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Webinar: Women in the Mission of the Churchby Gary Corwin
One of my clearest memories of my grandfather is that he loved to do painting by numbers. His labors never produced great art, but they did produce pleasant pictures that could be hung on the wall, and he very much enjoyed the process.
One of my clearest memories of my grandfather is that he loved to do painting by numbers. His labors never produced great art, but they did produce pleasant pictures that could be hung on the wall, and he very much enjoyed the process.
A lot of what we do with numbers in missions is similar—the numbers themselves don’t mean much, but they can be useful in creating pleasant pictures for supporters, foundation proposals, recruiting efforts, or maybe just for personal encouragement. At the other end of the spectrum, they can raise an attention-grabbing alarm for some cause for which we desire a generous or energetic response.
Whether they present an accurate reflection of significant reality, however, often seems secondary to other purposes. The pendulum clearly has swung from an emphasis on provable numbers or none at all, to a number for every category whether it’s provable or not.
Is this a problem? Yes and no. Certainly there is no problem with quantifiable evidence being used to make a case for action of some kind.
That’s just reality-based planning. There is clearly a problem, however, when numbers are manipulated to make a particular case that suits our fancy. There is also a problem when they are handled properly, but for the improper purpose of becoming the grounds for our validation.
What do I mean here by validation? Simply that we deem ourselves worthy or successful because of the things we have done that can be counted; we have won so many converts, planted so many churches, taught so many students, or treated so many patients.
We tend to err at two points: In the first place, we shouldn’t be taking credit for what God is doing; and secondly, we shouldn’t be thinking our worth is somehow contingent on what we do. Remember, please, what Isaiah 64:6 compared all our righteousness to-filthy rags. Our worth, rather, is the measure of the One who loves us, and the price he paid to prove it.
If we miss this crucial fact, it is far too easy for worldly wisdom (and the good head counts it promises) rather than principle or obedience to God, to become the justification for our behavior. We do this or that not because God said so, but because a pragmatic assessment of the circumstances tells us that a certain kind of result can be anticipated. In the final analysis, we often end up doing things we ought not to have done, and not doing things we ought to have done.
Second Samuel 24 describes King David’s foolish order to count the fighting men under his command-a tragic attempt to find the validation of his power and the promise of future victories by stealing glory that belongs to God alone. The resulting plague and loss of life is eloquent testimony to how seriously the Lord took the affront.
Is our affront that different when we boast of our triumphs and then package our technology, tools and techniques as a consumer product- the secret to success "that you can profit from, too?" Our proof, of course, is the numbers of people that have been saved, sanctified, or mobilized as a result of our particular "God-blessed" model or methods. The supremacy of God in the process, while usually acknowledged, is essentially reduced to the source that made us so clever. We somehow forget Jesus’ words that "apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).
You would think we would know better. Who are we and what do we have that is not from God? Zip! Zero! Nada! It’s the only number that makes any real sense in connection with our attempts to find validation through our efforts-by "producing the numbers." What folly!
Is there a place then for numbers in missions? Of course—but not in making us look good, or in making others respond to some need for the wrong reasons.
The primary place is in recounting the glorious mercies of the Lord in times past, and in tallying the promises of God for the future. We need to get our eyes off of ourselves and our puny plans, and back on the Eternal Sovereign and what he has done and promises yet to do to glorify himself in all the earth.
He has promised that some from every nation, language, tribe, and people will be gathered before his throne (Rev. 7:9). And he has promised that the Gospel will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all the nations before the end comes (Matt. 24:14). He has told his people to make disciples of all the nations … and to teach them everything he has commanded (Matt. 28:19-20).
The numbers that count in the Divine math are every/all and none-every tribe and nation; teaching them to observe all things; and none worthy save those who are made worthy in him, by him and for him. The numbers determine neither our validation, nor our assignment. The Lord has established both already, and it’s all of grace, by faith and for his glory.
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Gary Corwin is associate editor of EMQ.
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