Remember the prophets

This post is from the defunct blog "Dying Church"

I just started reading Reclaiming God's Original Intent for the Church. Some good thoughts in the first chapter, which compares Haggai and Jeremiah. People listened to Haggai; his ministry was well-received; things got done. In contrast, Jeremiah was rejected and opposed, and had little to show for his ministry. The authors ask, "Can Jeremiah's ministry be a model of success?"

Is something wrong with smaller churches remaining small? Is something incorrect if budgets don't significantly increase from year to year? Is something improper if we're content with the facilities we currently own?

They continue:

If we're honest, we'll admit that much of the motivation that drives us to be "bigger and better" is what the Bible calls selfish ambition... God called both Haggai and Jeremiah. Both remained faithful to God's calling, and both served the same Lord. Whether your ministry is more like Haggai's or Jeremiah's is really the choice of God. It's his calling.

Comments

[rick]

great post. glad i found your site. i think it was something i heard from john piper: "God is responsible for the consequences of our obedience."

[ed]

I'm more and more leaning to small churches being better for community experience. As I prepare weekend services I'm constantly reminded how much more impactful certain things could be if only the numbers were a little less - and we're not big. Like you say, it's his calling.

[Trish]

But God wrote the book of Numbers so he can't be against numerical growth.

[Darryl]

I'm not sure the message of the book of Numbers is that numerical growth is good. I don't think God is against numerical growth, but it is wrong to define success that way.