Comments on: Jesus & Peter counted (or likely knew the count)

By: Ron Duncan

Ron Duncan — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 16:22:36 +0000

Maybe it comes down to who is glorified by the numbers.

By: Josh

Josh — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 03:10:09 +0000

@Chris – great thought.

@Bob – Interesting thought on it being okay for churches to “die.” I have to wrestle that one. Great insight. Thanks!

By: Bob

Bob — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:15:24 +0000

Good thoughts Josh-I served with a Pastor who taught me this: “Numbers aren’t everything, but they are something.” As I continue to lead and experience different seasons I’m thinking through issues related to life cycles and churches. A church will eventually experience it’s maximum influence and reach, some stay steady where others decline. I believe it’s easy to count growth (however you measure it) when it is up and to the right. It’s a different story when the line on the graph stalls or falls. What leaders do then is telling. Some abandon measuring anything and begin to speak of growing deeper or raising up more committed followers of Christ. Others search frantically for new methods/strategies to keep growth moving in the right direction.

What I’ve not seen is someone who acknowledges that some churches, thrive, mature and then decline, some eventually die and that this could be from God.

As we age some of us readily embrace the number of candles on the cake, others stop counting. I wonder if some leaders in the church do the same as their church ages and they no longer like the numbers.

By: Chris Hill

Chris Hill — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:36:32 +0000

1Chronicles tells us that David was moved by Satan to go forth with a sensus that displeased God and he and his peeps were to pay dearly for it.

Now we can’t take one passage like that and relate it to our lives because well….it wasn’t about our lives or the Church. It was a matter between God and David.

I think the point here is to always listen for the right voice when it comes to counting heads, costs, risks, money, etc… because we can get advice about numbers from everywhere and everyone.

You’re dead on about the bandwagon thing. Sheesh! I get tired of thumbing through twitter and seeing the same words and topics over and over.