Do You Suffer From Acute Church Center of the Universe Syndrome?

by · February 18, 2011

It is no surprise that as a church leader, you are passionate about your ministry. This is a primal instinct that causes us to cherish and revere our own life’s work and accomplishments. When a small group of men get together with the same object as their focus, corporations and dictatorial regimes are born. Add to that the leading of the Holy Spirit and you have yourself a local church. Its not necessarily a bad thing. You are a leader called by God to make disciples and you love your job.
But like anything else, this can get out of control. If you are a church leader, you could also probably be the poster child for Workaholics Anonymous. It is easy to get so absorbed into your work that reality becomes fantasy and what happens on the church campus is all that exists.

I watch my 8 year old son do this all the time. He plays with Legos and builds amazing, complex cities that make no sense to me. He can go for hours in his world of imagination but when we call him down for dinner, he has a hard time adjusting to the fact that pork chops and peas are the actual reality, not Optimus Prime and Indiana Jones.

If you already know where I am going with this, then you suffer from what scientists call Acute Church Center of the Universe Syndrome (ACCUS). ACCUS usually develops after years of working in ministry feeling the man-made pressure of church bureaucracy and pastoral entitlement. To outsiders, you may look like a zombie or a nerd. Interactions with you feel like taking Star Wars Kid to prom and others may interpret your actions as “holier than thou” or as that of a telemarketer.

To the outside world, leaders who suffer from ACCUS are sanctimonious dorks who no one likes to be around. They are dismissed with smiles and nods but are completely oblivious to it.

I worked on staff in the local church for a decade but never saw it until I got a real job. It might be the biggest change I have noticed since not being a full-time staff member at a church. I call it my Emperors New Clothes revelation.

If you doubt the existence of the disease, you probably have it. Here is a test you can do:

  1. Write down the top 4 artists on your iPod, the last book you read, and the top 5 things that were discussed at your last church staff meeting.
  2. Take that list (you should have 10 things) to your local Starbucks or mall or Wal-Mart.
  3. Quiz strangers and ask them to circle all the terms, titles, or phrases on that list that they recognize.
  4. If the average score is less than 3 circled, you are doomed. I am sorry.

The truth is, your church is not the center of the universe. As a matter of fact, if 5% of your community even knows your church exists, you have an exceptionally high presence in your town. Most people don’t care. Not only that, they don’t care because they have been passed by you on a daily basis on your way to the campus. For them, it is high school lunch hour all over again. You sit at one table and they sit at another.

ACCUS is no laughing matter. It is the exact opposite of what Jesus tells us to do in Matthew 28:19. It is sin. It is born from the desire in us to be great, to be conquerors of our domain. It is the result of our quest for some sort of celebrity. Being passionate about your ministry should translate immediately into being passionate for the community you are based in.

Clinical trials have not yielded a definitive cure for ACCUS but scientists think it might have something to do with acting like Jesus. Turns out, He was the center of the universe and He did everything to not act like it.

Filed Under: Advocacy, Article

  • http://andrewgrant.me/ Andrew

    There is another incarnation of the disease, and it’s quite common. It happens when the pastor buys into the myth that the clergy are separate from and elevated above the laity. Very scary.

  • http://dustn.me Dustin W. Stout

    I’ve seen one too many cases of this. You should also note the adverse side effects on married life. We forget God tells us to take care of our household first.

  • Luke

    There is a significant chance that the lithmus test you suggested would yield the same results regardless of what industry is being tested. Jargon is a natural part of expertise and specialization. If an accountant asked me about the terms from their last staff meeting I would be at a loss.

  • Nick Asolas

    You’re probably right. It is more of a literary device than it is science.

  • tox

    Yes…and therein lies the challenge. Church is not industry. It is an organism. It is who we are and our mission is to go into all the world and make disciples. Not build a business bubble complete with business jargon and only talk to the guy in the cubicle next to us. To do this, we must be Biblically sound but speak in culturally relevant ways.

  • Anonymous

    Oh no! My list is bad, I fear that I might be starting to develop ACCUS which I don’t want to have anyway because “CUS” is too close to CUSS and well…that is bad. Nick, Brian is there drugs or something that I can take?

    Love this post, I think to avoid having this syndrome, BJJ and MMA help to keep me grounded and involved in the community. It reminds me that people might act different outside the church, but have very similar issues.

    Great insights team!