Why does our church do that, anyway?

For all of my life, I have been part of a Christian church. One of the foundational facts, the assumed goal in church and ministry, was that we should 'grow it bigger!'
I think the 11th commandment is -- Thou shalt grow bigger churches.

Got Sunday School? Then you need more kids in it, so bring on the buses every Sunday morning. (Sunday School busing was the way to grow your church in the 1980's.)

Got youth group? Then find a way to get lots of kids in the room. Lots of kids equals 'successful youth program.'

Got a church building? It must be bigger, so find ways to pack more people through the doors, then trumpet the numbers - 500 in attendance on Easter Sunday! Pay no mind that it was a circus that brought them in. Everybody will get really excited. Offering will go up. Staff will be hired, buildings will be constructed... but to what purpose? That is the troubling question that is not asked often enough.

We could reframe that question this way - 'why are we trying to be bigger?'
Supposedly, I was taught that we were 'bringing people to Christ,' or 'saving the lost,' but was that actually happening?

Few will argue with the statement that as churches grew larger; actual percentages of deeply devout followers of Jesus seemed to decline! In 2007, evangelical Christianity claims about 30-40% of Americans, but there is no apparent surfeit of spiritual fruit in our land that would be correspondent to that many devout Christ-followers in a society. Published statistics show that Evangelical Christians are just as materialistic, break up their marriages in divorce, and cheat on their taxes - at the same rates as the rest of Americans. I do not know exactly why that surprises anyone. Getting more people through the doors of our churches requires that we smooth off the rough edges, make the message less challenging, and 'become relevant!' Marketing is king. That's how McDonald's got huge. Mickey D's does not serve gourmet foods that appeals to a few culinary aficionados. It serves cheeseburgers and fries that lots of people like and can afford. Many churches try to grow by becoming religious McDonald's - serving up bland sermons, music that sounds like a pop radio station, in services that are organized to move like a TV show - offering spiritual comfort 'food,' in place of sound spiritual nourishment.

I think it's time to to be focused on relentlessly is what Jesus actually commissioned us to be doing- "go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20, NLT) Of course that means we have to take the lead in that direction - obedience, I mean. "Christianity Lite" which requires little of us, that thrives on being 'at home' in the culture, needs to be replaced with a passion to become radical followers of our Lord who study His words with the intent of becoming like Him in the world. I'll be completely honest with you. I do not even really know what that last sentence might mean for me, or for you, in terms of day to day living.
What I do know is that His words are so radically opposed to what most of us consider 'normal,' that if we got serious about knowing and doing them- it will turn our lives upside down! By way of illustration, think about a couple of Jesus' statements.

Exactly how does a 21st century American person apply words like "Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal." (Matthew 6:20, NLT) "No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." (Matthew 6:24, NLT) Can we even begin to understand that as we leave in a consumer culture?

Or what do we do with this? "You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. So if your eye—even your good eye—causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell." (Matthew 5:27-29, NLT) I walked past Victoria's Secret in the mall recently. Seen those larger than life pictures of seductively posed models they hang in the windows? How do we implement sexual purity and wholeness in a culture that thinks about having sex with only slightly more significance than having a cup of coffee?

Churches who are trying just to be 'bigger' never ask those kinds of questions. They're too 'controversial!' They make people uncomfortable and when they get uncomfortable, they go somewhere else, taking their resources with them! So much for constructing bigger buildings, winning denominational awards, or being featured on NBC's "Dateline" as the fastest growing church in America. I'm not voting for closing our doors to anyone. Let's preach with fervor, share our whole heart with those who want to be loved, and serve everybody with the love of Jesus - and leave the 'big-ness' up to Him.

Here's what I know from the Bible.
Jesus made a lot of people who were trying to just appear respectable, very angry with His demand for transformation that went heart deep. He made a lot of people who were on the margins of society very happy for He showed them the way to recover their relationship with their Father, and thus to find life with meaning, full of joy, and with great hope. I want to be the kind of Christian who follows Him, even if it makes some people hate me. No, of course, I do not want to be a fool who just offends others in a mistaken attempt to prove my own godliness. With the help of the Spirit, I want to love radically, give totally, and wrestle with His words and how they instruct my life. If that makes me a minority in my world, so be it. I think real disciples always will be a minority, for I have it on most excellent authority. Our Master said, "You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it." (Matthew 7:13-14, NLT)