Imagine believing in a philosophy you call "Relational Discipleship." Now imagine planting a church and finding ten years later that you have 8,500 in weekend attendance, but more importantly 8,000 in small groups and around 800 baptism in one year. The church is the fastest growing church per capita in the USA (the county in which they reside has only about 120,000 people) and it is now the 66th largest church in the country, after this short time. Additionally, you have also planted five other churches, one running 1,500 on weekends and the others running between 300 and 600 after one year. You are practicing Relational Discipleship. The church is Real Life Ministries in Post Falls, Idaho. Imagine believing that the best way to reach lost people is through planting more and more churches. So you make a commitment to develop an organization and you plant over 120 churches all over the nation in five years. A high percentage of these churches grow past the 200 barrier within three years and go on to make a high impact in their community. You are widely recognized as one of the leaders in church planting circles. The church planting organization is Stadia. Now image leaders from Real Life Ministries and Stadia coming together to provide a church planting bootcamp, to train people in how to start churches committed to "Relational Discipleship." You are invited. Can you imagine a better opportunity for a potential church planter? If not, you may want to plan to join Jim Putman (Real Life) and Dr. Bob Harrington (Stadia) for their church planter's bootcamp Februrary 2-10, 2009 in Spokane/Post Falls. For more information go to www.church-coaching.com and read on . . . .
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Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thursday, June 5, 2008
New Thing Partnership
I am sitting here, listening to Dave and Jon Ferguson from Community Christian Church. They are partnering with us as we train church planters this week. Good stuff, they really get it about creating "church culture." Cindy and I visited one of their 9 campuses on Sunday to be a part of one of their Assemblies for the first time: We felt encouraged. Dave and Jon are level 5 leaders - humble, but determined; gentle, while strong; visionary, yet practical. Good stuff.
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Sunday, April 13, 2008
Crazy Church Planter
Dave Milam is one of my favorite church planters. He is a crazy guy. I loved coaching him. I love that he is my friend. Someone stole the trailers with all the stuff that their church needs to use every Sunday (they meet in a theatre) . . . . so what did he do?
He contacted a billboard company in Charlotte and they created 5 billboards. They say things like . . . CHURCH TAILER THEIF, STEALING FROM GOD . . . BALLSY. You have got to follow this . . . go to http://www.kineticchurch.com/.
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He contacted a billboard company in Charlotte and they created 5 billboards. They say things like . . . CHURCH TAILER THEIF, STEALING FROM GOD . . . BALLSY. You have got to follow this . . . go to http://www.kineticchurch.com/.
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Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Attractional Vs Missional Church
Attractional Church
Come and See
Tell the Gospel
Come to Building, programs, staff, services
Worship at the church
Proclamation and Teaching
Join us for Religious Services
Ministry by Professional “Ministers”
Pastors are gifted to serve us
Missional Church
Go and Be (like Jesus)
Show and Tell the Gospel
Go Love, serve, and meet needs
Worship by your life
Good Works and Good News
Go to the people, serve their needs
Ministry by Everyday Christians
We are all gifted for service
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Come and See
Tell the Gospel
Come to Building, programs, staff, services
Worship at the church
Proclamation and Teaching
Join us for Religious Services
Ministry by Professional “Ministers”
Pastors are gifted to serve us
Missional Church
Go and Be (like Jesus)
Show and Tell the Gospel
Go Love, serve, and meet needs
Worship by your life
Good Works and Good News
Go to the people, serve their needs
Ministry by Everyday Christians
We are all gifted for service
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Friday, January 4, 2008
A New Kind of Christian
I like many things that Brian McLerna writes, but I am not a Brian McLeran fan. I find it too difficult to overlook his compromizes on key parts of biblical teaching (Jesus as the Only Way, divorce, homosexuality, etc.,.). But Brian McLeran writes an essay called, “Christian,” in David Kinnaman's new book, UnChristian. His vision is GREAT! Here is what he says . . .
In thirty years, research could show us that when people think Christian, they think things like this:
• Christians are the ones who love people, whoever they are – gay or straight, Jew or Muslim, religious or atheist, capitalist or not, conservative or liberal.
• Christians are the ones who have done more than anyone in the world to stop the HIV/AIDS crisis.
• Christians are the people who gravitate toward the poor and who show compassion through generous action and seek justice so that the systemic causes of poverty are overcome. They call the rich to generosity, and they call on rich nations to work for the common good.
• Christians are people who believe that art and creativity are important, so they consistently produce the most striking, original, and enriching art.
• Christians are willing to give their lives for the cause of peace. They oppose violence in all of its forms. They will lay down their lives to protect the vulnerable from the violent.
