Over the last 26 days Marty Boller of the Cedar Rapids Vineyard (Iowa) has been writing a transparent blog series detailing his recent realization that being a pastor is more than focusing on the 3-Bs:
- The size of our BUILDINGS
- The amount of BUCKS in the coffers
- The number of BUTTS in the seats.
The hardest part about this realization is that Marty and his wife have spent the last 30-years focusing on the 3-Bs… so as you can guess, this series really is a life-changing, radical re-focus that is rocking their world!
I would encourage everyone to wander over to Marty’s blog and read this series – nay, contemplate it, chew on it, and ponder about how you view church. This unhealthy focus on buildings, bucks and butts is not limited to the church leaders. Folks in the congregation fall prey to this mindset just as much.
Think about it – What books are selling at the local bookstore? How are they promoted? How are conferences promoted?
Normally I would say that books are sold and conferences are promoted based upon the author/speakers “B-ranking.” The more people in a church, the higher the B-ranking and the more books that leader will sell as people see numbers as successful.
Is this really what Jesus came to do? To build big building with lots of butts and budgets?
Perhaps there’s a different way….perhaps we can learn from Marty Boller’s transparency as he tries to re-learn what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
Blessings.