6 Reasons Why Churches
Aren’t Transforming Minds (and What to Do About It!)
Written by David
Seemuth
After
33 years as an Associate Pastor at one church, I found myself unemployed. So, I
went to see what was out there. I toured different churches of many brands and
styles.
I
visited one church where a Pastor directed the staff to take a picture ten
minutes into each of the four Weekend services. On Mondays, a staff member
would count the weekend attendees. Their reason was “theologically based” in
Acts 2:41, “…and about three thousand were added to their number that day.”
Counting
is clearly pragmatic, but numbers alone seemed like thin ice to stand on
theologically.
At
another Church, I encountered a woman grieving the tragic death of her son. One
person said to her, “Aren’t you glad you have your other children?”
What
was this person thinking? As followers of Jesus, shouldn’t we respond to grief
with thoughtful responses—not unthinking, empty words?
The “thinking” I
saw during my tour of churches left me discouraged. There were a lot of good
things going on in the churches I visited, but where was the “transformation of
the mind?”
Transformation of the Mind
What
does it mean to know God and grow in our discipleship? For Paul,
“transformation of the mind” was key.
“Have the same
way of thinking as Jesus the King had.” (Philippians 2:5)
Later
in the letter, Paul describes what a person with such thinking would focus on:
Finally, brothers and sisters,
whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or
praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)
The
life of the follower of Jesus is perhaps most clearly summarized in Paul’s
words in Romans 12:
“Do not conform
to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
So,
why are Churches struggling to renew minds? And what can we do about it?
1. We confuse
being accessible with being simplistic.
Congregations
have a range of educational backgrounds. Speaking to everyone is tough. Of
course, no one wants to hear a teacher or preacher intentionally use words that
are totally out of reach of a congregation. Moreover, it’s true that what
people seem to want are “simple thoughts” and “simple truths. The problem
is that life is not simple; it is complex.
Rather
than “dumbing it down” to cater to a desire for a simplicity that can never
lead to mature faith, every church leader, teacher, or preacher
must be willing to do the hard work of making the complex
accessible. Renewal of the mind comes when we urge thoughtful discussion,
even in the midst of complexities.
Renewal of the
mind comes when we urge thoughtful discussion in the midst of complexities.
2. We create a false dichotomy
between experience and intellect.
Brain
imaging science has shown us how important experience is. Right brain
activity, usually associated with experience and emotion, is not separate from
the intellect—it is a part of thinking! Sadly churches often pit intellect and
emotion against each other;
Consider
the example of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is first experienced: we taste,
smell, and share the meal. The Eucharist is not primarily explainable, though
theologians have certainly tried to do that. That experience, among so many
experiences in worship, is part of the renewal of the mind.
The renewal of
the mind occurs through both experience and intellect. Churches need to
facilitate experiences of the Holy Spirit and then be ready to help people
process the thoughts.
3. We get stuck in
the how rather than the why of being the church.
Being
practical is important. We must get things done. But, let’s get the right
things done. As followers of Jesus (and not business people), our being
practical needs must be rooted in theological reflection and
conversation over what we do and how we do it.
For
instance, each interaction between members of the church, whether
in weekend services or occasional greetings, have the potential for
bringing renewal by the Spirit. This is what Paul is aiming for when he gives
instructions for worship gatherings in 1 Corinthians 14. Interactions should
bring “encouragement, comfort, and edification” (1 Corinthians 14:3). The end
result is that the Corinthians would “stop thinking like children,” a true
renewal of the mind! (1 Corinthians 14:20).
We
create opportunities for the renewal of the mind when we stop focusing on the
“how” of ministry and reflect on why.
We create
opportunities for the renewal of the mind when we shift from how’s? to why ?'s
4. We settle for fill in
the blank study over theological understanding.
We
have a plethora of study guides that rely on “fill-in-the-blank” answers. The
assumption is that this method is enough to help people move from filling in
the answer to understanding the thought behind the question and the answer.
Now,
I’m guilty of this. I have written and published several fill-in-the-blank
study guides. However, as I’ve trained leaders, I found a hunger for rich
discussion about the theology behind the questions and answers. We need
to help people move from “fill-in-the-blank” to “explain-the-thought.”
Renewal of the
mind will come as we teach for understanding, not just correct answers.
5. We strive for efficiency in
leadership training rather than proficiency.
We
all know leaders are busy. They want wise, effective use of their time. Thus,
they want meetings to be on point and on time.
When
you give those same leaders the opportunity to go deeper on a subject, they can
get excited, and don’t care as much about the time. We shouldn’t assume
leaders are too busy for learning. For 30 years as a pastor and professor I saw
ministry leaders spend as much as 45 hours a week for a semester of theological
training. They would even pay for it, and even if they weren’t going to receive
college credit! Many said they simply wanted to be more prepared for ministry.
Renewal
of the mind means training leaders until they are proficient, not limiting them
to training that is time efficient.
6. We assume limited
understanding rather than boundless resources.
According
to the New Yorker magazine, on May 31, 2016, Stephen Hawking, world-renowned
physicist, spoke to a television interviewer in London and called presidential
nominee Donald Trump “a demagogue who seems to appeal to the lowest common
denominator.” Moments later, Google reported a sharp increase in searches for
the terms “demagogue,” “denominator,” and “Stephen Hawking.”
Regardless
of your political affiliations, this demonstrates the ubiquity of resources at
our fingertips. We needn’t dumb down language or assume limited understanding.
We can push congregations to explore ideas through the vast resources at their
fingertips.
To
renew minds, we encourage the women and men of our churches to take advantage
of their resources and learn on their own.
To renew minds,
we must not dumb down language or assume limited understanding!
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