Why I go to church: Something every church planter should know!

A church planter should answer this question of themselves, why they go to church, the reason as a Christian. The answer as to why will determine what they invasion the church they plant is to be like for the members, what they will experience at the church gathering.

Why I go to church, I gather with other follower of Christ in order to: Read here>>>

Church planting, Why do you want to plant a church?

I have come to see that in church planting the First thing one must do is answer Why do you want to plant a church? And the Second is to define church. Because your definition of church and why you want to plant one is foundational to what you do, A.K.A. plant. They both combined will define what it looks like and how it functions and its purpose for existence. I have come to understand how these two issues are so critical, they will set in motion the chain of events that determine what is created, the answers will mold and shape what you do.

First, The Why? So Why do you want to plant a church?

First off one must understand Church Planting is about Jesus, about having a passion for the community life and reaching the lost. I have met so many “church planters” that the only place that they want to plant a church is in the rich parts of a metro area, I would say 99% of all new plants in the last five years have occurred in the rich areas of my cities metro area, and I believe that really reviles the planters heart and motives.

Like one young planter I challenged to plant in the poor or even the blue collar areas instead of the rich (high income) area he was targeting, he replied “there is no money in starting a church there” the truth came out as to the why he wanted to plant a church. It was all about money, he was approaching it more as an entrepreneur stating up for a for-profit business. Approaching it like starting a career to provide for him, in monetary ways, to fund his big material dreams of what a church is all about, and his personal desired income.

(I have an idea how about if we say that for the next few years we only plant churches in the inner city and blue collar areas of our cities.)

If you see church planting as a income providing career, something better to do than try and get a career in corporate America, to a be your own boss instead of working for and answering to someone else, you have a very wrong motive.

You must ask yourself, what is my motive. Why do I want to plant a church?

If your vision is a church of 10,000 with a Starbuck’s in it, see a mega complex starched and a nice six figure income with book deals in your future, you are doing it for yourself, only for self gain. You not only have the wrong Why you want to plant, but also the wrong definition, an un-biblical definition of church and motive.

I will continue this in my next blog. Read all at my personal website here.

Why Missional, Missional church

A lot of people debate the term “Missional” and “Missional Church”, being Missional.. And that I do not understand, missional simply means on mission, or on a mission which ever you prefer. Missional is not a program, a movement or even a mythology. It is both a command and a way of life, way of living, and for someone to say the church is not to be missional, is in essence calling Jesus a liar.

We read in Mat 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” Here Jesus is sending His people, the church into the world with a mission to fulfill. We are to make disciples, baptize them and then teach them the word. There it is our mission, the life we are to live, the calling, purpose of our life in Christ. It was at that point the church was commanded to be Missional. Jesus gave His church mission, these marching orders just before His ascended to the Father.

Then just a short time later Jesus returns and tells His disciples Acts 1: 8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” In today’s time this would read, be my witnesses in Kansas City, Missouri and America, and to the end of the earth.

So why do so many not understand this command of Jesus, the mission given to the Church? He could not have made it any clearer. Not only did the early church understand the mission, they focused on living out that mission their entire lives. That is the first characteristic we see in the first churches, they where missional, they where on mission, and no matter what anyone says, that was not something for them back then, but Not for us today, that is a deception of Satan.

Christians should not have to debate why be missional, it should be enough that Jesus said GO into your neighborhood, city, state and the entire world. What more do we need to know other than our Lord said GO, said make disciples, said baptize, said teach the word, that should be all we need to know, GO! And Do!

There it is our personal mission, the church is to be on mission, live on mission, the church is on mission, mission is not a department, a program, it is a way of life, a way of being. The answer to why be missional? Jesus said to!

Every Church should have the mindset that they are on a mission today, on Missio Dei, God’s mission. That they are to Go! That they are sent into the world!

Church getting it right as to money! Francis Chan does

I blogged back in December about churches not giving the money they take from their members to God, giving only on average less than 3% to God,that they instead spend 97% of it on buildings, salaries and other worldly things. They do not use it for what God said, how we are to give to Him, by giving to the needy, poor, orphans, widows and starving, and as we read in the book of Acts, that no one in the church was in need because they took care of each other.

I just read about two churches that have it right, are doing it the way God said to. One of them is Cornerstone Community Church in Simi Valley, California.

Around nine months ago Cornerstone Community Church when the church was set to spend $20 million on a new facility the pastor Francis Chan said, “No” He said he could not in good conscience be the pastor of a church that spent $20 million on a building. Instead He suggested that they build a much, much cheaper facility, an outdoor amphitheater and community park. And the multi-millions left over? He said they should give it away. His board agreed. Apparently several hundred people left the church, because they where so outraged by this decision. Which I think goes to show that a lot of people give only to reap the benefits to themselves, amenities they can enjoy, you know a Starbuck in the lobby and cushy pews with cup holders and elaborate sound systems, the biggest building in the city. But Chan and his fellow ministers committed to giving away millions and millions of dollars. Chan said that one great benefit of the outdoor space is that whenever it was too hot/cold/rainy/windy, it would remind those gathered that there were many people around the world who never have a roof over their head.

