Jesus Cropped from the Picture

I Don’t Feel Fed!

outcomes we desire. This plug-and-play approach to the Christian life makes God a cosmic vending machine, and it assumes his Spirit resides within well-produced organizations and systems rather than people.” 58

However, there is no biblical correlation between effective leadership and church attendance. A pastor-teacher may be offering excellent feeding to the flock, but attendance could be declining . A quick overview of the Bible proves that a leader’s obedience to God sometimes means fewer followers, not more. Sometimes Paul is worshiped as a Greek god (Acts 14.11), and other times he has to be lowered in a basket to avoid being killed (Acts 9.25). The same person can have a growing ministry in one town and has to escape for his life in another. Even Jesus had occasions where his ministry declined in numbers (John 6.66). There are no guarantees that numerical growth will automatically come from effective church leadership. Happily, an EPIC perspective frees leaders from having to meet the felt-needs of the flock. Instead, pastors can turn their attention to preaching about Christ and his Kingdom , telling the Story of his acts of deliverance throughout history, which expands the congregation’s capacity for love and service. Pastors can remind the flock that “his Story has met our story” and that each individual is invited into the cosmic drama revealed in his Word. Preaching can focus on the past, present, and future victories won by the Lord Jesus. Every element of the worship service can be oriented around Christ rather than the individual (see Appendix 4), freeing pastors to spend more energy equipping the saints for the work of ministry (Eph. 4.11-13).

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