I know, tomorrow never gets here soon enough. If you have not read the first post read it here.
While I intended this to be one short post, it has become two somewhat long posts. I really don’t want to toss grenades or slander anyone. So I have written what I think is too much in order not to seem flippant about a really important matter.
So here is the crux of the problem that churches face as I see it. A ministry outgrows their facility and either cannot or will not expand their current location. This could either be because a lack of funds or the exponential cost of building outweighs the benefit (I could rent 3 locations that hold 400 each for the cost of building location that holds that 400). This seems to be wise stewardship of God’s money. But it neglects the greater thing.
I once had a job working for another deacon in my church. I was promoted to Vice-President of the company and was told to buy a new vehicle because the company wanted to pay for a vehicle for me. My wife was five months pregnant and things were looking good. Less than a month after buying the vehicle the owner of the company came into my office to tell me that they were going to eliminate my position to save money. The reason? “We have to be good steward’s of God’s resources.” They found a cheaper way to do the job.
Now in the world, that makes perfect sense. But to say that God is more interested in the bottom line of a company than he is interested in one of His children is beyond false doctrine. A couple of millionaires found a way to make an extra grand a month and jumped at it. They invoked God’s name as a cover for their lust and greed. One of the men even intimated to me that God had challenged him to find out how much money he could make. The problem here is two fold: The first is the belief that material wealth is an end unto itself. Secondly, was the belief that natural prosperity is a sign of God’s blessing. These are carnal, worldly beliefs that erode the teachings of Jesus and block the Grace of God.
Sadly we see the same mentality in the church today.
The wealth of today’s church is not in souls or anointing but in Sunday morning attendance and the increase of that wealth at any means is a sign of God’s blessing on the ministry and their methods.
Let us understand that God almost never stands in the way of a person preaching the Gospel. Whether it be in the pulpit, through a video, on a track, or while in sin, God almost never stops a person from preaching the good news and the Word still will not come back void. But to say that because the Word does not come back void it is ok to preach while in sin, bound in false doctrine, or half false teachings is error. So too is it false to say that because people find Jesus in video venues their existence is favored.
The main cause of this error is the absence of Bishops in todays church. you can point to all kinds of sin, but the truth is that we no longer follow the Word. I had a man try to teach me that the office of Pastor, Bishop and Apostle were all the same thing. Each are distinct and the lack of understanding is causing the problems we see today.
When a man starts a church at the leading of the Lord there is basically one focus, to get as many people from the world into the church to ensure the viability of the ministry. I know we say it is for other reasons but if you cannot pay the rent there is no more ministry. So successful church planters have ingrained into their DNA the need to reach out and invite in. They then pass that onto their leadership teams who then pass it onto the people. Nothing wrong here.
After a period of time, some ministries get really good at this. After spending a great amount of time getting to 250, they went from 1,000 to 2,000 in no time at all. Around this time the leader begins to focus more on training leaders and rejoices from the pulpit that they no longer counsel people. You have heard it, “Be happy I am not counseling you. God has brought people who blah blah blah.” Again, nothing wrong with that. The problem comes if you do not recognize that the season of your ministry has changed. Despite what your business card says, you are no longer a pastor. If your primary role is to oversee people who oversee people you are a bishop (overseer).
As a bishop, you are no longer called to draw people into your ministry. You are called to raise up, disciple, release, and oversee leaders who will draw people into their ministries. Somehow, we have lost the biblical importance of the offices laid out in the Scriptures. They are there for a reason. They bring order. Massive churches that meet in various cities to watch a man preach on a video is disorder defined.
Since these leaders have not heeded the change of ministry season, they stuck in a kind of ministry adolescence. They are old enough to reproduce but not old enough to father the offspring. They keep attracting fertile people but instead of marrying off sons they keep a harem.
What do you do when a room full of men want to worship you? Take out a rag and begin washing their feet. How does this look in this instance? When a ministry hits the place of reaping the harvest en mass, the goal has to switch to seeing how many sons can be released into ministry. Is your congregation getting to big for your already big building? Raise up a man and have him plant a church across town.
Is your church still growing too fast? Start another. Still growing? I propose that God is bringing sons to be married off to their calling. What happens if the leader sees the area saturated? Leave town, start again in another state, change the title on your business card to Apostle.
Selah
If that great of an anointing is on your ministry, you are in sin not to use it to lead a network of churches. Imagine how large Paul’s ministry could have been in Ephesus had he stayed indefinitely. Instead he left and reproduced himself.
The only reason that a person would find the need to fill every pulpit that they built is that they either
- They do not think that God can raise up a preacher as good as they are
- They have not died to lust and greed.
Paul had great faith in the God who saved him to effectively work in the men he discipled. He was not consumed with building his own kingdom. He was not of the “bigger is better” mindset. Like Abraham, he was a father. He longed to see sons raised up and sent out. I believe it was in this spirit he wrote:
For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
How the church needs men like this today, and more importantly, they need to see that in having everything, they have nothing.
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Eight years ago today the former Tracey Penn obeyed God and said, “I do” to a crazy life with me.
I got really excited last week when I realized that I only have one more payment to make on my minivan! How we wound up buying it is a story most people tell before the phrase, “and we haven’t gone to church since.”
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