12 Lessons in Church Planting (from ChurchPlanters.com) 2 of 2

More on Lessons from Lovejoy and ChurchPlanters.com. For the first 6 lessons, see yesterday's post.
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12 Lessons Learned in 12 years (Part 2 of 2) by Shawn Lovejoy

7. Change the way people think about church

In the first year of our church, we made a decision: In everything we do, we’re going to seek to change the way people think about church. This is so much bigger than the type of music we do, or our dress, even though they are parts of the equation! It affects everything we do. Examples? Folks don’t have to be “Christians” to go on a mission trip. They might become one by going! They don’t have to be a “Christian” to volunteer at our church, much less, be a member! Our small groups are always not only open to new people, but are going after people who don’t go to church and inviting them to be a part of their group! Every group is responsible to “get off the couch” and serve and care missionally for people groups in our community. Just small simple example of how we’re changing the way people think about church both inside and outside our church in our community.

8. Go after unchurched people

We’re not worried about swapping sheep or reaching professional Christians. If they want to join our mission to reach the lost, great. If not, great. We are here to help as many people as possible find a relationship with God through Jesus. That’s our laser beam focus. Take us or leave us! We’re here to reach people who don’t like Jesus or Christians.

9. Be careful what you ask for

Did you know unchurched people don’t walk in and start tithing? And it probably won’t be a three-month process, either; probably more like three years! Unchurched people smoke and curse in the parking lot, and maybe even in the sound booth! All of these things really happen in our church. Being a hospital for sinners is messy!

10. The right team in the right seats makes all the difference

We’ve always had a great Ministry Team at our church. I am thankful for every one of them, however, the right team members with the right gifts and skills, in the right seats, in the right seasons of the church, allows a church to continue to breath and grow and reach people for Jesus Christ. The wrong team members on the wrong seats for too long will put a lid on the church’s effectiveness.

11. I must measure success God’s Way

Success is being who God called me to be and being obedient to what God has called me to do. I am so tempted to measure success by this week’s attendance. However, I’m never as good as people think I am when we’re exploding numerically; and I’m not as bad as I think I am when we’re not. My role is to be obedient to the call and stay sane, centered, and happily married in the process. That is success!

12. God is faithful.

God never gives up: on me; or on my ministry! He hasn’t given up on you, either! Don’t give up on yourself. We only fail when we give up. God never gives up. He is faithful!

REPOST- Fishers of men, not keepers of the aquarium

I often read blogs, books, and writings from pastors and authors who communicate concepts I think, but in a more effective manner. So, rather than try to compete, I just repost theirs.

Great thoughts by Pastor Steve about the focus, philosophy, and Cause of The Church and why we do what we do! Enjoy!

Here's a great blogpost by Steve Furtick of Elevation Church from February 7th on Leadership, Ministry Perspective:

- - -

People ask me all the time how we’ve been able to see so many people come to Christ in five years.

Outside of the favor of God, I could give you a lot of specifics. Tell you a lot of things that we’ve done. But none of it will help you until you make a decision we made in the early days of our church.

And that was the decision to be more focused on the people we’re trying to reach than on the people we’re trying to keep. As others have said, to be fishers of men, not just keepers of the aquarium.

We’re not going to cater to the personal preferences of the few in our pursuit of the salvation of the many.

And that includes if the few is ten people when we’re pursuing one hundred.
Or 5,000 when we’re pursuing 10,000.
Or 10,000 when we’re pursuing 20,000.

Most people and churches aren’t willing to do that. They’re keepers of the aquarium. They say they want to reach people, but in reality they’re more focused on preservation than expansion. On keeping people rather than reaching them.

They let saved people dictate style. Saved people dictate focus. Saved people dictate vision.

The result is a room full of saved people. Not people getting saved. Why? Because the people you’re trying to reach aren’t interested in the church that has been created by the people you’re trying to keep. If they were, they’d be coming. But they’re not.

For some reason, right here is where people usually play the discipleship card. They’re trying to disciple the people they’re trying to keep. They accuse you of pitting evangelism against discipleship.

But that isn’t the case. I just believe true disciples should care more about making disciples than freeze framing the church the way it was when they became one. Or wanting twenty-six programs customized to their liking. If the mark of Christian maturity is a bunch of people who want to create a museum glorifying and preserving their personal preferences and then sanctify it by calling it a church, count me out.

Some people say why can’t we have both? You can. Focus on the people you want to reach and you’ll keep the people you want to keep. Let the rest walk. They’ll find a church elsewhere to graze.

The way I see it is they’re just occupying the space of a person who needs to hear the gospel. You’ll fill their seat.
And it will be with the person who needs it the most.

