By Dr Sam Storms
The easiest thing about praying is quitting. Giving up seems so reasonable, so easy to justify. It’s always been that way, which is why Paul wrote in Colossians 4:12, “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” Persevering in prayer when no one seems to listen strikes many people as a sign of fanaticism, if not mental instability.

People in Paul’s day faced the same temptation to quit that we do. But too much was at stake. Though defeated at the cross, Satan and his demons are still active. The weakness of the flesh abides. The threat of schism in the body of Christ is ever present. Great opportunities to share the gospel are at every turn. So, don’t quit, says Paul. Continue steadfastly in prayer. Keep watch at all times lest you despair. Be thankful for all God has done and will do in response to your petitions. 

First, we are a presumptuous people. We just assume that God ought always to do what we ask, when we ask, precisely in the way we ask. By delaying his response, God awakens us to the gracious character of all answered prayer. In other words, that God says or does anything at all in response to our petitions is sheer, undiluted grace. Resolute continuation in prayer, watchful perseverance, is often the best way for us to learn this invaluable lesson.

Second, steadfast endurance in coming again and again to the throne of grace is God’s way of cultivating in us a sense of absolute and utter dependence upon him. We are by nature self-reliant, self-sufficient folk. If God were instantly and at all times to answer our every prayer, we would gradually lose our sense of urgency. Truth be told, most of us would soon lose sight of the fact that it is God alone who is the source of all good. By suspending his response, God is saying to each of us: “Just how desperate are you? How conscious are you that I am your only source, your sole and all-sufficient supply?”

Third, persistent praying puts us in that frame of mind and spirit in which we may properly receive what it is that God desires to give. In other words, it isn’t so much that God is reluctant to give, but that we lack preparation to receive. Try to envision what a mess your life would have been if your parents granted you everything you asked for as a child! God often delays his answers because, quite simply, we are in no shape to receive them. Few of us are willing to admit that, but deep down we know it’s true.

Fourth, steadfast, watchful continuation in prayer helps us differentiate between impetuous, ill-conceived, selfish desires, and sincere, deep-seated, Christ-exalting ones. Persistence in prayer thus enables us to weed out improper petitions.

To Be Continued...

Video By Terry Virgo on prayer click here

By Yancey Arrington

How often have we exposed ourselves as pretenders when it comes to battling indwelling sin? All of us have approached a certain temptation in our life with confidence only to wind up succumbing to its pain-inflicting consequences. We are often exposed – assuming ourselves to be contenders when we are truly impotent in our ability to defeat a seemingly unimposing sin.

How can we fight sin well and not fool ourselves? One of the ways we do that is by discovering what kind of repentance we employ in our fight against sin.

Repentance is the essential aspect of spiritual growth. Martin Luther penned in the first of his “Ninety-Five Theses” these words: “Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ…willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” Pastor and author Tim Keller concurred, “Repentance is the way we make progress in the Christian life.”

REPENTANCE GONE WRONG

False repentance conflicts with the biblical pattern by displaying our pride and self-interest instead of displaying contrition. Consider the example of the nation of Israel in Psalm 78:32-35:

In spite of all this, they still sinned;

despite his wonders, they did not believe.

So he made their days vanish like a breath,

and their years in terror.

When he killed them, they sought him;

they repented and sought God earnestly.

They remembered that God was their rock,

the Most High God their redeemer.

Israel clearly experienced a severe discipline at the hands of the Lord. This judgment obviously produced a very unhappy situation for God’s people, driving them to seek God in repentance. They earnestly repented, remembered and sought the Lord. Surely this repenting would rectify their familial relationship with God. But notice how God views their repentance as the Psalm continues:

But they flattered him with their mouths;

they lied to him with their tongues.

Their heart was not steadfast toward him;

they were not faithful to his covenant. (78:36-37)

Here we see the illustration of pretender repentance: words without heart. Israel’s repentance was insincere. They told God that they were sorry with their mouths, but He knew that their hearts were still committed to slavishly following their sins.

Instead of real brokenness over their iniquities, God’s people feigned repentance to obtain rescue from the consequences of their sins, but not the sins themselves. As such, God did not recognize their repentance – because pretender repentance is not repentance at all.

Israel’s example should help us see that sometimes the greatest battle with sin is our very repentance of it. Listen to Paul’s encouragement to the church at Corinth:

As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved,

but because you were grieved into repenting. For

you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss

through us. For godly grief produces a repentance

that leads to salvation without regret, whereas

worldly grief produces death. (1 Corinthians 7:9-10)

Pretender repentance is a dead end. If we demonstrate anything but godly grief over our sin, we will experience a lifetime of losses. Therefore, if we would fight sin well, some of us may actually need to repent of how we have repented in the past so that the grace of God is exposed and not our arrogance.

By Scott Thomas, President of Acts 29

(Adapted from CH Spurgeon’s Lectures to His Students)

A pastor’s life is most effective as a sharpened tool in God’s hand by nurturing the spirit, soul and body and not just organizing information in a logical manner. We are God’s sword in a holy war and are not dependent as much on our talents as we are on our likeness to Jesus. A pastor that is spiritually out of order is a serious disaster to himself and his ministry.

Our first care must be our own soul and we must be regenerated men. This cannot be overlooked. Our faith must be personal and not just professional.

Secondly, a pastor must be vigorous in his personal piety and he must be advanced significantly beyond the typical Christian. His godliness must be vibrant, consistent, firm, faithful and exemplary. A pastor who has sinned grossly should step down until as Spurgeon said, “his repentance is as notorious as his sin.” Preachers must take heed to their holiness because Satan has a special eye on those who proclaim the gospel.

Spurgeon used prayer as a primary gauge for the piety of a person’s heart. A pastor’s prayers publicly and in counseling with others will fluctuate in effectiveness in accordance to that pastor's private prayers. A secondary gauge measuring the devotedness to God is a pastor’s sermonic influence among the hearers. Even clever words and orderly points will fall short if a pastor’s personal holiness is not vigorous. Spurgeon characterized piety as self-discipline, hospitality, sexual purity as well as what Spurgeon timelessly called “ministerialism.” This clergy sin is performing moral activities as duties of the profession and not delights of the heart. This is demonstrated through reading our Bible and praying and being nice to people because that is the job description to which we agreed.

A third area demanding personal monitoring is the consistency of a pastor’s public ministry and private ministry. “True ministers are always ministers,” Spurgeon noted. Dutiful professionalism without Divine passion is abhorrent. The preacher’s masterful word and doctrine cannot earn an exemption of one's inconsistent lifestyle. When we are in the pulpit, our words should compel others to curiously examine what kind of life we live and conversely, our life of good deeds should compel others to desire to hear our words.

Even in the seemingly insignificant issues of holy living a pastor must demonstrate faithfulness, uprightness and consistency. The Word of God must continually sterilize our scalpel or we will be in danger of infecting the body in our attempt to do good. Our lives should be consistently found above reproach. We should encourage and provide a means for the thorough examination of our life and character by others, including our web browser history, our bank accounts, our credit reports, our driving records, our private messages and our relationships. Spurgeon said we are not prisoners of the whims of every opinionated Christian who expects acculturated gentility rather than godly piety. But we must pass up sin’s allurement as we would a poisonous snake within striking range.

We nurture our spirit, soul and bodies by imitating the life of Jesus and leaning into the cross when we sin. Our preaching should profoundly demonstrate this.

By Steve Timmis, Acts 29 Western Europe Director

Character often gets overlooked, but it is the key issue in Christian ministry. Although more emphasis is placed on charisma or gifting, character is the key issue in leadership.

Every aspect of my life is to be lived for God’s glory

1 Corinthians 10:31: “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

At first reading, this principle may appear something of a no-brainer. However, if taken seriously, we will find that no other principle is quite so counter-cultural and counter-intuitive as this one. This principle defines ‘me’ in relation to ‘Him’. It says that ‘me’ and my life is all about ‘Him.’ It is only about ‘me’ to the extent and degree that I relate to ‘Him.’ Even though the gospel assures me that there is no better place to be, my ego kicks and screams for self-identity.

What is radical about this truth is that it contradicts everything we’ve been taught, and everything we’ve wanted to believe. I am the center of my universe, and see everything and everyone from my perspective. So, my instinct, if I think about God at all, it is to think of and define ‘Him’ in relation to ‘me.’ For example, God is love if he expresses it in ways acceptable to me. In essence, God is put on trial every day for His alleged failures in ‘my’ life.

If my life is to be lived for His glory, then I no longer occupy that defining place of sovereign rule in my life. He does. If my life is all about His glory, then that becomes the great, unchangeable principle against which everything—good or bad—is assessed.

So what does it mean for God to be glorified by my life?

It means that the person I am, the life that I live, and the things I do, all convey God to others. It means I am a trophy of His grace: there is no other explanation for who I am and how I live except the sovereign and supernatural work of the triune God. A life lived for God’s glory is truly an extraordinary life.

Imagine the moment of your arrival in heaven. All the saints and angels are lined up to welcome you as you walk through the gates. The noise is deafening and the sense of coming home is almost too much to bear. You expected to be honored for your accomplishments, your charitable life and your ministry. You think they are there for you, and in a sense they are. But then you realize that no one is congratulating you. All the cheers are for God! All the praise is directed at Him for his magnificent work of grace taking a broken specimen of humanity and transforming it into a stunning and breath-taking creation. Just as no one stands in a gallery and praises the canvas or the frame, and says ‘What a fine work of art you are!’ so no one in heaven will look at the us and praise the creation for what a fine job the creator did. It is the artist who is applauded, as it is God who is praised. 

To What Extent Does This Apply?

Not only should every aspect of my life be lived for the glory of God, I should live my life with a radical and determined intentionality that ensures that every aspect of it honors the God who made me, saved me and created me to the praise of His glorious grace. All too often our actions and words are thoughtless of God. There needs to be a “glory intentionality” in everything we do and say. That would have a massive impact upon us and upon those we minister.

© 2009 Steve Timmis and Tim Chester/The Good Book Company. Used by permission.

Gospel Centred Life can be purchased online.

The Spiritual Man

Romans 8:5-11

by Scott Thomas, Acts 29 President

Spiritual vitality was the highest rated quality of a church planter as polled by Acts 29 pastors. What are the characteristics of a spiritually vital pastor? The following responses came through Twitter  and Facebook.

In 1681, one of the foremost Puritan theologians John Owen had a book published entitled, Grace and Duty of Being Spiritually Minded. In 1989 it was first published in London England in an easier to read and shortened version by the title Thinking Spiritually. This is based on Owens’ work.

Church planters deal with the same problems and temptations as other people—they just do so in front of a community of people while they are struggling for identity, significance and ministry survival. A planter with a spiritually vital life has chosen a life of peace over a life of hostility and death. The two alternatives seem to suggest a simple choice. But the decision must be made every day.

“For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God…” (Rom. 8:6-7a.).

Two States of Mankind: Carnally Minded or Spiritually Minded

These two opposing forces are seen as the only two states of mankind. John Owen said, “When a man…is not spiritually minded, he is carnally minded” and they have contrasting results. Carnal-minded people can expect death and hostility (8:6-7) while spiritually minded people experience life and peace (8:6).

The Greek word for “mind” in verse 5 and its noun form in verse 6 means the action of the mind, will, and affections; to give attention, regard, pursuit. One translation (ESV) accurately says,

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit” (emphasis mine). 

We set our minds upon the spiritual or upon the flesh and we can expect its corresponding result: life or death. The Geneva Bible published in 1599 (the Bible of the Puritans) says, “For they that are after the flesh savor the things of the flesh: but they that are after the things of the spirit, [savor] the things of the spirit.” Where is our appetite satisfied? In what are you savoring? The spiritually vital pastor savors the things of the spirit.

Savoring things of the Spirit

When we savor the things of the Spirit, we are continually postured toward and repentantly focused on the things of God. We desire God as our only source of absolute joy and satisfaction. He is what we savor above all else. We are not able to maintain a mind set on spiritual things without the Helper, the Holy Spirit dwelling within us (Rom. 8:9-11).

Four Distinguishing Marks of the Spiritually Minded Person

1. I have made a noticeable commitment to progressively think more spiritually.

       Repentance to think spiritually has fruits of repentance:

• Balance in life
• Obedience
• Tenacious for a personal relationship with Jesus
• Teachable spirit
• Servant leader
• Graciousness
• Humility
• Dependently prayerful
• Embodies the fruit of the Spirit
• Godly wisdom
• Remains in community
• Resting in Christ
• Loving others

2. I maintain a gospel frame of reference.

When circumstances, trials, stress, health problems, financial issues, even successes, we frame them in the context of the gospel: admitting sin, quickly repenting and reconciling.

3. I have a contented satisfaction in things of the Spirit over anything else.

Owen said in his preface to the book, “Men walk and talk as if the world were all, when comparatively it is nothing.” Most Christians are oblivious to the joys that come from a life of abandonment of things of the flesh in exchange for a spiritual pursuit. Romans 8:8, “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

4. I display a life of peace.

As we submit to the Spirit and set our affections, our savoring, our longing and our joy on things of the Spirit, we are promised peace, rest, quietness in our souls in spite of trouble, pain and turmoil.

John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

John 16:33, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Conclusion

Owen said, “To be spiritually minded is the great distinguishing character of true believers.” A pastor must be tenacious about a pursuit of holiness, a humble heart and a teachable spirit. To experience life and peace, he is utterly compelled to set aside extended time to repent of sin, read Scripture and worship earnestly to restore his spiritual-mindedness.

Barry Keldie (31), former student pastor at The Village Church in Highlands Village, TX (Dallas metro) and founder and former pastor of Providence Church in Frisco, TX, died Friday morning, March 5. He had long suffered from insomnia and had developed an addiction to prescription sleeping pills. In an effort to overcome the addiction and still get the necessary sleep, Barry had begun to take Tylenol PM. Doctors suspect that as a side effect of the medication, he became disoriented and consumed more than the recommended dosage. Confirmed by the toxicology reports, Barry’s death was a result of an accidental overdose of Tylenol PM.

He is survived by his wife, Charity, and their two children, Will, age 3, and Layla, age 1.

The Acts 29 board of directors and the Acts 29 pastors across the country mourn Barry’s death as we rest in the sovereign hand of God.

By Scott Thomas
Acts 29 President and Director

The qualities of a successful basketball player are consistent. He or she can dribble, shoot, pass, play defense, rebound, play as a team, think, move quickly and work hard. They don't have to do all of these at the same level but all of the qualities characterize a succesful player at the highest level.

Church planters similarily have qualities that determine their God-given capacity to plant a reproducing church.

Chuck Ridley, professor at Texas A&M University compiled the germinal research on church planting assessments with his Church Planter Profile (CPP).  Most assessment instruments start with Ridley’s 13 characteristics in mind as they formulate their own church planter profiles. (Charles R. Ridley and Tweed Moore, ChurchSmart Resources).  This is the most utilized profile in church planter selection. The first six on the list are what he calls “knock-out factors,” meaning these are, according to Ridley, non-negotiable.

