You Only Have To Die!

A book recently caught my attention. The title stopped me in my tracks. It is a book by James Harnish titled: "You Only Have To Die: Leading Your Congregation to New Life." It is a paradox that we gloss over so easily. We've been living in the tension since our baptism: Death is the way to life. We must die in order to be born again. This is a lesson leaders need to be reminded of daily.

Harnish writes that congregations must be willing to die to all the things that keep us from being true disciples and making disciples of others. We have to die to a focus on our glorious past, to old habits, to self destructive behaviors, to avoidance of painful truth-telling, to antiquated structures, to old ways of decision-making, to traditional (habitual) but non-transcendent worship, to long-established programs that no longer accomplish our mission, to anything that does not contribute to our specific congregational calling.

To be willing to die in all these ways and more will be a painful process. Maybe you are feeling some of this pain right now. But only through such difficult and faith-testing losses can a plateaued or declining church make room for experience of resurrection. The road to life is a dark and painful road that ultimately leads "through death and back to life and health."

According to Harnish's experience, older congregations only experience transformation by understanding and investing in a new vision, striving to live out its unique calling in every phase of its existence.

In order for BVCC to really experience new life, we only have to die.