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From touchandchange.com Bible Studies “Exponential Growth” Has an exponential number of errors as a church growth model
In being asked to lead the church I pastor in the 40 days of Purpose events that many are doing… I saw an amazing video….this is one of the things that many have said make the 40 Days conference so successful. The topic Exponential Thinking….
This video is intended for pastors who are preparing for their “Purpose-Driven” church program. In this 20 minute presentation, Rick Warren departs from sound hermeneutics over and over again and travels down a path of church growth that I can't find to be Biblical. Now as a Southern Baptist I have grown up with all sorts of gimmicks and plans for fancy church growth strategies…but I was scratching my head as I watched and heard this presentation.
Here are some things Warren said in the first few minutes:
“…Most important principal - exponential thinking.”
“If you want God to do something really big in your church, you're going to have to apply the principals of exponential thinking as taught in the Bible.”
“The Lord clearly put an idea in my mind...God spoke to me that my faith was not big enough..."you must think exponentially" was the thought that God kept putting in my mind.”
Now, my first thought is, “what is exponential thinking?” He is asserting that it is “the most important principal” and so it is fair to examine this term as he defines it. Essentially, Warren claims exponential thinking is “adding a zero” to whatever number you have in mind. Seriously, in a nutshell that is what the video and the whole thing was about.
Let’s put this in context. Warren is introducing a church growth strategy and claims this term is the most important principal.
What is the church? Is the church an organization? Is it a business? Is it a non-profit benevolence organization? Is it a counseling center? No, the church is the living Body of Christ. (And I am passionate about the Body of Christ being effective in the world and I want the Body of Christ to be obedient to what God tells us to do and be)
It is not an organization; it is an organism. Christ is the head and He is the responsible for its growth. Consider Acts 2:46-47: So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
It seems clear to me that the “most important principal” of church growth is the sovereign oversight of the Lord Jesus Christ. Warren’s strategy of exponential thinking warps God’s role as the One Who ultimately grows His church. No amount of strategies, gimmicks, persuasion or promises will result in true church growth. Our sovereign Lord is the One responsible for that. I think for the church to be a success, which has very little to do with numbers, nickels, and noses, simply adding a zero to whatever number you have in your head is not really Biblical…it is good old positive thinking. While we should always be optimistic and try to have a postive and healthy outlook on living and ministry...be sure not to make it a church growth strategy.
For example, if you think your church should start five small groups…according to this exponential method, you should add a zero and aim for 50 groups! Positive thinking…yes…Biblical thinking…not really.
When Warren says “if you want God to do something really big…” then you have to think exponentially. Also, he says “God spoke to me that my faith wasn’t big enough.” I have to admit, when I saw him make these statements I instantly thought of the type of televangelism one sees on TBN any given day of the week. Nonetheless, he claims God gave Him 10 principles related to exponential growth. They are:
Exponential growth is possible - Gen. 47:27
With his first point, Warren begins the train wreck of faulty exegesis.
So Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly
Here we have a passage taken out of context and an attempt is made to apply it to a specific church growth program promise. The Genesis passage simply states a fact; the children of Israel multiplied exceedingly, even exponentially. However, this is directly tied to the fact that God specifically told Abraham that they would! There is nothing revelatory here. There is nothing related to Warren’s “40 Days of Purpose” program here. Warren also mentions Starbucks and Krispy Kreme as examples of why we should expect our churches to grow exponentially. Instead of recognizing that the church is not a business, he compares it to two fast-growth companies. The church is either a business or it is a living organism operating in faith. It can’t be both….that is not the way it works and it is not Biblical.
Exponential growth is the New Testament model – Acts 6:7
Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith
Warren takes a general statement about the Body of Christ and applies it to individual congregations. Has the church grown exponentially since the book of Acts? Certainly.
Should we expect that same growth in each congregation? Nothing says we should. By God’s Providence, there are Christian churches in nearly every community of America. Many of these communities are very small. Some of them are in dying towns. Is it reasonable for a small, God-honoring church in a small town to experience exponential growth? I would say no. At least by the Purpose Driven standards.
Does this mean the pastor’s faith is deficient? I don’t think so.
Calling exponential growth a New Testament model is only accurate if one refers to the body of Christ as a whole and not individual congregations.
Exponential growth brings honor to God – Is. 26:15
Thou hast increased the nation, O LORD, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth
This point is almost unnecessary. No one questions the truth of what is stated here. The passage in Isaiah is looking toward the prophetic reality that Israel would be increased after their captivity. God would not forget them and He would restore them and return growth. God will receive honor for that. There is no direct application to an individual congregation here. Worse, he makes the following statement regarding this point:
“We limit God when we think of addition instead of multiplication...God wants us to think in multiplication terms”
He does? Where does God say that in His Word? The viewer is asked to accept this statement at face value without any support whatsoever. I think God will bless our obedience…He has promised to do so…but He can do what He wants and can do it when He wants to. I really don’t have the ability to limit God. I can rob myself of all that God wants to do for me when I am disobedient…without a doubt…but this has nothing to do with addition or multiplication….or well, I think you get the point….
Exponential growth captures the attention of the unbelieving world – Ex. 1:12
But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel
In context….The Egyptian task-masters were laying a heavy burden on the enslaved Hebrews. Because of the promise God made to Abraham the children of Israel continued to magnify in numbers in spite of their maltreatment. The Egyptians were grieved because they witnessed this fact. Hurling this into the culture of the day Rick asks…“Wouldn't you like people...to be alarmed because your church is growing so fast?”
I would rather people notice the way the church was influencing the culture and community it ministers in. That has little to do with numerical growth and nothing to do with exponential growth. It is more of a visibility issue. I would like to catch the attention not by how many are moving inside the walls but by what they are doing outside the walls!
