Where Everybody Doesn’t Know Your Name

By Tim Keller, Lead Pastor

A while ago Cheri and spent a delightful afternoon in Philadelphia enjoying a college basketball game. Nearly 10,000 people were in attendance for what was a very competitive game between Temple and the University of Central Florida that ended with a Temple victory.

During the course of our time at the Liacouras Center (Temple’s home arena) I met a few of the people seated near me. One man in particular chatted with me during a few of the timeouts and shared his insight about the game. That being said, when I walked out of the arena two hours later I didn’t really know anyone I hadn’t known when I entered.

This is not to say that meeting new people is a bad thing or that I’m not prone to stop and meet people in various settings. My point is that on this day the reason for being there was to watch a basketball game and not meet new friends.

Recently I spoke with a pastoral colleague who shared with me that his church leadership team is contemplating adding a second Sunday morning service. One of the most frequently stated reasons for opposing the idea he has heard is that if the church moves in this direction, “Everyone won’t know everyone else.” It’s a valid point that happens to be true; until you stop and contemplate that knowing everyone in the local church is not a scriptural admonition. It is also not a reasonable one if you consider that the main purpose for church doesn’t have anything to do with knowing every worshipper in the same service.

A study of the New Testament reveals that the main purpose of the Church is to equip men and women to fulfill the Great Commission. Ultimately that is what our teaching, worship, prayer, and fellowship ministries are all about. It’s the Gospel that unites us and the gospel appears to be aimed at a more outward focus.

Just as the main purpose for entering a basketball arena was to watch a basketball game and not meet all 9,951 people in the room, so Sunday services aren’t all about knowing every person in room. Instead, they are about giving as many people as possible the opportunity to encounter Christ.

In some situations, multiplying services or daughtering a church plant may separate people who have previously known one another. If the goal is knowing each other this would clearly be a step in the wrong direction. If the goal is advancing the Kingdom this would appear to be a more reasonable step.

The New Testament church wasn’t built with the core value of maintaining relationships. It was built with a core value of sharing the Gospel with as many as possible. May this philosophy drive Christ’s church to sacrifice the good to embrace the better.