As a kid, I was fascinated with how scoreboards worked … their size, the amount of information they included, and even whether or not they had a digital clock or an old school time dial.
So maybe it’s no surprise that more times than I care to admit I see ministry through the lens of a scoreboard.
And the Monday morning scoreboard is blissfully simple:
How many people came?
How much money did they give?
Attendance and offerings. Measuring participation, commitment, and momentum.
Like I said, blissfully simple.
And exceedingly deceptive.
Because it’s not about the church. It’s about the world. After all, Jesus didn’t say “for God so loved the church … “
Because it’s not about the church. It’s about he kingdom. After, Jesus didn’t pray, “thy church come, thy will be done … “
So if it’s ultimately all about the kingdom of God entering the world of men and woman, our Monday morning scoreboard might ask some different questions:
Instead of asking “how good is our church?” we’d ask “how good is our community because our church is in it?”
Instead of asking “how strong is our youth ministry?” we’d ask “how strong are the teens in our community because our students are in it?”
Instead of asking “why aren’t more people in church?” we’d ask “why aren’t more church people out in the community?”
That’s a different way of keeping score indeed.