I just got back from a great time in Houston. I was invited to the Vineyard’s National Church Planting Coach training. It was fun to connect with some familiar faces & some new ones. I was humbled to be invited to this event since we are just starting out, but humility never hurt anybody. I was the only one there who didn’t have an “established” church, but a church plant. (Established is 100, we’re 17. I hope!) I learned some great stuff & am inspired about the future of church planting in our Region.
One of the things I have wrestled with & continue to wrestle with is the hiring of people vs. raising up & releasing disciples. I guess I don’t understand why pastors need to hire people when their churches are filled with people. My assumption is that as we follow Jesus & implement the Great Commission in our lives & churches, there should always be a group of up-&-coming disciples who are ready to participate in the work of the ministry. Maybe I’m wrong. I continually here people saying, “My church is ______ & were looking to hire a ______ pastor/leader.” I guess I don’t understand or agree with this theology. Shouldn’t the church be filled with people ready to step into responsibility without pay? Why hasn’t the pastor identified & released someone they have been discipling into this position? If you have to hire from outside of your church doesn’t that speak of problem inside of your church, namely discipleship? What does hiring outside your church say about your ability to disciple people? Too, in what ways does hiring distort the discipleship process within a given church? Just questions.
I believe money is a huge issue here. I have often seen pastors who don’t allow the, often/always difficult, practice of discipleship to become developed because: I can just hire this guy. Money therefore, allows pastors to overlook one of the pivotal commands of our faith: Go, make disciples…Using money to hire a ready made disciple is like putting water on a pill & out comes an animal. This, I believe, is a cancer in our churches. I’m sure Williard does a better job via. “Cost of Non-Discipleship.” If you’re good at discipleship, which IS the Great Commission, then your staff should be filled with YOUR disciples, not somebody else’s.
We’re gonna’ baptize 4 people tomorrow. 3 are brand spankin’ new believers & one is rededicating his life to Jesus. What’s also exciting is I’m not doing any baptizing. Why? Couple of reasons: My disciples led these people to Jesus, I didn’t. My disciples will be discipling them, I won’t be (although I’m still their pastor, etc…). The people in my church need to know how to baptize, I have done it.
I’m excited about my sermon tomorrow because this is a day these people will all remember. I will be preaching on the Great Commission. Why? Because that’s why they’re getting baptized: Go, & do what’s been done to you, baptize more people, everywhere, all the time, for the rest of your life. Getting baptized isn't about you (although you're very special: Psalm 139), it's about being devoted to the person & purposes of Jesus.
Lastly. Why is it that when I talk to people about their church they describe an event? I'm confused.
4 comments:
I love it when pomo types describe how sick of Church they are, and how the church should be more than just an event on Sunday, but when I ask them to describe the ideal church, they describe in detail a Sunday service (albeit with all the modern doodads removed and all the postmodern ones added in).
I would agree. It's interesting that the issue ends up being the event & not the life of the church. I think post-modern seeker-sensitive churches are great. They have created a front door, which is attractive to many people. However, after inviting people through that door what sort of family will they meet; granted that one believes church is a family regardless of size. (See Acts 2:42-47) What's the mission? Making disciples (period.).
I think this is a really relevant topic. It's interesting to see it all played out here at school...
It makes me wonder if churches (the institution kinds, not the "people who" kinds) will be able to sustain themselves for much longer.
It seems that it's much easier to debate about whether or not Jesus was actually born in December, or a woman becoming a leader in ministry.
I hope we never get so caught up in talking about HOW to love people that we fail to actually go out and love them...
If there's anything that school has helped me to realize, it's that well intended people will always tell me what I should be doing, and not all of those things are bad. But it doesn't change the fact that Jesus said Loving God and people are the most important commandments, and that we are to make disciples of the world.
In light of that, I think that putting everything else first cheapens the work done on the cross.
Love you Sean!!
Preach it woman! You're awesome Jess.
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