Editor’s Note: Inwardness is a prevalent disease in far too many churches in America. Maybe your church is one of them. But there is an antidote for the disease: Aligning with the heart of God by pursing an external focus on the needs of others. Rick Rusaw, co-author of The Externally Focused Church, offers here a compelling, refreshing message and a path toward an external focus.

Leading Your Church with an External Focus

by Rick Rusaw

Suppose you pulled into the church parking lot and noticed something unusual. The building had disappeared and with it—the church. After you realized that it wasn’t a hallucination brought on by the triple espresso you had just knocked back, you decide to go look for the church. You start driving around town asking people if they had seen a church that morning because you had somehow misplaced one.

What response would you get? Would people notice it was gone? Would they miss your congregation? Would anyone care? Those are the questions that externally-focused churches are asking themselves.

There are plenty of churches in America, but far too often the focus of the church is internal. The emphasis is on getting people out of the community and into the church. Obviously, helping people discover God’s grace (Good News) and connecting them with his kingdom is critical. However, too many churches today measure their effectiveness by the number of people and activities inside. By contrast, externally-focused churches are interested in getting people out of the church and into the community. Externally-focused churches see a strong connection with Good News and Good Deeds. They recognize that good deeds often pave the path for good news. They understand that good deeds can be the bridge over which good news travels.

It isn’t an “either/or” choice for externally-focused churches. It is a case of “both/and.” Seeking the lost AND serving the least was the mark of the early Church and the mandate of Jesus. By nearly every account you read, the headlines say that the church in America doesn’t seem to be gaining ground but rather losing relevance, and with that—losing people. One way to restore credibility, create relationships, and demonstrate grace is to serve outside the walls of your building. Good deeds demonstrate the very heart of the church and enhance the reputation of God. In the same way let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (Mt 5:16)

In ways that I imagine we never planned on, the Church in America has found itself increasingly disconnected. In part, the current age of tolerance means tolerance for everything but Christianity. (I find it intriguing that the most intolerant people I meet are the ones screaming for tolerance, but that’s another topic altogether.) Keeping faith out of the schools, out of the marketplace and out of the public arena is the popular position today. It would be a mistake, however, to believe that the primary reason faith is relegated to a back seat in our communities is because of public pressure.

It seems to me that, in many ways, the church in America has found more and more ways to disengage from our communities. It doesn’t seem to be intentional or strategic but it has been effective. According to Gallup, 66% of people in America would make or agree with this statement, “The church has little or no value in helping people discover meaning in life.” Our disengagement has happened bit by bit. It could be described like this: “We didn’t like the stream that was flowing by the front door of the church. The water was murky and muddy and there were chunks of stuff floating in it. So, we created our own streams up behind the church.”

Interestingly enough, although the water is a bit cleaner and we can see the bottom most of the time, the streams run parallel with each other. For example, Christians and non-Christians divorce at the same rate, we get addicted at the same rate, and many have the same issues and struggles (again, another topic for another time). Basically, because we didn’t like the color or direction of the stream, we started our own stream. We didn’t like what was happening in some of the business organizations, so we began our own versions. We didn’t like what was happening in the public schools, so we began our own. Today we have a Christian version of everything from Christian books, Christian TV, even Christian underwear. We’ve got it all, don’t we?

Here’s just one example of how this parallel stream gets started. Much was happening in the public schools that Christians didn’t agree with…and rightly so. So, we started our own schools. We pulled out the Christian students, the Christian parents, the Christian teachers, Christian lunch room staff, Christian coaches and Christian administrators. This may sound harsh, but in essence, we said to the public school, “Go to Hell.” Some might say that’s a bit of an overstatement. But is it? In ways we never intended, we Christians have become increasingly disengaged from our communities and wonder why we have so little influence.

I have some very close friends who might read this article and let me know they don’t agree, or don’t like how I write, or simply tell me how stupid I can be. I have to admit their comments might make me mad. I might disagree, it might hurt, and I may choose to debate them. At the end of the day, though, I have to listen to them. They are my friends and have earned the right to be heard. We have laughed together, cried together and journeyed together. My friends have earned the right to speak into my life. I am afraid that we have lost that right in our communities. We speak and nobody listens. We stand on the banks of the shore and shout at the water. We let them know that they are heading in the wrong direction—that things are getting worse—but I’m afraid that they can’t or won’t listen because we do not have the relational strength to speak into the fabric of our communities.

It’s time to get back in the stream. There are risks—it isn’t easy and the opportunity to connect takes time. But, by getting into the stream, it’s possible that we will have the opportunity to be salt and light in our communities. It seems that the easiest way to get back in the stream is to find ways to serve in our communities—that means that we look for opportunities beyond our four walls and find ways to meet needs. It also means that we help the people we worship with each week to discover grace, grow in grace and learn to live gracefully. We must help them realize that God is writing his story and he plans on that story being written through their story. The people in your church can make a difference in their part of the world as they serve and live with grace.

Remember third grade and Show and Tell? You stand in the front of the room and show the item you brought from home and then you would tell about it. Maybe we need to do more “show and tell” in our communities, earning the right to be heard. Service can help build that relational bridge, allowing Christians to speak into the life of the community.

Good deeds create good will and give us the opportunity to share Good News!

Back to your triple espresso-induced hallucination:  As you’re driving around town looking for your missing church, WHAT IF nearly everyone you asked said, “Let me help you find it because we can’t live without the church in this community!”  Now THAT’S the church we all want to pastor!