Intersected

I often wonder if I think like this as I ponder and pray about planting a church? Do I want to do it so that I’m cool and fit in, or do I really feel called by God to die to self?

HT: Kevin DeYoung

Matthew
21:13

From Ed Stetzer’s talk “The Dangerous Church in 2020.”

Cautions

1. Don’t Believe the Hype.
2. Be more cynical.
3. Be People of Issachar (1 Chronicles 12:32).
   – There are trends we can and should watch.
   –   Skate Where the Puck Is.

From a Cultural Perspective The Dangerous Church Will Have:

1. Seized Economic Opportunity
   Economic growth and evangelical church growth are counter cyclical.
2. Addressed Sexual Brokenness
   Churches that thrive will have addresses issues of homosexuality, marriage, pornography, and other sexual issues and they will have done so in biblical ways– not simply caving in to the culture.
3. Wrestled with Gender Inclusion
   Now, no matter where you are on the issue, we need to have a clear and biblical reason, that is consistently and graciously applied, to explain our position.
4. Faced Increasing Intolerance
   And, it won’t be because of our solely religious convictions, but because of the outworking of those positions in moral stands. These will increasingly cause the world to find the church intolerable.

From a Cultural Perspective The Dangerous Church Will Have:

1. Navigated the Post-Seeker Context
   Today, we live in a post seeker context. And, with the decline in models typically associated with seeker ministry, the dangerous church will have found new ways (in addition to the old) to reach those who are far from God.
2. Regained Confidence in the Gospel
   The dangerous church will have worked through the confusion and set a stake in the ground for a more robust biblically discerned gospel.  
3. Addressed Evangelical Confusion
   But, I believe the dangerous church will have successfully navigated the malaise in contemporary evangelicalism and worked through much of the confusion of what a believer should be.
4. Rethought Discipleship
5. Worked Through Denominational Catharsis
   Dangerous churches in denominations will have helped them rethink how denominations function. And, Lyle Schaller when he says in A Mainline Turnaround that they will focus more on helping churches do evangelism and missions and less on maintaining the denominational machinery.  
6. Found Networking Strategies
   Churches are finding ways to team together, which is good, but they also need to be careful. I speak at many of these networks and sometimes they end up just cloning themselves.
7. Implemented New Innovations

I have a very difficult time taking criticism. My reaction is often more hurt than defensive, or at I think so. I do know that receiving criticism graciously and humbly is something I need to work on and pray about. I just found this great article about the cross and criticism. (HT Michael McKinley)

Here are some key insights:

Criticism is commended all throughout Scripture

Prov. 12:15, Prov. 13:10, Prov. 17:10, Prov. 13:13, Prov. 9:9, Prov. 15:32, Psalm 141:5

How can we move from always being quick to defend ourselves against any and all criticism toward becoming instead like David who saw it as gain? The answer is through understanding, believing, and affirming all that God says about us in the cross of Christ.

Paul summed it up when he said, “I have been crucified with Christ.” A believer is one who identifies with all that God affirms and condemns in Christ’s crucifixion. God affirms in Christ’s crucifixion the whole truth about Himself: His holiness, goodness, justice, mercy, and truth as revealed and demonstrated in His Son, Jesus. Equally, in the cross God condemns the lie: sin, deceit, and the idolatrous heart. He condemns my sinfulness as well as my specific sins. Let’s see how this applies to giving and taking criticism.

First, in Christ’s Cross I Agree With God’s Judgment of Me

I see myself as God sees me—a sinner. There is no escaping the truth: “No one is righteous, not even one” (Rom. 3:9-18). In response to my sin, the cross has criticized and judged me more intensely, deeply, pervasively, and truly than anyone else ever could. This knowledge permits us to say to all other criticism of us: “This is just a fraction of it.”

Gal. 3:10, James 2:10, Gal. 2:20, Rom. 6:6

If the cross says anything, it speaks about my sin. The person who says “I have been crucified with Christ” is a person well aware of his sinfulness. You’ll never get life right by your own unaided efforts because all who rely on observing the law are under a curse. “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law” (Gal. 3:10). Thus the cross doesn’t merely criticize or judge us; it condemns us for not doing everything written in God’s law. Do you believe that? Do you feel the force of that criticism? Do you appreciate the thoroughness of God’s judgment?

The crucified person also knows that he cannot defend himself against God’s judgment by trying to offset his sin by his good works. Think about this fact: whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it (James 2:10).

To claim to be a Christian is to agree with all God says about our sin. As a person “crucified with Christ,” we admit, agree, and approve of God’s judgment against us: There is no one righteous, not even one (Rom. 3:10).