So Cornerstone Church amended their budget to now give 50% to missions. Half of everything they receive goes right back out the door to the hurting, poor, starving, and dying. They even made an additional pledge to give $1 million to the Children's Hunger Fund over the next year and they made that mark in April, in less than a year. And have committed to give as much every year.

Amen and praise God, a church that has it right, that has read the bible and is doing what Jesus said to, how God said to give to Him.
I applaud pastor Chan and his staff and the people of that gathering of the church, and there is so much more to this church, more to talk about later. Take note pastors, take note body of Christ, behold a real church that is doing it right. Tomorrow on the other church that has followed Chan lead after hearing his story. Read part two.

Church, asking the right questions.

It all stated with my discontent with church in America, my heart longed from something more, I found my self in total discontent with church, my spirit cried out for something more. It was as if it knew that what I have experienced was not the way it was to be, so I studied every verse about the church to get a picture in my mind of what the first church was like, and I wrote out a paper, a blueprint of what the Church looked like described in the N.T, the church started by Jesus with His first disciples. I quickly discovered that the church blueprint I had written out from the scriptures did not match the church I see in America. The one stated by Jesus, modeled in the N.T. is not found in the traditional American church. But what I did find in the scriptures matched my hearts longing; it was what I ached for inside my soul. In the course of my studying and seek the Lord about His church, the process of my seeking out what is the church, the Lord gave me a greater vision of Himself and His church than what I have seen in the church in America. I feel that what I have discovered is that the Lord is calling true believers out of the consumer church, out of the religious church and into the Christ-centered community of Kingdom life He started with His disciples two thousand plus years ago.

In my dialog with others who are on the same page, fellow church planters, those whom their souls also cry out for the church Jesus started, the one we see in the bible, feel the same call of the Lord to His people and His church; I have found my discontentment in the hearts of so many others.

I agree with one of my fellow pilgrims in the quest of the church we see in scripture that we are asking the wrong questions about the broken and flawed imitation of the church we see, it is not the one that Jesus built, the one the disciples continued building and spread across the known world in the first century. We must begin asking the right questions. We must seek to allow the Lord to exchange our old paradigms for new ones, we must not as the scriptures say pouring New wine into old wine skins. This sort of revolution will only come by us honestly asking the Lord to give us the right questions to ask to reveal to us the true knowledge of Himself and His bride, the church, and to be willing, open to, submissive to, to receive, accept and put into practice what He would revel to us, without discrimination to our personal wants and personal vision as to what it is to be and who He is.

How is it possible for us revolutionaries to conquer the old paradigms? Scripture is the key because Christ is the key within them that unlocks the church. The written word of God reveals the living Word of God, Jesus; it unveils the mysteries of God, and the mystery of the Church. Unfortunately too often believers stop short of their purpose for the church, they are too nearsighted, me-sighted in only seeing their ticket to haven as the sole purpose of salvation and church as nothing more than a dispenser of religious consumer goods for their own pleasure and entertainment. And to often even the revolutionaries stop short too, they are in such a hurry to get out of the old in into the new, that they ask the wrong questions thereby getting the wrong answers, resulting to leaving out Jesus also. They pursue other passions, things other than Jesus and His real church as well. The answer is not found in a method, movement, or post-modern emerging, emergent postmodern philosophies or a set of new programs to join. The problem is not the scriptures, Jesus or Church itself. But the turning away from the scriptures, the real Jesus and what they say and want Church to be. The answer is not found in purpose-driven products, you’re Best Life theology or some other religious gimmick. It is found in Christ; He is the answer to our problems in the church today, it is in the scriptures that we find the blueprint for the church not in culture or the latest guru of the post-modern believers and their philosophies. We do not need to reinvent Jesus, we need to seek out and embrace the real Jesus and reinstate Him as Head of the Church. We do we need to reinvent the church but rather to reinstate the original Church, that is follow the model of the church set before us in scripture. And ask the right questions of Jesus as to how do we get out of Your way, and follow what we see in the first century church. So, in order to see a biblical image of Church we must ask questions which are biblically sound instead of denominationally, culturally, me-centered or emerging that are missed colored with bias and misconception and bad theology.

