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THE ORDINARY CHRISTIAN'S GUIDE TO CHURCH PLANTING - Step 3: Develop A Church Planting Team

In the remaining blog posts we are going to deal with some very practical and necessary components that need to be in place in order for a healthy church to be started and develop.  These essential components were modeled by Jesus to his 12 disciples; put into practice by the disciples when Jesus sent them out and then multiplied when when Christ instructed and sent out the 72 into every town and village he was about to go.  These same components were implemented and practiced by the Apostle Paul during his missionary journey's.  The best and most complete and best instructions of these components were given by Jesus in Luke 10:1-16 as Jesus sends out the 72.

In verse 1 we discover the first essential component.  It says,

"After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go." Luke 10:1 (NIV)

I don't know how many times in my life I got excited about doing something and then charged forward with the attitude that I was going to accomplish this goal regardless if anybody came with me or not. To many to count. I was going to make it happen, no, I was going to force it to happen. But then, just as I got into the thick of things, when things got really tough and even dicey, I'd loose heart, get discouraged and soon drop out and quit. I'm sure I am not alone in this. I am sure that most of us can recall a time or two where that was a description of you. But isn't comforting to know that Jesus has made preparations to encourage us who are on mission with him when we go through difficult times? Isn't nice to know that Jesus' strategy included an encouragement component to keep his missionaries (us) on track?

Did you notice in that verse Jesus appointed 72 other people and placed them in teams of two?  Why? What would be the reason for sending them out two by two? If you sent them out individually you could cover twice as much territory and twice as many people could hear the message of the Kingdom of God. The only possible reason for this pairing is to provide support and encouragement for one another. Listen to what the Bible says in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12:

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."

From this verse we can see Jesus' wisdom in sending the 72 out in teams. He knew that there would be far more success with teams than if they went out on their own. Teams would provide assistance, encouragement, protection and strength. None of this would be available if a person was pursuing Christ's mission alone. Knowing these benefits Jesus made teams part of his strategy. Throughout the book of Acts we see the same pattern of teams being used with the apostles. Whether it was Paul and Barnabas or Peter and John we see them doing the work together and starting churches as a team.

For those of us who are just ordinary Christians we can learn a very important lesson! As we go out to start new churches we need to make sure that we don't try to do it alone but we have surrounded ourselves with other like-mind believers who have the same passion for Christ's as our own to form a church planting team. Starting churches can be hard, difficult and many times discouraging.  But if there has been prayer and time put into building a strong team, of at least two people, the work of starting a new church will not be so overwhelming and there will be a wonderful built in support system to help ensure that what we have started (planting a new church) we do finish.  

So who are some brothers and sisters in Christ that you know who love Jesus more than anyone or anything else and unconditionally and sacrificially love others as Christ has love them?  Who are some Christians that you know that have a heart for Christ's mission?  The only three real qualifications for team members are:  1) They're A Fully Devoted Follower of Christ; 2) They've Proven Themselves To Be Faithful To Christ & Ministry; 3) They Sense God's Call To Be Part Of This New Venture.

HERE'S YOUR HOME WORK:

1.  Using the 3 qualification listed above make a list of all potential team members.

2.  Begin praying over the names and asking God whom he wants as part of the church plant team.

3.  Share the vision of the new church to those you sense God wants to be part of it.

4.  Be alert to others that God might bring your way to be part of the church planting team.

Once you have a leadership team of at least you and one other person begin meeting together for prayer, going over The Ordinary Christian's Guide To Church Planting and developing your plans to plant this new church.  

HERE IS WHERE THE FUN BEGINS! GO OUT AND FIND THOSE THAT GOD HAS PREPARED TO BE PART OF THIS NEW CHURCH!

THE ORDINARY CHRISTIAN'S GUIDE TO CHURCH PLANTING - Step 2: Know What's Suppose To Happen In A House Church

Now that you have rethought your image of church and hopefully realized that you do have the basic leadership skills needed for leading a house church we now, in step two, need to consider what actually happens in a house church meeting.  This is where the second wave of excuses start flooding in from ordinary Christians fearful that they can't start a church.  The excuses go something like this:

"I can't start a church because I don't have the communication skills to preach a sermon or the musical skills to play an instrument and I surely can't sing worth a darn to lead in a song!  
Those things require training that I have never received!"

