Dog Poo and Churches

'Do count them but dung, that I may win Christ'--Philippians 3:8 KJV

It is that time of year again: Time to shovel out the back yard, not of snow, which has melted, but of dog. The backyard is a beagle bathroom. As I was shoveling puppy poo it gave me time to meditate on parish ministry and here is what I heard the Lord sharing with me so I can pass on to you:



Leadership in the local church is like shoveling dog poo because the backyard looked beautiful as long as it was covered with snow. But when it melted you could see countless canine landmines.


Lesson number one: As long as you cover up the problems in the church everything looks fine. However, this does not mean that the problems have gone away. Sooner or later those problems will surface and you will have to deal with them. Being a leader in the church requires you to expose those problems and deal with them.


Leadership in the local church is like shoveling dog poo because it is concentrated in a few areas. They do not do their business all over the place; they have their choice spots where all of it accumulates.


Lesson number two: Problems in the church tend to congregate in the same ministries or with the same people. Do not be surprised if what appears to be one problem is just the tip of the ice berg.

Leadership in the local church is like shoveling dog poo because it kills the grass. Manure only works as fertilizer when you spread it around. This stuff if you do not shovel it will burn the grass.

Lesson number three: Problems in churches must be dealt with or they will do long term damage and prevent growth.

Leadership in the local church is like shoveling dog poo because there is a special way to scoop it up without destroying the grass. You have to be careful not to dig into the dirt. I prefer a side-scrape technique with my spade (There was a lot of poo…I had a lot of time to think about this one….)


Lesson number four: Solving church problems requires special sensitivity. On the one hand, you must resolve the problem. But on the other hand, you need to do it in such a way so that you do not spread the problem or cause another problem. Tact, discernment, sensitivity are all a part of the technique to cleaning up church messes.


Go forth, with a Bible in one hand and a shovel in the other. Take courage when you hear the hounds of hell baying at your church!