Is Church Planting The Key?

Simply put, it’s a proven and much better strategy to start new churches than to expect established ones to be able to penetrate their their communities anymore than they already have.

How much have existing churches grown in the last 30 years? Sure, there have been some surges of growth in different churches, but the net result has not increased.

That’s why church planting is so important. Local church leaders must be actively praying and looking for families and individuals in nearby towns who are open to starting a new work, most often in their living room.

Whatever you may have thought about the church in America before, I hope you at least pause long enough to pray for it. The Bride of Christ must make herself ready for her Groom. It is far past time for us all to be content and happy with status quo. We must vigorously pursue the glory of Christ by proclaiming his love to our neighborhoods and the nations.

Perhaps you would be willing to begin praying about starting a new work? If so, I’d love to hear from you.

Church Planting Observations

• Church planters often resort to “business models” and demographic studies to determine where to plant their church.
• After such studies are made, inevitably a growing suburb of a large urban area is selected.
• Few churches in the rural South have ever intentionally started another church. (There have been many unintentional church starts; we call them splits.)
• Even churches reknown for their focus on planting other churches tend to use an event model, even though the church of origin most likely did not start that way. You hear of “Launch Sundays” and the like, but there is no space shuttle, only a church-in-a-box, complete with musicians and in some cases, fully-supported, multiple staffs.
• Our current church culture encourages new churches to be “up and running” as soon as possible, and as a result, seems to discourage a bivocational model for church planters.
• There is an unhealthy preoccupation with numbers, buildings, and programs.

The Need For Church Planting in North America

1. There are 195,000,000 non-churched people in America, making America one of the top four unchurched nations in the world.
2. In spite of the rise of megachurches, no county in America that we know of has a greater church population than it did 10 years ago.
3. During the last 10 years, combined communicant church membership of all Protestant denominations declined by 9.5% while the national population increased during the same time by 11.4%.
4. Each year 3500-4000 churches close their doors forever, while only as many as 1500 new churches are planted.
5. There are now nearly 60% fewer churches per 10,000 persons in American than there were in 1920. (1920 - 27 churches for every 10K Americans, 1950 - 17 churches for every 10K Americans, 1996 - 11 churches for every 10K Americans).
6. Today, of approximately 350,000 churches in America, four out of five are either plateaued or declining.
7. One American denomination recently found that 80% of its new converts came in churches that were less than two years old.
8. “The single most effective evangelistic methodology under heaven is planting new churches.” - Peter Wagner

Church-Planting Movements Need Four Things to be Successful

1. A Common Ideology - Our mission is the "Great Commission." This movement was built on that mission. Have we remained a movement, or have we become institutionalized? Do we still have a vision for reproductive? Has every pastor been challenged to be about the biblical (2 Timothy 2:2) vision of reproducing? Have we truly focused on reproducing: Leaders (it takes leaders to reproduce small groups), Artists (it takes artists to reproduce large gatherings), small groups, congregations (celebration services), campuses, and churches? Do we provide equipping and accountability to reproduce? While the church must be about helping people find their way back to God and developing Christ-followers who celebrate, connect, and contribute, what will draw us together and move us forward is our vision for reproducing.
2. Apostolic Leadership - I had a seminary professor very hip on this idea. I claim no expertise on defining or identifying contemporary apostolic leadership, but I do know what Scripture teaches. Ephesians 4:11-12 says, “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up . . .” Apostolic leadership is at the heart of new movements of God. Movements require the kind of leadership that is willing to pick up and start all over again ... again and again, the kind of leadership that values the edge over the center, the new over the established. It’s the kind of leadership that inspires people to do what only God can do through them. I know it is not easy, believe me. Not all old established churches are willing to make the transition. But, we are praying and seeking God for those kind of leaders.
3. A Reproducing Network - In order to accomplish this New Testament mandate, the church structure may have to become more of a network. In other words, strong churches helping weak churches, large churches reproducing themselves by starting a new mission in the next town and mothering that new mission or those new missions for the long term - a cluster of churches led by the mother church. These clusters would be led by lead pastors from churches that have a history of reproducing as well as a vision for continuing to reproduce. These networks might follow basic principles of small group multiplication. Each Apostolic Network Leader would identify an apprentice who he equips and eventually releases to launch a new network. These networks also provide peer coaching, the opportunity and accountability for reproducing congregations, campuses, and new churches.
4. Regular Gatherings - Leaders must gather more often. It may not be an expensive gathering, but leaders must reconnect. These gatherings must be a great opportunity to be reminded of why we’re in this together, what God is up to, and how we can continue to catalyze this movement of reproducing churches. These gatherings must provide the relational glue that holds us together and gives everyone a glimpse of what God is doing and how each of us is contributing to something much more that we ever imagined possible.

