No, no, a thousand times no. This is the third common purpose driven error. That the shepherd turns in his rod and staff for a CEO business suit and a course in vision casting. Beloved, God is the vision caster. His vision is set forth very clearly in the bible. He gives the increase as He sees fit. If your church never grows past 200 and they all end up in heaven you will hear well done my good and faithful servant. Heaven rejoices when one sinner repents because they know how rare it is. Narrow is the way and few are those who find it. The purpose driven myopia blinds Nieuwhof and forces him to blame the sheep. They must not want to change. They must want to live in the past. Hey Carey, if the past was where the Gospel was preached -- sign me up for time travel. I do not want your future where mega churches rise to the heavens while everyone goes to hell. The Gospel is enough vision. It does not need to be updated. It does not need to be cast. It does not need to be bought into. It just needs to be preached.
"2. You Grew. Growth can be an awesome thing. Healthy growth means you're reaching new people, baptizing people and seeing hope beat in the hearts of people who never knew hope, and so much more. But growth is threatening. You'll see a few patterns emerge. First, people who love being a big fish in a small pond will immediately get uncomfortable. They'll want more say"more power, more control. Others won't be comfortable with the crowds or the parking issues or having to wait in lines when they were used to accessing everything instantly. And you'll probably hear vague comments like "it's just not the same anymore" or "we simply like it better when it was smaller." So what do you do with that? Well, first, empathize. They're right"things have changed and it's not the same as it used to be. Second, ask them to invite their friends and get in on what's going on. What you'll likely discover is that some do, but most (or at least many) don't. And for them, it might all boil down to this: the church isn't really about accomplishing a mission. It's about meeting their needs. The challenge, of course, is that the heart of the Christian faith isn't about satisfying yourself, it's about dying to yourself. So what do you do? If you're going to make progress on your mission, focus on who you want to reach, not who you want to keep. The moment you focus on who you're trying to keep, both the present and the future slip away from you." -- Carey Nieuwhof
Purpose driven myopia just cannot help itself. It must always see the sheep as the culprit and never their own systems. Those darn sheep must want more power and control -- nonsense! I have been in church for close to two decades now and people do not leave for such reasons. The comment "we're just not the same anymore" is not vague. It is very specific and often times a fair criticism. Now I agree that some people may not like the crowds but again, there is simply no consideration for how the church has fundamentally changed that might be leading to so many looking for the door. How frightening the disconnect is here! To Carey Nieuwhof sheep are wrong for wanting their needs met instead of joining in the purpose driven perpetual search for more goats. He then butchers the concept of dying to self, which primarily refers to dying to our old sinful life, and instead makes it about fulfilling purposed driven carnal goals. He essentially calls the sheep of the Lord selfish and clearly states that the shepherd should not be paying attention to them!
"3. You're Reaching Different People. As a church realizes its mission, it means that you'll reach your community, which when fully realized, means you'll have a cross-section of your entire community. Rich and poor. Professional and blue collar. Republicans and Democrats. Black and white. Latino and Asian. It means you'll have people in your church who are sober, and others who are working on it, and others still whose addictions are far from under control. Which is exactly what the church should be. The New Testament church was all those things. If you're not convinced it was, please re-read 1 Corinthians. This can be really threatening for people who think church is for the righteous and for people who have all their issues worked out, which of course, is none of us. If everyone in your church looks like you, acts like you, votes like you, believes like you and thinks like you, you're probably not the church." -- Carey Nieuwhof
The purpose of the church is to build the saints up in Christ. It is almost as if the only verses Carey Nieuwhof has read is the Great Commission. The purpose driven model teaches that the church must be relevant to their community. This is what leads to compromising with the world and then spiritual myopia as all you can see now is the numbers. He is so blinded he cannot even see that while he is right that the church is not filled with the righteous that he is explaining why the shepherd needs to focus on them. Once again though, instead of looking at the system, he takes the rod out and beats the sheep some more. Now, they are all self-righteous. Carey Nieuwhof doesn't seem too think much of God's children.
"4. You Got Healthier. When I look back at over two decades of leadership, I realize that so much of my journey has been toward greater and greater emotional and spiritual health. I've seen counselors over the years, hired coaches, read books, gone on retreats and done whatever I can to become more emotionally, spiritually and relationally healthy. And like every leader, I'm a work in progress. But here's the good news. Leaders, when you get healthier, your church gets healthier. But it also means that sometimes, people who don't want to get healthy leave. In the same way that healthy people are drawn to healthy leaders, unhealthy people are drawn to unhealthy leaders. Gossipers love other gossipers. Troublemakers love other troublemakers. Selfish people feel better around other selfish people. You get the picture. As your church gets healthier, unhealthy people really have two options: get healthy, or find a less healthy environment. It's quite possible that the vast majority of your church will get healthier with you, particularly if you lead and teach out of what you're learning. But some won't want to make that journey. They'll leave. And sometimes they make a scene when they go. Let them go. That's what healthy people do"they invite, they encourage, and when refused, they move on. So"keep moving your church toward health." -- Carey Nieuwhof
Argggh, this is so frustrating! He blames everything on the sheep! Now they are gossipers and troublemakers! Let them go! His purpose driven growth is always portrayed as healthy and vibrant but threatened by all these selfish little sheep running around demanding that they still preach the whole counsel of God. Yes, healthy people just move on. Screw that sheep! It is not healthy for the church to allow the sheep to just leave the sheep pen! What bible do these people read?
"5. You Finally Moved Into That New Facility. So many people think a move into a new building is a positive step that will only cause growth. For a church that has momentum, that's almost universally true. (Although a move into a building will not cause a declining church to grow). But even when things are going well, you will lose people. Some people will love the portable days even better. Some won't like the new location. Others may not like the design. Others may feel displaced. For some people, there's also a sentimental association with past places of worship as well. Maybe the sentiment is because they became Christians there, were baptized there, or even got married there. For sure, that's understandable. Most people get past the sentiment, but some don't. And they'll leave. The church has to keep moving though; advancing the mission. After all, you cannot build a future by living in the past." -- Carey Nieuwhof
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