News Feature: The Power of Church Planting
By Matt Stockdale, February 3, 2016: The concept for Triad Adventist Fellowship (TAF) in Greensboro (North Carolina) began a few years ago in our young adult Sabbath School class as we discussed ways to help reach those who were no longer attending church, those who felt out of place at church, and those who’d had a negative experience with church in the past.
What we learned from this discussion is there are many who want to be connected with the love of Jesus whom we will never reach using a traditional approach. We knew we had to change our methods to effectively reach them.
A core group of 11 passionate individuals began meeting weekly to brainstorm and strategize the outreach ministry that eventually became TAF. This core group met for more than nine months before any actual worship service started. That was key to organizing, setting goals, and putting the vision into action. The prayers and dedication of this group made TAF happen.
Church planting isn’t for the weak and undetermined. We faced many challenges along the way, but we knew we were following God’s leading to reach those who might never set foot in a traditional church setting.
Many church members questioned our motives and discouraged our efforts. Our service is not traditional, our music is contemporary, and our style is casual. When something is different, it can cause some tension. But, we knew we were being led to this ministry, and we knew there was a need for it, so that kept us focused on the most important thing: creating an environment where we could share the love of Jesus with those who needed it the most.
To support us in our journey, we attended several church-planting conferences at the conference, union conference and national levels. These were instrumental in helping us focus on what needed to be done in order to start a successful church plant.
As plans for TAF progressed, we were blessed to form a relationship with a local Sunday-keeping church that allowed us to rent their facility on Saturdays. They were centrally located in the Triad area (Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point, North Carolina), so that made it convenient for people to come from many areas to our church. They have a contemporary worship service, with a stage and worship theater set up in a warehouse facility, so it was the perfect setting for our church plant.
Our core group prayed for many months over our mission statement, vision statement, and core values for TAF. The vision statement we developed is, “To provide the Piedmont Triad with a Seventh-day Adventist community that presents Jesus Christ to the disconnected in a creative, authentic, and caring environment where everyone can grow to their full potential.” Our mission statement is simple, “To present the love and saving grace of Jesus Christ.” We want to encourage a community of grace-filled followers who are led by authentic Christians who help to unify their brothers and sisters in spiritual growth, while remaining culturally relevant to the surrounding area.
TAF officially opened its doors on July 5, 2014. The church-planting experts told us that lay-led church plants never reach 100 people in attendance. We were thrilled to be able to exceed that number for the first time on August 2, 2014. We’ve seen steady growth, with attendance consistently more than 120 since that time.
One thing that makes TAF unique is our fellowship. We want people to feel connected and to have an authentic relationship with Jesus, as well as with each other. TAF provides breakfast each Sabbath from 10:15 a.m. until 11 a.m. for anyone from the community who wants to join us. We also provide a full fellowship luncheon each week starting at 12 p.m. Many people from the community, who would not normally attend a church, have come for the food and stayed because of the fellowship. Although this is sometimes inconvenient for those preparing food, we have found that the fellowship is the glue that has helped to connect our members and visitors.
Another thing that makes TAF unique is our community service and outreach projects to our local community. TAF participates in monthly community service projects, such as distributing backpacks full of school supplies to underprivileged children, feeding the homeless at our local shelters, providing hygiene kits to those in need, and handing out scarves, gloves, hats, and socks in the winter to the homeless community and families in domestic violence shelters. These are just a few of the ways we try to show Jesus’ love to those in our area who are in need.
If you are traveling in North Carolina or live near us, we invite you to join us at TAF any time. We are sure that you will feel the love of Jesus through those of us at TAF who are committed to serving Him.
Editor’s Note: TAF has the status of a “company” in the Carolina Conference of the Adventist denomination. The official membership includes 82 people. A “company” in the Adventist organization is a congregation that is new and has not yet been conferred full recognition in the conference sisterhood of churches, although companies generally operate just like any other local church and the members may not even be aware of the status. TAF meets on Sabbaths at 705 Sunshine Way, Greensboro, Zip Code 27409. It is a good example of a new generation of Adventist congregations being started in many places across North America and around the world.
Matt Stockdale is employed as an assistant district attorney in Guilford County, North Carolina. Dr. Ron C. Smith, the president of the Southern Union Conference, describes Matt as “a highly effective minister” and asks people to pray for the TAF team. “God is doing an amazing work through their ministry,” he said. Adventist Today thanks Dr. Smith for giving us permission to republish this story from Southern Tidings.