Is God's Forgiveness Unconditional?

[By Tim]

Some time ago I promised an article on the subject of conditional versus unconditional forgiveness. I’ve had many false starts and have been largely unsatisfied with anything I’ve written on the subject. So I decided to simplify and to provide only an outline of my thoughts on the subject. I am, perhaps, a little less than perfectly confident in my beliefs on this subject which is why I do not wish to be too dogmatic. Instead, take this article this as my understanding of why forgiveness is to be conditional, not unconditional. I’ll just trace the progression of my position as I’ve looked to Scripture to seek to understand forgiveness. Much of my recent thought has been influenced by Chris Braun and his forthcoming volume Unpacking Forgiveness.

My first thoughts about this subject came at the time of the Columbine shootings. Shortly after those two boys terrorized the school and took their own lives doing so, I remember seeing a photograph of students standing outside the school holding signs that side “We forgive you.” I remember being surprised and incensed. Why would anyone wish to forgive people who caused such pain and destruction, who expressed no remorse and who sought no forgiveness. It seemed to me that it made a mockery of forgiveness to extend it to those who did not want it. The same thing happened when at the recent Virginia Tech shootings—people forgave the killer, but only after his death and without him expressing any regret or remorse. What is it that bothered me about this?

Let me build my case for conditional forgiveness step-by-step.

Forgive as God Forgives

According to the Bible, our forgiveness of one another is to follow God’s model of forgiveness. We see this in several New Testament passages.

• Matthew 6:12b “…forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”
• Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
• Colossians 3:13 “…bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”

In each case you’ll notice the little word as. We are to forgive as God forgives or in the same manner as He forgives. Thus we must first understand how God forgives if we are to rightly forgives. That would be a long and deep study, though no doubt a good one. For our purposes, though, we’ll narrow in on just one area.

God’s forgiveness, according to Chris Brauns, is “a commitment by the one true God to pardon graciously those who repent and believe so that they are reconciled to him, although this commitment does not eliminate all consequences.” That seems to me to be a good working definition and one that encompasses what the Bible teaches on the subject. Key words are “commitment,” “pardon,” “graciously,” “repent,” “believe,” and reconciled.” I cannot touch on all of those today, so I will leave you to read Brauns’ book when it becomes available. It will be a blessing to you.

God’s Forgiveness Is Conditional

It is beyond any reasonable dispute that God’s forgiveness is conditional. God is not a universalist who chooses to forgive all men for their offense against Him. Nor does He offer forgiveness without expectation or condition. Rather, God forgives only those who turn to Him in repentance and who put their trust in Him. We affirm that God’s offer of forgiveness is universal, in that He extends it to all of humanity. But the reality of forgiveness is only for those who accept the conditions of faith and repentance. Proof for this assertion can be found throughout Scripture, but perhaps no more clearly than in 1 John.

1 John 1:8-9 “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Forgiveness and the cleansing it brings is conditional on a confession of our sin (which is an inevitable act of those who have placed their faith in Him).

So we’ve seen that we are to model God’s forgiveness and have seen that God’s forgiveness is conditional. Would God hold us to a higher standard?

God Does not Hold Us to a Higher Standard

Nowhere in the Bible do I find that God holds us to a higher standard of forgiveness than He does. If God’s forgiveness is conditional, and if we are to model Him, our forgiveness will also be conditional. Of course we will also freely offer forgiveness and we will pursue and long for the ability to extend forgiveness. We will seek reconciliation. But we will not forgive those who are not repentant. This makes sense when we understand that, in its fullest sense, forgiveness requires repentance.

