This week I ran across two quotes that struck me. Both deal with seeds and the idea of garden…
“Only God can make a tree, but I’m in charge of seeds and weeds!” – Author unknown
Have you ever heard of a numbering system loving referred to as a “preacher’s count”? This is a numbering of people where a preacher looks out into a vast auditorium, effectively counts how many people are in attendance, and then adds 10% for good measure. Or maybe he just rounds up to the nearest 10, 50, or 100. Regardless, it is always thought that a “preacher’s count” is a high estimate.
We all have probably ran across someone who employs this method of counting, but my question is why? Why do we preachers (and others that just want to sound righteous) round up the counting?
I think the simple answer to this is ego. We want to sound more effective. We tie our value to the amount we are overseeing. We convince ourselves that we have more clout and will receive more respect if we round up the number we have led to Christ this year from 12 to 20… or how many our in our congregation from 410 to “about 500″.
I guess this is where this quote struck me. I have to consciously make it a point not to get caught up in the numbers game. You see, sometimes I get it in my head that I am responsible for the growing of a soul (or a tree for that matter). But Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:6 points to this truth saying… “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.”
God is the only one who can be credited for the growth. But he recruits us to help with the planting, the watering, and sometimes even taking care of the weeds. This leads to the second quote I ran across…
“I ask not for a larger garden, but for finer seeds.” – Russell H. Conwell
We don’t normally buy 2 Liter bottles of Coke for our family. Instead, we purchase the cans. Why? Well, we are not in the habit of drinking too much Coke, we like it occasionally. The problem with the bottle is that before we can finish all 2 liters it has gone flat. We end up throwing away the last portion that has “gone bad.” I would rather have a smaller quantity that has better quality.
I would say that the same principle could (and even should) apply in our churches. I believe that too many times when we pray for our churches to grow, we mean numerically. Maybe we should pray for more spiritual growth with the ones we’ve got. Who knows, maybe God will provide the growth in both areas.
I pray we remember our job is to plant and water.