But here's the question that I want to pose to you:  Are those skills and training really necessary for starting and leading a house church?  Do you really have to preach a sermon, play an instrument or sing a song in order to have a solid and effective church plant?  My answer to that would be an absolute and resounding:

NO!  

A house church should never try to recreate, on a smaller scale, what is done in a traditional brick and mortar church where PERFORMANCE through preaching and music is the key to success for two reasons:

1. A house church could never perform those activities (preaching and singing) at a level that is necessary for them to be successful.  Entertainment is the key to success with a church that emphasizes these activities.  So if you are trying to reach people who are looking to be entertained, they will always opt for the larger church that has mastered the performance and is able to deliver the entertainment they are seeking.
2. The key to success for a house church is not in its performance to entertain but in its ability to develop sincere and meaningful relationships with people and God. That's right the key for success to starting and leading a house church is your ability to guide people into meaningful and authentic relationships with God and each other.  That's what people are looking for who will come to a house church.  If the people who attend a house church want a good show, they go to the movies and if they want to hear good music they go to a concert but when they want authentic relationships with God and others they attend a church (house church) where that is the emphasis.

So what actually does happen in a house church that ordinary Christian's facilitate that will bring people into authentic and meaningful relationship with God and others?  There are many different books that are available on that subject that would be good to read and would be helpful,   but for the purposes of this blog post I want to emphasize what the first church in Jerusalem emphasized and what they were devoted to doing when they gathered together in a house church.  In Acts 2:41-42:

"So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about 3,000 souls.  They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."  

In this verse four things stand out that should be emphasized at a house church meeting:  

• First it says they were devoted to the FELLOWSHIP:  Now from my denominational background (Southern Baptist) when I hear fellowship I automatically think FOOD, POTLUCK and OVEREATING.  And I have to tell you that people from the south sure do know how to cook the best tasting food ever.  However, that's not what the Bible means when it talks about fellowship.  In this verse when it says that the people were devoted to the fellowship they were saying that they were devoted to each other.  The fellowship consisted of the people who made up the church.  This means that they were devoted to taking care of each other, meeting each other's needs, praying for each other, and sharing with each other.  They were so devoted to making sure that each person was taken care of that fellow Christians were selling some of their possessions to raise money to meet the needs of others in their church fellowship.  They sincerely cared about each other.  They would cry with one another, celebrate with one another, serve one another, provide for one another,  and encourage one another!  This devotion to the church family was so important  that we find this evaluation of the church in Acts 4:34,

"For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles feet, and they distributed to each as any had need." 

Now you need to understand that no one was forced or even made to feel compelled to sell anything, but because their devotion and love to each other was so strong these first house church members wanted to do whatever it took to meet each other's needs.  It is in small groups, LIKE SMALL HOUSE CHURCHES, that this kind of authentic care for one another can be nurtured and developed.  

• Next they were devoted to PRAYER:  These first Christ Followers had an insatiable appetite for prayer.  They prayed all the time and for everything.  When the Holy Spirit first came at the Day of Pentecost the apostles were involved in a prayer meeting; when people were sick they prayed for each other; when Peter was arrested and waiting to be executed we find the church praying; it was during a prayer time that an angel appeared to Cornelius and instructed him to send for Peter to come and tell him the Good News; and when the Holy Spirit set apart Paul and Barnabas for their mission work the church was praying.  Throughout the entire Book of Acts we see the church moving forward in response to the prayers of those early followers.  Jesus himself taught his disciples to go into their prayer closet and pray to our Heavenly Father for all of their needs with the expectation of all of them being met.  At the end of Jesus' ministry on earth he told his disciples to pray for anything in his name and it would be given to them.    The Apostle Paul, in Ephesians, instructs us to always be in prayer for all occasions and for all the saints.   For these early Followers of Christ and for the early church praying wasn't just a good thing but it was an essential thing.  It was as important and natural for them to pray as it was for them to breathe.  

