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| Trees in my back yard |
Reading
Eugene Peterson's The
Pastor: A Memoir solidified in me an idea I have had for many
years. Which is: as a pastor and Jesus-follower, I am to desire influence,
rather than size, in terms of numbers of people. I don't think it is
important how big a church is. I think it is important how influential a
church is. Influence, not size, is what really matters.
Could a church be large and have significant influence? Yes. Could a large church lack influence? Yes. Some entertainment churches struggle to maintain the infrastructure, and that can be oppressive.
I suggest: Focus on being faithful, rather
than “successful.”
The word “success” is mostly metricized in the American
Church. Data-ized. (See, for a cool spin on this, We
Are Data: Algorithms and the Making of Our Digital Selves.) Quantized.
Super-sized. (For support see Francis Chan, Letters to the Church; and Jamin
Goggin and Kyle Strobel, The
Way of the Dragon or the Way of the Lamb. Both books ask “What if the
American Church got this wrong"; both answer, echoing Eugene Peterson and other
prophets, “It has.”)
By "influence" I mean the
kind of things Jesus talked about when he used
metaphors
like "salt" and "yeast." "You are the salt of the
earth," Jesus said (Matthew 5:13). A little bit of salt can flavor a
lot of food. What's needed are salty Jesus-followers, not rows of unsalted
food. Salt influences food, rather than being influenced by it. Salt is active,
not passive. I am to influence the world, rather than be influenced
by it.
Non-salty "Christians"
are, in Jesus' eyes, "no longer good for anything,
except to be thrown out and trampled
underfoot." (Matthew 5:13)
Jesus-followers are to influence
and salt the earth, which mostly takes place outside the walls
of the church building.
I now think of my philosophy
students. For most of them, "church" flavors nothing about their
lives. They can't taste "church" at all. I attribute this to a
lack of influence. Most have never encountered church (because church is something to be encountered, not attended). Most think “church” is a building that houses religious programs and performances.
How many people are in your church? Wrong question! Instead, ask, How salty is your church? Is it influential, as regards Jesus and the Kingdom? Focus on influence, by disciple-making. You could
be twelve salty Jesus-followers and change culture.
Be influenced
by Christ. Such influence flows from the Vine to the branch,
as one
continuously abides in Christ. The focus is not on numbers, but staying
connected to Jesus. This results in a daily being-influenced by him.
Focus
on being connected. Pastors – live the abiding life, and show your people how
to do this.
Focus on
abiding, not on producing fruit.
The core
prayer of a Jesus-following pastor is not, “God, supersize us!” It is, “God, super-use
us.” At this point numbers do not matter. My understanding of church
history is that cultures, communities, and even nations that began to
follow Jesus did so as a result of what God was doing in a small number of
Christ-abiding, salty people.
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