Liberty University
The Traditional Church: Creating a Culture for Change
Submitted to
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
Christian Leadership DSMN 605
Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary
By
Terence
August 6, 2013
Table of Contents
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………
1
Stagnation within a Traditional Church………………………………….……….
1
Changing the Method does not Mean Changing the Message………………..…..
4
Christ at the Center of Change………………………………………………….….
5
Change is a Process…………………………………………………………..……....
8
Conclusion...………………………………………………………………..…………
10
Bibliography...…………………………………………………………………………
12
Introduction
Leading a traditional church through change can be a very arduous task for any
progressive minded leader who desires to promote growth within his context. Innovation within
a traditional context tends to attract opposition from many angles. Resistance may come from
the executive board of the church, members who feel they have some control, or from those who
do not recognize the varying needs within the local congregation. However, change is an
essential and never-ending need in the church because of the constant change in culture and
church membership.1 This research paper will address the problem and offer solutions in creating
a culture for change within the traditional church.
Stagnation within the Traditional Church
In a newspaper article published by the Telegram & Gazette, the author claims, “Once a
fulcrum of rural West Sutton, the 262-year-old First Baptist, the fourth-oldest Baptist church in
Massachusetts, is in the throes of a painful, inevitable decline.”2 The author further claims:
In a good week, the church draws fewer than a dozen people to Sunday worship,
making it an acute example of an affliction infecting many old New England
churches. They are gradually losing relevance in modern life, incapable of
competing with all the other activities that...