Names Over Numbers

“To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything.”
- Tim Keller

We live in a country that is dominated by corporations. So much so that churches have taken on this identity. Churches that are “successful” are run like corporations. Everything is perfect, right down to the pastor and his family.

If success is based on the number of people attending a church, then it would seem that the corporate model of running a church is the way to go, but I don’t think that is correct. In the past few years, more than a few mega-pastors (the most “successful” in this line of thinking) have fallen into various sins that have rocked the church and caused many to leave the church after feeling disillusioned.  

Perhaps numbers aren’t that important after all.

In our church, one of the core values is Names Over Numbers. We want to know you. If one of the big points of Jesus’ teachings, as well as those of his disciples later, was that you should love your neighbor, perhaps we need to adopt a different view of how churches are run and what success is, in America.

Success cannot be how many people are in your auditorium once a week; otherwise, Jesus was a failure. When the crowds got too large, he left town. In fact, during his earthly ministry, he mainly spent his time with a group of 12 guys and a few women. He changed the world with a very small group. Jesus may have been onto something.

This is not to say that Jesus’ method was without its problems; we are looking at you, Judas, but it’s safe to say that Jesus cared more about the people around him than trying to gain an audience. He most certainly didn’t do anything for the “likes”.

When we say Names Over Numbers, we mean that we know you. You are fully known. You cannot be fully loved unless you are fully known. I think true churches and loving pastors are those that know their people. They know their names. They know what’s going on in their lives. They know their issues, their strengths, their failures, and their hearts.

Finding a community like this is extremely difficult because it rests on two main ideas - first, the people in that community must be transparent. They cannot hide themselves from people within the community and those that are visiting the community. They must seek to have an “others-centered” mentality. The second main idea is that those in the community must be open. They must be welcoming, in other words. There must be a way for others to join that community.

In order to be fully known, you have to be willing to share who you are to others. In order to be fully loved, you have to be willing to surrender your fear of man and enter into deep relationships with others.

Names Over Numbers means that to us the most important thing is the people, not the number of those attending or the money they can give. We don’t make people sign “Tithing Agreements” or anything like that. We know that if you truly love God and love people, you will give because of the community you have found is worth giving into.

It is well past time to get rid of the “celebrity culture” that pervades the modern church. Most of the pastors and teachers that are being idolized are more interested in the number of people watching online than whether Jim is there or not. To be clear, I’m not against big churches. Churches that are being biblically faithful can be found in all sizes, but there is a commonality in all of them - they know you. If you are not known, you cannot be truly loved. Find a church where they can know you, and you will find a place where love abounds.

“Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
- John 13:35