The Gospel in action! What if more churches did this? They would become much better known in the community as a church that actually served the people, not merely meeting each week and returning home again. It is usually the more progressive who initate such groups.
When does a “company” become recognized as a “church” with a congregation?
Hooray for Triad! Their experience has shown that the people who tell you it can’t be done are usually “inside the box” thinkers who believe there is only one way to “do church.” The future growth of the church depends on people like them who understand that, to attract people who are different, we must first be different.
This may be a good thing, maybe not. Possibly a lot of local Laodiceans looking for something new who are attending this church “plant”. They will eventually turn the congregation into the same kind of place they ran away from.
People looking for food and fellowship are known as “rice Christians” in Asia.
John Carter planted a church in Glendale, CA. There were several existing SDA churches within a 30 minute drive, some within walking distance i.e., Glendale City, Vallejo Drive, Eagle Rock, La Crescenta, 2 Filipino, Hispanic, Korean, etc.
Carter’s church was soon filled with local SDA who interfered with his soulwinning work and caused numerous problems for him; nevertheless,the force of his personality and years of experience as a pastor worked in his favor. He conducted large crusades in a traditional SDA area which had a a hospital or two, schools, and conference office, while raising millions of $$$ for Russian evangelism which resulted in the baptism of thousands.
Years ago the Glendale City church had a weekly potluck which attracted some of the local rabble. The members, choosing to not dine with the unwashed, required a ticket to eat. The ticket could be obtained at the door of the church i.e., no preach, no peach. I myself was scrutinized by some wary members but once I convinced them I was actually a member of the SDA church, not ordinary rabble off the street, I was warmly welcomed, as were a friend or two who attended with me
Hansen,
How is a Laodicean going to change unless they find something to inspire and motivate them?
Good food and loving fellowship are powerful elements in building a church that is loving, interactive and spiritually vibrant outside of Sabbath mornings.
I agree with you that there are long-term pressures for innovative churches to “fit into the mold” of traditional Adventism, but those pressures can and must be resisted if a church is to remain vibrant. My church is an example of “different” among a cluster of SDA churches near Oakwood University. We have a reputation for being spiritually innovative, welcoming, nurturing and safe for you to bring your sins so you can be cleansed by Jesus. Over the years I’ve seen a number of people come and be vocal advocates for traditional ways, but they soon left because our church culture resisted them to maintain our focus on sola scriptura, prayer and fellowship at more times than just on Sabbath. We welcome the “rabble” off the streets because they also are sinners whom Jesus died to redeem.
Church planting rather than evangelistic meetings is the path to the future for Redeemer Presbyterian and Timothy Keller.
http://www.redeemercitytocity.com/blog/2015/12/16/church-planting-is-what-we-do
Redeemer reports that 3-6 times more non-churched people attend new church plants than will every join churches over 15 years in existence.
New churches are the best way to increase the generosity base, Redeemer reports.
New churches are the best way to renew older, existing churches, Redeemer reports.
So far there seems no downside to church planting, and little upside without it across denominations. Rather First Century. A kind of revival and even reformation in returning to mid 19th Century Seventh-day Adventist church growth methods it feels like from a 21st Century vantage point here.
Bill,
That reflects what Russell Burrill wrote about in his books about church planting.
At Grace Fellowship, we regard him as the “spiritual father” of our church because we were able to get him to come to our parent church for a weekend seminar on church planting. One thing I remember him telling us about church growth was that a church that divides to plant new congregations quickly replenishes their lost numbers.
The Bible teaches that when children grow to adulthood, they should leave the patriarchal plantations and form new households, “cleaving” to one another in sanctified relationships. We have been slow to extend this process to church membership, but we finally seem to be coming ’round, as large numbers of our Adventist young adults simply leave the old congregations, rarely to be seen in Adventist circles again.
One of our thirty-something children is involved in church planting far from us, and enjoys a vibrant experience with his wife and three very young children. We would love to have them worshiping nearby each week, but we are convinced (as are they) that establishing a new “church plant” (even if it is in an urban center with several other Adventist congregations) is the right thing to do, for them as well as for their Lord.
We reared the children to be outgoing with their faith, and in fact involved them in several mission projects during their academy and college years and encouraged them in summer witnessing activities. It seems spiritually natural that they continue this lifestyle in their early married lives, in context of their own generation, where they are not overly burdened by the preconceptions and traditional inhibitions of a church established three, four, or five generations before they were born.
