Rant of the Day

The Church Report (tag line: Real News. Real Issues. Real Solutions) just released their list of the "America's 50 Most Influential Churches."

This was my response:

It may be cliche, but I wonder what God's list of the 50 Most Influential Churches in America would look like? I know of a faithful servant or two out there, serving in extremely difficult situations, that would never make this list, but I think God might still be using them for his purposes.

A couple observations:
- Of the 52 smiling faces on this list, 48 are white. 4 are African-American. Hispanic? Asian? Native? They don't even show up.
- Of the 52 smiling faces on this list, 52 are men.

Really, what is the point of even making a list like this? If all we do is to the glory of God, why are we bringing glory to man? If God's ways are not our ways, and if in the Kingdom Less truly is More, then why are we handing out accolades to the "More"? This reeks too much of David counting his Mighty Men. This reeks too much like Fortune-500 lists of "the most influential companies in America." In the end, it sends the message to the world that we really do care about numbers, and size, and technique, and celebrity. In other words, world, we're just like you, and we've decided to play by your rules.

End of Rant