• In addition they were devoted to THE BREAKING OF BREAD:  Whenever the early church came together they would share together what was called a Love Feast.  A Love Feast was a common meal the church members would have together in obedience to the Lord to do the Lord's Supper in remembrance of Him.  The Lord's Supper for the early church was not a small little wafer  bread and a little cup of juice performed during some ritualistic ceremony.  The Lord's Supper was a full meal that was shared as they remembered both the sacrifice of Christ and his promise to join them in that meal when he returns.  So for those early church members church also included eating a full meal together in the expectation of Christ's return. 

• And finally they were devoted to THE APOSTLE'S TEACHINGS:  Whatever the Apostles taught in the house churches was retaught in other house churches.  This wasn't just any kind of random Bible study topic or series that the apostles decided to use because they thought it would draw a crowd.  No, the apostles had a set pattern, form or body, if you would, of teaching that they instructed to every disciple of Christ.  This body of teaching, or pattern, was taught and established in every town, village or city in which a church was started.  The teaching was both theological and practical.  It taught the truth about Christ, God and His salvation and then it taught the lifestyle that was to be lived out in every disciple of Christ.  The body of the Apostles Teaching is best found in the New Testament Books of Ephesians and Colossians and to a large degree in 1 Peter and James.

Now while there are other things that could be done in a house church meeting these are the four absolute and irreducible activities that must be done.  

SO LET ME ASK YOU A VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION!

Don't you think that if you are a fully devoted follower of Christ, and you have a vibrant and growing spiritual life that you could lead a group of 8 to 25 people to take care of each other and meet each other's needs; to pray for God's power, presence and provision to be manifested; to study and learn the Apostle's teachings on how to live the life of Christ; and to share a meal together in remembrance of Christ's death, burial and resurrection and his future return?

SERIOUSLY!  DON'T YOU THINK YOU CAN DO THAT?  Starting and leading a house church doesn't require you to be a great performer but it does require you to love people and lead them to do the four things discussed here.  

Take care of each other, pray for God's power, learn the Apostles Teaching and live it and finally share a meal together in remembrance of Christ death and future return that's all it takes to start and lead a house church that builds authentic and meaningful relationship with God and others.

HERE'S YOUR HOME WORK:

Design a house church formate that includes these four things.  What's going to happen first, second, third and fourth.

THE ORDINARY CHRISTIANS GUIDE TO CHURCH PLANTING: Step 1 Rethink Your Image Of Church

As we begin this journey of church planting together I can already hear the first excuse that many of you are throwing out on why you could never be a church planter.  The excuse goes something like this:

"I could never be a church planter because I have no training, ability or idea on how to lead or administrate such a complex organization like a church!"

And if that's your reason for not starting a church chances are you probably were raised in a church where there were lots of budgets, committees, business meetings, deacon and/or elder meetings, programs up the wazoo,  staff to manage, buildings to build and maintain and lots of conflict management with which to deal.  So if that's your idea of church you're probably right and you're  not qualified to start a church like that.  AND IF THE TRUTH BE TOLD VERY FEW PEOPLE WOULD BE QUALIFIED!  One would almost need a Masters in Business Administration to start and operate that kind of church.

But listen to me carefully for I am telling you the truth!  THE CHURCH OF THE NEW TESTAMENT DIDN'T LOOK ANYTHING LIKE THAT! 

THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH HAD A SIMPLE STRUCTURE THAT ANYONE COULD MANAGE

 In the New Testament the church was so simply structured that any Follower of Christ could start one.  While there are some character issues the Bible says need to be considered for the selection of a church elder the only leadership/management skill qualification is found in 1 Timothy 3:4,5.  It says,

"He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, 

how will he take care of the church of God?"

When it comes to LEADERSHIP ABILITY and the evaluation on whether a person is capable to start new church the only question needed to be asked is:

 "How well do they lead their family?"

If a person can lead their family well the Bible says they have the leadership skills necessary to start and lead a New Testament Church.  But how is that possible when the churches of North America are organized more like businesses and requires a person to have leadership skills far above that which is needed to run a household well?

The answer to that question is that we as North American Christians will need to change our conception of church from being some major corporation that requires a CEO to run it, to a church more closely akin to a FAMILY UNIT with spiritual parents guiding others to maturity.  We are going to need to move from a 21 Century image of the church to a 1st Century image of church.  

