Cycles of Life & Death!

It may not be exactly the same as the "rise and fall of the Roman Empire", but keeping a church moving forward in a healthy, vision-based direction is quite a project. If we assume that a fellowship was originally birthed through prayer and a clear sense of God's involvement... why do so many of them end up with broken dreams, broken people and broken leaders? Is there something that can be done in the midst of the pilgrimage that can help stem the tide of this movement towards plateau and decline? Have you ever asked yourself: "Why does my church exist?" If not... go ahead... maybe it is the first step towards renewing the call and vision upon it. Do you think that there might be some universal and Biblical way of evaluating the health of a local church? Is it important to know if your church is healthy? Should some churches be allowed to die with dignity? What do YOU think?