What does it cost to be the biggest church in the world?  This is a question I asked myself recently.  After giving it some thought, I believe it’s one of the most penetrating questions a pastor can ask.

First of all, I believe a growing church is God’s way!  I’m shocked when church people seem offended by growth.  Are we offended by the book of Acts?  They not only grew, but were intent on counting the growth!  (See Acts 2:41)

Furthermore, I am encouraged by the fastest growing churches in America.  I have seen prominent public speakers snarl at fast growing churches.  While they frown, I believe God smiles at the life change and impact of these great churches.  Each explosive-growth pastor I have met were incredibly humble, driven, focused, and gracious.  In my experience, these pastors practice what they preach.  I am eager to discover what God wants me to learn from these men!

Yet, my question remains… What does it cost to be the biggest church in the world?

• Hard work?
• Tough decisions?
• Courageous staffing?
• Willingness to fail?
• Determination to break down growth lids?
• Being misunderstood by other christians?  Even leaders?

I believe I would pay any and all of these prices. (Easier said than done!  I’m sure there are many more costs associated with growth.)

But, what if the price was…

• Growing your church mainly by taking believers from other churches?
• Ignoring the first ministry of your home?
• A loss of biblical conviction?
• Playing politics with immature believers at the expense of the mission of the church?

These prices I do not believe I would not pay.

In order to grow, there is a price to be paid.  The question: What would you be prepared to pay?

Recently, someone made a fascinating comment about Keystone.  To her, her first impression led her to believe that Keystone was for the young generation only.  She came the weekend we did the song/rap ‘Used to do it too‘ by Lecrae (which was OFF THE CHAIN).

This guest couldn’t imagine falling in love with Keystone.

Since then:

• She finds herself repeating the message talking points with co-workers
• They are here almost every weekend
• They REMEMBER the message behind songs like ‘Used to do it too.’
• They are excited to be part of a movement that reaches their g-kids as well as them!

Her family is falling in love with Keystone, and I love it.

A couple of observations:

• YOU B YOU. God will connect the heart of those who he has called to join you.
• Don’t change to accommodate various niche groups. I’m so glad we stayed true to our vision.  God has used us to stretch many people past their preferences.
• Don’t compromise the CONTENT. At the end of the day, it’s the content of the gospel we are bringing that’s changing lives.  Style changes.  Fads fade.  In the end, THE WORD will stand!
• It’s ALL about life change. Once you begin catering to preference rather than serving the vision, you have begun your eventual decline.  We are vision-carriers.  Leaders.  World-changers.

Saturday night I began losing my voice.  BRUTAL.  It’s like a pitcher losing his arm.  I fought through the next three messages and then lost it completely.

• Losing your voice is painful.  It hurts!
• Losing your voice is frustrating.  You can’t communicate.
• Losing your voice is unfair.  You begin to lean on others to communicate for you.

Honestly, losing your voice is frightening.  It’s the major venue for my passion.  While I hated losing my voice physically, I’m more frightened of losing my voice spiritually.

Every ministry has a voice.  Every church has a tone.

Have you ever noticed how voices are like fingerprints?  It seems that no two are identical.  I am convinced that God raises up different voices for different ministries.  A voice is like a spiritual vision.  When reading the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) you learn that these four men are describing the same thing from four different vantage points.  They have different voices!

You must protect the voice of your ministry.  Otherwise, there WILL be pain.  There will be a loss of influence.  There will be a loss of opportunity and you will find yourself leaning on others to do God’s talking.

How might you lose your voice?

I heard a speaker at a church recently say, “If I can’t hear the pages of your bible turning, then you’ll hear me leaving.”

I COMPLETELY understand what he meant.  I SYMPATHIZE with his sentiment.  I desperately want keystoners to MARINATE on the word of God!

I love the sound of the pages turning too.  I want my children to CONSUME the bible.  I love it when we bring our bibles to Keystone!

YET, I have some thoughts…

What about those who are not believers (yet!)? Should we expect them to bring their bibles?  If your church is bringing the ‘lost’ to your weekend experiences, then about 1/3 of the church will be bible-less.

What about those who use iphones or Ipads for scripture? You won’t hear the pages turning, but they may be your most biblically hungry believers.

What about the preacher himself? This one hits home!  Every preacher I know utilizes multiple passages in a message.  Sometimes they will mark them with a note for easy turning.  Most of the time, though, they will insert a printed paper with the notes or various scriptures in their bible.  I carry a full notepad with me, utilizing my actual bible only when I have a spontaneous verse I want to quote.

Let’s be careful not to go overboard in our zeal, thereby putting burdens on people that aren’t biblical.  THE KEY: lead your church to SATURATE themselves in the SCRIPTURES! That’s the point!

Are you currently breathing reality into a ‘God-vision’ for your life? If not, it’s likely you are descending into division.  I am convinced that God isn’t content to bless us as we idle in neutral regarding his purposes for our lives.

As I read the New Testament, it is filled with adventure.  Consider just the book of Acts.  It is loaded with bold declarations, miraculous rescues and awe-inspired moves of God.  Conversions abound. Everyone seems wet with baptism, both by the Spirit and from the nearest river.

Fast forward to 2011.  Church buildings are eroding and being sold.  The culture is outgrowing the church and the next generation is fleeing seemingly irrelevant ritual.

There are many reasons for this decomposition.  One clear suspect: DIVISION.  The church is so busy fighting each other they have no interest or energy fighting God’s battle to plunder hell and populate heaven.  We are so preoccupied with arguing over the establishment of the past we have no vision for ‘making ALL THINGS NEW.’

BORED CHRISTIANS GRUMBLE.  Distracted Christians are self-centered.

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. (John 17:20,21 esv)

Be so busy following God’s vision for your life that to create drama and discord among believers in the church would be a major distraction to you.  Be so filled with the Spirit that it would be unthinkable to slander, gossip, or divide others among the church.

Are you flowing in THE VISION… or DIVISION?

I have always resisted bureaucracy. It’s my rhythm as a leader to flow towards unpredictability and a culture of change. I have seen the death of organizations that are ‘over-organized.’

Yet, there came a time in the life of Keystone Church where I sensed change in the air. The change was IN ME.

I began to see that our Keystone culture that God had planted in my heart was being diluted as our volunteer base grew. Those who had spent time with me seemed to ‘get it’ while others just didn’t.

God gave me a clear direction to CAPTURE OUR CULTURE. This required a lot of organizational work. Then, it dawned on me:

Apple must be very organized to have such cool products with excellence
Zappos must be very organized to have such a relaxed, personal customer service
Starbucks must be very organized to duplicate an experience all over the world

Soon, I became convinced that we must ORGANIZE in order to MOVE FORWARD our culture of creativity and change.

There are so many specific applications to this ‘A HA’ moment. One is our vision:

Leading everyone to experience passionate life in Christ.

I still hate bureaucracies. Our creative vibe has not been squelched, it’s grown! More people are able to catch on & we are able to guard our culture with greater effectiveness.

Have you had a similar ‘A HA’ moment?