Empowering and equipping churches and leaders to create lasting and transformational health.

Patrick Lencioni, in his book, The Advantage, notes that ‘organizational health trumps everything.’ Not only have we found his argument to be true in the church to a high degree, but we have also found it to be true for the leaders of the church as well. Outside of the work of God through the Gospel, health is the most important factor in the effectiveness of pastors, staff and ministry leaders. Outside of the work of God through Gospel, the most important factor in the effectiveness of a church is the health of the church. Health trumps all.

Habits of Healthy Churches

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Habits of Healthy Churches

Habits of Healthy Churches

Health does not happen by accident; it takes intention and action. Your church may not be the biggest, best or most resourced, but it can be the healthiest church it can be. You may not be the most dynamic pastor or staff member, but you can be the healthiest you can be. Health trumps. Healthy leaders are thriving leaders. Healthy churches are thriving churches. God wants his children and his churches to experience lasting and transformative health. Health in every area of our lives is part of the promise of the abundant life. Health is not easy, but it is essential.

There are 7 habits of healthy churches:

Healthy Churches…

  1. Healthy churches are praying churches.
  2. Healthy churches do conflict well.
  3. Healthy churches make decisions in a healthy way.
  4. Healthy churches are focused more on those outside the church than those inside the church.
  5. Healthy churches focus on adoption rather than assimilation.
  6. Healthy churches value process.
  7. Not territorial.

Healthy churches are praying churches.

It seems cliche and perhaps even a bit obvious, but the reality is that few churches make prayer a priority. If how conflict is handled is the #2 determinant in church health, then prayer is #1.

We often tell God our plans and ask (or expect) that they would be blessed rather than to look the Holy Spirit, ask what the Spirit is doing, and join the spirit in that work.

Healthy churches empower and celebrate prayer warriors.

Healthy churches emphasize prayer.

Healthy churches have prayer as a part of much of their events, programs and services as possible.

Healthy churches have seasons (such as 40 days) of prayer.

Healthy churches teach and preach on prayer.

Prayer is not a great work. It is the greater work.

We pray about the things that matter most to us.

Prayer does not always change things, but prayer does change us..

Healthy churches do conflict well.

The number two factor as to whether or not a church is healthy and growing is how they handle conflict (in case you are wondering, being a praying church is number 1).

Luckily, Jesus gave us specific instructions for dealing with conflict, hurt, and even sin in the church. Often, especially as Americans, we like lists and instructions, so we are fortunate to have this rare instance where Jesus gives us specific steps. Unfortunately, churches mostly ignore these instructions, and they pay the price. Conflict not handled in a biblical way is a major reason for the decline of churches and our failure to reach a whole generation.

Conflict not done well is one of three common diseases in the church and is like the flu. If you have ever had the flu, you know it is not fun. When the flu hits, everything else stops. You feel utter helplessness as you have no control over your body. Unresolved conflict as well as conflict handled in an unbiblical way is the flu of the church. The good news is that most often it is preventable by its own flu shot, Matthew 18. Jesus gives us specific instructions on how to deal with conflict, and in dealing with it in the way that Jesus has instructed, we are able to avoid the additional suffering that comes with this virus of the church. Every church should have a conflict covenant based on Matthew 18 and that conflict covenant is more important than the church constitution or any policy or procedure the church might have.

So what does doing conflict well look like? 

It is simple. All we have to do is look to Matthew 18:15-20. It includes four steps:

  1. Go to the person directly
  • Talk to the person, not about the person.
    • Talking about people instead of to them is gossip. Gossip is a sin. It is cancer to the church, or as one pastor says, gossip stunts growth.
  • If it’s a personal offense or hurt, it’s obvious whom to talk to. If it’s the way something is done in the church, it’s not always obvious, but in most cases, it is the pastor. Rarely does it or should it start with the board/council/elders. In some cases it might be another staff member or lay leader.

If that does not resolve it….

  1. Bring in a third person.
  • This should be a neutral party who is focused on restoring relationship, not on deciding who is ‘right’ and who is ‘wrong.’
  • They often act as a translator or buffer.
  • In a church, this could be a pastor (unless it involves a pastor) or someone from the board/elders/council if it does involve the pastor.
  • It is actually good to set up a team that does this and to utilize someone from this team. In addition to helping resolve conflict, the team can also help encourage and support the staff and their families.

If that does not resolve it….

  1. Get a group involved.
  • In churches, it is best to have a team that does this and to not have staff or elders/council/board members participate.
  • The job of the team is to bring resolution and restore relationship, not to act as judge or jury.

If that does not resolve it….

  1. Take it to the church.
  • Bring the issue to the larger body for resolution. Understand that this is messy and is the last resort. It is almost unheard of for someone to get to this step.