A Call to Fasting & Prayer

Calling all Lifehousers and partners in the work of the Lord!


As we prepare for the Fall season, a full and important season (9/11 tribute and Friend Day, kick-off of life groups, etc), I want to invite you to join the rest of the team for a week of fasting and prayer from Monday, August 29 through Friday, September 2 (or if you're reading this later in the week, consider fasting next week or the following).

We will open this to all ministry partners, but want to keep the focus on preparing and humbling our hearts before God as we move from summer to fall.

What are we fasting? Please consider fasting at least one meal per day (and if that’s not possible, consider doing a “Daniel fast” cutting out meats and sweets and favorite foods. The goal is not to starve ourselves, but to leverage our natural appetites as a reminder to be focused in prayer.

When? Prayer gatherings from 6-7am AND 6-7pm at Lifehouse- Bethel  EXCEPT Wednesday, August 31st at 6PM, we will be at 19918 Jefferson Blvd (office building).
Thank you all for prioritizing prayer and fasting! Let’s believe that God will work powerfully and miraculously through each of us and through Lifehouse, as we seek His face and His will!


I've also included a BLOGPOST from Mars Hill (Mark Driscoll) from today about prayer. Seemed appropriate!
--
Fired up,
-Patrick Grach
www.lifehousechurcheast.org

From the Aug. 28 sermon, “The Parable of the Fig Tree,” preached by Pastor Tim Smith out of Luke 21:29–38:

Jesus is our great example of what it means to, despite pressure, despite everything crushing in on him, to withdraw and to make sure he’s about his Father’s business, the mission that the Father gave him, which he knows was to suffer and to die for sin. As I’ve meditated on this passage, as I’ve seen Jesus’ example, the good news is that Jesus doesn’t just give us an example and tell us to try harder.Through him we have new life, and he draws us to himself.

There are four things that we do to push back against simply being weighed downand settling for the cares of this life and the fleeting pleasures that the world has to offer.

First of all, we see that Jesus withdrew to pray, and he challenges us to do the same thing. He says, “Stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all the things that are going to take place.”

“In prayer, when we take minutes to withdraw and to be still and to listen, we become remade in the image of Jesus.”

I want to camp here for a few minutes because, Mars Hill, I’m not sure we’re the best praying church. All I can say for sure is I’m not the best praying pastor or Christian.

At Mars Hill we are so zealous and driven to see things get done. We’re so eager, we want so much for the kingdom of God to advance through us, and to be able to be used by him that our strength—I think that’s admirable, but at times, as always can be the case, our strength can become our weakness. And we can start to work in our own strength, which simply leaves us exhausted. And oftentimes, we end up building our own kingdom even in the name of the good King Jesus, but in reality it’s a counterfeit, that’s only thinly disguised, as our own, for our own glory, according to our own plan, according to our own desires.

Prayer doesn’t necessarily solve all of that, but withdrawing to pray is one of the key things. And we see it so consistently in Jesus’ life. Jesus says in John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

This means that nothing that is worth doing can happen apart from the work of Jesus, in and through us. In prayer, we withdraw from the pressures, we withdraw from the demands, we withdraw from the cares of this life temporarily, and take them to our Heavenly Father who knows and who loves and cares, and to Jesus who said, “Put your burden on me because my burden’s light. Let’s walk together.”

“Prayer a declaration of war on cynicism and unbelief as we step out in faith that God hears and answers.”

I’ve been journaling about prayer, which is kind of funny because that’s what people do who are convicted about prayer but don’t know what to do about it. They read books and they journal about prayer. I’m learning more how to pray, but it’s a slow process. But I’ve been making a list because prayer declares war on so many things we struggle with. And this next point is part of that list.

Prayer is a declaration of war on self-sufficiency, as we become more and more dependent on God.

It’s war on independence because you have to admit that you can’t do it alone.
It’s war on self-importance as you praise something greater.
It’s a declaration of war on anxiety as you trust that God will provide.
It’s a war on the temporary pleasures that the world has to offer around us, as we praise the Giver of all gifts above his gifts as an end in themselves.
It’s a declaration of war on the frantic pace of life that all of us fall into as we take time to be still and to think and to listen and to try to hear from God and what he has for us.
It’s a declaration of war on justification by results as you have to acknowledge that it’s God who works in you.
It’s a declaration of war on cynicism and unbelief as we step out in faith that he hears and answers.

