Last time we looked at ‘is church planting scriptural’ – we finished off with a bunch of scriptures that proponents of church planting use to ‘prove’ this is what we all should be doing.
Taken from a church planting manual.
Why plant churches
JESUS TOLD US TO DO IT.
Matt. 28:19,20. “Go therefore and make disciples....baptising them...teaching
them to observe all things I have commanded....”
We cannot effectively make disciples and teach them the commands of Christ
outside a church setting.
An evangelistic campaign declares the gospel. It brings people to a place of
decision but it doesn't fully teach them all the things that Jesus commanded
us. This can only be done in a church setting.
When properly understood we see that the Great Commission is specifically a
commission about Church Planting.
2. THE EARLY CHURCH SET THE PRECEDENT.
Throughout the book of Acts, we see that whenever the disciples went about
fulfilling the Great Commission, they planted churches.
Illustrations
i) Acts 8:5-12 Philip plants a church in Samaria.
ii) Acts 9:1-2,19 Believers had planted a church in Damascus.
iii) Acts 9:31 By now there were churches throughout all Judea, Galilee and
Samaria.
iv) Acts 9:32-35 A church was planted in Lydda.
v)Acts 10:24-48 Peter established a Gentile church in Caesarea.
vi) Acts 11:19-26 The persecuted believers planted churches in Phoenicia,
Cyprus and Antioch.
vii) Acts 13:2 - 14:28 Paul's first missionary journey - the biggest single
church planting venture up to that point.
viii) Acts 15:40 - 18:23 Paul's second missionary journey - all to do with
church planting and strengthening existing churches.
ix) Acts 18:24 - 21:25 Paul's third missionary journey - again he planted new
churches and strengthened established ones.
(a full transcript of this whole course on church planting [taken from a church planting movements website] can be requested by replying to this email)
We can see from these scriptures used to promote church planting that unless you have a ‘church planting’ mindset or a presupposition towards ‘church planting’ that they have nothing to do with church planting.
The great commission of Jesus has nothing to do with planting / building churches - but everything to do with building people.
The highlighted comments are not only misinterpreting scripture but are statements of error.
It is called heresy when you assume and teach scripture to be saying something it is not. While I have been wrongfully accused of heresy myself for exposing the idol called the church, the proponents of church planting continue to promote such huge assumptions of scripture – which is indeed heresy and is welcomed by the majority of western church leaders who seem to be blindly bent on finding programs to bring ‘success’ to their ministry, it seems at any cost – even misrepresenting scripture.
I can say this because this is exactly what I did for years along with thousands of others caught in the trap of performance, trying to find success and significance in a system that doesn’t deliver (because its an idol). I believe this is why so many pastors and leaders burn out, some have even committed suicide – surely if this ‘system’ was of God there would not be the huge rate of burnout. The system is set up for failure - that is why thousands of ministers leave the ministry every month, feeling like a failure. If you are serving the idol you will fail. Not failing God, but failing the unattainable expectations the idol puts on you.
I know of a Pastor of a very large church, very successful in the eyes of his peers, commit suicide because of the pressure to perform. Yet on the other hand, another pastor who confided in me and basically said “I have never felt so free and fulfilled since I got off the treadmill of trying to be successful in the system”, his peers would say he was a failure yet he has seen more fruit of souls being saved and baptised since he was freed from the idol he served.
Almost every Christian is taught an absolute basic rule of interpreting scripture – ‘never assume’.
In this instance, assuming Jesus meant the great commission was all about planting churches, we see the great commission turned into an industry of churning out ‘clones’ of the idol.
The assumption, in effect, causes the great commission to be denigrated to building church organizations, instead of building people. While some would argue that churches build or look after people, if you go back to what ekklesia means, (assembly) it is people, the assembly, that builds people – people serving people, not organized systems and programs seeking to help people.
In fact in many places it is people serving the vision of the church rather than an assembly serving others.
It in many cases, is people serving leaders instead of leaders serving people. The word Minister actually means servant.