Each new Adventist generation seems to want to reinvent the Adventist experience for themselves, as they grapple to cleave to the mission of their…
Jesus didn’t command any of His followers to plant churches. The Great Commission isn’t about starting churches, it’s about making disciples who make disciples. That’s what Jesus sent all of His followers to do! That’s what His followers are still doing today!
Jesus didn’t train the twelve disciples to start churches to make disciples. He trained them to make disciples – and making disciples will start new churches.
So who should plant churches? Those who are effective at making disciples!
Evaluate a candidate’s ability to handle Scripture accurately and preach the Gospel. Evaluate character and credibility. Evaluate what they understand (Knowing) and who they are (Being) – but also pay attention to how they are involved in the mission of Jesus to make disciples (Doing).
Before sending anyone out to plant a church – ask these simple questions:
1. Would I follow this person as a leader?
2. How have they multiplied disciples, leaders and small groups?
3. Who are their non-Christian friends?
4. Would my wife and I enjoy hanging out with them more?
While we need more church planters – don’t encourage anyone to plant a church if there is not evidence that they are a spiritual leader who is making disciples, multiplying groups, relating well to non-believers, and relationally competent.
Sam,
To be a church planter, you must first be a disciple and learn how to make more disciples, something that happens quite naturally when you are united with the Holy Spirit. The church should be a collection of disciples who gather together to encourage each other into a greater relationship with the Holy Spirit, to celebrate the powerful and wonderful works of God, to pray, to minister to those in need and to coordinate their efforts in making disciples in new places where they see God sending them.
When people in a church are seeking God’s guidance about planting a new church, He will develop the servants He wants to do the work. Then He will place that burden on their hearts and make it obvious that they are doing what He wants by blessing their efforts and producing results. Anyone who tries to plant a church and is not gifted by the Holy Spirit to do it will fail miserably.
Are most new churches that a planted by members, also more liberal than the former conservative congregation? If there’s no room in a church for new blood, the younguns will leave when they reach their majority.
Elaine,
Instead of using the undefinable and politically-burdened term “conservative,” I prefer to describe those who are driving-away the youth more generally as traditionalists, defenders of tradition, etc. Show me a teacher or preacher who is using EGW quotes more than Bible verses and I’ll show you someone who isn’t growing the church. Show me someone who is afraid to delete the Doxology from the order of worship in the church bulletin, or who things you must have an organ to have “proper” worship and I’ll show you someone who is driving people out of the church. The list goes on and on.
What’s wrong with the doxology?
The same thing that is wrong with most Adventist music. It is played so slow for those who have iron poor blood.
Try getting your church to sing “Shine Jesus Shine”
The best organ music I ever heard was the postlude at Notre Dame cathedral (Paris) in 1983.
It was the most dynamic, lively organ music ever. I was kinda bummed out with all of the catholics just leaving the service right away. I taped the music, even though the acoustics were terrible in the pew area.
Hansen commented on those who come for the food as being “rice Christians”. This phenomena is not new, Christ had the same experience when He was here in person. He willingly fed them all (feeding the 5000)The only thing He resisted was their trying to make Him their king.While He had limitless resources to draw upon, and we do not, we have to use judgement and wisdom to best apply what we have, but the reality is in this life we will always have those who come for the “loaves and fishes”, some may even be Laodician, and while some may always come for the immediate needs of life,some will find the real kernals and get hooked at the heart level.Congratulations to this group who carefully worked out a strategy which appears to be paying good dividends for God’s kingdom.
Sam, You evince typical denominational mentality with your desire to judge the suitability of others to “plant churches.” It’s usually about control with conference minded types. Those who don’t fit the mold will rarely receive the approbation of the brethren.
Dan Collins was a relatively uneducated, rough around the edges character with a dodgy history who was quite successful as an evangelist. When a guy shows up at an evangelistic series with a dozen people he has prepared for baptism, even the most jaded take note. Joe Crews did and offered him a job.
I guess that many clerical type pastors considered him a country bumpkin but he added souls to the church books. People who have a relationship with Christ don’t need permission from anyone to preach the gospel. Whether they do it in a church or on a street corner, no matter to them
There was a guy in the Sacramento area who wanted to do prison ministry but was discouraged by his local pastor. Adventists had been essentially banned from the prisons in that area because prison personnel, especially the chaplain, believed that their message was too divisive and would provoke conflict within the prison; nevertheless, the person judged unfit for prison ministry by the SDA clergy, was interviewed by the prison chaplain and given a pass into the prison which allowed him more or less unrestricted access to the inmate population.
