necessarily apply in an enterprise like the church, a spiritual institution. Yet, it is good sense. The fact that it isn't included in the map section of my Bible doesn't necessarily invalidate it. It's a variation of the "money follows mission" deal. Tell people where you are going and why, and if inspiring, they will join you.
My mentor many years ago also convinced me that people really do want to follow. Most people, except for some of the dysfunctional gate-keepers in local congregations, really do want their churches to thrive. He helped me understand that if they weren't following---you know, attending, giving, and participating---it wasn't always because they are devil's in sheep's clothing or a result of my off-the-wall leadership. Most congregants want to brag about their church, speak well of their leaders, and enjoy the blessings of being part of a successful Kingdom work.
This is true of denominations as well. We tend to go simple most of the time, and look for easy answers to our denominational dilemmas. There have been recent downturns in our funding streams and the economic trends don't look all that favorable. Our assumptions miss the mark, however. By reflex we blame the economy or poor leadership or obstinate follower-ship for the reductions.
More to the point, maybe we aren't telling the story, the second frame in the process. So, yes, our work is more than an idea (Frame 1). It is an assignment, the commission to make disciples of all nations. So, it is a more compelling story that manufacturing widgets in the first place, the greatest story ever told. This story is miraculous in every detail, and speaks of lives being changed, eternity promised, peace and joy outcomes till then. Cultures are influenced, landscapes are changed, life is over-laid with hope, redemption is given, grace predominates. It is a story about what God does in the human arena, how Jesus touches hearts and lives.
We just don't tell our story too well these days, locally, in state conventions, or denominationally. In fact, say the word "church" these days, or "denomination", or the phrase "Southern Baptist". You'll likely get a negative association. We've too often portrayed a story line that transmits nothing of value to the culture. "Church" communicates a good bit of dark press because so few of us actually live up to the Biblical standard. What is more, us Southern Baptists have said that we're the "largest Protestant denomination", a claim that may or may not be true, so often we're seen as a gigantic turn-stile clicking off the digits as people come and go.
There's this thing called the Consumer Confidence Index that measures how our population views the economy. The theory is that if confidence in up, so are all the other economic indicators. Now, there's an interesting correlation, money circulating because people have confidence in the system.
SBC leadership, confidence is down. We need to tell the story. You know, the "wheres" and "whys" of our mission, the faces of lives being changed, the truth about who we are and where we are going. I am convinced that a majority of our financial downturn is the result of confusion about our mission, uncertainty about where we are going and why.
Check out Colossians 4:7-9. The Apostle commends Tychicus and Onesimus to the church there. He said, "They will tell you everything that is happening here."
Now, that's what I'm talking about. Let's tell the story.