I told Churck that my challenge with his outstanding list was that one doesn't have to be a Christian  or be competent theologically or biblically to qualify. His gracious response was that a planter's sending church or denomination will have already examined that. I would hesitate to assume those two factors today.

My friend, J. Allen Thompson, PhD, is an expert in church planter assessment and regular consultant for Redeemer Presbyterian. He compiled the following list of 18 characteristics of a successful church planter. He also compiled a list for wives that will be covered elsewhere. Allen divides his categories into personal, ministerial and intrapersonal characteristics. (J. Allen Thompson, Church Planter Competencies as Perceived by Church Planters and Assessment Center Leaders: a protestant North American study, Ph.D. dissertation, Trinity International University, Deerfield, Illinois, 1995.  To complete the profile positive and negative indicators are supplied for each characteristic.)

Personal Characteristics 

Ministerial Characteristics

Interpersonal Characteristics

Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church compiled a list of 20 characteristics for a church planter.  He divided them into eight clusters.

Although it seems a little reductionist and arrogant to make a list of what a church looks like, I humbly offer ten qualities based on evidence in the Acts 29 Network, Ridley, Thompson, Keller as well as Dr. Bob Logan and a plethora of books and articles associated with church planting. After reading this list, some men may be more discouraged from church planting than drawn to it. Church planting is difficult for the most qualified men and nearly impossible for those unqualified. If a man does not have the essential tools for the job, he will frustrate himself and everyone around him.

The following ten qualities are in prioritized order as the Acts 29 members rank them. We will look at all ten of these qualities over the course of a year beginning with Spiritual Vitality. It is our goal to produce small e-books covering each of the ten qualities and then produce a book length e-book that will help church planters and those developing them as they explore the mission of making disciples through the planting of reproductive churches.

Church Plant Stoppers

In addition to the ten qualities of a church planter, Thompson's research adds a section he calls Church Plant Stallers/Stoppers. Acts 29 has adapted this into their assessment as well to address self-centeredness. Church leaders must find their identity in Christ's forgiveness and acceptance.  When they are overly preoccupied with themselves they show signs of insecurity, pride, love of attention and acclaim and at times irritation and anger.  Being eager for quick success they may cut corners and betray trust. The following characteristics may curb a church plant from maturing and reproducing.

Conclusion

Mark Dever has said the local church, in all its glory, makes the audible gospel visible [A Display of God's Glory (9marks: Washington, D.C., 2001)]. The gospel is the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.  Jesus Christ died and rose again and ascended.  The Church is His Body here on earth.  The place where Jesus Christ is made visible is His Body, not just by one individual.  When one meets a congregation that is "displaying God's glory" faithfully, one encounters Jesus in one sense.  So planting a church is an exercise in making visible the audible gospel of the Blessed God.

What if I am called to plant a church? What if I am not sure? What do I do?

"Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers" (1 Tim 4:12-16).

Acts 29 boot camps are a great way to meet real, live church-planters from all over. Some are working in an urban context, some have planted in a rural farm town. Some have multiple meeting sites, and some have added several missional communities this year. Some are many years into their plant and have sent multiple church plants out from their congregation, while some just launched their first service a week ago.

We love making the teaching session audio from boot camps available to you for free online, but there's no way to reproduce the real conversations, connections, care and prayers that happen between brothers at a boot camp.

Attending a boot camp gives you a glimpse at who Acts 29 really is: a network of Jesus-loving men, bonded around the mission of God through church-planting. Boot Camps are not simply a Christian conference with a line-up of great, inspirational, gospel-centered speakers (though we love & appreciate them, and they often stick around to serve and answer questions).

Boot camps are times for people to meet and get to know one another. At any boot camp, we have many Acts 29 members and their wives present to meet folks, listen, answer questions and serve those curious about or actively pursuing church planting. 

If you are applying to Acts 29, you will be required to attend a boot camp as part of the application/assessment process and prior to becoming a member. Boot camps are where the majority of assessments take place as well.

Consider joining us at a Boot Camp if:

• You are thinking about planting a church
• You are actively pursuing or have begun church planting
• You lead an existing church that wants to plant more churches
• You are curious about Acts 29
• You are applying to Acts 29*

See more information on this year's boot camps below. Raleigh's boot camp is next month, and Denver's is coming soon in May. We hope to see you at a boot camp soon!

April 2010
17 - Northern Ireland
26-28 - Raleigh (in conjunction with the Advance the Church conference)

May 2010
17-19 - Rio de Janeiro
26-27 - Denver

September 2010
29-30 - Seattle

November 2010
9-10 - Phoenix

*Note for Applicants: you'll need to have finished your application at least 1 month prior to the boot camp you wish to attend for assessment.

By Scott Thomas
Acts 29 President and Director 

It won’t hurt the church if people are called away to go and make disciples elsewhere. It will hurt the mission if they stay. As I read about the church in Jerusalem and Antioch, I see them identifying, equipping and sending men to plant churches.

In Acts 11:19-26, the Jerusalem church sent Barnabas to the city of Antioch. They didn't send just any schmuck. It is reported of him, "He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith" (11:24).  The first thing Barnabas did was to recruit Paul/Saul from Tarsus and take him to Antioch to work with the church. Barnabas then spent the year equipping Paul and doing ministry with him among those who were first called Christians.

In Acts chapters 13-16, the local church at Antioch sent Baranabas and Saul on the first missionary journey. They took John Mark as a young man to equip. The Holy Spirit was central to this process. He called them (13:2), sent them (13:4), filled them (13:9), and directed them (16:6-7). But even after the Holy Spirit said to set apart Saul and Barnabas, the church fasted and prayed before they laid their hands on them and sent them off. The whole community of believers in Antioch fist bumped them on the way out.

The problem I am seeing is that we are so desperate for good men that we are not sending them into the field. We take men designed to be warriors and we make them into ecclesiastical pacifists. All men start out as a jackass, are designed to be stallions but the church tries to make them mules: sturdy, less volatile, sterile. I think the church has a dysfunctional codependent relationship with its men. Some pastors need affirmation from other men generally because their own absentee father never did. Conversely, the men need the pastor to do the work of the ministry so they don’t have to. As a result, the pastor works slavishly, often at the expense of his family, for affirmation and the men pay tithes and compliments to avoid the work of mission so their lives aren’t distracted away from their own goals—often financial gain or recreation. It’s a convenient relationship, but it’s not Biblical.

I attest that every local church should be constantly and intentionally discipling, training, developing and then sending its best men out into mission—to make disciples of all nations. We have to get out of the mindset of building up one single church and start developing a Kingdom mindset; a movement mindset. The mission of the church is about the movement of God and not about the monument to our self or our denomination or our tribe.

While not the most popular position, Acts 29 teaches that this office of an elder and pastor is reserved for males. I’m sure that you have already picked up on this. Darrin Patrick wrote in his forthcoming book that women, according to Scripture are co-equal with men in worth, dignity, value and the ability to serve in vocational ministry. Women have access to the same spiritual gifts as men. This position (called complementarian) is tied to the created order, not to a cultural context. Men should serve as “first among equals” in both the home (as husbands and fathers) and the church (as elders and pastors). We all know that the home would not function properly without active female involvement. Likewise, the church is dependent on female involvement.

God has established order within the family (Gen. 3:16; 1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 5:22-33; Col. 3:18-21) and the church (1 Tim. 2:11-14; 1 Cor. 11:8-9). Even within the Trinity there is a Divine order among the triune Godhead even as all possess the same essence. Jesus said, "For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent Me" (John 6:38). Jesus willingly submitted to the Father and the Father exalted the Son (Phil. 2:8-10).

Pastors can serve God in an established church or a church plant apart from being the lead planter. Some very good pastors would make average church plant leaders. Some pastors of existing churches would make great church planters. That call from God to plant a church might be a call to go join a team led by another man to help plant a church, or it might actually be a call to financially support so others can go.

Who are your Paul and Barnabas types that should be sent out? Send the best.

By Scott Thomas

Every young man that considers church planting asks the question, “Am I a Church Planter?” It is the question I asked myself many years ago. It is the question we ask every man who submits himself to our Acts 29 assessment process to be a lead planter in our network. Many times he is depending on our assessment process to confirm his calling.

Over the next year, this blog will focus on ten qualities that we believe are important for a church planter to effectively plant the gospel in a community. We will produce articles that reflect on one quality each month and then we hope to publish an e-book on each quality that compiles the articles into a document equivalent in size to a single chapter in a book.

Most church planting books and publications helpfully focus on strategies for planting a church and very few—I know of none—focus entirely on the development of a church planter. So, we are praying that this project will prove to be a valuable asset to church planting, church planters and for Lead Pastors as they seek to develop church planters among their men.

The only pushback I receive about requiring a formal assessment to determine the readiness of a man to plant a church is the viewpoint that it is not consistent with Scripture. I agree that God uses the foolish to shame the wise. Notice a common thread throughout the following verses:

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)

The purpose of an assessment is to help a man determine if God chose him for this unique purpose. The most loving thing an assessment team can do is to disapprove a man who is not called, ready or qualified biblically to plant a church.  The assessors act, not as judges, but as shepherds to their souls.

To be assessed by Acts 29:

Other church planting assessment centers and pre-assessments to consider (alphabetically):

Church Planting Assessment Center
CPAC Canada

Converge USA
EFCA
Emerging Leadership Initiative (ELI)
NAMB
New Church Initiatives

PCA-MNA Assessment
Redeemer City to City
Sovereign Grace

Pre-order now!! Click here for more Info. Free Stuff!

Suggestions for Developing Your Plan

Once you know the kind of men you want to develop, start writing.

Make it clear to the participants where you are headed. Let them know the kind of men you want to lead the church. Tie your end goal to the Scriptures and to the vision of the church. Let each man know what kind of demands being an elder will place on their time. Let each man know the character required to serve as an elder. Let each man know (generally) the doctrine they will have to affirm as Biblical to serve as an elder your church. Let them know the time they will need to commit to the training.

Encourage each man “not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned” (Romans 12:3). That is, encourage the men to self-select out of the process if they don’t think they are ready or able to serve as an elder.

You will want to encourage a fair amount of self-study for three reasons:

1.When the men run into a challenge in their ministry, you want them to be able to solve many of those problems without having to call you for the answer.

2.If you don’t encourage self-study, you will wear yourself out during the teaching time and your training process will take too long.

3.If they don’t have the time, character, or ability to do the study before they are elders, they won’t once they are serving as elders.

Where you can, use resources already available. For example, you don’t need to write your own book to teach your guys theology—there are plenty of good ones out there.

Let the self-study time be the primary means to impart knowledge. Focus your time together on application of that knowledge. You will want to observe how your potential elders work together and work individually through difficult ministry situations.

For example, I had my men read sections of Christian Beliefs, a basic doctrine book I worked on with my dad. When we were together, I asked them questions that encouraged them to apply what they read. In the past, I’ve used questions I wrote. I will now use questions that Scott Thomas wrote in Theological Clarity. (Again, why re-create what is already available?)

You can find the plan I use to develop elders here.

Final Encouragement

Once you have your plan in place, implement it. Start with your Sunday worship service. Preach about elders and deacons and talk about the gifts and callings God gives to each member of Christ’s Church. Get your members thinking about church leadership. Encourage the men in your church to consider the call to be an elder.

Then, start the training with the right men. Push them hard. Demand a lot from them. Set the bar high, but not so high that anyone could ever clear it.

Once the training is complete, find a way to evaluate their skills, knowledge, and character (including their marriage), prior to their becoming elders. (You will also find this an opportunity to evaluate your ability to develop leaders.)

Through it all, trust Jesus. He is building his church. He is kind and generous to his church. He will give her the leaders she needs to advance the gospel throughout the world.

Click to download the desired Theological Clarity ebook. 

B&W Questions Only (63 pages), 

B&W Workbook (color cover) 91 pages, 

Color Questions Only

Color Workbook

A Priority to Leadership Development

As a church planter, there are thousands of things you can do. I’m convinced one of the most important things you can do is develop leaders for the church. In order to do that, though, you need to make it a priority. If you don’t, as I know from experience, there are too many other things that will demand and take your time and attention.

When you plant a church, leadership development is one of those things that falls into what business consultants would call not urgent, but important on your time management matrix or to do list. You can increase attendance without developing leaders. Leadership development doesn’t provide you much instant affirmation. Leadership development stories aren’t anywhere near as exciting as stories of conversion or counseling breakthroughs. Developing leaders won’t get you re-tweeted a whole lot.

Yet leaders won’t be developed on their own. As the church planter, you are the only one that can develop these leaders. It’s part of your job. If you can’t develop leaders, you shouldn’t plant a church.

When you plant a church, you plant an organization with a temporary leadership structure—you (and possibly an oversight board). Your job as a planter is to develop the elders necessary to lead the church. Once that happens and the elders are in place, the church is no longer a plant. It’s a church. You are no longer a church planter. You are a pastor. Until that time, leadership development—specifically elder development—should be one of your top priorities.

If you don’t have time for it, you need to cut things out until you do have time for it. Make it a priority. Then, develop a plan.

A Plan for Leadership Development

There are many reasons church planters don’t developing elders as soon as they should. One of the biggest hindrances is the lack of a plan.

To develop a plan for developing elders, you need to begin with the end in mind. That is, you need to answer this question: What kind of men do I want as elders in this church?

To answer that question, you need to think about three things:

1. Requirements from Scripture (For example, what do 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 say?)

2. Requirements from your Denomination or Network (For example, what does it mean to be an elder in a Presbyterian, Baptist, or an Acts 29 church?)

3. Requirements from your context and church (For example, what does it mean to be an elder at my church, at this time, this stage, this size, in this part of this specific city?)

Once you’ve answered those questions, you know what kind of man you want to serve as an elder in your church. Work backwards from there to create a plan that will you develop the right men into the leaders Jesus has called them to be.

Your plan will need to help these men understand the knowledge that’s vital, develop the skills necessary, and show forth the character required to serve as an elder in your specific church. Part of what that means is that some parts of your plans can come from other churches. Other parts need to be unique to you, your church, and your vision.

Put the time required into developing this plan. Don’t just photocopy another pastor’s plan. Think about the men needed to lead your specific church. Work from there to create a plan to develop those kinds of men.

Click to download the desired Theological Clarity ebook. 

B&W Questions Only (63 pages), 

B&W Workbook (color cover) 91 pages, 

Color Questions Only

Color Workbook

A couple of years into my church replant I was talking to my father about the state of the church. (My father, Wayne Grudem, is a seminary professor who has trained pastors and scholars for Christ’s Church the majority of his life). He asked me when the church was going to get elders.

 “I don’t know,” I responded. “It’s going to take some time.”

 “I don’t think it took Paul that long,” my dad replied.

 “I’m not Paul.”

 “I don’t think it took Timothy or Titus that long either,” he said.

His encouragement reminded me of similar encouragement I received from church planter and long-time Pastor Steve Smallman who helped me navigate my first year at the church. He reminded me that God designed the church to be led by elders. Part of establishing elders in the church I served involved trusting that God had given my church qualified elders.

The Example of Paul and Titus

As a church planter, there are thousands of things you can do. You have a group gathered. The church is up and running. You are meeting for public worship.

