Since announcing that we’re moving to Austin to plant a church, I’ve been in contact with a fair number of people who have a friend or relative in the Austin area who aren’t connected to a church of any sort.
Most, if not all, of these referrals would consider themselves to be Christians, but they see no need for “church.” One person put it well when he described his child as being “burned out on traditional church.”
Which makes me wonder: Why are so many Christians finding themselves burning out on traditional church?
I ask for two reasons.
1. I don’t want to plant a church that causes Christians to burn out.
2. I’d love to help create the kind of community that would draw in and reinvigorate these burned out Christians (While at the same time pursuing our primary goal of connecting with those who don’t follow Christ and have no church experience).
What do you think?
Telling Stories, Asking Questions, Learning Lessons
We’ve had a hard time finding a church since moving to Dallas because it seems so hard to find people who want to let Jesus change them. It’s hard enough for us to keep that mindset, without being surrounded by people who have lost interest in it. That’s one of the reasons it was such a tough thing to leave Garnett.
Wade,
I think church should be a place of community, and like you say a community that would reinvigorate burned out Christians.
I would hope that reinvigorating those who have experienced burn out, would lend itself to reaching out to or connecting to those who don’t follow Christ or have no church experience.
Maybe that is the reason for some of the burn out…no connection to the story, or a place in that same story, no sense of mission, in other words no relevance to their lives.
Blessings on your new work!
I don’t think most Christians are burning out…
Chad-I didn’t say most. I said many. There is a difference.
Wade,
I think that people who are burned out on church are burned out on Church in a box with the Sunday morning performance. What would a church look like without a building, a business license, and a ‘show’?
This is a great question. Any place of worship needs to be a place for relationship and belonging. Now we all feel some sort of belonging at different places, but when we see division made over and over between our Christian family, its so hard to feel that belonging. There needs to be more unity between our Christian family because we are all children of God. What’s hard to comprehend is all the little things in between. “I like this kind of worship style.” “There was a woman using a mic today.” These are just a couple of examples that don’t apply to all, but show that we get off focus of loving others just as Christ would. We decide to serve ourselves instead of others. When you have a clear goal of winning others for Christ and you ask the question, is this issue or matter winning others for Christ, things can feel much more unified.
I think we all realize that there’s no simple answer to your question. I’ve been slogging through the book unChristian, which does a good job of bringing out many, at least for younger adults.
As a generalization, I think all of us have seen a lot of unhealthy churches — groups it’s just not good to be part of. Perhaps thinking about what a healthy church looks like can give some clues.
I don’t have the answer to that… I know that while I’ve been in between ministry work I’ve wrestled with “going to church.” But that’s a long story.
I do have a recommendation. A book called Christianity For The Rest Of Us by Diana Butler Bass. It’s a study of what the neighborhood, mainline denominations like Methodists, Presbyterians, etc. have done to reignite and cultivate welcoming atmospheres for once burnt-out Christians. You can find in it great insight which, surprisingly to some, has nothing to do with the consumer oriented gimmicks evangelical churches sometimes turn to in order to keep the fire aflame.
I thank God for what you’re doing, Wade.
Just be a group of people who do what you feel the Spirit is leading you to do, not what tradition dictates that you do. This will mean that you may have some programs and may leave others behind. I think the best “churches” are those whose work reflects the gifts of the “members”. We get “burned out” when we busy ourselves doing things that we weren’t made to do because tradition dicates that they must be done. I have no doubt (from listening to your teaching) that you will do this well.
Usually the quality of the information we gather is only as good as the questions we ask. Your question is a good start.
People burn out on church for the same reason they burn out on Starbucks, golf, hunting or their favorite fast food. Sometimes the “been there, done that” fatigue kicks in.
Many church settings have become an artificial substitute for truly encountering God. Too much of it is contrived and has no purpose past saying we met as prescribed.
The secret to most (if not all) of our woes in the modern church is this – when church isn’t fascinating, trace it to the lack of the Holy Spirit’s work. When the Spirit truly works in a group, you can’t avoid being drawn in, again and again. And He will not participate unless invited, and unless He feels welcome.
When I read Acts and marked all the places where the Holy Spirit took charge, I was amazed.
Blessings on your new work, Wade.
My response will probably sound trite and maybe even cynical, but it isn’t intended to. I believe the reason Christians burn out is the same reason the Jews burned out long before Jesus came. That reason is religion does not make a meaningful difference in their lives or those around them.
My sister and brother-in-law planted a church almost 10 years ago now with the intent of reaching to those many others do not. The result was a very substantial growth in numbers of people attending. But it wasn’t because of their more casual worship, or the programming. It was because they made a real difference in the lives of the people they were reaching.
When we as Christians allow church to take the place of working with God to really change who and what we are to become, we fall into the same trap as the Jews.
As an example, people tend to burn out on exercise when they no longer are seeing positive improvements in their body or fitness level. They can plateau, and exercise no longer has the intended positive effects. Once the newness wears off, the novelty is no longer there to keep them coming back.
Christianity, like exercise, must produce a continual positive effect in the life and being of a Christian or they too will plateau and reach burn out.
Not sure it is helpful, but that is my $.02.
I’ll bet if you plant a church that’s reaching lost people, these other things will take care of themselves.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0310/p09s01-coop.html
interesting article about a prediction for churches in the U.S.
It’s time to make genuine disciples for Christ. Too much is focused on the church vs. Christ.
You just made me a little tired at times.
;-}
I miss ya!
Personally it also depends on your context of where your planting your church in the Austin Area. Austin is a more liberal community, Williamson County is more conservative, which personally to me is more evangelical, more numbers oriented, more Kool Aid drinking. If you’re trying to develop followers who you want to do the pattern right then do it in Williamson County.
