What is on Your Scoreboard?
It is that time of year where football at all levels – high school, college, and professional – is ramping up and the games will soon begin. I have always enjoyed the game and spent plenty of time watching them in person or on the television. One of the things sports fans are watching is the scoreboard, especially as the game is winding down, and they’re looking at the score, number of time outs and the time left on the clock. A good question that we as church leaders often need to ask is, what is on our scoreboard? How do we know if we are being victorious or not? Typically, we look at attendance, baptisms and giving. These are important measures, but they don’t tell the whole story. Some other things we may want to measure are things such as, “Are more people being reached for Christ?” “Are more in our congregation being transformed by the gospel and becoming more like Jesus?” “Is the love, unity, and mutual service growing in our fellowship?” “Are the ministries we offer meeting real needs with gospel solutions?” “Is everything we do done for the glory of God?” It is important to look beyond the numbers and go a little deeper in our evaluation. I heard it said often, what gets done in our congregation is what gets celebrated. So, what is on your scoreboard? – Dr. Gary Mathes