Growing A Church?
Now I’d better own up before I proceed. I used to be a church junkie, albeit a slightly reticent one in my somewhat zealous youth. You see, I believed the evangelistic take on God and his kids. God is working in the world and His agency is the institution belovedly known as church. Back in my Irish homeland, as soon as one came into an experience of the risen Nazarene, one was instantly ushered into a sheep fold under the name of a ‘sound’ church. I was never really sure what a sound church was, for those who embraced the standard orthodoxy seemed to be asleep to me, the only sound being my snoring during the pastor’s sermon. No, for me it was a more radical version of Jesus community, or so I thought. I was a founding member of a Charismatic, (yes, speaking in tongues etc) fellowship that attempted to do things differently. I should have known better though, for all life-giving religious or spiritual movements eventually conservatise, becoming clones of their older predecessors. Northern Ireland was, and still is, peppered with man’s attempt to get Divinity into a box, much like any other Bible Belt area of God’s good Earth.
That being said, I want to look at our fixation at growing a church, to use a trendy but ineffective term that’s doing the religious rounds. If one has a church, a group bang in the centre of Divine Will, then why not grow it – the bigger the better right! Well no, at least in my experience. Here are a few reasons for small is beautiful.
1) God isn’t obsessed by church like most of His/Her kids.
Jesus groups were to be transient expressions of God realignment, not the be all and end all. Packed buildings of Jesus people on Sunday mornings aren’t on God’s agenda.
2) Spiritual life is best shared through conversation and friendship.
The Nazarene hinted at this when talking about the two or three gathered into His name. When a few folk, with open and respectful hearts tune into the Divine in conversation, there is an opportunity for Presence to manifest and flow between those present.
3) Growing churches was never a Divine suggestion.
Growing things is frankly more to do with market share than the Way of the Kingdom/Queendom.
Institutionalised faith needs institutions and institutions need cash to survive. Once established, rigid faith groups frankly need bums on seats to keep going, and of course as we all know failure is never on the agenda for those believing God is with them.
3) Growth is an organic experience and one that is deeply personal.
The numbers game in religious circles, patronisingly disguised as a concern for the lost, is nothing to do with true growth.
Spiritual growth is the growing awareness of who we are, and our place in the Divine Heart. Such growth often follows times of great personal darkness. It cannot be manufactured on the assembly line of programmed religion. Rather it takes place in the desert of aloneness, when Light invades our Darkness.
4) Growth of our group encourages religious competition.
I’m afraid I have to smile when a new church opens up here in Lincoln. The pastor priest will always claim to be in total harmony with the existing churches in the city. Their targets for membership are always the ‘unchurched’, especially the young unchurched who are susceptible to subtle, or not so subtle, love bombing. What often happens though is a case of sheep transference. When the shiny new religious stall is set out, Jesus people sniff out a better pastureland and hop the church fence to enter the new field of fellowship. And so it continues, throughout the ages. Like competing supermarkets, religious groups are in the marketplace of desire. the subliminal message is always this: ‘Our take on Jesus is more authentic than that of other groups, so come aboard!’. The merry-go-round world of church membership falsely feeds the growth dreams of model pastors/priests. We are getting new people so we must be fulfilling God’s agenda.
5) Big numbers inflate ego’s group identity.
When we get high on our numbers, ego is lurking, willing to elevate us to a special status, that of God’s chosen.
Growth is put down to God adding to our numbers rather than our clever marketing or manipulation of broken folk looking for answers. Ego, looks over its sacred empire and gives itself a pat on the back, while giving God all the glory, at least publicly.
It’s empowering to be a member of a large and cutting edge group, though in time the ride will end in disillusionment and tears. It’s at this stage that God may get a chance to have a wee chat with us and bind up our self-administered wounds.
6) Church and its size is irrelevant in the great scheme of things
While caught up in the church growth delusion we tend to see life as a life-saving operation. It’s a case of getting as many folk as possible into the Jesus lifeboat as possible before they check out of space-time. And as most of us know who’ve sailed the seven seas in such a craft, it’s really a delusion, for the boat of salvation is merely a church expansion programme. Divine Love has birthed all and will embrace all, church membership or not. To limit a spiritual coming home to joining a church is a big mistake. For often we leave the integrity of our God encounter at the door to play a different game, one driven by the need to belong and be accepted; a shinier version of the game that we played in our wilder days.
So there you have it. Some wee thoughts why it’s best not to get involved with your church’s expansion drive known as evangelism. Since the days of my evangelistic zeal I’ve discovered that God is big, very big indeed. Faith groups are only part of a world that is loved, a Love without restraints that waits at the city gate for those with ears to hear to listen and respond. The Voice is everywhere, even, dare I say it, in the back pew of my old hemorrhaging church.
