Book 1 of Musings Numbering the People

Denominations and churches seek large numbers of people. Why? Isn't it a fact that sometimes more can be accomplished in the Kingdom with a smaller group?

The church I pastor is small, maybe 90 people on Sunday morning. Sometimes I think we could do more if we had a larger congregation.

However, I know everyone by name - even the babies. I have been in the church so long there are young people in their early twenties who either were born into the church or came as a baby. You know, this is great! These youngsters really know what I preach and are able to express themselves clearly. What a blessing this is!

I wonder sometimes what it would be like to pastor a church of 5,000 people. If I did, I imagine I would do a great deal with pageantry. In our little church we have much pageantry, drama, and so forth. The young people are skilled in the use of flags and banners.

If the church were much larger I would like to start each service with maybe five trumpets placed at different locations in the sanctuary. Then the triumphal procession would commence moving forward from the rear of the church. The young people would come holding up the great banners with the ramping Lion of Judah portrayed in splendid colors.

On the platform would be an orchestra. Perhaps there would be antiphonal choirs calling and responding, as in the days of Nehemiah. The problem with choirs, however, is that they tend to take the place of congregational participation. That would have to be worked out.

We have many talented people in our assembly. We work together to communicate the Gospel of the Kingdom. I could not possibly develop and maintain the two Internet sites we have, or handle the books and tapes that go forth from our church, apart from their help. I would not want a great number of people in our church if the church became just a business and the members were not actively involved.

The best part of our church is the family atmosphere. Sometimes during the Communion service whole families gather at the altar and receive the elements there.

Recently a lady called me up. I have no idea where she got my name. She called the church office, so probably she just picked a church out of the telephone book.

She attends a large church, maybe a hundred miles from here. She felt God had commanded her to perform a certain act, and she was not certain how to proceed. I could see her dilemma. It was a radical act. However, a lady that attends our church had been told to do a similar thing, and she did it with much fear and trepidation. The result was positive and obviously of the Lord. So I did not want to say yes or no to this lady.

I said, "What does your pastor say about this?"

She said, "My pastor doesn't know me."

I said, "Don't you have a small group leader?"

She said she did, but he was away for the summer.

I could have just turned her off and told her to go to her pastor. Obviously she was uncomfortable with approaching this distinguished gentleman, so I felt maybe I should try to help.

Since it was not an unscriptural move that she felt led to make, I told her to pray much, take one small step, then pray some more, and so forth; and watch the fruit. When you are really trying to do the Lord's will, He will show you if you are prayerful and watch carefully for the evidences of His approval or disapproval, and are not forcing something or acting out of some kind of passion.

I asked her where her husband was in this.

She said he didn't seem to feel much one way or the other.

I haven't heard back so I assume everything worked out for her.

Can you imagine being in a church for a season and having no one you can go to for advice?

To me as a pastor, the important thing is watching over the people. You rejoice when you see them grow in the Lord. When you know they are stumbling, you and your wife pray that God will help them.

I don't do much counseling. My wife is on the phone all day long, praying with people, leaving me time to write. Actually I counsel, as well as disciple people, in my sermons. I preach two times a week. Often people tell me that when they have a question it will be answered in the sermon. Other people who listen to the tapes tell me that when they listen to a tape it will solve a problem they had. I think this is because before I preach I ask the Lord to add Christ to each individual who is listening.

I absolutely cannot complain about the help I am getting from many people in the congregation. If I had a few hundred more, maybe there would be some who could help with translating my writings into languages not being covered now, such as Italian, Russian, Chinese, Arabic, or Hebrew.

Then too, I have thousands of audio tapes that I would like to have put in written form. They show the development of the major topics I preach, such as The Servant of the Lord, The Four Great Types, the transition from the Law of Moses to the new covenant, The Two Witnesses, the manner in which we cooperate with the Lord as He removes worldliness, lust, and self-fill from us, The Army of the Lord, and so forth.

I was taught the pre-tribulation rapture when I was first saved. Then the Lord showed me clearly, I believe, that this is an unscriptural doctrine. After that He revealed to me that our current teaching of grace is incorrect. We have misunderstood the Apostle Paul, and the Christians of today in many instances are not being transformed morally - which really is the main work of the Kingdom of God in our lives.

You know what? As I began to understand some of the prevailing errors I became angry. You can hear the anger in the early tapes. Isn't that sensible? The people don't understand, so yell at them.

I don't yell much any more, maybe only once or twice during a sermon. I must be becoming a "nice" preacher.

Yes, I would like to have 5,000 people in attendance. But only if I knew everyone's name, the names of all the young people, and the names of all the babies. I want to know each person well enough that I can watch over his or her spiritual condition.

If this isn't possible, if this many people would mean I was spending all my time on administrative details, running here and there with this problem and that problem, then leave me out. I am not in this business for the money, or fame, or success. Actually I am just doing my Friend, Jesus, a favor. He wants me to feed His sheep, so is what I am doing.

Maybe in the future there will be so much persecution we will meet in small groups hidden away somewhere. Perhaps that was the case with the Apostle Paul. I seriously doubt Paul ministered to large groups of people at one time. It may be true that the list of people Paul mentions at the end of some of his epistles included everyone in that church. Paul knew them all and prayed for them.

We American like bigness. We have a horrid habit of evaluating a church by the number of people who attend. A church with 200 members is twice as worthy as a church with 100 people. If you think about it, this is nonsense. Do you imagine Jesus feels this way?

Because our church is relatively small, I have often queried the Lord concerning the attendance.

Every time I do, He says to me, "You take care of the Word. I will take care of the attendance."

Do you suppose this actually is the Lord? How come He isn't challenging me to go out and compel people to come in?

I always pray - every service - "Lord, bring the people you want, not one more, and not one less."

And then I pray, "Lord, according to Your will, bring us warriors, prayers, praisers, helpers."

I don't want people to come and sit there like ordinary churchgoers, just so the attendance will increase. All such people do is detract from the presence of God. They are not disciples, just American churchgoers. We need workers and warriors, not people who sit there each Sunday like the idols along the banks of the rivers in India.

When David numbered the people he got into trouble with God. Is this a warning to us not to number the people?

So success be hanged! I am content with the people the Lord sends (and the ones He sends meet needs we didn't even know we had). It is obvious He is taking me seriously when I tell Him it is His church and I want Him to build it the way He wants.

Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, Praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:46-47)