Do you care?

At the last Presbytery meeting we had, the speaker was describing a host of changes that are being proposed for the way we organize ourselves as a denomination.  I'll save you the details.  But it involved such important things as committee names and bureaucratic structures.  After the presentation, someone in the crowd rose and asked if the speaker really believed these changes would help us connect with new people and stop shrinking as a denomination.

The speaker's response was intriguing.  He basically said, "I don't care if we shrink or if we grow.  That's the wrong question."

I can't think of a statement I've heard recent years that I more fully agreed with and at the same time was more disturbed by.

First of all, I absolutely agree that "growing the church" is the wrong scorecard.  I flinch at the idea of a church having "Get Bigger" as its goal.  For one thing, if you are trying to reach people BECAUSE you want to grow your church, it will inevitably come across that way and I don't think it will work.  It's not authentic or gospel focused.  It's dangerous.

But on the other hand, when I thought about the "I don't care if we grow" statement, I couldn't help but think about the fact that the un-churched population in our community is ever expanding.  The number of people who are disconnected from the grace giving body of Christ is growing daily.  There are ever more people missing out on the peace of Christ in their lives.

And we don't care.

Maybe we settle on the "I don't care" option because we're scared to death of the idea of trying to actually have spiritual conversations with our un-churched friends.  Or maybe we lean towards not caring because we aren't really convinced that our unchurched friends are missing out on anything.

Whatever the reason, the "not caring" option stands in stark contrast with the way Paul DOES care in 1 Corinthians 9 - "I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might win some.  I do all these things for the sake of the gospel."

Now here's the thing: Clearly there is a difference between wanting our churches to grow and desperately wanting our neighbor to connect with Jesus Christ.  I don't believe for a second that the presenter at Presbytery doesn't care about people's souls.  It's just that in my very limited experience, the "I don't care" position tends to affect the way we think about both our church AND our neighbor.

I sincerely hope our church grows.  But not because I want a bigger church.  I hope our church grows because we desperately care about our neighbors meeting Jesus.  I hope our church grows because we are doing everything we do for the sake of the gospel.  I hope our church grows as a result of our becoming all things to all people in order to save some.

I hope we care.