Now what?

Should you start small groups, a mercy ministry, a missions program, or an outreach to your community? What about a women’s Bible study? What about the many counseling needs in the church? What about a youth group?

How do you decide what to do next? You have so many good options.

Titus, church planter in Crete, was in a similar situation. The Apostle Paul wrote him a letter, telling him what to do next.

Titus’s job was to finish the work Paul started in Crete. He was charged with getting the new churches there on solid footing. It wasn’t an easy task. The church was full of Cretans—famously known as lairs, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons. The church also had its share of false teachers that needed to be silenced.

By all accounts, Titus was not your average church planter. He was a great leader who interned under the Apostle Paul, the greatest church planter of all time. Titus was one of Paul’s boys, hand-picked by Paul for the tough job in Crete.

Paul had a lot of options when it came to protecting the church from these false teachers: He could have returned to Crete and taken on the false teachers himself. He could have given the church a theological tome that refuted each point of heresy. He could have told Titus to take the false teachers on himself.

Paul didn’t do any of those things.

Out of all the things Paul of all the things Paul could have told Titus to do first as a church planter to protect the church Paul started and loved, he told him this:

“This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you” (Titus 1:5).

Click to download the desired Theological Clarity ebook. 

B&W Questions Only (63 pages), 

B&W Workbook (color cover) 91 pages, 

Color Questions Only

Color Workbook

Free Resource – Theological Clarity and Application: Equipping Leaders in Biblical Doctrine

The question I get asked most often by church planters and pastors of young churches is, “How can I train people in preparation for leadership in the church?” We often point them to Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology—referred affectionately among our tribe as simply, “Grudem’s.” Most people are not sure what to do with the nearly 1,300-page book with 57 chapters. The lay leaders with regular jobs are nearly traumatized when the 4-pound book arrives in their mail!

When Elliot Grudem gave me a copy of Christian Beliefs (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005), I immediately identified a valuable resource to help pastors walk their leaders and potential leaders through the excellent larger treatise. This interactive curriculum is an attempt to break down the doctrinal development of a person for Christian leadership into more granular, bite-sized chunks with a fair reflection of Grudem’s full resource. This is still a huge undertaking in systematic theology.

With this resource, church leaders, pastors, small group leaders, bible study facilitators and student ministers can hopefully equip people in Biblical doctrine in an interactive manner. The twenty lessons correspond chapter by chapter to twenty basics beliefs every Christian should know summarized in Grudem’s Christian Beliefs. I also included references to Grudem’s Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994) and other notable works on the specific subject at hand.

The workbook versions (color and B&W) are 91 pages and have space to write out the answers. The questions only versions are 63 pages and do not have space to write out answers. The B&W version (with a color cover) was produced for your convenience in case you wanted to print more economically. Click on the links below and give me any feed back on the resource. I plan to produce ten smaller e-books over the next year.

Click to download the desired Theological Clarity ebook. 

B&W Questions Only (63 pages), 

B&W Workbook (color cover) 91 pages, 

Color Questions Only

Color Workbook

After working at a church doing youth ministry for a few years in the late 90's, God began the work of breaking my heart for His church. I loved the kids, but I could not say that of the church. I was convicted and inspired by Paul's words in Ephesians 5:25 - "Husbands love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her..." I wanted to love what Jesus loves! Over the next season of life (ministry & seminary), God's call on my life to plant a church began to take formation. I am thankful that as I began to understand God's call on me to plant a church, that it began with a deep love for what Jesus loves - that was and remains to be crucial!

A few years back, I was looking to go to a conference with some solid teaching that would challenge, sharpen and encourage my soul. I came across a conference being held at Mars Hill Seattle in which Mark Driscoll, John Piper and CJ Maheny were speaking. I learned about the network from the conference and the rest is history.

The process that GENESIS went through to be planted was painful at times, but God used that to sharpen and prepare me as well as the community. There were many evidences of God's grace throughout the discernment process, but none more clear then the many men and women He raised up to be part of establishing GENESIS as a brand new church. God has been more then generous to our community which has led to a community learning how to be generous in response to God.

For more information on Acts 29 Church Planters click here!

This Fall, we are transitioning from "community" groups to LIFE groups.

The big change is that the groups will be started and focused around doing mission. We believe that "community" will naturally form and come out of the groups that way. It's much easier to go from mission to community than to go from community centered groups which do mission. We are excited about this. Matt Carter's video and thoughts on this helped us to make this decision.

Networking, Theological and Missiological Agreement - these are greatest benefits and joys of being in the network.

Read about more Acts 29 church planters here!

He has called me His own. He now allows me to be a spokesman for Him. He allowed me to marry a girl that looks so much more like Jesus than I do. He has brought great people around His vision for what Woodlands Point Community Church is called to be. He has provided all that we've needed at just the right times for us to get off the ground and be sustained as a community.

Wisdom and discernment to be a shepherd of people that reflects the heart and character of God.

Community is the means to effective mission. Mission acts as the organizing principle of our community. We seek to cultivate environments of encouragement, rebuke, training and sending out for the purpose of advancing the Gospel within the context of community.

Practically, we ask that each group organize themselves around a cause, task, purpose or mission that draws them out into the community at large with the Gospel.

Read about more Acts 29 church planters here! 

We believe that the Christian faith is a call to Proclamation. Therefore, as we experience transformation through the Gospel, we are compelled to share God's story with the world, always pointing people to the sacred Scriptures as the final authority for faith and life.

We believe that the Christian faith is a call to Service. Therefore we submit our lives to Jesus as His servants and seek to imitate Jesus by serving others whom we value more highly than ourselves.

We believe that the Christian faith is a call to Community, not individualism. Therefore we embody the Gospel by living a shared life of intimacy, hospitality, and generosity as we establish a family of pilgrims on a journey of faith together.

My purpose and our church's purpose is to serve as a witness (martyr) for Christ's glory. We pour our lives out as witness in three primary ways: Proclamation, Service, and Community. We open our mouths to speak and proclaim God's goodness with every opportunity. We open our homes and our lives and embody the Gospel through service to our neighbors. We also live out the ramifications of the Gospel through life together which is marked by trust, intimacy, honesty, and love. Darrell Guder noted these as the Saying, Doing, and Being of our Gospel mission.

I am keenly aware that every breath I'm able to take in and exhale is a gift and grace from God. I have found favor with God and have been given an irreplaceable helper in my wife, Brandi. God has rewarded me richly through the birth of my three children. God has, by his grace and mercy and according to his pleasure, included me in his unstoppable work of proclaiming his goodness throughout the world. I am thankful and humbled and honored that I am able to serve in God's church. I am thankful and unworthy of the blessing of pastoring even a single soul.

Read about more Acts 29 church planters here!

I was called to help lead a large existing church into and through the deep change needed to help transform it into a missional church.

The biggest challenges faced were that of folks resisting changes to an established 30 year old church. Many of those folks ultimately left to attend churches that offered them more of what they were used to, thus making room for people coming to faith for the very first time. This addition of new believers in contrast to membership shifts and transfers has forced us to a deeper discipleship and formation praxis for new believers as well as those who have known Jesus for years.

I became familiar with A29 as I have followed Mars Hill and The Resurgence on the web. The Gospel Coalition Conference in Chicago allowed me to meet and speak with Tyler Powell and other A29 pastors which led to a phone call with Scott Thomas and a subsequent trip to Seattle to meet with Scott and Tyler. They have been such a great help to me and the Countryside community already!

First and foremost-Jesus is first. He always has been and always will be. Make sure He is first in your decision to plant. If not-it won't last. I would ask the question, "Are you confident in your calling and has this calling been affirmed?" If not, run away because this role can kill you, your marriage, and the church you are trying to lead. I would advise the young men to seek opportunities to serve under an older gospel-centered pastor previous to their "going out" to plant. The mentoring and ongoing relationship with a man like that would be invaluable in years to come.

My family is my ministry. I try to shepherd and disciple my wife and children through the teaching and sharing of the word, prayer, and time together. We share openly about God in our home and we share about our lives together. Our entire family is involved in the mission of the church allowing us to serve God and others together.

Church Website: Countryside Church

The mission of Countryside is realized in community, discipleship, and mission. We hold all three in high regard and teach everyone at Countryside to engage each one. Community is realized in church membership, small groups, and mid-sized groups that we call Interchange. Interchange is a theological learning discussion that takes place in different areas of our communities such as restaurants, pubs, coffee houses, and church buildings. These groups are led by pastors and elders. We believe that community occurs as we help each other in discipleship and as we serve together.

We've been through so much as we have led Countryside through deep change. In that, we have lost friends and relationships. God has provided so much strength and grace to lead us and confirm God's calling in our lives. He has surrounded us with wonderful elders and staff to partner and endure with. To be honest and not cheesy-Acts 29 is an evidence of that grace.

Pray that we make much of Jesus in all we do....

Read more on Acts 29 Church planters here!

I had been a staff pastor in mega church settings for 8 or 9 years. For the last couple of those years, several wise mentors and friends encouraged my wife Monica and I to consider planting churches in a center city context. We spent a couple of years praying, wrestling, discerning, seeking guidance, doing research, interviewing church planters, and seeking input from others. As of the summer of '07, we had a settled sense that God was calling us to plant a church in a center city context, probably in a city in the northeast or northwest (as these are the least Christian places in the US). But we had no timeline, destination, or plan.

Money- right before moving, we had a church that was going to give us $70,000 pull out. God has been faithful, and we've moved ahead and seen the church bear fruit, but even now we operate on a shoestring budget and are in need of some more financial support.
-Transience- because of our center-city context, we see people moving around a lot. We've already lost a couple of people even in our first few months to job changes/transfers
-Family in the city- my wife is not from an urban background, so that transition has been hard for her. And most of the people who live where we're planting are single professionals and hipsters. So there are not many other families around.
-Myself- my heart is naturally an idol factory, and I am constantly prone to pride, selfishness, foolishness

I have a few friends who planted with a29, and were drawn to the twin commitments to gospel and mission. The network here in Philadelphia has been nourishing while we've ventured into something, which is often isolating and lonely. The diversity of churches in the local network (center city, gentrified neighborhoods, blighted neighborhoods, blue collar neighborhoods, and Indian neighborhoods) has been a great apologetic for the unity the gospel creates.

-pray, pray, pray
-be growing in, love, cherish, hang tightly onto the gospel
-bring your wife into the conversation, and don't force your dreams on her
-get input from wise followers of Christ who love God and love you enough to be honest with you
-the miracle of your own conversion should give you hope that God can and will save anyone he wants
-get a coach
-develop a team, invest deeply in leaders and lost people
-don't plant until you're absolutely convinced that if you do plant and it doesn't "succeed," Jesus will still be more than enough for you
-think honestly about why you're doing what you're doing

We try to orient our community around the gospel, expressed and embodied in neighborhoods.

Since our "home meetings" are oriented around the gospel, we try to cultivate welcome to non-Christians, honesty, confession, transformation, and multiplication.

Since they're oriented around neighborhoods, we challenge people to connect with a home meeting in their particular neighborhood, so they can worship Jesus, serve Jesus, etc. with people in their own 'hood.

I strive, by the grace of God, to model and teach the gospel to them. so i repent to them, we talk about the gospel together and try and integrate it more and more into the life of our family. we pray together, talk about Jesus together, etc.

we also try to practice the rest the gospel gives us together. One day a week, I cease work for us to enjoy God and each other.

Relational networking- we challenged our launch team people to intentionally integrate their friendships with each other and the people they lived with, worked with, etc., and to pray for and seek opportunities to share the gospel.

-Seeing a few folks come to faith in our first few months
-God's provision in surprising and unlikely ways
-his sustaining power in our family life and marriage through this whole venture
-his provision of facilities and resources for us that we could not have anticipated

Pray for: growth in grace and faithfulness for Monica and I; many people to be drawn to Christ here; boldness for our church in proclaiming the gospel; new connections with lost people; financial resourcing- we still need more support

Church Profile:Liberti Church

Launch Date: 3.1.09

We desire to be a part of a movement of the gospel in and for the city of Philadelphia.

We seek the renewal of the city of Philadelphia through the gospel by expressing:
-worship
-community
-mercy

We try to orient our community around the gospel, expressed and embodied in neighborhoods. Since our "home meetings" are oriented around the gospel, we try to cultivate welcome to non-Christians, honesty, confession, transformation, and multiplication.

Since they're oriented around neighborhoods, we challenge people to connect with a home meeting in their particular neighborhood, so they can worship Jesus, serve Jesus, etc. with people in their own 'hood.

Read about more Acts 29 church planters here!

Full article here.

Matt and Lauren Chandler walk with their three kids in their Flower Mound Texas neighborhood. AP Photo

When I got an early morning phone call on Thanksgiving while I was still in bed and looking forward to a lazy morning, I was stunned but hopeful. My friend Yancey called me to say that Matt Chandler, an Acts 29 board member and my personal friend, passed out that morning and was rushed to the hospital. Matt was diagnosed with a tumor on the right side of his brain. My normal optimism and my affection for Matt as a person and my deep respect for him as an infectiously charismatic Christian leader dragged me into believing it was going to be okay. But something inside me kept telling me that this wasn't the story that was going to be told.

I arrived at the Baylor Hospital in Dallas the morning of Matt's surgery. He greeted me in the preparatory room with his usual charm, "Scotty. C'mon." Donned with a blue surgical cap, he told me stories of other tumor patients and his plans to visit them. He told me how that if you are going to have a tumor, the right side is the side to have it. It encouraged me but I was cautious. I told him a story of how one of his surgical team's family had visited The Village on Sunday for the first time and were blessed. I prayed with him and then joined the rest of the Village pastors and the parents of Lauren and Matt in the private waiting room where Desiring God had graciously provided pastries and coffee. I was blessed by his fellow pastors and I saw in them an authentic trust in a sovereign God who loved Matt regardless of the unpredictable outcome.

Days after the surgery, we waited for the pathology report. It seemed to take longer than normal. When news came that he indeed had a malignant tumor, I physically shook and could not think clearly. I immediately called Mark Driscoll, my pastor and Matt's friend, and we consoled each other with seemingly incoherent words as we recognized the impact on his sweet family, a booming church and an entire network that is much better because of his partnership with us. For days afterward, I cried often whenever I thought about Matt. I prayed. I hurt.

The author of a beautiful AP article about Matt's condition said, "Chandler is trying to suffer well. He would never ask for such a trial, but in some ways he welcomes this cancer. He says he feels grateful that God has counted him worthy to endure it. He has always preached that God will bring both joy and suffering but is only recently learning to experience the latter."

Matt is in the midst of a 6-week aggressive radiation and chemo theapy. He remains upbeat and is preaching powerfully once again. He said in the AP story, "This has not surprised God. He is not in a panic right now trying to figure out what to do with me or this disease." Matt and Lauren struggle with thoughts about the new normal that is now their life. Matt says, "We never felt — still have not felt — betrayed by the Lord or abandoned by the Lord."