Second, In Christ’s Cross I Agree With God’s Justification of Me

I must not only agree with God’s judgment of me as sinner in the cross of Christ, but I must also agree with God’s justification of me as sinner. Through the sacrificial love of Jesus, God justifies ungodly people (Rom. 3:21-26).

Gal. 2:20, Rom. 3:20, Rom. 3:22,

The cross of Christ reminds me that the Son of God loved me and gave Himself for me. And because of this, God has thoroughly and forever accepted me in Christ. Here is how grace works: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit (Gal. 3:13f).

What a sure foundation for the soul! Now, I don’t practice self-justification, but boasting—boasting about Christ’s righteousness for me.

If you truly take this to heart, the whole world can stand against you, denounce you, or criticize you, and you will be able to reply, “If God has justified me, who can condemn me?” “If God justifies me, accepts me, and will never forsake me, then why should I feel insecure and fear criticism?” “Christ took my sins, and I receive His Spirit. Christ takes my condemnation, and I receive His righteousness.”

Implications for Dealing with Criticism

f I know myself as crucified with Christ, I can now receive another’s criticism with this attitude: “You have not discovered a fraction of my guilt. Christ has said more about my sin, my failings, my rebellion and my foolishness than any man can lay against me. I thank you for your corrections. They are a blessing and a kindness to me. For even when they are wrong or misplaced, they remind me of my true faults and sins for which my Lord and Savior paid dearly when He went to the cross for me. I want to hear where your criticisms are valid.”

The correction and advice that we hear are sent by our heavenly Father. They are His corrections, rebukes, warnings, and scoldings. His reminders are meant to humble me, to weed out the root of pride and replace it with a heart and lifestyle of growing wisdom, understanding, goodness, and truth. For example, if you can take criticism—however just or unjust—you’ll learn to give it with gracious intent and constructive results. See the sidebar, “Giving Criticism God’s Way.”

I do not fear man’s criticism for I have already agreed with God’s criticism. And I do not look ultimately for man’s approval for I have gained by grace God’s approval. In fact, His love for me helps me to hear correction and criticism as a kindness, oil on my head, from my Father who loves me and says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone He accepts as a son” (Heb. 12:5-6).

Applying What We’ve Learned

1. Critique yourself. How do I typically react to correction? Do I pout when criticized or corrected? What is my first response when someone says I’m wrong? Do I tend to attack the person? To reject the content of criticism? To react to the manner? How well do I take advice? How well do I seek it? Are people able to approach me to correct me? Am I teachable?
   Do I harbor anger against the person who criticizes me? Do I immediately seek to defend myself, hauling out my righteous acts and personal opinions in order to defend myself and display my rightness? Can my spouse, parents, children, brothers, sisters, or friends correct me?
2. Ask the Lord to give you a desire to be wise instead of a fool. Use Proverbs to commend to yourself the goodness of being willing and able to receive criticism, advice, rebuke, counsel, or correction. Meditate upon the passages given above: Proverbs 9:9; 12:15; 13:10,13; 15:32; 17:10; Psalm 141:5.
3. Focus on your crucifixion with Christ. While I can say I have faith in Christ, and even say with Paul, “I have been crucified with Christ,” yet I still find myself not living in light of the cross. So I challenge myself with two questions. First, if I continually squirm under the criticism of others, how can I say I know and agree with the criticism of the cross? Second, if I typically justify myself, how can I say I know, love, and cling to God’s justification of me through Christ’s cross? This drives me back to contemplating God’s judgment and justification of the sinner in Christ on the cross. As I meditate on what God has done in Christ for me, I find a resolve to agree with and affirm all that God says about me in Christ, with whom I’ve been crucified.
4. Learn to speak nourishing words to others. I want to receive criticism as a sinner living within Jesus’ mercy, so how can I give criticism in a way that communicates mercy to another? Accurate, balanced criticism, given mercifully, is the easiest to hear—and even against that my pride rebels. Unfair criticism or harsh criticism (whether fair or unfair) is needlessly hard to hear. How can I best give accurate, fair criticism, well tempered with mercy and affirmation?

Matthew
———–
4:4 f
6:5-13 p
6:16-18 f
9:14-15 f
11:25-30 p
14:22 p
15:36 p

From John MacArthur’s blog condensing his chapter in Preaching the Cross. It’s on my Amazon Wish List of books to buy

With that in mind, here are ten reasons why I delight in preaching the Word of God, week after week and year after year. This is not an exhaustive list, but I trust it will encourage those ministers who read it to faithfully proclaim the Word of God to the people of God through the power of the Spirit of God. (I have expanded on each of these reasons in the book Preaching the Cross, which can be read here.)

