Generals, according to the historical truism, are always fighting the last war. As soon as the last war is over, the generals retreat to the war colleges and study the tactics and strategies of the winning side and then figure out how to both implement those strategies and prepare how to defeat these tactics if they are ever used against them.
Of course, by the time the next war starts, technology has changed, and inventions bring new theaters into battle zones. For most of history, armies stood across from each other and ran together in a berserker charge. Archers changed that. For the first time in history, we were able to reach the enemy from a distance. World War I gave us trench warfare and World War II gave us the blitzkrieg to go around the trenches. The massively fortified Maginot line was worthless in protecting France from Germany’s onslaught. French generals were fighting the last war.
Nowadays, satellite imaging and drones have made set piece battles almost obsolete. Now, the emphasis is on small, lethal units like Green Berets and Seals to inflict war-ending damage on the enemy before any battle is ever fought.
Churches do the same thing. The running joke among church leaders is church leadership is always 20 years behind secular practices. Honestly, I wish we were that close.
One of the predictions was that as denominations declined, megachurches would step up and fill the void. This has now become commonplace. Mega churches will now host church growth conferences, worship workshops and discipleship conventions. All of these events used to be held by national and state level denominational structures. Churches are now mentoring and coaching other churches on how to do what they’ve done. People are willing to pay a lot of money to hear the explanation of the secret sauce that made the mega church a mega church in the first place.
Here’s the problem. Megachurches aren’t made overnight. They take years to fully mature into the embodiment of their mission and vision. By the time they realize they are a “successful” church and start to draw the attention of other church leaders, another few years have gone by. By the time the conference is held, the data set used by the mega church is years old. If it’s still relevant at all, it won’t be relevant much longer. As we all know, things are changing fast in our world. The rate of this change is only speeding up. Churches, which are always behind this change curve, will only fall further behind.
Megachurches are a boomer phenomenon. They were led by boomer pastors, sometimes older busters, but times have changed. Gen X wants a different kind of worship experience, and they have different priorities from boomers. For instance, while they give generously, they give very differently. They will give you the shirt off their backs for a well in Africa, but they will give very little for the lights in the worship center. Gen Z and the generations after them have to see the impact of their giving immediately and intimately. They don’t trust institutions.
So, like the generals of the past wars, church leaders look at those things that are working today and assume they’ll work tomorrow. Yet, in every area of our lives, we know tomorrow is going to be very different from today and next week. That’s impossible to predict.
But there are hints. Large chain restaurants are losing out to local, intimate restaurants that have a history with the neighborhoods. Local chefs, using produce and food stuffs from local farmers, create dishes that resonate with the neighborhood vibe. Drinks are named for local celebrities. Sandwiches always have a story. The clientele recognizes each other from their frequent encounters at their “regular place.”
While Amazon is changing how we order our day-to-day items such as soap and detergent, if we want to find something unique, something that expresses our individuality then we’ll head to a local boutique. We love to wear something that can “only be found” at a specific shop. Better yet, we love to wear something that can only be found at a certain shop at a particular time of the year.
And church? Honestly, we aren’t looking for a church anymore, we’re looking for a community. We’re looking for our tribe. We want to find people to do life with. The fractured family structure in our nation means we have a new generation coming into adulthood without having the guiding wisdom of the previous generation. A lot of experts will say this is the first time in history the current generation can’t help the following generations. This isn’t true. The hard questions in life aren’t about how to code, but how to live. How do I know who I am? How do I find my place? Does life have any meaning or is it all just some cosmic joke?
These questions are universal and timeless. Sadly, too many of our friends are scrolling social media as they search for the answers. These answers can’t be found here. They can only be found in a community of love, a community where the love Christ has for his world is lived out in a community’s love for each other.
So, what does this mean for pastors? Our platform has changed from preaching to the multitudes to discipling the leaders for the small groups – both informal and formal – where the love of Christ is lived out among neighbors and friends who, in the grace of Christ, become family. Pastors, in the full New Testament sense, must become bishops – shepherding the shepherds who in turn, shepherd the flocks.
In the future, churches will happen in living rooms and local coffee shops. They’ll be led by a pastor, probably co-vocational, who’s authority comes from their radiant love for Christ and their love for the community.
We’ll begin doing in our local churches what we’ve seen churches do all over the world. International missionaries have been doing this for years. It’s time we did it as well. The largest missionary field in the world is our own United States. It’s time for us to see ourselves as the missionaries we are.
