I recently met a pastor in passing who offered me encouragement regarding our upcoming church plant. He pastors a massive church (several thousand) so he took the opportunity to overflow some of his wisdom in our direction.

As we talked, I realized his methods would undoubtedly bring people in the door, but they seemed to miss the heart of how Christ Himself grew His church.

21st century America has seen a church planting revival. Church plants are popping up everywhere. I recently googled “Church Plant” in a well-known mid-level U.S. city, and twenty churches popped up within a 5-mile radius. There was a congregation named “Fresh Church” one block from “Radiant Church” who was just around the corner from “Destiny Church.”

Over the past 17 years — in the prosperity gospel, the seeker-driven church movement, and reformed-ish world — I’ve seen my fair share of manipulative tactics by greedy preachers and by wealthy parishioners. It seems that one cannot simply relegate money-manipulation to one theological camp, or only to leaders. Rather, it is common anywhere sin resides and wages war within every human heart.

A growing church can be a blessing and a burden. By “growing” (in this article) I mean, numerically. Every pastor wants to see numerical growth in their church because it means people are coming into contact with the gospel. That’s the power source for conversion (Romans 1:16). Conversely, no pastor with convictions about being a biblical shepherd wants to see the church grow so large it cannot be served faithfully.

Church leadership models always seem to be going through a type of cultural renovation. Trying to stay relevant, influential evangelicals try to innovate at every turn; trading in biblical roles like elder and deacon for newer, less biblically stringent leadership positions.

When it comes to leadership, how do you measure greatness? The mother of James and John thought it was having the best seats in Christ’s Kingdom (Matthew 20:20-21). There are those today who would certainly say that executive titles, church size, book deals, Twitter followers, podcast rankings, and global influence are sure signs of high status.