7 Thoughts on Creating Unity in a Church for a
New Pastor
|
“Here are seven thoughts on creating unity in a church.”
I once consulted with a church struggling to move
forward. The pastor had been there a couple of years, had a great vision and
was supported by most everyone, there were adequate resources, the community
needed a healthy church (as all do), but they never could get any traction.
In working with the church, I quickly assessed they had a
unity problem. The church had two dominant factions—mostly split over a
denominational issue. I felt like a genius consultant when I uncovered the root
problem, but the truth is I only discovered what they already knew—yet never
admitted.
The challenge wasn’t discovering the problem, however, it
was in finding solutions. The church needed to come together if there was any
hope to move forward and realize all the opportunities God was sending their
way.
It should be noted—this church was united around the
Gospel. They wanted to see people come to know Christ. They were divided by
lesser issues. If a church can’t rally around making disciples of Jesus
Christ—our core purpose—it will be near impossible to unite on anything else.
So how do you create unity in a church?
Here are seven thoughts on creating unity
in a church:
Avoid the core DNA when making changes
There are some things which are not worth
changing—especially until unity returns. It makes no sense to create further
disunity in an area where the church is already unified. For example, if the
church is overwhelmingly supportive of Sunday school, but you are a proponent
of small groups, don’t try to make the change now (if ever) until unity is
achieved. (If the core DNA is divisiveness, harder decisions regarding the
vitality and future of the church should be made.)
Find common ground
What do people agree upon? As noted previously, this should
be the Gospel, but what about its methodology is commonly embraced? Again,
maybe it’s Sunday school, but perhaps it’s reaching the community’s lower
income families. It could be a ministry of adoption or homelessness. There are
probably numerous ministries or interests within the church about which
everyone is passionate. Find some and pour energy into them.
The more of these
you can identify and rally people around, the more unified the church will
become. The key is you must work toward a common mission if there is any hope
of bringing unity.
Plan group activities
This can be an ice cream social or a ministry opportunity
to one of the common issues, but it should be something which will involve people
from both sides of the divide. It would be best if you could get someone from
each faction to the planning table for these events. Most likely there are some
who, though they have chosen a “side” to support, are mature enough they can
work with someone of a different opinion to plan a function.
Celebrate success
There is something about celebrating which brings people
together. Find small wins and celebrate them. Celebrate the things people can
agree upon. Often this will be the history of the church or the heart the
church has for missions or ministry.
Challenge the few objectors
There are usually a few people who are naturally divisive.
This number is usually smaller than it appears, but these people are critical
of everything and usually bring down the morale of others and the church. You
may have to pull them aside, ask them to cooperate, and if they will not, work
to remove them from power.
(This could obviously be the subject of another blog
post, but a necessary part of creating unity.) The unity and vision of the
church is more important than appeasing those whose only mission is to disrupt.
Embrace the influencers
Just as there are a few who are negative, there are usually
a few who are positive about unity and who have influence over others. I
believe in the “each one reach one” practice. Spend time with these
influencers, help them understand the importance of unity, then encourage and
release them to help shape an atmosphere and culture of unity, one person at a
time. Keep these natural influencers and encouragers close and informed and
empower them to help create unity.
Communicate effectively
Communication is always important, but especially during
times of disunity. Information must flow freely and often. When people don’t
have information, they assume you are keeping it from them intentionally. Keep
people informed and they feel more like they are part of the team and the
vision.
Obviously every situation is unique. Don’t be ashamed to
seek outside help. Creating unity takes time, prayer and hard work. It often
involves repentance for things said and done which caused the disunity. Keep in
mind the process involves relationships, so it can be messy. Unity will likely
involve people granting forgiveness and releasing the right to have things
their way.
Depending on the severity of the division in the church, these
issues should certainly be shaping your teaching during this time. It may be
subtle or more direct, but certainly deliberate.
Finally, for an illustration purpose, you might treat the
process as you would if you were counseling a couple, only on a larger scale,
of course. Identifying the underlying problems and offering small, steady steps
to improving the relationships before you address the issues of division will
help create unity.
Ron Edmondson is a pastor and church leader passionate
about planting churches, helping established churches thrive, and assisting
pastors and those in ministry think through leadership, strategy and life. Ron
has over 20 years business experience, mostly as a self-employed business
owner, and he's been helping churches grow vocationally for over 10 years.
No comments:
Post a Comment