After hearing the news of his cancer--grade 3 out of 4, Matt said, "Lord, you gave this to me for a reason. Let me run with it and do the best I can with it." John Piper himself experienced cancer and through his life taught Matt how not to waste cancer on anything outside treasuring God. Piper continues to embody how we can theologically rest in suffering as an opportunity to glorify God as we are satisfied in Him regardless of our circumstances. Matt is now showing us what it means to suffer well. "If he suffers well, that might be the most important sermon he's ever preached," said Mark Driscoll, pastor of Seattle's Mars Hill Church.

My thoughts about this have rested in a theology of suffering that I too have learned from Piper and have shared elsewhere. I am reminded of the response of Jesus when his disciples asked Him, "Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" (John 9:2). Now, we can get the answer to the reason we are suffering. Why did he deserve this infliction of blindness upon his body? Why does anybody deserve to suffer? Jesus answered them with what I imagine as a look of deep love and compassion for them like a father telling his small children that their grandma died accompanied with careful explanation of her eternal state.  Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him." (John 6:3) Emphasis mine.

I love Matt but I know God loves him more. Father, may your works be displayed brilliantly in Matt Chandler for Your glory and our eventual joy.

You can keep up with Matt's progress on The Village Church Pastor's Blog.

Pat Robertson doesn't get it:

Shortly after a devastating earthquake rocked Haiti on Jan. 12, 2010, potentially killing half a million people, Pat Robertson said Haitians had made a "pact with the devil" and have been "cursed" ever since. A statement almost apologizing was made by CNN for Robertson's current faux pas that seems to occur every time a disaster hits. Someone on his staff should figure this out.

Unfortunately, we have either Robertson or a worldview that excludes eternity and God to inform us how we can understand a tragedy or a pain point in our own life. We believe either that God is judging me and that is why I am suffering or there is no God or else he would not allow sufering. Both are wrong.

Currently in Acts 29 we are facing suffering among many of our pastors. Wives are struggling with health issues, pastors facing back surgery, suicide among our number, a baby needs a heart transplant and a pastor experienced brain surgery for a malignant tumor and is currently undergoing extensive chemo and radiation. Is God angry with these pastors? Is God judging Acts 29 and are they getting what they deserve?

Our response is to cry, to pity, to get angry at God. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said that we should not be surprised when we suffer. Some people get bitter and bail. It is not uncommon for couples to divorce after death of a child. Regardless, we may ask, "Why me, God?" We naturally see these things as attacks against us instead of as God working for us through our suffering. According to Romans 8:16-17, we are called to suffer as children of God until Jesus returns. We are also called to suffer well for His glory.

• The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8:16-17) Emphasis mine.

Until I asked John Piper into my heart (insert smiley face here), I did not understand suffering. When suffering came in my life, I only saw my pain instead of seeing God. Man meant it for evil, but God meant it for good (Gen. 50:20). John Piper taught me the Theology of Suffering and I am grateful. This content is actually driven from his teaching.

All of Creation Suffers. ALL of creation groans and is enslaved to corruption (8:21) and is futile (8:20). Things break down; corrupt; decay; entropy.

• Rom 8:22 (ESV) 22For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

All of History Suffers (All of creation, including people have suffered and will suffer)

Suffering is in this present time

• Romans 8:18, 18For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Suffering is in the past

• Rom 8:20, 20For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope.

Suffering is in the future: One day, without any assistance, creation will be set free

• Rom. 8:21,  21that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

Until Jesus returns, we will not experience world peace, no matter how many beauty queens wish for it.

God Judicially Sentenced the World to Suffer

• Romans 8:20 (ESV) 20For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope.

Genesis 3 records the onset of sin into the world. Man disobeyed and willfully sinned. Judgment came on mankind and on the earth. God in hope cursed all of creation. He judged it with the hope that He will redeem it through His Son. To accept this, we must view God’s holiness way beyond the way we view it now. Believers will suffer as we wait for the redemption of our bodies. The already not yet of the Kingdom includes our bodies.

• Romans 8:23 (ESV) 23And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

We Will Experience an All-Satisfying Beauty

• Romans 8:18 (ESV) 18For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

When we are with Jesus, we will see all of His glory. Our current suffering is like paying a penny to have a million dollars. What we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory He will give us later. In addition to having the meaning of value, the phrase also carrries the idea of weight. Paul says, For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison (2 Cor. 4:17). It is not light in and of itself. Cancer is still present. Only compared with the weight of glory can it be light.

We will be Revealed in Glory

• Romans 8:19 (ESV) 19For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.

Creation (birds, trees, rocks and grass) is waiting with eager anticipation of our being revealed as sons of God. Just as in Genesis 3, the fate of creation is linked intricately with that of man. As we long to see God in all of His glory, to be free of pain, to experience peace like nothing we ever have, to experience pleasure like nothing else, the mountains and the hills are prepared to break forth into singing; the trees of the field are ready to clap their hands; the rocks are ready to shout out. (Isa 55:12; Luke 19:40). One day we will be like Jesus, our Redeemer (1 John 2:28-3:3; 2 Corinthians 3:18). For now, we are all physically, emotionally, socially, verbally, mentally and sexually disabled.

The Design of Despair is Hope

• Romans 8:20 (ESV) 20For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope.

Our futility (completely ineffective bodies, kids, marriages, jobs, homes) demands our hope in him. Our hope is in the seed of the woman who will bruise Satan’s head. It is not that this world will be made right. Even when we are in the middle of God’s will, we suffer. Jesus was asked by his disciples, “Who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?” Jesus said, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parent, but that the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:2-3). Sanctification is not the end of suffering; glorification is (full, entire deliverance from sin). Sanctification is not our hope, glorification is.

All Creation will be freed from Suffering

• Romans 8:21 (ESV) 21that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

God will first redeem us as His first fruits and then redeem the rest of creation to all be brought into His glory. Failure to see this coming for us leads us to self-medicate to cope with our suffering. It also leads us to justify our sins in the suffering. It is like the man who steals bread because he is hungry. A wife may self-justifyingly find comfort in some other man because her husband does not treat her well. We try to bring heaven here because we don’t believe we will be set free. We will be baptized into Jesus Christ and we will be resurrected with Him. In Christ, we also suffer with Him and in Him we will be glorified with Him.

Miseries are not doors to death, but doors to life

• Romans 8:18, 22-23 (ESV) 18For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 22For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

As we experience pain, we view this as a mom in labor that produces life, not death. Groaning in the maternity ward and groaning in the cancer ward generate two different responses. All of our suffering, including death, is a door to life. He is working all things for our good (8:28). The pastor with a brain tumor tweeted recently, “When the illusion of control disappears we become men and women of prayer.”

God cares about our suffering

• Romans 8:23 (ESV) 23And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

At times it may not seem that he cares, but the redemption of our bodies is coming. We have a great high priest who is able to sympathize with our suffering (συμπαθέω süm-pä-the'-ō: to be affected with the same feeling as another).

• “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb 4:15-16)

Our healing may not come in this lifetime, but we are not living for life here and our healing will come in the life we long to see.

How should we respond?

• Romans 8:24-25 (ESV) 24For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Mark Driscoll writes the following to help us relate this gospel story with a sobering story of a hurting nation that needs our redemptive help.

“On Sunday, January 24, I had the great honor of sharing a lot of photos, videos, and stories of the church in Haiti and how the church is responding to suffering. A number of pastors and ministries have asked if they can use that sermon. The answer is yes. The elders at Mars Hill have always been gracious in giving content away for free to serve Jesus, which is a great joy for me personally. So, we have made the entire sermon available for download free of charge, to be used however and wherever God’s people desire.

“As a side note, this sermon is a bit different than the one that is posted online on Mars Hill’s media library and that played at the Mars Hill Campuses on Sunday. The sermon that played at Mars Hill included some issues about our giving and generosity that will not pertain to other churches and ministries. So, we have cut out that content but left everything else. We hope it is helpful to God’s people for God’s glory and you can download it for free here, including an option to burn it onto a DVD, if that is easiest for you.

“This will also be available with the other media we have posted on the Churches Helping Churches site.”

Use Mark's Sermon:

YouTube version

M4V download

DVD ISO download

Many pastors have been contacting us, saying that they too want to take a special offering this Sunday. We rejoice in your willingness to help those who are suffering so greatly. I would like to specifically invite my brothers in Acts 29 and our pastor friends at The Resurgence to do the same.

For those of you who, like us at Mars Hill, have not ever taken a special offering, the following tips were coaching points Pastor James MacDonald gave me on our return flight from Haiti.

for use in your church: [Hi-res DVD ISO download here] [720p MV4 download here]

Harvest Bible Chapel gave the firstfruits of the mission of Churches Helping Churches. Their people gave generously and were very joyful at the opportunity to give. As I witnessed their offering, I could see that the Holy Spirit had moved their hearts to give generously and their church leadership served them well by helping them to be obedient to God’s call.

When your church takes its special offering, you can forward the money to www.ChurchesHelpingChurches.com in one of two ways:

Churches Helping Churches
P.O. Box 6558
Elgin, IL 60121-6558

Lastly, we hate that we even need to say this, but in our day it is a legitimate concern. Neither Pastor James MacDonald nor myself will receive any monies from Churches Helping Churches, as we serve in this ministry on a volunteer basis. 

[hi-res m4v download version here]

[hi-res M4v download version here]

Acts 29 - we are privileged churches and we have an opportunity to help our brothers and sisters who are mourning their dead, trapped in crumpled church buildings, and to love them. Will you help?

GIVE NOW TO HELP CHURCHES IN HAITI

From Mark's letter:

"... I am asking you to give over and above your regular giving to support Churches Helping Churches. Our mission is to help rebuild destroyed churches in Haiti, and help plant new churches in Haiti.

The devastation there is more horrendous than you can possibly imagine.  Within the first few hours on the ground to research the state of the church, we saw multiple collapsed churches with members’ decomposed bodies trapped inside...we saw a teenage boy shot in the head just feet away from a Christian seminary that was housing 5,000 refugees, most of whom were children; and we watched a twenty-four-year-old Christian man pull the body of his twenty-six-year-old brother, a worship leader, from the rubble.

We made great contacts on the front lines in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and invite you to send support to help our brothers and sisters in Christ."

GIVE NOW

The images streaming in from Haiti are disturbing. We feel pity, sorrow and a sense of helplessness at the extent of their plight. The waves of humanitarian aid are washing ashore in Haiti and beginning to meet this massive need but little if any of this medicine will soothe the sores of the suffering church. The country will be rebuilt in time, but so little of that aid will go to the pastors and congregations who are decimated and broken.

Who is helping the Haitian churches and the pastors? While so many agencies will be focused on the immediate social needs, the local communities of faith are devastated as well. These local bodies of Christ can also contribute toward meeting the spiritual and emotional needs of the local people who are burying their family members and are seeking comfort, counsel and guidance.

Churches Helping Churches, initiated by Mark Driscoll and James MacDonald is calling on the North American church to help restore the ravaged church in Haiti. MacDonald writes, “Without question the priority of the ‘church helping the church’ is commanded by Paul in scripture and modeled by Paul in his crisis care for the Corinthians and the church in Jerusalem. If Paul were alive today there is no doubt his first concern as a church planter and leader in the body of Christ would be for the family of God in Haiti.”

“So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” Galatians 6:10

Mark and James are going to Haiti early next week to see the needs first hand and assess what can be done to meet the needs of the church in the toughest areas.  They will take a team to help them capture this story so they can report on the hope the North American church can bring. They hope to get some great stories on video about what God is doing in Haiti to help encourage God’s people around the world to be generous and help those in need.  They are seeking to provide great photos and other video footage to give away online, to give to Christian agencies who could use it to help expose the need of the church, and to give to mainstream media outlets showing the difference the church and God’s people are making. 

Acts 29 Network is asking you to consider helping the churches in Haiti so they can continue to contribute in the recovery when other agencies have moved on from the devastated land. Please ask the members of your congregation to contribute financially this week or next to unite as Churches Helping Churches.

Donations can be directed to the following website:

Acts 29: Briefly describe your story of your call to plant a church.

The Journey is actually a replant. Shortly after arriving at a 3 year old church plant as the second staff person, the lead/planting pastor failed morally, devastating the church.

After praying for a period of time with my wife we felt called to take the failed church plant and start over in a new and healthy way.

Acts 29: What were the biggest challenges you faced in planting your church (and/or currently facing)?

Replanting is hard, in many ways the stink of failure has to be aired out and eradicated. Helping people see that the Gospel is the key as opposed to the latest fad or marketing technique. We have also faced a real need to effectively separate from the broken, failed church, this is an ongoing challenge.

Read Jerry and The Journey Fellowship's full profile. To read more about Acts 29 church planters, check our our profile section.

To hear more about church replanting or revitalization, check out this interview with Acts 29 Church Planter, Jason Martin, as well as this interview with Acts 29 Church Planter, Matt Adair.

• How can I be sure I would lay down my life for sake of Jesus & the gospel? Perhaps I’ll be like Peter in his bravado and subsequent denial?
• Can’t ultimately be sure until I’m called on to do so. But there are indicators in what I am reluctant to give up…
• If I’m not prepared to give up my bed to go and serve someone, I can be fairly confident I won’t give up my life…
• If I refuse to give up a holiday abroad so I can support someone in gospel ministry, I can be fairly confident I won’t give up my life…
• If I’m not willing to pursue people who are different from me in order to bless them, I can be fairly certain I won’t give up my life…
• If I’m not prepared to miss out on promotion so I can stay & help plant churches, I can be fairly certain I won’t give up my life…
• If I’m not prepared to jeopardise a friendship so that I can tell others about Christ, I can be fairly certain I won’t give up my life.
• “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Jesus Christ

by JR Vassar, Pastor of The Apostle's Church NYC

The most important thing you can do in 2010 is cultivate a devotional life that facilitates the intimate nearness of God. You won't accidentally get close to God. So, for 2010, I wanted to encourage you to embrace a focused intentionality in your devotional life. Here are some things I have been thinking through with regards to my devotional practices in 2010. 

Have a no exemption time and place to meet with God. If you do not schedule in focused time with God, everything else in your life will schedule it out. Have a time and place and treat it as an appointment with the most important person in the universe. And, keep it; no excuses. It might be morning, evening, night, whatever. Just pick a time that you devote to seeking God with uninterrupted focus. If you have to put it on your calendar, do it. 

Have a plan. What will you do during that time? The obvious answer is that the time will at least include contemplative bible reading and prayer. But, what will be the content of that contemplative reading? There are several options and no one option is best or right. You need to find what keeps you engaged and maybe even mix it up a little. Here are some options that some friends have shared with me on Twitter:

The M'Cheyne Reading System. Robert Murray M'Cheyne was a minister in the Church of Scotland from 1835-1843. He died at the age of 29 but left an amazing legacy. This is a plan he developed. The esv.org site explains this plan as "featuring four different readings for use in both family and personal devotions. Each day has two passages from the Old Testament, one from the New Testament, and one from either the Psalms or the Gospels. In one year, you read the Old Testament once and the New Testament and Psalms twice." You can subscribe the RSS feed and have it delivered into your google reader every day. Or you can download a printable version here. 

