Theological Triage

If you pay any attention to the Christian blogosphere, you’ve noticed a very public theological debate.  I don’t intend to wade into the deep waters of that debate (assuming such waters can be adequately waded online), but I think it is important that we consider how we discuss and disagree about theology.

One of the most impactful lessons I learned in seminary was regarding what my professor called orders of importance.  His argument was that we have basically three levels of importance in the Christian life.  

Firstly, we have things on which we must agree as the lowest common denominator for Christian faith.  These have been called essentials or orthodoxy, but the bottom line is that we believe that a person must believe or affirm these things to be considered a Christian.  In this category are things like the deity and humanity of Christ, justification by faith alone, and the necessity of repentance.

Secondly, we have things on which we must agree to have fellowship in one local body.  In this category are things that are important, but that we believe can be disagreed on among brothers in Christ.  However, disagreements on these things will make it difficult in the life of the Church.  Mode of baptism is the first thing that pops into my mind.  If we agree that baptism is not salvific (see paragraph one), we can disagree about the mode with other Christians.  Members of one church, though, must agree about the mode of baptism so that we can conduct the ordinances of the church in unity.  Other things that may fit into this category are church membership process, openness/closedness/closeness of the Lord’s table.

Lastly, we have things that we may disagree on that do not necessitate a break in fellowship.  A brother and I may disagree about the end-times, but that does not mean that we cannot share a pew in the same church.  Musical styles (depending on who you ask) are another thing that would fit into this category.  These are things which believers in the same church may disagree on without any disunity in the local body.

Here’s the difficult part, we have a tendency to elevate everything into the first category.  Everything seems to be vitally important as we deal with it.  There are certainly some things that we must agree upon.  The Scripture is clear on those things.  We must stand firm on such issues.  Other very important issues will affect the way we conduct business in the local body.  We must come to agreement with our local body on these issues for the sake of unity.  

My prayer is that the Lord will give us wisdom and clarity on deciding which issues belong in which category.  The tried and true, “In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity” is a great aspiration.  May we humbly endeavor to disagree in a God-honoring way.

Soli Deo Gloria

The Work of a Planter: Sow the Gospel

Finally, we’re getting to the good stuff!  Men who feel called to church plant feel called that way because they want to spread the Gospel and Kingdom of Jesus Christ in a certain area.  Some may even view the ground work as merely a necessary evil.  I think though, that as we look at the life of Christ, we see that the groundwork is vital to sowing the gospel effectively.

You see, sowing the Gospel effectively entails engaging with various people in various cultures.  That is a long-term process.  Sowing the Gospel effectively will involve forming a team, identifying the people you want to reach, and exegeting the culture.  On top of that, the process of sowing the Gospel after the groundwork has been done is not a “one and done” Gospel presentation.  It’s certainly presenting the Gospel clearly, but it is also living in such a way that those who see you have seen the character of Christ.  It is caring for needs and understanding struggles.  

For years there seems to have been a struggle between whether or not evangelism should be relational or explicit.  My contention is that it should be both.  We should never shy away from clearly presenting the Gospel to anyone and everyone we meet.  We should also be very intentional with the way that we live so that those who see us will see a reflection of Christ.  As image bearers we must follow the admonition of Matthew 5:16 to let our light shine before men in such a way that they see our good works and give glory to the Father.

We were never promised ease in carrying out the mission of God, but we are blessed by the power of the Almighty.  We can trust His ways and His power.  We are called to sow the seed, but it is God who gives growth.  May we rest in that as we strive to be faithful image bearers.

Soli Deo Gloria

The Work of a Planter: Exegete the Culture

Some folks are going to read that title and want to go ballistic.  If you’ve paid much attention to the church planting world, you’ve heard this term before.  It can mean anything from learn about your area to change your preaching style and (maybe) your convictions to best “engage” the culture that you’re trying to reach.  

