If practice indicates what one believes then most Baptist churches have a roaring debate going on over what Jesus meant went He told Peter, “Take care of my sheep” (John 21:16). Did Jesus mean “take care of all of my sheep” or did He mean “take care of some of my sheep?”
Most Baptists would probably say Jesus meant for Peter and those who came after him to care for all the sheep. But according to the way most Baptists do church, it seems Jesus meant take care of some of my sheep.
An observation made about a hundred years ago continues to hold true today. Generally speaking, 20 percent of the people do 80 percent of the work. Study the giving records of a church and that pattern will likely hold true. Study the leadership of a church and one is likely to see 20 percent of the people providing 80 percent of the congregation’s direction. Normally it is the same 20 percent who provide the financial support.
What church leader has not heard the proverb that if you want something done, give the task to a busy person? And we do. In most churches those who make up the 20 percent who provide leadership carry more than one responsibility.
In that way, churches frequently act like businesses. In the business world about 20 percent of one’s clients typically provide about 80 percent of one’s sales. That is why businesses concentrate on their best customers or their wealthiest clients. That way they can get maximum returns for a minimum of cost or effort.
But is the goal of the church the goal of a business? Is the church concerned about all the sheep or just some of them? Is the goal of the church to create a community of active disciples of Jesus Christ or a list of people who treat church membership as if they have purchased some kind of eternal fire insurance?
The answer to that question is important. Hebrews 13:17 reminds us that pastors and other church leaders “must give an account” to God for the way they care for God’s sheep. The apostle Paul, writing to the elders of the church at Ephesus, wrote, “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseer” (Acts 20:28).
Paul’s words seem to warn against a church concentrating on where it can get the “most bang for its buck.” Instead the church is challenged to be concerned about the guy who joined the church but has not participated in any way for more than a year. How can the church care for such a sheep and others like him?
How can the church care for those who attend about once a month but act like spectators rather than members? Spectators observe what goes on around them but seldom react or participate. They are content, and perhaps even prefer, to let others do the work of the church. Active discipleship is an alien concept to spectators. Their names are on the church roll and that is enough.
What plans does the church have to move the minimally active or underinvolved members into the category of active disciples?
Churches may respond by continuing to do the things they have always done and pray for the day the Holy Spirit will convict the inactive or spectators or minimally involved members to change their ways. Certainly no one should underestimate the power of prayer and the role of God’s Spirit in changing lives. After all, it is not gimmicks or manipulation that change people’s lives; it is the power of God.
But that is no excuse to do nothing. Just as churches plan for certain outcomes in a Bible study program, youth program, evangelism program, etc., churches can plan ways to move people from sitting to serving.
To do so means a church must decide to care for all the sheep and not just some of the sheep. Practically speaking, it means the church must plan to impact the lives of the marginal mem‑
bers and not just the lives of the involved 20 percent.
What specific actions to take to make that goal a reality will vary from congregation to congregation, but a recent study by Scott Thumma and Warren Bird in conjunction with Leadership Network offers a foundational principle. The study found that “if you pay attention to the less involved people (in your church), they will become more involved.”
Added to that was the discovery that the church must have a process that guides people from less involvement to more involvement. Churches must help motivate people to involvement and churches must show people how to become involved.
For the 20 percent who are active disciples, becoming involved may seem simple. But after a series of in-depth interviews in more than a dozen churches, Thumma and Bird reported, “What the staff told us was nothing like the actual process people experienced in getting involved at their churches.”
Getting people involved in the church is important. It is a step toward developing that community of active disciples of Jesus Christ for which churches strive. Also, the greater the percentage of engaged members, the more likely the church is to be vital, thriving and spiritually healthy, the report said.
Like the Good Shepherd in Jesus’ story recorded in Luke 15, the church must value all the sheep, even the wandering prodigals. That value is expressed in a plan to reach out to the 80 percent not currently active disciples and a clearly communicated process that can lead them to the safety of the fold.
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