Ten Commandments for Church Failure: #1 Thou Shalt Not Take Risks

Leadership

Last week I offered an introduction titled Ten Commandments for Church Failure (http://drthomreece.wordpress.com/2008/12/08/ten-commandments-for-church-failure/) . The first of the ten stated, “Thou shalt not take risks.” As a rule the longer a church has been established, the fewer risks the membership will take. Church plants begin with a bold dream of reaching people for Christ, and making a big difference in their chosen community. Church planters are sometimes somewhat unorthodox in their approaches to innovation and outreach, and they are more willing to try new things that are “jaw-dropping for leaders of established churches. A new church in Canton, GA started including rap music in their worship experience, and the church planter pastor even posted an invitation to their church on YouTube with his own rap presentation. Another church planter in Acworth, GA promoted an effort to obtain donations for over 100 bicycles before Christmas by staging a sit-in on top of a crane in December until receiving needed donations. The same church plant handed out earplugs at the door to senior adults with the warning, “Our worship music is loud, and we won’t be turning it down.” People came anyway. They kicked off their initial launch service with over 200 people. Many church planters are reticent to their church adopting a constitution and By-Laws, because at that point the solidification begins, and policies are established that allow for less flexibility in taking risks.

Risk-taking is quintessentially an American quality. In his book The Ten Commandments for Business Failure, Donald R. Keough discussed the migration from Europe to America, and how it was the risk-takers who made the journey, and the risk-averse stayed home (Keough, 12). I believe the same principle applies to churches. As a church becomes established, policies solidify, and there is an increasing move toward sustaining security and comfort for the benefit of the membership, thus creating a desire for maintaining the status-quo. On the other hand, ministry can be messy and risky. Consider the aging church that built a gymnasium, but complained before, during, and after its completion. Their fear that someone would get injured and sue the church outweighed their desire to reach people with the message of Christ. The church was in “grave” decline, the remedy might have been community sports events, but they were afraid to take a risk.

Success is often the precursor to being afraid of taking risks. Older congregations sometimes feel they have paid the price and enjoyed success in the past, but they are often unwilling to pass the baton of leadership to the younger leaders who will take a few risks. As a result, the younger leaders look elsewhere for a church that is willing to take risks. Risk-averse congregations are more likely to say, “Let’s do it like we’ve always done it, because that’s the way we’ve always done it.”

Where are the Leaders?
Management is often about doing things well, maintaining policies, and keeping everyone happy. Leadership is about vision, movement, and leading a church to take God-inspired risks (BHAGG-Big Hairy Audacious God-sized Goals). Churches often will not allow their pastor to lead them to take a ministry risk, even if it means eventually closing the church. Where are the leaders? Is it fair to say that most pastors are managers of the status quo instead of leaders inspiring their church to “go where no one has gone before?” I must confess that I have not been a good manager as a pastor, but I have tried to be a leader, and I have received a lot of criticism because of it. Churches I have led have experienced big successes as well as failures, but we were in the fight instead of on the sidelines like many others.

One might ask, “Is risk-taking biblical?” When Abraham left Ur of the Chaldeans, from a human perspective he took some big risks. Many others followed in Scripture such as Moses, Joshua, and King David, to name a few. The apostles left all they had to follow Jesus who claimed to be the Christ. Paul and Barnabas left their teaching ministries at Antioch to go on missionary journeys to unknown people groups of the Roman Empire to preach the message of Christ. Today, people leave secure jobs to go preach the good news of Christ. Indeed, when God ordains these movements, it is not risk, but many Christians see it as risk.

The Great Commission is founded on the salvation experience of people who are willing to give all to Christ in order that God would use them to save others. From the human perspective, the Great Commission and Acts 1:8 are all about risking it all for Christ. Churches that fail to take godly risks will fail themselves.
SD Blessings!

Dr. Tom Cocklereece

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