ESV Study Bible Reading Plan. In my opinion, the best study bible available today is the ESV Study Bible. The Doctrines section in the back exceptional and the notes are very helpful. There is also a reading plan in the back of the ESV Study Bible. The esv.org site describes it as "readings every day from the Psalms and Wisdom Literature, Pentateuch and History of Israel, Chronicles and Prophets, and Gospels and Epistles." You can subscribe to the RSS feed and have it delivered to your google reader everyday. 

The Book of Common Prayer. For those of us from the free church tradition, this seems a little foreign, but I have found the BCP daily office to be a great approach. Every day the BCP gives you a morning and evening Psalm, an OT reading, a Gospel reading and an NT reading. The great thing about the BCP is that Christians all over the world are reading the same Scriptures everyday together. You are reading with the Church.  The BCP daily office is a two year cycle, each cycle beginning in the season of Advent. We just started Year Two. You won't read through the entire bible in those two years, but you will get a wide and diverse diet of the Scripture. For more information on the BCP visit this site and click on the Daily Office Lectionary. You can also subscribe the RSS feed and have the readings delivered to your google reader everyday.

Customize Your Own Reading Plan. If you want to customize your own reading plan so that your reading is heavier in one area than the other, you can use this website and have your customized plan emailed you to every day. 

Choose Individual Books. Some prefer to stick in a book and go deep with it for a season. For instance, you might want to spend a month or two in the Gospel of John focusing on the glory of Christ. It is a good idea to alternate between OT and NT and different genres. Again, which plan you choose is not the most important thing. Don't stress over it. Just have a plan. 

Begin your time with prayer and confession. Confess your sins to the Lord and ask him to cleanse your heart (of things you have done and things you have left undone) and open your eyes to behold wonderful things in his word (Psalm 119:18). You want a heart that is open and responsive to God and confession and prayer postures us in that way. 

Read out loud. Maybe it is just me, but if I don't, I get really distracted.

Look for Gospel patterns. As you read, realize that Jesus and the Gospel is The One Story of the Bible. Look for Gospel patterns, grace on display, as you read. Especially in the OT. Every story has Christ as the ultimate hero. For example, don't read the story of David and Goliath and leave your devotional time "ready to face your giants." Realize that you are Israel in the story, not David. You are weak, powerless, cowering before your enemies of sin, Satan, and death, and you need an anointed King to defeat your enemies and cause you to rise up in hope and courage. Jesus is the true and better David, and he is the point of the story of David and Goliath. Look for these patterns in everything you read and rejoice in what God has accomplished for you in Jesus. We don't have devotions and pray in order to avoid the guilt of not having devotions and not praying. We have devotions and pray to know Jesus and his Gospel, and revel in all that he is for us and all that he has won for us.

Journal your thoughts and prayers. Journaling helps us process what we are reading and learning from the Lord. It is good to go back and read your journal to remind yourself of how God has been at work in your life in the past. Get a moleskin or a cheap equivalent and just do it for a season and see if it helps you. 

Realize that this is a community project. You need to share what God is saying to you and have others share what God is saying to them. Consider doing one of the above plans with a group of people, a spouse, a roommate, or your church staff. 

Don't give up. I have missed meals in the past, but never gave up on eating. I just made sure I did not miss the next meal (and usually made up for it). You are going to miss days, often times multiple days. Repent of your neglect of God and press on in knowing him. Your righteousness is not in how consistent your devotional life is; it is in Jesus Christ who is constant and ever faithful. So, relax and pick up where you left off. 

The beauty and joy of 2010 will not depend upon your circumstances, but upon your experience of the One you were made for. As much of him that you want to experience, you will experience. He promises to reward those who diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6).

Also, check out "A Good Soldier," a video by Mark Driscoll briefly eplaining these three key elements of Acts 29's values.

We pray that each of you have a Merry Christmas and that Jesus receives glory as we celebrate His incarnation during this season!

For more advice on preparing to preach, check out clips from Darrin Patrick here.

For more on being a one woman man, as well as the other qualifications of a church planter, listen to Mark Driscoll's The Ox - Qualifications of an Acts 29 Church Planter here. 

Ryan: Was part of a church plant in college (part of leadership team when we planted), went to seminary and was part of Sojourn in Louisville. After seminary started to feel that church planting is what God wanted for us, continued to pray through it, finally felt that the Lord was saying "Its time!" So talked with a friend Dave Dorr, about planting a church, got involved w/ A29, got assessed, extremely helpful. Helped Dave plant a church in West Chester, OH. Continued to feel that God wanted me to plant another church, so we came back to centerville and started Mercy Hill.

Ryan: Heard of A29 originally from Daniel Montgomery while at Sojourn. Biggest benefits has been the wisdom and friendships of the other guys. And getting the deep wisdom and great friendship from this guy named Tyler Powell.

Ryan: If you are considering planting for any other reason then you have a deep longing to see people come to know Jesus, go into another line of work.
Pray a lot and then pray more.

To read more about Ryan and Mercy Hill Church, see their full profile. And, read about more Acts 29 church planters here!

We want to take this time to recommend to you the upcoming Exponential conference happening April 19-22, 2010 in Orlando, FL. This conference will be 4 days packed with 60 difference speakers talking on the issues of the church and church planting. 

Here are a couple of reasons to consider attending:

• The Exponential Conference features some great speakers: Some of the speakers will include Acts 29's own: Scott Thomas, Darrin Patrick, Matt Chandler, and Matt Carter. You will also have the chance to listen to people like Ed Stetzer, Francis Chan, Larry Osbourne, Billy Hornsby, Louis Giglio, and Alan Hirsch. You can see the list of speakers at here.

• There’s something about church planters gathering. We experience this regularly at our Acts 29 Boot Camps. In fact, we think one of the primary reasons to attend one of our boot camps is that it's not just about content, but also about relationships. It is good for us to come and learn, but we also need to meet and network with other church planters as well. It is also beneficial for us to connect with church planters who are working for the Gospel outside of our Network as well. Some of the church planting organizations that are represented at Exponential are: New Thing Network, Association of Related Churches (ARC), Stadia New Church Strategies, GlocalNet, Vision 360, and Acts 29 Network. See all of the Exponential Alliance Members here.

For advice from Nate Williams of Vintage 21 when hiring an executive pastor, click here.

Leon Chingcuangco has distilled David Fairchild's & Drew Goodmanson's (of Kaleo Church) talks at Vintage 21 down to a chart called “Triperspectival Leadership - Fulfilling the Offices of Christ“. In it the offices of Prophet, Priest and King are contrasted to examine Characteristics, Positive Tendencies, Negative Tendencies, Eventual Outworking, Errors of Uni-Perspectival Leadership, Possible Idols and Reductionism. These are from the sessions Triperspectival Leadership & Prophet, Priest & King.

The Resurgence has just released some new information and resources for Jonathan Dodson's (of Austin City Life) book Fight Clubs: Gospel-Centered Discipleship. "Since the release of Fight Clubs: Gospel-Centered Discipleship, the book has been viewed over 10,000 times and sold hundreds of copies." Check out what they have been working on!

At the recent Acts 29 AMBITION Boot Camp in Louisville, KY, Dustin Neeley, Lead Pastor ofCrossing Church, had the opportunity to chat with Bob Thune, Pastor of Coram Deo Church in Omaha, NE. Here is part two of this interview. (Part one can be found here.)

Juan Sanchez writes: I have been pouring over 1 Corinthians 9 recently, and in so doing I have revisited some of the controversies related to the arguments for and against contextualization. In particular, I have to wrestle with what contextualization means in a city whose “official” motto is Keep Austin Weird. What follows are some lessons I have gleaned.

Scott Jamison (member of Bethlehem Baptist Church) blogs regularly with helpful tips and advice for fathers to help them within their role of shepherding their families well. 

Although I am a huge fan of golf, I have found no interest in the Tiger Woods story. I think Tiger’s game is at the top in his ability, focus, passion and tenacity. But as far as his character goes, Tiger was already near the bottom of my “admirable golfers” list. His hot temper, juvenile display of frustration over a bad shot and his entitlement attitude made him an athlete to watch but not admire.

Today, Tiger posted the following on his website 

I am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt that my infidelity has caused to so many people, most of all my wife and children. I want to say again to everyone that I am profoundly sorry and that I ask forgiveness. It may not be possible to repair the damage I've done, but I want to do my best to try.

I would like to ask everyone, including my fans, the good people at my foundation, business partners, the PGA Tour, and my fellow competitors, for their understanding. What's most important now is that my family has the time, privacy, and safe haven we will need for personal healing.

After much soul searching, I have decided to take an indefinite break from professional golf. I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father, and person.

Again, I ask for privacy for my family and I am especially grateful for all those who have offered compassion and concern during this difficult period.

Tiger admitted to infidelity and has accepted the consequences for his actions. Here is what we can learn from this when interpreted through the gospel.

Three things we learn from Tiger Woods' transgression:

1. Don’t Delay Confession

Tiger released a statement acknowledging the auto accident, but said nothing else even though the media and police alluded to an alleged mistress and a spat with his wife.

As a result, people made jokes, speculative accusations and his sponsors pulled his commercials from the air.

Confession is a biblical principle that shines a light on the gospel. We are sinners (Romans 3:10, 23). Proverbs tells us, “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy” (28:13). Without delay we are to confess our sins and then forsake them in the power of the Spirit. Those who confess, Scripture tells us, will receive mercy.  King David suffered much because he failed to confess his sins (Psalm 51).

2. Don’t Run from the Truth

When Woods issued his first statement on Nov. 29, he described "many false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me." He pleaded for privacy.

Woods led people to believe that the rumors were not true. He changed his story three days later when he said, "I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart,"

We are all prone to run from the truth. We would rather be seen as successful rather than admit to failure.

People run from the truth of their sin by saying they are just as good as the people who go to church. That may be true if their goodness is measured outside of the righteousness of Christ.

3. Don’t Hide in Isolation

From the very first sinner in history, Adam hid from God in the garden, afraid of the consequences of his sin. God sought him out in love.

Jesus confronted sin with love and demonstrated it by His death on the cross. Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). After we sin is no time to hide from God and others, but rather the time to run to Jesus for forgiveness and grace.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

In 2007, Darrin Patrick (Lead Pastor - The Journey) spoke at the Seattle Boot Camp on "Preaching the Mission." Here is an excerpt from his talk where he explains the issue of delivery in preaching, specifically that of preaching the Gospel. 

A couple of questions preachers should ask themselves:

• What does it mean to preach the gospel in every text? 
• What is the difference between Christ-Centered and Gospel-Centered preaching? 

You can hear the full version of Darrin Patrick's Preaching the Misson here.

Eric: From the time I was in college my wife and I felt called to church planting. At that point we began to pray that God would give us wisdom and calling as to when and where. Last February through a series of prayer and spiritual counsel we decided that it was the right time, and that Lafayette was definitely the place.

Eric: We were introduced to Acts 29 by listening to Pastor Mark weekly in college. For me, as a younger guy, it has been invaluable to have so many planters around me for advice and encouragement. There are so many land mines that I've avoided by having men in the network genuinely interested in our plant.

Eric: 1. Pray for wisdom 2. Make sure your wife is 100% on board 3. If you can imagine doing anything else with your life it might not be time. Most guys I know that have planted and done it well wouldn't be happy doing anything else.

To read more about Eric and City of God Church, see their full profile. And, read about more Acts 29 church planters here!

For advice when hiring a worship pastor, click here.

In 2007, Darrin Patrick (Lead Pastor - The Journey) spoke at the Seattle Boot Camp on "Preaching the Mission." Here is an excerpt from his talk where he explains the last step in sermon preparation - editing.

A couple of questions preachers should ask themselves during this stage of sermon preparation are:

• How can I apply the principle “less is more”?

• How can I be faithful to the text and preach it to the level of the congregation?

You can hear the full version of Darrin Patrick's Preaching the Misson here.

Recenty, Jonathan Akin and Ronnie Parrott had the opportunity to sit down with Scott Thomas, Director of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network and one of the pastors at Mars Hill Church.

Ben Pfahlert writes: "I'm sitting on a plane at Brisbane airport. I've just spent two days at the first Australian Acts 29 Church Planters boot camp. I went because I was tired of hearing about Acts 29 (and Mars Hill Church and Mars Hill Global) second-hand. I wanted to meet the people leading the movement face-to-face and hear ‘from the horse's mouth’. Let me share with you what I thought, and let me tell you about the who, what, when, where and how of the conference."

Dave Harvey writes: "The Great Commission is given to the disciples, not just as apostles who walked with Jesus, but as representatives of the church (Matthew 28:16–20). Sure, the apostles received it (v. 16), but the church has to finish it."

D.A. Carson writes: "The following post was first an email to a young church planter seeking counsel. He is planting a church in a rough area. Not a few of those who are getting converted have been living together, sometimes with children, sometimes for years, without getting married. His question, then, is what should be said to these couples where one of the pair gets converted, and the other, so far, does not. Should the advice be to get married? Or is that encouraging people to be unequally yoked?"

Ray Ortland, lead Pastor of Immanuel Church, gives us an excerpt from Arnold Dallimore's biography of George Whitefield on how Whitefield dealt with the controversy between himself and John Wesley. 

The Gospel Coalition has just released a new audio resource. Here are six sermons from D.A. Carson on spiritual gifts. The first five were the basis of Carson's book Showing the Spirit: A Theological Exposition of 1 Corinthians 12-14. 

At the recent Acts 29 AMBITION Boot Camp in Louisville, KY, Dustin Neeley, Lead Pastor of Crossing Church, had the opportunity to chat with Bob Thune, Pastor of Coram Deo Church in Omaha, NE.

In 2007, Darrin Patrick (Lead Pastor - The Journey) spoke at the Seattle Boot Camp on "Preaching the Mission." Here is an excerpt from his talk where he explains the steps of sermon preparation that are to follow meditation - exegesis and application.

Questions preachers should ask themselves during these stages of sermon preparation are:

• What does the text say?

• How did the original audience here this text?

• What does this mean for me?

• What does this mean for the church?

• What connection is there between original audience and my audience?

• What sin keeps us from doing the text?

• What principles can I extract from the text that will speak to my audience?

• How is Jesus the hero?

You can hear the full version of Darrin Patrick's Preaching the Misson here.

Marc Pilon : Focus 21 Church : Sherbrooke, QB, Canada from Terra Nova Church on Vimeo.

Marc: I am still very surprised to have been called to plant a church, as I had never even thought of church planting before this time last year. God had a plan though and He is carrying it out amazingly, He has placed a specific personal call on my heart and it has been confirmed and shared by my wife, my friends, the pastoral team of my sending church and by Acts29. I go ahead in trembling but in faith as I see God's plan unfold.

Marc: I attended an Acts29 Boot Camp, I loved the fact that Acts29 Churches are focused on being Christ-Centered and Culturally relevant. I started my application process when I got a confirmation from God that He was calling me to plant a church and I suddenly felt so incapable of fulfilling the task that I wanted to get all the advice and help I could find. 

Acts29 has been great and very insightful in evaluating me, my family, our planting strategy and guiding us in each steps we move forward. The concept of a network is great as within Acts29 it is so easy to find people who have in the past been through what you are going through right now and that advice, wisdom and experiance being shared in priceless.