In other words we will need to develop a more 
Biblical image of what the church looks like! 

That's right I did say that!  "A More Biblical Image".  The church image that characterizes the North American landscape resembles very little to what the New Testament church looked like.  For starters the  Early Church for the first 300 years of its existence never owned any property and never had any buildings used exclusively for religious services.  The Apostle Paul in Acts 20:20 reminds the church in Ephesus that he did not shrink from declaring to them anything but taught them publicly and from house to house.  In the New Testament there was public teaching in large groups which usually happened at an outdoor public location or in a building that the apostle was able to use but its main use was something other than for Christian worship.  However, even with the use of large locations or facility the main teaching and instruction for the Christian faith took place in homes that met throughout the week in different locations.  An interesting note to consider is that once the church started experiencing persecution public teaching became less freqeuant and the small house church became even more prominant.  So let me share with you what  I believe is the best Biblical image of the church:

The New Testament Church was a group of 15 to 30  Christ Followers meeting in a home at least weekly but very possibly more often,  for worship, teaching, prayer and observing the Lord's Supper and then occasionally, when it was safe and as the need arose, gather in some public arena with other house churches for a larger expression of their faith.

A HOUSE CHURCH MEETING IN TUCSON, AZ

So now let me ask you!

• Don't you think, as a Fully Devoted Follower of Christ, that you can gather 15 to 30 people in a home to help them grow in their faith, meet each others needs, pray for God to provide His  power, presence and provision, and worship Him? 
• Don't you think that you can love and help spiritually grow 15 to 30 people?
• If there were no budgets, no committees, no staff, no salaries but just you and another leader with a dozen people living out your faith together as the Family of God, don't you think that's something you could do?

CAN'T YOU SEE YOURSELF DOING THAT?

All over the world this is happening!  All over the world God is raising up, training up and unleashing ordinary christians, just like you, to start these rapidly reproducing house churches for His glory and to fulfill his mission.  This same kind of movement God is bringing to North America but it's time for the People of God to get prepared to plant these kinds of churches.

In the blogs that follow we will be discussing exactly how to gather a house full of people and actually takes place in a house church.  But for now just start by rethinking what the church looks like and the way God first developed.  

HERE'S YOUR HOMEWORK:   Read through the entire Book of Acts two to three times.  As you read take mental notes each time that the church is meeting in a house or how people along with their entire household comes to faith in a home.  READ IT BY VIEWING THE CHURCH AS A HOUSE CHURCH!

THE ORDINARY CHRISTIANS' GUIDE TO CHURCH PLANTING Part 1: INTRODUCTION

LET ME JUST STATE VERY CLEARLY FROM THE BEGINNING!  

It is my firm conviction that the best people to start churches are ordinary Christians, with no special religious training, who are bold in their witness, indigenous to their target group

 and spends a lot time with Jesus! 

THEY ARE THE ONES WHO CAN BEST REFLECT THE GLORY OF GOD TO A LOST AND 
DYING COMMUNITY.

These are the kind of men that Jesus chose to be His disciples and to become His apostles.  These are the kind of people that God has used throughout the centuries to spread the Kingdom of God.  These are the individuals that God used in Southern Baptist life to start churches that caused them to become the largest protestant denomination in North America.  These are the kind of men that God used in the 70's during the Jesus Movement  to start some of the largest churches we have today in North America.  And this is the kind of person that God is still choosing to use that will ignite a new church planting movement throughout North America at this very hour!

ORDINARY PEOPLE USED BY AN  EXTRAORDINARY GOD 

TO START AMAZING CHURCHES!

In cooperation with what I see God doing I write this blog series.  This is a blog NOT for:

• the trained professional ministers who have spent countless hours in study and preparation to do the work of ministry from some seminary or Bible college, 
• or the Christian who is looking for some nice devotional material on missions to meditate upon,
• or the academic theologian who wishes to debate the theological implications of church planting!