If you want to have a group of free thinkers who are struggling with organized religion and who will tax your theology and bring struggles to how you’ve done ministry over the years. Then come to Austin.
Now this might sound judgmental, and it probably is but I’ve seen the church plants of suburbs in the past, most of which were catering to an “certain” audience which is middle class carbon copies whose homes look the same and whose theology is not much different then their fast food “happy meal”.
if you need encouragement or a friend while you’re there,
look up the folks at The Well Bible Church.
super rad, hosted us a couple times when we blew through with 26 ugandan kids.
When church is a machine, it wears people out. Churches can get mechanistic all too easily. The American ethic of efficiency and productivity and materialism (not even necessarily greed, but dependence on things) and smoothly flowing this-n-that can get people burned out.
Also, when sermons are a constant train of how to make things better when there is no real sense of corporate empohasis on actually doing mission, then people get fat on learning and anemic on doing.
Finally, when people identify themselves as citizen s of their family, church, and community, they shift from being overly consuming to a more balanced comsuming and producing identity. Overconsumption in church is killing church.
Praying for you friend! He’s speaking to you and I know you’re listening. Can’t wait to see which one of these burnouts are your “peter”…”john mark”… Just know he’s with you bro!
also, remember that Jesus never causes anyone to burnout…but does the opposite. If he doesn’t cause you to burn out, then he won’t build a church through you that burns people out. He’s so with you bro … You’ll only attract in others according to what’s in you…
You have to be kidding me! This is a result of a complete lack of discipline that is going on with all people today, and those of us that are supposed to be SET APART have fallen right in. We are commanded to fellowship, commanded to worship, commanded to study to show ourselves approved. Burned out? How about lazy, and the world way is the easy way. BTW, from someone who is lazy and has made the statement I am burned out. Dont make a societal issue the church’s fault…regardless of denomination or faith. Employees are less productive, lawsuits are at an alltime high, and Christians have fallen right into it. This is so discouraging to me. The church does not cause burnout or hurt people…People burn out and people hurt people.
People are the church, Chris. So what are you saying?
More accurately… the church is made-up of people.
You are right. So what should we do then…oh yes..quit. Say it’s too hard. Its not worth it. I can it w/o church. Avoid the issue, don’t work to help solve it.
Churches are certainly made of people, but when people gather and identify with each other, it becomes something else. Furhtermore, when the Holy Spirit is involved, like it is with a church, there is another factor.
It is impossible for people (some of the main elements of church) to interact as though culture were not influential. In fact, I would argue that denial of cultural influence is tantamount to swallowing it whole and not konwing you did.
The question is not how do we keep culture out of church, an impossibility (even in the first century), but rather how do we access the good in culture and redeem the bad?
Are some people lazy? Sure. But the decline in churhc engagement cannot be accounted for by laziness alone. Something else is going on here.
When church has losts it meaning and people are cogs and not meaning-makers, action-takers, and mutual-identifiers, the whole mission of the church is reduced to “good sermons” and “good worship.” If it about that then it has become consumer minded and not mission minded.
The church has lost its mission. People burn out when the there is no mission, purpose or meaning to their affiliation.
I get burned out on church when Jesus isn’t there.
When He isn’t at the center of the worship. Hey, I get burned out even when He’s just trotted in for a quick cameo or a segue to the invitation song. When He doesn’t even get mentioned at His table. When we haven’t sung a single song to Him or about Him.
I confess I am completely of a church consumer mentality. I go to church to meet Jesus, and when He’s not there, my expectations are violated and I go away burned out.
Fajita, you are right. The Holy Spirit is the key. But this is societal for the most part. I lead a company and experience first hand how PEOPLE today would rather quit than work through challenges. PEOPLE would rather go on FMLA Medical Leave than face a performance improvement plan. PEOPLE would rather, in nearly every case, take the easy way out. That is humanness, not Holy Spirit stuff.
I’m not burned out on the church–I love being with the church. I am burned out on the hours and hours of focus on the building and with the time mismatch spent on internal programs vs. community-facing/located relationship building.
I am burnt out on circling the constitutional wagons to the point that we exclude true believers at the expense of doctrinal purity in the non-essentials.
Lord, let me be more like Paul, determined to know nothing but You! There’s no burn out when the church as the body/His people are Christ focused.
Grace!
I think that people get burned out on church because it sometimes is hard to keep up the appearance that everything is fine, that Jesus is Lord, that you’re living a triumphant life. I don’t think that church always lets it be okay to doubt, struggle with sin, or just have a bad day.
At the same time, I think that sometimes we get burned out because we make kingdom life all about doing, doing, doing. We don’t accept the invitation to come and sit at his feet like Marry, rather we run about attempting to finish the work that never will be done like Martha. First things first: we need that time away with him so he can whisper the great things of his heart into our own heart.
By the way, the link LeighAnn posted was really saddening…
The core of Austin is the “church planters’ graveyard.” If you want to still do church the traditional, mega-church way move out to the suburbs like all the evangelical churches did in Austin. Bringing people to Jesus in the core is not for the faint of heart or faith. Beware.
Dean and Wade, I was told about a year ago that 15 planters had shut their door along the Slaughter Lane corridor (South Austin) in the last 5 years. That’s when I first heard the expression “Church planters graveyard”. At first I didn’t believe it… but I know of at least 3 more in the past year.
Dean, my understanding is that Austin is not alone. thoughts?
Wade, great conversation. I’d love to connect and hear your vision for Austin. blessings, Brandon Hatmaker
Pessimism