If that does not resolve it….

  1. Help someone transition out of the relationship.
  • This means helping someone find a new church home in the case of churches. Again, it is almost unheard of for a church or person to get to this point if all the other steps have been followed.

In helping and seeing churches do this, I have only once seen it go to step 3 and never beyond.

Conflict matters and Jesus gave us the model. Conflict, while hard is not bad. Often God uses it to bring restoration and healing. God also uses it to make all of us and the church better.

Healthy churches make decisions in a healthy way.

How does a church make a decision in a healthy way? Here are some key principles:

  • Make the decision for the right reason
    • Wrong reasons include: fear, reactivity, pleasing people, tradition
    • Right reasons include: reaching people, making disciples, church health
    • Is the decision:
      • Biblical?
      • Compatible with our denominational theology?
      • Consistent with our mission & identity?
  • Make the decision the right way – using a healthy, efficient process.
    • Including the right people in the conversation
    • Having a clear process for the decision and implementation
  • Implement the decision to the best of your ability
    • Follow the plan
    • Learn as you go
    • Communicate, communicate, communicate!

Some other principles:

  • Don’t vote on anything you do not have to (budget, pastors, council)!
  • Focus on team and consensus
  • Avoid involving too many people/opinions. Let your leaders lead, but not in isolation.
  • Have a good, explainable “why”

Healthy churches are focused more on those outside the church than those inside the church.

This does not mean that you ignore those inside your church. In reality, many churches are already good at caring for those inside the church. 

The church is the only institution/organization that exists primarily for those outside of it.

Christian churches are focused on reaching the least, the last, and lost – sharing the priorities of Jesus.

We all have come to faith because of someone else.

We have a world that needs Jesus.

The movement of Jesus is about multiplication.

The Church is the bride of Christ and the tool God has decided to use to spread the Gospel.

Mature Christians set aside their preferences for less mature Christians.

Healthy churches value process.

Churches tend to under process conflict and overprocess everything else.

In some ways, process matters more than results. Process allows for learning and adjustments and creates a culture where everything can be seen as an experiment. 

Discipleship itself is a journey and a process, not a destination. While results matter, our tendency to selectively over emphasize results in the church is a mistake.

When you fail and have a process, you end up with learning experiences and stories that shape you.

When you fail without a process, you end up with chaos, hurt, conflict and more. 

Churches without process often make decisions based on feelings, preferences, people pleasing and fear.

Churches with process often make decisions based on mission, scripture, theology and identity.

Healthy Churches have a process that focus on the mission rather than the methods.

Healthy churches are not territorial.

Almost every church struggles with some incidents or areas where there is territorialism. 

The healthier the church, the less of this there is.

Territorialism can occur with space, resources or ministries.

Every space in the church except for personal offices should be a shared space. Ultimately, the building, resources and ministries of the church belong to God. They do not belong to the congregation, pastor, staff, ministry teams etc.

Even though we often learn to share in preschool or kindergarten, it is a skill we easily seem to lose in churches. Lack of shared spaces is often well intentioned and rooted in passion for a particular ministry or space. 

While it may be well intentioned, it is never healthy and is often toxic. It almost always leads to hurt feelings and can prevent focusing on mission and vision.

The church of Jesus Christ will never die, but individual churches may die. Churches can only die from within. It is often a death of 100,000 paper cuts – it is the petty stuff that is often the issue. Territorialism is always petty and can even rise to the level of idolatry.

Healthy churches avoid a focus on the petty and territorial.

Our Church Health Services

  • Health Retreats The purpose of our health retreats is to equip teams to have greater leader and team health. These retreats are offered in 1, 1.5 or 2 day formats. We utilize a variety of approaches including teaching, activities and other tools to enhance the health of the participants as individuals and as a whole. Each retreat addresses church health, leader health, team building and personal spiritual formation. We offer these retreats for two different audiences:
    • Staff Health Retreats (for staff teams). 
    • Governing Board Health Retreats (for elders, councils, sessions etc).
  • Staff Health Consultations 45-60 minute individual leader health coaching sessions. Areas of emphasis include greater productivity & joy in work (Working Genius), self-knowledge (Enneagram), self-care and more.
  • Individual Leader Coaching Self-knowledge and leadership development coaching using the Enneagram.
  • Preaching and Pulpit Supply Team members deliver sermon(s) the Habits of Healthy Churches or other church and leader health topics.
  • Church Health Consultation An assessment of the health of a church using the habits of healthy churches. Includes a 2-4 day onsite visit, virtual meetings and surveys.
  • Education Seminars for churches ranging from 1-4 hours covering topics such as: habits of healthy churches, leader health, conflict in the church, healthy leadership principles and models. 
  • Other Contextualized Services as needed.

View our full menu of services here.

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