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20 Things to Do When You’re NOT Multiplying Churches
Orginally published on Wednesday, January 24, 2007 at 6:01 AM
by Todd Rhoades
Steve Addison's blog has a great post about some suggestions you could use to take up your time while when you're not interested in multiplying churches. This is a great list. Here are the first ten, along with a link to Steve's Blog...
1. Call yourself an apostle. Have some business cards printed. Hand them around.
2. Throw lots of money at subsidizing unhealthy, declining churches.
3. Throw money at “experimental missional initiatives” and never evaluate their effectiveness.
4. Set goals for multiplying new churches but don’t make it clear who is responsible.
5. Make someone responsible but don’t give them any real authority, discretionary time or sufficient funding. Change the appointment every two years. After ten years, save money by retiring the position and making everyone responsible.
6. Appoint a committee to undertake a study and write a report for the leadership group. Wait three years, then do it again.
7. Hire a consultant to undertake a study and write a report. Wait three years then do it again.
8. Appoint the wrong people to plant churches. When they fall over say, “Church planting doesn’t work.”
9. When you see a healthy church plant say, “Yes it’s growing but it’s not really a Reformed/Baptist/Assemblies of God/Presbyterian/Methodist/New Vine/etc (choose one) church.”
10. Require pioneering leaders to be theologically trained before they can plant a church.
Go to Steve’s WorldChanger’s Blog for the rest of this list...
FOR DISCUSSION: Any you would add to a list like this?
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There are 8 Comments:
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Posted by Randy Ehle
Wednesday, January 24, 2007 at 10:02 AM
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Posted by Todd Rhoades
Wednesday, January 24, 2007 at 10:12 AM
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Posted by Daniel
Wednesday, January 24, 2007 at 10:18 AM
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Posted by Matthew Tilley
Wednesday, January 24, 2007 at 10:21 AM
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Posted by
Wednesday, January 24, 2007 at 11:13 AM
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Posted by
Wednesday, January 24, 2007 at 12:01 PM
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Posted by Matthew Tilley
Wednesday, January 24, 2007 at 12:04 PM
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Posted by
Thursday, August 30, 2007 at 8:49 PM
Post Your Comments:Have a bad attitude about all the others who also aren’t multiplying churches.
Blog about how well you’re doing.
Innovate.
Write about innovation.
Frankly, I find no redeeming value whatsoever in this list. I would have a hard time believing that it was written and posted with the intent of “building each up” and “encouraging one another.” Sorry, Todd (and Steve), but I think this one is a loser.
I think the purpose of the post, Randy, was to show some of the things people do INSTEAD of multiplying churches. Things like talking about multplying; or budgeting for multpying; or helping churches who won’t every multiply try to multiply.
I didn’t catch a whole lot of angst in the post… just more of a though-provoker or eye opener.
Just my opinion.
Todd
Number 10 seems totally totally wrong to me. I think if you don’t want ‘growth’ (the kind that matters: making disciples), you should have it like so: “Require pioneering leaders not to be theologically trained before they can plant a church.”
Granted, people who aren’t theologically trained may be able to plant a church, and the Spirit certainly can use them, but theological training needs to happen. And the sooner the better.
I’d actually like to take one off the list ... #10. Why shouldn’t church-planters be theologically trained? In fact, why shouldn’t any church member, any believer, anyone who professes to love the Savior be theologically trained?
It’d be like me suggesting to a young man, “Don’t worry about getting to know your bride-to-be ... just go on and marry her, that’s the where the real work gets started anyhow.”
No ... theology isn’t some dead, dry topic that is only considered in the ivy-covered walls of theological seminaries. It is Theology (a proper understanding of God’s character) that caused me to fall in love with the redemptive work of Christ. It is Theology that makes me want to live for Christ. It is Theology that is my hope, my assurance, my promise, my joy.
Keep #10 on the list of bad things, you might well multiply churches, but you will very likely be multipying theologically unsound churches with no real, meaningful connection to the Christ of the Bible.
Matthew, I think the point of #10 is that a Doctorate in Theology is not necessarily prerequisite for a church planter. Nor is it always indicative of someone with sound, correct theology.
Sound theology is necessary and theological training certainly helps there, but not necessarily “Theological Training” as in a Degree.
My brother has been a missionary all over the world for the last 35 years, planting churches in a variety of environments from eastern Europe to Africa and Asia.
Recently, due to some medical issues of his wife, they have had to limit their travel and have been working at their mission headquarters in the states. He has recently become a licensed Minister in the UMC (licensed, not ordained) but there has been some resistance to him actually serving as a Pastor because he does not have a degree in theology. That’s because while some were in the school getting their degrees he was getting detained and persecuted in East Germany, Latvia and Lithuania for smuggling bibles and planting churches and being threatened by machete wielding tribesmen in Africa who were just a bit hostile to Christianity and Christian missionaries.
His theology is sound, honed by years of study and teaching it to others, but whether a person’s theology is sound or not is not dependent on a degree or lack thereof.
Todd, as for the list, I think it is a great list for anyone who really wants to avoid multiplying/planting churches. It offers any number of outs and excuses. It also serves as a list of things to avoid if you’re serious about Kingdom work. As with any list it’s not perfect for every situation or reader.
If you read through the comments on Steve’s blog, you will find that Steve does address why he came up with number 10. I guess we would (as DanielR rightly points out) have to come up with a common definition for “theologically trained”. Anecdotally, I’ve heard stories of seminaries where one does not come out equipped to pastor an existing church, much less plant a new one.
I could really identify with number 15, because I’ve personally heard those same frustrating arguments before.
I get what you’re saying Daniel ... and admittedly, I saw that as the primary point of #10’s inclusion on the list. But, I think it’s super important to note that theology is every believer’s business ... not just something reserved for the D.D.s and the proverbial “stuffed shirts.” In fact, I think it should be clarified that theology should be the primary business of any church, for without it we’ve got nothing but a feel-good experience which is as subjective as one’s shoe preferences.
The way I’m calling things, studying “theology” = studying Scripture, the truest and best source of Theology.
Even Scripture demands that as a prerequisite for a pastor, demanding that he not be a “novice” in spiritual matters.
I guess some people just don’t get it. The list is bogus, it’s only there to shake an awareness that when something that has been done for years is not working, alternate modes of operation should be considered.
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