Blueprint of the God life and church

I have come to understand the God life and church much differently than the traditional belief of the American Church. What I read in the scriptures and see in the life of Jesus is something much different. So I have come up with a new blue print for the God life I desire to live, of what the church is and how it functions. This is still a work in progress, I am still trying to come to grips with and understand the God life, Christian life and church. Above is a diagram of a flow chart of a missional God life that is to be the foundation, blue print of my life in Christ. Each layer, phase of the missional flow of the God life links to a web site that I have made explaining, laying out that part of the life, church and what I see God saying it is to be, that Christ lived and modeled for us to reproduce.

Individual expression of Jesus

www.thechristiannextdoor.com

Individual expression of the Church

www.churchnextdoor.us

Collective Expression of the Church and Kingdom life

www.thecrowdedhouse.us

Synergetic[1] expression of the Church and body of Christ

www.fourteentwentysixgathering.thecrowdedhouse.us

I believe our life should be the touch point for others to see and experience the person and life of Jesus, they should know that He was and is because they see Him and the life the bible said He lived manifested in our life, world view, thinking and actions.

That our home should be the touch point for the Kingdom of Heaven, God life for them, you, your wife and children should be first where they see the kingdom life manifested, lived out. And should be where they see the church lived out (where two or more are their I am), their touch point for the person of Christ. Be where they see and touch the Kingdom community life lived out just as Christ lived it out with His disciples. You at work or school or while shopping at Target should be where they encounter the church and Jesus as well, all of these instances should be where they see the life of Jesus on lived out. Our homes should be more known and identified as the church in the neighborhood than the cold stone buildings that have a sign out front call it a church. Our lives and homes should be know as the place to go to experience church, be part of church, not some glamorizes entertainment center that calls it self the church.

Mouseover the image to and click on to see full flow chart, copy and paste in your browser the links from center of page to visit websites.

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[1] Synergetic \Syn`er*get"ic\, adjective. [from Greek expression, from to work together; sy`n with 'e`rgon work.]. Definition: Acting together; enhancing the effect of another force or agent.

The 80/20 church must go away

All churches in America are made up of what pastors call the 80/20, that is20% of the people doing all the work, the truth is what we have is 20% working to provide a Christian country club to the 80% of the attendees. And those 80% do nothing but consume the religious goods and services provide by the 20%. And so that 20% cannot exist for Missio Dei, but for only the comfort and selfish needs of the 80% so that they might have their comfortable religious experience and fulfill what they believe is their obligation to God, so that they can get their ticket to heaven.

Statistically less than 3% of the people and recourses are actual being used for Missio Dei, less than a 10^th of a percent serve as missionaries (and the rest believe that it is only that 10^th of a percent that is responsible for the Missio Dei) and less than 3% of church income is used to fund missions and feed the poor and need, provide for the widow and orphans of the world, they very things we are to be doing something about and using our recourses for. The church would be better off the just remove the 80% who are nothing more than dead weight prohibiting the other 20% from being the real church. What we need it for the church be 100% people who are living as the church in their every day lives, on missio Dei, and being the church for the sake of the world, using recourses to take care of the poor, widow and orphan as God said to. And to live sent into the world, each one going out on mission, living out and taking the gospel to the world, making disciples of them. Their would no longer be the need for multi million dollar entertainment centers, no need or buildings at all really, no need for programs or paid staff. Just the real church we see in scriptures, especially in Act’s, remove the element of church being a building, and institute, and entertainment center that must cater to the 80% that are nothing but consume the religious goods and services provide by the 20%, and you change the pyridine of how church is church.

You can read more about my personal life as a Christian and being the church at www.thechristiannextdoor.com and www.churchnextdoor.us

Missio Dei

Missio Dei (God's mission in the world). God himself is on a mission to restore (i.e. "reconcile") all of creation, God's purposes for the world is reconciliation not condemnation at this time, place in eternity, He is on a mission to save, restore and heal man, to call unto Himself His prodigal creation, mankind. And God's people (i.e. the church) are to embody and to bear witness to this, His love, grace, mercy and forgiveness. The church is not so much a rescue station for the lost as it is a demonstration of God's saving purposes in Christ. The church is a servant of the Gospel; she is the Gospel in action, in human flesh just as Jesus was. Chosen to bless the whole world and be a sign of God's past, present, and future activity. This implies followers of Jesus are not called to go on a mission for God; they are called to join God in His ongoing mission. This was the central theme of Jesus' life, teaching and ministry: the Kingdom of God. This is the mission of each follower of Christ, of the church.

Church is not about being an entertainment center, a set of self-help-programs, a warm and fuzzy place for believers to hide from the world, a great show and set of programs to invite un-saved people to.

But an open demonstration ('A city on a hill") of God purpose for reconciliation of man to Himself, of His Kingdom, of a life lived with Him, a community so radical different from the world, the living out of love for one another like none has seen in the world, forgiveness on a God level that demonstrates the total, unconditional forgiveness of God for anything.

