Church numbers: look beyond the arithmetic

There is a tendency today for smaller churches to copy so-called mega churches in their methods. On paper, 10,000 members looks impressive.

Yet that church can be a giant social club whose members haven’t had full biblical teaching and so have no guts to do anything for Jesus. They may be attending just to be entertained.

The pastor of such a church writes a best-selling book outlining his “success” methods, and the world’s little churches are thinking - hey, what a great way to get bottoms on seats! They think that is the way to go, and hop onto what can be a non-spiritual cart.

God may be moving in that mega-church, or He may not be. There are worldly ways of drawing crowds that have nothing to do with God – fund-raising consultants for the set-up, a good publicity agent, advertising, ex-rock band musicians, go-go dancers. That appeals to young people in particular, who in their tenderness of age are easily misled.

Is the preacher promoting himself, his church, own ministry, personal ambition, or God?

The same applies to television evangelists. Only the Lord knows the motive, but it’s where we must ask Him to reveal the truth to us by spiritual discernment.

Crowds will flock to what they want to hear; a better life financially, new car, bigger house – and they’re told God will give it to them if they’ll “just raise their hand” and join the prosperous flock.

Usually, part of such preaching is a ten-minute message on giving prior to the offering, and “awesome” in every other sentence uttered. “Cool” is a favourite also.

Such are the “ear tickling messages” outlined in 2 Timothy 4:3: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”

So, young people and small-church pastors, beware. The world is full of false prophets. Compare everything said with the Bible. Don’t copy some idea or method just because the originator of it draws huge crowds.

We can do these checks: is the preaching constantly telling the whole truth, or just the goodies of the Bible – love, joy, blessings, prosperity? Is there any mention of hell, sin, righteousness, repentance, God’s wrath, holiness, persecution? Is the theme like Bing Crosby’s old song “Ya gotta accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative”? The latter is all right in the world’s thinking but it doesn’t apply in God’s Word.

There are plenty of negatives in the Bible regarding those who reject Christ, but the church for the most part is afraid to mention them.