Prayer, as I’ve been convicted, is a declaration of war on this self-centered, short-term, whatever’s-in-front-of-my-face kind of living. Living for my own kingdom. Apart from prayer, I am convinced—I know at least it’s true in my life—I’m convinced that apart from prayer, we live life as if whatever seems most urgent and whatever is right in front of our face is the best and most important thing in all eternity and in all the universe. In prayer, when we take minutes to withdraw and to be still and to listen, we become remade in the image of Jesus. In prayer, our priorities get bent to his, our mission gets realigned to his and we get convicted about where we’re building our own kingdom and we get changed to be part of his.

There is no movement that I have ever read anything about where God moves significantly and many people become Christians [where the people behind] the movement didn’t have a strong foundation before they saw any effects of God moving—they were dedicating themselves to pray.

Friends, if we want to live according to the kingdom of God, and we want to see the kingdom of God advance in us, and we want to see our cities changed, cities like Albuquerque and Portland and Seattle and Orange County, we must be people who pray, who get realigned and remade according to the Father’s mission, according to the kingdom of God, according to the great King, King Jesus.

So we pray.

Stay tuned this week for parts two, three, and four as we go through the respective importances of worship, stewardship, and anticipation. Or, you can jump ahead and read the full sermon transcript here.

Tim Smith is the lead pastor of Mars Hill Portland.

Response to LOVE WINS by Rob Bell

If you haven't heard the controversy surrounding Rob Bell's (Pastor of Mars Hill Church) latest book Love Wins, then allow me to briefly bring you up to speed and offer some great recommendations. Since I have neither the time nor desire to outline a thorough review of his book, and feel that there are better authors and scholars to do such a job, I'm reposting Ed Stetzer's recent post about Bell's book. Stetzer also offers several other blogs, of which I've read a few.
_________________________________________
Much to my frustration, I was not able to publish a review of Rob Bell's Love Wins for you along with the swarm of others when it came out. I had received the book about a week or so before it was published, read it twice, and had prepared a somewhat lengthy review (not compared to Kevin DeYoung's reviewum opus). But nonetheless it shared some thoughts about several elements of the book. If you follow me on Twitter, you know that it was lost in technology world-- and I still have not figured out what happened. Sigh.

Either way, since much of the detailed reviewing has been done, I have not reproduced my original writing. The need for that has seemed to pass. Instead, I will share a few thoughts over the next few days about the concepts of love, holiness, and eternity.

It probably goes without saying that it is a well-written and engaging book. Though I don't find it particularly theologically hefty, it certainly is creative, fast-moving, and attention grabbing, as all of Rob Bell's writings tend to be. However, I think it has some fundamental premises that simply are wrong. I will try to critique them briefly (but hopefully fairly), and then present some alternative ideas in the coming days.

Martin Bashir's interview hit at a key issue of the book (though I found his interview style to be a bit abrasive). The book represents a desire, and certainly a well meaning one, to recast Christianity in a more favorable light. Coming from a non-Christian family, I find that appealing. I want it to be true. I want it to work. Yet, I think that project will ultimately fail. Actually, I think it has already failed in mainline Protestantism. It requires us to reject too much scripture to fit into our cultural sensibilities. Rob Bell's views may be more appealing in contemporary culture, but it falls short of faithfully proclaiming what the scriptures teach--just read Jesus' frequent comments about the afterlife and eternal consequences.

I think the clear and overwhelming rejection of Bell's views by orthodox Christians (with often lengthy scriptural responses) indicates that this is clearly in error on several points. I actually had originally prepared a list of those, but as others have done so aptly, there is no need to repeat that process here. There have been few defenders in orthodox Christianity of Bell's thesis--and rightly so. Even Mark Galli, tentmaster of evangelicalism's "Big Tent" (Christianity Today) believes it is a bridge too far. Galli's right.

If there has been one well-known evangelical defender who has engaged on the subject, it has been Richard Mouw. I must confess, I find his comments confusing (original comments here and elaboration here). To say that an optimistic inclusivist view (some might say a "mostly" universalist) is well within the realm of orthodox Christianity is odd. It has been present, but as a small minority. And, it would be even "smaller" in evangelicalism. Perhaps Mouw's comments point to the shift that has been experienced in segments of evangelicalism. I will be writing more on that in the days to some. Others have written about an "evangelical tipping point" represented by this moment and I think they are right.

Yet, I would agree that there has always been a minority tradition within the Christian faith that Christ saves everyone regardless of the response they give to Christ in this life. However, the position has been considered to be in error by the vast majority of orthodox Christians (and just about ALL evangelicals). For that matter, I don't think that Love Wins is the most compelling statement of that view. You would find a more compelling and better-written thesis (with some differences) in A Wideness of God's Mercy of Clark Pinnock or some of the writings by John Sanders.

