UU Growth: Goal/Outcome: False Dichotomy

For background go to www.iminister.blogspot.com/2007/11/growth-goal-or-outcome.html

Good blogging on a recent UU growth consultation. This is one of the blogs on one of the two most important points (growth as goal or outcome; the other most important one is the blog on the purpose of the church).

But it is a false dichotomy. To be a healthy church IS the most important thing for no lasting growth is possible from being unhealthy; healthy DNA will naturally result in growth--but to be healthy IS to grow; to reproduce one's church, multiply it, spread it, in a myriad of ways church planting, mission planting, organic relationship growing, disciple-making IS the characteristic of a healthy church. At least one in the tradition of church as Jesus' disciples should understand it (now that might be a conversation for another blog, and one not just of course aimed at UU growth, but applying equally or moreso to so-called Christian churches, UU or otherwise, who aren't growing, aren't healthy).

The question I think underlying this is not about growth and health, but about TIME, careers, numbers, scale. Are people looking at growth and thinking in terms of three years, ten years, or thirty or three hundred years. We better be casting our nets into the waters of thirty and three hundred years and not the four-year presidential cycle. End.