Whenever I can get them, I prefer both/and choices. But sometimes all we get is either/or.
Take church growth and health, for instance.
Usually a choice for church health is also a choice for church growth. But not always. Sometimes it’s one or the other. Especially in a smaller church.
Here are some ways that might occur:
- A downtown church has the chance to rent a larger space, but the new location is miles away from the homeless population they’ve been serving. Do they stay and serve the poor, or get bigger among people with financial means?
- A small church pastor has the money to buy a church growth book or a spiritual growth book, but not both. Which one gets their hard-earned cash?
- A bivocational pastor has the time to attend only one conference this year. Do they go to the church growth conference or the prayer retreat?
No One Can Walk Through Two Doors at Once
When we decide for one option, it often closes the door for the other.
Yes, we serve an almighty God with unlimited resources, time, and energy. But we’re not him. We can’t always do both/and. Sometimes our choice is either/or.
So, on those occasions when church growth and church health offer mutually exclusive options will we choose for church health or church growth?
Always choose for church health.
I’ve become such a fan of church health that even when I can choose both, I’d rather pick two church health options than pick one church health option and one church growth option.
Here’s why.
Church Health First
If we choose church health and it happens without growth, that’s okay. But if we choose church growth and it happens without health … that’s not good at all.
If we all started choosing for health and left the growth to God, what would happen? Does anyone really believe that choice would hinder church growth?
Or is it possible that maybe – just maybe – the end result would be a world filled with healthier churches, both large and small?
If so, would it matter how big they were?
(Photo by Steve Webel | Flickr)
