How 'Stable' Shall We Be?

One significant characteristic of any organization is the pursuit of stability. The same is true for churches and home groups.

Stability gives us a sense of security, peace and success. The turbulent times of initial struggles are over and we finally arrived at a place where we can lean back and enjoy our accomplishments. Now, we are established and we finally have been accepted by our surroundings. And we know how to run this church.

We are ”maturer”, now.

From now on, all we have to do is to protect what we have got and keep growing from there. Protect it against possible agitators and trouble-makers, against know-it-alls and fault finders, and against these far too creative people and their never-ending ideas. And, last not least, against the naivety of those newcomers.

“Let people come in, but not up!” (Pastor of a mega church)

We really don’t want to make the same mistakes over and over again, and we’re tired of explaining everything a thousand times. Neither do we want to make any new mistakes. Why take a risk, when everything is so well settled?

This is the point when we get stuck in our own ways of doing things, when securing our success becomes a dominant factor and our mission locked in within the boundaries of our home made stability. This is when we give up to engage, to thrive and to change.

This is when we close our doors.

The decline has begun and it’s the beginning of the end. For a while, we still enjoy the cosiness and familiarity of a well-established, stable community and the self-affirmation that comes along with it, maybe also a little hubris (”We’re a good church and way up front.”).

Then comes the boredom.

Soon, the average age of our group is getting alarmingly close to 70 and we don’t know what to do about it.

The solution would be to start all over again. To take risks, to stretch our possibilities, to accept challenges, to explore the unknown, to humble ourselves and engage with people.

To give up stability - and get messy again.

We may loose our stability, the cosiness and familiarity of our fellowship, our comfort, complacency and respectability…

We may loose it all -

but again, win souls and make disciples for Jesus.

Wouldn’t it be worth it?