Author: Jonathan Dodson

The What and How of Church Planting (from Luke 9)

Posted on January 23, 2008

Below is a summary of thoughts I shared with our launch team this week. These statements about church planting were culled from Luke 9.

Four Points:

o Church planting/kingdom work is hard, self-denying work.

§ Take up your cross, deny yourself daily, embrace social ostracism, sacrifice of your time, even excess family time to follow Jesus on mission in being the church. (9:23, 62)

o Church planting is multiplying work.

§ Jesus SENT 12 and 70 to proclaim the kingdom message and make disciples, not to build a building or launch a service.

§ Church planting is a community project, not a paid position. When confronted with the needs of feeding 5,000, Jesus said “You give them something to eat” (13).

§ Son of man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them (56). We have a winsome, saving gospel, not a destructive, legalistic message.

o Church planting is city renewing work.

§ Jesus set his face to Jerusalem to save the city and may cities to come (51). Paul followed this pattern in his urban church planting focus. We exist not to be a hip church but to renew the city socially and spiritually with the gospel of Christ.

o Church planting requires humility.

 

§ Jesus puts God’s glory above our own desire for praise and recognition (46-48). Planting is not about personal praise for your sacrifices. Your reward is from God.

§ We are about expanding His kingdom, not just our church. We are one of many local churches that will cooperatively bring in spiritual and social renewal.

§ Our worth should not fluctuate with numerical shrinkage and growth. Instead root your significance in Jesus death and resurrection to accept, love, and change you.

            § We should not think of ourselves as great because we are living the missional life. This does not make                 you special; it makes you obedient.

 

One Foundation: God in Christ through the Spirit is our nourishment and strength to live the self-denying, church multiplying, city renewing, humility requiring work of church planting.

o We feed but we are not the food. God sets the table in the wilderness as he did with Israel and with the 5,000.

o The power for spiritual growth and multiplication comes from King Jesus: “Where you go, the King goes, and where the King goes, people bow.” – Neil Cole

 

Planting Network & Relationships

Posted on January 22, 2008

Things are progressing well for the Austin Area Church Planting Network. We will begin the formalization of the Network by forming a board comprised of planters and established pastors that reflect the diversity of Austin.

Today we have a good discussion about how young planters/pastors can cultivate healthy, unselfish relationships with other pastors. Dan Davis shared some reflections, arguing that younger leaders often fail to develop good, transparent relationships with others for three reasons:

  1. They have not “crashed and burned” in order to discover their relational needs.
  2. They are too stretched for time.
  3. They approach relationships on a purely “what can I get out of this” basis.

Of course, not all young pastors approach relationships this way, and if they do, the problem is likely rooted in their theology proper (how they view God). No matter who we are, some relationships have to be formed over tasks; however, people are not essentially levers to be pulled for our success. This commercialization of our relationships can be remedied by repenting over viewing people as instruments. Repentance will likely need to start with how we view God. Do we relate to him primarily over what he can do for us, for our ministries, and how he can make our theology better? Do we view God in the tradition of the Western church that conceives of God as “consubstantial but with distinct hypostases” —in other words the Trinity as shared substance but distinct in themselves. OR do we conceive of God and relate to him as persons-in-community—to be God is to be a community of persons of relationships–which by redemption we are swept into to the sweet satisfaction of our souls? If the former, some confession and repentance may be in order to God himself, then change in our relating to him and consequently to others.

Heath Ledger is Dead

Posted on January 22, 2008

It appears that the Dark Knight was darker than anyone could have imagined for Heath Ledger. Ledger was found dead in his Manhattan apartment today, surrounded by sleeping pills. At age 28, with a promising career, his death is especially tragic. What was going on in this young man’s soul?

Here is the story from the Times. Pray for the family. Pray for the silent hurting in Hollywood.

Don't People Read Anymore?

Posted on January 22, 2008

“It doesn’t matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don’t read anymore,” he said. “Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year. The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don’t read anymore.” — Steve Jobs of Apple

HT: Literary Kicks