Simply - its either people serving the church or - an ekklesia (assembly) serving people.
This church planting ‘industry’ is worth millions of dollars in books explaining the whole ethos of church planting and with speakers promoting it to leaders and people that are blinded by the idol.
Churches and whole movements invest a countless amount of hours and money into learning how to plant or how to grow churches, because it is the ‘in thing’ to do, without realizing they are being taught the ways of the idol.
You cannot grow an organism with organizational principles. A body cannot be built by business strategies.
But when you concentrate on building the body of Christ, the ekklesia, instead of building an ‘organization’ the body grows into an incredible ‘organism’ – instead of a ‘business’ you get a ‘body’.
The great commission is all about the body moving in divine power establishing disciples. To say this is not possible outside of a church setting is absolutely ludicrous. It is the body (people) doing the ‘work of the ministry’ that fulfils the commission, not setting up church programs or structure. The idol called the church has taken the place of the body. It has taken the power away from the body.
Many leaders complain of the lack of response from people in their ‘churches’ – complaining that people just don’t want to get involved. Maybe if those leaders trained people to ‘be’ the body (instead of spectators on a Sunday) and release them to fulfil ‘their’ call and gifting instead of training people to fulfil the church’s vision, the body would rise up in new found zeal and power.
Maybe if people were encouraged to move in the Spirit, to use the gifts out in the market place instead of the four walls of a church building on a Sunday morning, to share the goodness of Jesus, His love and saving power to people instead of trying to get them to join their club (church), maybe, just maybe, we would see the revival of souls that we see in many nations where the organizational church is not in control. Where people are walking in the Spirit, being led by the Spirit, into situations that He wants to minister into.
Oh to see the body, as an organism, walking in divine power. An organism multiplies by itself, it can be contagious, infectious even. My desire is to see the body released into what the Lord has for it, not being shackled by religious routines and man made methods.
I have said for many years that I believe the coming revival that many talk about is about people – its not about a church, a city or a ministry – its about the body of Christ rising globally in the power of Christ to do the works of Christ.
It is a revival of the body of Christ, to be the body of Christ.
A revival which sees the uncontained impact of the Kingdom flow from person to person, from town to town and from nation to nation – an unstoppable force that many leaders dream of but will never attain by learning the ways of or serving the idol.
I understand now that my part in all this revelation is to train and release the body into their God given call. Eph 4:12 for the perfecting of the saints, to the work of serving, to the building up of the body of Christ;
A few years ago we started off conducting schools of the Spirit in many places – with many different topics or themes, instructing people how to flow in the Spirit instead of being bound by Greek philosophical mindsets. Many testified of seeing the power of Christ manifest outside the four walls of church, as they stood in faith to heal the sick, or get a word from God for an unsaved person. The course of whole assemblies changed direction and they are now journeying into uncharted waters, some plunging into the deep end, others finding the transition difficult.
Jeannette & I are committed to continue to help anyone transition from the bondage of the idol to freedom in Christ. We will continue to conduct the schools of the Spirit anywhere the Lord specifies.
We have also had the privilege of helping leaders to become ‘presence based’ instead of ‘performance based’ and will continue to do this as the Lord leads.
It would be so easy to fall back into the system ourselves, doing religious routines that we have been taught for so many years, but we are determined to push into those uncharted waters ourselves and are desperately wanting to be led of the Holy Spirit so much more and to help others do so –
Your comments are appreciated.
Taken from a church planting manual.
Why plant churches
JESUS TOLD US TO DO IT.
Matt. 28:19,20. “Go therefore and make disciples....baptising them...teaching
them to observe all things I have commanded....”
We cannot effectively make disciples and teach them the commands of Christ
outside a church setting.
An evangelistic campaign declares the gospel. It brings people to a place of
decision but it doesn't fully teach them all the things that Jesus commanded
us. This can only be done in a church setting.
When properly understood we see that the Great Commission is specifically a
commission about Church Planting.
2. THE EARLY CHURCH SET THE PRECEDENT.
Throughout the book of Acts, we see that whenever the disciples went about
fulfilling the Great Commission, they planted churches.
