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MentorNet 05 Several pastors recently asked how they and their
people could start new churches when their denomination’s policies cause
snags. Two of them faced meetings with administrators who have belittled
their vision for reproducing churches. We hear such complaints often in
workshops for church planting. One rogue griped, "The last great bulwark
against the spread of Christianity is the church!" Today’s churches display evidence of both normal
spiritual health and abnormal rust. One indicator of normal health is that
churches or cells multiply. Wherever the apostles made disciples the way
Jesus said to, for example, churches multiplied. Today we also see them
multiply where the same kind of discipling takes place. But to our knowledge no
historical denomination in the You may want to try the following Rust
Removers. 1. Examine your most cherished traditions in
the light of the apostles’ guidelines for the Lord’s work. We sometimes need to
challenge denominational or inter-church leaders in love to compare their
policies with those of Scripture as they relate to evangelism, church
planting, and providing for leadership. Let this comparison be the subject of
prayer and an open forum. This works where the core is sound, where the
leaders embraced encumbering traditions only because that was all they knew,
not because they were power-hungry and needed such policies to keep them in
control. 2. Help missionaries to follow all aspects of
Jesus’ Great Commission. In Matthew 28:18-20 our
Lord tells us to make disciples of all nations by teaching them to obey all of
His commands. But few missionaries, including those with extensive Bible
knowledge, actually know what Jesus' commands are. They ask new believers to
do all kinds of things that may have some spiritual value but are not the
foundational activities that our Lord requires. He commanded many things but
we can summarize them in the seven basic commands that the first New
Testament church obeyed in their most basic form from the beginning.
Following Pentecost in Acts 2:37-47 we find the 3,000 new believers doing the
following in obedience to Christ's commands. - They repented
in faith and were born of the Holy Spirit. - They confirmed this
conversion at once with baptism. - They broke bread in
the homes (Communion). - Their love was
evident in their fellowship. - They embraced the
apostles' teaching of God’s Word (discipling in its beginning
form). - They prayed. - They gave. If we ignore these
foundational commands of Christ we leave a power vacuum in a new church. New
believers become confuse as to who has the final word Big egos seek control
and rush in, usurping Jesus’ place as King in His kingdom. 3. Challenge Christian educators to restore
biblical discipleship. We must include New
Testament discipling principles in leadership training curricula, including
Jesus’ basic commands (above). Few recent seminary or 4. Train national workers in pioneer mission
fields to disciple new believers in the way Jesus said. We must show new
shepherds how to build on the Rock. The first few weeks of a newly born
church’s life in a pioneer field are crucial. It needs a sound foundation,
built on loving obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ’s commands. Denominational
policies, however, often keep new churches in pioneer fields from baptizing
new believers and celebrating the Lord’s Supper. In practice this denies
Jesus' deity; it ascribes more authority to man-made rules than to His
commands. It blurs Jesus’ authority for a church’s activities, opening the
door for abusive control by whoever assumes they have the right. 5. Train pastoral students to apply the Word
to all ministries. Graduates from our
Evangelical seminaries and colleges often use the Bible almost exclusively as
content for their teaching and preaching. They neglect it as the norm for
church practices. They overlook the guidelines of God's Word as they plan how
to evangelize, confirm repentance, organize a church, deploy
missionaries and worship. A workshop on biblical guidelines for these
activities helps them become better doers of the Word.6. Clarify biblical
authority for church leaders. Who has the highest
authority? Those who have been in the church the longest? Have the most
Bible knowledge? Can preach the most eloquently? Have the highest academic
degrees? Give the most money? Hold the highest offices? Use the church’s
bylaws most adeptly to manipulate others? Scripture recognizes none of
these as a qualification for leading God’s flock. A true leader in God’s
kingdom brings his people into obedience to the King. We do not lead if we
simply teach. We lead only when we enable our people to do the things
that Jesus and His apostles require. If congregations leave most ministries
up to their pastors, leadership is obviously lacking. We lead when we
establish Jesus as the Head and highest authority in the church, so that our
people do what He and His apostles say in childlike, loving obedience. 7. Caution ordination councils and ordination
policy makers to respect the biblical requirements for becoming a shepherd. Paralyzing rust often
accumulates on ordination requirements, especially if exported from the West.
Shepherds who have God's pastoral gift and who fulfill all biblical
requirements are commonly prohibited to lead their people in obedience to
Christ in baptism, Communion and other vital activities. They fail to meet human
requirements that have no significant bearing on their competency as
shepherds. Such man-made rules keep an elite clergy in power. They have
paralyzed church planting throughout history. Some evangelicals today are as
guilty as any earlier generation. Missionaries must adapt requirements for
new pastors to both the culture and Scripture, and provide realistic tools to
prepare them. 8. Encourage modern prophets to remove rust
using Scripture in the power of the Holy Spirit. We should teach
examples from Scripture and history of reformers that God used to bring His
people back to the moorings of His Word. Let us welcome these prophets as
God’s gift to the church. He promises such spiritual chiropractors in
Ephesians 4:11-12 to every church or cluster of cells that interact as a
body. Reformers also occasionally need
Pain Relievers such as the following. Be forewarned that seriously following Jesus
entails suffering. No missionary that
we know of has participated in a church
planting movement without painful conflict with colleagues or superiors.
Simply do what Jesus says and you will step on some Christians’ toes.
Receiving painful blows unawares from our Christian brothers is devastating.
So plan on it! Use gentle, positive diplomacy while slaying
cherished sacred cows. Avoid inflammatory
rhetoric or any appearance of attacking with a critical spirit. That solves
nothing. If possible, instead of demanding change—the word threatens
traditionalists and persons in power—speak about adding something new,
an experiment. Sometimes reformers avoid rust by quietly disregarding abusive
rules. Accept the rebuke graciously when word gets around later that you
failed to conform. Consider the truism ‘It's easier to ask pardon than
permission.’ Once you ask for their consent to obey Christ and they say no,
you're in hot water. You have acknowledged their right to veto obedience to
Jesus! George recalls, "We simply did what Jesus said and let critics
toss their darts. We became adept at ducking." Stand firm in your position on your church’s
biblical heritage. Most denominations have
a great history. They started out following sound, biblical guidelines.
Remind traditionalists of this. Help them to see that if they let pastors
build on these roots there will be less pain for all concerned. To our knees! Let us honestly confess
to God that many of the charges Jesus made against religious hypocrites apply
to us today. Experienced and respected leaders often bring down top-heavy
bureaucratic Goliaths if intercessors back them. Sometimes God softens the
most adamant traditionalists and they confess to him and publicly that they
have exalted traditions that have eclipsed biblical discipleship. We admit
that the kind of discipling that Jesus modeled and commanded is hardly
recognizable in many churches; it has been crowded out by clerical
privileges, clergy-centered events, doctrinal biases, systematic theologies
and cultural practices. Lord, give us
convictions of steel to obey our Savior in love, above and before all human
rules! If 1000 reformations are needed to lead our people in obeying Him, let
it be! For more information on Train & Multiply (pastoral
training by mentoring combined with church planting): www.TrainAndMultiply.com.
We invite those who use Train & Multiply to send strategy
questions to Galen Currah [email protected] or George Patterson [email protected].
For information on the electronic textbook Disciple
the Nations: www.AcquireWisdom.com. For information on the revised Church
Multiplication Guide by Patterson and Scoggins, email [email protected]. For information on Western Seminary's Division
of Intercultural Studies and other programs including the course Mentoring
for Ministry: www.westernseminary.edu/mrg/multiply/ (include
the final /). For information on receiving mentoring for
seminary credit: [email protected]. © George Patterson and Galen Currah |