Most of us play a "numbers game" of some sort. We define success by numbers. Maybe it's dollars of income. Maybe it's number of church members. Maybe it's wins or friends or ... all sorts of things. Success is when we make the numbers. So ... in Christianity, what numbers would signal success?
Well, obviously, "righteousness" numbers won't work. Since Christianity is premised on our lack of righteousness and offers a righteousness not our own, that's right out. I know. Church size. Clearly the size of your church indicates its success, right? So getting people in is the best way to win this game. Any way you can. Entertain, shorten sermons, change musical styles, really pep things up. Right? I mean, we're told to be building up the church, aren't we? Or ... oh, I know. Converts. Like World War II aces, we could stamp a mark on our cars to indicate how many people we've led to Christ. I mean, we're told to spread the gospel, right? That's a pretty solid measure of success right there. Or ... is it?
Although lots of people think that way, it doesn't work biblically. We aren't told to make converts. We're told to make disciples (Matt 28:18-20). And that process isn't one that can be counted because it's ongoing, continuous. "Teach them to observe all that I have commanded ..." So, no, not a numerical value. And not a function of converts. And we aren't commanded to build up the church. We're commanded to build up the body of Christ, to equip the saints, to attain unity and maturity (Eph 4:11-14). Another ongoing, continuous command that never ends and can't be counted.
We're not supposed to be making converts; we're supposed to be making disciples. We're not supposed to be building the church; we're supposed to be building up believers. We can get so mixed up with worldly standards that we make worldly programs to meet worldly goals ... for divine commands. It doesn't work. We need to obey, not make up metrics. We're supposed to sacrifice ourselves for God's work (Rom 12:1-2), not build up better systems. We so often seem to be missing the point ...
6 comments:
It's hard not to look at numbers. How do we know, if say we're a pastor, that we are faithfully following God's calling in our lives if we don't see the fruit of our labors? But the danger of using numbers to determine that is then changing from true doctrine and truth into more attractive teachings and half-truths. We need to remember that often our calling is to speak the truth to a world that doesn't want to hear it and won't listen. If Isaiah had gone off the numbers, he would have been promised by God to be an absolute failure. But by holding fast to the truth rather than "success", we have the prophecy of Isaiah and the power of God shines through.
It would be futile for any of us to “count converts,” as that tally would include both true and false converts (and only time will prove the difference between them). Those counting “converts” (i.e. attempting to measure “church growth”) are unknowingly--but surely--including in those numbers tares and those who will fall away. Only God knows the true picture, of course.
I firmly believe the phrase that I heard years ago, "Healthy organisms grow.". At the time it was in the context of numerical growth, but it also applies to growth measured in other ways.
It seems obvious that we need converts in order to produce disciples. So if one is tracking numbers, it would seem the the retention rate might actually be the more valuable metric. Are people being moved through the process well. That could mean that you had 4 converts and tow of them developed into disciples was a success.
If a church had zero converts and zero disciples, I'd say that those numbers were indicative of a problem. Likewise high convert/low disciple numbers would also potentially be concerning.
The problem I see is how do you track numbers in a way the helps you do a better job of producing disciples, without obsessing over keeping score? I'd also argue that a convert from church X, who becomes a disciple at church Y, is a win for both and the Kingdom.
This is kind of a word games sort of thing. To make converts is to make disciples. If I was to use the "converts" as the consequence of my evangelizing, I haven't succeeded of converting anyone who isn't then a disciple.
The same is true with "building up the church" as compared with "building up believers". "The Church" is that portion of humanity who are "believers" in Christ. Is that not also true? Increasing numbers of a specific congregation, I would suggest, has increasing numbers of believers in Christ as the primary goal of a proper Christian pastor.
The real issue here is how difficult (as impossible) it is to read the hearts of others, and raw numbers of attendees is the only true metric WE have as to whether or not we're building a group of believing disciples of Christ or not. My wife, daughter and I have found what we think might be our new church home here in SC. With my first attendance, I spoke with a fellow after service who serves to inform new people about the goings on. He did mention the growth of the congregation, mentioning how many baptisms have taken place over the past year or so. Of course, we already believe, so there's no real conversion which can take place, but if this place is what we hope it is, it will at least help us find a community in which our faith will thrive...if that's the right way to say what I'm feeling. But as to whether or not we add to their numbers, that will depend on them for sure, and so far, with limited exposure, it's leaning in that direction. I hope so. You can't swing a dead cat in this area without hitting a church. This area is absolutely infested with them! Finding a good one early would be better!
Making converts is not making disciples. For quite a while now, Evangelicals have made a practice of making converts ... then cutting them loose. A convert is the first step of being a disciple, but discipleship is a lifelong process, believer to believer. And the church is made up of believers, as you point out, but is our focus on the corpus, or on individual believers? Counting baptisms (for instance) is a focus on the corpus. Too many churches have long neglected individual believers trying to build a larger church, and it has resulted in a church that is essentially a mile wide and an inch deep.
Stan, you wrote, “We're not supposed to be making converts; we're supposed to be making disciples. We're not supposed to be building the church; we're supposed to be building up believers.” This might be semantics to some, but, like you, I definitely see a difference between a “convert” and a “disciple” and between “building the church” and “building up believers.” Creating new believers in the Lord Jesus and thereby growing the Body of Christ are clearly works of God, while creating disciples--i.e. the process of building up those new believers--is our charge from Jesus (Matt. 28:19-20). I agree with you that church leaders often hold the incorrect focus--to their discredit--since that is their “livelihood,” so to speak, but we members of the universal Church can still obey Jesus and seek to help our fellow believers grow in their faith, regardless of whether our churches stress personal discipleship or instead fixate on unhelpful metrics. As I commented above, only God knows true believers from false converts, and our discipleship efforts--often much of it made outside of church walls--will help produce the fruit that differentiates the two. That individual growth in Christian maturity in His children is what matters to God, I believe--not those various things we humans would use to measure “success,” as you point out.
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