I receive numerous amounts of junk mail. Sometimes it is spam on the Internet and other times it is through the Pony Express. More and more I am receiving parts of dead trees from people that want to make me into a CEO, wealthy and well heard of Pastor. That i deserve fame, adn if I do church their way then all will be ok. These are "church men and women" whom seem to think that success means that my church has to reach at least 400 if not 4000. They seem to think that bigger is always better. You must have these programs, you must wear this type of clothing, you must read these book, you must etc, etc, etc.
I wonder what Jesus thinks of all of this. That with the right plan, the right money spent at the right time on the right program, with the right church coach will = a successful church. did He die for an instituation? Didd he die so that His church looks more like Starbucks or Microsoft, than a group of loving people? For some reason I keep on thinking that the church Jesus is the head of; is a group of people that have given their lives to Jesus Christ and want to follow him, not a building or business style organism. Maybe I am wrong.
Maybe what God wants is bunch of people punching the time clock, and then forgetting about God, Jesus and living to change our homes; let alone our communities and the world. Maybe I should rely on my experiences in management, more than the Holy Spirit and what the bible has to say. Maybe I should chart out what we need to do, how to get there, make sure I hire the right people "because something this important we need profession, and this cannot be left to the people in the pews". Maybe, just maybe with the right programs, if I have enough control, then this church will grow, that we will have more customers, that we will be success according to Donald Trump.
However I measure success a little bit different. Changed lives. CEO's want numbers, Jesus wants hearts. CEO's want to expand their back pockets; Jesus wants you not to worry about the back pocket. CEO's want to measure results; eternal life is the result of following Jesus.
We must get to the point that we are not looking to make man happy, but instead to please Jesus. Does He want his kingdom to grow? Yes! Does He want us to responsible with the churches he has given us to shepherd? Yes. We need to live and teach according to his Word and the church should "run well". But at the end of the day is it going to matter that I have 3,000 listening to me Sundays or is going to matter that I died to myself and let God use me to bring himself glory?
It's time to stop looking at the numbers, we need to start looking at the hearts. Are people living for Jesus? Are they taking the Word and makign it thier own, are they dting to selfish wants and puttign others and Christ beofre themselves? From what I've read Jesus will build his church. What we are suppossed to be seeking is not numbers but the Kingdom of God and HIS righteousness.
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3 comments:
Mike,
I'm not a pastor, I'm just a regular everyday Christian. But I appreciate this post. From what I know and what I read in His word, Jesus is interested in changed hearts. While I believe wholeheartedly that the Lord would have the whole world saved, the sad truth is that is not what Jesus actually said would happen.
It is God who actually does the saving through Holy Spirit and by the work of Christ on the cross. Not the church institution. In this day and age it is easy to see that the contemporary church is not changing lives. "Christians" are not in love with Jesus, they are in love with the notion of Jesus. A changed heart = a changed life, a life that is called out.
I hear you, man. When I pastored, most of our mail was junk like that. Now that I have resigned (last summer) and the church is closed, I am still receiving the same junk.
I am in total agreement about the corporatization of the church. People are seen as customers (paying customers?) rather than, as you say, hearts.
Thanks guys,
It is good to know that other think the same thing.
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