The wise preacher reminds us in Ecclesiastes 3:7b that there is “a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.” But if you are a pastor, elder or ministry leader then you may feel the tension of discerning which one you need to do at any given moment.
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Church growth writers talk about the bell-shaped curve that characterizes the growth of many churches. The left side of the bell curve is exciting (vision, outreach, growth, etc.), but the right side is challenging (nostalgia, decline, division, etc.).
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What comes to mind when you think of attrition in your church? Perhaps you think about the attrition of membership or attendance. Maybe you think about financial attrition. However, I want to draw your attention to a different and often overlooked category: cultural attrition.
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We live in a day when the busyness of families and the many facets of the culture enticing the hearts and souls of our kids is off the charts. In the last three churches I have served, we found that one of the best tools to combat these challenges is to train Christian parents to celebrate the spiritual and physical milestones of their children.
Too often, our approach to the Bible is problematic because we want to be instant experts. We have very little tolerance for unanswered questions, forgetting that answers come as we keep visiting the text.
