Learning and Leading in Ministry: Chapter Fourteen

The Basic Mission Comes First

Learn focus.

“He is a jack of all trades, but master of none.” This time-worn aphorism may describe how people got by in the world of the last century, but we now live in the day of specialization and focus. From cardiologists to neurologists, from tax attorneys to corporate lawyers, from rough framers to finish carpenters, we all know the importance of knowledge or skill concentrated in a single individual. Those who know a little about a lot may make interesting conversationalists, but when it comes to contracting a critical job, we‘re more apt to hire the guy who knows a lot about a little.

The minutia of peripheral activities that surround today’s average task continues to grow exponentially. An example that comes immediately to mind is technology in the modern office. Regardless of the nature of the revenue-producing business, office managers can quickly get so bogged down in hardware, software, bugs and crashes, internet access, spyware and malware, networking and desktop publishing, plus hundreds of other computer related activities, that they have difficulty finding the time to do the job that they are supposed to do. In the church arena, huge problems often erupt over building plans, site locations, expenditures of money, music styles, ministry appointees, service times, choir robes, choice of carpet and serving of coffee, causing people to lose the real purpose for belonging to the church in the first place.

But it doesn’t take a crisis to throw a church off track. Successful ventures into para-church activities can have the same effect. A joking comment circulated among churches several years ago that “we ought to change our name to the “United Peanut Brittle Church.” A fabulous music ministry, breathtaking décor, a phenomenal fundraising program, a cutting-edge multi-media operation or an outstanding catering service, all ministries that can benefit the congregation, at the same time can overshadow the core purpose of preaching the gospel and reaching the lost. Too much time spent on the extras leaves too little time for the primary task.

Churches and leaders should never become so enthusiastic over a fundraising project or some other side-issue that it swallows up their calendar and consumes them. I am personally aware of a number of churches that lost their focus because they got so wrapped up in making money though pyramid schemes or tiered sales organizations that they forgot what they were all about. One church tried to infringe on the buying habits of its members, forcing them to shop for their personal and household needs in a room in the church basement. It was soon seen as a misguided attempt to exploit people and eventually factored into the demise of a once thriving congregation.

Derailing the basic mission of the church often comes down to degree, not substance. Indulge in the peripherals only as much as is necessary, and only to the point that it actually serves the ministries of the church. Be skeptical of anything that threatens to evolve into a time and energy eating monster. When any extra-curricular venture absorbs the core energy of the church, it will most certainly throw the mission out of focus and negate its purpose. The preaching of Jesus Christ and Him crucified must be the constant and dominant theme of every message and ministry. Our mission is still the great commission!