DANIS LINUS

“It’s all relative to the size of your steeple.”

Marilyn Manson said that.  And lately, I tend to agree.  For some reason unknown, a topic of conversation keeps reoccurring among a few friends concerning the issue of church growth.  Please keep in mind that all of these friends are either presently involved in some sort of vocational “ministry” or have been in the past.  And please keep in mind that all of us love the Church and have a deep (albeit it imperfect) relationship with Christ expressed differently and in various contexts.

I’ve been pretty vocal lately because my growing frustration is not just with the obsession of “church growth” as evidenced by the unending conferences, books, seminars, and podcasts on the issue.  My frustration… eh, let me use a stronger word here… disgust.  Well, that’s too strong.  Somewhere in between, maybe.  My frustration, is that no one seems to be questioning the very definition of “church growth” or at very least measuring it against New Testament priorities.

I usually shy away from tossing out “facts”.  “Facts” are usually just our opinions that we can’t let go of.  But, at the risk of becoming a giant target (not that I’m bothered by that because I’ve been a target before and the word “giant” here is laughable because a mere three people are reading this post), I’m going to throw down a fact.  Here goes:

FACT - By and large, with few exceptions, “church growth” in the Western world is measured and defined by three things:

1. Weekend Service Attendance
2. The accumulation of buildings and technology
3. Monetary Income through giving or tithing

A young pastor is asked, “How’s the church plant going?”  Immediate response: “We’re growing.  We had over 100 people a few Sundays ago.  Most of the time we’re around 80 but we’ve broken the 100 barrier a couple of times and we’re only a year in.”

A youth pastor is asked, “How’s the youth ministry doing?”  “Well, we just got a new sound system and two new video projectors for the youth room.  The kids love it.”

A pastor of decades is asked, “How are things at the church?”  “Blessed.  We’re in a new building program.  It’ll seat 2500.  After it’s completed, I think I’ll retire. This is my final stamp. So thankful the Lord allowed me to see it completed.”

To say that weekend attendance, tithes being up or down, or having that new gadget or youth facility is not the primary measuring stick of growth in American churches is disingenuous at best.  You can lie to me but don’t lie to yourself.

Consider how much resource of time and money goes into producing an “excellent” weekend service.  By it’s nature, it can’t help but become about that.  I just sometimes wonder if this all-pervasive capitalist accumulation of mass has completely invaded us that we don’t even question it anymore.  It’s just what it is.

There has to be a better way.

What if we threw away the measuring stick?  What if the knee-jerk response wasn’t to toss out a number (or come up with a lame excuse why you’re not up)?  Seriously, ask any pastor how things are going and they’ll either squirm because things aren’t going well… and remember the definition of well.  Or they’ll delight with glee that numbers are up and they are indeed, growing.

Can you imagine Paul writing this to the churches:  “Your numbers are down boys.  Better figure something out quick.”  I can’t.  You know why?  Because he didn’t.  He had a much different measuring stick for growth.  He asked if they were growing in love.  Were they caring for one another?  Were they being generous?  Were they growing in hospitality (and he didn’t mean that new coffee bar staffed with volunteer teams)?  Were they sharing?

What if we threw away the measuring stick or at least got a new one?  What if we had churches that met corporately once a month and then only to celebrate what God was doing in the local community through that group of Christ-followers?  What if we didn’t care what the numbers or metrics looked like because there was no pressure?  Just the pressure (I need a better word) of fulfilling the obligations of brotherly love to everyone and “those first in the household of faith.”

What if we left the measuring up to God?  What if we left the telling of the score until after the last page has been turned?

Maybe if we got a new measuring stick, we wouldn’t have burned out pastors in contexts so pressure-filled and toxic that their spiritual, mental, and physical well-beings suffer immensely not to mention their families and relationships.

What if we stopped with our obsession of bigger is better?  The drive to build our own mini-empires in the name of Christ (because that’s what it is) and just let this Message of truth, grace, love and compassion live so deeply and be expressed so extravagantly that it can’t help but spread wider?  Wider is different than bigger.  To me, it’s a more biblical model.  It’s not just semantics.  There is a difference.