Writer Dylan Morrison 
Very well put Dylan. Thank you for sharing it.
Thank you George. Glad it struck a wee chord with you.
🙂 Dylan
Great article! As always, you hit the nail on the head. This is exactly how the game works. Having been a part of the process myself I can only chuckle to myself, thinking about it these days. These days I am finding the Divine Presence more in everyday occurences, rather than in programm driven institutions of hyped up events. I know He is there too, there is not place we can avoid Him, but for me the noise just distracts me these days.Having said that, I will go back now and re-read the post, as to remind me why I’ve quit the religious rat race a long time ago. Truly, the entire world is His and fellowship happens as go along, being increasingly drawn into Light of Divine Love.
Thanks for dropping by Florian and your wee comment. I guess many of us have been through the sausage-making machine of the church growth game and come out the other end exhausted. Like you noise and hype don’t do it for me anymore. I need Silence and Beauty.
🙂 Dylan
Dylan, I really enjoyed you analogies-so refreshing. As a refugee from the tiring competitive world (including the professional paid one-yikes) that is called “church”. I have not heard it so well said. Thanks for sharing! ~Rebecca
Thank you so much for your thoughts. I come form a similar Ulster background, though I walked away partly for theological reasons and partly because of the unpleasant nature of so many of the practitioners. It was only when I left Ulster that I was able to look at the people of God. However I took many of my attitudes and understandings with me.
Since I retired from full time ministry I have come to the conclusion that the people of God come together to serve him and worship him, and that the empires which are potentially built loose the real meaning. The problems underlying the whole mess are the questions of plant and personnel. These are the real motivations for all the things which you criticise. Look around and see how many monuments there are to personal vanity in Churches and halls, while of course it is impossible to discuss the temporary provisional nature of the gathering of the people of God when there are people about whose very identity, let alone financial security depend on the organisation being successful. .
Truely, one can come through all the experiences described in this piece and sense that God is totally able to finish what He started and that we don’t neccessarily stay sausages even though we went through the machine! In his economy its not either or but perhaps both, wouldn’t you agree Dylan?
great blog, so many right on points, a relief to untie the bow on box of the church — you offer much needed fresh air!
Now I’m going to unpack this in the weeks ahead – hopefully, anyway – but it happens through us, not to us. We want this supernatural being from outside anything in our experience to talk to us – at least, if you’re like me. God, I wasted the years. I wasted the years when I was younger. I tried to hear a voice . . . tried to see a vision. And you wouldn’t recognize this part of me, but when I got to college, I did yoga and meditation and spiritual exercises of Ignatius, and the crueler it was, the more I liked it. Fasting – and I would just beg God, “Please show yourself. Please show yourself.” And then one night – this was the only time I heard a voice, I know it was inside my head, but it was audible – I was praying, I was saying, “Why don’t you show yourself to me? I’ve done all these things; look at all I’ve done for you. Why won’t you show yourself to me?” And I heard an audible voice – in Prather dorm, a little study carrel – I heard an audible voice that said, “I am everywhere. Ask instead why you don’t see me.” I never heard a voice again; never needed a voice . . . never needed a miracle – ever again. It’s all Sacred; and the question is how am I attuned to the Sacred? How have I gotten lost from the Sacred? How am I denying the Sacred in my life?
“The Name”
From A St. Andrew’s Sermon
Delivered by Dr. Jim Rigby
August 16, 2015
Hi Dylan whilst I agree with 95 % of what you say as former junkie myself. I am still left with questions. Namely is there a role for the church in society. I guess I feel I have grown up and left home. But I still want to visit. I want church to be there, for the miles stones in my life and in the community life. I recognise there are good people even good vicars working in a bad and often corrupt system. I acknowledge that I learnt a lot from the church but in the end had to move away for my own sanity. I have now become what ‘they’ might call nominal. I ate end a Buddhist centre to meditate but I don’t want to join them either. I think some of us are destined to be nomads but I am grateful to the settlers who keep our institutions going because deep down I think we need them.
Right on spot with this blog. It’s something we have to keep an eye on and guard ourselves to make sure we don’t get caught up in the competition, etc.
Interesting, and I agree for the most part, although I am not comfortable with the bi-gender expressions “His/Her kids” (God’s) and “the Way of the Kingdom/Queendom”.
So few folks writing about this!! Love you posts!!
Thanks Joan. You’re right of course – very little being said by the prophets within the Christian community. Sadly, many of them have joined the business club that oftimes fleece the poor sheep.
🙂 Dylan
Having been a member of a very large Pentecostal church, I have to say this really hits the nail on the head. I never felt LESS in tune with God than when I was part of that church, and I’m still trying to recover my spiritual side.