Illustrations
i) Acts 8:5-12 Philip plants a church in Samaria.
ii) Acts 9:1-2,19 Believers had planted a church in Damascus.
iii) Acts 9:31 By now there were churches throughout all Judea, Galilee and
Samaria.
iv) Acts 9:32-35 A church was planted in Lydda.
v)Acts 10:24-48 Peter established a Gentile church in Caesarea.
vi) Acts 11:19-26 The persecuted believers planted churches in Phoenicia,
Cyprus and Antioch.
vii) Acts 13:2 - 14:28 Paul's first missionary journey - the biggest single
church planting venture up to that point.
viii) Acts 15:40 - 18:23 Paul's second missionary journey - all to do with
church planting and strengthening existing churches.
ix) Acts 18:24 - 21:25 Paul's third missionary journey - again he planted new
churches and strengthened established ones.
(a full transcript of this whole course on church planting [taken from a church planting movements website] can be requested by replying to this email)
We can see from these scriptures used to promote church planting that unless you have a ‘church planting’ mindset or a presupposition towards ‘church planting’ that they have nothing to do with church planting.
The great commission of Jesus has nothing to do with planting / building churches - but everything to do with building people.
The highlighted comments are not only misinterpreting scripture but are statements of error.
It is called heresy when you assume and teach scripture to be saying something it is not. While I have been wrongfully accused of heresy myself for exposing the idol called the church, the proponents of church planting continue to promote such huge assumptions of scripture – which is indeed heresy and is welcomed by the majority of western church leaders who seem to be blindly bent on finding programs to bring ‘success’ to their ministry, it seems at any cost – even misrepresenting scripture.
I can say this because this is exactly what I did for years along with thousands of others caught in the trap of performance, trying to find success and significance in a system that doesn’t deliver (because its an idol). I believe this is why so many pastors and leaders burn out, some have even committed suicide – surely if this ‘system’ was of God there would not be the huge rate of burnout. The system is set up for failure - that is why thousands of ministers leave the ministry every month, feeling like a failure. If you are serving the idol you will fail. Not failing God, but failing the unattainable expectations the idol puts on you.
I know of a Pastor of a very large church, very successful in the eyes of his peers, commit suicide because of the pressure to perform. Yet on the other hand, another pastor who confided in me and basically said “I have never felt so free and fulfilled since I got off the treadmill of trying to be successful in the system”, his peers would say he was a failure yet he has seen more fruit of souls being saved and baptised since he was freed from the idol he served.
Almost every Christian is taught an absolute basic rule of interpreting scripture – ‘never assume’.
In this instance, assuming Jesus meant the great commission was all about planting churches, we see the great commission turned into an industry of churning out ‘clones’ of the idol.
The assumption, in effect, causes the great commission to be denigrated to building church organizations, instead of building people. While some would argue that churches build or look after people, if you go back to what ekklesia means, (assembly) it is people, the assembly, that builds people – people serving people, not organized systems and programs seeking to help people.
In fact in many places it is people serving the vision of the church rather than an assembly serving others.
It in many cases, is people serving leaders instead of leaders serving people. The word Minister actually means servant.
Simply - its either people serving the church or - an ekklesia (assembly) serving people.
This church planting ‘industry’ is worth millions of dollars in books explaining the whole ethos of church planting and with speakers promoting it to leaders and people that are blinded by the idol.
Churches and whole movements invest a countless amount of hours and money into learning how to plant or how to grow churches, because it is the ‘in thing’ to do, without realizing they are being taught the ways of the idol.
You cannot grow an organism with organizational principles. A body cannot be built by business strategies.
But when you concentrate on building the body of Christ, the ekklesia, instead of building an ‘organization’ the body grows into an incredible ‘organism’ – instead of a ‘business’ you get a ‘body’.
The great commission is all about the body moving in divine power establishing disciples. To say this is not possible outside of a church setting is absolutely ludicrous. It is the body (people) doing the ‘work of the ministry’ that fulfils the commission, not setting up church programs or structure. The idol called the church has taken the place of the body. It has taken the power away from the body.
