Denial is not just a river in Egypt.
It’s one of those quotes that isn’t in the Bible but should be.
The human capacity for denying reality seems to know no limits. As a pastor, I have watched congregants who seem to be immune to insight about their attitudes or actions. The resulting harm they inflict on themselves and others is always tragic. Lacking basic self-awareness, they ignore the truth about their habits and choices and live out destructive and futile lifestyle behaviors. We humans have an uncanny ability to justify and rationalize actions and attitudes in ourselves that we roundly condemn in others.
Denial in Congregational Life
The congregational ability to deny reality is no less. Congregations see themselves as exceptions to the rules and engage in self-destructive actions that should have been avoided. I have seen congregations on their deathbed who seem convinced that:
“We’re just one young pastor away from vitality.”
Others have looked at their dire situation and decided that the one thing they really MUST do is put up an electronic sign out front. Lacking objectivity, we fall for all sorts of quick fixes and false gospels in our corporate life.
Facing Reality: The First Step
Just as facing reality is essential for personal growth and change, naming and accepting reality is the first step in healthy congregational growth and change.
Alcoholics Anonymous rests upon the principle that you start by admitting the reality of your helplessness in the face of alcohol. Since addiction often thrives in denial, confronting reality is only possible when we admit our inability to manage our life alone.
A Call to Humility
What if congregations were able to engage in a process of admitting our powerlessness and thus our need for divine intervention in our life together?
The resulting humility and openness to the leadership of the Spirit is the starting point for a vibrant and thriving future.
I am increasingly convinced that the number one predictor of success in congregational planning and visioning is the depth of humility that exists within the leadership and the congregation.
Proud and self-sufficient churches may enjoy some temporary success, but as Bob Dale warned us, they are “hot-house plants” that are doomed in the long run.
(This is a reference to a book by Bob Dale: Cultivating Perennial Churches.)
The Freedom of Reality
A healthy visioning process leads a congregation to put an end to their habits of denial and face the reality of their situation. While acknowledging reality can certainly be painful, it can also be freeing.
Admitting our powerlessness frees us from “pedaling harder” and feeling like our church’s success is wholly dependent upon our efforts. Too many of us live as functional atheists when we give a head nod to God while trusting only in our own abilities, finances, and influence.
Honest Assessment is Required
A healthy visioning process must involve an honest assessment of the current state of the congregation. This should involve:
- Metrics
- Spiritual depth
- Level of engagement
- Vitality of members and constituents
Many American churches are awakening to the mission drift that has characterized our churches as we mirror the prevailing culture more than the life and teachings of Jesus. Rationalizing and justifying our watered-down Americanized discipleship keeps us in denial about the tepid and lukewarm followers that populate our pews.
We have wandered far from the Great Commandments and Great Commission, and admitting that fact is the start of a fresh wind of vitality blowing through our congregations.
Know Your Context
We also need to take an honest look at our physical context. Our communities have changed and the people who surround us have changed.
While we assume we know what our neighbors look like and want, we too often live in denial about such things.
What we’re selling, they’re not buying.
Rather than condemn them for not conforming to our dated methods, a healthy process embraces the spirit of Paul in Acts and adapts to the shifting cultural realities of the 21st century.
When We Admit Our Need
Once we humbly acknowledge our need and our inability to self-sustain, we are ready to think proactively about how to engage in a Christ-centered future.
Egos get subsumed by a God-sized dream that dwarfs our human endeavors. Lives are changed and people are attracted to a Good News gospel rather than the toxic wasteland of politics, judgementalism, greed, and self-absorption.
Planning becomes an exercise of anticipation rather than frustration and failure. Like an addict gradually rebuilding life by better habits, nutrition, relationships, and spiritual grounding, a congregation can emerge from a season of denial with clarity and passion for the future.
The Transformation
- Where once we saw only obstacles and challenges, we now see opportunities and possibilities.
- Where we once longed to go back to the glory days of the past, we now lean into the hopes and dreams of the future.
- Where we once bogged down in conflict and scapegoating, we are now too busy with a clarified mission to turn on one another.
- Where we once leaned on our own understanding, we now access the divine wisdom that directs our paths and leads us to a healthy future.
- Where we once whispered our secrets and fears in darkness, we now admit our faults and learn from them as we move forward with bold confidence.
- Where we once denied our denial, we now admit our helplessness and call upon God’s sustaining and amazing grace to infuse us with what we cannot supply ourselves.
Final Reflection
Spiritually focused strategic visioning is so much more than calendar planning, isn’t it? It starts with honesty and humility and immerses us in a thorough cleansing of cultural and personal biases.
Only then will it lead us to the abundant life that Christ promises his followers. If we can follow that narrow path of visioning, we may well discover the God who can do “immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine.”
📌 Related Future Ready Church Blogs:
- 5 Organizational Pitfalls That Keep Churches Stuck (Barry Howard)
- Before You Make a Plan, Name the Pain (David Brubaker)
- Stop Hiring for Yesterday – Structure Your Church for Tomorrow (Ellen Baxter)
- Discernment Is Not a Task—It’s a Spiritual Muscle (Jayne Davis)
At the Center for Healthy Churches, we understand how hard it can be to invite outside help. Our Organizational Development team walks alongside churches to align vision, mission, identity, and strategy – not with canned solutions, but with listening, wisdom, and practical next steps that fit who you are and where God is leading you. Contact Us for questions or to discussion your needs.
Future Ready Church Resources
The Future Ready resources equips church leaders with practical tools and frameworks to align their congregation’s vision, identity, and structure for effective, Spirit-led ministry in today’s changing world.
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