street art that makes you think
As seen on the streets of Rome…
“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:
