Author Archives: Wesleyan Accent

Don’t Miss She Leads: Church Together

This November, She Leads will be held at Pasadena First Church of the Nazarene and broadcast to multiple regional locations. The gathering is a Missio Alliance event, with multiple sponsors and stakeholders from a variety of denominations and traditions. This year’s theme is represented in a stark but hopeful visual: the words church too melded into church together. 

As the website states,

The world has an old, painful story about men and women. This year the #metoo moment brought to light some of the most disturbing parts of the story and the #churchtoo moment forced us to confront how much the brokenness of the world has entered the Church. This broken story is deeply painful on a personal and communal level.

It’s easy to believe we’ll never overcome the brokenness.

But this is not how God sees our story.

It’s time to name and lament how the world’s story has limited the Church’s imagination.

And it’s also time to tell a better story. God is weaving a restoration project in us as individuals and as a body. It will give us a better story to tell the world.

It’s not the first year for She Leads, even if it’s the first year you’re hearing about the one-day conference. (You can listen to a panel segment from 2016 here or a talk by Carolyn Custis James here. Past speakers include Rev. Jo Saxton, author Nancy Ortberg, General Superintendent Emerita of The Wesleyan Church Dr. Jo Anne Lyon, Bishop Todd Hunter, Professor Janette Ok, and Rev. Tish Harrison Warren. This year, speakers include Rev. Tara Beth Leach, Dr. Mark Labberton, and Rev. Ines Velasquez-McBryde.

Though many of the speakers are different, The Junia Project‘s 5 Reasons You Don’t Want to Miss #SheLeads are much the same, especially “connecting with likeminded women and men in your area.” At the same time, the urgency for this kind of gathering is felt in reading reflections like this one – What One Small Church Plant Learned from She Leads.

Registration is currently open for attendance in Pasadena or at one of the regional gatherings, and student discounts are available. There are still opportunities to be a regional host or to host a viewing party, as well. Click here to learn more about being a regional venue.

For more resources on women in ministry visit Missio Alliance, The Junia Project, Sacred Alliance, and CBE International.

Wesleyan Accent ~ How Your Local Church Can Engage Immigrants: An Interview with Rev. Zach Szmara

Recently Wesleyan Accent Editor Elizabeth Glass Turner chatted with Rev. Zach Szmara, the founder of one of the first immigration legal clinics within a church building, about sanctuary, immigration law, and cross-cultural ministry at home. Rev. Szmara is the Lead Pastor of The Bridge in Logansport, Indiana, a congregation within The Wesleyan Church. He is the National Director of Immigrant Connection – a growing network of over 14 church-based legal sites  – and has provided immigration legal services experience to over 150 church leaders from a variety of denominations.

Wesleyan Accent: What are some of the most common questions you encounter from clergymembers who are uncertain about whether or how – or whether – to integrate immigration-related ministries in their congregation?

Zach Szmara: People wonder if it’s legal or not to serve immigrants.  The reality is that we’re providing immigration legal services – which means we’re using the immigration law as it is currently written to help people navigate through the process if there is a pathway for them.  Many times there is a pathway, but it is complex and confusing.  So in the same way many people utilize a professional tax preparer because tax law is complicated and they want to make sure they pay whatever taxes they are legally supposed to (not more, not less), we do the same thing for immigrants – we help them navigate a complicated legal pathway.

Furthermore, I remind people that some of the church’s best moments have been when we’ve advocated for, learned from, and stood with marginalized people who were caught up within unjust systems – so while it’s not illegal to serve immigrants, even if it were I believe we should still do it (think of the church and the Underground Railroad).

If starting a full legal office doesn’t make sense within the church’s context, some great first steps are to preach on immigrants and immigration, to lead a small group study (we have materials we recommend), or to start a citizenship class.

WA: You’re not a lawyer. How can you have a legal clinic?

ZS: The short answer is that the Department of Justice opened a pathway in the 1980’s so that through a nonprofit an individual can receive training (education) and shadowing (experience) in immigration law. Then she or he can apply to the Department of Justice, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Department of Homeland Security/Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the legal site receives recognition while the individual receives accreditation to practice immigration legal services.

The training (education) part can be done two ways.  Most choose to attend a 40-hour training event, so it literally takes one week onsite.  Then the individual can do several other webinars on their own.  The second way is an online course which usually takes place over a few months.  I recommend the 40-hour training personally.  The shadowing (experience) part can be done by volunteering a number of hours at an existing site over several months or doing one of our Immigrant Connection Shadowing Experiences – which gain is one full week (40 hours) of intensive experiential learning.

So if someone does 40-hour training and 40-hour shadowing, they can be ready to go within weeks, and then it usually takes about a month to put together the application packet and they can apply for recognition and accreditation.  It usually takes about three months for all three governmental offices to review the application and approve it.

We’ve had local churches decide to launch a site and go through the process in as quick as five to six months from start to approval.

So we cannot do everything an attorney can do, but within the area of immigration law, we can legally provide legal services. I’m not a full-fledged attorney – I cannot do family law or criminal defense or any other area of law – just immigration.

WA: What are two or three facts that pastors should know about sanctuary, immigration law, and local engagement?

ZS: Many times pastors don’t realize that it’s illegal to practice law without a license, so they aren’t able to help immigrants with any paperwork or forms unless they take courses and get accredited by the Department of Justice.  It’s best for them to find and partner with a recognized site – you can find them here (https://www.immigrationadvocates.org/nonprofit/legaldirectory/ or download the Immigo app).

When it comes to sanctuary, there is no form to fill out to become a sanctuary site. ICE has said that they will refrain from engaging in enforcement operations at schools, medical and health care facilities, places of worship, and during public demonstrations such as marches and rallies.  In other words, all local churches are safe places and sanctuaries for immigrants.

The sanctuary movement is different and historically focused on garnering media and community attention for an individual or family who would be deported if a church didn’t step in to try to get the story of the individual or family heard, helping the community to rally behind them in the hopes an immigration judge may grant discretionary relief.

Finally, I remind all pastors that they don’t know what they don’t know; many people have ideas about immigrants and immigration that are unfounded. It’s important to realize that many of the key phrases utilized (“wait in line like my family did” or “illegal immigrants don’t pay taxes and steal our jobs”) are inaccurate.  The “line” is radically different than when many peoples’ families immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s. Even if there is a “line” (and many times there isn’t) the wait is over 10-20 years long.

WA: What’s the cost of starting an immigration law clinic in a church?

ZS: It depends on the network, denomination, and organization that the church partners with.  The Wesleyan Church is unique in that we launch Immigrant Connection sites for $5,000-$7,000 – but we are definitely at the lowest end of the spectrum.  We focus on churches doing this as a ministry and start by staffing sites with focused volunteers.  If a site needs to pay overhead costs and staff salaries – the starting cost raises substantially.

WA: What’s an example of some of the impact you’ve had?

ZS: There is no short example: our legal sites have impacted over 80 different countries. We reunite families, we help students have the ability to attend college, we help immigrants who were victims of crime find redemption of the very worst thing that occurred to them and receive a legal pathway forward, we help refugees become legal permanent residents, we help legal permanent residents become citizens, we help international pastors receive R visas to pastor churches and plant churches in the U.S., we have front-row seats to watch God transform lives and bring hope and a future into areas that are filled with animosity, confusion, and hopelessness.

WA: Many churches have separate worship services based on language. Why don’t you? Isn’t that awkward? How does it work logistically? What’s the benefit?

ZS: I’m glad in heaven there will only be one worship service even though it will be made up of people from different cultures, ethnicities, and languages.  While it may work to break up ethnicities, cultures, and languages in certain contexts, I feel my community has diversity in our schools, hospitals, banks, gyms, shopping centers – why not in church too?

When we segregate services based on languages, we break up immigrant and refugee families in which one generation leans into one language but the next generation leans into another language.  We also separate the majority population from learning from the minority population – and there is so much that white, English-speaking Christians need to learn from the immigrant, non-English speaking population.

It is awkward and it is hard and it is complicated and it is uncomfortable – but our goal is that it’s just as uncomfortable for a white English speaker as it is for a Spanish-speaking Latino. For too long we’ve had the wrong goal when it comes to multi-ethnic churches: what we’ve created is “multi-colored” white churches. In other words, these churches are very mono-cultural; it’s easy to attend as a white person because everything is still your worship style, your cultural way of doing things. You’re not uncomfortable in the least and you feel good because people of other ethnicities have assimilated to your way of doing things, so you can pat yourself on the back because there are different colors present in your worship.

But the goal for us is not assimilation but to be truly multi-cultural, which means everyone will be uncomfortable and confused at different times, everyone will have to give up a part of their preferences to be a part of our church.

The benefit for me is that I believe I’m called to build for Jesus’ kingdom – that I’m called to create signposts that point to Jesus, to his hope and his future – and I believe his kingdom coming means diversity. There will be multiple languages and cultural differences and multiple ethnicities in heaven (at least there were in John’s revelation of eternity) and so I don’t want to create some monocultural unity or sameness. I want to create a rich, diverse togetherness that is unity, but is not uniformity.

Interview: Rob Haynes

Wesleyan Accent is pleased to share an introductory interview with Rev. Dr. Rob Haynes, World Methodist Evangelism’s new Associate Director of Education and Leadership Development.

 Recently earning a PhD in Theology and specializing in Missiology and Wesleyan Theology from Durham University, his thesis is a dive into “Consuming Mission: Towards a Theology of Short-Term Mission and Pilgrimage.” He is a Senior John Wesley Fellow and a Senior Harry Denman Fellow. His publications and presentations include “The Overlooked Globalizers: Wesleyan Short-Term Missioners, The Missio Dei, and World Christianity.”

Wesleyan Accent: In your experience, what’s the biggest misconception about “evangelism” or mission?

Rob Haynes: I don’t know if it is a misconception, necessarily, but it is important to consider the source of the missionary enterprise.

A few years ago, some people knocked on my door with some literature in hand. They initiated their discussion with, “Do you know why Jesus came to earth?” I quickly replied that I did, in fact, know why Jesus came.

Jesus explicitly tells his hearers why he came. In Luke 4 he is teaching in the synagogue in Nazareth when he reads from the scroll: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

This is the inauguration of Jesus’ ministry and he demonstrated it with his life, work, teaching, death, and resurrection. But the work did not stop there. Jesus inaugurated the Church, his followers, to carry on the work he began.  This initiation is recorded in John 20:21, one of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances. “Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit….’”

The work of mission and evangelism hinges on four little letters: two in “as” and two in “so.” As the Father sent Jesus, so Jesus sent his followers, by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is done in both words and deeds. Evangelism is mission, but mission is not merely evangelism.

God invites, even commands, his followers to be involved in the work he is doing still: that which he announced in Luke 4. As his followers, we have the amazing privilege, and responsibility, of participating in his ongoing work of redemption.

WA: While globalization brings specific challenges, it also brings new opportunities. How do you think the realities of globalization will shape Christian faith around the world and in North America over the next 20 years?

RH: In 1792 William Carey proclaimed that the mariner’s compass was a gift of God to the work of the missionaries of his. We may be experiencing a similar opportunity in our day.

Travel is becoming easier and cheaper all the time. Communication is instantaneous. Social media platforms play a significant role in the revolutions (like the Arab Spring) and relief work (like follow-up to natural disasters). Mass movements of people, that are both voluntary and involuntary, are impacting communities and national governments alike. Issues of globalization will only accelerate.

Many of these can be used in the work of developing mission leaders. As of 2010, there were 43 million people living in the United States who were born overseas. Three quarters of whom identified themselves as Christians. (I recommend “Diaspora Missions: East Meets West (and North meets South): Reflections on Polycentric Missions.”) While many see the church in decline in the United States, it is worth examining the new things that globalization is bringing to the American Church. Old forms may need to be re-evaluated to faithfully make disciples and evangelize those yet outside the church.

Trans-cultural mission is available to many in their own back yards. This does not replace the need for foreign missionaries, but opens the doors to new possibilities. Similarly, globalization provides significant opportunities to form faith, deepen discipleship, and cultivate leadership across borders and cultures alike.

WA: What are some of the benefits of theological education, sometimes seen as superfluous in an era of religious and doctrinal pluralism?

RH: Mission and evangelism are scrutinized by people inside and outside the church. Often the discussions about these address the how, but they sometimes fail to address the why. Our theologies shape the why, which will make a more lasting impact on the how.

It is important to point out that everyone does theology, at some level. It may not always be good theology, but we all do theology:

“God helps those who help themselves.” This is not scriptural, but it is a theological statement.

“I am spiritual, but not religious.” Usually I hear this when someone doesn’t want to go to church but wants to talk about God.

“All roads lead to the same place.” This is a theological rejection of Christ’s exclusivity.

Theologies shape motivations and motivations shape actions. Teaching sound missional theology is the essential to any renewal of missionary efforts.

By teaching a sound and robust biblical theology of mission we can impact the how and the why of missional service. Wesleyan theology is a missional theology. We embrace God’s invitation to participate in his redeeming work as he invites all to be saved. That work is a part of the effort towards the full restoration of God’s Creation, and everything and everyone in it. No one is excluded in the invitation, though not all may accept it.

By emulating the self-sacrificing love that Jesus demonstrated (see the discussion of Luke 4 and John 20 above) we can reshape the why that will naturally reshape the how.

Wesleyan Accent ~ Truth and Grace from Women

Note from the Editor: Over the years Wesleyan Accent has featured many voices from across the Wesleyan Methodist family of Christian faith. This includes contributors from The Wesleyan Church, The United Methodist Church, The A.M.E. Zion Church, The Church of the Nazarene, and more.

We’re pleased that among the pastors and professors who write for us, we regularly feature strong voices of women in ministry who preach and proclaim the Christian faith. John and Charles Wesley watched their mother Susanna teach Bible studies to villagers gathered at the parsonage door. Her letters to John when he was grown to adulthood show a woman of profound spiritual wisdom.

Today, enjoy this selection of just a few of our posts written by women in ministry. Remember, if you type an author’s name into our search bar, other posts written by her will show in the search results.

Thank you for traveling with us in the company of the Wesleys.

Singer, concert violinist and international evangelist Jean Watson on giving thanks: The Power of Thanksgiving

Malone University Professor Suzanne Nicholson on the nature of the church: The Emaciated Soldier

Wesleyan pastor Rev. Heather Semple on risk and vocation: Obedient Risk

Wesleyan Accent editorial meditation on artist Sandy Blass and her depiction of the nativity in Why Deny the Obvious Child.

World Methodist Evangelism Executive Director Rev. Dr. Kimberly Reisman on evangelism and faith-sharing: The E-Word, or, We Don’t Talk About That in Polite Company

Wesleyan pastor Rev. Elizabeth Moyer on PTSD and Sunday morning gatherings: Anxiety in Worship

Church of the Nazarene pastor’s spouse Carrie Carter on global connection: The Enemy Who Was Not an Enemy

Wesley scholar Dr. Tammie Grimm on patterns of domestic spirituality in Celtic faith: A Flame of Love: Celtic Christianity within Reach

Lay preacher Michelle Bauer on faith and fear: The Famine and the Lie

United Methodist elder Rev. Jennifer Moxley on miscarriage and proclamation: Huldah and Keepers of the Word

Wesleyan pastor’s spouse Linda White on praying for the church: My Prayer

United Methodist elder Rev. Carolyn Moore on the value of Wesleyan theology: When Calvinism Becomes Dangerous

Wesleyan Accent interview with pastors of color, including United Methodist pastor Rev. Yvette Blair-Lavallais and United Methodist homiletics professor Rev. Dr. Joy Moore: In Their Words: When Pastors Face Prejudice

World Methodist Evangelism Associate Director of Community and Creative Development Rev. Elizabeth Glass Turner on faith and works: The Will to Prepare the Way

United Methodist Bishop Debbie Wallace-Padgett on seasons of waiting and growth: A Season of Yeasting

The Church of the Nazarene pastor Rev. Tara Beth Leach on vocation: My Call to Senior Pastoral Ministry

Featured photo courtesy Diane Helentjaris at Unsplash: this photo features Rev. Michelle C. Thomas, pastor of the historic John Wesley Church in Waterford, Virginia.

Wesleyan Accent ~ Why Deny the Obvious Child?

Note from the Editor: About ten years ago I was struck by the force of this painting. Its impact felt like a body blow. Recently, as I followed the news coming from Syria, often accompanied by heartbreaking photos, the painting came back to mind. I contacted the artist to ask permission for use.

There is a robust history of artistic license when it comes to portrayals of Christ. On the one hand, Jesus Christ was a Middle Eastern man whose existence is verified by historians. On the other hand, Christians affirm that Jesus was also fully divine, the Son of God. Because of the truth that God took on human flesh to enter into our existence, sometimes artists dwell in that larger thought, portraying Jesus as an African man, or a Japanese fisherman, or as a blond-haired, blue-eyed European. Other times, artists have attempted to portray the physical specificity of the Christ child who was born in Bethlehem to poor Jewish parents 2,000 years ago. 

This work marries the visual structure of classic nativity paintings with heartbreaking detail derived from current events. It shows us Middle Eastern faces – but in mourning, ravaged by violence, not lit with a celestial bliss. And after all, when it comes to nativity art, who dwells on the part of the Christmas story where Herod has infants and toddlers killed in his pursuit of his pint-sized rival? Even the Christmas story – especially the Christmas story – can’t escape the fallen world in which it takes place, the very reason it takes place. Jesus was born, and women wept for their young sons killed by Herod’s soldiers.

Meditate, then, on this work by Sandy Blass: “Why Deny the Obvious Child?” See more of her work at www.blassart.com.

Interview: Aaron Perry & Leadership in the Wesleyan Way

leadership wwRecently Wesleyan Accent spoke with Dr. Aaron Perry on Leadership in the Wesleyan Way, a volume he edited with Dr. Bryan Easley.

Wesleyan Accent: This summer, you and Bryan Easley published a 450-page collection of essays on “Leadership the Wesleyan Way: An Anthology for Forming Leaders in Wesleyan Thought and Practice.” It’s been praised by notable voices like Dr. Jo Anne Lyon and includes essays from familiar names like Lovett Weems, Will Willimon, Laceye Warner and…Calvinist Richard Mouw? Wait, how did you get him on board?

Aaron Perry: Often Wesleyan discomfort with Calvinism  centers on double predestination without considering that there actually is much more to Calvinism.  I heard Professor Mouw speak about holiness and Wesleyan thought at a gathering of graduate students in Indianapolis in 2014. Professor Mouw’s insight in terms of political theology would clearly help form Wesleyan values and effectiveness in mission and, as a result, leadership. I find this unique article a helpful appreciation and challenge of forms of revivalism and how it can be a help and hindrance to leaders. Yet, Dr. Mouw clearly appreciates the theology of a warmed heart and how personal transformation is vital to the leader’s effectiveness.

WA: What inspired you to collate thoughts particularly on leadership in the Wesleyan way, rather than to write a book on leadership and Wesleyanism? Why a collection; why leadership?

AP: I was preparing for my comprehensive exams for my PhD in Organizational Leadership. I envisioned a collection as getting the best of the preparation I was doing—having others write in their interests and strengths while I was studying! When people write in their strengths and interests, they often utilize their own experience, as well. During my doctoral work, I taught adult ministerial students. I encountered students who were bright, focused, and motivated, yet they were apprehensive about formal education. I saw an opportunity to combine scholarly work that would engage a variety of readers. We wanted a book that would help practitioners think and thinkers practice.

WA: How would you describe John Wesley’s leadership? How would you describe the impact of his theology on the practice of leadership?

AP: John Wesley modeled a deep connection between practice and reflection. One cannot be a Wesleyan and sit idle in the face of brokenness in the world. John Wesley’s leadership was intensely practical, aimed at making differences in the lives of everyday people. At the same time, Wesley’s leadership led to long-term strength through the bands, classes, and societies. Wesley’s belief in the whole gospel for the whole world had a deep impact on the wideness of leadership potential he saw in a variety of people.

WA: The book includes sections on “Wesleyan Leadership in the Postmodern World,” “Biblical and Theological Reflections,” “Historical Perspectives,” “Leadership Theory and Principles,” and “Leadership in Ministry.” Why do you think Wesleyan theology especially has resources to contribute to these discussions? Do you think Wesleyan contributions have been overlooked in the past?

AP: I am more convinced that Wesleyan theologians have something to say on the topic, beyond simply Wesleyan theology. There have been strong and important Wesleyan voices in the past, but the nature of leadership is that a new word is always being spoken in light of God’s ongoing activity in the world, building on established structures, tackling problems that could not have been tackled before, and engaging challenges that have not previously existed. Wesleyan theologians must speak from their roots and tradition, but while being aware of their own contexts—geographical, economic, cultural, etc. The result, I believe, is a variety of perspectives and emphases from a common tradition and set of values.

 WA: Was there anything that surprised you both as you edited this collection-insights or reflections you didn’t anticipate? What did you learn about leadership in the Wesleyan way?

AP: I was not surprised by anything—by which I mean, I found what I expected to find: Wesleyan scholars and practitioners who had reflected deeply on the subject of leadership beyond quick-fixes or simple solutions, while at the same time with a deep appreciation for actionable insights. I found scholars who were deeply involved in the formation of persons into the image of Christ and were interested in leadership as it could facilitate the global parish vision. I was, however, pleasantly surprised at the way the book was received and promoted—and, of course, I hope that continues!

Dr. Aaron Perry is Assistant Professor of Christian Ministry and Pastoral Care at Wesley Seminary in Marion, Indiana. He is an ordained minister in The Wesleyan Church and has contributed to Wesleyan Accent. Read his other Wesleyan Accent posts here.

Guest Post ~ Church Growth: Fruitful or Cancer?

Today’s post is a compelling piece written anonymously by a successful pastor.

The Ideology of a Cancer Cell

I rarely have those moments I would unquestioningly call, “divine.” I’ve never been one to see the fingerprints of God on everything around me. So when something happens in my life that just seems divinely orchestrated, I have to latch on to it.

The other day I was sitting in Chik-Fil-A, eating my #1 with no pickles, sipping my Coke Zero, and reading my new Eugene Peterson book, The Pastor. As I read, sometimes challenged, sometimes encouraged, sometimes disagreeing, and sometimes annoyed with Peterson, I looked over and saw a young lady at the table next to me. She had a baseball cap on with a small, round pin clipped to the side. I’m sure I looked rather stalker-ish trying to read the small print from 7 feet away, but the effort was worth the risk. Her pin read, “Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of a cancer cell.”

The pin had no logo. Just the words. I have no idea exactly what it was protesting. But because I’m a pastor, it didn’t take long for me to think of the church and how I, and many of my fellow pastors, see church growth as an end in itself.

After reading the pin and being prompted to thought by its vivid verbiage, I then looked down at my book once again. Where I’d left off before staring at the other patron’s head, Peterson had just written a letter to one of his friends who was leaving his church to pursue the greener pastures of a bigger church. Peterson wondered, in his letter, if the guy hadn’t just been enamored with the idea of a big church and had not been sufficiently enamored with simply being a pastor. So when my eyes went back to the page, this is where Eugene picked up – and I think you can see from this why I think I was having a divine moment:

“He accepted the call to the big church, and then another, and then another. I would get occasional reports on him from friends. All the reports seemed to document that size was turning out to be a false transcendence in his life.  Meanwhile, the momentum of what was being termed church growth was gathering. All of us in the Company agreed it was misnamed. It was more like church cancer – growth that was a deadly illness, the explosion of runaway cells that attack the health and equilibrium of the body.”

