Churches and Institutions in Decline

I understand why Duane Brown might have said that- or why Olson draws the conclusions he does. At the same time, how does what happened in the SBC fit into that paradigm? Why can’t pre-established institutions be effective in waging the battles at the forefront of today? Why can’t some practices be retained (or even resurrected)?

Decline isn’t inevitable, and shouldn’t be assumed to be so. Or, in the words of Puddleglum from C.S. Lewis’ The Silver Chair:

“One word, Ma’am,” he said, coming back from the fire; limping, because of the pain. “One word. All you’ve been saying is quite right, I shouldn’t wonder. I’m a chap who always liked to know the worst and then put the best face I can on it. So I won’t deny any of what you said. But there’s one more thing to be said, even so. Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things-trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that’s a funny thing, when you come to think of it. We’re just babies making up a game, if you’re right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow. That’s why I’m going to stand by the play world. I’m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any Aslan to lead it. I’m going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn’t any Narnia. So, thanking you kindly for our supper, if these two gentlemen and the young lady are ready, we’re leaving your court at once and setting out in the dark to spend our lives looking for Overland. Not that our lives will be very long, I should think; but that’s a small loss if the world’s as dull a place as you say.”

The need to change is certain.

Fundamentalism needs to focus on core competencies and eschew marginal issues.

For a business case study in failure consider Kodak … who invented the digital camera but focused on film

For success consider IBM that once dominated the mainframe systems environment but switched emphasis to services.

Jim,

Your examples brought to mind the case of Microsoft, which is apparently moving rapidly away from PCs into other areas!

I don’t feel any connection at all to any particular fundamentalist “camp;” perhaps because I wasn’t raised as a Christian and have no corresponding loyalties to protect one way or the other. I literally have no connections to anybody. I believe Pastors, fundamentalist or otherwise, simply need to focus on God, their people and their local church (not an organization or a movement) and things will work out fine. So, I appreciate Olson’s point, but it just doesn’t mean anything to me. I don’t have an organization or a movement to defend or protect. All I worry about is my church.

With regards to his suggestions moving forward, my first thought was to nod along with Olson, but on second thought, I want us to consider his points:

• #1: A clear vision to take timeless principles into a new day with effective methodologies.

Maybe I’m just being stupid here, but all I try to do week after week is preach the Word and be there for the people. That’s it. What “clear vision” do we need? We must devote ourselves to prayer and preaching (Acts 6:4). We’re not running colleges; we’re Pastoring churches.

• #2: Wisdom to navigate from where they are to where they need to be.

This is me being stupid here again, but just (1) pray, (2) preach the Word, and (3) love and teach your people. Won’t that, coupled with keen common sense and the aid of the Spirit, solve the navigation problem?

• #3: Boldness and courage to make the hard decisions and then to stay the course to completion.

Ok, no problem.

• #4: Grace in relationships along the way.

Good.

In conclusion, I wish he had written more and fleshed out what he meant. I am sure he has good insights; we just don’t know what they are.

I understand what you are saying, Tyler- but I am becoming increasingly convinced that if that is true, you need to develop some, and invest in them. There is value in those connections, and if nothing else, world missions end up being very cumbersome and inefficient if there aren’t some kind of intentional networking between churches. Our congregation has been in the Minnesota Baptist Association for its entire history, and just this year we made moves to become the first congregation to dually affiliate with the MBA and the MARBC/GARBC. I was especially wanting a national level network to point our S’gaw Karen refugees to, as I expect not all of them will remain in Marshall. Their natural gravitation is to the ABC-USA, which is seriously problematic overall (when I was in Maine, the ABC churches there were debating whether they should welcome or welcome and affirm homosexuals. They had already been ordaining women pastors for some time). The GARBC isn’t perfect, but they have made very good moves the past few years, and I can support uniting around their doctrinal statement (which makes very clear statements on separation, dispensationalism, young earth creationism, marriage between a man and a woman…), even as I understand there are congregations whose practices might vary from ours.

I know - I just haven’t found time yet. The local fellowship’s meeting dates (they met every two months) keep conflicting with things I have going on! For example, I’ll be up at Maranatha during their next meeting! I have been increasingly impressed with the GARBC and plan to look more into it in the future.

Tyler,
I second Greg’s encouragement to seek out fellowship and a network of ministry contacts. In that vein, I would recommend you drop by and see Gerald McPhillips at Grace in Taylorville. I have known him for a number of years and benefited from his kindness. If you do speak to him, be sure to tell him that I said hello.

I didn’t mean to suggest I have no friends, have nobody to call, and sit all alone at my church by myself, bravely soldiering on whilst holding back tears because nobody likes me. I apologize if I gave that impression. My point was that I don’t have any institutional or organizational ties, certainly not any I would value over my church. I am reminded of a phenomenon the SBC has, where some men become more focused on defending the institution itself rather than the cause of Christ. That isn’t an issue for me, therefore I don’t get that kind of mindset that Olson is (rightly) combating.

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/the-seven-best-tips-from-th…

The seven best tips from the seven worst CEOs of all-time:

“Leaders must have a strong sense of renewal—an eagerness to create new opportunities through an entrepreneurial approach.” – Kay R. Whitmore

As CEO of Kodak from 1990 until 1993, Kay Whitmore was slow to respond to changes in the industry.

“They didn’t believe the American public would buy another film,” Alecia Swasy wrote in “Changing Focus: Kodak and the Battle to Save a Great American Company,” explaining the company’s blasé attitude about competition. Whitmore’s complacency descended into caricature: He fell asleep during a meeting with Bill Gates that was supposed to focus on ways to win back the market share Kodak was losing to Polaroid. Kodak never did regain its edge and it filed for bankruptcy in 2012.

More on: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/29/business/kay-r-whitmore-72-led-eastma…

http://sharperiron.org/filings/042914/29698

A Story of Guardians and Innovators