Why are you still in existence?

I had a conversation yesterday with a friend of mine about Will Mancini's book "Church Unique." (I reviewed this book a year or so ago if you're interested in seeing that).

One of the things Mancini's book has caused me to ponder is the question "Why is your organization still in existence?" It's a question I ask all the time, especially as a pastor.

I pastor a church in Fort Worth, TX, a city where "Buckle of the Bible Belt" is not emphatic enough... There is almost literally a church of some kind on every corner and a really good church every 2 or 3 square miles. In business terms, this is an extremely saturated "market."

The question is: why is it that the church I lead exists? Why have we not chosen to sell our building and disperse the people who attend here to some of the other really great churches in Fort Worth?

There has to be a reason. If your church isn't unique, it might be time to examine other options.

"Unique" doesn't mean "better." "Unique" doesn't mean that nobody else can do what your church is doing in an arrogant sense of the concept. "Unique" means that your church (or organization) has a critical, strategic, intentional reason for existing. If it doesn't, maybe it shouldn't.