• Christians care for the environment. They don’t just see it as raw materials for economic gain, but they see it as the precious handiwork of their Creator.
• Christians have personal integrity. They keep their marriage vows and are aware of how destructive misused sexuality can be. Yet they are compassionate toward people who make sexual mistakes, and they never consider themselves superior.
• Christians build harmony among races. You always know that you’ll be respected when you’re around a Christian.
Perhaps I am a dreamer. But when the hard realities jolt you out of denial (as the research presented here can do), the status quo becomes less acceptable, and one is motivated to dream of better possibilities. I hope that this research will push others toward becoming dreamers too, and that hose dreams will inspire the needed creative and faithful action.
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In thirty years, research could show us that when people think Christian, they think things like this:
• Christians are the ones who love people, whoever they are – gay or straight, Jew or Muslim, religious or atheist, capitalist or not, conservative or liberal.
• Christians are the ones who have done more than anyone in the world to stop the HIV/AIDS crisis.
• Christians are the people who gravitate toward the poor and who show compassion through generous action and seek justice so that the systemic causes of poverty are overcome. They call the rich to generosity, and they call on rich nations to work for the common good.
• Christians are people who believe that art and creativity are important, so they consistently produce the most striking, original, and enriching art.
• Christians are willing to give their lives for the cause of peace. They oppose violence in all of its forms. They will lay down their lives to protect the vulnerable from the violent.
• Christians care for the environment. They don’t just see it as raw materials for economic gain, but they see it as the precious handiwork of their Creator.
• Christians have personal integrity. They keep their marriage vows and are aware of how destructive misused sexuality can be. Yet they are compassionate toward people who make sexual mistakes, and they never consider themselves superior.
• Christians build harmony among races. You always know that you’ll be respected when you’re around a Christian.
Perhaps I am a dreamer. But when the hard realities jolt you out of denial (as the research presented here can do), the status quo becomes less acceptable, and one is motivated to dream of better possibilities. I hope that this research will push others toward becoming dreamers too, and that hose dreams will inspire the needed creative and faithful action.
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Wednesday, January 2, 2008
A New Type of Christian
David Kinnaman, UnChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity.
1. Christians say one thing but live something entirely different . . . . becomes . . . Christians are transparent about their flaws and act first, talk second.
2. Christians are insincere and concerned only with converting others . . . . becomes . . . Christians cultivate relationships and environments where others can be deeply transformed by God.
3. Christians show contempt for gays and lesbians . . . becomes . . . Christians show compassion and love to all people, regardless of their lifestyle.
4. Christians are boring, unintelligent, old fashioned, and out of touch with reality . . . becomes . . . Christians are engaged, informed and offer sophisticated responses to issues people face.
5. Christians are primarily motivated by a political agenda and promote right-wing politics . . . becomes . . . Christians are characterized by respecting people, thinking biblically, and finding solutions to complex issues
6. Christians are prideful and quick to find fault with others . . . becomes . . . Christians show grace by finding the good in others and seeing their potential to be Christ followers.
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1. Christians say one thing but live something entirely different . . . . becomes . . . Christians are transparent about their flaws and act first, talk second.
2. Christians are insincere and concerned only with converting others . . . . becomes . . . Christians cultivate relationships and environments where others can be deeply transformed by God.
3. Christians show contempt for gays and lesbians . . . becomes . . . Christians show compassion and love to all people, regardless of their lifestyle.
4. Christians are boring, unintelligent, old fashioned, and out of touch with reality . . . becomes . . . Christians are engaged, informed and offer sophisticated responses to issues people face.
5. Christians are primarily motivated by a political agenda and promote right-wing politics . . . becomes . . . Christians are characterized by respecting people, thinking biblically, and finding solutions to complex issues
6. Christians are prideful and quick to find fault with others . . . becomes . . . Christians show grace by finding the good in others and seeing their potential to be Christ followers.
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Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Only Tough Guys Should Plant Churches
In our most recent bootcamp, we had several veteran church planters over to my house to join with all the new church planters (guys who were about to plant). We always break the teams up - My wife, as a veteran church planter and pastor's wife, takes the women - and Todd Wilson and I take the men. Then we open it up and talk, down and dirty, about the spiritual warfare in a church plant. Wow! It is alway eye-opening. One of our trainers - a veteran planter from the east coast - shared this time how hard it has been on him to plant a church. I am used to hearing it, but the depth of his struggle (as he described it), caught me offgaurd. But simultaneously, as I heard his words, I sensed the Holy Spirit remind me of a passages from the Church Planter's Epistles (scholars call them Pastoral Epistles, but they are really written to church planters/evangelists): Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 2:3). Thats right, only tough guys should plant churches.
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