Monday, December 04, 2006
Church Planting Movement?
Been reading a lot lately about movements--not as much written as you’d think. It’s taken me into Civil Rights, Woman’s Suffrage, and other secular movements to find patterns. Movements are driven by ideas that lead to action. Therefore, do we really want a church planting movement? Is there really such a thing as a church planting movement?
Church planting is an activity that leads to an institution. In China, and the early church, I see no sign that people existed to start churches. Could it be that church planting movements are an expression of a "Jesus movement" or a "Gospel movement?" What is the real movement? You can read it at Onmovements.com--the case study of Layo and his observations over his church planting movement in his country. They got lots of churches, but little transformation. How horrible it would be to start tons of churches, yet, to find out we started the wrong kinds of churches because we didn’t get what we were really producing!
Church planting is an activity that leads to an institution. In China, and the early church, I see no sign that people existed to start churches. Could it be that church planting movements are an expression of a "Jesus movement" or a "Gospel movement?" What is the real movement? You can read it at Onmovements.com--the case study of Layo and his observations over his church planting movement in his country. They got lots of churches, but little transformation. How horrible it would be to start tons of churches, yet, to find out we started the wrong kinds of churches because we didn’t get what we were really producing!
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Great Bob!
Lord Jesus, I DO want movements! Like You have done tens of thousands of times! (Why would there be between 12 and 19 million churches in the world without them?)
But there are many things to "balance". I've studied many movements and see these "5 Parts of a CPM" to have healthy balance:
1. Entry (How do we and others start talking about Jesus in a friendly, effective way?)
2. Share the Good News (Gospel) in a way that the person comes to understand (might take more than one meeting).
3. Discipleship
a. Short term - 6-12 lessons that are the basics of the faith to help people anchor their lives quickly to some basic truths
b. Long term 1-3 years of being in Bible Study -- what better way of being in Bible study than to be in a church where you weekly hear and hopefully participate in hearing and DOING the Word of God?
4. Church Formation: Take any groups or Bible Studies and help guide them to being churches (purposes, offices, seeking God's glory to be known by selves and others).
5. Leadership Multiplication and Development: How do we get MORE leaders (multiply) and how do we help those leaders develop and continue to develop. The basic answer is that a leader must know numbers 1-4 above (and hopefully #5 on how to raise up more leaders themselves); and then "development" is never ending as we grow and help others grow in Christ, wisdom, leadership.
Like the "Five Purposes of a Church" every person usually has strenghts in one or two of the five areas above -- but all five need to be happening for healthy movements like you, and me, are looking for!
And pray for Margit - having a small surgery Tuesday. Doctors here in Bangalore not too worried but need to check out this "lump".
Hope you don't mind me commenting on your blog "from afar".
Lord Jesus, I DO want movements! Like You have done tens of thousands of times! (Why would there be between 12 and 19 million churches in the world without them?)
But there are many things to "balance". I've studied many movements and see these "5 Parts of a CPM" to have healthy balance:
1. Entry (How do we and others start talking about Jesus in a friendly, effective way?)
2. Share the Good News (Gospel) in a way that the person comes to understand (might take more than one meeting).
3. Discipleship
a. Short term - 6-12 lessons that are the basics of the faith to help people anchor their lives quickly to some basic truths
b. Long term 1-3 years of being in Bible Study -- what better way of being in Bible study than to be in a church where you weekly hear and hopefully participate in hearing and DOING the Word of God?
4. Church Formation: Take any groups or Bible Studies and help guide them to being churches (purposes, offices, seeking God's glory to be known by selves and others).
5. Leadership Multiplication and Development: How do we get MORE leaders (multiply) and how do we help those leaders develop and continue to develop. The basic answer is that a leader must know numbers 1-4 above (and hopefully #5 on how to raise up more leaders themselves); and then "development" is never ending as we grow and help others grow in Christ, wisdom, leadership.
Like the "Five Purposes of a Church" every person usually has strenghts in one or two of the five areas above -- but all five need to be happening for healthy movements like you, and me, are looking for!
And pray for Margit - having a small surgery Tuesday. Doctors here in Bangalore not too worried but need to check out this "lump".
Hope you don't mind me commenting on your blog "from afar".
# posted by 
: 9:46 AM
: 9:46 AM
I remember Andrew Jones saying at a conference we were at once...(i paraphrase for lack of perfect memory) "The Church is a vessel that runs behind the Kingdom of God" hoping to catch some it. Maybe we should even seek first the Kingdom of God before we seek the churches to catch them. Maybe we are building vessels to catch stuff but not doing the work of seeking the Kingdom to have anything to catch.
If we'll be obedient to serve and share the Church will emerge because they'll be "two or more gathered" for "assembly" even if it is in a coffee shop in a church prohibiting culture/society. Is that not still the Church....maybe even more the Church because it is a vessel catching the Kingdom of God and not some pot on the side of the road that has a great prospectus but no kindgom.......hmmmmmmmmmmmmm? Everyone will have to put it in their pipe and smoke that one for a while (be careful though, the surgeon general has all kinds of warnings out about that...spiritually smoking and idea in my mind...is that as dangerous...just might be).
If we'll be obedient to serve and share the Church will emerge because they'll be "two or more gathered" for "assembly" even if it is in a coffee shop in a church prohibiting culture/society. Is that not still the Church....maybe even more the Church because it is a vessel catching the Kingdom of God and not some pot on the side of the road that has a great prospectus but no kindgom.......hmmmmmmmmmmmmm? Everyone will have to put it in their pipe and smoke that one for a while (be careful though, the surgeon general has all kinds of warnings out about that...spiritually smoking and idea in my mind...is that as dangerous...just might be).
# posted by : 10:07 AM
: 10:07 AM
oops...meant "in my mind". i comment on blogs like Jack Kerouac...stream of consciousness and never re-read before i hit the eternally conditioning send button. (and to all you legalists, I really have never smoked, so lay off me).
# posted by : 10:10 AM
: 10:10 AM
But can there be a movement without "church planting"? I agree, Jordan, that a small group of people meeting in a coffee shop is just as much a church as, say, NorthWood, but the catalyst leader who engaged that group is technically a church planter. So, again I ask, can there be a movement without "church planting"?
By the way, you should try smoking, it greatly inhances the worship experience (that and a great laser show). For all you legalists out there, I'M KIDDING!
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By the way, you should try smoking, it greatly inhances the worship experience (that and a great laser show). For all you legalists out there, I'M KIDDING!
# posted by : 12:36 PM
: 12:36 PM << Home
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