{"id":31119,"date":"2022-09-10T15:17:37","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:17:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/how-leaders-can-stunt-their-churchs-spiritual-growth\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T15:17:37","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:17:37","slug":"how-leaders-can-stunt-their-churchs-spiritual-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/how-leaders-can-stunt-their-churchs-spiritual-growth\/","title":{"rendered":"How Leaders Can Stunt Their Church’s Spiritual Growth"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Choreograph photo – Getty<\/div>\n

By Dan Hyun<\/em><\/p>\n

It may be my internal contrarian speaking but I believe many of us can sense when something feels a little phony. And in a culture where snarky skepticism seems to be a defining zeitgeist of our times, the church can also feel less than genuine, even if intentions are to sincerely present our best for the Lord.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think this stems from a lack of desire. Many churches I know have some sort of stated values such as \u201cAuthenticity\u201d or \u201cCome as you are.\u201d We genuinely desire to foster a loving community where people can be honest in who they are in order to experience the life-changing gospel of Jesus. That\u2019s not, however, always the feeling people experience.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, it\u2019s a church\u2019s lack of self-awareness. Without really knowing we\u2019re doing it, a church can send vibes that outsiders aren\u2019t welcome. This may be more along the lines of tertiary matters of expression, such as how people dress or particular jargon, making it difficult to connect with those outside the church.<\/p>\n

This can also be true, however, of the most culturally relevant church\u2014one that\u2019s fully aware of how the world thinks. Sometimes our challenge is almost feeling too<\/em> much like the world. Giving the benefit of the doubt, churches do this with the hope of building relational bridges with neighbors.<\/p>\n

Yet, I\u2019ve observed that what\u2019s intended to be \u201crelevant\u201d can instead be received as \u201cphony.\u201d Especially to younger generations, excellence can often come off as fake\u2014fair or not.<\/p>\n

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Admittedly, this isn\u2019t always on the church. A church can do the most epic job of making people feel welcome. However, for some of our neighbors, their skeptical view of the church is formed from an amalgam of their own bad experiences, issues, wounds, and sin.<\/p>\n

Even allowing for those factors, though, it serves a church well to recognize the potential challenges that may negatively impact someone\u2019s capacity to receive the message of Christ. It\u2019s really a matter of missional fidelity to foster authenticity in the church.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m aware that it seems disingenuous to even address how to be more \u201creal.\u201d I mean, that feels like the exact opposite of real. You can\u2019t program \u201cauthentic.\u201d Though I\u2019d agree this kind of culture needs to develop in a church organically, I can also identify some intentional considerations that have been helpful for my approach to ministry.<\/p>\n

To be clear, I\u2019m not advocating we set a lower bar. Excellence is a worthwhile aim in ministry. Rather, even as we express ourselves in an excellent manner, may we consider the raw beauty of conveying that the path of following Christ is often walked in the shadow of darkness.<\/p>\n

As I lead our church, I\u2019ve tried to pull open the curtain on spaces that some have felt closed off in these kinds of environments. Whether addressing how therapy has helped in my journey toward mental health wholeness, the hateful anger I still wrestle with from traumatic memories, the lust I just can\u2019t pray away, or the rising doubts of faith in my soul from a terrible year of family cancer, I\u2019ve made concerted efforts to share aspects of my life that my shame probably prefers that I keep hidden.<\/p>\n

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Obviously, there is a need for Spirit-led, prayerful discernment to disclose wisely. But in most cases, God leads us in the freedom to be more open beyond our natural propensity to cover up in our fig leaves.<\/p>\n

Many folks have internalized that the church is where you hide who you really are, lest you be branded with that scarlet letter. However, when people witness a raw kind of transparency from their pastors, it puts flesh on the values many of our churches hold to be authentic communities.<\/p>\n

And that flesh will be marked by scars.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also a way to model that transparency doesn\u2019t exist for its own sake but as an invitation to God\u2019s extravagant grace. It\u2019s a tremendous opportunity to teach the truths found of Scripture and the good news available of a Savior who meets us to walk together in our darkest places.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re like me, my flesh prefers to put my best face forward as I lead others. My spiritual wins and trophies as evidence of God\u2019s transforming power. When I say \u201cFollow me as I follow Christ,\u201d I usually picture myself in the more \u201cDavid slaying Goliath\u201d kind of moments.<\/p>\n

Yet, God gently continues to remind me that He is glorified in ways counterintuitive to the spirits of our age. As Paul described, \u201cTherefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ\u2019s power may reside in me.\u201d (2 Corinthians 12:9)<\/p>\n

Transparency can be a powerful gift as our churches witness that grace is available for them in their honest darkness just as it’s sufficient for their broken pastors.<\/p>\n

When a pastor shows that it\u2019s OK to not be OK, the church grows to be a family where it\u2019s OK to not be OK.<\/p>\n

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Dan Hyun<\/h2>\n

@villagedanhyun<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Dan is the husband to Judie, father of two girls, and lead pastor of The Village Church and Send City Missionary for Baltimore, Maryland.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n