Quality Over Quantity

By Dr. Mark Merrill

There is one thing that all of us can agree upon from a global perspective. We are universally thankful and relieved to have lived through the global pandemic of COVID-19. The loss of life, the widespread sickness, stagnation of world economies, fear, uncertainty and personal pain are all reflective of a shared experience that we hope and pray we will never live through again.

However, the church of Jesus Christ has been in a pandemic for some time now that we are only now realizing. This pandemic strikes at the heart of Christianity, and it is seen through declining church attendance, church closures, diminishing numbers of ministers entering the ministry and so on. The statistics are conclusive and startling. Rather than focusing on an autopsy of how we have arrived at this moment, the focus of this column is to project where we go from here.

At the core of this conversation is church health rather than church growth. Everyone understands growth is the target; however, the means by which we reach growth must be anchored in a church that is healthy. It is easy to become seduced by overemphasizing and obsessing over the quantitative rather than the qualitative.

When a ministry makes the commitment to become healthy, it is a commitment that requires focus, discipline and time. In the same way we make the choice to be healthy as a human being, there are no easy fixes. Church health demands a painful confrontation with self, much like stepping on the scale and being horrified by the number staring back at you. This confrontation strikes at the heart of the leader/pastor to assume responsibility for the condition of the organization.

In human health, doctors tell us when two major organs go into failure, death is imminent. Therefore, as we diagnose the condition of the church, we must consider the urgency of what must be addressed. This demands tough decisions that can often result in conflict and confrontation. In essence, this becomes the surgery that is required to reposition the body to heal. However, leaders must remain surgical. The only thing that separates a surgeon from a butcher are the instruments they use and the expertise they possess.

As a leader who has committed your life and ministry to the revitalization of the church, the journey to health within your church will be both painstaking and powerful. This journey will demand that you gain a revelation from God for your ministry rather than borrowing someone else’s. It will demand that you model practices and behaviors that become the inspirational fuel that empowers strategic leaders within your church to follow. It will also require patience to allow the body to emerge stronger organically rather than artificially or superficially. The reward that awaits those who travel the path to church health is one that results in a ministry that is filled with disciples instead of converts, significance instead of success and abiding legacy instead of fleeting popularity.