I hear the stories (and can tell them)—Joe Cool came into town, started Bling Bling Community Church and they had 300 people at their first service. These are the guys who write and are written about in most books and articles, and speak at the conferences. When is the last time you attended a church planting event where the main speaker shared how he labored for three and a half years and was only left with 11 guys?
I am well aware that plenty of deconstruction has taken place in our conversations over the last ten years and we don’t want a lot more of it. The systemic issue as I see it though is that we still do not view discipling as the primary focus and needed activity within the life of our faith communities. Jesus said “I”—hear that—“I will build MY church…” Funny huh? God told David the same thing, “I don’t need you to build a house for me…I’ll take care of that.”
Discipling takes a different type of commitment and yields slower growth. But wow, what fruit it yields once it’s taken root. Discipling happens primarily away from the pulpit. It doesn’t happen simply by transferring knowledge from one head to another. It happens by apprenticing others to the ways and means of Jesus. My buddy Alan Hirsch says it constantly, “We don’t think our way into a new way of acting. We must act our way into a new way of thinking.” If we have to wear a WWJD bracelet to remind us what Jesus would do in a situation then we’re toast. If when Payton Manning drops back, with four 320 pound dudes pressing in on him, looking at a Zone 2 coverage scheme, and he has to look at a note card to know what to do…he’s toast. This is why he studies (head knowledge) and this is why he practices constantly facing those situations, so that he will not have to think on game day. He will simply react because his coaches (disciplers) have prepared him.
Keywords: church planting, discipleship, missional
Comments
Hey, this is awesome Lance!!! I really connected with you on your reflections of Jesus ("I") building his church. I think in the human context if we stray from the face to face, mono a mono, we tend to get blurry eyed and we all know the dangers of the blind leading the blind!
In a switch pitch picture of Manning and Jesus... who do you suppose is in discipleship? Receiver? The Linebackers? Or Manning himself? Perhaps all of the above! Just something that was rolling around in my head with a laugh!
Jesus didn't send the Twelve to plant churches (Luke 9.1-6). And he didn't send the 72 to plant churches. (Luke 10.1-11) And the Church's apostolic commission wasn't to plant churches either (Matt 28.18-20). Jesus sent them and sends us to make disciples. Since discipleship is a kind of relationship - rather than a kind of program, a lot of us "church-planters" are about learning relationship-building skills for ourselves and those who are with us.
Of course group-building skills are part of that work aren't they. And Church just means "group" doesn't it?! In the Greek I mean ?! So in that sense, wouldn't it be fair to say that I am a "church-builder" notwithstanding Jesus' "I will build..." statement. I guess that even that is a little removed from the classic image of the church-planter, and I share your sense of growing distance from that language.
So Lance, with the full acknowledgement that Jesus is the church-planter, (and absolutely Amen to that) what do you now call yourself? There are words we can use in Christian-circles eg Discipler or even Pastor (?!). I have great respect for my church-planting friends faciliating grassroots "ecclesiogenesis" in South America, who simply call themselves Catalysts. There's some nice secular terminology like Group Facilitator, Spiritual Coach or Social Entrepreneur. I like to call my peer and colleague, Nick Jensen, a "Social Entrepreneur" because he has brokered and lead a wonderful and creative Christian residential community. For myself I'm still often stuck with church-planter but becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the gap between the label and the actual practice. Perhaps I should go for the hip "Spiritual Coach" and be willing to answer when people say "What on earth is that?!" What do you call yourself these days?
By the way, Lance, I hear you when you say "enough deconstruction already". I certainly do my best to enthuse about what I'm going for rather than banging on about what I'm moving away from. So I agree - except that the changing shape of Church is in an ongoing transition. Every year there are people newly embarking on a paradigmatic move away from old traditions into fresh ways of being church. Their mixture of thoughts, feelings and motivations need affirming as will as inspiring. This may mean that we'll have to live patiently with some ongoing deconstruction/reprogramming for a while to come.
Paul, Great stuff you shared in your reply. I tried to find your new book. I see it is available in the land of Oz...any electronic version I can get my hands on? Or, would you happen to be going to the Forge meeting later this month? I would get you to send one with Alan Hirsch to get to me.
Hi Lance,
Sorry for my slow reply. I was away on a retreat/lockdown with my accountability partner. Great to meet you. My new book... that could be...
Be Thou My Breastplate - 40 days of giving your life to God the Celtic Way or
The New Monastic - a journey of emerging, missional and monastic discovery.
Be Thou My Breastplate is based on the life and the way of prayer of a radical, godly pioneer from the British Church of the Dark Ages - when things were much more grassroots and spontaneous, before congregational and hierarchical structures arrived with the second wave of missionaries in the 600s. That book is due out in December with Continuum Press. It's a 40-day study-book for people who are purposed-out and for anyone with an appetite for a more holistic, less program-centred spirituality. Lance, I'm currently ironing out the last little textual bugs with my editor. But I'll get an early copy once it's up and together.
The New Monastic, which is my "magnum opus" (I hope) is currently being looked at by Hendrickson and Paraclete. It's great fun - if I can say that. Ecclesiology through story (not fiction). Entirely narrative driven - and by a compelling story too. The aim is to have the reader come away with as much as anything a feeling about the ecclesiological issues endemic to emerging expressions of Church, and with a bigger picture for how what's happening here and now - in the various niches of new church-life - might relate to what's happened in other places and in other times.
I'm expecting to hear what's happening with this book at the end of this month and I will keep you posted. Meanwhile I would be very happy to send you an electronic version of the draft of The New Monastic that Hendrickson and Paraclete are reading. Is your email address on the site here for me to do that?
Thanks again for your blog, Lance. Very relevant. Very stimulating.
Blessings on You bro,
Paul