I’ve been sharing some of the top viewed blogs of 2011, and today’s seems especially appropriate as we head into the Christmas season. At our church, we’re expecting thousands of people to make professions of faith in Christ this week in our worship experiences.
And I will unapologetically publicly celebrate each and every one. Here’s why:

We are all about the numbers

I get asked all the time if Elevation is all about the numbers.
Let me just clarify something:
Our church is all about the numbers.

The number of lives that Jesus can permeate and penetrate with the gospel.
The number of marriages that can be restored.
The number of teenagers following the Lord.
The number of depressed people that can find hope in Jesus.
The number of dads who don’t give their kids any attention who will learn to order their lives by the Word of God and start prioritizing their families.

What else matters? What else should we be about?

This might come as a shock to a lot of people, but measuring numbers and putting an emphasis on them isn’t a new phenomenon. 2000 years ago, Luke by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote:
41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day…47 And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Acts 2:41, 47

Apparently God is all about the numbers. So I want to be, too. And so should you.

It’s unacceptable to me as a pastor that we would stop growing when the Lord wants to add to our number daily those who are being saved. And in order for that to happen, we need to track every scrap of statistical data at our disposal. We’ve got to make sure we’re measuring ministry numbers to measure our effectiveness and enlarge the Kingdom of God. I don’t want to waste a single dollar or second on a program, piece of equipment, or ministry position that isn’t the best option for reaching the most people.

You might be averse to numbers for a number of reasons.

Maybe you don’t like the idea of big crowds. If that’s the case, you wouldn’t have liked the New Testament Church. And you really won’t like heaven.

Maybe you think it steals away from discipleship. It’s possible. But it’s just as possible for that to happen in a church of 10 people as it is in a church of 10,000.

Whatever your reason is, remember: every number is indicative of a story.
Personally, I don’t want to put a cap on the number of stories God wants to redeem. Especially when I read this:
9 I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God.”
Revelation 7:9-10

Now that’s a number worth shooting for. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to wait until I die to see this. I want to see this partially fulfilled in my lifetime. More people worshipping Jesus than I can count.

I want to see a little heaven on earth through Elevation Church. Through every church. I think it’s what God wants too.

And that’s why we’re all about the numbers.

Looking back at some of my top viewed blogs posts of this past year, I’ve decided to post a few that people really seemed to enjoy. Here’s one that got a lot of response. Check it out.

The Real Competition

One of the biggest dangers that any church faces when trying to reach people who are far from God is comparing itself to other churches.

How good your preaching is compared to them.
How good your worship experiences are compared to them.
How good your videos are compared to them.

This is dangerous. But probably not for the reasons you’re thinking. Yes, the dangers of jealousy and competition are there. But that’s not what I’m talking about.

It’s dangerous because if you want to reach other people for Christ, your competition isn’t other churches. It isn’t a matter of if you have better music than other churches. Better videos than other churches. Even better community than other churches. That’s not your standard of comparison.

Why? Because none of the people you’re trying to reach are going to those churches. When a lost person walks out your doors, their first thought probably isn’t going to be “man, that was better than that other church.” They haven’t been to that other church. Or possibly any church.

The point of comparison for lost people are things that lost people see. That lost people listen to. That lost people experience.

That’s your real competition. So for example, when we decorate for Christmas, I don’t want it to be as good or better than other churches in town. I want it to be as good or better than anything they’d see at the best mall in town. Because that is what every person who has never stepped foot inside of a church before is consciously or unconsciously comparing us to.

Now we do have something that is incomparable and unbeatable: Jesus Christ. I’m not saying we have to make Him look better because He’s not up to the job. And obviously the movement of the Holy Spirit is not dependent on how we measure up to the outside world.

However, we do have to communicate Jesus through certain mediums. I believe these mediums should actually live up to the message and person they’re communicating. And be something that people can relate to. So all of them have to be at their best.

Some people might think that this is shallow. And yes, it is shallow. But that’s where people are, and we have to meet them there. Or we might meet them nowhere.

I’d rather be considered shallow and be surrounded by people who have found life in Christ than be considered deep and be alone. Or surrounded only by people who knew Jesus long before they ever knew me. Lost people can’t become deep Christians until they first become Christians period.

And if part of making that happen means us raising our game and showing the world that the people of God can be just as creative and excellent in what they produce, why would we hesitate to do so?

As 2011 comes to an end, I’ve decided to revisit some of my top viewed blogs of this year. This post seemed to challenge and encourage people to act in faith. Check it out.

Shut Up and Get Moving

14 “The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” 15 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.”
Exodus 14:14-15

Exodus 14:14 is by far one of the most misinterpreted verses in the Bible.

Most of us, including myself, have looked at it as a faith infusing verse of what we should do when we need help or a breakthrough. When we’re looking for God to do something big. Or when we’re waiting to see God bring something into our lives.

Be still. Let the Lord fight the battle for you. Let go and let God.
In short, do nothing.

There’s just one problem with that: verse 15.

In verse 14 Moses tells the people that God will fight for them and to be still. But in verse 15 God comes in and immediately contradicts Moses. He doesn’t tell them to stand still. He tells them to shut up and get moving. Into the sea.

Moses was wrong. In isolation, verse 14 is wrong. Yes, God’s going to fight for them. But it won’t be while they’re standing there and doing nothing. It’s in the parted sea. It’s while they’re moving that God will be fighting.

Sometimes it can be easy to mistake patience for what’s really passivity.
Faith for what could be laziness. Or even faithlessness.

Sometimes it can be easy to think that we should stand still and cry out when God’s actually looking for us to shut up and get moving. Not to do everything on our own, obviously. But to realize that faith isn’t necessarily sitting and waiting for God to do everything on His own for you. God fights while you move.

For example, if you’re unemployed it isn’t faith for you to stay at home and watch the Price is Right while praying during commercial breaks and expecting God to throw a job into your lap. Faith is updating your resume. Getting your butt out the door. And applying for jobs. Let God fight for you in your job search.

You could apply this to pretty much every area of your life. Relationships. Finances. Major life decisions.

Faith isn’t passive. It’s active. If you don’t believe me, go read Hebrews 11. I defy you to find me one verse that says, “By faith, they watched.” It’s always by faith, they moved. By faith, they did.

That’s because faith is knowing who God is and acting accordingly.
And then watching Him act accordingly.

In February 2012, I have the honor of preaching at C3 Dallas/Fort Worth in Grapevine, TX. No conference has had a greater impact on the leadership and culture of Elevation Church and I’m excited to be coming back.

I recorded a little video about the impact this conference and Ed & Lisa Young have had on me and our church.

I’d advise you to get as many people as you can afford on a plane or in a van to attend C3 on February 15-17 – it may make all the difference for you this year.

You and your team can register here.

You can also join the conversation about C3 on twitter @C3_2012.

See you in February.