Lloyd Jones on Church Growth

From Authority:

The questions asked are ‘Why cannot we tough the masses which are outside? How can we establish contact? How can we make them listen to us? What can we do to give the Church authority in her preaching and in her pronouncements?’ But observe the ways in which many are trying to deal with the situation. They are saying, ‘The main trouble is, of course, that the church has not kept abreast of the times. She is not advertising herself as she should. Great businesses succeed by means of advertising.’…Other say, ‘No, that is not the way. What we need is social concern. The people after all are interested in material things and in social problems. The Church, therefore, must come down and show that she is taking greater interest in such matters…Others advocate that the only way to regain the authority is to make much greater use of sound radio and television. ‘Here is a great instrument and a great source of power,’ they say….Many feel that if we can but show that the modern Christian knows all about science, that he is not just a fool and an enthusiast, but that he really is very reasonable, intellectual and scientific, then the world will be more ready to listen…(Others) say that there is only one thing to do. ‘We must have a great world Church. If only we could become one and face the world together, it would then have to listen.’…We often quote, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord,’ and yet in practice we seem to rely upon the ‘might dollar’ and ‘the power of the press’ and advertising….We seem to have forgotten that God has done most of His deeds in the Church throughout its history through ‘remnants’….the Bible teaches plainly and clearly that God’s own method is always through the Spirit and His authority and power.