Douglas Young

Bovina Bulletin Board

I’m going to be upfront here. I think if we are pursuing church growth, we’re pursuing the wrong thing. It’s the trap of the business model to which we’ve succumbed. Church growth stems from the need to grow an organization, which has a budget that must be met. The more members a church has, the more contributions it will receive. The more the more the contribution, the more that can be done.

The New Testament says nothing about growing churches. Jesus taught, repeatedly, that the kingdom will grow, but its growth would be the natural product of kingdom living. Churches grew because people were spreading the gospel (Acts 8:4). Growth was the effect, not the pursuit. God is the one who gives the increase (1 Cor. 3:6).

This being said, something is wrong if churches aren’t growing, including mine. I think many recognize this, so they pursue all sorts of gimmicks to fill pews. Sometimes the gimmicks work, but more often than not they don’t. Part of the problem, in my estimation, is that we’re pursuing the wrong things.

Nevertheless, there are some sure fire ways that churches are keeping themselves from growing. If God is the one who gives the increase (1 Cor. 3:6), and our churches aren’t growing, then I can’t help but think that God is looking at what we’re doing and holding back, as if to say, “Wake up!” The question is…Will we?

So this brings me to a bulletin board I saw Sunday at a small church in the rural community of Bovina, TX. They hosted a great youth rally on Sunday afternoon. We really enjoyed being there.

As we were registering, and kids were filing in, Tisha called me over to look at a bulletin board in the hallway of their foyer. On it was an overweight, devilish looking figure standing in front of hellish flames. The devilish figure is lecturing through a series of bullet points. The bullet points were:

• It’s not my job.
• Let the preacher do it.
• It never worked before.
• We might offend someone.
• We don’t have the resources.
• We’re fine the way we are.
• Let’s call a meeting.

At the bottom, in quotation marks, is “That concludes my presentation on time-tested, sure-fired statements that will stunt church growth. Any question?”

I’ve heard all of these statements before, interestingly enough, used in a number of different ways. I hope you’ll take some time to digest this bulletin board message. It speaks loudly and clearly about the mindsets of many Christians. Think about it. Over the next couple of weeks, I plan on writing about each of these bullet points.

I’ve been reading George Barna’s newest book, Master Leaders, to review for the Tyndale Blog Network. It’s a book, as the title indicates, about leadership. Barna tells a story to communicate the insights he’s gleaned from proven leaders. It’s been a great read. I’ll post a review in the upcoming weeks.

An intriguing story comes from Colleen Barrett, former president and corporate secretary for Southwest Airlines. If you’ve ever flown with Southwest, or at the bare minimum seen a few of their commercials, you’ll know that Southwest is about fun and humor. In fact, humor is considered one of Southwest’s “core values.” Barrett shares this story with Barna,

Years ago, somebody wrote to Southwest and said, “I’m a long-term customer, and I don’t like the fact that you make jokes during the safety part of the flight.” Now most companies would write back to say, “We value you as a customer, please trust that we care about your safety and we are good at that, but here’s a free flight coupon and we will talk to the gate agents.” And then they would make a call and tell their people that the humor thing is good but they need to tone it down…But not Southwest. No. They sent the customer a note that said, “We will miss you.”

Barna concludes, “That’s when you know its a core value.” And he’s right. Leadership isn’t exhibited through pandering to vocal minorities and majorities. Leadership admits when it’s wrong, but affirms truths and forms impressions built upon its values. Too often, though, leaders don’t lead; they acquiesce to the wishes of a few and the whole organization suffers as a whole. This is especially true with regard to churches.

Some churches are held hostage by vocal minorities who are fearful of everything and resistant to anything. Church leadership, lest they “ruffle the feathers” of some, refrain from implementing programs that might prove to be beneficial for the entire congregation. Pandering isn’t leadership.

Consider how Jesus handled one situation recorded in Matthew 19:16-22. On that occasion, a prominent rich, young man approached Him inquiring, “Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life?” The young man was a commandment keeper. He didn’t murder, commit adultery, steal, or bear false witness. He was devoted to honoring his father and mother, as well as loving his neighbor as himself. Well, maybe not so much to that last one. Nevertheless, he vows to having kept all these commandments, so “What do I still lack?” Jesus seeks to see if he really loves his neighbor or not, challenging him to, “go, sell your belongings and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.” Verse 22 supplies his reaction. “When the young man heard that command, he went away grieving, because he had many possessions.

This story served as the basis for Jesus’ teaching on possession and the kingdom. But what is interesting to me, is that Jesus didn’t cave on one of his core values just to keep the rich young ruler in his camp. Jesus could have used a guy like this on his side, but he let him go. He wasn’t willing to give everything up to have Jesus, so he let him walk away. In so doing, He essentially said, “We will miss you.”

Not even Jesus pleased all. He didn’t grovel at the feet of some, to keep them from abandoning him. Neither did He refrain from doing what was good, like healing on the Sabbath, simply because people thought it was wrong. It wasn’t. They were the ones who were wrong about the matter. Consequently, neither did he refrain from doing it lest he offend them. They needed a reality check, so He gave them one!

This is a situation not a few find themselves in. What should they do? They should listen with an honest ear. If there ’s merit to an inquiry, then consider it and adjust accordingly. But if not, don’t acquiesce or pander. Do what Jesus essentially did in letting them go. Say, “We will miss you.”

