Quality over Quantity

         I’m reading a book right now called Intuitive Eating*. It’s a concept that rejects the diet culture and encourages people of all ages to get back in touch with their bodies as far as listening for hunger signals and eating based on how you feel (ie, whether you are hungry). It removes all the labels of “good” and “bad” from food, which is meant to move you away from associating food with guilt. My nutritionist recommended this book, and it has really hit a raw nerve in me that I didn’t realize was as raw as it is. I’ve never had a great relationship with food, so learning to get back in touch with my own internal “intuitive eater” is my new challenge.

          One of the things I appreciate about the book is the movement away from number-based results. While numbers in blood work can reflect accurate health markers, the writers argue that some numbers – like weight – don’t actually accurately reflect whether or not a body is “healthy.” They advocate for getting rid of all the scales and just noticing how your body feels. How’s your energy? How are you sleeping? Does anything hurt? Coming to peace with the idea that the numbers don’t define me is a big step in how I’m wrestling with being at peace in my own body. 

            And it strikes me that church bodies wrestle with this, too. Numbers are such a big part of how we determine whether or not our congregation is “healthy” (I think this is true for most organizations, no? Isn’t that why my alma mater sends me an annual report every year?). When I go to conferences, people ask me, “How big is your church?” They want to know how many people (on a typical non-covid Sunday) sit in the pews (which of course is a different number from what we show on the rolls). And we are wed to these numbers. We struggle to maintain these numbers and grow these numbers. We want to know how we can bring in more people (especially young people, and bonus points if they have kids that we can enroll in our Sunday school classes). 

            Numbers frustrate me because, as I’m learning from Intuitive Eating, they don’t show the whole picture of what makes an organization healthy. Of course if there is a major change in the numbers, that’s something to be concerned about. But don’t just ask how many losses and gains we had over the year. Ask how we changed lives. Ask how we made a difference in our community. Ask how we loved God and loved our neighbors as we love ourselves. 

            Also, quick shout-out to Laurie at the Creative Little Church whose ministry has been reminding me how true this is that the numbers don't show us the whole picture. She constantly talks about "loving the one" and doing what you can to embrace quality over quantity. You should definitely check out the Creative Little Church on social media and see what they are about. 

            I’m finding it very freeing to think this way. Now, instead of being disappointed when only one person shows up for something, I get excited to grow my relationship with the one person. Instead of worrying that the success of a Bible study will be obvious by the number of people on the zoom screen, I’m just looking forward to spending time with those who do show up. Instead of stressing about how to get more people to come to church, I’m free to think instead about how our church can show up in the community. It’s freeing to see ministry through the lens of quality, not quantity. 

            Sometimes numbers matter. But for the most part, I hope you find it freeing to know that numbers don’t show us the whole picture when it comes to our church’s health. The body of Christ needs numbers for some things, but mostly we are just beautiful at whatever size we happen to be. 


*"Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Anti-Diet Approach" by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch (4th edition). Please note I am NOT a health expert and I'm just learning this stuff, so I'm not advocating that what you're doing for your health is right or wrong. I'm just sharing what I'm learning for me and my own body in this stage of my life.

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