Why Churches Die

Why do churches die? Thom Rainer's list:

(1) because they refuse to admit they’re sick,

(2) they don’t take sufficient responsibility,

(3) they are too inwardly focused,

(4) they want to return to the glory days,

(5) they are waiting for the super pastor,

(6) they are unwilling to change.

Wounds are Healed from the Heart, not the Head (Henri Nouwen)

Live Your Wounds. You have been wounded in many ways. The more you open yourself to being healed, the more you will discover how deep your wounds are.... The great challenge is living your wounds through instead of thinking them through. It is better to cry than to worry, better to feel your wounds deeply than to understand them, better to let them enter into your silence than to talk about them. The choice you face constantly is whether you are taking your hurts to your head or to your heart. In your head you can analyze them, find their causes and consequences, and coin words to speak and write about them. But no final healing is likely to come from that source. You need to let your wounds go down to your heart. Then you can live through them and discover that they will not destroy you. Your heart is greater than your wounds.