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A coaching client last week began our discussion with this statement: “Familiarity breeds content.”  Be sure you read that sentence correctly and accent the last syllable of “content.”  He explained that the church hired an intern to work with the student minister.  The intern’s personality and effectiveness made the student pastor wonder if he should resign and yield his position to his more competent understudy.  The pastor and student minister discussed this thoughtfully.  The pastor then brought this situation to our coaching session.
Working our way through the questions, we came to this one: Is there another seat on the bus for the current student minister?  The decision is still a work in process, but early indications are that the pastor will keep both his student minister and the intern, but deploy them in new roles.  This will provide increasing effectiveness in outreach and ministry for the church.  
 

How often do churches and organizations become content with the status quo and never realize how much better productivity could become with a few tweaks?  As one book title memorably put it, If It Ain’t Broke, Break It!  
Contentment causes us to overlook realities that are evident to outsiders.  What insiders grow accustomed to, outsiders and newcomers notice and question.  A church may become content with substandard sound and lighting but wonder why few guests give their worship service a second chance.  A pastor might believe he is the next Chuck Swindoll but never watch his own sermons to see for himself how accurate is his self-assessment. 
Fresh eyes see clearly.  Fresh experiences tell much.  This is why inviting mystery worshipers to attend church services are so valuable.  They see, hear, smell, and feel things contented insiders no longer do.  
My wife and I were mystery worshipers at a large, growing church in Colorado recently.  Four people spoke to us before, during, and after the worship service that included hundreds of faithful members.  The pastor preaches through the Bible book by book but only glanced at the text while making seven cultural observations.  All of the announcements were directed to insiders except the one inviting guests to pick up a guest packet at the table outside the worship center.  There were two tables.  One was dedicated to selling church-related materials.  Three members were enjoying a lively discussion among themselves at the other.  Guest packets were hidden away somewhere.  
We returned home from vacation to find our aging dog in serious condition.  Her long illness was at its end.  That night she died in my arms.  The contentment of sharing our home with the world's best dog was over.  We miss her every time we enter a room and she isn't there.  She was our early warning system, our fierce protector, our dearest friend.  Her sweet disposition and physical affection are gone forever.  
 
Our familiarity created a contentment that only recognized its great value in its loss.  Don’t wait until your church or organization is dead to perform a contentment audit.