…aka, “Open Letter to the Growthinistas, Pt. 1.875.”
One of the things that I believe strongly in is reading/listening to dudes I don’t already agree with. I like reading fellow Calvary pastors’ stuff – and I do. But I need to read the stuff from other streams that I’m not directly a part of, for two major reasons:
- To fight the natural tendency towards provincialization in thinking that happens when one drinks from his own bathwater, intellectually speaking, and, close on the heels of the first reason:
- To be challenged in my thinking. I already agree with myself; because it’s simple human nature to have blind spots in our thinking, and by definition we can’t see our own blind spots, it’s a great habit to get into to read/listen to/interact with as broad a range of thinking as possible to constantly challenge your presuppositions, and hopefully thereby identify and deal with those blindspots.
Being that I’m no friend of Emergent, I specifically choose to read as much of their stuff as possible (by the way – not for the purpose of proving them wrong; if that’s the motive, stop; you’re not thinking, you’re reacting – and besides, the ECM is hugely self-defeating anyway), and one of the ECM sources I like to read is the Next-Wave e-zine.
Next-Wave is a great resource; it’s a mostly-regular online publication where ECMmers contribute mercifully short articles on subjects near and dear to the Emergent heart. (I say “mercifully short” because, due to the inherent limitations of articular writing, they’re largely forced to actually focus their thoughts, eschewing their habitual obfuscatory grandiloquence, and for the most part restricting their wonted overuse of bromidic ECM catchphrases like missio dei, neo-monastic, and incarnational…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…) I try to read it whenever it’s updated; in doing so, I have shaken my head in mystified disbelief more than once, chuckled at the apparently not-obvious-to-them pretentiousness of it all just about every time…and been deeply challenged on more than a few occasions.
I have also read stuff that I have, to my deep and abiding shock, been 100% in agreement with.
Honestly…didn’t see that one coming.
It turns out, however, that many ECMmers actually have some good stuff to say; some of it is even marginally orthodox. You can imagine my surprise.
This month’s issue deals with “Church Pirates” – you know, the kind that Ed Young knows and loves.
…or, wishes he didn’t know and doesn’t love too much.
…or…whatever.
But tucked away in this month’s missive (and I haven’t read all of it yet) is a gem of an article by a Vineyard church planter, titled Things They Tell Church Planters That Are Simply Wrong. It is, incidentally, simply right.
He comments on some of the things he’s heard as a church planter that have proven to be out-of-kilter with what is truly true. Things like:
- It’s all about Sunday (hint: no it’s not)
- If it’s not working, your signage or location is wrong
- What counts is attendance, baptism and signups for membership class (hint: Jesus leaves the ninety-and-nine to minister to the one – what about that, eh?)
- For the first two years, work as hard as you can without burning out
- The goal of every pastor should be to be full-time paid (wouldn’t that be nice… ;D )
- Some people are just scaffolding people
- Gather a crowd first, figure out who the disciples are later
This is a stunningly good article by a brother I probably wouldn’t agree with much on…but who apparently loves Jesus and “gets it” when it comes to a true Kingdom (not kingdom-building) viewpoint.
I give it eleven thumbs up.
July 10, 2008 at 7:13 am
God’s Word provides us with all the purpose and direction that we could ever need. God also gives us something more to be able to live the Christian life, he also gives us the anointing of the Holy Spirit,.
http://anyonecare.wordpress.com/
July 16, 2008 at 8:04 am
[…] Tally Wilgis on church plants. Mike Macon on things church planters are told that are wrong. […]
July 16, 2008 at 11:12 am
“It’s all about Sunday.”
Mike…I think I understand what you and the author disagree with about this but I have told new church planters to make Sunday morning really good before they add all kinds of other stuff.
Too often I’ve seen guys attempt to have midweek, Sunday evening, men’s and women’s studies, youth, homegroups, etc.
meanwhile…their Sunday morning service is weighed and found wanting.
I don’t tell them “it’s all about Sunday” but I do tell them to make Sunday good before you attempt to add to it.
July 16, 2008 at 12:22 pm
There is only one ‘expert’ on church planting and that’s the Lord, and Zech. 4:6 warns us that it is not by might or power (and not by man’s wisdom- 1 Cor. chaps. 1-2). God told us to start a church in August of 2003 with no funds, no supporting churches, etc.- i.e., nothing other than God’s leading. A missionary and experienced administrator talked with us, and told us we were violating ‘every rule in the book’ and that we were headed to be another one of the failed plants in our area (of which there have been many). We obeyed, and God blessed, and here we are as Calvary Chapel Space Coast ready to send our first full time missionary, and start another church campus. All by God’s grace, and all for His glory!
July 16, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Dude, I have two words for you:
AWE SOME!!!!!
July 16, 2008 at 5:40 pm
>>There is only one ‘expert’ on church planting and that’s the Lord, and Zech. 4:6 warns us that it is not by might or power (and not by man’s wisdom- 1 Cor. chaps. 1-2). God told us to start a church in August of 2003 with no funds, no supporting churches, etc.- i.e., nothing other than God’s leading. A missionary and experienced administrator talked with us, and told us we were violating ‘every rule in the book’ and that we were headed to be another one of the failed plants in our area (of which there have been many). We obeyed, and God blessed, and here we are as Calvary Chapel Space Coast ready to send our first full time missionary, and start another church campus. All by God’s grace, and all for His glory!
I ran a hone church for about 2 dozen poor persons for years, and I fed them every week freely too, and I never took one offering too, God supplied all I needed too.