Leap Church....

On Leap Day, I was in a local coffee shop working on my sermon and at a table near me were four 20somethings talking about church connections.   I couldn't help but listen in on their conversation as they were kinda loud - especially the "leader" of the group, who happened to be an assistant pastor at a local church.

These four 20somethings were talking about the various churches that they had been part of in their short lifetime and all four of them had one thing in common.  They had been part of more churches in their short life time than I have been part of in my 46 years!   Two of them rattled off 6 different local churches that they "used to attend"... starting with the church they went to with their parents or in one case grandparents.   Their choice of churches got progressively more contemporary.   Although the last three churches that they named I would put on the same level in that category.

In reflecting on their conversation, I had a thought.  It used to be said that on average a pastor leaves a church about every 4 years and it takes a minimum of 7 years for the foundation to get set to make changes in a church and see fruit.   So, the implication was that if Pastors leave before they have the stage set to produce fruit, no wonder our churches are not making much progress... about all they can do it get to know the new pastor and then it is time to do that all over again.   

In relation to this overheard conversation, I had this thought... what if one of the current diseases the church is facing is not that pastors don't hang around long enough but that participants practice Leap Church too much.  Think about it... if 2 20somethings have been part of 6 churches in their short life, what impact have they had in the mission of those churches?   NOT MUCH!   It seems they are spending most of their time getting to know new people in the churches and not much else.

I certainly see evidence of this disease in our churches.  It comes from our consumer society where in relation to the church we become consumers of religious goods rather than disciples of Jesus.   Something to think about!