I loved this quote from Dan Rockwell who I follow on Twitter @Leadershipfreak, “Bandages are protection, not solutions”. This thought from Dan really got my mind churning about how I do things in the church.

Raising 3 kids and having 8 grandkids, with #9 due to arrive 11 weeks, I am very familiar with the use, value and power of bandages. I also have coached several sports for many years and have dealt with more bandages than I can possibly remember. In all of those cases the use of the bandage was to cover up a wound, to protect the wound from further damage and in some cases to stop some tears from falling.

Notice that the main functions of a bandage are focused on protection. While it is also true that you may apply some medicine to a bandage that will come in contact with the wound or injury, that is not the main purpose of a bandage. This got my thoughts going about how I/we often handle problems in the church. I believe that we often apply bandages to the problems in our churches rather than seek to solve the problem.

I am still working out this analogy for myself, but I am convinced the image of a bandage is an accurate picture of how we usually handle problems in our churches. The question is, why do we only bandage the problem instead of seeking solutions to the problem?

What do our bandages look like in the church? Is it possible that we sometimes apply bandages in the church to cover up the problem rather than to heal it?

I believe we need to work at healing wounds/problems in the church, but I believe we also need to seek solutions that may prevent future wounds/problems from occurring.

Help me out. What do our bandages look like in the church? What are some reasons for only bandaging our problems rather seeking to solve them? Leave a comment on my blog or facebook page.

Dennis