Numbers?

    

Why are we obsessed with numbers? Have we no fear? I am reminded of God’s command that Israel’s kings were not to number their people, and yet in promotional piece after promotional piece I read that pastors have churches with this many or that many thousand people. I am reminded of David’s sin when he numbered Israel. Have we no fear?

It seems to me that while there may be legitimate reasons to know numbers, just as there are legitimate reasons to know how much money was given in an offering, that we ought to fear numbers as we should fear our egos and our propensity to trust in numbers. And to use numbers to market a ministry or to attract others to a church? Where is Biblical precedent for that practice and thinking? 

Adolescent Christianity

I think there is a difference between Adolescent Christianity and Pagan Christianity that we often fail to realize. Adolescent Christianity is immature, Pagan Christianity is dangerous. Yes, adolescents can be dangerous, but with guidance they’ll grow out of it.

When I think of Adolescent Christianity I think of 1 Corinthians Chapter 14; the Corinthians were acting like children and adolescents in their thinking and experience of spiritual gifts. Paul uses an entirely different tone with them than he does, for example, with the false teachers in the books of Galatians and 2 Corinthians. We often treat adolescent Christians as if they were engaging in pagan practices and were false teachers (false teachers in the Biblical sense, in the sense we see Paul, Peter, and John approach the subject of false teachers). To be sure adolescent practices, if left unchecked, can lead to pagan practices – but that is a danger we all face. A pagan practice need not be overt such as an obsession with experience, a pagan practice may also be an obsession with intellect in order to be accepted in the academy. The world is the world is the world.

Jesus must ever be our story and song, our life and joy, our reason for living. My experience may deceive me, my intellect may seduce me, but Jesus will always be my deliverer from myself and His Word must always be my guide.