No!  This is for those ordinary Follower of Christ who is sensing God's leadership to become actively involved in His mission by starting a new church.  This series of blogs is intended to encourage the People of God  to have the faith that God can do anything, through anybody, including them, and even if that means starting a new church.  I am writing this blog to take away the mystery and mystic surrounding church planting.

 THIS BLOG SERIES IS FOR YOU 
THE ORDINARY CHRISTIAN!

It is my prayer that two things will develop as a result of these blogs:

1. First that you the ordinary Follower of Christ and others just like you all over North America will begin to sense God's leadership in starting a new church and that an army of  ordinary church planters will be raised up, trained up and unleashed into the church planting fields of North America.
2. Second, that this army of ordinary christian church planters will ignite Church Planting Movements throughout the urban centers of North America unlike the world has ever seen before.

So before I get started in writing the other blogs, that actually give more of the "how to's" of church planting, I need to share what I mean by a church planter.  I do not believe that the term Church Planter is necessarily synonymous with Pastor or Elder.  There have been many people who have started churches that were not pastors nor every became a pastor.  A church planter is one who knows how to reach people for Christ and gather them together to form a body of believers under the Lordship of Christ.  That doesn't mean they are the one who will sit down and deliver a sermon or teach a Bible lesson.  So regardless of your personal theological position of women pastors or women in ministry a woman could be a church planter.  There have been many great churches started by some amazing and ordinary pioneer women who never preached a single sermon from a pulpit or a taught Bible lesson to a man.  These churches later would called a pastor to come shepherd them.  I personally am very conservative in my theological view points in this matter but I have no problem whatsoever when it comes to women starting/planting churches.  So quite literally this blog series is for all people who claim to have faith in Jesus Christ and a growing, vibrant relationship with Him.

So let's see if you could be part of this new breed of church planters that God is raising up in North America.  Answer yourself the following questions:

1. Have you personally, by faith, repented from your sins, believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, raised back to life three days later and confess Jesus to be the Lord of your life?
2. Do you have a vibrant and growing relationship with Jesus where Christ is living His life through you and you are resting in His completed work in you?
3. Do you believe that God can do anything, through anybody, including you?
4. Are you passionate about actively participating in Christ's mission of discipling the nations (every ethnic group)?
5. Are you willing to go whereever Christ leads and to whomever He leads even if they are pretty undesirable people?
6. Are you willing to gather these people into your home for Bible Study, worship and prayer?
7. And finally, are you teachable, faithful and humble?

If you can answer "YES" to these questions congratulations!

YOU CAN BE A CHURCH PLANTER

If you are willing to come with me on this journey in starting a new church I would ask you to commit to a few things:

• First at the end of this initial blog leave a comment that says, "I'M IN!" With your name and place where you live.  I ask this because I wanting to pray for you along with my DREAM TEAM/PRAYER WARRIORS as you plant this new church.  Having people committed to praying for you in this spiritual endeavor is absolutely essential.  I have over 300 people who are committed to praying for me as I start a new church in Tucson, AZ called The Fellowship Of The Cross and for Church Planting Movements throughout North America.  So please leave that information.

• You will have ASSIGNMENTS to complete.  Each new blog will build off the previous blog so it is essential that you complete each assignment.  Please don't try to skip an assignment and just move on.  To do so is a plan to fail.  You will be asked to share what you did in your assignment as a "COMMENT" at the end of each post.

• Daily pray for all those who say, "I'M IN" because we are going to become a FELLOWSHIP OF CHURCH PLANTERS storming the gates of hell and we will need the encouragement that each of us can provide.

So here it goes, that competitive part of my nature is coming out in me! 
How many of you will accept the challenge of starting a new church this next year?  

I DARE YOU!  I DOUBLE DARE!  

If you accept the challenge you will be utterly amazed what God will do through you!!  Here we go!  The journey has now begun!

SO WHO'S IN?

