Your Daily Devotional for May 3, 2006

May 3, 2006

 

Growth and the Local Church

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

Matthew 5:13-16

 

In the twenty-first century there seems to be an unprecedented spirit of pragmatism on the part of many American churches when it pertains to their philosophy of local church ministry. One movement that epitomizes this spirit is the “church growth movement.” Many different methods are being used by pastors and churches across America, and it is not uncommon to hear of various seminars and books that deal with this subject.

 

Many years ago, the Lord helped me recognize that God is not as interested in the growth of a church as He is in the health of a church. You see, the circus can gather a large crowd. The fact is that God is more concerned about the condition of the hearts of His people than He is in the growth of the local church.

 

There is nothing wrong with a church that is growing. God wrote a whole book in the Old Testament called Numbers. It is when a church focuses on growth instead of God that it is headed for trouble. Success is a moving target, but leadership is a fixed goal. We must make Jesus Christ the goal if we are to be the spiritual leaders that God has called us to be.

 

In Matthew 5:13-14, Jesus calls upon the church to be the salt and light of the earth. “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.” The church is to be a preserving agent and a light in a dark and sinful world.

 

Many times those who speak about church growth are telling pastors like me that to experience growth we must make our preaching less salty. There must be less doctrine and less preaching about sin. The fact is that if we are to reach the world we must not take away the savoriness of the message. We must not dim the light in this dark world, but we must continue to speak the truth in love.

 

In this day of pragmatic and accommodating theology we must try every method by the Scriptures and recognize that God is a holy God and that we do not want to quench His Holy Spirit. Although there is nothing wrong with church growth, we must never forget that the church is called to be the “pillar and ground of the truth.”

 

May God use each of us today to be shining lights in our community as we keep our eyes focused on the goal of Jesus Christ.

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