Measuring What Matters

“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” —Sociologist William Bruce Cameron 

   As our discussions about the disciples continue, we learn even more about the disciples that Jesus called and we learn about the varied definitions of discipleship. The invitations to “come and see” and the invitation to “follow me” compel us to think even more carefully and critically about what it means to fulfill the mission of the church.  We are invited to do more than follow Jesus, we are instructed to invite others to follow Jesus, too.   In one of the many instructional booklets that accompany the “See All the People” resources produced by Discipleship Ministries of The United Methodist Church, we are introduced to some of the nuances of measuring discipleship.  

     “It’s all about the numbers”’ is a well-known quotation, however, it doesn’t appear to be attributed to anyone in particular. As important as numbers appear to be, it is the lives that the numbers represent or the stories behind the numbers that are even more important. The numbers alone are simply representative figures that need to be interpreted. For example, simply knowing my weight, without knowing several other critical factors such as age and height, is almost completely meaningless. Yet, once age and height are known, the trends become important to appropriately interpret my weight.  

     Similarly, the term discipleship without other critical information, doesn’t convey much information without a clear definition.  However, when discipleship is defined as a journey of learning, loving, following and sharing Christ, key aspects of the term can be better understood and they can be measured. From this definition of discipleship, we can measure (1) how much is known about Christ; (2) how is the love of Christ expressed; (3) how closely is Christ followed (in other words, how similar are your actions like those of Christ); and (4) how often is Christ discussed. Certainly, it can be argued that the definition of discipleship given above is far too simple or it can be argued that just because you may score highly on each of these factors doesn’t mean that you are truly a disciple.  

     Discipleship is a personal journey, but it is not an isolated journey. The knowledge, love, similarity and discussion of Christ mentioned in the definition above are characteristics that become more meaningful when the direction of change is measured. These characteristics do not represent milestones to reach that signal completion, they represent a level of proficiency or achievement that allows new aspects of discipleship to be pursued and shared. Everyone who desires to be a disciple has to consider the ways they hope to grow as part of the discipleship journey.  Growth can be measured by the number of minutes spent reading the Bible; the number of people invited to Bible study; the number of acts of encouragement shared with a friend or a stranger; etc.

     Remember, numbers in isolation can be meaningless, but numbers considered in the context of our desire to become disciples of Jesus can help identify the trends in our movement and the effectiveness of our efforts.  Our vision statement reflects the collective wisdom of the visioning team and the congregation.  As we grow individually, we also grow collectively.  Just as the disciples invited their relatives and friends to “come and see Jesus, Jesus says to each of usfollow me.” Therefore, along our journey of discipleship, we invite others to accompany us as we learn to follow Jesus together.  

     We are looking forward to seeing you Sunday morning in worship and throughout the week in classes and ministries.  

In Christ, 
Jon McCoy 

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