What happened to the walls of church? The general understanding of church boundaries has been defined by the walls of a physical location – “There is my church….” The Covid Pandemic has single-handedly redefined faith boundaries. Before you judge my intent and motives, pause with me and consider some salient truth.

• The metric system of how church is measured has radically changed
• “What gets measured gets rewarded” was the old mantra – what was measured was skewed
• Church attendance metrics have been redefined
• “Look we are ‘LIVE’!”

This is only a sampling of thoughts that could be wrote. Here is what I know as a 40+ year veteran minister, I have vested much of my ministry in challenging the church to get outside the walls of the church, get outside of the box, and other mantras. This global pandemic has pushed us all outside of the walls and box of the church. We have moved from the shocking reality of not using our building, to pivoting our activity to go online, to what will a digital Easter look like, to how much longer will this last! The walls of the church that defined who we are and what we believe has turned to a liquid reality. 

I am not declaring this fluid state to be all bad, but I am declaring this to be an opportunity to think differently about the boundaries that have defined our faith. As I write this article, the biggest discussion of churches in North America, Canada, and the UK centers on how to measure church attendance in a digital world^[1]. We have measured content production and participants in the Worship Center. We are now attempting to determine what is an acceptable count total – 1 minute of engagement time or staying for the full online service? STOP! We still are measuring content to participant engagement. That misses the point of one the most crucial commands of the New Testament church – GO MAKE DISCIPLES! How do we make disciples and bear one another’s burdens if we are not truly building community? Perhaps it is time to rethink what is rewarded and what is measured. Perhaps it is time to stop measuring a day and event to start engaging people daily.

Shepherds Advantage provides Servant Leadership that helps people close the gap between where they are and where they want to be. Shepherds Advantage closes that gap by providing Leadership Development, Key Note Speaking, and Executive Coaching. 

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^[1] www.barna.com