5 Reasons to Pray Your Church Would Grow Slowly - by AARON MENIKOFF

Found here. Our comments in bold.
-----------------

The purpose of writing such an article as this is inexplicable. The author's five reasons are superficial and unbiblical.
--------------

If you’re a pastor, what you’re about to read may seem strange. As you think about your ministry, I’d encourage you to pray for slow growth.

Our temptation is to want fast and furious growth. Sometimes this happens. God’s hand of revival has fallen more than once. In 18th- and 19th-century America, revival hit many cities, greatly multiplying the number of genuine believers. In the 21st century, countries in Africa and East Asia have seen a dramatic rise in the number of Christians. (Having ceded his argument, the author will now pivot to negating what he assented to.)

God can and does move dramatically. He’s alive and he’s powerful, and we should pray for revival. But a good desire for numerical growth should never eclipse a willingness to be patient. (Is is really an issue of numerical growth vs. patience? We would think that since it is God who brings souls into His kingdom, He does so according to His perfect will. It has nothing to do with human will.

1Co. 3:6-7 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.

God builds His church. There is nothing wrong to pray for its increase.)

A number of years ago, I listened in awe to a pastor lay out his vision for the future of his church. He planned to see 100 campuses, 100,000 members, and 1,000 church plants—all in ten years. My jaw hit the floor as I pondered his (I trust well-intentioned) ambition.

His chutzpah impressed me, but I wondered whether in the midst of his passion for numbers he’d forgotten the parable of the mustard seed. God tends to move slowly and quietly. (Let's quote the Scriptures:

Lk. 13:18-19 Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? 19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches.”

Lk. 17:6 He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, `Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

Does the reader see anywhere in these Scriptures where God tends to move slowly and quietly? Is it even true that God tends to move this way? It seems clear the author is misusing these Scriptures.)

There are good reasons for this. There’s virtue in being patient and in embracing—even wanting—slow and steady growth.

Consider five reasons to pray for slow growth.

1. Quality is better than quantity.

(This is a false choice. We do not accept the idea that quantity must be bad quality. Both are possible. 

We are thankful that Peter did not have this mentality:

Ac. 2:41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. 

The early church certainly didn't act this way:

Ac. 2:46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.)

Many pastors eager to see their churches grow quickly aren’t as careful as they should be to ensure new members are genuine believers. (Perhaps this is a problem, but it's more a matter of who are in positions of leadership than who is attending or even a member. Godly men ought to be in leadership. Their job is to disciple and build up the people into maturity of faith.)

When I was a younger pastor and someone showed interest in my church, I tended to overlook red flags. If mine was the fifth church they’d joined in 10 years, I’d think, Aha, he’s finally found a good church, instead of, Oh no, there may be something going on in his heart I need to pursue. I’m not at all suggesting leaders should set the bar for church membership so high that it’s hard for anyone to join. I’m simply suggesting patient leaders will care more about carefully shepherding a brother or sister into the flock than simply seeing the flock grow larger. (Membership is an issue apart from church growth. There is no requirement to make members, only to make disciples.)

2. Quality growth is likely lasting growth.

Consider Proverbs 13:11: “Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gains little by little will increase it.” How you gain wealth matters. The process and even the rate of accumulation is important. The more disciplined you are in gaining wealth, the more likely you are to spend wisely and keep that wealth.

There’s a reason so many lottery winners eventually go bankrupt. Remember that pastor I mentioned who longed for so many campuses and members and church plants? Ten years after casting such a bold vision, he had nothing to show for it. It’s easy to grow discouraged when you see only a tiny trickle of people joining your church. But if the trickle represents solid growth, it’s much likelier to be there years from now. (We are at loss to ascertain what joining a church has to do with church growth, or why quality is an issue here. It sounds like the author wants to build a little empire rather than grow a church.)

3. Large churches come with large problems.

(This is even more perplexing. What requirement is there to not have problems in church, where not wanting people to be added to the number is a solution?)