Marc: Do not plant a Church unless you feel God is forcing you to do it and that you will be disobeying Him if you don't. Else, when the difficulties come you will ask yourself if you got there because God has wanted you there or if you simply got there because it was your own desire and this can only lead to disaster.

To read more about Marc and Axe 21, see their full profile. And, read about more Acts 29 church planters here!

Thomas Young planted The Sanctuary Fellowship near Houston, Texas. He was a friend, encourager, and partner in the gospel with many of our men. In a moment of weakness and darkness, Thomas chose to end his own life.

The Sanctuary has posted updates at their website:

• A marital dispute arose between Thomas and his wife.
• Thomas made a bad choice in how he sought to settle it, and during the dispute, took his own life.
• He was life-flighted to the hospital, but did not survive.
• His wife and three children are with friends, family and church leadership, loving and supporting each other.
• the funeral will be Thursday, December 3.

Please pray for his wife and their three children. We ask also that you pray for the people of The Sanctuary as they deal with their grief and determine their next steps.

Acts 29 Director, Scott Thomas says, “I grieve with the Youngs and The Sanctuary about this. I am sickened by the sudden and abrupt death of Pastor Thomas. I believe the father of lies deceived him.  Nothing can reverse the results of the lies in this case, but we are called to confess, repent and be reconciled to God through the finished work of Jesus on the cross through His resurrection. He is our only hope and without him, we have nothing to cling to. Our only recourse is to fall into the arms of a Father who loves us deeply and completely.”

This is a time for sober reflection and prayer for our pastors and ourselves.

------------------

Thomas Young’s funeral will be held at 1pm on Thursday, December 3, at Sugar Creek Baptist Church in Sugar Land, Texas. Details here.

In lieu of flowers, the church has asked for donations to support Thomas’ family. You can donate online or write a check.

In 2007, Darrin Patrick (Lead Pastor - The Journey) spoke at the Seattle Boot Camp on "Preaching the Mission." Here is an excerpt from his talk where he explains the first step a preacher should take in preparing his sermon is meditation.

Four questions preachers should ask themselves during this stage of sermon preparation are:

• How can I worship the Father through the text?

• Where is Jesus in the text?

• What is the Spirit saying to me in the text?

• What do I need to repent of in order to experience God through the text?

You can hear the full version of Darrin Patrick's Preaching the Misson here.

Dustin Neeley put up Part One of his recent interview with Ed Stetzer during the Louisville Boot Camp on his new site, “Church Planting For the Rest of Us.” In case you missed it last week on the website, this new site is already proving useful and unique not only to its target audience of pastors of churches size 50-500, but to a general audience of those interested or involved in church planting. Part one is here.

Tim Challies gives his review and assessment of Leland Ryken’s latest book Understanding English Bible Translation

“For many Christians membership sounds stiff, something you have at your bank or the country club, but too formal for the church. Even if it’s agreed that Christianity is not a lone ranger religion, that we need community and fellowship with other Christians, we still bristle at the thought of officially joining a church. Why all the hoops? Why box the Holy Spirit into member/non-member categories? Why bother joining a local church when I’m already a member of the universal Church?”

Kevin DeYoung gives us 6 answers.

“I [have] said that many Reformed evangelicals think of sound, expository preaching as something of a ‘magic bullet.’ We may think that as long as we are preaching the Word–preaching the law and the gospel rightly–that everything else in congregational life will somehow take care of itself. We may give lip service to the other two marks of the church–the administration of the sacraments and discipline–but we don’t give them proper weight. Fully considered, the administration of the sacraments includes pastoral care, education, and discipleship, while the ministry of discipline means rightly ordering the community, that is, pastoral leadership.”

Dr. Russell Moore writes: "Too many of our Bible study curricula for children declaw the Bible, excising all the snakes and dragons and wildness. We reduce the Bible to a set of ethical guidelines and a text on how gentle and kind Jesus is."

In October 2008, Mars Hill Church hosted a Biblical Parenting Conference with Dr. Tedd Tripp, who presented biblical teaching on topics from formative instruction to corrective discipline.

Ivey writes at the Seed blog:

it is NEVER enough to address people’s felt needs (think Seed Projects). Seed Projects can be a good starting point because the gospel addresses the human condition in all its complexity – the whole gospel to the whole person. But, we need to move beyond people’s felt needs.

People (i.e. insert the name of your next door neighbor, co-worker, grocery store clerk) think they have all sorts of needs and often they are real and pressing needs. But there is a much greater need of which people are unaware. It is our job to warn them of the coming judgment of God. We cannot wait for people to express their need for reconciliation with God...

...In social involvement, in Seed, there will always be a commitment to the reconciliation of our neighbor, whoever he/she is, with God through the gospel. The proclamation of the gospel must be at the heart of Christian social involvement. Our aim will always be that the poor and our neighbors are blessed in this life and for all eternity.

Are you sharing the gospel with those whom you are serving? Or are you merely doing good deeds hoping that they will “get it”?

(Ivey adapted content from Good News to the Poor: Sharing the Gospel through Social Involvement, Tim Chester, 50-58).

While we were in Louisville, we were able to get a little time with Ivey and ask him what Seed does at Sojourn and grab a short video to share with you all. If you are curious about gospel-centered mercy ministry and want to see an example of what this could look like, check out Seed's website.

As we approach Thanksgiving—a time to give thanks—and the end of 2009—a time to reflect—we have much for which to give God praise. We have been incredibly blessed to see many new churches planted, a growth of influence and new friendships with leaders and church planters across the globe. We had 131 new church planting churches join the network this year to date, increasing the number of churches in Acts 29 Network to 288. We have 336 new applicants just in 2009 alone (about one per day). With this trajectory, we are anticipating over 120 churches being planted in 2010.

God is blessing the efforts of Acts 29 all across the nation and world. This spring, we hosted our first World Church Planting Summit – a cohort of 38 church planting leaders from 9 nations representing about a dozen denominations or networks – to discuss how to plant more churches together across the globe.

In the summer we established Acts 29 Western Europe with Steve Timmis serving as Director, and we approved our first church planters there with a couple in Lindfield, England. I went to Belfast Northern Ireland in October preaching and training potential planters with Timmis and subsequently instructing 5 pastors to coach our Acts 29 church planters in Western Europe. We now have Acts 29 church planters in Canada, England, Guatemala, Ecuador, Brazil, South Africa, Congo, Uganda, Zambia, India, Nepal, Thailand and Australia.

We held our first Boot Camp in Australia in November hosted by Engage City Church of Brisbane. The response was very positive and we anticipate advancing church planting collaboratively with other networks in Australia and New Zealand.

God is opening doors for us to influence many church planters toward gospel-centered church planting. In addition to dreaming about collaborative church planting with Jonathan Falwell recently, I also got a direct message tweet from a professor of a major Christian University that is not in our theological camp. He said, “You guys are really bringing the revolution. Keep going!”

Also this fall, I spent time with the church planting leaders of Sovereign Grace (CJ Mahaney’s organization) and Fellowship Associates (Fellowship Bible Church of Little Rock). They have utmost respect for Acts 29 and we are learning together how we can be more effective. This is grace upon grace heaped on Acts 29 because as a result, we will better pastors and leaders.

This year, we have truly seen this church planting movement of God go global and we are overwhelmed, humbled and thankful. Please join us in praying for Acts 29 Church Planters all over the world and for wisdom in following up on the many new opportunities to spread the gospel in places where a gospel-centered church is not present.

Dustin Neeley put up Part One of his recent interview with Ed Stetzer during the Louisville Boot Camp on his new site, “Church Planting For the Rest of Us.” In case you missed it last week on the website, this new site is already proving useful and unique not only to its target audience of pastors of churches size 50-500, but to a general audience of those interested or involved in church planting. Neeley’s interviews of Matt Chandler are here (part 1) and here (part 2).

Our friends at Sojourn have posted all the Main Session audio from Boot Camp. Dave Harvey, Ed Stetzer, Darrin Patrick, Steve Timmis, Kevin Cawley, Bob Thune, Matt Chandler & Russell Moore.

From the Mars Hill Blog: “The second sermon is all about what Jesus did as our Savior on the cross and deals with sin, death, hell, and the atonement. We’re thankful that the Hour of Power has chosen to air the sermon and that they’re doing so on Palm Sunday, the day when the Church has historically celebrated Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem and towards Calvary.”

Winfield Bevins writes about Meditative Prayer on the Resurgence: “In personal prayer we speak to God, but in meditative prayer we allow God to speak to us through his word and his Spirit. Never before has there been such a need to rediscover the quiet art of meditative prayer.”

Jeff Purswell writes “Why so much preaching? Why all this talking? Because the primary way we encounter God in worship is through the preaching of the Word of God… Normally, in what we call “worship,” we spend significant time—perhaps the whole time—addressing God, singing to him, praising him, extolling him, praying to him. Wonderful! But in preaching we are no longer addressing God; he is addressing us. Nothing is more important than this moment. And this is why the most important worship leader in your church is your pastor.”

Dustin Neeley writes about leading your family well on the Resurgence: “I was lying on the floor pushing Thomas the Tank Engine around his wooden track and realized my two year old son had been speaking to me for the past 30 seconds, but I hadn’t listened to a word he had said. Instead, I was too preoccupied thinking about the church—precious moments gone, never to return.” In case you missed it, he also talks about this in an interview here. 

From Challies: "when was the last time you read a book about the public reading of Scripture in the worship service? It’s a pretty safe bet that you never have read such a book; only a very few exist. I was excited, then, to see Max McLean’s Unleashing the Word: Rediscovering the Public Reading of Scripture."

Here’s a Bob Kauflin video clip posted on his Worship Matters from the WorshipGod09 Conference. “In verse 8 the psalmist references a previous generation “whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God,” writes Kauflin. “They were remembered as NOT being faithful, and NOT being steadfast.”

Rick White (CityView Church, Fort Worth, TX) talks about what it means to love one's wife well - and addresses the misunderstood 31st chapter of Proverbs.

Neeley planted Crossing Church out of Sojourn and has a small church that has planted 4 new churches in its 4 years, and is currently “pregnant” with 6 more church planters. We are excited to see this church-planting-church be faithful with the gospel and on God’s mission for the lost.

Neeley’s not a mega-church pastor, and most Acts 29 churches will never be - and he’s working to encourage and resource church-planters with smaller congregations. He’s recently launched a new website, “Church Planting For the Rest of Us” - aimed at pastors of congregations of 50-500, who won't ever see explosive growth like a mega-church and are yet called and faithful in church planting.

(Does he dislike mega-churches? Absolutely not. His site’s tagline is “speaking up for the guys who may never plant mega-churches, while being thankful for those that do”).

He has compiled some great resources on his site and brought together a lot of helpful material from our own website but has categorized it more clearly and made it more accessible. Additionally, today he’s just put up Part 2 of a great interview with Matt Chandler – on Celebrity, Diversity & Burnout.

So, without further ado, meet Dustin and hear him share about his call and how he pastors and protects his family as a church planter.

(And we have a few more worship pastor videos lined up for later!)

Matt answers:

• What is it that makes church planters successful in the long run?
• How did you put your preaching together in the early days and how has that changed for your preaching now?
• What are some reproducible tips on developing church leadership that you can share?
• What is the one thing you'd want a young church planter to know?

November 13, 2009

After the Acts 29 Boot Camp in Louisville, Dr Al Mohler, Jr, President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, opened his home to six Acts 29 influential leaders: Matt Chandler, Daniel Montgomery, Jamie Munson, Darrin Patrick, Steve Timmis and me. Dan Dumas, Senior Vice President at the Seminary joined in our discussion. We were honored and awed as we walked around Dr Mohler’s personal library and talked about Southern Baptist heritage, denominations and Networks and antiquarian books, including the Textus Receptus, and a first edition of John Owens’ work, The Death of the Death of Christ.

    Dr Albert Mohler, Jr

Dr. Mohler, the uber-intelligent and catalytic leader of the largest seminary in the world, opened up his home, his heart, his humor, his head and his humility (it’s Baptist and has to be alliterated) He honored us for four hours as we chatted candidly in the most impressive personal library/museum I have ever seen. I recorded some video but I have not obtained permission to share this rare footage.

Gracious is defined in the following way and I think it characterized the evening brilliantly.

 The word “grace” is used in the New Testament to refer to God’s giving to us out of His love for us, a giving that is unrestricted because our former condemnation has been removed, our penalty has been paid, God’s righteousness and justice have been satisfied, and we are “in Christ” and share the love that the Father has for His own Son.

Graciousness demonstrated is an expression of the gospel to others. It is borne in our hearts out of the grace we receive from Jesus. It is gospel living by forgiving others of their wrongs and extending to them a gift of any nature without merit and without expectant reciprocity. God has forgiven all of us who are absolutely without resources of our own.  He is not expecting or demanding some kind of payment in return for His Grace gifts.  We are to orient our lives to be channels of grace to the world and to one another.

That is the kind of grace we received from Dr Mohler and we were pointed to the grace of God through it.

After chapel at the Seminary where Matt Chandler preached, Dr Mohler approached me and thanked me for coming over the evening prior. I told him that he blessed and honored us with his time and hospitality. He said he wrote an article that night after we left and published it because he said he was the one that was blessed. I was again blown away by the grace he continued to demonstrate.  

Dr Mohler spoke generously of Acts 29 and we discussed the spotted rifts we have experienced with some Southern Baptist leaders. Our posture has maintained that we love the SBC, even if disagreements exist. Of the eight main sessions at our recent boot camp at Sojourn, an SBC church, five were Southern Baptist pastors, We are in this together.

As a Network, we want to pursue the extension of grace in humility and respectfully request grace from those in the Convention who might misunderstand our mission or motivation. I believe we can image the gospel through our mutual grace orientated collaboration for the glory of God and the expansion of His Kingdom through the planting of local churches.

Thanks for planting that example of graciousness in our hearts, Dr Mohler. We are more in awe of God’s grace to us as a result.

[Sojourn Church's website & Sojourn Music website]

[Mars Hill Church's website & Re:Sound website]

[The Journey Church's website]

That's it for tonight; see you tomorrow for Day 2 Live Blogging.

Welcome back for Day 2 of Boot camp! Please join us for live blogging of the main sessions below. Here's some pictures from yesterday (thanks Churck Heeke!) and tonight we'll try to throw up some more videos for you. 

Video update - 2:55pm EDT - Workshops are underway and we have a few videos of Acts 29 Church planters to share.

Jason planted The Journey Church near Atlanta, Georgia, and here at the Boot Camp to help with assessments and connect with conference attendees and his Acts 29 brothers. He gave us a few minutes to answer the question: What Idolatrous ambition do you have to guard yourself against?

David planted River of Grace in Concord, New Hampshire, and is also here at the Boot Camp to help with assessments and connect with conference attendees and his Acts 29 brothers. He gave us a few minutes to answer the question: How do men in your church struggle with apathy and how do you lead them out of it?

And... soon the workshops will wrap up and you can tune in again for live-blogging.

