Comments on: Stupid Evangelical Tricks: Two Ways to Do Church

By: K.W. Leslie

K.W. Leslie — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 01:52:16 +0000

Last year we had some growth at my church, and I was castigated by some (including my pastor) because I called it “fake growth” and suggested that we start “burning deadwood.”

What we got was an influx of attendees from the local Christian university. Not fellow participants. Not contributors to the Christian life of the church. No one we could disciple; they weren’t open to that. They didn’t want to be an actual living part of our church. They had home churches.

The sort of growth you see in the larger churches consists of more and more of this type of deadwood. Unless they’re connected in some way to a smaller group, or are part of any sort of structure within the church to which they can be accountable, they aren’t really part of the body of Christ. They’re just padding it.

And if we have a nicely padded church, we won’t put in any of the effort to disciple anyone or to bring anyone to Christ. We’ll just keep entertaining the deadwood until we’re spiritually dead ourselves.

By: John Gillmartin

John Gillmartin — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 17:00:05 +0000

My heart grieves over this situation … it’s truly painful to watch a close friend spin the chamber again and again, taunting God, believing He will divinely protect you from that one loaded chamber.

By: centuri0n

centuri0n — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 15:47:32 +0000

Again, Michael: this is the right question. That is, “Is population growth more important than the actual promulgation of the Gospel by all means?” The “just one soul” quip is spot-on. Amen.

But everything turns on how we answer that question. That is where you and I part company in this discussion, and I hope we get the chance to to about it to each other rather than blog against the dying of the light.