Decline & Renewal, 18: Turning to Hope
We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable. (The "first step" to recovery according to Alcoholics Anonymous) Truth-telling is not a natural instinct. It’s not our basic human approach. Rather, we tend to hide our problems—sweep them under the carpet, pretend as if nothing ever happened. "What problems?" we ask. This kind of collective denial can be deadly for a church. We keep trying to convince ourselves that things really aren't that bad. We fool ourselves with these kinds of thoughts: "We just need one or two new, solid people to get us back on our feet." "If we can get a more dynamic preacher, we’ll be as good as new." "If our worship were more contemporary, these problems would go away." "We just need to grow our budget over the next five years." "Our friends and neighbors will want to come when we freshen up the property." All these are technica...