Perspectives13

Week 13 - Spontaneous Multiplication of Churches

2022-11-17

The Spontaneous Multiplication of Churches

George Patterson

A weak pastor dominates his congregation. He tries to do everything or delegates it in a demanding way. He herds rather than leads (both Jesus and Peter prohibit herding in a demanding way: Matt 20:25-28; 1 Pet 5:1-4)… A strong missionary, like a strong pastor, does not fear to give authority and responsibility to others. He does not force gifted, willing workers into existing slots in his organization, but rather builds ministries around them. (638)

• ABC’s of discipling and church planting:
  1. Repent and believe (Mark 1:15)
  2. Be baptized and continue in new life (Matt 28:18-20; Acts 2:38; Rom 6:1-11)
  3. Love God and neighbor in a practical way (Matt 22:37-40)
  4. Celebrate the Lord’s Supper (Luke 22:17-20)
  5. Pray (Matt 6:5-15)
  6. Give (Matt 6:19-21; Luke 6:38)
  7. Disciple others (Matt 28:18-20)

Teaching heavy theology before one learns loving, childlike obedience is dangerous. It leaves a person assuming that Christianity is having scripturally correct doctrine and he leaves it at that. He becomes a passive learner of the Word rather than an active disciple. (639)

• Don’t forcefully drag new converts away from their family members and close friends. The Holy Spirit flows through existing bonds like through Cornelius in Acts 10:24,44.

Dependency

Glenn Schwartz

• A Navajo Indian believer shared the blessing of tithing, “The missionaries did not teach us to tithe because they thought we were too poor. They did not know that we were poor because we did not tithe.”
• Avoid dependency on outside funding. A major East African Christian organition received an enormous grant from a European donor. In response, they scrapped all their local fundraising plans and the “soul of the institution was sold in favor of easy money. We should all weep” (658)

Mission Comes Home

Andrew Jones

We began to realize that our call to mission was more about obedience than geography. We set about living a missional life where we were and very soon, we found pockets of society that were quite untouched by the good news of Christ. (649)

• Thom Wolf, who pastored the Church on Brady, was so deeply involved in training missionaries, his church sent the most Southern Baptist missionaries than any other church in its denomination. The Church on Brady eventually became Mosaic led by Erwin McManus!

Church life in the West is more modular than singular. (651)

[Mission’s] not about attracting people to a program or event but rather going out to where they are…The posture is that of a pilgrim rather than a benefactor, and it is this posture that will enable the gospel to move forward in mission to our home countries. (651)

• According to 1 Timothy 2:7, Paul was PHAT (Prayer, Herald, Apostle, Teacher).
• Mission in the 21st century intertwine with business to see the gospel reach the ends of the earth. The Moravians and William Carey started micro-businesses alongside Christian ministry.