Give Us Vegetables and Water: A Strategy for Growth

It seems like everyone has something to say about church growth nowadays. With all these articles and books, one would think that churches would be exploding (in a good way) left and right. But the obvious truth is that this explosion is not taking place. Instead of growing, many churches and denominations are in decline. So, even though I'm not qualified to add my voice to the conversation, I do have something to say.

At my church we have been shifting our focus away from numerical church growth, and towards growing the people who are already coming. At my last leadership team meeting we read and discussed this article titled, What If We Made Disciples And Left Church Growth to God? After a brief discussion I shared about how we could go about doing that. I won't go into those ways here, instead I want to briefly talk about the logic of making such a move.

There are many concerns that accompany a shift in focus like the one the article suggests. One concern is about money (The fact that money is always a concern in churches shows that we have an idolatry problem). The wisdom of the world suggests that if you have great programs and events, if you market well and appeal to the seeker, if you do these and a myriad of other things, then people will come, and they will bring their checkbooks with them.

Since many churches have adopted this wisdom, they have been forced to adjust their strategies to accommodate it. Not only that, they also have to adjust their interpretation of Scripture to justify what they do. This is why so much violence has been done to Jesus' Great Commission. You've probably heard the end of Matthew 28 preached as if Jesus' ultimate concern was to keep growing so large that the disciples would have to renovate the upper room were they were staying. But that is far from what Jesus meant in his commission.

The kind of growth Jesus always suggested is growth towards God. It is the kind of growth that comes through the transformation of ones character. It is the growth that begins in the heart, and then spills out to what is seen. It is from this kind of growth that we will find, as a natural byproduct, that numbers increase. But even if they don't you end up with disciples who are immense in their faith. For example, Peter on the day on Pentecost was a completely different guy than the one who knelt down in fear in Luke 5. That is Jesus' kind of growth. So how do we do it?

While reading Daniel chapter 1, I saw an example that could serve as an answer to the 'how' question displayed in the encounter between Daniel and his supervisor. You'll recall that some Hebrew boys were taken captive and made to serve in the palace. Since you can't have a bunch of slobs walking around the palace the king gave them his best provisions of meat and wine so that they could grow strong and healthy. This was the king's strategy for growth. Now pay attention to Daniel's strategy:

But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the royal rations of food and wine... Then Daniel asked the guard whom the palace master had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: "Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. You can then compare our appearance with the appearance of the young men who eat the royal rations, and deal with your servants according to what you observe." So he agreed to this proposal and tested them for ten days. At the end of ten days it was observed that they appeared better and fatter than all the young men who had been eating the royal rations. So the guard continued to withdraw their royal rations and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. (Daniel 1:8;11-16)

Daniel, being faced with one strategy for growth, resolved to follow the strategy that God provided his people long ago. He "resolved" that he wouldn't adopt the popular way, and sought to live in the way of God. Sure meat and wine seemed like a no-brainer approach to becoming strong. But the food they were offering was contrary to the dietary commandments that God gave the Israelites. So even though popular wisdom suggested it, Daniel said, "Give us vegetable and water."

That passage is not about church growth, but it is about growth. It is about the ways we go about being the people of God. The goal was to make those men smart, strong, and capable. The question was how to accomplish that goal. This is where we stand today. Our churches are supposed to be places that are Spirit-filled, disciple-making, world-changing, organizations. How will we accomplish that? Veggies and water, or meat and wine? Will it value worldly wisdom, or godly wisdom? Will it be modeled off popular strategies, or the way of Jesus? At Friendship UMC we have decided to eat our veggies.