He baptized 8 inmates into the body of Christ. [His]the ordination of the mighty…
pierced hands
Hansen,
Many years ago I came across an apocryphal story about a church that was searching for a new pastor and the elder leading the search committee read them a letter he supposedly had received. The applicant told how he had been falsely accused of heresy, had been driven out of at least one city and stone, beaten within an inch of his life, imprisoned for years, thrown-out of the largest church in the denomination and even stoned and left for dead. Did the search committee want to consider him? No way! Then someone dared to ask the applicant’s name and the elder replied, “The Apostle Paul.”
The most effective church planter in Christian history definitely wouldn’t fit in the denominational mold!
I like your application of this biblical principle, Edwin.
Actually, we have no history of this sort of approach as Seventh-day Adventist in North America.
Ministers were and still are employed by conferences, not congregations.
In the founding days of Seventh-day Adventism, conference ministers started churches.
When Seventh-day Adventists converted from itinerant ministers to settled pastorates, church planting essentially ended.
Actually, there is no biblical model for churches hiving off, so we see none of this happening.
Matt Stockdale’s experience is not to be mistaken as a church hiving off. It is work lead by a lone Seventh-day Adventist with a vision for a congregation more attractive to segments of the community where he lives and works.
Mark’s vision is akin to Mark Finley’s adventure. http://www.adventistreview.org/church-news/story2640-%E2%80%8Badventist-church-of-the-future-rises-in-virginia
I am inspired by these stories, as well as the report above about John Carter’s congregation-based world-wide ministry.
None of these, though have the characteristics of a repeatable model. A follow-up report of a conversation with John Carter, Mark Finley, and Matt Stockdale around the same table would be very inspiring, too. Or a Google Hangout or Skype video gathering of these three with Loren Seibold would be amazing. Both the video itself as well as the reporting summary in AToday.
Bill,
You wrote”None of these, though have the characteristics of a repeatable model.”
Of what “model” are you speaking? How a person worked in a particular situation to plant a new church? Or, in following the guidance of the Holy Spirit in raising-up a new church? The methods used will, of necessity, have to vary from one situation to another and one place to another while working in the power of the Holy Spirit remains a constant.
William,
Good point about variability to be expected. In terms of repeatably model, I’m thinking of a way of seeing and a way of reproducing churches that does not depend on notable personalities or the random and rare member who aspires to and is willing to invest in starting a new congregation.
We can surely learn from the three instances that have become part of this conversation. However, it is not likely that the NAD’s aspiration to add 200 new congregations in now the next 48 months, which is essentially a new congregation every week for the next four years, will be realized using the methods that resulted in the three churches that are part of our conversation here.
What will make possible adding a new congregation every week for four years in North America, is a question worth of our collective attention here as well as research and reporting by Adventist Today. Your thoughts?
There was a time when surplus pastors, particularly ordained ministers, were a fairly rare sight in the Pacific Northwest where we live, and the burden of starting churches was largely carried by laymen in a process known as “swarming.” And I remember that in most cases somewhere in the woodpile of Adventist “swarms” was some kind of niggling disagreement that led two groups (or more) to decide that between five and 50 miles separation would do wonders to solve their longstanding differences. The “swarm” was a bittersweet experience akin to two unmitigated combatants being sent to opposite corners of the ring and told to stay there indefinitely.
Church planting, by comparison, is a rather late-comer on our scene, where a church strategically sets forth a plan to establish a new congregation, with volunteer members of the mother congregation serving as its charter members. There may or may not be a professional evangelist involved in the church-planting experience, and in later times specialty “church planters” have served as coaching pastors, to help keep the new congregation(s) on course.
Edwin, I’m a bit rusty on the history but I recall reading of “church planting” in EGW’s day. SDA evangelists would go to and area hold tent meetings, camp meetings, etc.,preferably following groundwork laid by colporteurs. They would baptize some new converts and have a church plant.
In those days, at least on paper,the ministerial track required young “men” to do this kind of work. If they succeeded, they would become pastors;they had to prove their ministerial calling. They often worked with older men. Fellows who couldn’t do this kind of work well would be advised to seek other employment
Hansen,
You are correct. The church would be much different today had we maintained that requirement. I think every pastor should be required to plant a new church at least every three years or lose their job. Maybe the same should apply to people like the Conference President, Ministerial Secretary, etc., to prove they still can do it.
Should we assume you are a pastor who has planted a church every three years? If so, maybe you could help and advise other pastors.
Should we assume that you are a pastor who has successfully planted three churches in the past three years? If so, you could aid and advise other pastors who it can be done.
