Chapter 26 in God Isn't In A Hurry
Converts should be weighed as well as counted." Evangelist D. L. Moody made that statement, and his warning needs to be heeded today. Evangelical ministries seem to be mired in the Book of Numbers, convinced that exciting statistics are always the equivalent of spiritual realities. Sad to say, they are not.
Please do not conclude that I oppose growth. I am not among those exclusive saints who believe we should work harder and harder to reach fewer and fewer. Where there is spiritual life, there must be growth. If Cod's servants are faithfully sowing the seed, God must keep his promise and ultimately give the increase.
But I am afraid of the artificial kind of growth that is manufactured and sometimes exaggerated, growth that is not the true work of the Spirit of God. Our techniques are so refined these days that it is difficult to tell the difference. I am also afraid of the kind of human measurements that convince us that the structure is sound when it is actually about to topple and fall. We boast that we are rich . . and have need of nothing," when all the while we are "wretched, miserable, poor blind, and naked" (Rev 3:17). Instead of weeping over the X-ray photographs that tell the truth, we are reveling in the carefully retouched pictures that make everything look healthy.
Certainly we want to reach people! I often told the congregations that I pastored that we wanted crowds, not so that we could count people, but because people count. Our challenge is to reach a lost world with the gospel and not to build an elite mutual admiration society "Fruit... more fruit . much fruit . . ." is still our Lord's desire, and this demands growth.
l am convinced that God's work grows more by nutrition than by addition. Paul described this growth in Colossians 2:19: "From which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God." Spiritual growth, like physical growth. is from the inside out, and each part must make its &own special contribution.
To often, the growth in a local church is the by product of a one man ministry (usually a dynamic leader) supported by a loyal staff and the approval of the church officers. There may be little nutrition from the Word of God, but there is a great deal of promotion. The members of the body are spectators not participants. They not only do not use their spiritual gifts, but they often do not even know what gifts they possess.
Imagine a mother who is told by the doctor that her baby is under weight. Instead of accurately diagnosing the cause and changing the diet, she visits the butcher and purchases several pounds of meat. This meat she somehow attaches to her baby's body. The baby is put on the scale-and Lo-the child is no longer underweight. However, the baby is now in worse condition than before. The mother has manu-factured a temporary solution that blinds her to the real needs of her child. She has solved her problem by statis-tics, but she has not gotten to the root of the matter Who has ears to hear, let them hear
It is not easy to measure spiritual ministry and God's servants need wisdom and discernment lest they think themselves poor when they are really rich (see Rev. 2:9). Paul ridiculed the statistical saints of his day when he wrote: "For we dare not class ourselves or compare our-selves with those who commend themselves. But they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise" (2 Con 1(1:12). We will never really know what was accomplished until we stand before our Lord and the holy fire tests our works. In that day, some who are last will be first; and some who think themselves first may end up at the back of the line.
I am fully aware of the fact that the Holy Spirit records numbers in the Book of the Acts: three thousand souls (2:41), then five thousand (4:4), and then "multitudes ~ both men and 'women (5: 14). But the Holy Spirit also recorded the conversation of one man Saul of Tarsus. And behind the thousands of converts in the early days of the church is the conversion of Simon Peter who was brought to Jesus by Andrew, his brother (John 1:40-42). If converts are to be weighed I wonder how much Paul and Peter tip the scales.
At all costs, 'We must avoid extremes Spurgeon used to say that the people 'who criticized statistics usually had none to report. Too often, this is true. We must avoid extravagant numbers simply for the sake of statistics, but we must also shun that complacent attitude that has as its motto, "Small is spiritual." The secret, I think, is to be concerned with individuals and to let God take care of the numbers. Jesus had time for individuals; they, in turn, helped him to reach the crowds. The woman tof Samaria is a case iii point (John 4).
If growth is from within-the "increase of Cod" - then it will glorify Cod and it will last. If growth is the result of to nutrition, not manufactured addition, then it will strengthen God's church and bring honor to Cod's name. Moody was right: Converts should be weighed as well as counted." And while we are weighing them, let's be careful to keep our thumbs off the scales!
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