Can Past Events and Experiences of a Church Affect Its Health?
by Certified Church Consultant Lim Soon Hock
I believe most observers of churches will agree that events in the history of a church can have a long and lasting effect on its health. That is, positive past experiences serve to strengthen a church’s health, while negative past experiences cause damage to its health.
As with the human body, so with the church body. A painful experience in a person’s life can affect his health in some way (emotionally, psychologically, spiritually, and or physically). Similarly, a negative event in the life a church can also affect its health.
And yet, hardly any church looks into its history and, much less, deals with the negative and painful events of its past.
In His letters to the seven churches of Asia (Rev 2-3), the Lord might appear to be just describing the present condition of the churches and telling them what they needed to do to get back into shape.
It is obvious, however, that they did not arrive at their present condition overnight; it had developed over time. The basic cause or root problem originated sometime in the past. For example, the adulteration of Pergamum’s beliefs with the teaching of Balaam and the Nicolaitans (Rev 2:14-16) started at some point in time by someone at a certain event. As these false teachers and teachings were not rejected at the onset nor addressed subsequently, they became entrenched in the church.
How Past Events Affect a Church’s Health
The acceptance of wrong teaching is just one of many possible reasons for a church’s poor condition. Conflicts and disunity, such as in the Corinthian church (1 Cor 1:10-13), is not unusual in churches across the globe today. And when it reaches a critical point, it often leads to a church split. This might result in the establishment of a new church, but it is one that is born out of strife. And the church carries with it the trauma and the bitter spirit by which it was birthed.
At the same time, the original church suffers just as much. It is also straddled with trauma and carries with it the same bitter spirit. It is not surprising when the church is beset with poor health. Nor is it surprising when the new church experiences conflicts and disunity, and perhaps even its own church split later on. When that happens, what we have is a pattern that is now entrenched into the spiritual psyche of the church.
The happy point to note, is that, the reverse is just as true. Past good events such as a spiritual, ministry or financial breakthrough, seasons of successes and revivals, and the like, empower the church towards greater health. The life of the church is marked by love, faith, and hope.
Plotting a Church’s History
I am convinced that it is necessary to look seriously into a church’s history, to analyze the effects of both positive and negative experiences of the church (but especially, the latter) on its health.
One helpful way to determine if a church’s history has affected its health is to list all critical happenings in its history. It should include both good and bad experiences. For example, a breakthrough in a church’s outreach to its local community is a positive experience, while the unhappy termination or resignation of a pastor is a negative experience. This list of happenings is then plotted on a timeline.
Secondly, plot the annual numerical growth of the church on a timeline, from the time of the church’s inception till the present. Then finally, superimpose the church’s happenings in its history against the church’s growth chart. From this, an analyst will be able to note causes and effects, and the ensuing patterns. A careful analysis of this primary data will determine if the church’s past experiences have affected its health. Furthermore, the analysis will help to uncover the reason(s) for the church’s health condition.
An analysis is not the solution, but it is the prerequisite to seek the Lord for the right thing to do to bring healing, restoration, and renewal to the church.
