The Wrong Scoreboard, Part 1

Services

Sundays - 8:00 AM Liturgical & 10:30 AM Contemporary

by: Pastor Tom Vanderbilt

05/01/2023

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There is a sport that I play where I would score 110-120 points every time I go out. No matter how long I’ve been away from the sport, I can head out with friends and score 110 points no problem. I don’t have to practice. I don’t have to watch videos. I could pick up my clubs tomorrow and shoot a round of 120 on any golf course in America… probably in just 9 holes.

Those of you who know golf know that this isn’t a very good score. But in basketball, 110 or 120 would be a good score. In football, that would be a phenomenal score. And in soccer that would be an historic score! Whether or not a score of 120 is good depends on the game you’re playing. In some games, 120 guarantees a win; in other games, like golf, a 120 means you’re probably buying lunch.

How do we know if we’re “winning” as a church? What’s the scoreboard? There are three common scoreboards that churches use. Over the next three months, we’re going to look each of these scoreboards, examine why they are so captivating and why they are not the best measures of our success.

Let’s start with the one that we like the most: Attendance. If there are more people in worship on Sunday, we must be winning, right? Christmas Eve and Easter Sunday feel like huge wins. And the Sunday between Christmas and New Year’s and the Second Sunday of Easter feel like huge losses. Attendance can be a fickle mistress. 

 A key question we must ask ourselves is this: “If this this is the scoreboard, then how does that change how we worship, what programs we offer, and what we preach, teach, and confess?” If attendance is the measure of success, then we had better not say things that are too controversial. We certainly can’t teach the full counsel of God’s Word in today’s world! If we can’t do that, is that truly winning?

This isn’t the right scoreboard.

How do we know that Mt. Calvary is winning, then? How do we know whether our score is good or bad? I believe it’s right there on the wall as you enter the church: Are we “A Caring Family Sharing Christ”? 

It’s not enough to have a lot of people in worship or in membership. Do these people know that Christ loves them? Are we doing our part to be a family to them, to love and support them in times of need? Do we know the people that we worship with? It’s a sad family where people live together without knowing anything about each other’s lives. What’s the quality of our relationships with fellow members of Mt. Calvary?

Most importantly of all: are we talking about Jesus? Not just worshipping, receiving, and hearing about Jesus… are we talking about Jesus? In the book “The Reluctant Witness,” Don Everts cites research from Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM) and the Barna Group that states that 74% of self-identified Christians have less than 9 spiritual conversations per year. “A ‘spiritual conversation’ is defined as any conversation about spiritual or faith matters (including doubts) with anyone. This would include talking about Jesus with a non-Christian friend but also would include talking about the sermon you just heard with your spouse.” (pg. 20) Three out of four Christians are having less than one spiritual conversation per month! Many of us aren’t even talking about Jesus with our church friends or our own family members!

That’s a better scoreboard. Rather than asking, “How many people were in worship this weekend,” ask instead, “How many spiritual conversations have I had?” Start with the “low-hanging fruit” of spouses, children, grandchildren, and church family.                  

Be impolite by starting the conversation talking about yourself, “Pastor said something in his sermon on Sunday that I thought was confusing, maybe you can help me understand.” (Note: this isn’t about spiritual solutions or spiritual answers, it’s about spiritual conversations. Not every conversation comes to a clear conclusion.)

“How can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching (i.e. talking)?” (Romans 10:14) This is how the faith is spread.

In Christ,

Pastor Tom Vanderbilt

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There is a sport that I play where I would score 110-120 points every time I go out. No matter how long I’ve been away from the sport, I can head out with friends and score 110 points no problem. I don’t have to practice. I don’t have to watch videos. I could pick up my clubs tomorrow and shoot a round of 120 on any golf course in America… probably in just 9 holes.

Those of you who know golf know that this isn’t a very good score. But in basketball, 110 or 120 would be a good score. In football, that would be a phenomenal score. And in soccer that would be an historic score! Whether or not a score of 120 is good depends on the game you’re playing. In some games, 120 guarantees a win; in other games, like golf, a 120 means you’re probably buying lunch.

How do we know if we’re “winning” as a church? What’s the scoreboard? There are three common scoreboards that churches use. Over the next three months, we’re going to look each of these scoreboards, examine why they are so captivating and why they are not the best measures of our success.

Let’s start with the one that we like the most: Attendance. If there are more people in worship on Sunday, we must be winning, right? Christmas Eve and Easter Sunday feel like huge wins. And the Sunday between Christmas and New Year’s and the Second Sunday of Easter feel like huge losses. Attendance can be a fickle mistress. 

 A key question we must ask ourselves is this: “If this this is the scoreboard, then how does that change how we worship, what programs we offer, and what we preach, teach, and confess?” If attendance is the measure of success, then we had better not say things that are too controversial. We certainly can’t teach the full counsel of God’s Word in today’s world! If we can’t do that, is that truly winning?

This isn’t the right scoreboard.

How do we know that Mt. Calvary is winning, then? How do we know whether our score is good or bad? I believe it’s right there on the wall as you enter the church: Are we “A Caring Family Sharing Christ”? 

It’s not enough to have a lot of people in worship or in membership. Do these people know that Christ loves them? Are we doing our part to be a family to them, to love and support them in times of need? Do we know the people that we worship with? It’s a sad family where people live together without knowing anything about each other’s lives. What’s the quality of our relationships with fellow members of Mt. Calvary?

Most importantly of all: are we talking about Jesus? Not just worshipping, receiving, and hearing about Jesus… are we talking about Jesus? In the book “The Reluctant Witness,” Don Everts cites research from Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM) and the Barna Group that states that 74% of self-identified Christians have less than 9 spiritual conversations per year. “A ‘spiritual conversation’ is defined as any conversation about spiritual or faith matters (including doubts) with anyone. This would include talking about Jesus with a non-Christian friend but also would include talking about the sermon you just heard with your spouse.” (pg. 20) Three out of four Christians are having less than one spiritual conversation per month! Many of us aren’t even talking about Jesus with our church friends or our own family members!

That’s a better scoreboard. Rather than asking, “How many people were in worship this weekend,” ask instead, “How many spiritual conversations have I had?” Start with the “low-hanging fruit” of spouses, children, grandchildren, and church family.                  

Be impolite by starting the conversation talking about yourself, “Pastor said something in his sermon on Sunday that I thought was confusing, maybe you can help me understand.” (Note: this isn’t about spiritual solutions or spiritual answers, it’s about spiritual conversations. Not every conversation comes to a clear conclusion.)

“How can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching (i.e. talking)?” (Romans 10:14) This is how the faith is spread.

In Christ,

Pastor Tom Vanderbilt

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