My friend?Matthew Lee Anderson?rattled off a fantastic string of tweets Monday night about church leaders who settle. Here’s the sequence of my favorite tweets from the string:
It's the pragmatists in the church who are the elitists. "Most people won't" expresses so little faith in the very people we serve.
— Matthew Anderson (@mattleeanderson) May 26, 2014
The only way to hold people's interests over a lifetime is by aiming 'above' them, not 'meeting them where they are.'
— Matthew Anderson (@mattleeanderson) May 26, 2014
People *crave* expansion. Growth is the iron law of the Christian life. To offer anything else is to bind people to death.
— Matthew Anderson (@mattleeanderson) May 26, 2014
If our faith that people will respond to our efforts is disappointed…so? Really. So? Welcome to the virtue of 'hope'.
— Matthew Anderson (@mattleeanderson) May 26, 2014
The low expectations evangelical pastors and writers have for those who follow them is the single greatest detriment to evangelical growth.
— Matthew Anderson (@mattleeanderson) May 26, 2014
Worse: Low expectations undermine the "pastors and writers's* growth. It's easier to quit learning if you think people won't follow you.
— Matthew Anderson (@mattleeanderson) May 26, 2014
Make arguments, give life. The two are disconnected only at our peril.
— Matthew Anderson (@mattleeanderson) May 26, 2014
Death to low expectations within the church, or they shall be the death of us. Or me, at least. </rant>
— Matthew Anderson (@mattleeanderson) May 26, 2014
This resonated with me in a way that made me think Matthew had been reading my mind and listening in on some of my conversations with colleagues. I’ve been trying to work this stuff out, trying to identify the proper balance between connecting with new believers and not-yet-believers and challenging lifelong believers. As a church communicator, I’m often thinking about my audience ? who they are and how to best serve them ? and I think that’s what Matthew’s was working out too.
In all of this, it occurs to me that one of the biggest mistakes we make as church leaders is to aim too low. If we fail to aim above people’s heads, to use Matthew’s phrase, we fail to give our people anything to reach for and grow toward. And isn’t that what the Christian life is about??Becoming? I believe it is.
As we plan and lead in the days, weeks, and months to come, may that one phrase continue to rattle around in our minds:?Death to low expectations in the church. As it rattles around, I bet we aim a little higher.
