Do the ends justify the means?

I recently was part of an interesting interaction on social media. The discussion had to do with methods used in large events hosted by churches. I had made a point about having to make sure our means are in alignment with the ends we seek. One person replied:

God does not concern Himself with our methods; He concerns Himself with our effectiveness. That's why there's awards of gold and silver or wood, hay, and stubble. It's why one person had their talents taken and given to another. Those who handled what they had been given by God were rewarded. The one who lost his talents was cast away, removed from responsibility and was put into a place of oblivion and darkness.

There are many problem's with this person's statement. I'm pretty sure God does care about our methods. We should not use deceptive bait-and-switch methods in our outreach and evangelism, as that makes God look like the stereotypical used car salesman. We should not use entertainment that appeals to sensuality and flesh to draw people to hear a gospel presentation; that creates a contradiction between the medium and the message.

Second, this person mishandles Scripture in attempting to justify the idea that the methods aren't important. "That's why there's awards of gold and silver or wood, hay, and stubble." Nowhere does the Bible mention rewards of gold and silver, or wood, hay, and stubble. Rather, in 1 Corinthians 3, the Apostle Paul is writing about what our works as believers consist of, not the rewards we receive:

For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. (1 Cor. 3:12-15, King James Version)

Note that Paul talks about someone building upon the foundation (which is Christ) with works symbolized by gold, silver, wood, hay, and stubble. These things are not the rewards we receive based on our "effectiveness," but rather represent the quality of what we do for God. The purifying fire will reveal whether our works were spiritual or fleshly. Methods that align with the way of Jesus would be gold and silver; methods that are purely human invention would be wood, hay, and stubble. Works that withstand the testing of the fire (gold and silver) will result in a reward for the one who built with them; those things themselves are not the reward. Those whose works are burned up, they prove to have been worthless, thought the worker himself/herself will be saved.

The parable of the talents, which this person also mentions, doesn't even address methodology. It is simply about whether we use what God has given us, putting our abilities and resources to work for the kingdom, or just let them sit idle like the lazy servant who hid the talent in the ground. But regarding methods, I believe we can safely assume the servants who put their master's money to work did so ethically and honorably; they didn't invest the talents in their culture's equivalent of drug dealing or some other morally questionable business, and then justify the means by saying, "Master, I doubled the money you gave me to work with!" The means of the work we do for God must always align with God's character as revealed in Scripture.

In the interaction on Facebook, this interlocutor also started out their response saying:

More than 500 men came to the altar and gave themselves fully to God.

Now, I don't want to come off as cynical when it comes to what God is doing in people's lives. But the event in question was a massive men's conference in a rented sports arena. It's one thing to count how many people fill out a card or raise their hand in an emotional moment in a room full of people. It's another thing to see how many are actually plugging in to discipleship at a local church in their home town several weeks or months after the big event. I sincerely hope and pray all these men did actually experience life change and are growing closer to God. 

The problem here is this writer's attitude of, "The methods don't matter, just look at the results!" But we cannot see the actual results, which will only be revealed over a comparatively long time span. And because of that fact, we should not rely on those numbers to cast aside questions that may arise about methods and actions that actually can be observed and evaluated in the light of the Bible.

Author Katelyn Beaty, in her book Celebrities for Jesus: How Personas, Platforms, and Profits Are Hurting the Church, has several things to say regarding this.

The growth mindset that pervades much of the American church has arguably distracted us from the main thing. Growth in size has often supplanted growth in holiness—and this emphasis has over time subtly justified whatever means might "work" to achieve that growth, with celebrity near the top of the lidst of strategies. (pp. 161-162)

Peterson summarizes Jesus's testing in the desert: "In the three great refusals, Jesus refuses to do good things in the wrong way."...Jesus's refusal to give in tells us that we can't do good things in bad ways and expect the ends to justify the means. How we do kingdom things matters....Someone desiring to do great things for God can have all the right motives but all the wrong mechanisms. Jesus's obedience tells us that mechanisms matter—if godly ends are pursued by ungodly means, the whole project will be ruined. (p 167)

Scot McKnight and Laura McKnight Barringer write in A Church Called Tov: Forming a Goodness Culture That Resists Abuses of Power and Promotes Healing:

Growth is good, but the purpose of the church is not numerical growth or filling seats. The purpose of the church is conformity to Christ. That is the sum total of God's plan. (p. 219) 

But we cannot simply rely on numbers (especially short-term numbers at an event that do not reflect long-term growth and discipleship) to measure faithfulness to Christ and His ways. The way we do things matters just as much—if not more—than the things we do in and of themselves.