Entropy is the natural and irreversible tendency toward disorder in any system without an external source of energy (The Wordsmyth English Dictionary). When we apply this principle to evangelism we need to embrace the fact that left to itself the energy for evangelism in the local church will naturally (and in some cases irreversibly) move towards disorder. This is why every church needs an energy source to counter this natural drift from mission to maintenance. What is that energy source? Leadership! Its through leaders who model evangelistic passion, though their prayers, priorities and plans. Someone once said, "Leadership is focused energy bursts." The older the church, the more energy is needed to overcome all the competing issues that cause evangelistic entropy. Over the next few months we are going to take a close look at how to practically lead your church in overcome the entropy that can slowly kill a church's missional effectiveness.
Here are the first two of six causes for evangelistic entropy:
1. Burnout of the leader.
Evangelism is a spiritually intense activity. Pioneer church planters, those without a “running start” with a core group, are fully engaged in evangelistic activities out of the sheer need for survival. The ability to network in the community and to engage it evangelically rests solely on their shoulders, and the burden of that responsibility is intense. The constant load of rejection they encounter can lead to burnout. One of my church planters said, “If you really want to gain a little understanding on the condition of the church in America just drop yourself into a community not knowing a soul. Every time I shared my vision with churched people they looked at me as though I was an alien from another planet.” The face of that constant rejection can be very demoralizing.
Another factor that can lead to burnout is the lonely nature of the job, especially for those who come out of thriving ministries. The shock of going to a community where nobody really cares that you are there can be debilitating. I usually try to prepare pioneer church planters with a little pep talk like, “When you move into town you will need to push yourself to meet people because the only people who care that you are there will be me and Jesus!” Now that is a overstatement. I am sure that there are many people who care that they are there. The only problem is that none of them live in that town. Leadership is a lonely job! Many pastors feel like they are carrying the burden for their communities alone. Listening to people's myriad of complaints can lead to frustration and wondering if anyone cares about their neighbors.
The final factor that can lead to burnout is the intense care of new believers. Converts come in all sizes and shapes, with all sorts of baggage. They have messed-up marriages, damaged emotional lives, self-centered values, screwed-up finances and whacked-out priorities. They have no knowledge of God, the Bible and the church. Seeing them through these issues with proper follow-up and discipleship can be a very draining and frustrating experience. I particularly remember one such time when I cried out to God. It was eighteen months after we had started a new church. I was working a couple of jobs. We had grown from two families to about 40 families, of which about 80-90% were people who weren’t believers yet, had just trusted Christ, or had just started coming back to Christ. I remember yelling at God saying, “If you don’t bring me any help in the next six months, I am going to quit!” Did it mean that I didn’t love lost people? No! It just revealed that I was burned out. John Maxwell has said, “There’s no such thing as burnout. It’s just people who are taking themselves too seriously.” In principle I believe that. But when you’re on the front lines and ministry is such a struggle, you seriously do need some tangible help. The end of that story is that within two weeks, God provided two spiritually mature couples who partnered with us in establishing the church.
2. Imbalance of the Ministry Priorities.
Imbalance is another reason why leaders can abdicate their evangelistic responsibilities. Although many church's mission statements say something about reaching unchurched people, the truth is that investing in churched people takes time. A leader's time can get swallowed up just ministering to the already convinced. Shepherding, counseling, discipling, training all take time not including leading and preparing for worship services. If leaders are not disciplined in networking and spending time with unchurched people they can end up growing a church for the churched instead of a leading the church to missionally engage its community. We recommend that our pastors and church planters minimally tithe of their work week in networking and developing pre-Christian contacts. (See 3 X 5 Rule) To adequately address evangelism entropy leaders are going to have to replace a negative imbalance with a positive imbalance in favor of evangelistic engagement and equipping the church missionally. (Excerpt: Church Planting Landmines)
Next week I will conclude with the final four causes for evangelistic entropy.
