“Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.”
(Galatians 2:10, ESV)
Sometimes in our zeal to build the church we can turn the church into an empire rather than the gathering of people who are in need. When we do this, we will fail in our effort to take the gospel to those in darkness and we will end up stifling the ministry we hope to build. Focusing all our efforts on numerical growth, for growth’s sake is a downward spiral. Some have done well at building a large empire, but they have lost the heart for the people. This is a sad and unfortunate failure. It does not follow the ministry and heart of Jesus.
For a second, consider Jesus’ ministry. He spent three years primarily preparing a handful of men for the work of building the church. The church, the ekklesia, are the called-out assembly of God’s people. She is not a literal building neither is she an empire to the glory of man.
Consider the model of ministry that Jesus demonstrated to the disciples. They observed as He ministered to the people. Look at how Matthew described the heart of Jesus.
“And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:35–36, ESV)
“When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” (Matthew 14:14, ESV)
“Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”” (Matthew 15:32, ESV)
Notice that Jesus “had compassion” for the multitudes. Because of His great compassion He cared for the needs of the people. He did teach them the truth of the kingdom, the gospel. Yet, because of his compassion, He also healed their diseases and afflictions, and fed the hungry.
The model that Jesus demonstrated for ministry was not one of empire building, but of ministry to people. This means compassionate care for true needs of the masses. Of course, the greatest needs are spiritual. However, the church cannot overlook the physical and emotional needs of people for ministry is to the total person, the body, soul, and spirit.
The Jerusalem leaders and Paul clearly got the picture of true ministry to the church. By definition the church is the people of God. They are divinely placed under the care of the leaders of the local church. Remember that Jesus charged Peter to care for Hid sheep. This degree of care only happens when there love for the people.
Unfortunately, today many have moved the church to a business model patterned by the system of this world. It is one where bigger is better, where numerical growth is the symbol of success. The problem with this is not that large or numerical growth is bad. The problem is that the heart of the church can become corrupted and improperly focused. It is a subtle, deceptive, and dangerous trap to love the empire more than the people.
Let us in the church guard our hearts against such a problem. Let us love the Lord our God and the people who comprise His body, the church. Jesus demonstrated this for us and we see this heart of compassion in the early church. Great growth did happen through the ministry of the Jerusalem leaders and Paul, but it happened because they had hearts of compassion for the people.
Renewing the Heart 