Many churches in America have adopted, consciously or unconsciously, a business model of church. Their bottom line is how many people are members of the church, how big their buildings are, how nice their facilities are, how big their budget is, how many individuals are on the staff. Bigness, however, may not be a sign of being faithful or a sign of God’s favor. Rather, bigness may be a sign a church is reflecting the values of its culture instead of challenging congregants to accept and live the values of the kingdom of God. Ironically, by adopting a business model of church congregations increase the likelihood they will be run or dominated by rich people (You need money to pay for the bigness.), the very individuals Jesus indicated had the most trouble accepting and living kingdom of God values.

[Note: Just as the bigness of a church is not a sign of God's favor neither is smallness. Smallness or lack of growth can be a sign a church has become a club and is not welcoming of newcomers. On the other hand, what if there were churches which intentionally adopted a model of church which encouraged a congregational size that enhanced intimacy and care, and committed itself to start new congregations when active participation exceeded one hundred people.)