Almost weekly I receive a mailing advertising some new, cutting edge approach for ministry, or a surefire conference that I can attend, which will let me in on the “secrets of building a successful church.” The materials are always slickly produced, and, of course, they all promise guaranteed results. But they also make it seem tantalizingly simple. Just add a few programs … come up with a catchy mission statement … hire a staff member here or there … and presto chango … instant growth for your congregation!

Needless to say, it’s a far cry from “Take up your cross and follow me”—and it’s one of the things that I personally find most distressing about the church these days. To listen to these so-called experts, all of our problems could be solved if we only adopted a more entrepreneurial attitude. In other words, turn the Body of Christ into the Corporation of Christ. Train ministers to be managers … have the Session behave like a Board of Directors … provide more appealing activities … offer a better range of goods and services … and just like that, new members will be flocking to our doors.

However, I seriously question whether the current ills of the church can be remedied simply by widening our selection of programming, or by increasing our level of consumer satisfaction. Let’s face it—our society already has an abundance of organizations that offer a broad smorgasbord of activities. What the church alone is able to provide is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, our calling has never been to cater to the discretionary whims of middle-class America. We are called to transform people’s lives … not just fill their time. Even the most “successful” church programs are basically meaningless if they do not allow one to express and experience the new life given us in Jesus Christ. What we are offering is a banquet table … not a buffet line!

Still, there can be little doubt that our beloved denomination is struggling right now. Declining membership, shrinking budgets, theological divisions, and the loss of cultural influence are all Presbyterian realities. In light of this, it is often tempting to entertain programmatic changes in order to reverse the tide. Some of these innovations are needed and well worth exploring; others only pander to the superficial tastes of modern society and should be avoided.

But good, bad, or indifferent, I think it’s important to remember that change does not constitute reform. The well-known phrase, “the church reformed, always to be reformed,” is grammatically passive. That is, the church is the object of reformation, not its initiator. Corporations may restructure in an ongoing effort to be more efficient, but the church does not reform itself. The church is reformed only by the gracious action and merciful guidance of God.

Thus, instead of constantly trying to reorganize ourselves to include the latest wave of new programming, perhaps the church’s time and energy would be better spent in paying attention to the One who organized us in the first place. After all, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” … not “the way, the truth, and the life style.”