WELCOME TO THE
GRANT COUNTY CHURCH OF CHRIST
September 28, 2008
CHURCH GROWTH – THE NEW ‘GOD’
“A Fable With a Timely Message”

Jesus did not seem to be faring very well. Failing to cater to the whims and wishes of the carnal crowd, his audience had dropped from several thousand to a dozen in one day (John 6). Instead of holding a “seeker-driven” service, He had been insensitive and driven the seekers away in droves. While the people had expressed “felt needs”, for bread and an earthly king to fight their battles, Jesus had talked of spiritual bread and a different kind of kingdom. By the end of the day, his numbers and popularity had plummeted. Yet He seemed to be unshaken. He still had the twelve disciples. They followed Him, recognizing He had the words of eternal life.

Down the road, Jesus met a well-dressed man carrying a briefcase stuffed with market survey charts. “I am a Church Growth expert, and I can help you,“ he said. “Your approach is not user-friendly at all. If you really want to influence this generation for God, you have to build up those numbers, and to do that you have to cut some corners. I have some plans here that your target audience will really like.” He began to list the self-centered, sin-sparing approach that embraced any lifestyle and eliminated all church discipline. Calmly Jesus responded, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:44)

As soon as this expert was gone, Jesus met another one – a bearded man in sunglasses and smoking a cigar. He called himself the Promoter. “Lord, these Psalms you sing – they’re too old for our Hebrew boomer generation. They can’t relate to that tedious, traditional stuff. Our surveys show they really dig Jerusalem grunge and Sidonian rap. I can have some of these bands do a gig at your rallies, and you’ll have your crowds back in no time.” Jesus refused his offer.

When the Promoter left, a professor from Bethsaida Bible Institute showed up and immediately admonished Jesus to quit preaching such a harsh, negative message and to stop bashing the Pharisees. “The Pharisees are our natural allies in the culture war. We need them in our battle against abortion, pornography and those indecent Roman gladiator shows. We’ve got to be more ecumenical. Besides, the Pharisees are zealous. They’ll encompass land and sea to make one convert. You should have heard Rabbi Hillel preach on self-esteem at the Hippodrome – why, 8,000 men came forward.”

To all such short-cuts and carnal offers, Jesus said, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” (Matthew 16:23).Then He went to the cross, provided atonement for sinners, and laid a foundation with that handful of spiritual followers who turned the world upside down in one generation, relying only upon the preaching of the Gospel and power of the Holy Spirit.

Thomas Williamson in Pulpit Helps


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DO’S AND DON’TS IN THE CHURCH

“Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Then He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God." And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house." But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God" (LUKE 9:57-62).

Here are some principles for the church today.

I. DON’T LOOK BACKWARDS. Although we are often guilty of this, serious problems can result when we spend all of our time looking at what we have done rather than what we need to be doing. Looking back caused Lot’s wife to perish (Genesis 18-19). This can cause serious trouble in the church too. The Christian life is a forward moving journey!

II. DO LOOK FORWARD. This will cause growth and blessing. In Deuteronomy 5:32 we read:
"Therefore you shall be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 33 You shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess”. In Joshua 1:2-9 we see that Rahab the harlot looked forward and made wise decisions based upon what was obviously going to happen. Her whole family was saved because of her faith and vision! Great things can be accomplished when we look forward instead of backward.

III. DON’T LOOK AT OTHERS. This too can result in serious problems. In Matthew 7:3-5 we see: “And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye”. When we are always comparing ourselves to others, we miss the fact that we are unique and individual. A program that results in growth in one congregation or in one individual may not result in equal growth in another.

IV. DO LOOK AT JESUS. Follow His example. This will bring growth in our lives. This is the Biblical approach . “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).