It's worth a read, especially if you can bear reading a lot of stats (or, if you can bring yourself to skim-read them, or even just skip to the second half!).
On the way through, he makes a few "I'm letting my guard-down" kinda comments. Here was one that caught my eye especially. Why? Because I'm naturally inclined to implement systems/processes/policies that guard against sloppiness. I like striving for excellence. Stetzer reckons I oughta be careful:
"I am going to go out on a limb and say that one of the biggest causes of a lack of authenticity in churches today is when a church values excellence over honesty. OK--there--I said it. Excellence can be an authenticity killer. […] When our desire to appear excellent or polished outweighs our desire to be seen as broken, fallen sinners in desperate need of God's redemptive gift of grace, there is a real problem. […] What will it take? One leader willing to be vulnerable can bring a sense of freedom to a congregation caged by fear." (Lost and Found, 204).Some ways for me to apply:
- (As a preacher) make sure I include how the passage hit me between the eyes, not just what I reckon should hit my congregation between the eyes (are we really that different, anyway)?
- Think carefully about what to include in the prayer of corporate confession (or whatever it looks like in your liturgy). Make it real.
- Laugh it off when the systems all fall over and my dream for excellence turns into a nightmare of sloppiness.
