He knows the American church like the back of his hand, and he knows that pastors, hung up on competition and consumerism, will always assume that church growth is a good thing and not something that could derail anything. Even if 96 percent of their growth is coming from transfer growth. It’s so simple and subtle. It’s elegant.
Now hear me on this one: I’m not saying all growth is from our enemy. Clearly it’s not. But why do we so easily accept that it’s got to be from God? Is it because it makes us feel we are accomplishing something? We’re successful? We’ve arrived? We’re better?
We are so careful to ask, “Why AREN’T we growing?” when the church is stagnant or declining, but so slow to ask (or ever ask), “Why ARE we growing? What’s really going on here?” when growth does hit.
If I were the enemy, and I wanted to put roadblocks in the way of God’s Kingdom advancing, I’d just throw more people from another church at them. That’ll slow ‘em up, I’d think to myself.
And rather than equipping, empowering, training and sending out disciples who have the character and competencies of Jesus, who know how to reproduce themselves and unleash the Kingdom of God into every crack and crevice of society, we can just stay busy taking care of the new people from the church down the street.
The more I think about this, the more I reflect on churches I’ve worked with, the more I have to wonder if this is in play. I have to wonder if this is one of our enemy’s simple, but wildly effective, strategies.
So, just a word of gentle caution: If you’re growing, ask “Why?”
Why are these people now coming who weren’t before? Where did they come from? Do they already know Jesus? Have the boldness and the courage to ask “Why?”
And see what the Lord might have to say.
