It's Just Not Working
Frustrated by his ineffectiveness, this pastor did something … he admitted the truth. The first step toward change.
Bill Hull
July 1, 2005
We had just commissioned 83 new members. It was a proud moment. The newly initiated throng made their way off the platform, while I moved closer to the congregation to begin my sermon. "This is great, isn't it?" I began. "But before we get too giddy about new members, let me ask you a question. Why should we bring 83 new people into something that isn't working?" It was the first time in thirty years of ministry I had admitted something I was leading wasn't working. It appeared to be working, but it just wasn't. "Something is wrong," I said. "It has been tormenting me for several years. All the formulas, strategic planning, mission statements and visionary sermons are not making disciples." Indeed, I was haunted by it. Where was the personal transformation after all the effort we put into weekend services, Bible studies, small groups, and outreach events? We were stuck in the same rut that so many churches find themselves in—religious activity without real transformation. Successful and unsatisfied
You may say, "I've read Bill Hull's stuff, I know what he has to say about discipleship." But could it be that like me, you're tired of discipleship because you don't see it working? Could it be that like me you left something important out? Like me, could it be that you have been seduced by a false vision of leadership? Although I preached and wrote about discipleship, I felt like an ice skater gliding over the ice. Beneath the surface I could glimpse transformation, I just couldn't get at it. The icy barrier was church infrastructure, traditions, and the institutional community. But it was also a leadership model that insists pastors be managers of church growth rather than shepherds helping people go deeper into the life Christ ...
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