This is an article worth summarizing, particularly if you have
been a church-growth junky in your past life (as I have). It is written by Ray Baumann:
I used to be a Church Growth
Hormone addict. For my first eight years in the ministry, I was on a daily diet
of books and videos centered around the latest church fads and trends that
focused on church growth. I was on the cutting edge of ministry thinking,
learning more and more about marketing and the psychology of connecting people.
I believed that numbers equaled success…
For pastors, it’s the number of people that are sitting in
the seats that seems to be the measure of success. This is something, however
misguided it may be, that we all strive to obtain. Now, more than ever before,
there are numerous books that place emphasis on the subject of church growth
and there seems to be a greater desire to be a mega church. This desire then
facilitates the thought pattern of, "If I grow the church, I’m doing more for
God than the next guy."
Just like the professional athlete
on steroids, pastors have been caught taking Church Growth Hormones for
growth’s sake. Many have seen the fast, "successful" results and have signed
on, thus endorsing this dangerous pill. They have improved their performances
on Sundays and Wednesdays to attract people. The Church Growth Hormone contains
some very ugly ingredients. Let’s take a look.
The ingredients are as follows:
man-centered theology, relevant messages that solve people’s problems by
meeting their needs, events and programs that reach out to the community, and
music that is contemporary and entertaining. For best results, remove pews,
dress casual, and install a 5000 lumen projector. If taken weekly and if you
follow a regimented marketing strategy, you are guaranteed growth. The side
effects may include unbelievers in leadership, false converts, uncommitted
members, and shallow minds.
On my own, there is no way that I
could see the damaging effects of what I was participating in. To top it off, I
was encouraged in this sin by many people. If anyone asked how the church was
doing, what they really wanted to know was how our attendance numbers were, not
how God was working or what He was doing in our congregation.
You can read the entire article here.
I still possess the skills to attract an audience. It’s just not that
difficult to do. But how much more fulfilling it is (for me)
to be part of the growing army of intentional, missional believers who
are
committed to living in authentic, biblical community. Now that’s
what I’m talking about! I think it is James Rutz who envisions
several million believers leaving their pews and streaming onto the playing
field to engage the world for Christ. That is an event that will provoke the
type of real church/kingdom growth
that can change a world!
Comments
7 responses to “Church Growth Hormone Addict”
I love the vision of “growing an army of intentional, missional believers who are committed to living in authentic, biblical community.” Keep pressing on! Imagine if every believer saw themselves as a missionary to their neighborhoods and families and workplaces. It would be so awesome if churches started equipping “missionaries” instead of trying to attract crowds.
Amen. when we put aside the man made attractional efforts and just let Jesus work its a wonderful thing. True community always beats a manufactured effort
Very interesting blog and I have learned a lot.
Roger – I am engaging a movement in St. Louis of authentic Christ following, disciple multipliers who live incarnationally in the world so as to atract people to Jesus. We are not a house churh movement but we meet in homes weekly and gather together as a group twice a month. But the main thing is not gathering it is living, serving and making disciples who make disciples who live the Supremacy of the Great Commission. God insists that we “be fruitful and multiply.”
I believe we have alott in common and I love your posts.
I just left a comment on your “Deconstruction” entry but wanted to share a great blog that echos many of your thoughts in this entry. Warning to you and your readers: it does have bad language in it, so if that offends you, skip it. http://www.badchristian.com/2006/12/09/whats-a-disciplereally/
This is a great confessional and call to repentance for me and I hope the entire Body. I was caught up in ‘performance’ and thought that was the overriding concern of God. How laughable! God’s word says over and over again that He sees the heart of man. He knows us much better than we do ourselves. I like that Ray B. mentions “damaging effects”. Until we get humble, honest and usable to others, we are probably hurting others as well as ourselves. In his final comment he says now he is all about discipling others. Again, that’s a great thing, just as growth is, but let’s make sure what we have to give is the right stuff. And perhaps that other believer has something to say that we might gain from. Holy Spirit does not simply work through the most intelligent, the most informed or the most spiritual – He works through all, for the benefit of all. It’s a “we” program!
Great article! We have followed the business model to “do Church”. Sunday morning is what we are selling. Often we haven’t been much different than other social organizations that want to do good. What we end up with is more a monument to human ingenuity and creativity than it is to our Lord. God has called us to something different. I think this article hits the nail on the head. I especially love the paragraph that begins, “The ingredients are as follows:”. Thanks!