Every church needs to ask itself some tough questions

Socrates once said "The unexamined life is not worth living."  The same could be said about churches.  Numerous times in the life of a church it needs to begin asking some important questions about its purpose, what it believes, and what it is doing.  I'm not sure that happens as often as it should.  If you feel that your church is at a crossroads and lacks clear direction you may be at a time when your church needs to do some serious reflection.  To help you get started let me list some questions we might ask ourselves.

• Who are we here for?  This is a critical question for a church to answer because that answer really sets the tone for everything the church will do.   Many churches will respond that they are here to reach people for Christ, but do their ministries and programs show that to be the case? 
• Is what we are doing here worth the life of the Son of God?   Did Jesus die for this?  If we ask this question about everything we do as a church we may find that we're doing a lot of things that really don't matter to God.
• Who is Jesus to you?  I think of how the disciples must have felt when Jesus asked them who did the people say He was and then followed it up with "But who do you say that I am?"  From my observation over the years I think many churches see Jesus as passive and rather uninterested in the affairs of mankind because that is what they are.  On the other hand, those churches that believe that Jesus conquered death and is the only way to God are bold in their witness and ministry to those outside the church.  While most evangelical churches will give the right answer to this question, their actions do not back up that answer.
• Do you love people as much as Jesus does?  Virtually every church I serve tell me they are the friendliest church in their community, but I've attended some of them and I can tell you that many of them are friendly...to one another. How intentional is your church in making first-time guests feel comfortable and welcome?  How many unchurched friends do the members of your congregation have and how many of them are they introducing to Christ?  How welcomed would people from different cultures or races be in your church? Scripture is clear that if we claim to love God but not our brother that we are liars, and it is equally clear that we are all brothers and sisters to one another.
• What price are you willing to pay to change?  If things are not as they should be in your church, there is a reason for that.  Are you willing to pay the price to turn that around, and how much pain are you willing to endure for a season for long-term benefits?

These are just some questions to get you started as you reflect on where your church is today and what it will take to get you to a better place. Asking the right questions can help you identify the steps you need to take as a church to move forward once again.