Why do leaders miss the matchless thumb-print of their identity in the local expression of Christ's body?

I see six common hazards that stand out across the landscape of church life. Because all of them affect thinking, I call them "thinkholes." A thinkhole represents the quicksand-like dynamic where, at certain times and places, vibrant thinking gets sucked beneath the surface to suffocate and disappear from view. Along the great race of leadership, thinkholes are the obstacles, barriers, and danger zones that keep us from thoughtful self-knowledge.

1) Ministry treadmills. The treadmill is set in motion when the busyness of ministry creates a progressively irreversible hurriedness in the leader's life. The sheer immediacy of each next event or ministry demand prevents the leader from taking the time required for discerning the culture and defining the DNA of the church.

The need to hit the brakes on the ministry treadmill is highlighted by George Barna in the updated edition of his book The Power of Vision. He states that for success in visioning, "the process necessarily extracts a significant cost from the vision seekers. Devotion to the process of discovering the vision is the most important component of all the activities associated with God's vision" (italics mine.) His word choice is telling; most leaders are not willing to extract the significant cost of time. Today's demands can choke out needed dialogue for tomorrow. When this occurs, our multiplied activity prevents us from living with a clearer identity.

2) Competency trap. As ministry leaders experience success over time, that very success can become a liability. The gold medals of yesterday's accomplishments become the iron teeth around the leader's ankle. A subtle presumption develops ("I know how to do this thing") that eclipses active listening and reflective observation—important habits required to discern a church's DNA.

The next time you are in a learning environment, notice who is taking notes and asking questions. It is not uncommon that the most accomplished people in the room are the least receptive to new learning. This is why young leaders often intuit culture so well; they have less of an experience base to pollute their perceptions and assumptions about what works.

3) Needs-based slippery slope. Here, leaders are constantly trying to meet people's needs and expectations within the church. Whether the needs ring of religious consumerism or are legitimate concerns of life and death, the slippery slope works the same. There is always a persistent parade of needs to be answered. The vision of the church is reduced to making people happy. The reality is that such a church is probably missing out on fulfilling its unique calling and role in the community by trying to be all things to all members. Sliding down the needs-based slope is perhaps the most "spiritual" way of avoiding the hard work of self-discovery.

Even Jesus did not meet all of the physical needs in his sphere of influence. Yet in John 17:4 he is able to pray to the Father, "I have brought you glory by completing all of the work you gave me to do." Though Jesus did not meet every need, he met all the needs he was called to meet. Jesus exercised tremendous discernment to know and courage to go where God was directing. Local church leaders must go and do likewise, carefully differentiating the voice of God from the squeaky wheels of unmet needs.

4) Cultural whirlpools: BuzzChurch and StuckChurch. The acceleration of cultural change in North America in the previous century brought revolutions of new information that spin faster and faster. The changes were brought about by quantum advances in technology and communication—from the automobile to FM radio to television to the internet.

This change has created great variation in the fabric of North American culture. Demographers refer to the increasing number of population lifestyle segments in striving to capture these differences. To the classic demographic labeling of the young urban professional (yuppie) in the mid-1980s, marketers have added more finely tuned listings each year (humorously, of course):

Muppy: middle-aged urban professional
Dinky: dual income, no kids yet
Glams: graying, leisured, affluent, married
Sitcom: single income, two children, oppressive mortgage
Sadfab: single and desperate for a baby

The net effect is that the cultural realities around us become less like a large steel plate and more like hundreds of droplets of mere mercury, that are hard to pick up and examine.

The increasing pace of change in the cultural whirlpool leaves leaders with two temptations that distract them from thinking clearly about their church's identity. The first is BuzzChurch, which defines its DNA around innovation itself. These leaders enjoy the adrenaline rush of having to do continuous cultural exegesis for ministry. The resulting vision is the need to be constantly cutting-edge. In the race to be relevant, it's all too possible to miss the deeper essence that God wants to nurture.

The second temptation is StuckChurch. For every leader who surfs the waves of cultural change, there are a hundred who are stuck in a whirlpool vortex—and they feel they can't keep their head above water. The changes around them outpace their energy and discipline for new learning. Rather than rolling up their sleeves to think about their culture, they just grow too tired for the task.

5) The conference maze. Here, leaders rely solely on training events to instill direction and vision for their church. Many pastors in the last two decades have built a model of ministry by borrowing one, and in doing so they create a "glass jar" church. This is not surprising when you consider the conference offerings and their glut of photocopied vision prepackaged for import. The dramatic irony is that what happens at these conferences is the exact opposite of what propelled the host churches to be effective in the first place. Each of these leaders endured a process of self-understanding and original thinking that helped in articulating a stunningly unique model of ministry. But after discovering their "Church Unique," these leaders no longer taught the same way they learned. Rather than helping churches with process, they sell them a product.

I am not against studying best practices; I'm just against not thinking in the process!

6) Denominational rut. Denominations by and large still continue to resource congregations with little appreciation for local uniqueness. Despite good motivation, they get stuck maintaining the structures of yesteryear, unable to outfit the strongest churches in the pack.

A powerful observation by Lyle Schaller solidifies the point: "The differences between congregations are becoming greater with the passage of time. The safe assumption today is that no two are alike. Each congregation has its own culture&hellip. The local community setting has moved ahead of the denominational heritage as a factor in treating the distinctive congregational culture" (italics nine). If denominational leaders aren't savvy to these "contours of locality," what help can they give their local church?

What thinkholes are dotting the landscape in your church? Which dynamics tend to pull you away from discovering your "Church Unique"? Remember that God's journey for you today reflects an incomparable association with Jesus Christ that is completely original.

—Used with permission. Adapted from Church Unique, Copyright 2008, Leadership Network/Jossey-Bass.