Dr. John A. King argues that churches have lost their way by chasing programs and attendance numbers instead of making disciples. Texas has more churches than most places but racism, violence, and illiteracy still run rampant, suggesting activity-heavy models don't change hearts. A healthy church measures itself by member maturity, not size.
Someone suggested recently that I was a minimalist when it comes to church programming, and I really am. I grew up in a wonderful, very large church that was always very busy. And as a pastor and a leader, you know, you rarely had time for your own quiet time. And even when it was quiet, you seemed to always want to rush through it to get to some new meeting you had to be at. And there wasn't really a whole bunch of time for contemplation or quiet time. or whatever, even in worship services. There were so many people in so many services and such a rush that it got to a stage where you couldn't stay or hover or wait for the Holy Ghost to move. That wasn't my experience when I first started in the faith or with this church. I love that church. I'm very grateful for it. I've seen the Western church get very busy running programs. To placate some sort of Christian conscience on behalf of its people. I believe that the job of the church is to create disciples, to provide an opportunity for evangelism through equipping the saints, and to provide a safe environment for the nurturing of God's Word. I don't think that's a numerical thing. I think healthiness of a people in a congregation can be seen in their spiritual maturity and development. I don't think it's a numerical thing. That's not just because of what we've been through as a congregation or where we currently sit. It's always been my maximum. In the first book I ever published, Now to Next: Blueprint for a Christian Revolution, I came up with a definition of church that wasn't numeric in its scope, but rather maturity in its basis. And I think that still proves to be a great definition of a church. My concern is that the modern church fills people's lives with activities and tells them if they do that, then they're a good Christian and doing good stuff. The challenge is that here we are in Texas with more churches per capita than any city in America, therefore any city in the world, and yet we've got increasing morality problems, theft problems, illiteracy, increasing Disturbances, ongoing horrendous racism and violence. So the church, regardless of the size of them, the number of them, and the activities they're involved with, are not penetrating the spiritual state of people. So the answer isn't in more activities. The answer is in a passionate pursuit of Christ and manifesting who he is, his love and power, to a needy and dying world. And you don't get that through activity. Well, you might, but that activity would be meditation, prayer, the pursuit of God, the knowing of his word, the spreading of his gospel, the praying for the sick, the active engagement in the lives of people around you. Those things will bring about a change in our society, not the attendance of 4 out of 5 nights at some sort of meeting or rally. Now, the meeting or the rally, I have no problem with extended teaching meetings, etc., but when they, when they form the basis of of the majority of the months of a church calendar, then there has to be some sort of problem. When we do things that limit real intimacy between saints with each other and limit our interaction with the world, then there's a challenge with that. Even in our own congregation, we have enough. We have men's discipleship once a month. We're about to start a series of books for the year that will be running 4 to 6 week programs. Scott's about to start something called Practice with Purpose, which will involve discipling the people in his area and his part of church life. We have enough to go on. I don't think programs are the answer to anybody in our congregations or anybody in the world's need for spiritual growth and development. It has to be a personal pursuit, utilizing the tools of any congregation or any pastor or anybody To the best of your ability, you can't forsake the gathering together of the brethren. You can't forsake local church. But then local church isn't the—it's the starting point for your discipleship, not the end point for your discipleship. It's the starting point of ministry, not the end point of ministry. It's—it's not the focus of what your walk with Christ should be or your impact on behalf of Christ to the community. The challenge we have is that we have taken the role and the responsibility off people. Told them if they turn up and put the money in the tin, then that's it for the week. They've done their duty. And it's just— that's not how the church started. That's how the church has demised in the last 50 years or so, 100 years or so in the West. Anyway, why we do what we do, 101.
