Be Yourself

Remember all the excitement a few years ago when scientists cloned a sheep? They named her Dolly. Her birth was big news—a scientific breakthrough. But Dolly died in February 2003. She only lived to be six years old, about half as long as most sheep live.

You can't clone God's sheep. There's no quick, magic process for bringing a lost sheep back into God's fold. It usually takes a lot of time, effort, love, and patience. And no matter how much they resemble one another, no two of God's sheep are exactly alike. Every person is a unique creation of God, and every Christian brings a unique combination of personality traits and spiritual gifts to the body of Christ.

The same is true of local congregations. You can learn a lot from the church down the road or across the country, but you shouldn't try to copy everything that other church is doing. What works well in southern California or northern Illinois may not fit in central Missouri or eastern Kentucky. What works well in the United States may not work well in Australia or Venezuela. And what works well may not be biblically sound and proper for a church to do simply because it works well.

What is your church's special place in the work of God's kingdom? It's tempting to focus on your congregation's limitations and say, "Sure, we could grow if only we had a better location in a developing suburb, a more attractive building, a bigger parking lot, all the money that other church has, a preacher with more age and experience, a preacher with more youth and vitality," and so on. But how much better it would be to re-read the book of Acts in light of your congregation's unique strengths and opportunities, and ask, How can we be a first-century church for the twenty-first century and make a difference right where we are?

Over time, a church that does the basics with excellence will usually grow, no matter where it's located. What are the basics? Clear, relevant Bible teaching and preaching. Devotion to prayer and worship, evangelism and discipleship. Leaders who faithfully shepherd the flock and keep the church centered on Christ and his purpose. Genuine fellowship expressed in an atmosphere of love and grace. Unity in essential matters of faith, freedom and flexibility in matters of opinion. Unselfish concern not only for members of the congregation, but also for neighbors in the local community and for the lost and the hurting in faraway lands.

Qualities like these don't sound flashy and they may not sell a lot of books, but they are found in healthy churches of all sizes and cultures.

So, learn what you can from the church down the road. Go to seminars. Read books that tell how other churches are getting things done, and have the humility to learn from their example. But make sure you have the wisdom to discern what fits your congregation and your culture, and what doesn't.

Don't try to be a clone of some other Christian or some other church. Be the unique part of the body of Christ the Lord created you to be. Have the courage to be yourself.