Deep or Wide vs. Deep and Wide

Discipleship.    Evangelism.

Depth.    Width.

"Our pastor is a fantastic teacher."    "Our pastor is more of an evangelist."

*It is better to be a mile deep and an inch wide than a mile wide and an inch deep*

Polarized.

Is anyone else tired of the constant tension between these two camps in the Church?

How did we get here?

1 Corinthians 12:4-31 says (italics mine):

 

[4] Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; [5] and there are varieties of service, 
but the same Lord; [6]and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who 
empowers them all in everyone. [7] To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the
common good. [8] For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of
wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit,
[9] to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one
Spirit, [10] to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to
another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of
tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. [11] All these are empowered
by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.


[12]For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the
body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. [13] For in one Spirit
we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were
made to drink of one Spirit.
[14]For the body does not consist of one member but of many. [15] If the foot
should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would
not make it any less a part of the body. [16] And if the ear should say,
“Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it
any less a part of the body. [17] If the whole body were an eye, where would be
the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense
of smell? [18] But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of
them, as he chose. [19] If all were a single member, where would the body be?
[20] As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

[21]The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to
the feet, “I have no need of you.” [22] On the contrary, the parts of the body
that seem to be weaker are indispensable, [23] and on those parts of the body
that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable
parts are treated with greater modesty, [24] which our more presentable parts
do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the
part that lacked it, [25] that there may be no division in the body, but that
the members may have the same care for one another. [26] If one member suffers,
all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
 
[27]Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. [28] And God has
appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then
miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of
tongues. [29] Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work
miracles? [30] Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do
all interpret? 
[31] But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.


It seems Scripture is clear in putting forward the idea that we need different people with 

different skill sets in order to be healthy. So, why then do we insist on an either/or way 
of thinking?
 
Some close friends of ours were recently let go from a ministry position. What was communicated to them 

(according to their side of the story, so author is admitting both his bias towards his friends and the one 
side-edness of the communication) was that, while they were good at helping people go "deeper" (insert 
discipleship), what the church needed was a way to be "broader" (insert evangelism/outreach) and bring in 
more people.

Is it wrong to want more people to come? No. Is it wrong to want more people to hear the Gospel? No. But 
I would say and I believe Scripture would agree that it is wrong to be forced out of a ministry position (where 
you were doing well) because you were doing what the Lord has gifted you to do for the Body. To let someone 
go who was effectively helping people grow in and deeply form their faith just to gain someone from the other 
end of the spectrum is not wise...it is foolish.
 
Those are Bible words and how the Bible describes our actions. They are not character judgments or personal 
attacks. 

It doesn't need to be either/or.

What should have happened is the church should have recognized the gift they had in people succeeding in their

gifting and come up with creative ways to bring new people into the ministry who offered a different skill 

set/gifting. It would have added to the depth and effectiveness of that church, made use of the Body, and 

created a renewed sense of appreciation and celebration instead of feelings of pain and incompetence. 
 
We must be honest about our strengths and our weaknesses. But we must also be affirmed for our strengths and 
compensated with support for our weaknesses. The divide is a tiresome one. 

You can be deep and wide.

Most often, depth leads to width much as erosion does in natural processes. Width, however, leads to more width

and often at the expense of effective depth.

But even with those realities, they can and should find ways to build on each other and bless each other.

What kind of church is your church? How can you help move it towards a healthy balance instead of a polarized

choice?

May we learn from Scripture not follow the trend of our culture.