The Reformation Project: Thesis 9

9. Given that Jesus’ message and manner of teaching sometimes resulted in people turning away from him (see, for example, John 6), one should not take numerical success or failure as any kind of evidence of faithfulness to God or the blessing of God.

There are many churches that reject the prosperity gospel (if you obey God, he will make you healthy, wealthy, and wise) that nonetheless believe it in a different form. They believe that their numerical growth proves -- more or less -- that God is blessing. God must be doing something, they argue, look at all of these people. Churches that are declining, on the other hand, must be cold and dead. God is not blessing them.

I heard a lot of this growing up, when this way of thinking was used to contrast the differing directions of liberal and more conservative denominations and churches. Liberal decline, it was said, was evidence that they had abandoned the gospel. Conservative growth proves divine blessing.

The fact that conservative denominations have plateaued (even as liberal ones have seen accelerated decline) has perhaps chastened this perspective, though it remains a part of individual churches and ministries. It also continues in a different form: we have plateaued due to lack of faithfulness -- if we got busy again with the Lord's work, we would have great growth.

I suppose that it should also be mentioned that some people will take decline as proof of faithfulness -- we are declining because we don't go along with the culture. This also may be narrow thinking.

Even while we hope for God's blessing on our work, we should recognize that growth might be longed for, but it in and of itself doesn't prove God's blessing. In some cases, at least, faithfulness to Christ might result in a period of decline, not the opposite. So it was with the ministry of Jesus in John 6. His refusal to give material bread while proclaiming himself the bread of life did not go over well with the crowd. That crowd abandoned him.

Jesus asked the core group of disciples if they would also go away. The answer indicated possible discomfort with what Jesus had taught, but with no doubt as to where they must remain: "where would we go? You have the words of life."

So He does. Our task is to faithfully proclaim that word, praying that God will bless that proclamation with souls that will receive it.

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