Lots-o-Links 11.7.07

Reformissionary has been linked in the Slate article "Not All It's Cracked Up To Be: Why is the New York Times Magazine saying evangelical Christians are increasingly divided?"  I'm the "drinking" link...

That shift might be related to their embrace of Reformed theology, a doctrine that encourages believers to acknowledge that they are all inherently sinful and have received undeserved grace (thus making them respond less judgmentally to others' sexual behavior). Reformed theology also rebuffs the idea that behavior makes one righteous, effectively discouraging the equation of patriotism and blind party activism with piety. A 2006 Pew survey shows that college-educated conservatives are more likely to be less conservative on issues like gay marriage, stem-cell research, and contraception than those who've completed only some college or high school. And according to a study by Barna group, a Christian research organization, young born-again Christians are 15 percent more likely than their elders to find homosexual behavior morally acceptable. Even many of my college-age evangelical friends at the conservative Christian school Patrick Henry College see popular films, attend rock concerts, and have no objection to drinking or dancing.

Alistair McGrath's Christianity's Dangerous Idea is getting some good reviews.  The Internet Monk calls it "one of the best books of the year."  Gary Shavey at Resurgence has a 15 minute interview with McGrath on the book. 

Drew Goodmanson reflects on thoughts from Steve Timmis at the Total Church Conference.  Drew deals in particular with the video venue vs new leaders and planters idea.  Darrin Patrick has said concerning finding new church planters...

One reason it didn’t work was that we couldn’t find enough planters with a heart for our area who could plant a self-governing, self-supporting self-reproducing church….I believe that there are few guys with the calling and requisite skill set to plant a reproducing incarnational/attractional church. This is evidenced by the 70% failure rate in church plants. I saw this in our own context as we simply couldn’t find the guys with the calling and skill- set to give people to. Now, this has not stopped us from planting locally as we just sent out an elder and people to plant about 45 minutes out in the burbs. We have another intern who hopefully will plant in the next two years. My point is that if your church is experiencing growth like ours, you cannot plant fast enough, chiefly because of the lack of called, qualified, church planters. 

Goodmanson writes...

Timmis, upon reflection asked is the problem we face the leaders or the types of churches we are planting? When he examined Paul's missionary journey, Paul traveled through cities where people converted.  Paul returned in under two years and more likely after a couple months to appoint elders.  Timmis surmised that the problem then cannot be our leaders but the types of churches we are planting and the leader requirement necessary to run them.

Goodmanson adds Timmis' two conclusions...

1. We need to re-think leadership in the local church. Much of our leadership shortage stems from wrong assumptions.  Churches can appoint elders, who fulfill all that is required in Timothy & Titus.  This means we select elders by the grace evidenced in their life, not by the attractional qualities they hold.  How many of these guys are in your church right now?

2. Church Planters have a unique set of gifting that are best served planting churches. (Timmis called church planters 'apostles') Since there are fewer of these 'initiators/gatherers'  they ought to do more missional church planting (often done in a team setting where people travel with them) to plant churches.  The skills these 'apostolic leaders' possess include: Visionary, Creative, Adaptable, Productive, Impatient - always wanting to move things forward, self-starters and a bit of a maverick. These skills serve the planter well to create new works, but often these skills make them poor leaders of established churches.

Very good and important thoughts.  You can also check out Mark Driscoll's "Videology: Why We Use Videos" for a pro-video point of view.

Ben Arment, pastor of Reston Community Church in Reston, VA, has made their Organization Chart and Job Descriptions available. Helpful.

Have you checked out BookSpot before?  How about Readerville?  Some cool stuff for readers/writers.

City Church in Chicago...

Comments

[Jason Robertson]

The video caused me to tear up as I laughed. "We've got child-care... so you don't have to neglect your kid during service." Oh man... That is classic!

[eric Blauer]

I watched Marks video yesterday...I thought it was good overall but just couldn't help finding myself chaffing against the upward mobility aspect of it all...it seems in our culture bigger is better...we charge for large...we almost never assume that more isn't better. I dont know, I am not a simple church fan...I fit in Marks camp most of all...but...I kept thinking about where Jesus is taken to the pinnacle of the temple...a place where it seems modern America church leaders strive to get towards...more visibility, greater reach, broader impact...I cant get away from the fact that the devil tempted Jesus with similar opportunities... fame, visibility, greater reach? I dont know how to balance that with the desire to see more and more people hear and respond to the gospel. Hard issues.

[Jeff Temple]

One thing that I observed in my recent experience with church planting is the pressure to make the new ministry a success. This leads people to feel uncared for, which was a regular comment as the church I was involved with had people leave to find another one. Therefore with Goodman's observation about right leaders or right churches seems to fall into the catagory of right leadership is needed, based upon my reflections.

The people will feel cared for by their leaders when the leaders display that they want to understand the hearts of those who'll attend or check out the new church. A congregation that understands it is cared for and is being equipped for doing ministry (Eph 4) will determine the longevity of that church. In 1 Thessalonians Paul gave examples on how to care for people. For example leaders ought to admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, and be patient with them all. This is how to demonstrate the love of Christ.

I can't help but surmise that leadership who plants a church is planning on its success. With a attention on being successful I see how their focus settles on instilling the right philosophy, programs, style of worship, etc. all for the purpose to attract a following. Because of the hard work that is put into the research and development in planting a church, the leadership can fall prey to having their identity wrapped up in their venture, which takes the focus off caring for those who will come.

[JTapp]

I think Darrin Patrick and others overlook the fact that church planting often fails due to economies of scale enjoyed by larger churches.
It takes a real supernatural move of God to allow churches to remain small and reproduce rather than grow larger. If he has a church of 1,500 that he has trouble planting new churches (of 50 people each), this seems to be a natural explanation.

I wrote a post on it here. Have been dialoguing with a professor at Wheaton who has studied such things and thinks I'm on the mark.