Closing Dying Churches

Rev. Ed has a thoughtful post about the dynamics of small churches. Like the UMC, his denomination has an episcopal structure, so his examples are largely applicable to the experiences of many readers of Locusts & Honey:

When I first arrived here over eight years ago, much of the focus of the church was on survival. A few disputes had caused some to leave and my predecessor had just left -- another in a long line of pastors. Money was tight, attendance was down and concern drifted away from worshiping God and doing any real ministry. It wasn't easy to change the mindset around the church, but God used people and circumstances to do the improbable.

With this experience in mind, I want every local church to have the opportunity to remember the reason services are held. But at the same time if no one is willing to change out of survivalist mode, there is no reason for the church doors to remain open. The focus of the church is never to be the church itself, but upon Jesus Christ. But if we become so wed to the idea that the survival of one local church is of paramount importance to the Church Universal, we're really not worshiping God anyway.