DIMINISHING RETURNS:

“It behooves me for Him to increase; I must, however, diminish.”

-John 3:29-30

In areas like economics and human resources the “Law of Diminishing Returns” is defined as a point at which the level of profits or benefits gained is less than the amount of money or energy invested.

It is our predisposition and default inclination, as fallen humanity, to see the apparent wisdom in synthetic “laws” and logic. The Apostle Paul was having none of it. Furthermore, Paul wrote extensively in these areas (1Cor 1:25; 3:19) - at least in part to warn us of the dangers of such a superficial and heretical outlook on life and faith.

When we take something like the “Law of Diminishing Returns” and apply it to Christian faith and Jesus’ imperative of discipleship, baptizing, and teaching (Matthew 28:18-20) - the results are catastrophic.

Recently, while speaking with a friend in ministry, I asked him about the glaring deficiency of teaching in the church today. Not just the complete absence of it in some churches, but additionally the absence of quality, relevant, impactful, and transformative teaching. His response was rather shocking. He said that teaching was difficult to “monetize” since that the end product didn’t seem to justify the expense (advertising, time, materials, capital expense, man hours, etc.).

My friend is a very skilled executive with a very keen intellect and strong analytical and critical thinking skills, but it left me wondering where he stood on Romans 12:2, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

The trend for decades has been for churches to adopt practices and organizational structures that more closely model corporations than biblical communities. Senior Pastors more closely reflect CEOs than shepherds. Executive Pastors and elder “boards” more closely resemble a Board of Directors than humble servants of the gospel. John Piper addressed this kind of professional, executive washroom mentality, monetizing, and “What’s the value-add?” thinking in his book: Brothers, We Are Not Professionals: A Plea to Pastors for Radical Ministry.

Since Jesus commanded us (Matt 28:18-20) to disciple (in the manner of baptizing - immersing people into the character and culture of God as members of the Body of Christ, and through the method of teaching - walking with folks in community), then the idea of monetizing or calculating the “value-add” of teaching is tantamount to blatant heresy.

The pastors of our home church often share in sermons that (in private counseling sessions) people say, “I know the Bible says _______, but…” This reveals much. People are often familiar with the content of the Bible, but they simply reject its inherent authority - thus that of its Author. They choose to live outside of God’s life-giving presence and then wonder why things have gone so badly.

In the same way, some churches and their leaders (pastors, deacons, elders, etc.) are neither unaware of Jesus’ earthly ministry of teaching as explicitly revealed in the Bible, nor are they unaware of His imperative to teach (Matt 28:18-20). Yet with increasing frequency, and audacious conviction, those same leaders construct elaborate arguments - just like folks they counsel - that begin with, “I know the Bible says ‘teach,’ but…”

The root cause, I fear, is revealed in Romans 12:2 - a conforming to the pattern of this world, which is consistent with our original folly of negligence and innate desire for personal relevance disclosed in the account of Eden’s garden. This is far too complex and exhaustive a topic to unravel here, but a great resource is Glenn A. Sunshine’s book: Why You Think the Way You Do: The Story of Western Worldviews from Rome to Home.

In recent history the concept of contextualization has been at the forefront of Christian ministry and mission. In decades/centuries prior - missionaries would go into vastly different cultures with a “mission station” mentality. Rather than seeking acceptance and integration within culture - the “mission station” mentality approached mission work completely divorced from the surrounding culture. Missionaries would ignore language (paternalism, colonialism, christianize), would not visit homes, not eat local cuisine or participate in local culture.

This outdated method was akin to monastic asceticism (viz. monks going into the desert to endure self-inflicted isolation and suffering). The “mission station” mentality was a “hunkering down” to endure yet -ironically- all the while praying God would send locals their way to hear the gospel message. It’s not hard to see why this approach to mission and evangelism was an epic fail.

Contextualization changed all that. Contextualization is essentially being relevant amid culture. The pendulum frequently swings to extremes. The problem with prioritizing relevance is that it leads to what Larry Osborne refers to as “Mission Creep” in his book, Mission Creep: The Five Subtle Shifts that Sabotage Evangelism and Discipleship. These subtle shifts of relevance include:

1) focusing on decisions rather than discipleship.

2) focusing on doctrine over obedience.

3) on warfare (being right) over loving persuasion.

4) on numerical growth (attendance, baptisms, etc.) rather than maturing disciples.

5) on social justice over Jesus.

So to bring this back around, we can follow the unhealthy, and in fact disobedient, historical developments and approaches to “doing church” which have led to the current state of affairs - churches bereft of sound biblical teaching.

In the same way that the “mission station” approach failed miserably - traditional Sunday School models of lecturing and imparting biblical knowledge floundered and have fallen flat. Rather than accepting the current trend of jettisoning Christ’s imperative command (to teach) - the task is to obediently embark on a new approach and mentality for what it means to teach; i.e. investing and inviting rather than simply imparting. That's how William Carey pioneered a new missions mentality from “stations” to contextualization.

Thankfully, the gospels of Scripture provide us with the clear and concise answer. Jesus modeled the manner of teaching (invitational discipleship via Christian community together with His friends), provided the content (i.e. the Bible), and conveyed the scope (“obeying everything I have commanded”).

Jesus also inspired Paul to write that those who occupy this ministry are in fact gifts given to the Church by Christ, “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors-teachers” (Eph 4:11).

When anything, including contextualization or cultural relevance, trumps simple obedience - then the priority and mission of the local church runs askew and it readily morphs into nothing more than a second rate worldly organization focused on: social justice, numerical growth, doctrinal purity, etc. These are noble things, but have zero eternal value apart from the gospel. The purpose of Christ's Bride is to faithfully serve humanity as the exclusive vehicle of His grace availed at the Cross.

It wasn’t until Jesus’ ministry began that John the Baptist’s ministry was complete. At that point John said, “The bride (Church) belongs to the bridegroom (Christ). The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. It behooves me for Him to increase; I must, however, diminish.”

There is no point at which our obedience to the gospel should ever submit to the “Law of Diminishing Returns.” In fact, our diminishing ensures it returns having produced fruit - thus accomplishing all He intended.

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. -Isaiah 55:10-11

Blessings,

-Kevin M. Kelley

aMostUnlikelyDisciple.com