It takes time letahawk. A complete turn around in our thinking, one away from the top-down group mentality to one focused on our inner connection with the Divine. Thanks for dropping by and sharing your experiences.
🙂 Dylan
Exactly!!! Thank you so much for writing and sharing this article. It is sad that the church, which is you and me, has become an institution… a denomination… a building with a steeple. The drug of choice of many Christians today, is the feel-good of going to church and belonging to such and such flock, because the Spirit is moving and the numbers are growing. Numbers, name dropping and pew warming are the name of the game. When Christians receive the revelation of Who the real church is…they will stop with the manmade agendas, and BE THE CHURCH!!!
I’d have to agree with you Sandee. Christendom has set up an alternative to the Way of the Nazarene, one which looks pious and honorable, but is often more about group dynamics than a connection with Source. We cannot earn God nor organise Him and as you say we can’t be anyting else but His kids, Sunday observance or not.
🙂 Dylan
When I first got saved in June of 1985, I was on fire for God. He gave me a desire to read His word, and I devoured it. When I first went to church, I thought that I had entered Heaven, however it did not take me long to figure out otherwise. Church #1 left me crying many times, because the pastor was not saying the right things, he was preaching a topsy turvy gospel, that was the exact opposite of what I had found in the word. My husband talked to the pastor about it, and he said that was not what he was saying, so needless to say, we ended up leaving because I just could not bear to hear the gospel perverted. Not too long after we left he left his wife, and married the piano player, after he completely shut his son out of his life, for some alleged sin.
Church #2. This was a very old building , that had been a church for about 100 years or so, and it did not even have any outdoor bathrooms, if you can imagine that? The Lord had convicted me of smoking cig. and with His help I was able to quit, and the money I saved from not smoking went to help pay for adding bathrooms. All was well until the piano player abused his son by body slamming him onto the concrete. I was very upset by this action, and talked to them man about it, he agreed to get some anger management counseling, but then he and the pastor discussed it and it was decided to forgive and forget and Let the Lord take care of things. This did not set well with me, and I tried to go back one more time, but the atmosphere was as cold as ice. The next Sunday the pastor had scheduled a VIP day, inviting the mayor and other dignitaries of the city to join us for a pat on the back day, for him, because he had such an old church bldg. I did not go , but the day of the celebration the dignitaries were there as planned but also a huge bunch of bees came along and swarmed the congregation, causing great havoc. Church #3. This was a very warm and friendly , but very small congregation, that iniationaly welcomed us with open arms, but soon changed their minds, when we brought in a car load of very unchurched children that were delighted to be able to go to their first church. The pastor asked the congregation if they wanted smears on their walls or empty pews, so I knew that we and our little bunch of hoodlems, were coming under criticism. He apparently went along with the mothers & fathers of the church, because soon afterward he came down on us hard because we were a few min. late, (after going around to pick up the children) and my husband revolted against this treatment because he knew how much trouble it was for us to gather all those children, and he did not think it was fair of the man to treat us that way. Church # 4 This was a huge church, that a single man had built in a very short time. Being full of the Holy Ghost, I would shout out a big amen, or hallelujah, every now and then, but the pastor took offense to that, asking why “his own people” (making a big difference in me and them) weren’t on fire? Pretty soon one of his main men, passed me in the hall and said ” what are you doing here?” This hurt my feelings again, because this man knew me and knew my reputation of being on fire for Jesus. It finally came to a head when a woman was caught up in worshiping the Lord, when the worship came to an end, and they escorted her into a side room, I felt compelled to follow and I was trying to support her by praying in tounges, but this did not set well with the pastor either, and he said from the pulpit the next Sunday that I (he did not call my name) was casting out devils. No such thing, the woman was just caught up in a spirit of worship. Church #6. It was a long time before I went to another church after this. but finally the scripture that says do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some do, got to me, and I ended up in another small church. We had moved by then, so we were in a different area. All went well for some time, but then the pastors son, who was preaching & leading singing, had to leave and go to rehab for being on dope. I was able to forgive this, but later on he moved a married woman into his bedroom, and he was married too, but seperated, when this happened, I had to call it quits, as this was just too much for me to bear. Church # 7……..wow, Gods number of completion, I wonder what is in store for me now?
I do believe there are Pastors with a genuine heart for the lost and a commitment to caring for the community, not every church wishes to become a Mega-church empire. Your second point resonates with me: ‘Spiritual life is best shared through conversation and friendship’, I have found this to be true. Sharing Bible study or praying with friends is always amazing & a huge source of solace and strength because there is honesty and genuine concern for one another. I’m afraid I struggle with contrived & organised ‘group’ meetings where there are often cliques, dominating individuals and where I sometimes feel whenever I speak out I am sounding the wrong note …