I love my church, really.  I think it rocks in so many ways.  I love the teaching . . . I think the music rocks . . .our kids ministry team consistently impresses me . . . our teams are doing things I love.

I think there might be a problem. 

Any change for the better,
is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.

– Arnold Bennett

If there aren’t a few things at our churches that annoy us then we are probably not making any progress.  A sure fire recipe for stagnation and decline is make everything just perfect for me and people like me.  If there aren’t things in your ministry that push boundaries and stretch you than that is an early warning sign that you might be headed for darker days.

The decline of any organization always begins immediately after it’s best days.  Challenging the status quo is critical when things are working well.  If it isn’t broke . . . fix it.

Here are four areas that should provide positive annoyance to our churches if we are seeking to develop and grow:

• Family Ministry // The most innovative churches I know learn from their children’s and student ministries.  When was the last time you got bugged by the kids ministry people because they were asking to do more, spend more and try some new stuff?  If your student ministry is putting a few dents in the walls of your building . . . don’t freak out . . . just fix the holes and lean in to see how they are engaging the next generation.
  
• Music // It’s not for you.  It’s for the next generation.  My belief is that mature Christians should “tolerate” the music at their church.  It needs to push the boundaries in style, approach and volume.  Ask your worship team to take a risk and then stand behind them to protect them for attempting something new to engage people’s hearts.
• Teaching // The way people accept and process information is changing all the time.  We live in a post-literate, post-biblical culture.  My preaching prof in college showed us clips of David Letterman . . . which was innovative nearly 20 years ago . . . but who do you need to modeling your teaching after today?  How can we encourage the people in our pulpits to take risks in the way they communicate the timeless message of Jesus?
  
• Leadership Community // When you look around at your team of leaders is it the usual suspects?  How can we create opportunity for a new set of leaders to take up their place at the table?  How do we include younger people in the dialogue?  (Somebody trusted you when you were crazy young . . . are you trusting “kids” that same age?)  What about people from a wide variety of backgrounds?  Is there a gender in balance in your leadership team?  You need some risky leaders responsible for some stuff.