A Numbers Game

When I was in seminary many churches printed a weekly worship bulletin and a monthly newsletter using a mimeograph machine or an offset printer (big churches had the offset, little churches the mimeograph). One trait of both was if the operator was not careful, images from previous uses could be transferred to the current print job.

One Sunday a friend who served an inner city church discovered to his dismay the local numbers game runner had used the church printing machine to run their numbers and those numbers from the numbers game were accidentally printed on the back of the worship bulletin. It seems the son of the church secretary was involved in the local illegal gambling ring and had taken advantage of his mother's employment to save the cost of printing the numbers sheets. Needless to say, the pastor was not happy.

He reminds me of most of my colleagues in ministry when it comes to any focus on numbers. They retreat to the claim, "It's just a numbers game." "All you care about is numbers. I'm interested in people and just serving in the name of Jesus."

When I was on the Bishop's Cabinet in North Georgia I was able to get inserted into the annual Ministry Review of the pastor a quantitative measurement of effectiveness including membership, attendance, giving and professions of faith. While the conference never really embraced this concept, at least it was there for a while. However, there was significant resistance to it from the cabinet and pastors and local church Pastor/Parish Relations Committees (Personnel Committees to non-United Methodist readers). Had the Bishop not been supportive, it would have never appeared on the form. However, episcopal support was not enough to transform an ingrained attitude that fully resists any quantitative measurement of effectiveness for churches or clergy. Of course the one exception to this is the payment of Apportionments. Then it is ALL about the numbers. Why? Where do you think the Conference and General Church salaries come from?

So much of the ministry of the clergy and laity is not quantitative, cannot be measured objectively. How do you measure the worth of feeding the hungry? Certainly the Gospel writers had no problem with giving an account of the number fed, but the worth cannot be measured solely in numbers. What is the value of holding the hand of a dying saint as they breathe their last? How do you measure the value of a pastoral visit in the time of greatest grief and distress? Measure the significance of a Minister to Children staying up late for several nights planning the activities of the church summer camp and its impact on the life of a single child.

Most of the acts of ministry defy objective, measurable significance. Yet we know intuitively how very important these things are to ministering in the Name of Jesus.

However, since we cannot measure the worth of most acts of ministry, it is vitally important to measure those that can be quantified. In pastoral ministry those include: Number of people served in mission, worship attendance, professions of faith, new members, giving and church membership, each stated in the order of importance.

Why do these numbers matter when most of ministry consists of activities and actions that cannot be measured? They matter precisely because most of ministry cannot be objectified. We must measure what we can in order to give greater significance to that which cannot be measured. To suggest that we EITHER focus on acts of ministry OR on numbers is "Stinking Thinking," to steal a term from Alcoholics Anonymous. This "Either/Or" mentality pervades church life and chokes off healthy engagement and effective measurement of ministry.

Imagine going to the doctor and the nurse taking your vital signs. Your blood pressure is 300 over 110. Your temperature is 106 degrees. Your pulse is 150 beats a minute. They quickly call the doctor who rushes to your aid and you say, "Oh, come on Doc. Its not about the numbers. My life is my family and my job and my golf game (or whatever makes your list)." Your doctor will quickly inform you that if strategic steps are not taken to change your numbers your family and your job and your golf score (numbers don't matter, right?) will cease to be an issue because you will be dead.

Are you a fan of baseball, the great American pastime? The number one sport in Venezuela is baseball. Many Venezuelan love their national teams such as the Barquisimeto Cardinales. They are avid spectators and many play amateur ball well into their 50's and 60's. They also often are great fans of American Major League Baseball and can quote statistics that embarrass this baseball fan. Batting averages, on base percentages, won/loss records, ranking of all the teams in the American and National Leagues. While they love to play baseball, they also know the numbers matter and they both play and evaluate based on the numbers.

When one observes the numbers of most United Methodist Churches and the numerical record of most of its ministers, one can get very depressed. For 40 years we have been losing churches, members, influence and effectiveness. Most UMC congregations are in significant decline and given the average age of the members that decline is going to rapidly increase over the next several years. These numbers are real, measurable, observable facts.

Yet like the proverbial ostrich, we chose to stick our heads in the sand an decry anyone who would call us into numerical account. These "Numbers Games" people "are only interested in feathering their own nests and building up their own egos while the rest of us labor on in the name of Jesus unconcerned with numbers but only concerned about people."

Boy, when you see it in print doesn't it look stupid? Yet I have heard that statement or several variations of the same uttered by Cabinet members, members of the Conference Board of Ministry, clergy colleague and local congregations. And I have heard these statements for all of my 38 years of ministry. And they continue to dominate the church's view of ministry effectiveness.

Therefore, the denomination that gave birth to my faith, that nurtured me in the faith, that baptized me and confirmed me in the faith, that ordained me to "Preach the Word" continues to die a not so slow death. And when called into objective account almost totally rejects the implication that numbers do indeed matter.

They matter so much, Jesus often employed the use of numbers in speaking of the Gospel and God's love for humankind. One out of a hundred sheep was lost. One coin. One son. One...one, Such an insignificant number . . . unless it is your son. Then the number suddenly matters.

To talk about the number of persons served in mission, to look at professions of faith or worship attendance is to talk about people who matter to someone and certainly matter to God. I recently had the great privilege of hatching my own chicken eggs (I used an incubator, I did not sit on them for 20 days). Several new chickens were added to the flock at Arepa Farms (visit us on Facebook). However, one of the baby chicks was born with a significant birth defect and had to be euthanized. It caused me little concern having grown up in a county that raised millions of chickens each year and having dealt with dead chickens every day in my youthful employment in some of those chicken houses. However, my "city-fied" wife was greatly distressed by the death of this one chicken. She actually shed a tear. Since I score "0" on any Spiritual Gifts measurement of Mercy, I did not shed a tear and I was the one to apply the death penalty. But I ask you: Which one is more godly, me or my wife?

Anyone who knows Jane or me knows the answer to that question. She is far more godly. And that is true in this case. The Father knows when a sparrow falls from the sky. He knows and he cares. "Are you not worth much more than many sparrows.'

If God cares about a single sparrow, who are we to decide that numbers do not matter and hide in the false security of "real ministry" versus giving an objective account of the effectiveness of ministry.

I just heard of a retired UM pastor taking a church as a "Retired Supply." His first Sunday there were 12 people in worship. Do those twelve matter? of course they do. But what about the millions in this city that do not know Christ, who have not heard the Gospel in any way as to make an informed decision as to the faith? What about those who live within 5 miles of that church. Do they not matter as much as the 12 in church?

We have decided they do not matter. While we will never express that opinion, our actions clearly reveal our attitudes. We will tie up a million dollar facility for the comfort of 12 people for then next 10 years rather than deploying that resource for the sake of thousands. And that reality is repeated across this denomination hundreds and hundreds of times. Why? Because numbers do not matter.

Every church and every pastor can improve their effectiveness in ministry. One of the necessary tools is an accurate measurement of that which can be objectively measured. These numbers have the ability to break our slumber and jar us to reality. But wait, I feel a nap coming on...