Join us for live blogging right here (thanks Bobby Gilles, Sojourn Communications Director).

And... check back later today, we'll try to throw up a video from boot camp so you can take a peek at what's going on.

Our speakers – It’s on honor to have men like Dave Harvey, Ed Stetzer, and Drs. Russell Moore and Gregg Allison speak at this boot camp as well as our Acts 29 leaders: Steve Timmis, Darrin Patrick, Kevin Cawley, Bob Thune and Matt Chandler. We also have several testimonies by A29 church planters, worship pastors, executive pastors, and other Acts 29 church planters speaking during the 24 workshops that are offered.

The gals – The Wives’ Track will be lead by Mandy Montgomery and Jani Ortlund. Many of the women attending are in the thick of church-planting with their husbands and struggle in getting the right kind of support & friendship they need. Pray for the women who are speaking and those a part of these sessions.

The Sojourn Community Church staff and the Acts 29 staff who are working very hard facilitating this event. Daniel Montgomery and his team have done a great job getting this sold out boot camp ready. We will be blessed to join them next week.

The Assessments – We will have 32 church planters being assessed on Thursday with 19 states represented and 1 Canadian. Pray for the assessors to be granted wisdom and discernment and for those being assessed to be encouraged and directed by the results.

The Attendees – This boot camp was sold out a couple weeks ago which is a good and bad thing that we’ve had to turn some people away. For the over 400 that will be there, pray for hearts sensitive to God’s direction, clarity, encouragement, and safe travels.

Also pray that we all would see a little more of God’s glory during Boot Camp.

Also, Bobby Gilles, Sojourn Community Church's Communications Director, will be live-blogging to boot camp main sessions. Sign up for session notifications below, or just tune to our Tuesday and Wednesday posts to follow along! 

<a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=3dec6a5c76" mce_href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=3dec6a5c76" >Dave Harvey: The Gospel & Ambition</a>

<a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=dd10f1c972" mce_href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=dd10f1c972" >Ed Stetzer: Church Planting & Ambition</a>

<a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=055d8c4a72" mce_href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=055d8c4a72" >Steve Timmis -- The Church & Ambition</a>

<a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=ebb21685d3" mce_href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=ebb21685d3" >Darrin Patrick: Leadership & Ambition</a>

<a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=d24d1c9306" mce_href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=d24d1c9306" >Kevin Cawley: Decoding Your City & Ambition</a>

<a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=1037906752" mce_href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=1037906752" >Bob Thune: Discipleship & Ambition</a>

<a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=bc04a02261" mce_href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=bc04a02261" >Russell Moore: Speaking Past Demons - Christian Preaching As Expository Exorcism</a>

<a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=fb5cb4cc84" mce_href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=fb5cb4cc84" >Matt Chandler: Ministry For The Long Haul & Ambition</a>

By C.J. Mahaney

Full article available here. Reproduced with permission.

What a family looks like—what a family experiences on a vacation—is largely determined by the father’s attitude and leadership prior to and during the vacation. Some fathers charge into a vacation at a place like Disney World committed to visiting every venue, seeing every show, and experiencing every ride. Every moment and detail has been planned with military precision as the father leads his wife and children on the long-awaited mission. But by noon the first day, the family has spent most of the morning standing in long lines growing more sunburned by the minute. The children are tired, cranky, and hungry. And the father has been passing his time while standing in line reflecting on the serious chunk of his salary he invested in this forgettable experience. And he is not smiling.

Other fathers choose less trendy vacation spots. This is no Disney dad. No way! This father takes his family to the lake or the beach. There are no lines here. Here the days will pass slowly and predictably. And if he’s not careful and purposeful, this father can wrongly assume that location alone guarantees a wonderful and memorable vacation.

It’s possible for this father to view the family vacation as a peaceful and beautiful context where he can primarily rest and relax with little required of him. His wife and children desire his leadership during this time but rarely experience it. And they are not smiling.

Here’s what I’ve learned. The difference between forgettable vacations and unforgettable vacations is not the location or attractions. Nope. The difference between forgettable and unforgettable vacations is the father’s attitude and leadership. This makes all the difference.

C.J. writes 7 lessons in leadership on vacation in his full article:

1. A Servant Heart

2. A Tone-Setting Attitude

3. An Awareness of Indwelling Sin

4. Studying Your Family

5. Skillful Surprises

6. Intentionally Together

7. Gratefulness to God

Read C.J.'s full PDF article here.

Rick: Our situation at Redeeming Grace Church is different in some ways than an original church plant. We have been in the processes of replanting an established church for the past 3 years. This has brought on a number of different dynamics.

That being stated – I do believe God has called me to lead a church planting church through mentoring young pastors, training, leading and coaching them. My passion is to leave a legacy of church planting churches on the SF Peninsula and greater SF Bay Area. Currently, I am part of a newly established church planting network which is one of the reasons why I desire to be a part of A29 so that what I am trained and mentored in I can pass on to other new church planters.

My philosophy has radically changed in the past 4 years due to a re-ignition of the gospel and missional theology. My former pastor and seminary had a philosophy that America did not need new churches but better pulpits. While, I struggled with this philosophy at first I soon embraced it the longer I was in seminary and served at my former church. I’ve been awakened to the Acts model.

Rick: We became involved through the teaching ministry of Mark Driscoll and Acts 29/Resurgence media - these have been the biggest benefits to date but a growing relationship with A29 leaders has been a tremendous help.

Rick: If you can do anything else - do it because it will kill you and everything about you unless Jesus has called you.

To read more about Rick and Redeeming Grace, see their full profile. And, read about more Acts 29 church planters here!

Jack Miller was the director of World Harvest Mission and pastor of New Life Presbyterian Church near Philadelphia and professor at Westminster. In his book, Outgrowing the Ingrown Church (one of the best books I have read in a while), Jack described the church as a “Religious Cushion.” He characterized the religious cushion church:

As we make disciples, we lead them to be Spirit-led followers of Jesus who are life-long learners, obedient to Jesus and who are then making disciples of all nations who make disciples. It’s lather, rinse, repeat.

As a missional leader, you have the responsibility to continually remind the people of your gathering to go into the Lord’s harvest fields. Like Jesus, you have to continually point them to the gospel message of redemption through a sent people. As a band of missionaries, you have to engage the lost, not as a means to build your church, but to follow the mandate of Jesus, the One sent by God to seek and to save the lost for the glory of God.

C.H. Spurgeon said, “You do not love the Lord at all if you do not love the souls of men.” [John Blanchard, Gathered Gold (London: Evangelical Press, 1984), 299.] The people in the churches where I was pastor quickly strayed away from the harvest like a runaway criminal on the chain gang. They wanted to work on the building, have fellowship dinners, potlucks, and men’s breakfasts. They wanted to read books, sing songs—as long as it was in the style they preferred—and start programs for their own kids. MOPS, AWANA, VBS, BSF and home school CO-OP. Whatever kept them away from S-I-N-N-E-R-S.

Jack Miller calls this missional leader the “Pacesetting Pastor.” A pacesetter, according to Miller, is a runner who moves ahead of the pack and sets the example that gets others moving. This is not a comfortable position unless you are called to make disciples of all nations and you are called to lead a group of believers to be radical followers of His mission. The pacesetting pastor keeps the mission of Jesus as the focus of the gathered community. I like “A United Gospel Community on Mission to all people for the glory of God” as a slogan. It is simple, understandable and easily remembered. A pacesetting pastor cannot let the mission become an elective of the church. Most of all, the pacesetting pastor cannot be sucked back into the pack and lose the influential role as the leader of the mission.

Yesterday, Mark was featured in the Washington Post's "On Faith" Column, answering the questions: "Is there good without God? Can people be good without God?"

We have @Acts29News now with updates from Acts 29 and other church-planting related news; as well, the @Acts29News account has lists of Acts 29 Network folks on Twitter, so you can follow church planters from all over.

Desiring God & christianaudio are giving away the audio book of John Piper's Desiring God free during November. Snatch it up and redeem your commute. Pass it along to those who can't afford it and could benefit from the listen.

If you haven't heard Sojourn's latest album featuring some of the hymns of Isaac Watts, you are missing out. This is good stuff.

The Gospel Coalition has posted video of all its sessions, and you can see President of Acts 29 Network, Mark Driscoll, teaching on 2 Timothy 2:14-26 to preachers.

Get the five main sessions for free, featuring the teaching of C.J. Mahaney, Jeff Purswell, Dave Harvey and Jared Mellinger.

Mark Driscoll, Jeff Vanderstelt and Ed Stetzer will be amongst the speakers at this conference focused on a united effort for church multiplication. Registration is $85.

"The Pastor, The People, and the Pursuit of Joy" is this year's Pastors Conference theme. Additionally, John Piper will be presenting a biography of the prolific & respected theologian, C.S. Lewis. 

Together for the Gospel: T4G 2010 Conference from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.

Our Acts 29 men in the Northeast just hosted a regional - meeting together on October 26th for training and worship. Here's a video of their opening worship - "All for Jesus." If you are interested in participating in one of the Northeast Regional events, hit up Phil Taylor on Twitter.

This is a real photo of Luther in 1517. Or not.

Your congregation is probably buzzing about costumes, parties and candy this weekend. Maybe your church is having a "harvest party," too. But do you know about the other October 31st? Justin Holcomb, academic dean of Re:Train, posted "Luther Puts a Nail in the Heart of Bad Religion— And 3 Other Holidays" on The Resurgence, highlighting another October 31 holiday: Reformation Day. Yes, October 31 was also the day Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the Wittenberg church door.

Reformation Day (October 31) commemorates Luther's posting of his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany on October 31, 1517. This act triggered the Reformation, as they were immediately translated and distributed across Germany in a matter of weeks. The Protestant Reformation was the rediscovery of the doctrine of justification—salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone—and the protest against the corruption within the Roman Catholic Church.

The century before the Reformation was marked by widespread dismay with the venality of the leaders in the Roman Catholic Church and with its false doctrines, biblical illiteracy, superstition, and corruption. Monks, priests, bishops, and popes in Rome taught unbiblical doctrines like the selling of indulgences, the treasury of merit, purgatory, and salvation through good works.

Have you ever read Luther's 95 theses? In honor of October 31, Reformation Day, here's a selection of 31 from a "modern translation":

1. When Jesus said "repent" he meant that believers should live a whole life repenting 

2. Only God can give salvation - not a priest.

3. Inwards penitence must be accompanied with a suitable change in lifestyle.

4. Sin will always remain until we enter Heaven.

5. The pope must act according to canon law.

6. Only God can forgive -the pope can only reassure people that God will do this.

18. A sinful soul does not have to be always sinful. It can be cleansed. 

21. An indulgence will not save a man.

22. A dead soul cannot be saved by an indulgence.

23. Only a very few sinners can be pardoned. These people would have to be perfect.

24. Therefore most people are being deceived by indulgences.

25. The pope’s power over Purgatory is the same as a priest’s.

26. When the pope intervenes to save an individual, he does so by the will of God.

27. It is nonsense to teach that a dead soul in Purgatory can be saved by money.

28. Money causes greed - only God can save souls.

45. A person who passes by a beggar but buys an indulgence will gain the anger and disappointment of God.

48. The pope should have more desire for devout prayer than for ready money.

53. Those who forbid the word of God to be preached and who preach pardons as a norm are enemies of both the pope and Christ.

54. It is blasphemy that the word of God is preached less than that of indulgences.

55. The pope should enforce that the gospel - a very great matter - must be celebrated more than indulgences.

62. The main treasure of the church should be the Gospels and the grace of God.

71. People who deny the pardons of the Apostles will be cursed.

76. You should feel guilt after being pardoned. A papal pardon cannot remove guilt.

77. Not even St. Peter could remove guilt.

79. It is blasphemy to say that the insignia of the cross is of equal value with the cross of Christ.

82. Why doesn’t the pope clean feet for holy love not for money ?

84. Evil men must not buy their salvation when a poor man, who is a friend of God, cannot.

89. Why are indulgences only issued when the pope sees fit to issue them ?

93. Those in the church who claim there is no problem must go.

94. Christians must follow Christ at all cost.

95. Let Christians experience problems if they must - and overcome them - rather than live a false life based on present Catholic teaching.

See Part 1 here.

We are blessed with a team of church planters who focus their energies toward the International opportunities while leading their respective church plants. Steve Timmis is directing Acts 29 Western Europe as an established leader, author and innovator. He is seeking to establish regional leaders in every country as a church-planting center to identify, assess, and train, resource, coach and collaborate for multiplying disciples in Western Europe.

Our International team is seeking to identify national leaders who can lead a work of God in their respective nation. This team has trained thousands of church planters across the world and we have church planting centers in South Africa, India, Uganda, Thailand, Latin America and Brazil, among others. The goal is to equip the national leaders to begin a network of churches in each country. Each of these International church-planting networks will eventually operate autonomously with indigenous leadership and oversight.

In some ways networks strive to have all of the good aspects of a denomination and limit the negative aspects (there might be a couple negatives, maybe). We align under a common doctrine and a common name but Acts 29 exercises no authority in our member churches and we require no funds directed to the organization.

Additionally, we have no central controlling office. We currently have 11 regional networks that cooperate together for the advancement of the gospel. The central office has a serving, resourcing and unifying aim. We exist to serve the 11 networks to assist their effective regional church planting. We have an IRS required board for our 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The board serves the regions like elders serve a church: shepherding, encouraging, resourcing, teaching, coaching, training and equipping as well as the required legal covering.

Our motto is “Churches Planting Churches.” It is not “Networks (or denominations or even individuals) Planting Churches.” Every local church’s eldership assumes responsibility for their multiplying of men and churches. They direct funds to whomever they determine best expresses this advancement of the gospel in their context. Some Acts 29 churches direct their funds through their denominational affiliation and others choose their funding independently. We support whatever method they choose as long as they are multiplying churches. Our goal in requesting that ten percent of their income go to church planting is for their benefit of the local church and not for the network. We pray that each church has a church panting DNA established by setting aside $10 for every $100 beginning with the very first offering received.

We are united in the gospel and not in methods. It is a central core value. Our mission is to make disciples of all nations (people groups). We see church planting as an effective means to making disciples. But for theological reasons, we choose not to dictate how a church planter does that in his unique context and with his unique skills and gifts. Our program, tactic, bottom line and method is the gospel.

I am assured that we are still called to make disciples until Jesus comes. I am assured that church planting is not a fad, although the methods are changing in how we multiply churches. I can envision a network of networks totaling 500,000 people in the next ten years. Currently we have 11 geographic networks that align under Acts 29. That number will expand rapidly. Any organization that tries to maintain or control what they have will become an institution and an institution soon becomes a museum where they talk about the good old days. A museum quickly becomes a crypt for the once living.

We cannot control a work of God any more than we can control the wind. But we can fly our kites higher in the wind. We will continue to release more line into the wind through influence and we will subsequently have less control of the outcomes. But that’s where faith and mission converge and we are willing to take that risk for the glory of God and the expansion of His Kingdom.