If I can have a moment of critical reflection before anything else – I honestly do find Peterson’s comments here a bit condescending and extreme. I’m sure he knows his friend and probably something of his friend’s motivation, but not everyone who goes to a bigger church does so for self-centered glory. I do not believe either big church or small churches are the solution to the American church’s major problems. If you’ve ever spent much time in a small church, you know not to sentimentalize them any more than people who have seen the sausage made in big churches can consider them all bunnies and sunshine. Both are filled with finite, sinful human beings. Neither should be held up as the ideal – after all, Acts 2 records a church of 2,000 on the day of Pentecost, and some of Paul’s letters were probably written to small churches meeting in houses. Both are acceptable New Testament models. Both have strengths and weaknesses. I think Peterson is too hard on big churches in The Pastor. I think he’s too easy on small churches.

But he’s probably not entirely wrong about the church growth movement that drives big churches. I can probably point to other people I’ve known, other ministers and pastors, but I think it’s mostly appropriate to talk about myself. There is something grand and exhilarating about growing a church. It’s in some ways validating to the pastor, his/her preaching skills, and general likeability. There’s a kind of energy (often confused with the Holy Spirit, I think) in a room full of worshipers that is contagious and addicting. For these reasons, it can be really easy for me to focus on and find my satisfaction, not in changed lives, but in simple numbers. Church growth. Attendance. Butts in seats.

I know I can’t be the only one who struggles with the temptation to find my satisfaction and identity in church attendance because we have entire conferences pastors pay lots of money to attend simply designed to tell us how to make our churches get bigger.

When pastors lament the waning of the American church, what we are often really lamenting is a declining attendance. Our complex metrics and statistics tell us all kinds of things about church attendance trajectories and predictions, but few of us have thought through adequate and objective ways to evaluate whether or not our congregants are taking up their crosses. Some churches even hire pastors based on whether they think the pastor can make the church grow numerically. Pastors like me can even get caught up in it, thinking we’ve “arrived” because the numbers are the primary indicators of our talents. Then we secretly compare the size of our church with that of our colleagues – the fallout of which is, ehem, a bit of steeple envy.

At some point in wrestling with my own gauges of success, I wonder, to what end are we growing? Why exactly am I excited that my church or my service is growing at a high rate? Am I obsessed with growth simply for growth’s sake? How big is big enough for me? Am I just building bigger and bigger barns to store more and more people but caring only in a lip-service way for the development of their souls, bodies, minds, and societies in the image of Christ? And is there ever a time when church growth might be contrary to the kingdom of Christ? If so, how would we know?

Again, don’t get me wrong – I don’t have a problem with big churches in themselves. I work in a big church. Given the right structures for relationships, personalization, humanization, and discipleship, big churches can be really healthy manifestations of the gospel. They can be salt and light. They can most certainly witness to the gospel in their towns and around the world. So, no, big churches are not the problem. And to that end, I’ve also been in churches of 30 people that were obsessed with the attendance they didn’t have. But at the same time, whether the church is large or small, pastors can still have that greedy, cancerous voice in our head that wants us to value church numerical growth over church spiritual growth. That cancer whispers in our ears of the glory that could be ours if the sanctuary had 3,000 people instead of 300, or 300 instead of 30. At every level these sirens cry out for the pastor’s attention, and I fear for myself and many of my colleagues that we will find ourselves shipwrecked there if we are not careful.

When we take an honest look at the Bible, church growth as an end in itself does not seem to be something Jesus seems manifestly concerned with. Jesus had several opportunities to grow his numbers, but instead he sent the crowds away. He had no problem letting people walk away who could not give up their possessions (something almost no church growth experts would recommend, I expect). He had no problem angering the Pharisees, even though he knew that if he got them on his side he would gain the average-Joe population with them.

