The Bulletin
of the
Church of Christ at New Georgia

Tim Johnson, editor

 October 27, 2002

 
In This Issue:
Disregarding God's Plan -- By the Numbers
by Steve Klein

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 Disregarding God's Plan --
By The Numbers  

  The Florence Times-Daily newspaper ran an article on August 28, 2002 headlined "Movin' on up: Church plans 111-acre expansion." The article was written by staff writer Russ Corey, and describes the expansion plans of the Darby Drive Church of Christ in Florence. According to the article, "Dorian Flynn, the church's pulpit minister, said the first phase will include a multipurpose facility and a two-story educational wing...the church plans to build buildings and accessory structure that will total 94,950 square feet."  The article also stated that,  "The project also includes two baseball fields, a soccer complex, a football field and two tennis courts."  At the end of the article, there was brief section entitled "By The Numbers" that gave some interesting numerical facts about the church's project.  Here is that section:

BY THE NUMBERS

  • 94,950 - The number of square feet planned for the new church buildings.

  • 1,500 - The number of seats planned for the new worship center.

  • 111 - The total number of acres at the Cox Creek Parkway site owned by the church.

  • 534 - The number of parking spaces planned.

  • 45 - The acreage planned for Phase I of the construction.

  • 2 - The number of baseball fields and the number of tennis courts planned for the site.

  • 1 - The number of football fields and the number of soccer fields planned for the site.

  What follows are some additional numbers that were not in the newspaper article, but probably needed to be.

  • 3,000 - The number converted in Acts 2 without ever setting foot in a church owned multi-purpose facility.

  • 5.000 - The number of men who had come to believe in Jesus in Acts 4 without ever playing on a church softball team.

  • 10 or more --The number of missionaries that could be supported for one year with the money being used to build tennis courts, baseball fields, football fields and soccer fields.

  • 1 - The number of Bible verses that say, "Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God." (2 John 9).

  • 0 - The number of Bible verses authorizing local churches to build and maintain recreational facilities.

  The newspaper article also stated that, "The new church was given final planning approval Tuesday by the Florence Planning Commission."  Isn't it incredible that a church would do all that is necessary to receive the approval of a human commission, while showing such little concern for finding Scriptural "final approval" from God for their plans?  Let us determine to always consult the Scriptures and allow God's word to lead us when plans are being made concerning the work of His church.

by Steve Klein