Now, that is not to say that we cannot learn from our mainline friends. I read many mainline thinkers and find their scholarship strong and their thinking challenging. Yet, I think Lisa Miller of Newsweek asked the question that needed an answer. She asked Rob Bell, "Aren't you just a mainline Protestant posing as an evangelical? Aren't you just saying what Episcopalians have been saying for fifty or sixty years?" (Be sure to read the whole interview here. I don't think he answers the question she asked, but his answers and ideas are worth reading)

Bell has largely recast and tweaked the view that many mainline Protestants have held for a hundred years: that because of God's love, he saves everyone, regardless. This is not new. This is not groundbreaking. This is not revolutionary.

In many ways, Rob Bell's Love Wins is simply mainline Protestantism with better haircuts and cooler music. Similar statements could have been made at the Parliament of World Religions in 1893 or later (with some modification) in Karl Rahner's concept of the Anonymous Christian.

I do think you should read the book-- it addresses questions your friends are asking. And, it will be influential. And, you should wrestle with the scriptures for the answers and be compelled to act by what you find.

With all of that stated, I think that what Rob Bell has written is outside of the realm of the historic Christian view and more in line with the mainline Protestant view (and, yes, I am saying that the historic Christian view is not the modern mainline Protestant view). Since Bell relates to evangelicals and is read by many in the evangelical tradition, it appears that the book is geared toward (in part) persuading evangelicals. Thus, Love Wins seeks to provoke and persuade us to a new view that I (and other evangelicals) see as theologically problematic. And, as such, it is unhelpful to the church and ultimately accomplishes little of what he intended. (I will explain more in the coming posts.)

Yet, Bell appeals to the love of God. And, I love the love of God and consider it worthy of our consideration.

My exhortation (to all of us) from the Bell conversation is that we (re)learn how the scriptural truths of the love of God and the holiness of God are held simultaneously in the scriptures. Unfortunately, I think Bell comes up short in considering their partnership and instead pits them against one another. Furthermore, I think that we might consider how our view of love impacts our view of the work of God.

Now, it's probably no secret, and I should reveal my own bias early on, that I have a different view of what the love of God does and how we are to understand it.

I think the scriptures teach us that we are compelled by love in how we are to live out our faith and God's mission. In 2008, I co-authored a book on the subject with Philip Nation. Over the next week or so, I'll offer a few more blog posts reflecting on Rob Bell's view of God's love with a response to it. Along the way, I'll use excerpts from my book, Compelled By Love.

But for now, I'll simply leave you with a thought for the next installment. In 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, Paul wrote, "For Christ compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: If One died for all, then all died. And He died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the One who died for them and was raised." I believe the best understanding of God's love is that it does not teach us that all are saved but it does teach us that God's people are sent to announce the good news of the gospel to all. We will explore that distinction and others in the coming days.

Posted on March 28, 2011 at 11:53 AM

Response to LOVE WINS by Rob Bell

If you haven't heard the controversy surrounding Rob Bell's (Pastor of Mars Hill Church) latest book Love Wins, then allow me to briefly bring you up to speed and offer some great recommendations. Since I have neither the time nor desire to outline a thorough review of his book, and feel that there are better authors and scholars to do such a job, I'm reposting Ed Stetzer's recent post about Bell's book. Stetzer also offers several other blogs, of which I've read a few.
_________________________________________
Much to my frustration, I was not able to publish a review of Rob Bell's Love Wins for you along with the swarm of others when it came out. I had received the book about a week or so before it was published, read it twice, and had prepared a somewhat lengthy review (not compared to Kevin DeYoung's reviewum opus). But nonetheless it shared some thoughts about several elements of the book. If you follow me on Twitter, you know that it was lost in technology world-- and I still have not figured out what happened. Sigh.

Either way, since much of the detailed reviewing has been done, I have not reproduced my original writing. The need for that has seemed to pass. Instead, I will share a few thoughts over the next few days about the concepts of love, holiness, and eternity.

It probably goes without saying that it is a well-written and engaging book. Though I don't find it particularly theologically hefty, it certainly is creative, fast-moving, and attention grabbing, as all of Rob Bell's writings tend to be. However, I think it has some fundamental premises that simply are wrong. I will try to critique them briefly (but hopefully fairly), and then present some alternative ideas in the coming days.

