Why Church Planting?
My friend Bill Huffhine recently wrote a tremendous article mentioned in the post below this one. Anyway, he said something that has me going down a rabbit trail or maybe I'll end up in a rabbit hole or worse yet, buried in one. These words gripped me, "I can't bring myself to call it church planting anymore." Instead, Bill uses the phrase "faith communities".
This may alarm you! If it does, than be alarmed.
1. God never called us to plant churches.
2. God always calls us to make disciples.
Our job: Make disciples
God's job: Build His Church
The shift from using words like church planting to building faith communities changes the outcome dramatically. Let me explain. Not long ago I attended one of those church planting boot camps to train planters how to plant churches. The presenter opened with -"Our main task in planting churches is to build faith communities. " That speech went on for no more than 15 minutes. From there the presenter got into the strategy of planting churches (and stayed on that course until we left). After the faith community speech was over, I raised my hand and asked, "What would happen if we spent 90% of our time learning how to build faith communities and 10% of our time learning the other stuff? Of course that was the wrong question. And two questions later I privately told the presenter that out of respect for him, I would not ask any more questions. He replied, "that would be good". To be fair, I was later told this was not a typical training scenario. So what luck, I ended up at the wrong one.
I do think that the church planting movement is seriously flawed. I have come to believe that if we would focus on making disciples or building faith communities as our chief task, God would build His Church. Church planting is flawed becase we keep doing what we've always done while reaping similiar results. The definition of lunacy is: Do the same things over and over while expecting different results.
Church planting involves using proven practices and principles for getting a new new church up and running quickly with buildings, programs, and enough money to pay a full time planter etc.
Building faith communities has to do with making authentic disciple reproducing Christ followers. We don't need buildings, budgets, or a set number of bodies to do that. We don't need a launch date because a movement is launched naturally as people come to Jesus and into our faith community. We make disciples and God plants churches! That's how it is supposed to be done.
What say you?
posted by Bob Carder @ 11:48 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
I haven't read the article, so I won't say I agree with it (yet), but I agree with your post! You were dead on that the training should be 90% focused on faith communities and 10% on the other stuff. It is amazing how few leaders really know (or even try) to build faith communities. It's been hard for me to make the shift, but I'm trying!
Come on folks, I'm just trying to see if there is a better way or ways to improve the training. If training on building faith communities is not addressed in the boot camp when or where will it be addressed?
So now you know my bias. When will we address the main deal of building faith communities by making disciples at the starting line? The very successful presenter from a large church with all the know how "somehow" missed this very important point. (Mike the wordsmith will correct my use of words yet once again -thanks Mike)
I'm tired of shifting one butt in one place to become a butt in another place. (Can be taken several ways -choose the way carefully)
I agree with you to the extent that I actually do not believe any longer that church as we know it, has any effect on any lives anymore. The only way to make a difference again is to start by making disciples in the true sense of the word, in other words to make people who act and live like Christ, and then only can we look at what Church should be, as we need a reformation, and not revival. Revival is to admit that there was life in something before, while reformation says that we must go back to grassroots level and start anew.
whachu tallkin, bout, Bub? I's ain't never no how currected no buddys ritin.
yu mus be crazee ur haff innsain.
Mike, You should write a book about being a hick in their own unigue way.
Right on, Bob. I think the confusion & power of Christian terminology has muddied the water & sometimes slows our growth as Christ's kingdom people. The Church-building/disciple-making distinction is helpful.
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