Thanks to Mark Wilson at Revitalize Your Church I came across this great article on defining greatness in the church. It is an interview with Jim Collins on “What Makes a ‘Good to Great’ Church?” You can read the whole article by clicking on the link. I liked how he qualified greatness. A common misconception is that greatness equals big numbers. Greatness does not mean big nor does bigness mean greatness. This is encouraging for a small church/small town pastor. What were his qualifications? Collins wrote:
An organization must have three things to qualify as great:
- 1. Superior performance relative to its mission in the world.
2. A distinctive impact on its community. So you’d say, “If this church disappeared, it would leave a serious hole in this community.”
3. Endurance. Making an impact over a long enough time, so that it’s not dependent on the personality of one leader. If a church is effective during one pastorate, it may be a church with a stellar pastor, but it is not yet a great church.
These are serious talking points or discussion starters for any church. How do we measure up to these qualifications? Over the next few days, we’ll look at some of his other comments regarding the church. There is something to think about for all of us.
good stuff Dale. Thanks for your encouraging posts.