Exponential growth is caused by God – Deut. 1:10
The Lord your God has multiplied you, and here you are today, as the stars of heaven in multitude
This passage is related to Israel, just as was the case in earlier points. Nonetheless, his statement, “exponential growth is caused by God” is unarguably true. So…. If exponential growth is caused by God, then there is no reason to teach it or program it by adding a zero to the end of your goals. That isn’t Biblical and this very passage states that.
Exponential Growth is the result of God's blessing on your life – Is. 51:2
Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.
You are seeing a pattern of using promises to Abraham to explain this philosophy of church growth. However, this is using Scripture in ways that just aren’t accurate. There is a trend that many pastor/teachers use where they approach the Word of God piecemeal instead of verse by verse and in context, if you don’t take the time to balance it in context there is a danger of serious interpretative errors. This is a perfect example.
Exponential Growth makes God smile. He rewards it – no scripture reference
In the study Warren referenced the parable of the talents after presenting this point. Perhaps the reader has noticed what I noticed – if exponential growth is caused by God (see point 5) and if it brings God honor (point 3), then why is God rewarding man for it?
It seems that we are finding how to cause exponential growth to occur but then we are told it is all up to God. After saying it is all up to God we here that God will reward us for doing it. This is contradictory and confusing, at best.
The only barrier to exponential growth is our own unbelief – Mark 6:52
For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened
There is nothing in the above verse that relates to whether or not a local church will experience a specific amount of growth. Does our lack of faith limit God? No, certainly not. Does our lack of faith limit our effectiveness or restrict what God may do through us? That question deserves careful theological consideration. On at least one occasion our Lord limited the miracles that he did based on a lack of man’s faith (Mark 6:5, 6).
Also we cannot grow spiritually if we harden our hearts (that is what the passage is saying) We can also miss out on seeing Jesus (again a part of what the passage is talking about) But to imply that believing will cause exponential growth is a brand of theology that televangelists have used for years. Rick Warren is not that type of minister, nor does he lead that type of minisitry...which is why we have to balance what is being taught on this topic.
However lets deal with this issue, we can be sure it doesn’t apply as suggested at least not as we find it in this passage.
The secret of exponential growth is believing God for big things – Mat. 9:29; James 5:16
Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.”
Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
Warren’s promise in this point is contingent upon the validity of the concept of “exponential growth.” As we are discovering, the entire premise is wrong and, therefore, this comment is irrelevant. The passages he has provided are particularly instructive here. It is true that our belief in God can/will result in “big things”. Healing, blessings, answered prayers, forgiveness, grace, and salvation are essential biblical elements. Applying them to a local church growth program is something else entirely.
Exponential Growth begins with exponential thinking – Is. 4:2,3
In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. 3 And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem
I am unable to find the connection between Warren’s tenth point and this passage from Isaiah. It probably is just me...or I may have been so busy trying to catch my breath from the first points that I just can't process this last one.
When I read statements like these, I think immediately of Norman Vincent Peale or Robert Schuller. There is a type of “change reality with your thoughts” from the charismatic word faith heresy. But I don’t think that is the intention of Warren at this point. I believe that he has taken his own personal style of leadership for Saddleback Church and used some of the philosophies that they have found useful and shared them. There is no harmful intent at all in what is being done.
The problem is that while they may be sound and work at Saddleback you cannot assume that they become universal Biblically true models and methods for growth. That stretches the idea and concept too far. And that is where many have fallen victim to being purpose driven. You have to take what will work and toss out what does not....and make it work in your place of leadership and service.
Unfortunately, the popularity of his books and programs appear to have numbed the doctrinal discernment of some and perhaps we have crossed the line from doing effective ministry to programming. Remember the call of Christ is to do ministry not mimickry.
As if these ten points aren’t enough, the video teaching continues….Warren then spends a couple of minutes explaining how to utilize exponential thinking. Here are some quotes:
“How do you think exponentially? You simply put a zero behind the number.”
He said God said to him, "you are not thinking big enough - add a zero". Instead of 3000, think of 30,000. He recommends we do this in our events. “God would have to show up...force us to think in ways we've never thought before.”
“Exponential thinking keeps you from making the mistake of setting up a system that won't get bigger.” He said the church is “stuck in a shoe that isn't able to get any bigger.” This is due to our faulty thinking.
"Pastors and leaders...you are limiting the growth of your church because you haven't set a goal that forces you to think out of the box and ... do things in new ways." "We may be limiting God's will for our churches." “Faith stretches us...works in the realm of the impossible...whatsoever is not of faith is sin."
Ouch! Those quotes are tough….because they just skid right off the Biblical roadway.
So….don’t get caught up in this exponential thinking. The theology is bad and it just doesn’t hold up. Don’t get frustrated as a pastor or if your pastor doesn’t want to travel down this road. There are good Biblical reasons to stay far away from it. I could give you another 12….or that would be 120 exponentially…..
Instead I would suggest that you kick back, put on a Hawaiian style shirt, lose your socks, and relax and get comfortable (or if you are more comfortable in a suit and tie then wear that) and get busy being obedient, praying, trusting, and following God’s Word in growing as a believer and leading your church ministry. God will bless that….however He wants to…..and you can’t begin to even count that kind of blessing!
Now that you have read this summary you can take 20 minutes and watch the actual presentation. Remember, the things we are sharing here are reasons that this concept is just not anything more than positive and optimistic thinking and planning. Just so you know that we have not tried to misquote or misrepresent the things being taugh here is a direct link to this section of the purpose driven website http://www.purposedriven.com/content.aspx?id=4903
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