1. Because Its Message Is Timeless and Truly Powerful
2. Because It Is the Good News of Salvation
3. Because It Sets Forth Divine Truth with Clarity and Certainty
4. Because It Stands as the Authoritative Self-Revelation of God
5. Because It Exalts Christ as the Head of His Church
6. Because It Is the Means God Uses to Sanctify His People
7. Because It Rightly Informs Our Worship and Our Walk
8. Because It Brings Depth and Balance to My Ministry
9. Because It Honors the Necessity of Personal Bible Study
10. Because It Makes My Ministry Dependent on God

From Ed Stetzer , President of LifeWay Research and LifeWay’s Missiologist in Residence

Let’s look at two practices that can help planters avoid a spiritually dry and disillusioned ministry.

Spiritual Renewal

…

But you need to put some of the responsibilities into the hands of others (even if they will not do it as good as you think you will) and give yourself more time for with God. Guarding your life with regular times of prayer, solitude, and Sabbath where you sit unhurried before God will ensure a rich and abundant reservoir of spiritual life and power. Planters who fail to keep their time with God a priority will invariably suffer in their personal walk and the church plant will feel the profound effects as well.

Theological Reflection

…

Planters must practice theological reflection to maintain biblical integrity in their perspective of ministry. Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”3 I wonder if the unexamined church is not worth starting. Integrating theological reflection into the vision and methods of a church plant will help both the leader and the people.

Ask questions like:

• What is the purpose and mission of the local church?
• What does it mean to be a Christian?
• What does a genuine disciple look like?
• What is authentic worship?
• What does Christ require of us, and what does faithfulness to Christ look like?
• How do we implement these biblical mandates successfully in our cultural context?

These and other like questions form a biblical baseline for planters. Then the baseline becomes the goal rather than building up one’s personal sense of fulfillment. Plus the baseline keeps the pressure off of the planter and on the vision to keep the church on course.

One of the planter’s most important roles is leadership. Wise leaders understand their role in shaping the vision and culture of the church. They also understand the need to remove oneself from the pressures of ministry and experience renewal and reflection. Planters who do this are personally and professionally healthier than planters who do not. And, they lead healthier, more biblical and more sustainable churches.

Sometimes I think I read books just to read them and don’t significantly interact with them and learn from them. I also am averse to marking up books. No idea why, just never have done it. Here are some helpful tips on reading with a pen in hand

I litter books with my indecipherable scribbles for three specific reasons:

1. To highlight what I appreciate.
2. To notate content progression.
3. To critique what I don’t appreciate.

What helps me is reading books with people. I need to do that more.

Here’s Justin Taylor’s summary of Mortimer Adler’s classic, How to Read a Book

Stage 1: What Is the Book About as a Whole?

Rule 1. You must know what kind of book you are reading, and you should know this as early in the process as possible, preferably before you begin to read. / Classify the book according to kind and subject matter. (p. 60)

Rule 2. State the unity of the whole book in a single sentence, or at most a few sentences (a short paragraph). State what the whole book is about with the utmost brevity. (pp. 75-76)

Rule 3. Set forth the major parts of the book, and show how these are organized into a whole, by being ordered to one another and to the unity of the whole. / Enumerate its major parts in their order and relation, and outline these parts as you have outlined the whole. (p. 76)

Rule 4. Find out what the author’s problems were. / Define the problem or problems the author has tried to solve. (p. 92)

Stage 2: What Is Being Said in Detail, and How?

Rule 5. Find the important words and through them come to terms with the author. / Come to terms with the author by interpreting his key words. (p. 98)

Rule 6: Mark the most important sentences in a book and discover the propositions they contain. / Grasp the author’s leading propositions by dealing with his most important sentences. (p. 120)

Rule 7: Locate or construct the basic arguments in the book by finding them in the connections of sentences. / Know the author’s arguments, by finding them in, or constructing them out of, sequences of sentences. (p. 120)

Rule 8: Find out what the author’s solutions are. / Determine which of his problems the author has solved, and which he has not; and as to the latter, decide which the author knew he had failed to solve. (p. 135)

Stage 3: Is It True? What of It?