According to Brauns, human forgiveness is “a commitment by the offended to pardon graciously the repentant from moral liability and to be reconciled to that person, although not all consequences are necessarily eliminated.” Forgiveness is a commitment to restore broken or disrupted relationship. It is a letting go of the anger or hurt that has been caused and is a commitment to restoration. It is a commitment to no longer hold an offense and its moral liability against a person. This can only happen when one person repents and the other extends forgiveness. The ultimate aim of forgiveness is to restore relationship, but a relationship can only be restored when both parties are willing. There cannot be communion when one party is willing and the other is not. To state that there has been full forgiveness in such a case is to make a mockery of the biblical concept of forgiveness.

So there is my case. To summarize it simply: We are to model God’s forgiveness; God forgives conditionally; there we are to forgive conditionally.

Consequences May Remain

None of this is to say that forgiveness automatically revokes consequences. There may be times when forgiveness allow us to overlook certain consequences, such as when a wife whose husband has been unfaithful chooses to forgive, reconcile and remain with him even while she could justly divorce him (though, in such a case, there will certainly be other consequences, such as a lack of trust). But there are many other occasions when forgiveness will still require consequences. A man may be forgiven by a person he abused, but this does not mean he should escape the jail time that is a just consequence of his actions. We may forgive and still demand that a person face the consequences of his sin.

There will be times when reconciliation is extremely difficult and perhaps near impossible. A woman who was savagely raped may extend forgiveness to a repentant attacker, but it is unlikely that complete reconciliation will be possible. Such a crime is so horrific and it cuts so deep that these people may never be able to enjoy the kind of Christian fellowship they might otherwise enjoy. These cases, though rare and tragic, are a sad consequence of living in a sinful world. In heaven even these two will enjoy unbroken communion and full reconciliation may have to wait until that time. This is both a consequence of the offense and of life in a sinful world.

Conclusion

This may be entirely unsatisfying to you. I know questions will remain and I will attempt to address some of those as they arise. Already I anticipate one or two. Regardless, follow my argument and I think you will see it does hold merit and that it can be reasonably defended from the Bible. If you disagree with me, it may be helpful to follow the argument and to show the point where you feel it derailed.

Have at it!

Can a Pastor have close friends?

How do pastors make and keep good friends? There are a couple of different camps out there ... one says that close friends are vital to ministry; the other says that pastors and ministry leaders need to keep their distance and avoid making friends.

Here are some of the reasons it is challenging for pastors to maintain intimate friendships:

• Some pastors move often from church to church making it hard to develop lasting close friendships.
• Most lay-people will say that they understand you are a “real person,” but many really don’t believe that. As much as they think they look at you as normal people, they still generally have higher expectations for you.
• Because people generally have higher expectations of pastors, it is easy for pastors to blow their expectations.
• Most church members talk differently to pastors.
• When a friend who is a church member leaves the church, it is very hard for pastors not to take it personally. This can cause a pastor to fear future intimacy with church members.
• In my experience, losing friendships can be as hard (or much harder) on the spouses than the ministers.
• People like to talk about ministers. Because people are watching so closely, we often crave privacy. Without knowing it, we can “wall people out.”
• Church members can be mean.

Any of these ring true with you?

Top 10 Leadership Mistakes

1. Hiring Too Fast. Firing Too Slow. Every minute I delay in firing, I take away opportunity for God to work in that person’s life.
2. Putting Projects before the People. Embrace the tension and find the balance between leadership and shepherding.
3. Trying to Fix the Problem Rather than the Process. Ninety percent of the time it isn’t a people-problem. It is a process-problem.
4. Delegating Tasks Instead of Responsibility. It is hard to delegate, because many times I (wrongly) think I’m the only one who can do it right.
5. Assuming it is Always Black and White. Following rules is a lot easier than trying to deal with relationships.
6. Not Following my Gut. When we stop listening to God, he stops talking to us (consider the 13-year gap when God stopped talking to Abraham).
7. Dwelling on the Worst-Case Scenario. Worry might not be your issue, but everyone has an issue that can derail them.
8. Waiting Until There’s a Problem to Provide Feedback. I have to discipline myself to encourage my team.
9. Staying Busy. It is a lie, but I tend to think if I’m staying busy, I’m adding value to my organization.
10. Spending Too Much Time on the Details Rather than the Dreams.

