I'm convinced that one of the main differences between churches had reach their potential and those that don't is that successful churches give people the permission and opportunity to fail.
In many regards Peter failed more than all the other disciples. Surely Judas' failure was the biggest, but by sheer number of miscues, Peter takes the cake. Peter had a severe case of foot-in-mouth disease. Whether it was asking Jesus to tell him to walk on water, or swearing he'd die for Jesus, as well intentioned as he was, he often ended up failing.
And yet, it was Peter who became to leader of the disciples, the rock on which Christ built His church. What if when Peter asked to come to Jesus on the water, Jesus would have said, "You've never done it before and knowing your past record, no, stay in the boat where you belong."? Peter wouldn't have failed, nor would he have experienced the saving power of Jesus.
Many congregations tell their people to stay in the boat. Don't do anything out of the ordinary because you may fail. And indeed sometimes people do fail, just as Peter failed. Failure is never pleasant, is often painful and can be downright embarrassing.
Churches that develop people of faith who accomplish extra ordinary things for Christ, give people the opportunity to fail. This is an especially hard thing for many pastors. As pastors, we're called to care for God's flock. Caring is often equated with protecting from all harm. So we offer "helpful" advice that deflates an individual's vision to a safer size. That way they don't get overly hurt when they fail, but at the same time they are prevented from doing anything great for God.
On another note, some churches and pastors don't want to see people attempt something they may fail at, because if they do fail, they think it reflects badly on them. For instance, what if group planned some event at the church and then nobody showed up? So it's best, the thinking goes, not to try anything different, play it safe and everybody will be happy.
The problem is, people can't be happy when they aren't reaching toward their God-given potential or living out their God-given passions.
So here's the question for the day: When was the last time you tried something out of the ordinary in your church and it flopped?
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