| Home | eBooks |
| Devotions | Podcasts |
| Articles | Church Suppliers |
| Videos | Our Writers |
| About Us | Find Church Jobs |
A hapless heater salesman in suburban Philadelphia was thrown into the soup line by the 1929 stock market crash. In the depths of the Great Depression he sold someone else's creation to Parker Brothers and made millions in royalties from sales of the “Monopoly” board game. It’s a rag-to-riches tale of a hardworking man whose ingenuity and hard work prevails.
But it isn’t true.
“Monopoly” started life as “The Landlord’s Game.” Elizabeth Magie developed it in the early 1900s. It gained a small following, including Charles Darrow. He made a few modifications, packaged it, and sold it to Parker Brothers.
Although Parker Brothers bought Magie’s patent, Hasbro (now Parker Brothers parent company) does not acknowledge her contribution. Darrow receives credit for someone else’s work. [1] She earned $500 from the deal while Darrow made millions.
Pastors are also guilty of taking credit for someone else's work. It happens all the time.
Pastors don’t deserve credit for “the numbers”
Pastors are either blamed or credited for “the numbers.”
If attendance, the number of conversions and baptisms and income are on the rise, the pastor gets credit for a job well done. If those numbers plateau or if they are in protracted decline, the pastor takes the blame.
But pastors don’t deserve credit when the numbers are up and they probably don’t deserve blame when the credit when the numbers are down.
Ephesians 4:11–16 suggests “the numbers” measure whether the church members are doing their jobs properly. When the church members do the work of the ministry, the church grows. That growth is seen in the numbers. When church members don’t, the church won’t. The numbers will reflect their passivity or sloth.
This passage is one long sentence. The subject of the sentence is “He”—Jesus. The verb is “gave” and pastors are among those given. The purpose is stated in verse 12, “for the equipping of the saints.” This is followed by a subordinate purpose, “for the work of the ministry,” showing that the reason pastors equip saints is so that saints will do ministry. Then there’s a further subordinated clause “for the building up of the body.”
There could be debate whether qualitative or quantitative growth is in view here, but verse 16 puts the argument to rest. “… which every part does its share, causes growth of the body.” Check your lexicon and you’ll find that growth means “to increase in size.”[2]
However you define growth here, the text is clear about the fact that growth results from the ministry of the believers! Numerical growth occurs when the believers are “equipped for the work of ministry, for building the body of Christ.” The second phrase depends on the first. “Building the body of Christ” depends upon believers being equipped to conduct the ministry.[3]
It’s time for pastors to be relieved of the burden of achieving metrics that rightfully belong to the hardworking church members doing the work of ministry. They’re the ones who do the hard work that produces “the numbers” so they should get the credit for it, not the pastors. And the pastors shouldn’t have to carry responsibility for numbers that the Bible lays at the feet of the church members.
What pastors are credited for
There’s a different metric for which pastors should receive either credit or blame. It’s a number that doesn’t get a lot of press and one that’s rarely talked about when pastors get together, but it’s crucial. Right there, out in the open for everyone to see, lies the answer in verse 12. It’s alluded to in the phrase “for the equipping of the saints…”
The measure of the pastor’s ministry is the number of people they make ready for the Lord’s service. Training adults how to serve the Lord isn’t an education, it’s an apprenticeship. It doesn’t start with classes or reading assignments; it starts with hands-on experience under the tutelage of a more experienced servant who supervises the apprentice in on-the-job training. In time the apprentice becomes a journeyman and eventually a master craftsman who apprentices others.
Acts 8 illustrates what happens when regular Christian folks do the work of ministry. After Stephen was stoned, “a great persecution arose against the church … and they were all scattered (8:1).” But the apostles remained in Jerusalem! “Those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word (8:4).” The church blossomed across the Mediterranean and the Middle East. The numbers of conversions became incalculable, and the headcount is never mentioned again.
Track these numbers
Pastor, you should be tracking another set of numbers.
These are the numbers you get credit for. They reveal whether you’re doing it by the Book or not.
Photo source: istock
 | Bud Brown is an experienced ministry leader, writer and educator. He is co-founder of Turnaround Pastors and co-author of the ground-breaking Pastor Unique: Becoming A Turnaround Leader. He brings special expertise to change leadership in the local church, mentoring pastors to become revitalization leaders, training churches how to find and recruit the best talent, and training leadership teams how to achieve their shared goals. Learn More » |
Have you ever felt the pull to full-time ministry work as a missionary or pastor? If not, you can still make a Kingdom impact without quitting your current job. In this eBook, you will learn the four essentials that can change your perspective of work, your workplace, and most importantly, your heart.
 | Echo VanderWal is the co-founder and executive director of The Luke Commission, which serves … |
 | Scott Cochrane serves on the executive team for the Willow Creek Association, as Vice President, … |
 | Dr. Gerry Lewis serves as Executive Director of the Harvest Baptist Association in Decatur, Texas. … |
 | Copyright © 2025 Networld Media Group, LLC. All rights reserved. |
Already a member? Sign in below.
