Category Archives: 1 Corinthians

How to Measure Church Growth

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1 Corinthians 3:3
You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?
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Juan Carlos Ortiz pastored the fastest growing church in Argentina during a time of great church growth in that nation. His church was bursting at the seams but he tells how in a time of prayer he sensed the Lord telling him his church was not growing. Puzzled by this he tried to tell the Lord how many new people they were baptizing each week and how many more were coming today than a month ago.

He then sensed the Lord say, “Your church is not growing. It is just getting fat.”  As he thought about this he realized he was just building a huge spiritual nursery full of infants, not growing Christians.  The attendance was getting larger but the church, God’s people, were not growing.

While I believe in church growth – no one should be content with the size of his church as long as there is one unsaved person within reach of that church’s ministry – I also believe the Lord is concerned with growing the church, His people, into mature believers.

This passage tells us how God measures church growth and it has nothing to do with attendance, budgets or buildings. Jealousy and quarreling is a sign of infancy – no growth.  Our love for one another is the Biblical sign of church growth and, according to 1 Corinthians 13, is more important than our giftedness, our knowledge, our faith or even the sacrifices we may make for God.  Am I growing in my love for others?  If not, I may be getting fat but I am not growing more mature.

PRAYER: Lord, since your measure of church growth is the love I have, let me grow to be a mega-church in your kingdom – a person of mega-love.
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1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (my paraphrase)
If I have all the gifts of the Spirit, understand all about God and the Bible, have awesome faith, if I give my last dime to God or even die as a martyr but don’t have love, it’s all a big zero by God’s standards.

I AM so special

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1 Corinthians 1:27-30
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, …
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Wow! I need to regularly be reminded of this.

1. I am in Christ because of God. Not because of me.

2. His choosing me doesn’t indicate I am special. In fact, it indicates the opposite since he chooses the foolish, the weak, the lowly, the despised. So I fit at least one, if not all, of those categories.

3. His choosing me isn’t really even about me, but it is to shame the wise, the strong, etc. It is like a super baseball star who agrees to play using a broom handle instead of a bat and a dish rag for a glove just to show off that he can beat the guys who think they are hot with all their great equipment.  You and I are the broom handles and dish rags God is using just to show how awesome He is.

God is saying to the world, that values wisdom, strength and honor, “Watch what I can do with this nobody – this nothing, this often disobedient, dull to hear, goof up. I will accomplish great things through even him.”

So ultimately His choosing of me was not because I am so great or so special (despite what modern theology may tell you) but because He is so great and so special. He chooses us to bring glory to HIS name.

To a proud person that might be insulting but it actually brings relief to me. My bringing glory to God is not about me doing it all right, never messing up, never making a mistake (as wonderful as that would be) but it is about Him. The responsibility to bring honor to His name in my life rests squarely on HIS big shoulders. I am encouraged by that.
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Psalm 115:1 (NIV)
Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.

 

Measuring Maturity

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… everyone paints devotion (to God) according to his own passions and preferences.
– Francis de Sales (1567-1622)


I just finished reading some of this fellow’s writings.  I’ll paraphrase an insight I found interesting.

Some people love to pray so in their eyes Christians who pray little are little Christians.  Some love to serve God with their hands and may condemn those who pray for the hungry instead of bringing them bread.  Some have a heart to give and are generous with their goods but miserly with kindness or forgiveness.  We tend to put greater spiritual value on those Christian disciplines we find most fulfilling.  While all these activities are good none are the true measure of our spiritual depth.

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