Last week I officiated the funeral of a woman, Dinnie Nutt, loved by many in the Clovis community. Of all present, I knew her the least. Her daughter was gracious enough to let me look over several mementos, in an effort to help me in my preparations. One was a piece of paper, cut out from something, with a poem entitled, “I Said a Prayer for You Today.” As I read it, it sounded like something Dinnie would utter.

At the close of the service, I read the short poem/prayer. Then, I uttered one for her, on behalf of her. This is what I prayed…

Like a lot of you, I’m for simple living in the New Covenant inaugurated by Jesus. This is living in his kingdom, after his ways. He called it the abundant life (John 10:10).

I talk about living like Jesus, but I subconsciously qualify it to imply a certain kind of living that keeps me safely sheltered from his experiences. He had nothing; I have everything. Frankly, to a great extent, I live nothing like him.

While I’m in this transparency mode, I might as well confess…I don’t really think like him either. He genuinely loved his enemies. I’m just trying to survive by ignoring mine. At the core is the fact that there is really a void in me at this moment. My love’s too shallow; his spans the dimensions (Ephesians 3:18); I need his love, not mine!

The chasm between my love and his, my life and his, evidenced itself last week. On Sunday, though, in mid-sermon, I experienced its immense weight. While studying and reviewing for Sunday something registered that, for whatever reason, had before been overlooked.

In Philippians 3:8-11, Paul states,

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. ESV.

Paul’s living after the way of Christ was much more genuine than mine. I know this because of the nature of his living versus mine. With this comes a certain measure of guilt. But to add insult to injury, he slaps me upside the face with his desire to “share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible (emphasis mine) I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”

His desire was to “share” in Christ’s suffering, not be sheltered from them. His desire was to become like him “in his death,” not evade it. His passion was, “by any means possible,” to cross the bar. If I understand him correctly, he actively pursued a course that would not insulate him from harm, but instead would thrust him possibly into the middle of it.

All of my life, I’ve heard prayers uttered, both in and out of the assembly, that center around “being free from harm and molestation,” “having the freedom to worship without fear of persecution,” and etc. Yet Paul’s Christ-likeness was so strong, that he pursued a course that would ultimately cost him his life. That’s simply not how I think. Nor is it how, most, if not all, Christians I know think. We yearn for insulation, but such thinking is clearly not in step with Jesus or Paul.

I’m not suggesting that we begin to pursue courses that should kill us. But before I pat myself on the back for the similarities I might have with the first century church, I’d better accept the fact that I’m nowhere near where they were.

So, where does this leave us? How true to form to the ways of the early church do we really want to be? I’ve got some serious thinking to do, especially, if I mean what I say. I’m not so certain that Jesus intends for his disciples to attach all sorts of caveats to living in the way, just so we can accommodate living in our world. Apparently, my thinking has a long way to go.

Thankfully, bathtubs have built-in overflow protection; on several occasions we’ve needed it. Just telling the kids to “Go take a bath,” in tubs without built-in overflow drains, can lead to real problems. Those overflow drains have saved us from messy clean-ups on several occasions.

Things overflow. Bathtubs. Sinks. Toilets. And when they do, there is a mess to clean up. This makes overflows undesirable, but there’s an exception.

Our need for God’s grace makes overflow beneficial. Paul suggests, in light of his past, a deluge of grace gushed forth from God that “overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 1:14). The overflow of grace reflected God’s lavish favor, something for which Paul considered himself immensely unworthy.

Last night I spoke with a Christian woman who for years has struggled with forgiving herself of her past. I encouraged her to remember…”God’s forgiveness is permission for us to forgive ourselves.” It didn’t take long for me to recognize that the problem was deeper than finding a way to forgive herself. At the was concern about God’s forgiveness.

For some of us, grace has an overflow drain, a tube to catch the excess, preventing it from spilling over. The tube takes the excess and sends it back to the collective grace pool, where it awaits an opportunity to be dispersed upon another. God can’t really be that good to us. We simply don’t deserve it. True. We don’t deserve it. But the thought that God really can’t be that good to us is blatantly untrue. That’s what makes him God.

Overflow with regards to grace is anything but a nuisance. We need it. Fortunately, there is a never ending supply from the fountain of a gracious God who loves us immensely.

Thank you Father for your “varied grace” (1 Peter 4:10) and “rich…mercy” (Ephesians 2:4). Please, O Fountain of Living Waters (Jeremiah 2:13), extend grace for cleansing (Zechariah 13:1) to us in overflow!

Today, it’s commonplace to hear aspirations of taking cities for God and taking the country back for God. Sure, I guess its great to aim high, but sometimes in our lofty pursuits of greatness veil our vision of seeing opportunities to pour cups of water. You might think that giving a person a cup of water or feeding the impoverished is silliness, but what you’ll actually find is that such a mindset is actually out of step with Jesus. Take a moment and read Matthew 25:31-46. If you don’t have a Bible in hand, I’ll supply it for you.

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

To Jesus, a cup of water in his name was significant. He doesn’t expect us to take cities or countries for God. That’s not within our power anyway. We are seed sowers (Matt. 13) who commit ourselves to the service of others. As unprofitable servants, such is our “duty” (Luke 17:10).

We live out the Truth of Jesus in His Way (John 14:6). We serve. No strings attached. That’s anything but silliness.