[You can read more, including some other great quoteables from Tony over at Tim’s LeadingSmart.com. And, you can get daily wisdom from Tony each and every day at TonyMorganLIVE.com!]

So… How many of Tony’s mistakes have you also been guilty of? And what can you learn from Tony’s mistakes?

Detoxifying The Church

[By Ryan Hale]

I'll admit it right now; the meanest people I've ever met in my life are Christians. And those people will manipulate everything and everyone to get some power in the church because it gives them an avenue of legitimacy to just run over people. Stories are legion of deacons who are almost the Anti-Christ in charcter and action. I remember one lady in particular . . . never mind.

All of those things wound people. It is real. It hurts. And it is killing churches because they are losing numbers every day.

The answer is that the church needs to seriously evaluate itself. It means taking a long, hard look at what it is, why it is, how it got there, and where it wants to go. It means detoxifying itself -- a very painful process. It means talking to the community, former members, people who dislike the church and even people who simply "heard rumors" and then face up to its image and history. For many churches, it will mean public apologies and private weeping over past sins.

[You can read his entire blog at http://www.thatbaptistaintright.blogspot.com/.]

Clergy, Tax, and Social Security

Prior to 1968 a member of the clergy had to elect to be covered by social security.

If you are duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister of a church, you are covered by social security and Medicare under the self employment tax provisions for the services you perform in your capacity as a minister unless you have requested and received a tax exemption from self employment tax. This is true whether you are an employee of your church or a self employed person under the common law rules.

Unless an ordained member of the clergy objects to social security benefits based upon conscientious or religious grounds he/she is subject to self employment tax. To object you must file Form 4361. The form must be filed before the due date of your tax return for the second taxable year in which you earned $400 or more from work as a member of the clergy. The social security self employment tax exemption is irrevocable.

What is duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister of a church? The term duly ordained minister of religion means a person: {who has been ordained in accordance with the ceremonial ritual or discipline of a church, religious sect, or organization established on the basis of a community or faith and belief, doctrines and practices of a religious character}, {who preaches and teaches the doctrines of such church, sect or organization}, {who administers the rites and ceremonies thereof in public worship}, {who, as his/her regular and customary vocation, preaches and teaches the principles of religion}, and {who administers the ordinances or sacerdotal duties of public worship as embodied in the creed or principles of such church, sect or organization}.

Although as a licensed ordained, commissioned or licensed minister you are considered a self employed individual for social security purposes, you may be considered an employee for other tax purposes or putting it bluntly you are considered an employee by the IRS.

Self employment tax does not apply to any post-retirement benefits or the rental value of any parsonage or parsonage allowance.

Under these tax rules, you are considered an employee or a self employed person depending on all the facts and circumstances. Generally, you are an employee if your employer has the legal right to control both what you do and how you do it, even if you have considerable discretion and freedom of action.

If you are not considered an employee in performing your ministerial services, you will figure taxable net earnings on Form 1040, Schedule C. Figure your self employment tax on Form 1040, Schedule SE. If you earn or receive taxable income during the tax year that is not subject to tax withholding, or if you do not have enough income tax withheld, you may have to pay estimated tax.

The law requires all churches to apply for an Employer’s Identification Number (EIN) even if they do not have employees. Much like an individual’s social security number, your EIN (federal identification number) is used as an identifier on all federal tax returns and on all correspondence with the IRS. A State tax number should not be confused with a Federal Employer’s Identification Number (FEIN). Possession of an EIN is NOT evidence of tax-exempt status. You can apply for your EIN (Form SS-4) immediately from the comfort of your computer.

