Keeping with yesterday’s theme of saving time by not insisting on perfection, here’s another gem from Sahil Bloom: “The Christmas Tree Effect.” You know what I’m talking about: we keep buying all these “cute” ornaments, but pretty soon there’s so much on the Christmas tree that the overall beauty of the tree is diminished. And some of our “special ornaments” aren’t even visible any more.

Sahil quotes David Epstein’s October 9, 2023 blog which opens with the story of states’ using electronic road signs to alert people to the number of deaths in that area. Guess what? A scientific study came to this unfortunate conclusion:

The duo studied eight years of traffic data, and 880 electronic warning signs. Here’s the conclusion, in an unfortunate nutshell: the fatality signs increased the number of crashes. The scientists estimated that the road-sign campaign caused an additional 2600 accidents and 16 deaths per year, in Texas alone.

Why? Because the addition of one more sign, took the drivers’ attention from the road! The US Army kept adding more things to soldiers’ body armor so that it actually weighed more than some of the soldiers!

Let’s get practical: how many programs does your church have? I saw a billboard once where a church proudly advertised “165 Ministries.” Really? What would the focus of such a church be? Who would know? If you were a member, how would you know which ministry to choose to either volunteer for or participate in? Would there be a way to weigh the importance of, say, the discipleship ministry (I’m sure they had one) versus the casserole ministry (I bet they had one of those too!)?

How do I know? Because I’ve been in churches, large and small, seen lots of ministries started but very few discontinued. Pretty soon the system collapses under its own weight.

Paul’s prayer is appropriate:

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1.9 – 11, ESV, emphasis mine)

“Approve what is excellent” and, maybe discontinue what is not excellent. Or, as a pastor friend of mine said with respect to programs that are no longer effective, “If the horse is dead, dismount.”