And it is going out, in motion with God, demonstrating Gods pursuit of the lost, His prodigal son, bring reconciliation and healing to those in need, going into the darkest places, just like Jesus, gong to the prostitutes, the poor, the dying, the drug dealers, your co-workers, neighbors and the strangers. Any thing less is, different is not the Church, not Missio Dei.

What the Chruch is Not

Some may assume or rationally think that the church is a building to be filled with Bible Studies, churchy music, hi tech sound and lighting shows, movie clips, entertaining skits, hymnals, pews, paid workers to do all the work, pastors who do all the studying then present the cliff notes of it both verbal and in the program also would be nice (keep it to 20 min or less please) of what the bible says and do all the evangelizing of course, programs to meet their needs (financial, marriage, how to get rich, how to get God to do what you want Him to do, est.), something to keep the kids busy for an hour or two, a program to teach the kids all bout the God stuff so the parents do not half to, prayer groups to do all the praying, oh lest not for get about the free Starbucks and donuts in the foyer, etc., est. And service to God is reduced to changing diapers once a month, handing out the programs at the door or directing traffic in the parking lot and working the book store of course where you can pay to get copies of the sermons and the pastors book that you paid him to do.

But church is Not for more studies to debate personal theology and continually add to the list of don'ts. Not for only prayer about my health and personal needs or a new $500,000 sound system to bring in more people. Not for couples to choose to only live in isolation from the world and surround themselves with only believers. People who say church is Sunday and Wednesday night only and has nothing to do with the rest of the week. Church is the building I invite people to come to, to be entertained by our professional entertainers and get plugged into one of our programs for the paid professionals to deal with them. Not for people who think that being a conservative Republican in their views is being a light, being a Christian or how God is working in America.

Basically dismissing the idea that each person who knows Christ is to function as the church in their everyday life 24/7, and the church exist is to carry out the " Missio Dei ", to join in, be part of the Missio Dei, the Mission of God.

The church is a gathering of sent people who are individually living as the church by being a Gospel centered people who are on Missio Dei, living missionaly 24/7. Who come together to corporately be the church as a whole on Missio Dei, God’s mission. To celebrate and worship God and their part in His mission. And each person is excursing their spiritual gifts and calling to the body so there is no need for paid professionals. To live in community with each other 24/7, and love, build up and support one another. And they are a people in motion, that is going out into the world to take the gospel to the world, being sent out into the world as Christ was sent, so we are being sent to be agents of reconciliation and transformation to the world, joining in with God on His Mission to redeem the world, in our neighborhoods, work, schools, grocery store, Wal Mart, the city as well as other countries. We do not invite people to go to church, we are the church and are about taking it to the people, we are on Missio Dei.

Define Missional church

Missional Church seams to be catching on as a ID tag for just about every church now days, just like so many thing that are NOW and Hip, to keep up with the Jones. But the key really is not identifying ones church as being Missional the real questions is what mission are they on.

As so many church are claming to be missional my questing to them, the more important question is define the mission that makes you Missional.

In the truest sense of the movement to be missional both as a body/church and as an individual is that you are on Missio Dei, the Mission of God. And that your definition of Missio Dei, Mission of God is the true mission of God on earth.

And I can tell you that most church on not on Missio Dei, they are on a religious mission, a self defined mission that they justify by saying it is the God’s Mission.

Most would include as their definition building projects, say that part of God’s Missio Dei is about building bigger and more elaborate building with the latest hi-tech devise and creature comforts. And I can tell you buildings are not part of Missio Dei, in fact I can say that they are counter to Missio Dei.

Tell you that Missio Dei consist of church programs, those are not even on God’s blue prints, tell you about new schemes to get people to come to their churches, not so, Missio Dei is all about being sent out, taking the gospel to the world, not manipulating them into come to you.

That the Sunday services are the main focus of the church, not so, the Gospel and taking it to the world is the main focus.

So it is not as simple that church adapt the catch phrase Missional, define them selves as Missional, but that they become Missional and that their definition of Mission is Missio Dei, the real mission of God and are joining Him on it and not making up their own mission, AKA the traditional way of doing American church. But are being transformed in to a body of people who are Missional, living Missional and that their body/church corporately is functioning Missional by being on Missio Dei. If, and only if each member of a body is on Missio Dei can this be done. Because if they are not gospel centered and living Missionaly, then when they assemble together they cannot functions as a whole Missionaly, because for a whole body to be Missional, each part, member must be living Missional daily, that is the only way a church can be Missional, that is being on God’s mission. And when the church body as a whole is living on God’s mission there is no longer a need for building projects, programs or for Sunday services to be the main focus, because the church is being sent out like it should be.

So the question is, what is your churches definition the mission they are on, is it Missio Dei and is their definition of it God’s, the Gospel, and is every one in the church on it, living it 24/7?