Background Checks

Screening youth and children’s workers is a hit-or-miss practice in today’s churches. One out of every four pastors (23%) admitted their congregation has little or no protective screening processes for the people working with young people. That equates to more than 70,000 Protestant congregations that do not give sufficient attention to protecting young people.

Slightly more than half of all pastors gave their church high marks for doing "thorough background or reference checks of the people working with children and youth" (57% said this description was a "very accurate" of their church). However, another one-fifth of pastors (20%) described their efforts as merely "somewhat" thorough.

Larger churches are generally more vigilant than smaller ministries. For instance, churches with more than 250 adult attenders were the most likely to evaluate workers very carefully (78%), while congregations of less than 100 adults were the least likely to engage in such practices (49%). About three-fifths of mid-sized churches (attendance of 100 to 250, 62%) said their church is well described by such practices.

Many other subgroup differences emerged when it came to doing a thorough job of evaluating children’s and youth workers. Congregations in the West (75%) were more likely than those in the Northeast (60%), South (56%), or Midwest (50%) to report strong levels of such screening. Churches comprised primarily of white attenders (54%) were less likely to report security screening than were congregations with primarily non-white individuals (69%). Churches led by a pastor who had graduated from a seminary were slightly more likely than congregations whose pastor lacked a seminary degree to pursue security measures (60% versus 51%).

In terms of age and experience, churches pastored by Baby Boomers (ages 43 to 61) more frequently took part in security checks (60%) than did Protestant ministries led by pastors from the Baby Bust generation (52% among pastors 42 or under) or those older than Boomers (55% among those 62 or older). Similarly, those in full-time ministry for fewer than 10 years were less likely to claim thorough worker-screening (50%) than were ministry veterans of 10 years or more (61%).

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A Culture-Shift Is Needed In The American Church

[I highly recommend this book. In fact, I fear that the organized church in America is in trouble unless these New Testament principles are reinforced.]

A week after its release, the book entitled ChurchShift by the founding pastor of one of Europe’s largest churches broke Amazon.com’s top 10 Bestsellers list.

The new book by Sunday Adelaja, founding pastor of Ukraine’s 30,000-member God’s Embassy Church, hit No. 6 this week at its best on Amazon.com’s Bestsellers list after debuting on Feb. 8. ChurchShift was also ranked No. 1 on Amazon’s Christianity Bestsellers list before falling to No. 4 on Saturday.

Marketing of the book has been unique in that it ties its mission to change U.S. churches with performing well on Amazon.com’s Bestsellers list. The ChurchShift Web site urges Christian leaders to buy the book on Feb. 8-23 through Amazon.com so that Adelaja could receive the “press coverage he needs as a catalyst to accomplish the ChurchShift mission in the United States.”

The book’s mission is to spark a revolution in American culture – which Adelaja believes is in decay – by reforming 10,000 U.S. churches so that they will in turn reform American society. The ChurchShift author is seeking to prepare churches for what he believes will be a massive “shift” in focus and practice.

“As goes the Church, so goes America, and as goes America, so goes the world,” Adelaja stated. “We want 10,000 churches in the U.S. and 100,000 churches worldwide to SHIFT! This will be revolutionary!”

Some of the features in the book include how to:

• avoid church splits and division;
• change every Christian’s view of “My Ministry;”
• inspire Christians to believe in supernatural outcomes;
• equip church members to impact the seven spheres of society;
• teach kingdom values for societal transformation; activate the potential of the local church;
• change a nation by emerging from four walls of a church building; and
• provide the keys to achieve national transformation.

Dr. James O. Davis, president of ChurchShift, believes the message from Ukraine will be welcomed in the United States.

“Most Christian leaders know that the greatest church growth in the world is taking place outside the US. Most recognize we need to recover our own culture, but do not know how,” Davis said. “ChurchShift provides a path of success for our times.”

The vision preached by Adelaja and practiced in his home church of Embassy of God is for every Christian believer to become a minister of the Gospel wherever they go. The vision is for church members to accept responsibility to bring the lifestyle of the Kingdom of God and its principles onto the earth in their daily lives.

