It’s 30 minutes before the guests arrive. Dishes are piled high in the sink from the meal you just spent 3 hours preparing. You give your husband a glance that pleads for his assistance, but he misses the cue. Your son walks through the door and gives you a hug while gently insinuating that you don’t smell guest-worthy. You rush to take a quick shower and throw on some clothes only to find the kids have destroyed the house that you just spent hours cleaning.

A growing church can be a blessing and a burden. By “growing” (in this article) I mean, numerically. Every pastor wants to see numerical growth in their church because it means people are coming into contact with the gospel. That’s the power source for conversion (Romans 1:16). Conversely, no pastor with convictions about being a biblical shepherd wants to see the church grow so large it cannot be served faithfully.