Many leaders complain of the lack of response from people in their ‘churches’ – complaining that people just don’t want to get involved. Maybe if those leaders trained people to ‘be’ the body (instead of spectators on a Sunday) and release them to fulfil ‘their’ call and gifting instead of training people to fulfil the church’s vision, the body would rise up in new found zeal and power.
Maybe if people were encouraged to move in the Spirit, to use the gifts out in the market place instead of the four walls of a church building on a Sunday morning, to share the goodness of Jesus, His love and saving power to people instead of trying to get them to join their club (church), maybe, just maybe, we would see the revival of souls that we see in many nations where the organizational church is not in control. Where people are walking in the Spirit, being led by the Spirit, into situations that He wants to minister into.
Oh to see the body, as an organism, walking in divine power. An organism multiplies by itself, it can be contagious, infectious even. My desire is to see the body released into what the Lord has for it, not being shackled by religious routines and man made methods.
I have said for many years that I believe the coming revival that many talk about is about people – its not about a church, a city or a ministry – its about the body of Christ rising globally in the power of Christ to do the works of Christ.
It is a revival of the body of Christ, to be the body of Christ.
A revival which sees the uncontained impact of the Kingdom flow from person to person, from town to town and from nation to nation – an unstoppable force that many leaders dream of but will never attain by learning the ways of or serving the idol.
I understand now that my part in all this revelation is to train and release the body into their God given call. Eph 4:12 for the perfecting of the saints, to the work of serving, to the building up of the body of Christ;
A few years ago we started off conducting schools of the Spirit in many places – with many different topics or themes, instructing people how to flow in the Spirit instead of being bound by Greek philosophical mindsets. Many testified of seeing the power of Christ manifest outside the four walls of church, as they stood in faith to heal the sick, or get a word from God for an unsaved person. The course of whole assemblies changed direction and they are now journeying into uncharted waters, some plunging into the deep end, others finding the transition difficult.
Jeannette & I are committed to continue to help anyone transition from the bondage of the idol to freedom in Christ. We will continue to conduct the schools of the Spirit anywhere the Lord specifies.
We have also had the privilege of helping leaders to become ‘presence based’ instead of ‘performance based’ and will continue to do this as the Lord leads.
It would be so easy to fall back into the system ourselves, doing religious routines that we have been taught for so many years, but we are determined to push into those uncharted waters ourselves and are desperately wanting to be led of the Holy Spirit so much more and to help others do so –
Your comments are appreciated.
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Comments
Stewart
Blessings
Ian
many of your comments are very valid and very obvious in church organizations world wide which has indeed led to burnout and unreasonable stress on leaders. My question to you is - which thriving, presence based church are you a part of and shaping ? Church leaders today need mentors who love Jesus and love his church and can inject wisdom that comes from years of experience and practical insight. To some the church may be an idol but to me it is the beautiful precious bride of Jesus. I've found tremendous wisdom from leaders like Bill Johnson who leads a presence based church in California and is radically equipping thousands of believers in signs and wonders and a revival culture. Jesus is going to have a glorious church that's not tired and driven and worn out. It is possible to have that now.
blessings
Fini
I need to keep stressing there is a huge difference between the Ekklesia and what we see as the 'idol called the church' today.
I agree the Ekklesia is the bride - but the idol is not.
As I have said in previous articles We need to differentiate the two to avoid confusion.
There are many on the journey of releasing the body into being presence based - all at different stages of revelation, giftings etc etc, Bill Johnson is one.
My personal journey, as an itinerant minister, is it seems, one of sharing the revelation of what God has shown me personally. We are at present not locked into one assembly but rather shaping many, many more by a means that I didnt ever dream of.
blessings
Ian
Another great insite keep up the good work look forward to receiving these articals I have been studying apostasy in the Church and this all fits together Thank you Ian
God Bless
Russell
Keep up the good work Ian & Jeanette.
Helen.
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