General Maxims of Intellectual Etiquette

Rule 9: You must be able to say, with reasonable certainty, “I understand,” before you can say any one of the following things: “I agree,” or “I disagree,” or “I suspend judgment.” / Do not begin criticism until you have completed your outline and your interpretation of the book. (pp. 142-143)

Rule 10: When you disagree, do so reasonably, and not disputatiously or contentiously. (p. 145)

Rule 11: Respect the difference between knowledge and mere personal opinion, by giving reasons for any critical judgment you make. (p. 150)

Special Criteria for Points of Criticism

12. Show wherein the author is uninformed.

13. Show wherein the author is misinformed.

14. Show wherein the author is illogical.

15. Show wherein the author’s analysis or account is incomplete. [

From Scott Thomas, Acts 29 Director and Mars Hill Church Executive Elder

Part 1 – January 27, 2009

1. I would expose the gospel to the fullest extent as possible in every context, relationship, conflict and teaching.

I think very few people in the church truly understand the gospel, especially those who are religious. I think that few pastors truly understand the gospel. Galatians 2:14 suggest that there is a way of living that is contrary to the gospel. The centrality of the gospel drives all ministry and mission of the church.

2. I would connect with God as I connected with culture.

In our quest to be missionally engaged, hip and cool, I think we have lost the “edge” for a radical, passionate engagement with God. Connecting with culture is overrated; connecting with God is underrated.

Part 2 – January 28, 2009

3. I would focus on developing missional communities as expressions of the gospel in as many contexts as possible.

A missional community is a committed core of believers who live out the mission together in a specific area or to a particular people group by demonstrating the gospel in tangible forms and declaring the gospel to others—both those who believe it and those who are being exposed to it. This community is led by a team to shepherd, equip and organize a community on mission. This group is the church throughout the week. They identify, equip and send out new men to lead missional communities. Missional Communities operate unlike a Bible study and more like a family, a missionary team, a band of servants and eager learners.

4. I would focus on developing young men for the mission of Jesus.

The Heavenly Father delights in us as His sons and expressing this fact advances the gospel. We are accepted in spite of our sin through the person of Jesus and thus, we are reconciled to our Father. Jesus came to men and called them to follow; to leave their nets and to follow Him. Men are looking for others to lead them into a radical adventure of the gospel.

Part 3 – January 29, 2009

5. I would train leaders relentlessly

Once you have identified a man who can be a leader, what do we do? My friend, PJ Smyth, a church planter in South Africa showed me the progression of Titus as Paul mentored him into leadership.

1. In 2 Cor. 7:6-7, Titus was a friend who encouraged Paul in his work as a missionary. 2) The ministry of the Macedonians encouraged Titus
2. (2 Cor. 7:13-15). He grew in his affection for those laboring faithfully.
3. Titus was a faithful worker carrying out the wishes of Paul (2 Cor. 8:6). He was a faithful mule doing what Paul asked of him.
4. Titus developed a heart for the ministry and initiated ministry on his own (2 Cor. 8:16-17). He developed the same passion for the church as Paul. We need to applaud the aggressive nature of the men around us and not try to keep them as mules. They may snort and stomp and buck a little. Our job is to apply the gospel in the areas of their life that will make them useful stallions.
5. Paul says that Titus was a proven minister (2 Cor. 8:23 and 12:18).
6. Titus 1:4-5, Titus was the senior overseer to appoint elders throughout the island of Crete. His proven faithfulness and calling allowed him to pioneer works in a hostile environment.

I would not do much of anything else except to train leaders. I will let others do administration. Identifying, equipping and sending leaders are the jobs of the pastor who is committed to train leaders relentlessly. I would train leaders to lead and not to hold an office. We should not appoint leaders too quickly before they have earned the right to lead and are qualified.

At every sermon, we must call men to mission, to lead, to repent of their idols. We have to equip men to be good fathers, good husbands, and good men.

6. I would get a coach

According to a study by Leadership Network, only 68% of all church plants are still alive after four years. The odds of survivability increase 250% (2.5 times) when the planter receives some leadership development training. They reported that survival rate has doubled since implementing important systems such as assessment, training, and coaching.

Coaching is essential to empower others in the journey as they discover what God wants them to do and then doing it (1 Thessalonians 2:11-12). It gives them a prayer partner, accountability, feedback, perspective, encouragement, resources (ideas, content) and help with strategic planning.

7. I would enjoy the journey of church planting

We image the gospel as we display the grace of God in our lives and as we display grace toward others—even (especially) when they mess up. The gospel includes receiving the grace of God. We must apply this with our family, our “followers”, those in our churches who are our workers and especially the drama-queen worship team (kidding).

I often overlooked the evidences of grace in my life as a planter. I expected the best effort. That bled into my family. One evening when I was stressed and overly-complained about something, my oldest son asked me, “Dad, do you have a trip coming up soon?” My wife erupted with a contagious laugh and we appreciated the candidness of a son whose father was not displaying the evidences of grace.

As we exercise grace to others, we need to exercise toward ourselves as well. Our righteousness is not established through numbers of butts in a seat. We need to see the lives transformed and not the nickels and noses as necessary for our righteousness.