Ministers Blogs
“BETTER THE BIG NUMBERS”
By David Powell
The success of the church is not determined by numbers but by faithfulness to God's word. The restoration plea emphasizes going back to Jerusalem and remaining loyal to the "apostles' doctrine." It was in Jerusalem that the Lord's church began (Acts 2). Any religious group that fails to pattern itself after the Jerusalem church is in error. During the early days of the divided kingdom, Jeroboam attempted to prevent the people of Israel from going back to Jerusalem. He set up golden calves in Dan and Bethel saying: "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem, Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt (1 Kg 12:28) !" Jeroboam, concerned with retaining numbers, departed from the old paths.
A recent "trend" is for churches to add an instrumental service to its scheduled services. Why? To enhances the numbers! Keith Luttrell explains why the Southlake Boulevard Church added the instrument by saying: " Relevance is driving it. Relevance to our community. Reaching out to seekers. " Chris Seidman who preaches for the Farmer's Branch Church reports that since adding " a Saturday night instrumental service in addition to two Sunday morning a cappella services, they have grown from 1,000 to 1,400 ." King Jeroboam, through innovation, succeeded in retaining numbers. While Jeroboam must have been pleased with himself, God was displeased. God, through the prophets, pleaded with Israel to repent. Finally, in 721 B.C., Israel fell to the Assyrians. Why? Because of apostasy! Appealing to the "pride of life" (1 Jh 2:16) is one of the three tactics used by Satan. If we are not careful, pride will motivate church leaders to boost attendance without regard for the "apostles' doctrine." It isn't about packing pews. The issue is one of loyalty — being loyal to the Lord.
via Grant Bulletin