There’s a principle in economics called economies of scale. A business can save costs by increasing production. McDonald’s can sell inexpensive french fries because it buys so many pounds of potatoes. Long story short, businesses that grow large are almost always more efficient.

But churches are not factories. God didn’t design them to be efficient, and pastors simply looking to serve more people won’t necessarily serve those people well. (Where in the Bible does it tell us that pastors are the ones who serve the people?)

For example, it’s efficient to create a small-group program, but that program will never replace the need for one-on-one pastoral counseling. (Where in the Bible does it call for pastors to engage in one-on-one counseling?)

A marriage retreat will serve many couples at once, but there’ll always be couples who need more intensive help. Whether you’re preaching to 50 or 500, your sermon preparation time will be the same. (Where in the Bible does is say that pastors are the ones to deliver sermons?)

But as your church grows, your pastoral demands will grow as well. (The author doesn't seem to understand the concept of Body ministry. It isn't the pastor's job to be the go-to guy. It's the job of the church to raise up and install capable, mature people to do these things.)

It’ll be increasingly difficult to capably shepherd the flock of God. I’m not suggesting it’s better to pastor a small church. But regardless of your ministry’s size, Paul’s exhortation to the Ephesian elders should weigh on your soul: “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers” (Acts 20:28). The words that stand out to me in that verse are “careful” and “all.” Pastoral ministry is highly inefficient work. (The author quotes a relevant Scripture finally, but glosses over the fact that it is the elders, not the pastor, who oversees the church:

1Pe. 5:1-3 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow-elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers — not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

Pastoring does not get easier as the church grows. (Apparently easiness is a desirable thing, and ensuring that easiness by slow church growth fosters this easiness.)

4. Your ability to shepherd well will grow with time.

(Apparently a church should not grow faster than the pastor's abilities. Again, there is nothing in the Bible which teaches such a thing.)

Shepherds are, first and foremost, Christians. We’re all in the process of being sanctified—which is slow, gradual work (Heb. 10:14; Phil. 1:6; 1 Cor. 1:18; Col. 3:9–10). And our ability to shepherd will grow with time because we are growing with time.

Some men are well-suited to step into a large church and meet its large needs. Some are well-suited to be stewards of explosive, numerical growth. But most of us are not. Most of us need more time to grow and mature. (Actually leaders in the church need to purposefully disciple future leaders so that the burden will be carried by many. The pastor at the top of the pyramid is not a biblical model.)

You cannot microwave wisdom.

5. Truly faithful churches, of whatever size, are beautiful.

Whether your congregation is bursting at the seams or one crisis away from folding, the fundamental mark of success is not size but faithfulness. It’s worth noting that, physically speaking, Jesus was unimpressive:

He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isa. 53:2–3) (?? So far the author has not been able to produce a single relevant Scripture that documents his thesis.)

We live in a world that idolizes speed, size, and flash. This isn’t the Christ I worship, and it’s not the church in which I want to worship. Huge congregations don’t need to apologize for being large, and tiny congregations shouldn’t feel inferior for being small. In David’s day and ours, the Lord looks at the heart—and that includes the heart of churches (1 Sam. 16:7).

Frailty and Faithfulness

If you long to see your church grow quickly, that is not a bad desire. (Again the author cedes. Why then did he write this article?)

And God may see fit to grow your church in a remarkable way! He’s done so in the past with men like Chrysostom, Spurgeon, Keller, and Chandler (and countless others). But however big your church is, may it always reflect the frailty and faithfulness of our Savior—always humble, always dependent on the Spirit, always willing to be rejected by the world. (The author continues to astonish us. We do not worship a frail savior. He is King of kings, seated at the right hand of the Majesty. He has all power, authority, and wisdom. He is glorious and exalted.)

And if your church is not growing the way you desire, well, that may actually be good thing. Keep praying. Keep plodding. Keep going for the glory of his name.