“I believe in releasing people to bring the Kingdom of God into society,” Adelaja states. “This is my conclusion after many years of pastoring, two million conversions to Christianity, 600 church plants and more than 30,000 members in our home church.”

Davis noted that Embassy of God members bring their understanding of God’s Kingdom in social areas of influence. At least 600 congregants ran for public office in the last elections and one member is now the mayor of Kiev, a city of 4 million. Another member is Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ukraine and one young lady is representing God in entertainment as the reigning Miss Ukraine.

“If American Christians can get involved in their communities like Adelaja’s church members did in Ukraine, I believe we can see a major cultural revolution in our generation,” Davis said.

To introduce Adelaja’s new way to do church in America, “ChurchShift Breakfast” meetings for pastors and leaders will be held to study and discuss the Kingdom principles taught in the book. They have developed a strategy to organize 1,000 breakfasts and Adelaja is urging churches to arrange their own breakfasts and represent the Ukraine pastor and the ministry.

Adelaja grew up a poor orphan in Nigeria and was raised in a Christian home by his grandmother. He did not own a pair of shoes until he was 12 years old and had to earn a living from the age of six. Through the prayers of his Christian grandmother, Adelaja gave his life to Christ at 19 years old. He traveled to the Soviet Union to study journalism on a scholarship and later founded Embassy of God Church after the Soviet Union was dismantled.

The Embassy of God Church is the largest church in all of Europe with some 100,000 total members, including those from all its satellite locations. Although African, Pastor Adelaja’s church is 99 percent white Europeans. The church has planted more than 600 churches in more than 45 countries, including 20 churches in the United States.

http://www.churchshift.org/

Awaken Women's Conference

(Click image to enlarge it.)

Prayer For Kenya

[From Bishop R. E. Howard, General Overseer of the Church of God of Prophecy]

Everyone involved would have hoped that the disruptions in Kenya would have ended by now. So after days without hearing any word, we have received a clear report from our overseer in Kenya, Bishop Cyril Odendo. I would like to ask all members and friends of the COGOP to pray intensely for the restoration of order and peace in Kenya. Here is some of the report received today.

Bishop Odendo writes:

I will address the issues under the following headings.

A) DEGENERATION OF PEACE - The fighting, deaths and eviction of people, which previously affected Rift Valley, Nyanza, Western Kenya, Nairobi and the Coastal Provinces has not only continued unabated but has also engulfed the Central provinces where organized but outlawed Mungiki gangs are killing non-residents mercilessly. The death toll which stood at 600 people has according to the government, which is keen on saving its face, gone up to 1000 people.

Nearly one million people are camping in areas purported to be safe like, the police stations, yet these have become the targets of killer gangs and the police are also known to be taking sides in the situation.

B) CHURCHES CLOSED OR DESTROYED - Nearly all our churches have closed in Trans Mara ,Timboroa , Naivasha, Kisii and parts of Nairobi, Nakuru and Migori. Many of our members have been forcefully evicted from their houses, property destroyed or stolen and some of our members are confirmed dead.

Whereas it is nearly impossible to travel by road in Kenya, some organizations are making arrangements for transport and security to evacuate their people from these hostile areas. In as much as Red Cross is overwhelmed by the growing number of needy people, there is a lot of hostility in the camps and many threats on their lives.

[Bishop Odendo goes on to report about Health Hazards due to the lack of civil services and government controls; Forced Evictions putting some members, believers, and innocents out from homes; Starvation in parts of the nation; Evacuation of Members who are in the most desperate areas; and sadly Funeral Arrangement Costs. Clearly the situation is no better and the collapse of government has created greater problems that are spreading over the nation. Please respond to this call for prayer for restoration of peace in the nation of Kenya.

All who wish to donate for emergency relief may give offerings specifically for the Kenya Crisis. Local churches may send their offerings through Harvest Partners and Individual donors may address their offerings to Helping Hands.

Send your donations to:
Church of God of Prophecy
Global Outreach Ministries
"Kenya Crisis"
PO Box 2910
Cleveland, TN 37312
(423) 559-5100
retha@cogop.org

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