What is a successful church? That’s hard to quantify isn’t it. If we were to poll a hundred Christians about their church, if it is a success or not, what kind of things would they look at? What measurements? What statistics? What characteristics?
The first thing they would mention is attendance. “Yes, our church is successful because we have a lot of people. Our building is full.” Or maybe, “No, we aren’t quite successful. We haven’t grown in a while.”
But is that a good idea of success? Just getting people through the door?
Maybe they would say its successful because the services are really good, the musicians are really talented, the preaching is really dynamic. “That’s a successful church! Because I really like it.”
But is that a good idea of success? Your personal enjoyment?
We’ve been looking at what it means to be a real success in life. It seems to me that Jesus would look at my life and call me “successful” when I am down here being the best husband I can be, an active loving and present father, and a pastor who deeply loves his church. Jesus modeled that for me. And he modeled it for you!
Success – true success – is not measured in statistics but in servanthood. Is it any different for a church?
When you talk to people about your church, I imagine you get asked, “What church do you go to?” That’s a great question, but it misses the mark if we’re really looking at true success. Going to church was not the goal of Jesus. Being the church was. I know, I know…it would be really awkward to ask someone, “What church do you be?” But the point is, if we only define ourselves by where we go, we miss out on a large chunk of what the church is all about.
Success is all about a destination, an arrival. When we talk about where we go to church, we’re thinking in those terms. You rarely hear anything in the New Testament about where people go to church. It’s more about what they do along the way. It’s journey over arrival.
Take a look at some of the hallmarks of a church that is following Christ the right way, centered on what Jesus made important:
- “Loving each other” (John 15:12)
- “Meeting each other’s needs” (1 John 3:17-18)
- “Encouraging each other and building each other up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
- “Praying together” (James 5:16)
- “Serving the poor” (Matthew 25:31-46)
- “Making disciples” (Matthew 28:19)
Those aren’t really signs of success. They’re signs of health. That’s what we need to focus on as a church, I believe. And a healthy church is supernatural in its love for one another.
Supernatural means a manifestation of event attributed to some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature. That’s a mouthful. To boil it down, the supernatural is often unexplainable even when experienced.
It’s hard to put your finger on it, but we all know it when we see it, feel it, live it. Experience it. That’s the type of love Jesus calls the church to. A love that is experienced but unexplainable.
Imagine you were there on day one, the founding of the church in Acts 2. Sings! Wonders! A holy wind and a rushing surge! And the response? You and I may think of supernatural like it’s a sci-fi epic, a novel about demons and angels, or some mysterious “other” that sets us apart. I’m not discounting the power of spiritual gifts. I just want to point out that wasn’t the focus of the first church. Their primary concern was loving each other. Getting together to share the word of God. Putting their devotion on the right things. Giving generously out of their resources.
That was the hallmark of a healthy church. And it still is. It’s hard to explain, and that’s okay. Because it’s supernatural love. It doesn’t come naturally. It’s hard to define or quantify. And it’s what I want for my church more than anything else.
The most tangible evidence for my faith in Christ is not believing the right things, my Bible reading, worship service attendance, the way I vote, the way I dress, or what I watch and don’t watch. It’s how well I love. The most important reason we get together each weekend is that it will expand our capacity to love.
How are loving this week? Who are you loving this week? And can you rely on the Spirit’s supernatural power to energize you to love more and better?
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