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2 Dangers of COPYING Ministry Practice

Here is a typical scenario in local church ministry …

In the spring, while at a conference, Danny attends a breakout session on small groups. Though the breakout session leader spoke passionately about the “why” of small groups and the importance of a solid ministry philosophy beneath the surface, the vast majority of the questions from those in attendance were about small group practice:

How many people in each group?

How often do you launch new groups?

How often does leader training occur and in what format?

What are the leaders called?

How does … ?

Danny feverishly takes some notes on small group practice, notes he plans to implement when he returns to his church.

Several months later, Danny has lunch with a respected pastor of a church he has looked up to. He is really grateful for the time, and because he only has an hour, he wants to make the most of it.

So he fires off a plethora of “ministry practice” questions:

How do you plan your weekend worship services?

How do you plan your teaching?

How do you … ?

Danny feverishly takes down some notes that he deems very practical, and plans to implement them as soon as possible.

Danny, who loves the Lord and is constantly looking for practical ministry help, clearly has a tendency to copy ministry practice without considering the theology and philosophy beneath the surface. He is not alone.

Many church leaders jump straight to practical questions, looking continually for insight on church practices. And this by itself, without a deep commitment to a solid theology and ministry philosophy, is dangerous.

Copying ministry practice can result in one of two errors: