THE BEGINNING OF CHURCH CONSULTING: DIAGNOSTIC QUESTIONS
診斷一間教會是否健康的8個問題
By Chuck Lawless
Several weeks ago, I participated in training new church consultants through Church Central’s certification program. It was great to see the excitement that these men and women exhibited as they talked about their desire to help God’s church.
The churches they consult, though, may not be so excited, as a church consultation is sometimes like a medical physical—we know we need it, but we don’t like being poked and prodded. Nevertheless, a good consultation prods with some important questions. Even if you are not a church consultant, perhaps these questions will help you to analyze your own church.
1. Is the church’s teaching based on the Bible?
Ultimately, a local church is a group of believers who proclaim, teach, and live out the gospel of Jesus Christ. Where that gospel is not taught, something less than the New Testament church exists.
An inherent danger in church consulting is that the consultant will give ideas and suggestions that will, in fact, lead to “church growth”—but the final product will focus more on growing than on being church. We must guard against that possibility by reminding churches of the importance of a biblical foundation, while also challenging them to do evangelism.
2. Is the church a praying church?
Legitimate church growth is a gift of God, who empowers His followers and draws others unto Himself. Another danger in church consulting is that we will offer solutions that are based on our ingenuity rather than God’s power. For that reason, I want to make certain that the church is focusing on prayer before, during, and after the consultation. In fact, I expect the church to enlist a prayer team that prays together during the length on the consult. Is your church a praying church?
3. Is the church driven by a Great Commission focus?
Five times in the New Testament, Jesus expressed some form of the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:47, John 20:21, Acts 1:8). Apparently, preaching the gospel and making disciples mattered to Jesus—and so these tasks must concern churches today. Many churches have become so inwardly focused that church is more about protecting the status quo than about reaching out beyond themselves.
4. Is the church reaching non-believers?
Here, the possibility of overemphasizing numbers becomes apparent, but the question must be asked: are non-believers coming to know the Lord through the church’s ministry? If the church is
growing, is the growth conversion growth (nonbelievers meeting Christ) or transfer growth (“swapping sheep”)? Transfer growth is sometimes necessary, but it seldom results in Great Commission growth.
5. Is the church keeping the new believers who join?
Suppose a church reached twenty non-believers for Christ in the last year. Did the church see a
corresponding increase in attendance? If not, why not? Is the congregation an aging one, and several died within the year? Are longer term members leaving the church as the church changes? Does the church have a poor strategy for discipling and keeping the new members? Or, more positively, did the church send out a team to begin a church plant? Whatever the cause for the discrepancy between additions and attendance, the church must respond appropriately.
6. Is the church both locally and globally minded?
At the risk of understatement, the world is always bigger than any local church. As many as 1.6 billion people in the world have little access to the gospel. The people groups of the world are now
coming to the United States. The Hispanic population in the U.S. continues to grow. Burgeoning populations in the cities cry out for the gospel. Who will reach the unreached if the local church is focused only on itself?
7. Does the church have a strategic plan for future growth?
One reason the Enemy so readily succeeds in attacking churches is because he is often a better planner (Eph. 6:11) than most church leaders are. He methodically and strategically attacks the church while most churches operate from Sunday to Sunday. We are not prepared for his attacks. In the same way, most churches would not be prepared for significant growth if God were to grant it. What would the church do if God sent a genuine awakening? Does the church have a vision around which their plans—including facility, staffing, and programming—are developed?
8. Are the leaders committed to the ministry of the church?
By far, the most common problem we see in unhealthy churches is poor or unfocused leadership.
Leaders who are not committed to a long tenure at a church seldom lead a church to lasting growth.
These questions are just a beginning, but every diagnosis must start somewhere. If these questions show areas of weakness in your church, though, don’t lose heart. Honest diagnosis is the first step toward prescription and better health. In future articles, I will offer suggestions for addressing each of the areas covered in these questions.
