Christian Objectives without Biblical Process

The Disconnect Between Goals and Methods in Modern Christianity

A poignant observation from a Chinese church leader highlights a critical issue within American Christianity: "American Christians know how to organize but we know how to pray." This statement underscores a fundamental disconnect between the objectives of the church and the processes employed to achieve them, mirroring the gap often seen in business between goals and the strategies devised to meet them.

Business Strategies in Church Operations

In the business world, particularly in Lean Transformation, the focus is on optimizing processes to improve efficiency and output. Key metrics such as lead time, inventory turns, and productivity are meticulously analyzed and enhanced. The ultimate goals of such transformations are often clear:

• Removal of Non-Value-Adding Activities
• Optimization of Value-Adding Activities

However, these objectives do not inherently include the methods to achieve them, necessitating a detailed process map that includes:

• Aligning Product Cycle Time with Customer Takt Time
• Creating Continuous Flow
• Standardizing Work
• Establishing a Pull System

These steps provide a roadmap to achieving business objectives, emphasizing the difference between stating goals and implementing a viable process to reach them.

Application to Church Practices

When this business-oriented approach is applied to the church, it often leads to a focus on objectives like those found in the "Purpose Driven Church":

• Worship God and minister to your neighbor (The Great Commandment, Matthew 22:36-40)
• Evangelize unbelievers, enlarge the fellowship, and disciple believers (The Great Commission, Matthew 28:18-20)

However, the processes employed to achieve these spiritual objectives frequently mimic corporate strategies, focusing more on efficiency and growth metrics rather than spiritual depth and community impact. This can lead to practices that may not necessarily align with Biblical teachings:

• Worship services that prioritize entertainment and comfort over contemplative and challenging spiritual engagement.
• Community service that avoids deep engagement with difficult issues.
• Evangelism that focuses more on numbers than on genuine relationships and discipleship.
• Church growth tactics that resemble corporate marketing strategies.

The Consequences of Misaligned Processes

The result of employing non-Biblical processes to achieve Biblical objectives can be spiritually detrimental. Churches may find themselves in a "death spiral," where despite efforts to reverse declines through intensified versions of the same flawed strategies or the adoption of culturally popular but Biblically questionable practices, they fail to achieve meaningful spiritual impact.

Exploring Alternative Approaches

What remains underexplored and potentially transformative is the third option: genuinely trying processes identified in Scripture, even when they seem counterintuitive to modern business practices. This approach involves:

• Deep, authentic community engagement rather than superficial interactions.
• Worship that challenges and transforms rather than comforts.
• Discipleship that goes beyond basic teachings to explore deep doctrinal truths and their applications.

Conclusion

The challenge for modern churches is not in identifying what needs to be done—the Great Commandment and Great Commission are clear in their directives. The real test is in how these objectives are pursued. Aligning church processes with Biblical teachings requires a shift from business-like efficiency to spiritual efficacy, a change that involves trusting in the wisdom of Scripture over the allure of modern business tactics. This may not only halt the decline but could rejuvenate the church's impact in a profound and lasting way.