“We need a bigger building to reach more people!”
Have you ever heard that statement before? It’s pronounced with such a conviction that one would think that it was taken straight out of the text of Holy Writ. But have you actually considered how biblical is such a sentiment really? Can you truly imagine the first apostles uttering such declarations?
Although both things are good and necessary, only one of them is mandated in Scripture. It takes but only a casual reading of NT Scripture to understand that the Bible does not even prescribe building projects, but rather prescribes and commands church planting projects. Nevertheless, it seems that the present day church is more focused on the task that has no mention in Scripture.
Now let’s be clear:
Every church should have as its goal to have a solid presence in their community with facilities adequate enough to perform the work of the Great Commission in the manner that they feel called to fulfill it.
This is not a case for small is spiritual and big is carnal. This is not a problem of presence but a problem of priority. It’s the infatuation with building projects and the neglect of church planting projects that the corporate church needs to evaluate. If it is true that the Bible prescribes and commands church planting projects, why are more and more churches focusing on building projects to the neglect of the latter, especially if one cannot even find a prescription of such a ministry model in scripture? Have we as churches become more concerned about building our kingdom than building God’s kingdom?
The church of Laodicea is one where they are rich but inside are poor. The imagery is that the corporate church is more concerned about the material things than the soul things. The congregants like it, because there is less commitment in a bigger ministry. The preachers dream of it because the money and prestige is addictive. Although this principle reaches one on a personal level, one must understand that this speaks to the corporate level of the church. Although the focus of this blog is on conservative churches, this sentiment has reached across denomination lines and theological spectrums. Indeed it is a problem with what some consider “liberal” churches but it is a sentiment that also has poisoned the most conservative type of evangelical church.
There is much to say on this subject that can be addressed in other posts such as impure motives, manipulative tactics, theological errors, and negative impacts on spiritual lives that an infatuation with bigger buildings can create. Short posts are always the best. The one seed that I want to plant is the question I ask myself: At what point is a ministry too big for me to pastor?
Because pastors are not willing to ask themselves this inconvenient question they have fallen into the trap of becoming less of a pastor and more of a corporate executive or professional motivational speaker. The “deacon board” becomes an executive board that happens to have religiosity as the line of business. Consider that there is only 365 days in a year. Consider all the demands that a ministry has on the average pastor. How much time can he adequately dedicate to his people on a personal level to truly have spiritual impact?
During my spiritual training, I remember being part of a church for three years where I never received a casual visit from my pastor. I never received any type of a visit from any of the deacons. Now the sadder part is that I was an assistant pastor in such a ministry. If that is the type of soul care that I received as an assistant pastor, one which had more access to the leadership, I wonder what type of soul care the normal, everyday congregant receives. The young people under my care never received a visit from their youth pastor; the elderly did not even know the names of their deacons. These are things that I did not think of then (if I did I probably would not had stayed so long) but one that I reflect on now through the eyes of my responsibility as a pastor. As my ministry grows, I must make the selfless question of when will my church become too big for me to pastor. It’s much easier and prestigious to step back in executive mode and aim for bigger “things” under the guise of reaching more people. But if I, nor my deacons, no longer have the time to spend personal time with the sheep, are we truly reaching them?
On a different note, I know of a conservative church that has planted two other works and is helping a third one out with his. Sure it took them a long time to produce the leaders to send out, but the spiritual caliber of the congregants is extraordinarily different from the former example.
There is not a specific number where one can say the church has reached its limit. It would be ridiculous to even suggest the idea. Yet the sobering question MUST be asked. We, as conservative churches, cloak our spiritual superiority by pointing out the faults of those that are more “liberal” then us when it is clear that we have the same fundamental problem. We preachers sure know how to talk big. We have mastered the art of manipulating a response from our congregants. God help us if some congregants, who trust us so much with their souls, decide to check our claims with the facts.
The interesting thing about the churches described in the book of Revelation is that God’s presence is still there. Yet it does not mean that he does not take note of the areas from which we should repent. Just because we see that hand of God in our ministry, let us not ignore the handwriting on the wall.
The church of Laodicea is one where they are rich but inside are poor. The imagery is that the corporate church is more concerned about the material things than the soul things. The congregants like it, because there is less commitment in a bigger ministry. The preachers dream of it because the money and prestige is addictive. Although this principle reaches one on a personal level, one must understand that this speaks to the corporate level of the church. Although the focus of this blog is on conservative churches, this sentiment has reached across denomination lines and theological spectrums. Indeed it is a problem with what some consider “liberal” churches but it is a sentiment that also has poisoned the most conservative type of evangelical church.
There is much to say on this subject that can be addressed in other posts such as impure motives, manipulative tactics, theological errors, and negative impacts on spiritual lives that an infatuation with bigger buildings can create. Short posts are always the best. The one seed that I want to plant is the question I ask myself: At what point is a ministry too big for me to pastor?
Because pastors are not willing to ask themselves this inconvenient question they have fallen into the trap of becoming less of a pastor and more of a corporate executive or professional motivational speaker. The “deacon board” becomes an executive board that happens to have religiosity as the line of business. Consider that there is only 365 days in a year. Consider all the demands that a ministry has on the average pastor. How much time can he adequately dedicate to his people on a personal level to truly have spiritual impact?
During my spiritual training, I remember being part of a church for three years where I never received a casual visit from my pastor. I never received any type of a visit from any of the deacons. Now the sadder part is that I was an assistant pastor in such a ministry. If that is the type of soul care that I received as an assistant pastor, one which had more access to the leadership, I wonder what type of soul care the normal, everyday congregant receives. The young people under my care never received a visit from their youth pastor; the elderly did not even know the names of their deacons. These are things that I did not think of then (if I did I probably would not had stayed so long) but one that I reflect on now through the eyes of my responsibility as a pastor. As my ministry grows, I must make the selfless question of when will my church become too big for me to pastor. It’s much easier and prestigious to step back in executive mode and aim for bigger “things” under the guise of reaching more people. But if I, nor my deacons, no longer have the time to spend personal time with the sheep, are we truly reaching them?
On a different note, I know of a conservative church that has planted two other works and is helping a third one out with his. Sure it took them a long time to produce the leaders to send out, but the spiritual caliber of the congregants is extraordinarily different from the former example.
There is not a specific number where one can say the church has reached its limit. It would be ridiculous to even suggest the idea. Yet the sobering question MUST be asked. We, as conservative churches, cloak our spiritual superiority by pointing out the faults of those that are more “liberal” then us when it is clear that we have the same fundamental problem. We preachers sure know how to talk big. We have mastered the art of manipulating a response from our congregants. God help us if some congregants, who trust us so much with their souls, decide to check our claims with the facts.
The interesting thing about the churches described in the book of Revelation is that God’s presence is still there. Yet it does not mean that he does not take note of the areas from which we should repent. Just because we see that hand of God in our ministry, let us not ignore the handwriting on the wall.
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