I could not agree more with this post.
Instead of everyone talking about being ”missional” (a word without a definition as far as I can tell), how would it be if every church planter coming for evaluation began talking about being confessional? Instead of being ‘in the city, for the city’, how about, ’here we have no abiding city’ for a new church’s vision statement? How about, instead of reaching the culture shaping arts community (again!), why not long to plant a vanilla presbyterian church that builds a community of disciples with a culture all its own? How about replacing the drive for ‘relevance’ with a push towards maturity? How about cutting all the hubris about starting a church planting ‘movement’ when we haven’t even gathered a ‘core group’, and settle down with the more modest aim of preaching the gospel and gathering believing sinners into a single, healthy, orthodox, local assembly and equipping local shepherds who will do the hard work of caring for the sheep?
Just wondering…
March 4th, 2010 at 17:15
Amen to that. There’s an awful lot of guff out there isn’t there?
March 4th, 2010 at 17:26
Thanks David. An encouraging word…
March 7th, 2010 at 08:45
Stephen,
Great to hear from you. I think your ministry in Solihull is an example of the kind of thing we need to see more of: vanilla presbyterianism going hard after expository faithfulness and pastoral wisdom in shepherding the flock. I pray the Lord will richly bless your work.
March 9th, 2010 at 09:16
Two thoughts:
1.) How about “who are we to judge another man’s work? To his own master he stands or falls.”
2.) You are sounding positively Bayly-esque here Dave!
March 9th, 2010 at 18:05
Ken,
Do you think this places trends and patterns like this beyond critique?
The trend for arty, urban chic, ‘boho’ church planting begins to sound faddish and frankly a little adolescent after you hear it repeated over and over again. I’ve heard it in the heart of downtown London (where I previously pastored) and I’ve heard it from seminarians and graduate looking for a call here in MS.
I’m not saying that there are or can be no vibrant and healthy congregations out there that do effective mission and reach these kinds of folks. I know of a few. It’s just to say-”ENOUGH ALREADY with all the jumping on the bandwagon! “
March 10th, 2010 at 12:09
I agree with you about the bandwagon. It’s people using it to hit Keller that drives me bonkers. Not that he is above critique either.
I think we can benefit from a whole lot of different flavors of ministries, and that Manhattan is no more significant to God than Jackson or Columbus.
And I think certainly that people’s theology is open for critique.
It’s when we get unduly worked up about methodology either ‘pro’ (everyone MUST do it this way or even ‘this is the best way’) or ‘con’ (all contextualization is evil!) that bothers me.
April 9th, 2010 at 11:02
Ken,
I think David is worked up and/or ‘wondering’ about the fact that few are doing things God’s way! Rather they are following after the traditions of men created by MNA.