Escaping Congregational Doldrums
When a church languishes, sometimes the causes are hidden.
Bob Moeller
July 1, 1989
Ancient mariners feared the doldrums. They could die of thirst or starvation if they were caught in the wrong latitudes for too long with no wind. Churches are much the same if they're caught without motivational winds.
I once talked with a church member who had no hope that the church could continue. "There are no people left to come here," he sadly explained.
That seemed odd to me. The church was located in one of the most densely populated areas of a major city. What he was really saying, however, was, "The reason people used to come here no longer exists, and so no one is coming." On that score he was right. The problem was not an inadequate supply of people but rather an inability to connect the church's purpose to the people it touched.
The church that once went full steam ahead with a clear and definite sense of mission, the church that once drew members almost effortlessly through a contagious spiritual life-that church may now be struggling, thirsting for a reason to exist. But how does that happen?
Here are some often-overlooked causes and cures of congregational doldrums.
Caught in a Cultural Time Warp
Some churches that find their sails hanging listlessly have lost touch with their community's current needs.
I once heard of a well-meaning parishioner who suggested the church lights needed to be on even on Sunday evenings when they weren't having services, as a witness to the community. Apart from the ethical question of possibly creating false appearances, I had trouble understanding the evangelistic value of such a luminous testimony.
Yet in my own parish, I received a phone call from a neighbor upset that the church had no social conscience-we were wasting energy by leaving lights on in the offices all night. I was ...
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