THE RISING BREED OF CHURCH PLANTERS: Part 4 They're Peculiarly Odd

For church planters to be effective there needs to be something about them that is radically different from the rest of the world.  Their values, ambitions, and goals need to be peculiarly odd to the rest of the world.  This kind of difference only comes from the time spent hanging out with one who embodies those particular peculiarities.  Values are more caught than taught!  People become like the people they spend the bulk of their time with.  If you hangout with people who value money more than anything else you are more likely to become a person who values money more than anything else.  If the majority of your time is spent with people who are bigots and prejudice then there is a pretty good chance that you will become a prejudiced bigot.  So for a church planter to be spiritually peculiarly odd to the world around them they need to have spent a significant amount of time hanging out with someone who is spiritually peculiarly odd!  So where does a church planter find such an association?  We find the answer again with the Apostle Peter and John as they are standing in front of the Jewish leaders being ordered not preach or teach in the name of Jesus.

"When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.


One of the characteristics of Peter and John that caught the eye and attention of the Jewish leaders was that they had spent time with Jesus.  Now the most probable interpretation of this passage was that they recognized them as ones who had been with Jesus because they had seen them with Jesus teaching at the Temple or at one of the many parties that they had attended with Jesus.  It's probably not the best interpretation to say that this passage is referring to some lifestyle that the disciples were exhibiting that was intrinsically Christ-like that caught the attention of the Jewish leaders though that was probably true about them.  Instead, it is more accurate to say that the Jewish leaders were amazed that these disciples were not trying to hide themselves or deny the fact that they were followers of Christ.  Their conduct and speech were blatantly unapologetic that they were Christ's followers inspite of the fact that Jesus not much earlier had been executed.  The question that these Jewish leaders must have been asking themselves was, "Why would anyone wish to be associated with a convicted and executed criminal?"  Peter and John made no attempt to hide their association with Christ. It was an easy conclusion for the Jewish leaders to arrive at.  Anyone listening to them teach would quickly recognize that association.

The church planters that God is raising up today make no apologies for the fact that they are fully devoted followers of Jesus.  It's not hard for the people who come into contact with them to quickly discover that they are Christians and that they follow the way of Jesus.  It's not because these church planters dress differently from other people or that they speak with some special vocabulary that reveals it.  No, the fact is that most of these new church planters look very much like everyone else and their vocabulary is pretty ordinary as well.  It's not the choice of words that makes the distinction but it's content of their message.  The message of these new church planters is strictly Christ centered.  These church planters make no attempts to hide the fact that they follow Jesus.  It is clear to all who get to know them that Jesus Christ is their highest value.

These new church planters aren't trying to sneak in the name of Jesus or covertly  attract the unchurched by promising them special worldly things.  That might work well for a marketing campaign for secular businesses but that is not the message from this new breed of church planters.  No, these church planters understand that their mission is not to build a crowd but to make disciples of Jesus and how one chooses to pursue that mission will greatly affect the outcome.  These church planters understand that just because you can build a crowd doesn't mean you have made disciples who love Jesus more than anyone or anything else.  They know that just because you have people flocking to your church facility doesn't mean that these people are willing to sacrifice their lives in obedient service to Christ.  So instead of thinking up gimmicks that will attract a larger crowd or even satisfy the insatiable carnal appetite for a religious high this new breed of church planter preaches Jesus Christ crucified, raised from the dead and coming again to judge both the living and the dead.  They preach that the way to find your life is to first lose your life for Christ.  They are teaching that in order to experience true freedom from sin you must first offer yourself as a slave to Christ.  When this new breed of church planters speak there is no doubt that they have been with Christ, they love Christ and they have forsaken everything to follow Christ!  And because of this clear and close association with Christ the world looks at them as being peculiarly odd.

But it is the peculiar oddness that seems to be attractive to some who wish to know the truth.  It is both the sense of these church planters being in the world but yet in many ways not of the world that intrigue many lost people.  It is the fact that these church planters might look like everyone else, sound like everyone else and in many ways enjoy the same things as everyone else but yet have a totally different value system that causes the unchurched to stand up and take notice.  The world looks at the church planters sees the difference and also clearly, powerfully and unapologetically hears that the difference is JESUS. For many this verbal and lifestyle message of Jesus is like honey to a bee.  For this rising breed of new church planters making sure the message of Jesus Christ is clearly heard in all that is said and done is of paramount importance. This new breed of church planter instinctively knows that the world will have nothing to do with the church if the church is no different from the world.  These church planters also know that the world's first contact with Christ quite possibly is  through them. 

