Do Churches Have a Shelf Life?

I just read an article from the December 5, 2010 issue of the Lookout called "Local Churches Have a Shelf Life" written by Bob Russell. I just read it a few minutes ago so I'm still pondering a bit. The title jumped out at me, so let's start there. Do churches have a shelf life? He shared a statistic that, sadly, few churches retain a vibrant ministry for more than a century. I can see that from a lot of angles. Even just the architecture and usefulness of their facility can drastically change in 100 years. (We do have electricity widely available now). Bob then went into the warnings to the churches from Revelation. As I read I began thinking that the shelf life on a church is directly related to its effectiveness in ministry. Too many times churches want to rest on the laurels of their past and the "glory days" of their context. When churches do this, it's a death sentence.

It's been said, "Death comes when memories of the past exceed vision for the future." And I believe those sections to the churches in Revelation end with, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."