{"id":1515,"date":"2020-06-26T14:37:04","date_gmt":"2020-06-26T18:37:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/?post_type=resource&p=1515"},"modified":"2020-06-30T16:02:32","modified_gmt":"2020-06-30T20:02:32","slug":"the-few-and-the-many","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/the-few-and-the-many\/","title":{"rendered":"The Few and the Many"},"content":{"rendered":"

If I\u2019m honest, when there\u2019s a crowd on Sunday, I\u2019m pumped! Where there isn\u2019t, I\u2019m in the dumps. It\u2019s frustrating, and it\u2019s an area where God has been working on me.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know that I can peg anything sinfully wrong with being excited about a spike in attendance, but I do know, as I look at Jesus\u2019 ministry, far more emphasis is on the few than the many.<\/p>\n

For example, in Mark 6:45, we read, \u201cImmediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd,\u201d and we next seem Him walking on water toward the disciples.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also the time when he left the crowd after teaching them parables, only to retire to a home where He explained them to his disciples: \u201cThen he left the crowds and went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, \u2018Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field’\u201d (Matthew 13:36 CSB).<\/p>\n

The gospels are replete with examples of Jesus leaving the many to focus on the few. Just look at passages like Matthew 5:1, 8:18, 9:25, and 14:22. Look at Mark 7:33 and 8:10. There are others as well.<\/p>\n

That isn\u2019t to say Jesus hated crowds, but many among the crowds were there for a show. (I mean, who wouldn\u2019t want to watch a bearded dude raise someone from the dead?) After all, He fed them, He healed them, He taught them, and more.<\/p>\n

However, with an early ministry of only a few years, His primary focus was on the few \u2014 the men He\u2019d ultimately send to launch the Church at Pentecost. He set out to make those few years with the few count, and one of the reasons we\u2019re here today is because of their success!<\/p>\n

When I think about that, at least in terms of my finite time on earth, it also moves me to focus on the few. Again, not in the sense that we ignore the crowds or \u201cmail it in\u201d on Sunday. But if we are sent to be spent here, what ought to be our primary focus?<\/p>\n

Is it the 100 or more people who will hear a 25-30 minute sermon two or three times (if I\u2019m lucky) a month? Or is it the two or three people I can pour into weekly?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s say I pour into three people a week, and train them to do the same. We feast on the Word, sip on coffee, hold one another accountable, and set a disciple-making movement in motion.<\/p>\n

By the end of the year, those three will have done the same with three more, while I send out another three \u2014 one year with the result of 12 disciple-making disciples set for a second year. Then 36. Then 108. Two whole years. 972 by the end of three years.<\/p>\n

Of course, this is in a perfect world on paper with my calculator (and I\u2019m not even sure I did the math right), but I think you get the idea.<\/p>\n

If I want to live like Jesus and set something in motion that\u2019ll long outlast me, my primary objective must be on the few I\u2019m discipling to be disciple-making disciples. Building a church or ministry on a personality that\u2019ll eventually leave is shortsighted at best.<\/p>\n

So yes, if you\u2019re a pastor, preach the Word faithfully and passionately every Sunday. If you\u2019re a teacher, do the same in your group. But as you aim to live like Jesus, don\u2019t forget the priceless value of spending time with a few to set in motion a movement that can continue long after you retire or die. Who knows what\u2019ll happen if we do?!<\/p>\n

This post originally appeared at <\/em>1Disciple<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If I\u2019m honest, when there\u2019s a crowd on Sunday, I\u2019m pumped! Where there isn\u2019t, I\u2019m in …<\/p>\n

The Few and the Many<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1470,"template":"","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"tags":[],"channels":[],"topics":[53],"languages":[],"class_list":["post-1515","resource","type-resource","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","resource_type-article","topics-replanting"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Few and the Many - Church Replanting<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/the-few-and-the-many\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Few and the Many\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If I\u2019m honest, when there\u2019s a crowd on Sunday, I\u2019m pumped! 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