I’ll admit
to being weary, to the point of irritation, whenever I hear ministers of
the gospel reporting their statistics as external evidences of success.
And I know I’m not the only one. (The first minute-and-a-half of this video makes the point.)
Enough already.
I’m not saying I’m less tempted than the next guy to hope for big
numbers and stats, the apparent signs of God’s blessing on my ministry. I
am. But I’ve seen the focus on numbers as a temptation to be resisted,
not something to be embraced. And when preachers find a way to mention
the numbers in public, and often, it comes across as bragging; it’s
worldly and unbecoming of Christians who are to be characterized by
humility and meekness.
One of the worst plagues to hit Israel came about when David numbered
his troops, taking pride in his military might. For all the external,
visible signs of success David could see and count on a human level,
only God could knew the true condition of Israel. Widespread
spiritual decay would soon divide David’s kingdom and eventually expel
the people of Israel and Judah from the land of promise.
Counting isn’t always pride, right? God commanded Moses to take a census of the people (Num. 1, 26),
and for very practical reasons (e.g., to register the fighting men, to
determine per-tribe ransom for servicing the temple). Here at Grace to
You, we have to keep track of certain numbers to make sure we’re good
stewards of the resources God entrusts to us. Keep Reading>>>
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