Martin Bashir's interview interview hit at a key issue of the book (though I found his interview style to be a bit abrasive). The book represents a desire, and certainly a well meaning one, to recast Christianity in a more favorable light. Coming from a non-Christian family, I find that appealing. I want it to be true. I want it to work. Yet, I think that project will ultimately fail. Actually, I think it has already failed in mainline Protestantism. It requires us to reject too much scripture to fit into our cultural sensibilities. Rob Bell's views may be more appealing in contemporary culture, but it falls short of faithfully proclaiming what the scriptures teach--just read Jesus' frequent comments about the afterlife and eternal consequences.

I think the clear and overwhelming rejection of Bell's views by orthodox Christians (with often lengthy scriptural responses) indicates that this is clearly in error on several points. I actually had originally prepared a list of those, but as others have done so aptly, there is no need to repeat that process here. There have been few defenders in orthodox Christianity of Bell's thesis--and rightly so. Even Mark Galli, tentmaster of evangelicalism's "Big Tent" (Christianity Today) believes it is a bridge too far. Galli's right.

If there has been one well-known evangelical defender who has engaged on the subject, it has been Richard Mouw. I must confess, I find his comments confusing (original comments here and elaboration here). To say that an optimistic inclusivistview (some might say a "mostly" universalist) is well within the realm of orthodox Christianity is odd. It has been present, but as a small minority. And, it would be even "smaller" in evangelicalism. Perhaps Mouw's comments point to the shift that has been experienced in segments of evangelicalism. I will be writing more on that in the days to some. Others have written about an "evangelical tipping point" represented by this moment and I think they are right.

Yet, I would agree that there has always been a minority tradition within the Christian faith that Christ saves everyone regardless of the response they give to Christ in this life. However, the position has been considered to be in error by the vast majority of orthodox Christians (and just about ALL evangelicals). For that matter, I don't think that Love Wins is the most compelling statement of that view. You would find a more compelling and better-written thesis (with some differences) in A Wideness of God's Mercy of Clark Pinnock or some of the writings by John Sanders.

Now, that is not to say that we cannot learn from our mainline friends. I read many mainline thinkers and find their scholarship strong and their thinking challenging. Yet, I think Lisa Miller of Newsweek asked the question that needed an answer. She asked Rob Bell, "Aren't you just a mainline Protestant posing as an evangelical? Aren't you just saying what Episcopalians have been saying for fifty or sixty years?" (Be sure to read the whole interview here. I don't think he answers the question she asked, but his answers and ideas are worth reading)

Bell has largely recast and tweaked the view that many mainline Protestants have held for a hundred years: that because of God's love, he saves everyone, regardless. This is not new. This is not groundbreaking. This is not revolutionary.

In many ways, Rob Bell's Love Wins is simply mainline Protestantism with better haircuts and cooler music. Similar statements could have been made at theParliament of World Religions in 1893 or later (with some modification) in Karl Rahner's concept of the Anonymous Christian.

I do think you should read the book-- it addresses questions your friends are asking. And, it will be influential. And, you should wrestle with the scriptures for the answers and be compelled to act by what you find.

With all of that stated, I think that what Rob Bell has written is outside of the realm of the historic Christian view and more in line with the mainline Protestant view (and, yes, I am saying that the historic Christian view is not the modern mainline Protestant view). Since Bell relates to evangelicals and is read by many in the evangelical tradition, it appears that the book is geared toward (in part) persuading evangelicals. Thus, Love Wins seeks to provoke and persuade us to a new view that I (and other evangelicals) see as theologically problematic. And, as such, it is unhelpful to the church and ultimately accomplishes little of what he intended. (I will explain more in the coming posts.)

Yet, Bell appeals to the love of God. And, I love the love of God and consider it worthy of our consideration.

My exhortation (to all of us) from the Bell conversation is that we (re)learn how the scriptural truths of the love of God and the holiness of God are held simultaneously in the scriptures. Unfortunately, I think Bell comes up short in considering their partnership and instead pits them against one another. Furthermore, I think that we might consider how our view of love impacts our view of the work of God.

Now, it's probably no secret, and I should reveal my own bias early on, that I have a different view of what the love of God does and how we are to understand it.

I think the scriptures teach us that we are compelled by love in how we are to live out our faith and God's mission. In 2008, I co-authored a book on the subject with Philip Nation. Over the next week or so, I'll offer a few more blog posts reflecting on Rob Bell's view of God's love with a response to it. Along the way, I'll use excerpts from my book, Compelled By Love.

But for now, I'll simply leave you with a thought for the next installment. In 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, Paul wrote, "For Christ compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: If One died for all, then all died. And He died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the One who died for them and was raised." I believe the best understanding of God's love is that it does not teach us that all are saved but it does teach us that God's people are sent to announce the good news of the gospel to all. We will explore that distinction and others in the coming days.

Posted on March 28, 2011 at 11:53 AM