SO I SAY,
" LET'S BE PECULIARLY ODD FOR JESUS!"

A Great Tool For Church Planters & Those Serious About Spreading The Gospel

ATTENTION ALL CHURCH PLANTERS!!!! 

Here is a new tool that can help you fulfill the mission of making disciples and reaching those in your community.  IT IS THE MAPPING OF AMERICA EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD EVERY BLOCK.   http://projects.nytimes.com/census/2010/explorer?hp?hp

Find out the number of different ethnic groups living in America neighborhood by neighbordhood and block by block.  You can find it at:  http://projects.nytimes.com/census/2010/explorer?hp?hp

Let's us this tool and go make Disciples of Christ.

Getting The Power To Pursue Christ's Mission: 2nd Update

This is the second update about how God's power came upon us at Valley Baptist Church after a week of intense and intentional prayer.  This is a continuation of the salvation story of Chris and Sylvia Moore.  There's an old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words.  So with that in mind let me introduce to you our new sister in Christ: Sylvia. These are the pictures of her baptism this last Sunday, December 12, 2010

Our participation in Sylvia's salvation along with her husband, father-in-law and sister-in-law is a direct result from our church daring to pray for God's power and for God to show us where he was working.  When the prayers go up the power comes down to be effective witnesses of Christ.  Actually it is God through us being the effective witness.

Come on church and come on Christians let's get serious about being devoted to prayer so we can be the effective witnesses God wants us to be.

THE NEW BREED OF CHURCH PLANTERS GOD IS RAISING UP: Part One

Unlike the church planters of the 80's and 90's who were well educated with earned bachelor and master degrees, well dressed, nicely groomed, with the ability to speak well and quite possibly could have had successful careers on Wall Street or in a Fortune 500 Company,  this new breed of church planter, from a worldly perspective, is unsophisticated, raw and in many ways intimidating. For the most part the church planters of the 80's and 90's were trying to reach the upwardly mobile, career minded, white collar workers who were buying up new houses in newly formed planned communities with the hope of getting away from all the crime and violence.  Their target groups were the respectable, hardworking and law abiding citizens trying to carve a nice life for their family and kids.  They had the nice homes, good schools and fancy cars.  Their kids were involved in baseball leagues, soccer leagues and cheer leading, and as a result the churches that these church planters started were the spiritual alternatives to  the world, by providing multiple ministries for each age group in nice new facilities with a pastor for every age.  While there has been a measure of success with these church plants a whole larger segment of the nations population has gone virtually untouched.  A majority of the people groups in North America did not relate to these corporate style churches.  This is partly because some just did not live in the areas where these churches were started.  They live in the city and not in the suburbs.  For others they just couldn't relate to the ministries that were being offered or their lifestyles were so radically different that they just didn't feel they could fit in.

As a result God is raising up many new unsophisticated and raw church planters to reach those untouched mission fields in North America.  This new breed of church planter is the answer to our prayers for God to send more laborers into the fields.  They are radically different from those of the past and have left many scratching their heads in bewilderment over their successes.  These new church planters are breaking all the acceptable rules about church planting while still managing to experience tremendous success.  Churches like The Sober Project, Set Free Ministries and most recently His House Christian Fellowship have been started by this new breed of church planter.  This is the kind of person that God is raising up and training up and  unleashing all over North America to reach those that have been ignored.  As the body of Christ we need to recognize this activity of God, adjust our strategies and join him in what he is doing.

Four of the characteristics of this new breed of church planter I have also observed as characteristics of Christ's apostles.  Peter and John had been arrested and brought before the very council that had accused Jesus of blasphemy and sought to have Him crucified. This was also the group that had intimidated Peter at Jesus' trial to the point that Peter denied knowing Jesus on three different occasions, but then a little over 50 days later Peter stands before them preaching and teaching in the name of Jesus with uncompromising conviction.  The council demanded, under threat of punishment, that Peter and John stop preaching in the name of Jesus but Peter and John were unwilling to do so.  This council of religious leaders did however express four of the five characteristics about Peter and John that I find to be true among the new breed of church planters today.  I guess, while these new church planters are a new breed from those of the 80's and 90's, they are really not new at all but just a breed coming back into fashion by the Spirit of God.   Listen to the description of Peter and John by the council,