翻譯如下
診斷一間教會是否健康的8個問題
查克•勞萊斯(Chuck Lawless)宣教學教授，東南神學院(Southeastern Seminary)院長
幾星期前，我參加大教堂的認證計劃，通過培訓及認證新的教會顧問。他們無論男女都非常興奮，迫不及待想要開始幫助上帝的教會。
不過，接受諮詢的教會，可能不會如此的興奮了。教會諮詢時，有時就像醫療物理，雖然需要它的幫助，卻有不想被戳、被刺。然而，有些重要問題的諮商，卻能夠幫助分析教會的問題。
1.教會的教導是基於聖經的嗎？
最終，一間當地教會，就是一群宣揚、教導、並活出耶穌基督的福音的信徒。不教導福音的地方，就鮮少有新約教會的存在。教會諮詢中有一個內在的危險，就是諮詢會給教會提供想法和建議，事實上會導致“教會增長”，但最終的結果常常是關注教會增長，而不是關注如何做一間教會。我們必須提防這種可能性，提醒教會以聖經為根基的重要，同時也要強調傳福音。
2.教會是一間禱告的教會嗎？
正常的教會增長是神的禮物。神增添力量給他的跟隨者們，吸引其他人歸向神。在教會諮詢中的另一個危險是，我們會根據我們自己的獨創性，而不是根據神的力量來提供解決方案。因此，我在諮詢之前、諮詢中以及之後，我都希望教會始終關注禱告。事實上，我希望教會能組織一個禱告組，在諮詢的期間一起為教會禱告。你的教會是一間禱告的教會嗎？
3.教會被大使命所驅動嗎？
新約中有5次關於耶穌談到大使命的記錄(馬太福音28章18-20節，馬可福音16章15節，路加福音24章45-47節，約翰福音20章21節，使徒行傳1章8節)。很明顯，傳福音和培訓門徒都跟耶穌有關，所以這些都關繫到現今的教會。許多教會都變得太關注于內面，以至於教會更注重於保護現狀，而不是超越自己去傳揚福音。
4.教會正在贏得那些非信徒嗎？
在這個問題上，教會有可能會過於強調數字，但我們必須問到一個問題：通過教會的事工，非信徒們來認識主了嗎？如果教會在增長，是信仰轉變的增長(非信徒們認識基督)，還是轉會增長(“交換羊”)？轉會的增長有時候是需要的，但它很少會帶來大使命的發展。
5.教會留住新加入的信徒，並使他們成為門徒了嗎？
假設一間教會去年為基督贏得了20名非信徒。那麼參加禮拜的人數是否相應地增長了？如果沒有，為什麼？在這一年內，會眾中有人變老了或者有幾人去世了嗎？隨着教會的改變，長期的成員離開教會了？教會培訓新成員的策略很差？或者，更積極一點說，教會派出了一個團隊去開拓一間新教會了？對於導致教會出席人數與新增信徒數不符的任何情況，教會都必須適當地做出回應。
6.教會既有本地化也有全球化的思想嗎？
冒着保守地陳述的風險，世界總是比任何本地教會更大。世界上有17億人現在還沒有方法聽到福音。世界各地的人來美國。美國的拉美裔人口持續地增長，城市中迅速增長的人口都在呼喊要聽到福音。如果本地教會只是關注自己，誰會接觸到那些未聽聞福音的人們呢？
7.教會有針對未來增長的戰略性計劃嗎？
仇敵如此迅速地在攻擊教會上獲勝，是因為他是一位很好的謀划者(以弗所書6章11節)。在大多數教會只是從周日到周日運轉的期間，他已經在有條不紊地、戰略性地攻擊教會了。對於他的攻擊，我們並沒有準備好。同樣地，如果神允許教會有顯著的增長，大多數教會也沒有準備好。如果神賜下了蘇醒，教會要做些什麼？教會有圍繞着異象展開的計劃嗎，包括設施、人員及項目等？
8.領袖們委身於教會的事工嗎？
目前為止，我們看到不健康教會中最普遍的問題是貧窮和領導力不集中。不長期委身於一間教會的領袖，很少能帶領教會持續增長。
每一個診斷必須從某處開始，這些問題只是一個起點。如果這些問題顯示出了你教會的某些軟弱之處，那麼也不要失去信心。誠實的診斷是通往更健康發展的第一步。
