In our “I’ve got more than you” or “my stuff’s better than yours” obsessed culture, many people waste a lot of mental energy comparing what they have to what someone else has. The numbers game even happens in churches.
One of the first questions I often get from people (especially other pastors) about Capstone is, “How many people attend?” I’m guessing there is a certain number that makes a church legitimately successful but I have no idea what that number is. Ask someone who pastors a mega-church and he might say 2,500. Ask another person who pastors a congregation of 80 and he might say 100. In the American culture, we operate on the principal that the more people the better the church has to be, right? It’s the “bigger is better” theory.
But playing the numbers game can be dangerous in every area of life. Look at what happened to King Saul:
“When the victorious Israelite army was returning home after David had killed the Philistine, women from all the towns of Israel came out to meet King Saul. They sang and danced for joy with tambourines and cymbals. This was their song:
“Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands!”
This made Saul very angry. “What’s this?” he said. “They credit David with ten thousands and me with only thousands. Next they’ll be making him their king!” So from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.” 1 Samuel 18:6-9 (NLT)
King Saul began playing the numbers game and from that moment on, he could no longer see the good that was actually happening. The battle was being won (which was the goal) but all Saul could see was that somebody was getting more credit than he was. Jealousy began to control His heart and once jealousy took root it eventually ruined his life.
God wants us to be Christ-followers who are cheering the victories around us because it’s not about us in the first place. When it comes to church growth, I don’t know why some grow at a much quicker rate than others. There are “church gurus” trying to figure that stuff out and I’ll be honest: I don’t really care what they come up with. It’s God’s work and His decision to make. My job as a pastor is to be faithful to the call, give God my best, and lead others to give God their best.
The results are up to the One who makes it happen in the first place. That way all the credit belongs to Him.
