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I often write about how churches should be equipping their members for mission “out there” in the environments where they already are. The challenge is that even if the pastor or church leaders want to do this, it might be difficult. At the most basic level, most of us just don’t like change! In addition, at the ECO conference this week, one speaker (I’ve forgotten who!) described a set of specific factors that often make change difficult.

Some church members are less tied to the grand vision of the church, whatever it is, than to one or more of the following, which we can call “The 4 Ps.”

• Personality of the pastor, possibly including his preaching style, interpersonal skills, ministry habits.
• Place to include the building, service times, decor, etc.
• Program, which includes how Sunday morning church is done as well as other specific programs of the church.
• People, meaning my friends.

The key is that if any of these change, some people are likely to leave the church. I knew of a church, where, in the middle of a merger, the leaders started tinkering with the decor of the platform. People left.

I can think of two possible antidotes for this phenomenon. First, talk about the real vision of the church and orient the folks to The 4 Ps. Then if people start getting distracted by one or more of them, we can gently point them toward the larger vision of the church and point out that we’re getting distracted by The 4 Ps.

The second possible antidote is to encourage folks have an experience with God outside of church. Daily time with God and living on mission come to mind (both of which I wrote about in Join the Adventure!). One of the staff pastors of the church where people were leaving over the platform decor told me, “My Christian experience is so much more than what happens on Sunday morning. I can’t imagine someone leaving a church over something as trivial as how we decorate the platform.”

Maybe the real solution is that we stay focused on Jesus…

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. (Ephesians 2.19, 20, NIV)