L Cole Harper

I spend my time making disciples of young people.

The Church has a Pacing Problem

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This summer I will begin my eighth season of coaching cross country at the local high school. One of the most common mistakes of new runners is the problem of pacing. If you go out too fast, you burn out. If you go too slow, your poor performance costs the whole team. Paul was wise to liken ministry to a race in 2 Timothy 4:7 – they are alike in many ways. We have a pacing problem in the church, too.

Too Fast for God

One of the most impactful books I read over the past several years is The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer. The title of his book comes from a conversation where John Ortberg asks Dallas Willard what he must do to become spiritually healthy. After a long pause, Willard responded, “You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.” The advice reminded me of Matt Canlis’ mini-documentary, Godspeed: The Pace of Being Known, in which he learns the truth that we must slow down in order to catch up with God. Our frenetic pace of life is preventing us from having the space required for intimate relationship with God. When we leave God behind, we become indistinguishable from the world.

Luke 5:16 records this reality in Jesus’ life: “But he would often withdraw to solitary places and pray.” The word “withdraw” is important. It implies a pulling away in order to make room for someone or something else. I like to picture someone scooting down a seat in the cafeteria or the bleachers and making a spot for you. That’s what Jesus did for his Father – setting apart a space reserved for him alone. Our job is to learn this practice from Jesus and adopt it as our own. “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,” says Jesus, “…and you will find rest for your souls.” It is also our job is to teach other disciples this practice.

Too Slow for the World

While we have become “too fast” for God, we have become too slow in our mission as a church. Whereas today’s church is bogged down by ossified organizational structure and obsolete systems, a sense of urgency pervades the New Testament church. In Mark 1:35-39, Jesus is up before dawn praying in a solitary place when the disciples find him, reporting, “Everyone is looking for you!” (This is truer than they realized!) Rather than cultivating his following, Jesus leaves for the next town. He’s on a mission. And we are, too. But sometimes we seem to forget that.

When I have offered new ministry ideas, I often encounter the same reply: “We will have to take it to the committee(s).” I believe that every church member is responsible for ministry (not just the church leaders!), so I always volunteer myself to lead any new initiative I suggest. Of course, an approval process for such initiatives is a necessity; wise counsel ensures success (see Proverbs 11:14, 15:22, 24:6).

Oftentimes these committees, however, meet only a handful of times per year. I have watched as a simple report has been tabled for the greater part of a year due to the time constraints of such meetings. The “feet made ready with the gospel of peace” have been tripped up by red tape.

I am familiar with a few instances where members of a church have chosen to have events or programs at other churches due to the difficulty of utilizing their own church’s facilities. The paperwork, fees, and waiting period effectively make the facilities inaccessible. Sometimes they even forego church facilities altogether for public venues, which grant approval more readily. Bureaucratic inefficiency may cost churches more than just opportunities to host community-building events. Sometimes it interferes with the ministry of the church.

A visitor approached me after we finished the worship songs one Sunday morning, before the sermon, and asked for prayer. He told me his story of lifelong distance from God, but when he read his wife’s diary, everything changed. She knew a God he didn’t. He realized he needed to know this God, so he came alone to church that morning. “I’m ready,” he told me. I told him we needed to talk after service, so he waited for me, and we ended up praying together for him to begin following Jesus.

I approached one of the church leaders with my perceived need for a prayer team, who would be available to pray with people while the worship team was on stage. He told me, however, that we would have to bring a list of nominations to the next church leadership meeting to start the process. Then they would need to be voted on, trained, and so on. I had seen enough ideas die in committees to foresee the result: we never developed a prayer team.

The body of Christ is the living, active representative of God in the world today, yet the antiquated bureaucratic systems of decision-making in our church today render it incapable of engaging with the surrounding world in any meaningful way. In a world of smartphones and insta-everything, minor decisions should be made within a 24-hour period thanks to group messages and email threads. No more waiting weeks for facility usage approval. No more year-long delays in approving prayer teams.

The church bureaucracy should “equip the saints” for ministry, not obstruct them. Let’s reform our systems, decision-making processes, and organizational structure to empower the body of Christ. When it comes to relationship, let’s be slow, intentional, and unhurried. When it comes to ministry, however, let’s be urgent, streamlined, and zealous.

2 responses to “The Church has a Pacing Problem”

  1. Cole, thank you for another encouragement! Praying He will continue to make himself known through your words and your work.

  2. Amazingly said. God gives us the tools to create disciples and show His goodness and grace however we shy away from using them because of the fear of moving too fast or the fact that you might not impact someone as you initially thought. Being patient but efficient is the best way to continue to glorify His kingdom and move towards the betterment of the church.