A Bundle of Straw
E.A. Johnston challenges the modern church's obsession with size and success by highlighting the humble, faithful example of David Brainerd, urging believers to prioritize genuine gospel ministry over material growth.
In 'A Bundle of Straw,' E.A. Johnston reflects on the humble example of missionary David Brainerd to challenge the modern church's fixation on size and material success. Johnston contrasts Brainerd's sacrificial faithfulness with today's Americanized ministry culture, urging believers to prioritize gospel proclamation over building bigger churches. The sermon calls for a return to spiritual authenticity and courage in ministry, reminding listeners that true success is measured by faithfulness, not numbers.
Full Transcript
There's a verse of scripture that stirs me, found in 2 Chronicles 15.8, which reads, And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of the land. Whenever I get discouraged in ministry, I often take courage from reading a page from David Brainerd's diary. I was reading a page from his diary today, where he wrote, I live poorly with regard to the comforts of life.
Most of my diet consists of boiled corn and hasty pudding. I lodge on a bundle of straw. My labor is hard and extremely difficult, and I have little appearance of success to comfort me.
While Brainerd died at the tender age of 29, I have often stood at his grave in Bridge Street Cemetery in the town of Northampton, Massachusetts, reflecting on his Lord's life. But I can relate to Brainerd's lament, but also fear we have lost the reality of what success in ministry is as we have become Americanized to bigness and largeness. We feel we need bigger homes, and bigger cars, and bigger boats, and bigger jobs.
And this translates to ministry with bigger campuses, because we feel we're failures in ministry if we don't have a bigger church filled to the brim with big cars in the parking lot on Sunday. But true, ministerial success is not measured by length of brick and mortar and numerics of church attendance, but it is measured in other things. I fear, as a country of big churches, we have become Americanized and polarized.
We are like the prophecy from the Charles Dickens novel. We wear the chains we forged in life. But until we break the chains of our big-is-better mentality, we will look for results in a spreading of more brick and mortar rather than the spreading of the gospel throughout the land.
Folks are going into hell, one right after another, while we build onto what we've already builded. I believe if David Brainerd could come back and look at what we call church today, he'd shake his head in disbelief and go back to his bundle of straw in the woods and pray more fervently for the salvation of the heathen.
Sermon Outline
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I
- The encouragement Asa received from prophecy
- David Brainerd’s humble lifestyle and ministry
- The contrast between Brainerd’s faithfulness and modern ministry
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II
- The Americanized obsession with bigger and larger in ministry
- How material success distorts true ministry goals
- The spiritual danger of focusing on buildings and numbers
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III
- The call to break free from the big-is-better mentality
- The urgency of gospel proclamation over physical expansion
- Reflecting on Brainerd’s example for modern believers
Key Quotes
“True, ministerial success is not measured by length of brick and mortar and numerics of church attendance, but it is measured in other things.” — E.A. Johnston
“Folks are going into hell, one right after another, while we build onto what we've already builded.” — E.A. Johnston
“I believe if David Brainerd could come back and look at what we call church today, he'd shake his head in disbelief and go back to his bundle of straw in the woods and pray more fervently for the salvation of the heathen.” — E.A. Johnston
Application Points
- Evaluate your ministry goals to ensure they focus on gospel impact rather than size or numbers.
- Embrace humility and sacrifice as marks of faithful Christian service.
- Resist cultural pressures that equate bigger church buildings with spiritual success.