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Living All of Life in View of the Cross

Filed under: church planting

Should We Stop Planting Churches?

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Before my family moved to Dahlonega, GA, to plant a church, a friend of mine told me not to plant a church. He wasn't saying for me not to move to Dahlonega or that he didn't want a new church established there. He simply said, "Go live the gospel (teach it and preach it as the solution for my own need, not just theirs) and just maybe a church will spring to life around you." 

That's not terrible counsel. After all, what is a church? It is a community of gospel-affected people who do life together on mission. You can't plant that. A church is the result of planting the seed of the gospel—the message of the cross—that takes root in the hearts of those who receive the gift through faith. So, church planters, let's become gospel planters. Let's stop planting churches and start planting the seed of radical grace through things like weakness evangelism. Then, as others are affected, we'll see churches begin to sprout and flourish in the power of the Spirit. 

Of course, for those of us in the church planting world, we are talking semantics. No church planter in the network with which I am associated is neglecting the gospel in an effort to establish an organization. After all, a cotton farmer is known for what results from his planting. He is not a cotton seed farmer; he is a cotton farmer. The plant assumes the seed. The same is true in church planting. We are sent out to establish churches. The seed of the gospel is assumed. So what we call church planting and gospel planting are not mutually exclusive.

The point is priority. As we focus on sowing the seed, we will have opportunity to tend the plant. For naturally, as the seed grows into a sapling, there will be an organism whose growth we are called to steward. That is where we begin dealing with organizational issues such as budgets, services, facilities, staffing, programs, etc.  But let's not overlook the organic roots of the organism—the seed. In this sense, it seems as if we should first and foremost be planters/sowers of the gospel and then cultivators of the new communities of gospel-affected people who begin to gather as a church.  

If we make it all about the gospel—all about Jesus—all about grace—then we are contributing to the healthiest possible plant. One that prayerfully will reproduce as seed is scattered all over the community, region and, ultimately, the world. 

SDG

Church Growing Pains: Know Which Game You are Playing

Mark Driscoll has produced a number of vodcasts dealing with various issues in church leadership. One segment describes the different phases church plants go through as they grow. According to Driscoll, in order for the planter to be effective in leading the church through these transitions, he needs to know which game he is playing: golf, basketball or football. That got me thinking about how this could be fleshed out a bit and put into a grid. Here is what I've come up with (see below). It's not inerrant, but may provide some helpful context for both leaders and members as churches experience growing pains, helping planters know how to function in their changing role and helping others have appropriate expectations for the planter as the church experiences organizational change.

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Ten Tips for Post-Modern Preaching

Yesterday at the ATL Church Planting Network's monthly gathering, Bob Cargo and Shane Wheeler provided the training segment, focusing on gospel-centered preaching in a post-modern context. Here are ten tips that I gleaned from their helpful presentation.
  1. We must exegete both the text and our culture.
  2. Continually distinguish the gospel from religion.
  3. Always be reading a top 10 best seller to stay current.
  4. Know the questions people would ask in the text and how it applies to them.
  5. If we wound with the law, we must heal with the gospel.
  6. I must deal with my own heart before preaching / preach as a broken man who needs the gospel as the chief of sinners. So don't just prepare the message; prepare the preacher.
  7. Preach to minds as well as to hearts (emotions/affections) and motives, emphasizing that the power for change and the right motive resides in gospel-faith (Jesus is my righteousness), not self-effort.
  8. If I am not believing the gospel, I am under the influence of an idol -- idols must be uncovered in sermons and replaced with the gospel.
  9. Speaking to non-Christians, addressing their issues, questions, fears, etc. (even if they are not yet present) in sermons will equip Christians to share with non-Christians. If we preach this way, non-Christians eventually will be present.
  10. Can my message pass Bryan Chapell's 3AM test? If roused from sleep at 3am on Saturday night, could I state clearly and confidently the main point of that morning's sermon? In other words, would hearers be able to tweet the main point of the message (140 words or less)? 

The Pastor, His Children and Church Planting

Thanks to Mac Lake for his helpful posts on mistakes pastors make in sacrificing the wrong things in ministry. These mistakes can be made in any vocation, but seem to be particularly hazardous for us church planting types. Click on the image below to see a more high res shot. To read more, Mac's blog may be found here. Oh yeah, thanks Jean Harrivel for directing me to Mac's site.

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Let's Set Sail! (or, Four Kinds of Churches)

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According to Len Sweet in his book, Soul Tsunami, there are essentially four kinds of churches. 

 
1. Mission churches. These churches are on the front lines of gospel expansion. They have a radar for the "ungospelized," and desire to have others discover the joy of the gospel by serving, reaching and discipling these new, unreached people. These churches take risks, often steping out onto the water to walk with Jesus.
 
2. Ministry churches. These are churches that provide lots of activities for those within the church. If they reach out, it is primarily to those who are like themselves and are already reached. There is little gospel risk in these churches.
 
3. Maintenance churches.  These are churches that play it safe in the harbor, and are content with preserving customs. They seem to have life, but it is a cruise control type of life. These churches often envy ministry churches and are suspicious of mission churches. 
 
4. Monument churches. These churches are fully ingrown and ultimately dying, living off of the memories of the past.  These churches are jealous of maintenance churches, suspicious of ministry churches, and fear mission churches. 
 
Every new church is either a ministry church or a mission church. However, over time, most have a tendency to slip into maintenance mode... or worse!  Most of my pastoral experience has been with ministry churches, and so I am inclined to lead Creekstone in that direction. 
 
However, as I reflect and pray, I am not satisfied with that track. I want to be missional. This does not mean that we neglect the core, but that we equip the core to be Jesus-centered, gospel-centered, grace-centered, and cross-centered!  Then we will love each other in a way that is compelling to the outside world. We will serve the out side world in such a way that they ask questions. We will invite. We will give. We will repent. We will forgive. We will love. 
 
What will this mean for Creekstone. Wow, I'm not sure. The harbor is calm (and honestly, I like calm), and the sea of mission is turbulent. But that is where Jesus is, and it is where I want to go. So, if you are willing, let's set sail and pray for the wind of the Spirit to lead us!

At our monthly church planting network meeting

Today was our monthly CPN meeting in Buckhead/ATL. Randy Pope led the teaching on training disciples, which was excellent. It is always good to connect with my fellow church planters and coaches. Great time!

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ATL Church Planting Alliance Luncheon- Jan. 20, 2010

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when:
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 20, 2010
10:30 AM - 1:30 PM
what:
A luncheon for Church Planters and Network Leaders, sponsored by the Atlanta Church Planting Alliance, West Ridge Church and Perimeter Church.
who:
Speaker:
Darrin Patrick: Darrin serves as lead pastor of The Journey in Saint Louis, MO, that he founded in 2002. Darrin also serves as Vice President of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network and is a regular contributor at The Resurgence. His passion is to help the church understand and live the gospel. Today, the Journey runs eight services across four campuses and continues to aggressively plant new campuses and churches in the Saint Louis region and beyond.

There is no greater strategy for spiritual transformation in a city than littering it with gospel-centered, missional churches. Therefore, receiving coaching about how to equip and connect planters is paramount. 
- Darrin Patrick
 
where:
Google_maps
The Salvation Army 
Atlanta Temple Corps (the Church building) 
2090 North Druid Hills Road 
Atlanta, GA  30329 
(404) 486-2809 
parking:
Follow signs to the back of the church.
cost:
Registernow
Cost $10, scholarships available. 
Please RSVP by Friday, January 15.

Lunch and seating available to the first 150 only.

contact:
For more information or questions, please email maryannt@perimeter.org  or call 678-405-2104.
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