"The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures.  They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus."  Acts 4:13

The first characteristic that I want to mention is that they were ORDINARY MEN.  Peter and John from a worldly perspective were no special men.  They were ordinary and hard working fishermen.  They didn't hold any special place of honor or recognition in the synagogues.  They were probably the type of person that most aspiring people would choose to avoid and not associate with.  They weren't part of the ruling group.  They were nobodies in their community.  Sure, they served a place in society, but not one of honor or respect.  They were the type of person you would hire to clean your house or wash your clothes.  But here they were, these ordinary men, with the ability and power to gather and inspire a crowd and make them into fully devoted disciples of Christ.  The council was amazed that such ordinary men could have such a tremendous impact on the community.

Today's new breed of church planters are just as ordinary as Peter or John.  From a worldly point of view they are nobodies, they are people who very likely had lost the respect of society, their family and friends.  These new church planters don't hold any special place of honor in the community and they sure wouldn't be caught sitting in our pristine churches.  They don't dress nice for success and could care less to do so.  As a matter of fact they probably don't even own a suit.  You will find them wearing blue jeans, shorts, leather coats, Tee-shirts and quite possibly sporting a few tattoos.  They look like the kind of guys you find working at a construction sight or attending a Raider's football game.  They are your typical blue collar worker.  THEY ARE ORDINARY. 

But God loves to use ordinary people to do some of his most extraordinary work.  God loves to use the things that this world considers foolish, unimportant, average and ordinary to accomplish his greatest miracles.  Listen how the Bible describes them:

"Brothers, think of what you were when you were called.  Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many of you were influential; not many were of noble birth.  But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.  He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things and the things that are not to nullify the things that are,  so that no one may boast before him.  It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God, that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.  Therefore, as it is written: 'Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."  1 Corinthians 1:26-31 (NIV) 

Did you catch what God is trying to tell us?  God likes to choose the foolish people of this world, those without much worldly influence, those who were not born into prominence to do his greatest and most powerful work!  Why? In order to shame the world.  In order to leave those who have chosen to follow the ways of this world scratching their heads and desperately trying to figure out how in the world  could somebody of such little significance now have such powerful influence over crowds of people!  CHRIST HAS CHOSEN THESE ORDINARY PEOPLE SO ALL THE WORLD WILL KNOW IT IS GOD DOING IT AND NOT MAN!

This is not unusual!  This is the normal activity of God throughout history.  Gideon was a nobody.  He was described as a man who was the least of his family, coming from the least clan of his tribe and hiding in a wine press out of fear.  But God took this coward and used to him to win a great victory over their enemy. Simply amazing.  James the half brother of Jesus describes Elijah in James 5:17-18,

"Elijah was a man just like us.  He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.  Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops."

There it is!  The Bible describes one of the most amazing prophets of the Old Testament as A MAN JUST LIKE US!  Elijah was no superstar in and of himself.  He was an ordinary man whom God used to do extraordinary things so that the world would know that there is a God in heaven and he rules the earth.  In my own denomination, Southern Baptist, during our height of growth when God was forming us into the largest Protestant Denomination of North America God was doing so through a Church Planting Movement of ordinary men starting churches.  They were farmers, ranchers and hired hands moving out west to the new frontier, with a desire to build a life for themselves and their families and with a vibrant and uncompromising faith in the Lord our God.  As they moved into these wild frontier lands to settle down and found no church they took it upon themselves and started forming congregations all over the place. ORDINARY MEN AND WOMEN BEING USED BY GOD TO BRING FAITH TO THE WILD WEST!

Do you see yet?  Using ordinary men with a strong faith in God is God's modus operandi to accomplish His Kingdom's work!  We need to stop busting our butts trying to find that 1 in a million church planter who is going to do great things for God.  That will only bring glory to man!   But instead we need to invest the majority of our time, energy and money in RAISING UP, TRAINING UP ORDINARY MEN WITH AN EXTRAORDINARY FAITH to be our new church planters.  NOW THAT WILL BRING GLORY TO GOD!