Of course, no pastor – myself included – has the guts to say, “I don’t care about making disciples; I only care about making my church bigger.” We don’t want to think of ourselves as having the “ideology of a cancer cell.” Every one of us is, in theory, willing to let people walk away. Every one of us is, in theory,  willing to suffer the loss of audience for the sake of the gospel.

But how often does this really happen in practice?

Be honest.  Don’t just attribute the decline in attendance to “the gospel” when it could have been your bad preaching or the cliques in your church. Be honest. How many times have any of us actually lost people because of the call to take up a cross and deny self?

This is what makes me wonder about my motivation. This is why I wonder if we have somehow missed the point.  Look, if you want to gain a crowd, serve some coffee and have a giant pizza party. You don’t need Jesus for that. Some Papa Johns should do the trick. But if your objective in ministry is to make disciples of Jesus Christ, church growth may be a natural corollary to that mission, but it is not an end in itself. And therefore we pastors – the royal “we” by which I mean “I” – need to be much more in tune with our motivations, measuring methods, and the things we celebrate with our staff and congregation.

Since we pastors struggle to grapple with this question in a self-reflexive kind of way, I’d like to just pose a few questions to help us see whether or not we desire growth for the sake of growth or if our growth is really kingdom oriented.

  1. When you evaluate the success of the Sunday morning service (or any ministry of your church) is your first question, “How many people attended?”
  2. Do you find yourself envious of pastors with bigger churches? Or judgmental toward pastors of smaller churches?
  3. Have you ever said something you thought might lose you a percentage of your congregation, but you knew you needed to say it to be faithful to the gospel? Or did you shy away from it for fear of slipping attendance or making people upset?
  4. When you consider the measureable goals you have for your church this year, how many of them are attendance based or financial? How many of them concretely gauge whether or not true discipleship and life change is happening in your congregation?
  5. Do you spend as much time and energy thinking about how to get people into deep relationships with each other and Jesus as you do how to get them in the door week after week?
  6. Is your self-esteem as a pastor in any way connected to how many people attended church last Sunday? If there had been fewer people, would you have felt like a failure? If there had been more people, would you have felt like more of a success?
  7. When you think about the future of your church, do you primarily dream in terms of more attendees, more services, more programs, and more visitors, or do you think in terms of more relationships, more disciples, and deeper connection to Christ?
  8. Comparatively, what do you spend most of your time doing? Praying for your Sunday morning services or planning how to get people to come/return?
  9. If a neutral party were to anonymously ask your staff, “Does your pastor care more about church growth in attendance or church growth in connection to Jesus” what would your staff say? Why would they say it?
  10. When you celebrate your staff, do you celebrate their numerical victories in regards to attendance at their events, or do you celebrate the concrete discipleship and relationships they built and fostered?
  11. Have you ever been willing to send someone to another church because you think they would fit in better there? – in other words, do you think kingdom growth is more important than your local church’s growth?
  12. Deep down in your heart, when you’re honest with God about your motivations, do you have a sinful desire to grow the church big for the sake of growing the church big (and all the reputation and frills that come along with that), or do you want to see God’s kingdom grow, even if that means shrinking attendance at your church?

I ask you all these questions because these are the questions I must ask myself. I love preaching to a full room. I love it when people respond to my preaching and my ministry. I love looking at the spreadsheet every Monday morning and seeing how much our congregation has grown in the last two years. A certain amount of my identity is wrapped up in that growth. It’s tempting to keep chasing it.

And I know it’s tempting for you, too. But are you willing to acknowledge that this exists in your heart? And what are you willing to do to shift gears, change what you value, and see church growth (or non-growth) in light of God’s kingdom values? I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to have the ideology of a cancer cell. I want to have healthy growth, which may or may not look like the image we’ve been sold at conferences, by consultation groups, or even by our peers.