Hahaha. Most of them have never done it and couldn’t do it. Luckily [for them],that’s the case throughout administrative ranks,so it doesn’t matter. It’s no wonder the church is scratching its head over growth issues,when to put it roughly, the leaders are incompetent.
I don’t know much about church planting but I’m not taking people’s money and then not doing the job they should be paying me to do. Of course, most people are not evangelism oriented so they don’t care what their pastor does.
Bill,
It will happen ONLY when people allow the Holy Spirit to guide and empower them and He places the burden on their hearts to go and plant new congregations. Planting new churches is a noble aspiration, but not one that can be driven or brought to reality by the setting of an administrative goal.
There is yet another aspect of this challenge which we have been overlooking: the need to rebuild existing congregations that have become smelly cesspools filled with tradition instead of God’s redeeming love and as a result are in decline, or even near death. God must first work a miracle of reformation to turn them into bath houses filled with the rejuvenating warmth of His redeeming love so they will be welcoming to visitors and their fellowship will turn them into members. This growth often happens because individuals in the church remember what it was like to not know God and the miracle of redemption they experienced, so they know how to communicate with those who are outside the church to draw them in. That is a language few who have grown-up in the church know how to speak.
William, Kip McKean tried rejuvenation traditional CoC congregations in order to implement discipleship programs for evangelism. He met with such resistance from traditional hardliners that he abandoned the plan and started a new denomination, the ICoC. It brought thousands, hundreds of thousands, of young people to Christ by emphasizing the Christian path to a happy and enduring marriage.
One innovation was allowing people who discipled someone to baptize that person, thereby forming strong bonds of fellowship and accountability. Instrumental music was featured,though traditionally forbidden by old line COC. It resulted in awesome worship services, a true high point in the week.
This was going on in Adventism’s back yard [Glendale.CA] while Carter was raising millions of dollars for Russian evangelism in the same town and conducting oversize evangelistic meetings in places like the Shrine auditorium [Oscar venue]and large meeting halls in Pasadena
There is a difference between church planting and dark county work/penetrating unentered areas. The latter is as it sounds, carrying the gospel to places it hasn’t been carried before. Paul spoke highly of this work and often did it himself. Paul describes this work in 2 Corinthians 10:12-18.
It may require a great deal of personal sacrifice to move into an area with limited/no Christian presence. For those set on perpetuating a particular brand of Christianity, there are also challenges. In the mid 80s Las Vegas, New Mexico was a good place for an SDA church plant. Good sized city with a university, no SDA churches around listed in the directory. There is a SDA congregation/company there now.
Colusa was the last dark county in California. ~1980,a retired pastor started working in the area, spending his time there in a travel trailer, visiting people in the community. There was another SDA church nearby because people with long ties to Adventism were involved.
It’s rather foolish for laymen to do all the heavy lifting at their own expense and then have a denominational employee take over and turn the congregation into a funeral service. That’s often what a conference will exact in order to recognize a company as a “church” or whatever the nomenclature is.
Hansen,
Yes, planting new churches requires personal sacrifice and long-term dedication. Some, like Paul, are gifted to do that so they do it well. More often church plants are the result of group efforts.
I think we need to adjust our concept of “dark” areas because that promotes and preserves gross overestimates about the influence and effectiveness of a local church. A few members meeting regularly in a city where there wasn’t a church a few years ago does not mean that church is actually doing what God wants done. Instead of single churches in a city, I think we need to be planting numerous smaller churches, even home churches, because they are where the power of God is more often found working effectively because the members are more likely to be focused on doing what God wants them doing instead of talking about it.
Dark County, what a memory resurrected, Hansen!
How about a new term, Dark Congregation?
The church I often attend lists more than 500 members in a community of 50,000 when visiting the conference website. Yesterday I counted fewer than 60 in the worship service, including platform party. That was up several from the previous Sabbath, when the conference was sponsoring a ‘women’s conference.’
However one chooses to use the term, ‘Dark,’ this is a Dark Congregation.
Monte Sahlin reports a careful study indicates that 65 out of 100 Seventh-day Adventist members will worship with their congregation at least once a month.
I’m wondering if Matt Stockdale isn’t looking to escape to the light.
But let’s forget the light and dark metaphors; how about just touching one another? Does the bible not chronicle the reality that there is no such thing as common belief, there is only common need?
Seeking common belief rather than accepting common need is what separates us, not only from each other, but from God. This is irony.
The bible also chronicles the impossibility of offending God to the point that we perish.
God is the prodigal God. We are all prodigal children.
