This is the latest edition of ‘did you know 3.0′.
How do we be Christ, move as the church, and engage culture in such exponential times?
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Posts tagged as:
movement
We live in an age of networks.
Most of us know that we can’t do anything truly visionary on our own. And if we can, our visions are likely too small. The internet (which is only about 4000 days old) has accelerated our capacity to network with one another.
The internet allows grassroots tribes to come out from nowhere, upending established institutions. You’ve seen this with the Obama comapaign, and you can see it in the rise of new church networks and associations as denominations decline.
Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve been sensing a rapid land grab for the church network of the future. “Church networks” brings up over 3 million hits on google. Rick Warren says he wants to create the ‘network of networks’, as with many other visionary leaders.
In techie terms it’s the platform. Microsoft Windows is a computing platform, google is an online platform, you could say facebook is a social networking platform. The biggest and broadest rules them all.
There are many advantages to a common platform or network. The economies of scale, standardized best practices, and phenomenal impact. Imagine if David Yonggi Cho of the 830,000 person Yoido full gospel church in Soul Korea asked every person to pick up one piece of trash each that day?
What’s astounding is that at the very foundation of these massive Christian networks, is just one man.
Sometimes I find it hard to tell if our networks are simply reflecting Christ’s heart for unity… or if they’re pyramid schemes of influence?
May the biggest network win…? What do you think?
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I just finished Bob roberts Jr.’s The Multiplying Church.
I hope it’s on the to-read list for every church leader in North America.
It’s not quite as technical as Stetzer’s Planting Missional Church’s, less dense and cerebral than Hirsch’s Forgotten Ways, and a bit more strategic than Cole’s Organic Church (All of which are excellent books btw).
The multiplying church is an excellent primer on catalyzing church planting movements.
If you’re well-versed in all of this, you might not find too much that’s new other than Roberts’ passion and unique stories. I found that it spoke to me in just the right ways at just the right time in my life right now.
ie. I love the simple burnout deterrence mantra he shares:
1. I am not invincible. I can get sick, sin, and weary.
2. I am not immortal. I am going to die.
3. I am not indispensable. The kingdom keeps going without me.
4. I am not an island. I need friends around me.
Crazy how often I forget these truths.
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Some excellent resources I just stumbled across specifically for spouses of church planters…
Free downloadable book, “My husband wants to be a church planter“, discussion guide as well here.
(The book includes chapters by wife of Bob Roberts of Glocalnet, Niki, and wife of Erwin McManus of Mosaic LA, Kim. HT: Truly Captivating.
Planterwives.com for current or future wives of church planters
Parakaleo – supporting church planting couples
Article by Redeemer’s church planting movement on church planting spouses
Blog entry by Gary Lamb on church planting wives
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To illustrate my last post.
Eight years ago, I spent a summer living in a house (supposedly an old brothel that had been renovated, but that’s another story) with five other guys. It got so dirty with our lack of cleaning, by the end of that summer, there were foot-high mushrooms growing out of the floors.
They grew out of the dirt and grime in the darkness. They were tall and unavoidable. They would graze your feet as you tried to step over them. They seemed to multiply best in the cracks and crevices.
This is what I mean by a spontaneous and sustainable, organic and reproducible movement of churches.
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