When Ministry Jumps the Shark

Think of your favorite old TV show. Chances are, you can point to a time when it just seemed to go downhill. Barney Fife left Mayberry. Lucy and Ricky moved to the suburbs. Col. Blake’s plane went down. Scooby Doo was joined by Scrappy. The “Very Special Episode.” All of these, according to Jon Hein, are examples of “jumping the shark.”

Hein coined the phrase from an episode of Happy Days in which Fonzie, on water skis, jumped over a shark. That point signaled the beginning of Happy Days‘ creative decline.

Hein built on the concept in 1997 with a website (http://www.jumptheshark.com) that analyzed 200 TV shows based on “votes” from friends. Today, the site boasts millions of votes on over 2,000 television programs, and even the networks follow the site to gauge the popularity of their shows.

In his book, Jump the Shark: When Good Things Go Bad (Dutton, 2002), Hein moves beyond TV and applies his biting analysis to music, sports, politics and celebrities. “We all know that there’s a moment,” he writes, ” … a defining moment when something in pop culture has reached its peak. That instant when you know from now on … it will never be the same.”

Is this book about ministry? No, but it could be.

Just like cultural icons, churches can also jump the shark. At some point in every church’s life, there is a landmark event, whether bad (a pastor’s moral failure), good (a successful building campaign), corporate (a church split), or individual (a leader’s personal loss of vision) that can trigger a loss of forward momentum. Unfortunately, the dorsal fin is usually visible only as the shark is swimming away.

The good news, from Hein’s perspective, is that it is possible to jump back over the shark and regain positive momentum. The book is designed to spark discussion and debate, and therein lies an application for ministry. Dare to ask yourself and your key leaders, “When did our church jump the shark?” (Asking when, not whether, will encourage honest assessment.) Listen to the answers, then discuss what your church needs to do to regain peak ministry effectiveness. Or, you may find that your church is in the rare company of the “Never Jumped,” along with The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Simpsons. In that case, thank God, remain faithful, and stay off the water skis.

David and Angie Ward minister at New Hope Community Church in Durham, North Carolina.

Share your shark story: What are the signs a ministry has “jumped the shark”? How have you avoided the shark? How have you come back after a goofy, life-altering episode? Write to Newsletter@LeadershipJournal.net.