When I use the phrase, I basically mean two things:

1. Understand the idols of that culture.
2. Work towards meaningful relationships in the area.

Colossians 4:2-6 speaks to this:

2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.  5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Although our message will never change, our time may be more efficiently spent if we understand our “audience” a little more thoroughly.  For example, I live in Shreveport, LA.  98% of Shreveporters consider themselves to be Christians.  Devoting prep time and conversations to refuting Muslim doctrine and teaching is going to be a mistake in my immediate area.  My time will be better spent asking questions about their understanding of the Gospel and trying to clarify for them the actual contents of the Gospel and the right application of those contents.

In New Orleans, there is a strong Catholic presence, so in ministry there, I will want to familiarize myself with current and historical Catholic teaching.  I will need to read up on the reformation and how Catholic doctrine has evolved since then.  Shreveport and New Orleans are very different, but in both places, I must show those with whom I interact that if their trust is not placed in Jesus, it is misplaced.  In New Orleans, it may be overt licentiousness while a Shreveporter may struggle with a very religious works-righteousness.  Neither is trusting in Jesus.  It is essential work of a planter to understand the idols of his mission field.

The second thing a planter or plant team will want to do is to find an ally that is IN the culture.  In Luke 10, this is called a person of peace.  This will be a person who understands what you’re doing and is supportive.  More importantly than that, a person of peace is going to be able to put you into contact with folks in the area that you are trying to reach.  These contacts will develop into relationships where real evangelism and discipleship can take place.  They are your “in” in the area and they are invaluable.  

May we walk in wisdom and we seek to further the Kingdom.

Soli Deo Gloria

The Work of a Planter: Identify a People or Place

In our last blog, we talked about developing a team.  Today we will continue to discuss some “pre-move” work that a planter must do.  It seems logical that before a planter takes off, he knows where he’s going.  There are many factors that play in to site selection of a church plant and todays topic could be the first step in that consideration.  A planter must identify a people or an area that needs the Gospel.

In one sense, this is incredibly easy.  Who doesn’t need the Gospel?  Name me one community in all of the world that couldn’t use another biblically faithful church?  According to the North American Mission Board there is only one church for every 6,000 or so people in the US...and we’re one of the most “churched” cultures on the planet!  However, the vastness of the need for the Gospel doesn’t necessarily make the decision easier.  If you’re working an equation and you add 5,000,000,000 to both sides, it’s a wash.  It doesn’t help with the decision making because virtually every decision (to go) is biblically faithful as the need for the Gospel is universal.

There are certain cultures that specific planters are going to have an affinity for.  It could be because of familiarity.  It could be because he has ministered to a certain group on mission trips or in college.  There are a number of reasons that a planter may feel called to a certain people or place.  We must be careful to evaluate our motives in wanting to go to a certain people or place.  If those motives are in keeping with the glory of God and the truth of the Scripture, we can feel confident in our desires.  

Another consideration is the team.  A plant team at our church was formed after the lead planter had developed a vision for a certain city.  In that situation, the team was assembled in no small part because they shared the planters vision.  In instances where the team is developed before the group of place is identified, the vision may take a little longer to develop as it is a shared vision from the beginning.  It will take a lot of prayer and candid discussion for the group to articulate their call or passion, but this time is not wasted.  A plant team commits to invest not just time and money, but their lives and the lives of their families when they commit to planting a church.  It is wise to take time and fully develop the vision.

In the EPOCH document produced by the North American Mission Board, there are three key principles listed for identifying a people or place.  They are:

• The gospel is generally communicated best through established relationships.
• Identifying a specific group of people or a place allows your team members to focus their ministry.
• God is at work in the lives of people and communities. Our assignment is to identify where He is at work and join Him.

These are great points of practicality and theology.  May our prayer, as planters and those who support them, be that God will guide each planter to the lost sheep that those men are gifted for reaching those particular sheep.

Soli Deo Gloria

Epoch, North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, Alpharetta GA, 2010, page 11.