Several months ago I was on a train which came to an abrupt and terminal stop. We waited for half an hour before the announcement: ‘Ladies and gentlemen please disembark as there is a large hole in the fuel tank’.
This became obvious from the overpowering smell of diesel that hit us as soon as we were outside. I liked being on the train. It was comfortable and they served refreshments. But it wasn’t going anywhere and from inside it was impossible to see why.
Sometimes churches stall and it isn’t always easy to tell from the inside what is wrong. But you don’t necessarily have to know what is wrong to know that something is wrong. When a stall occurs one common option is to look at superficial things like style of services or meeting times. It is rare to find a church daring enough to ask if there might be a more foundational hole in the fuel tank. Here are ten common spiritual reasons why churches stall.