Matthew 25:18
But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.
William Barclay wrote, "the useless servant buried his talent in the ground, in order that he might hand it back to his master exactly as it was. The whole aim of the Scribes and Pharisees was to keep the Law exactly as it was. In their own phrase, they sought 'to build a fence around the Law.'”
Back in the days of knights and fiefdoms attackers would often "lay siege" to an enemy's castle. A siege is "a military operation in which enemy forces surround a town or building, cutting off essential supplies, with the aim of compelling the surrender of those inside". By cutting off the flow of supplies, the enemy would starve out those in the castle.
I have spent a lot of time around churches that are in the process of dying. One sad fact is that many don't realize that they are in the process. They perceive their sacred duty as keeping the church alive by keeping it just like it was. As time moves forward and the world around the church changes, the very fence they construct to preserve the church becomes in essence a siege wall. Eventually, those in the church are starved out.
Jesus teaches us to take risks with the "talents" that He's given to us! After all, religion is nothing without a little adventure!
Have a great adventure!
Lon
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4 comments:
Let's say hypothetically we see the self-seige happening to our church. How do we change it?
Pheaney,
Sorry for my slow response! My intention was to use my next post to respond to your awesome question...but that hasn't happened, yet! I hope to post something later today. We'll see...
Thanks for the great question and for your patience while waiting for my response!
Lon
Hi Lon,
Great posting and a highly accurate way of describing what is happening to all too many churches. As you and I have discussed, leadership plays a significant role in the seige. I think it's related to what I have described as the differene between leader development and "leader rotation". All too often, churches get "good people" into leadership positions, they are committed, show up and do a good job, so we don't want to lose them. As a result, they are re-appointed or rotated to other key leadership positions without ever developing any bench strength - one or preferably more congregation members who could also grow in Christ while sharing their gifts through a leadership role. All this leads to stagnation, group think and, ultimately the self-seige of the church. So at least one simple suggestion I have is for church leaders - all of them, staff and laity - to ask themselves regularly, "If I do this job (or remain in this role), who might I be preventing from furthering the mission of the church and building His kingdom?"
Right on, Mark! Leadership is a huge factor in any self-siege. And, leadership could be THE critical factor in breaking through the siege forces. Clearly, however, burned-out leaders are less likely to lead in any direction that might appear risky from a worldly perspective.
Lon
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