Is the Great Gloom creeping into your church?

One of my favorite magazines introduced me to a new culture occurring in our workplaces. Fast Company magazine opened my eyes to the most recent trend in the workplace, the Great Gloom. (A Manager’s Guide to the Great Gloom, Fast Company, 10/31/23)

In the months after the pandemic, we experienced the Great Resignation. This was a time of upheaval as workers left their jobs, some even leaving the workforce entirely. We have seemed to weather this initial storm of resignation but have now entered the Great Gloom. This Gloom is defined by a “significant decline in employee engagement, falling at a rate 10 times faster than the previous three years.”

What caused employee engagement to shift from enthusiasm with the occasional downshift to the “apathy and resignation” of the Gloom? CEO and bestselling author, Jenn Lim, writes “The true problem with employee engagement isn’t a lack of motivation but a disconnect between the employee and the organization’s purpose.” She goes on to say:

“For years, I’ve talked about embracing the highs and lows of life to understand our individual values and purpose and uncover how those align with our daily work. This transcends happiness and becomes a pursuit of feeling whole, fulfilled, and the freedom to live in the world we want to live in.”

What does this have to do with the church you might be asking? I am not proclaiming that our churches are in The Gloom, but I would share that most churches are experiencing some level of decline in their congregational engagement. And I think that the symptoms and solutions are similar in the church as what Ms. Lim identifies and describes for the workplace.

She indicates the three signs for recognizing disengagement are reduction in productivity and quality, refusing growth opportunities, and workers remaining silent. I would translate these for the church as reduction in outreach and missional impact, eschewing spiritual growth, and resigning themselves to defeat (“the world is so messed up, what difference can one church make”).

Her prescription for overcoming the Gloom in the workplace is to communicate with psychological safety in place, reconnect, and culture. Again I would translate these into a church context, fairly closely.

I do agree it is important to communicate psychological safety. In the workplace this means creating an environment where it is safe to take risks and explore innovation. In the church, I think it is creating safe spaces not to hide from the problems of the world but to explore solutions and address our differences in a healthy forum.

I believe connecting and reconnecting is a critical step to engagement. It is a primary component of the Proactive Disciple Making Strategy I teach churches. We have to connect with the problems and issues our people are facing before we can offer relevant solutions for them. Let’s help our people understand their unique and God-given purpose in life and then give them relevant and meaningful ways to live it out.

Jenn Lim instructs workplaces to “ensure the company culture is true to its values and ‘walking the talk.’” I would agree this is critical for churches as well. We have to live into the Great Commission to make disciples that will help us live out the local mission we have for impacting our communities. Pastors and church leaders have to demonstrate this ideal for their congregations and congregants, in turn, have to demonstrate love to their neighbors.

I don’t think the Church has to be overshadowed by the Great Gloom. I truly believe that we can be a beacon of light for our workplaces and community organizations by engaging with our people to make disciples that are energized to be good workers, good neighbors, good teachers, good students… wherever our people are called to be in the world! Be proactive disciple makers in an engaged culture of discipleship, it will keep away the Gloom!!!

Photo Attribution: © <a href='https://www.123rf.com/profile_virtosmedia'>virtosmedia</a>, <a href='https://www.123rf.com/free-images/'>123RF Free Images</a>