This book is easy to read yet has plenty of practical advice for churches, church planters and those considering and planning church starts. Although easy to read, the authors leave you with the impression that they have lots more experience to offer but have held back to make the book easy and practical without being overly technical.
There is not a lot of scriptural backing for the lessons in this book, nor is it a teaching book - it is a series of ten practical lessons from experienced church planters. Nonetheless, it is spiritually focused, not humanistic, written by authors who are focused on growing the church universal.
Striking lessons are encapsulated in the following excerpts:
Regarding church planting, ... opposition also comes in the form of churches in the area that feel "threatened" by the presence of a newly forming faith community. These churches lack a Kingdom mindset and see this church as the "competition".In the local context of missional church planting,
Planting a church is a process of experimentation, innovation, and replication, but always within the realities of the mission field and how it's responding.... shepherd modeling,
One of the hard lessons we learn in consulting with churches is that if the pastor ceases to model inviting the public and pushing the Great Commission then the congregation will become a closed system.
Never forget church planting is a "contact sport": everyone must contact all of their networks for it to succeed - families, friends, neighbours and associates - all the time. They won't make these contacts unless you lead by example and constantly encourage them to do so.
Making disciples is not about adding people to your church. Making disciples is about introducing people to God's love found within the community of faith. Making disciples is helping people fall in love with God and becoming more like Jesus.Worship service focus:
Churches that plateau at 150 participants lean heavily, and almost exclusively, on the "corporate" event of public worship. They fail to develop a process to connect people to each other and to God throughout the week.The authors introduce "gene" discussions:
You must understand that those planters with the apostolic gene will not revert to a shepherding role. But those planters with the shepherding gene will too quickly revert to taking care of people and will lose any incentive to reach more people and the church will plateau, typically within two years of launch.
One of the most common myths says that all planters have been infected with the "independence gene" and rebel against any form of authority. Nothing could be further from our experience. Most planters understand they are under authority.When I was reading the book, I found that this discussion about the "shepherd gene" and "apostolic gene" was very interesting and well worth further personal thought. On the other hand, the terms needed defining and distinguishing for this discussion to be in proper context in the chapter and to help to introduce readers to this very important concept.
In my opinion, the central theme of the book is encapsulated in the quote, "You have to plant in the way you are experiencing God leading you, not how someone else has done it or told you how to do it."
I found it has some theologically questionable and liberal concepts, but putting these aside it is a helpful book. The book is worth reading for any church, elder, small group leader or church planter, as the concepts and lessons are certainly transferrable and applicable for any church situation.
The ten chapters in this book are:
- Neglecting the Great Comandment in Pursuit of the Great Commission
- Failing to Take Opposition Seriously
- A Love Affair with One's Fantasy Statement Blinds the Planter to the Mission Field
- Premature Launch
- Evangelism Ceases after the Launch
- No Plan for the Other Six Days of the Week
- Fear of Talking about Money until it is too Late
- Failure of the Church to Act its Age and its Size
- Formalising Leadership Too Soon
- Using the "Superstar Model" as the Paradigm for all Church Plants
Ten Most Common Mistakes Made by New Church Starts by Jim Griffith/Bill Easum, Chalice Press, St. Louis, eBook 2008, downloaded 2017. It is currently $13.71 on amazon.com.au at time of publishing.