Men and the Kingdoms of Men - Part 3

What I speak about next is an area I have personally struggled with. I feel that every pastor at one time in their life had to struggle with this if they are honest. Sadly, victims may not even know they have fallen into this pit. This is simply called "kingdom building."

I believe that since we have an invisible God with an invisible kingdom, we often seek to fill the void of invisibility with visible things that show us the existence of God. In my own experience, this was seen in several things: the numbers, the property/material and the praise.

The numbers is by far the hardest war a pastor must battle with. We do desire to see the faith growing in our community. This is seen through changed lives. However, it can become an addiction. We move from letting God change hearts to "helping him out." We try to force God through big shows, fancy productions, amazing outreaches to get more and more and more. Soon we fall more in love with bigger numbers than genuine heart change. It seems the conversions at the beginning are very geniune whereas at the point of numbers addiction, they become watered down and uncertain. I don't blame those who believe they are converted. I blame those who tell them they are because they prayed, when the person may not be converted at all. Soon, the church becomes a factory pumping out bigger and bigger numbers that are (pardon my crassness) "cheaper faultier product." Small churches may not see the numbers, but at least there is deep and genuine discipleship involved.

The property and the material really are the same thing. We often prove the invisible work of God with the visible prosperity of the world. We build massive buildings, flaunt amazing multimedia equipment, show off our coffee shops and bookstores, have gymnasiums for our kids, and so much more. These are great tools, but again...we often and somehow translate these as signs of God's blessings on our ministries. Granted, God provides funds, but he can also provide funds for me to misuse on my own personal materialistic desires. Why is it that we flaunt off our equipment as the standard for all churches? Does this mean the small church can't possibly have an impact on others unless they have big buildings and enough lighting to light a Broadway show? Why are we proud? Is not the true sign of God's work changed lives, not 3 sets of Roland V-Drums and video production?

Finally, the praise. Again, I speak to this as one who has been guilty of this in the past. We often look for praise from people as a sign of our effectiveness. We somehow get tricked into thinking that success comes from us. Sometimes we will say, "It's all God," yet in our heart of hearts, we can't even imagine how he would have done it without us. I've seen so many new youth leaders who come out of Bible college thinking they are the next great youth pastor because of the accolades of their students. They believe they will change the world and that its about how great they are. They are soon humbled by God through any series of reality.

Being a leader is hard work especially in a ministry. We need encouragement and affirmation. However, when we begin to need encouragement from our people, it to can be an addiction. This is also seen when a leader will not take criticism or disloyalty from his staff or his people. It becomes a huge problem when the leader attempts to silence his critics. True leadership knows that they will be hated, but still serves those who hate him. Though he won't listen to every critic, he will understand there will always be dissenters. This is seen so clearly in the life of Moses as the children of Israel time after time complained and bickered. Moses stood firm and kept moving forward. He didn't cast off any who questioned him as leader.

I worry when we start looking at material things and numbers as a sign of God's hand. True...he does bring both of those, but if it becomes our obsession it becomes about us and the establishment of our kingdom instead of God doing what God will through willing men. We are representatives of an invisible kingdom. Our buildings will fall apart and be sold. Our lights and cameras are temporary. But the invisible...the souls of men...stand. If we put our drive into the invisible with the tenacity that we put into the visible, we will see change. One thing is for sure. I've seen many lives changed by God in my ministry with no technology, no fancy buildings, no flat screen TV's, no coffee shops, no satellite campus, and very little giving. I didn't need to bribe God to bring souls to him. He does what he does through rocks, donkeys, children...whoever he desires.