Blessing, prosperity, and multiplicity
This morning began in an awesome way with around 40 students (standing room only and perhaps then some) at JumpStart. The whole idea is to provide a place with rocking music, food, fun, and a great start to the day with God's word. To see 40 kids come in almost a half hour before school to do that is incredible! Especially when we had around 20 last week. Doubling the numbers (or "adding to their numbers daily" to quote Acts) is a pretty good trend to have...
Often, we equate success with size. If God is "blessing" a ministry or church, they should have abundant resources and be seeing tons of people coming in, right? I mean, shouldn't there be tons of Saddleback's and Life Church's and Willow Creek's and Fellowship Church's and North Point Community Church's if God is blessing other churches? Hmmm... This presents a problem. Jesus gave us orders to "go and make disciples" which means if we're not growing we're not going. But, most churches around the country fall into the under 400 category (most under 200), which begs the question, are they not going and making? I would venture to say some aren't, some however, are.
What makes a church grow? Is it simply inviting people? Is it using some tract to witness? Is it having the most awesome band come play at your church? Is it having the best coffee in the city? I mean, lots of churches do lots of things. Here at First Pres we have a kids bell choir, a kids choir, an adult bell choir, an adult choir, a contemporary praise band, children's church, VBS, a Wednesday night kids program, Sunday morning traditional worship, Sunday morning contemporary worship, a Tuesday and Thursday After School program for junior highers, a Wednesday night junior high program, a Sunday night senior high program, tons of committees, and more. That's a lot of stuff for the around 200 regular attenders! As I look at our student ministry, we're even busier sometimes. Is that a good thing? Not necessarily, because we often remove room for God to work by filling the space with programming!
Life Church (a megachurch with multiple campuses based out of Edmund, OK) has only a few core programs. They don't do VBS, they don't have a bus ministry, they don't do kids choirs, they don't even play church league softball! Why? Because Craig Groeschel, their senior pastor, has kept them focused on what they are called to do. By doing that, they put their absolute best forward in terms of the weekend worship experience, children's ministry, and small groups. They ignore tons of potential ministry opportunities! But, they have grown leaps and bounds and would definitely be a church that God is blessing. Why then do many churches (note: read this as "ME") feel the need to have 413 ministries that aren't excellent? Is it really honoring to God to keep a puppet ministry going if it isn't attracting people and is draining resources from what matters more?
Which leads me to the important question: what matters most? As a youth/worship pastor, I lean towards the weekend worship experience and children's/youth programming. That means I would allow tons of ministries that impact a community to drop dead because they aren't as important as those core programs (to quote Bill Hybels, "If you only have one card to play, focus on children's ministry because if you get the kids you'll get the parents."). It sounds callous, but it is the necessary truth! The church is called to be God where people are. To do that means different things for different portions of the church! I mean, I relate well to teenagers and young adults, but often fall flat when needing to be more "professional" (or less "youth" and more "pastor"). I was made to reach certain groups of people and less likely to reach others. This is part of God's design, not random chance. There are others who could never do what I do because they were made polar opposites. Does that mean they're (or I am!) not necessary? Heck no!
God's blessings aren't always material prosperity, massive buildings, or extreme numerical growth! We need to get our heads wrapped around that fact, because to equate blessing with numerical growth, money, prestige, or stuff means we have made God no more than Santa Claus... Here's the thing: if we do what we were made to do in community with those who are different from us (not the same!), we are God's body instead of a disparate pile of body parts who think we know best. So, as we grow, God is good! As we don't grow, God is still good! The question is one of heart: are we about God's work or our own agenda? Because let's be honest, our own agenda tends to dominate our outlook. This is what drives "the worship wars" and anything else that divides the church. Instead off focusing on God, we focus on ourselves losing focus of what is important and hoping that "God blesses our socks off" with tons of money, nice stuff, and a humongous church. While God might want you to have some of that, His plan for you might not involve any of that and yet you would still be just as blessed!
Here's Paul (Philippians 4.12-14):
"I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength!"
So, in every circumstance, with much or with little, rejoice and know that God is good...
Often, we equate success with size. If God is "blessing" a ministry or church, they should have abundant resources and be seeing tons of people coming in, right? I mean, shouldn't there be tons of Saddleback's and Life Church's and Willow Creek's and Fellowship Church's and North Point Community Church's if God is blessing other churches? Hmmm... This presents a problem. Jesus gave us orders to "go and make disciples" which means if we're not growing we're not going. But, most churches around the country fall into the under 400 category (most under 200), which begs the question, are they not going and making? I would venture to say some aren't, some however, are.
What makes a church grow? Is it simply inviting people? Is it using some tract to witness? Is it having the most awesome band come play at your church? Is it having the best coffee in the city? I mean, lots of churches do lots of things. Here at First Pres we have a kids bell choir, a kids choir, an adult bell choir, an adult choir, a contemporary praise band, children's church, VBS, a Wednesday night kids program, Sunday morning traditional worship, Sunday morning contemporary worship, a Tuesday and Thursday After School program for junior highers, a Wednesday night junior high program, a Sunday night senior high program, tons of committees, and more. That's a lot of stuff for the around 200 regular attenders! As I look at our student ministry, we're even busier sometimes. Is that a good thing? Not necessarily, because we often remove room for God to work by filling the space with programming!
Life Church (a megachurch with multiple campuses based out of Edmund, OK) has only a few core programs. They don't do VBS, they don't have a bus ministry, they don't do kids choirs, they don't even play church league softball! Why? Because Craig Groeschel, their senior pastor, has kept them focused on what they are called to do. By doing that, they put their absolute best forward in terms of the weekend worship experience, children's ministry, and small groups. They ignore tons of potential ministry opportunities! But, they have grown leaps and bounds and would definitely be a church that God is blessing. Why then do many churches (note: read this as "ME") feel the need to have 413 ministries that aren't excellent? Is it really honoring to God to keep a puppet ministry going if it isn't attracting people and is draining resources from what matters more?
Which leads me to the important question: what matters most? As a youth/worship pastor, I lean towards the weekend worship experience and children's/youth programming. That means I would allow tons of ministries that impact a community to drop dead because they aren't as important as those core programs (to quote Bill Hybels, "If you only have one card to play, focus on children's ministry because if you get the kids you'll get the parents."). It sounds callous, but it is the necessary truth! The church is called to be God where people are. To do that means different things for different portions of the church! I mean, I relate well to teenagers and young adults, but often fall flat when needing to be more "professional" (or less "youth" and more "pastor"). I was made to reach certain groups of people and less likely to reach others. This is part of God's design, not random chance. There are others who could never do what I do because they were made polar opposites. Does that mean they're (or I am!) not necessary? Heck no!
God's blessings aren't always material prosperity, massive buildings, or extreme numerical growth! We need to get our heads wrapped around that fact, because to equate blessing with numerical growth, money, prestige, or stuff means we have made God no more than Santa Claus... Here's the thing: if we do what we were made to do in community with those who are different from us (not the same!), we are God's body instead of a disparate pile of body parts who think we know best. So, as we grow, God is good! As we don't grow, God is still good! The question is one of heart: are we about God's work or our own agenda? Because let's be honest, our own agenda tends to dominate our outlook. This is what drives "the worship wars" and anything else that divides the church. Instead off focusing on God, we focus on ourselves losing focus of what is important and hoping that "God blesses our socks off" with tons of money, nice stuff, and a humongous church. While God might want you to have some of that, His plan for you might not involve any of that and yet you would still be just as blessed!
Here's Paul (Philippians 4.12-14):
"I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength!"
So, in every circumstance, with much or with little, rejoice and know that God is good...
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