God does not welcome us back to try again to please him; God is not only pleased to welcome us back as children we never ceased being, but rejoices that we have come to accept God’s sense of us.
We don’t have to start a new congregation to discover this, unless we actually do.
“Dark County” is an anachronistic term since I was a child in the ’30’s. Adventists do not mean where there are no believers, but where there are no Adventists, people are in the dark. Thus, they try to win them; not to Christ as many may already be Christians, but to a completely different belief system and way of life that is all included in the meaning of Adventist.
For a “dark county” stigma removal, there must be at least a few Adventists to be recognized as a “company” or the beginning of a church.
Since for the majority of people becoming an Adventist is not the simple belief in Jesus as Christ and Savior, but far more important is that all the 28 FB’s be studied, accepted and nearly always, major life changes must be made. This results in the SdA church in all first world countries on a gradually descending slope, with additions nearly always of children of SdA famiies.
There are very few professional and college educated new converts that have not come from SdA families, even third and fourth generation. Such new members are rare and few. Others can posit possible reasons based on the evidence.
Its exciting to hear there are church members who are willing to try something new and outside the box! One very successful ministry group at church planting is Mission Catalyst out of Washington state.
I applaud these groups and wish them well and know God is blessing them. After all It’s ALL about Jesus and not everyone responds to the tried and true and stale evangelistic efforts from the past! It’s time to try new things! Why does it matter if it is out of our comfort zone???? If it reaches someone who would never be reached our way then praise God and stop whining!
Thanks Cherry for the reference … http://www.missioncatalyst.org/
I also saw this on the way to finding the above …
http://missionscatalyst.net/
and
http://www.mci3.org/ which looks to be a generic http://www.afmonline.org/
which is nowhere near the only ‘frontier’ mission endeavor: https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=frontier%20missions
Cherry,
Mission Catalyst started-out great but at least one of their congregations in Florida suffered a painful split and, the last I heard, was near collapse because their retiring pastor insisted on his replacement being a woman who, it turned-out, was unqualified and really didn’t believe in God. I hope the others have fared better.
Yep, “outside the box”. I am outside the box every week because I also listen to NON SDA pastors and go to other churches.
One can start out of the box churches but the problem is that the sermons and bible studies are usually NOT outside the box. Like other denominations..the SDA have their own distinct worship/ritual approaches and religious lingo. SDA are in a 1% minority just from the day they attend church. Also, who else talks so much about 3 angel’s message, Laodicea, sanctuary, time of trouble like SDA??
Most SDA pastors do not even teach verse by verse studies through bible books. They just present the same old shallow topical pseudo- nurture sermons week after week.
Actually one of the best programs SDA have is their health message which gets bad mouthed by the goat/tare, anti EG White mob.
Jimbob,
My problem with most formulaic Bible studies is how they have become a crutch for people who do not know their Bibles to try and teach others about what God teaches. Then when the non-students try to use them and fail to get results, they blame everything else instead of accepting responsibility for their need to know God and what the Bible says.
I agree with you that we need more verse-by-verse study of the Bible. I lead a Tuesday night Bible study group where we are working through Romans. It is amazing the perspective that people gain when reading the book like a letter from a friend. Paul makes beautiful arguments that reveal amazing things about God, but which are only visible when you see them in the overview instead of getting lost in dissecting the verses under a microscope.
Disciples making disciples?
Usually it is Laodiceans making Laodiceans.
I hope God blesses any outreach efforts that are not motivated by institutionals.
About disciples … Disciples are those who accept and assist in spreading the doctrines of another. This bible study tool http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/disciple/ reports that the Greek word for disciple ‘always means the pupil of someone, in contract to the master or teacher.’
Christ’s followers in the Gospels are universally identified as his disciples, no just the Twelve Apostles.
I am attracted to the inclusive term, rather than imagine our goal as replicating the equivalent of one of the Twelve Apostles.
It seems disruptive of Jesus to declare that the universal identifying mark of his disciples is that they “love one another.”
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount once and for all documented the impossibility of keeping the Law. We do not because we cannot keep the law. Jesus, though, declares that he fulfills the Law. Jesus then closes with this warning, ‘plainly, I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ offered to all who claim to be his disciples because they have of prophesied, have driven out demons, and have performed miracles in his name.
So what ought our doctrine of discipleship to be considering what Jesus actually defines as his disciples?
So what ought our doctrine of salvation to be in light of Jesus unmistakable confirmation as to the impossibility of humans to meet God’s vision for our mutual relationships with him and among ourselves that the Law represents?