God has chosen to bless us in spite of ourselves. We have unmerited influence all across the world. It is very humbling. Opportunities are granted to us because people are watching what is happening through the great group of pastors and churches affiliated with Acts 29. We have over 450 men in the application phase currently who want to align with us. Our only subject is Jesus, our only mode is the gospel and our only focus is the mission of Jesus to make disciples. The fact that we have almost 300 strong, dominant, take charge pastors who work together as Acts 29 is a testament to the gospel’s power to unite together for the glory of God. That’s grace at work!

Get the full article as a PDF.

1.     How is Acts 29 reaching out Internationally?

We are blessed with a team of church planters who focus their energies toward the International opportunities while leading their respective church plants. Steve Timmis is directing Acts 29 Western Europe as an established leader, author and innovator. He is seeking to establish regional leaders in every country as a church-planting center to identify, assess, and train, resource, coach and collaborate for multiplying disciples in Western Europe.

Our International team is seeking to identify national leaders who can lead a work of God in their respective nation. This team has trained thousands of church planters across the world and we have church planting centers in South Africa, India, Uganda, Thailand, Latin America and Brazil, among others.  The goal is to equip the national leaders to begin a network of churches in each country. Each of these International church-planting networks will eventually operate autonomously with indigenous leadership and oversight.

2.     What distinguishes Acts 29 from a denomination?

In some ways networks strive to have all of the good aspects of a denomination and limit the negative aspects (there might be a couple negatives, maybe). We align under a common doctrine and a common name but Acts 29 exercises no authority in our member churches and we require no funds directed to the organization.

Additionally, we have no central controlling office. We currently have 11 regional networks that cooperate together for the advancement of the gospel. The central office has a serving, resourcing and unifying aim. We exist to serve the 11 networks to assist their effective regional church planting. We have an IRS required board for our 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The board serves the regions like elders serve a church: shepherding, encouraging, resourcing, teaching, coaching, training and equipping as well as the required legal covering. 

Our motto is “Churches Planting Churches.” It is not “Networks (or denominations or even individuals) Planting Churches.” Every local church’s eldership assumes responsibility for their multiplying of men and churches. They direct funds to whomever they determine best expresses this advancement of the gospel in their context. Some Acts 29 churches direct their funds through their denominational affiliation and others choose their funding independently. We support whatever method they choose as long as they are multiplying churches. Our goal in requesting that ten percent of their income go to church planting is for their benefit of the local church and not for the network. We pray that each church has a church panting DNA established by setting aside $10 for every $100 beginning with the very first offering received.

3.     Do all Acts 29 churches follow a prescribed method or style?

We are united in the gospel and not in methods. It is a central core value. Our mission is to make disciples of all nations (people groups). We see church planting as an effective means to making disciples. But for theological reasons, we choose not to dictate how a church planter does that in his unique context and with his unique skills and gifts. Our program, tactic, bottom line and method is the gospel. 

4.     How do you expect Acts 29 will be different in ten years?

I am assured that we are still called to make disciples until Jesus comes. I am assured that church planting is not a fad, although the methods are changing in how we multiply churches. I can envision a network of networks totaling 500,000 people in the next ten years. Currently we have 11 geographic networks that align under Acts 29. That number will expand rapidly. Any organization that tries to maintain or control what they have will become an institution and an institution soon becomes a museum where they talk about the good old days. A museum quickly becomes a crypt for the once living.  

We cannot control a work of God anymore than we can control the wind. But we can fly our kites higher in the wind. We will continue to release more line into the wind through influence and we will subsequently have less control of the outcomes. But that’s where faith and mission converge and we are willing to take that risk for the glory of God and the expansion of His Kingdom.

5.     What are some of the ways Acts 29 has seen evidence of God's hand of blessing?

God has chosen to bless us in spite of ourselves. We have unmerited influence all across the world. It is very humbling. Opportunities are granted to us because people are watching what is happening through the great group of pastors and churches affiliated with Acts 29. We have over 450 men in the application phase currently who want to align with us. Our only subject is Jesus, our only mode is the gospel and our only focus is the mission of Jesus to make disciples. The fact that we have almost 300 strong, dominant, take charge pastors who work together as Acts 29 is a testament to the gospel’s power to unite together for the glory of God. That’s grace at work!

In this clip, he tells us three ways he struggled as a church planter in the early days. Good words from an intense dude for church planters and leaders, or those who aspire to be.

*The talk Rick mentions in the video is "Idols in Church Planting" and is found here.

And, on November 17-18, Texas Acts 29 members and candidates are invited to CityView Church to be hosted by Rick White and his team for a Regional Training. Jeremy Pace, the Texas Regional leader shares:

"What we are most excited about are the “Whiteboard” sessions. We will split the guys up based on stage of church plant and have facilitators to lead discussions on the topic of elder development so that guys can learn from one another. We also will spend some time doing this for other regional topics, like how our region can support and care for wives."

Schedule:

DAY 1:

1:00 pm: Everyone arrives

1:30: Worship

2:00: Main Session 1: “Being the Right kind of Man as Lead Elder” (Bruce Wesley)

3:00: Break

3:15: Main Session 2: “Having the Right Kind of Men in the Room” (Matt Chandler)

4:00: Whiteboard Discussions on Developing Elders & Processes

5:30: Dinner on your own

7:30: Get Together at Rick’s Place

DAY 2:

9:00 am: Doors Open

9:30: Worship

9:45: Main Session 3: “Serving the Right Men Well” (Dave Bruskas)

11:00: Whiteboard Discussions continued on Developing Elders & Processes

12:00 pm: Lunch on site

1:00: Regional Update

2:00: Whiteboard Discussions on How Our Region Can Serve Our Wives Well

3:00: Synthesize previous Whiteboard Discussions

3:45: Conclude & Dismiss

Acts 29 was founded in 2000 with Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle when it was about 200 in attendance and David Nicholas, a Presbyterian pastor (now retired) of a large church in Boca Raton, Florida. They formed the network to plant qualified, entrepreneurial men who held to a reformed soteriology (salvation) and were willing to engage urban cities with the gospel.

Acts 29 exists to make gospel-transformed disciples by planting church-planting churches.

Gospel Message: The major emphasis of Acts 29 is the gospel. The gospel is the power of God for salvation and sadly many churches are ashamed of proclaiming it (Rom. 1:16). As a result we may not be experiencing the fruit of transformation in our churches that is normally associated with the gospel (Col. 1:4-6; 2 Peter 1:3-9). God has given us His Word to proclaim to all nations in the power of the Spirit. Gospel transformation occurs with gospel proclamation.

The gospel can be (cautiously) summarized in the following manner: Jesus Christ, God’s promised rescuer and ruler lived our life, died our death and rose again in triumphant evidence as the first-fruits of the new creation to bring forgiven sinners together by the Holy Spirit to live under his gracious reign as His Kingdom people. Our full doctrinal statement can be found here.

Gospel Men: Our church planters are assessed on the basis of their qualification as elders, according to Scripture and their character as examined in an extensive review of their life and doctrine (1 Tim. 4:16). This includes a thorough examination of a man’s leadership in his home. A man’s family is his first congregation and his wife and children are his first disciples. We are looking for men who have been transformed by the gospel and are captured by the grace of Jesus and are following His mission to make disciples.

Gospel Mission: We believe church planting is the best way to take the gospel to the community it desires to serve. We believe new churches are the best means for Spirit-led followers of Jesus to make disciples of all people groups (Matthew 28:19–20). We believe church planting is the central process of evangelism in the Book of Acts, but also that doing so can spread the Gospel to every people or group, large or small, in every corner of the world. Throughout the Book of Acts we read narratives of the Gospel being planted in city after city. The book ends abruptly in Acts 28. Our mission with Acts 29 therefore is to carry on the discipleship making, church planting in the culture where God has sovereignly placed us (Acts 17:26-27).

Mark Driscoll, President and Founder; Scott Thomas, Chairman and Director; Darrin Patrick, First Vice President; Jeff Vanderstelt, Second Vice President; Board members: Matt Chandler, Chan Kilgore, Eric Mason and church planting strategist, Tyler Powell. Other regional leaders are Brian Howard, David Fairchild, Russ McKendry, Daniel Montgomery, Tyler Jones and Ed Marcelle.

Tune in tomorrow for Scott's answers to: How is Acts 29 reaching out internationally? What distinguishes Acts 29 from a denomination?, Do all Acts 29 churches follow a prescribed method or model?, How do you expect Acts 29 will be different in 10 years?, and What are some of the ways Acts 29 has seen evidence of God's hand of blessing?

"Re:Train is not about how many classes can we get in, how many papers have you done," says Bill. "It has way more to do with how does [the learning] impact you as a spiritual leader who is going to impact other people?"

Watch the three-minute video below.

After being born in New Orleans and moving away as a teenager, God called me and my wife back in 2005. From Katrina in 2005 to the fall of 2007, God began to work in our lives and reveal to us the need and call to plant a church in this city. Despite great hesitation, that fall God opened up an opportunity to pastor a small dead church in Uptown with hope of starting a new church. Unfortunately, the remaining members of the church didn't like the changes. God led us to Acts 18 and we launched Vintage Church in the same community.

God's grace and favor has been apparent throughout my life. The greatest form of grace was displayed in my life when Christ saved me at age 7. The second was when Annabeth agreed to marry me. The third was when my wife and I were blessed with a healthy little boy. In regard to the church, God has truly blessed us in our first year. We have seen provision come in many different forms. A place for worship, office space, staff, gifted and committed leadership, favor with the lost in our community, and most importantly salvation in people's lives.

Pray that I would be faithful to God's call to lead my family and church.

To read more about Rob, and Vintage Church see their full profile. Also, see other church planter profiles - from Georgia to Washington.

In this phase, God calls a leader (or leaders) to begin a new church and begins to clarify the specifics of their vision. An initial core of people is gathered, a meeting location is secured, some ministries begin to form, and funding is acquired.

In this season, the church goes from being a concept to a reality and opens itself up to invite in the greater community and focuses its attention on evangelism, growth, and implementation of new systems and leaders.

In this season, the attendance settles into a somewhat stabilized pattern, longer-range planning begins, new programs are added, and administrative structures grow to prepare for numerical growth and evolving vision.

In this season, church attendees begin rising up into positions of greater leadership, church government begins to form, and church attendance and financial giving begin to increase.

In this season, additional staff is added, the church gains confidence that it now has sufficient stability to exist indefinitely, church government and leadership are solidified, church attendance and giving become strong, and the church is now independent and able to self-govern and self-finance. It is also common for churches in this season to purchase their own facility.

In this season, which ideally would be during the first year of the plant, the church is ready to reproduce itself by giving leadership and monies for the purpose of starting another gestation phase and repeating the church planting cycle. This results in the birth of a new congregation, likely in connection with other church planting churches networking together for the cause of church planting. The unique element here is that the church(es) sponsoring the new church plant have a vested interest in praying for and holding accountable the new work since they have directly sacrificed for it.

In this season, a church has planted enough churches that it begins to see third and fourth generation church plants birthed.

In this season, a church is unhealthy and does not see conversion growth or attract young leaders. It thus faces a critical decision between two options. One, the church can deny its impending death, which may be many years out, sell off its assets such as land to prolong its death, redefine its mission to defend its death, and simply hold on as it slowly and painfully dies, often rewriting the best years of its history so as to feel significant and successful. Or two, the church can embrace its impending death as an opportunity to resurrect.

In this season, a church knows it is dying, or at least that it is not as healthy and fruitful as it should be, and humbly decides to shut down its organization and replant the church. This can be done by hiring a new entrepreneurial pastor to start over with the assets and with the freedom to kill programs, prune problem people, and decide whether to upgrade the facility, which is usually suffering from deferred maintenance, or sell it to use the money for a more strategic facility. This can also be done by giving the facility and assets to a church planter or a growing church, which requires the dying church to be more concerned about the name of Jesus than its own name, and the Kingdom over its church. Those churches that have this humility and wisdom should be cheered as model churches for the majority of American churches that have plateaued or are declining and need to have a vision for a faithful and fruitful future.

Grab this as a PDF. 

Our next boot camp is upcoming in Louisville, KY on November 10-11 hosted by the great Sojourn Church led by the dynamic duo of Daniel Montgomery (teaching and vision) and Mike Cosper (worship and arts).

You can register here.

So, if one can get the audio files within a week or two of a Boot Camp, why should one attend one? If it is content-driven, as Stetzer describes it in an upcoming book, what benefit is it to attend?

The strength of Acts 29 is both gospel-centered missional ecclesiology and relationships with one another. Attendees get to ask private questions of the Acts 29 planters who are there to consult, counsel, pray, encourage and assess potential church planters.

The teaching is not devoid of community interaction. An attendee gets to download the sessions with other attendees and experience their reaction to the content and the spirit of the speakers. It is the difference between watching a game on TV and being there live with thousands of screaming fans.

When one listens to sessions of a Boot Camp on an iPod, it is usually spread out through weeks or even months. People walk away from a boot camp and feel the weight of the gospel as it is gloriously and inescapably presented through every session.

The worship is gospel-centered—typically original songs and hymns—and Spirit-filled. We don’t podcast the worship, but it is an impactful part of the experience.

A necessary element for the success of a church planter is that his wife is fully supportive of his call to plant. Most of the wives’ tracks are not available online because they get into very personal issues. For some women, the perception of being a missionary to a city as a church planting family is very different from their observation of pastor’s wives’ roles in an established church. The aim of these workshops is to deconstruct these stereotypes and to learn to be a wife who is a helper to her husband and not as a co-pastor. We have four hours dedicated to the wives’ track workshop.

As a part of the boot camp, attendees get to choose from a number of tracks. The upcoming boot camp has 6 different tracks taught by world-class pastors, professors and leaders. Each workshop (24 in all) encourages interaction with the leaders before, after and during the sessions.

Our minds and spirits are generally more receptive when we are away from our normal rhythm and environment and God can speak to your souls and others can minister that needed healing that comes through a community focused on the gospel.

Register today for the Louisville Boot Camp. Space is limited and the maximum capacity is filling up quickly.  

"A few weeks ago I began a series called 'Meet the Ministries.' This purpose of this series is to learn about some of the more prominent or more interesting ministries seeking to serve the church today. In the past this series has stopped at Grace to You and Desiring God. Today it continues to Acts 29 where Scott Thomas, Acts 29’s Chairman and Director, was kind enough to answer a few questions."

Erik Cooper writes a thought-provoking post on what he sees as a factor in people choosing to live in mediocrity. "Our approach to life proves our underlying belief that if we’re not gifted in something that gets noticed by the masses, then we’re really not gifted at all. And in this new age of technology and a flattening globe, our self-defined value is becoming tied to things like blog subscriptions and Twitter followers. And because we can’t determine how to influence thousands, we choose to influence…no one."

"We have spent a great deal of time thinking through what happens in our weekend services. We want to teach deeply the things of God and do it in a way that the unconverted among us can hear and understand. Everything from what and how we sing to words used, not used, and redeemed are thought through. Even the welcome and announcements don’t escape this dialogue."

The Gospel Coalition posted a very personal glimpse into John Piper's call last Wednesday, including small sections of his journal. The night Piper decided, he wrote: "I am closer tonight to actually deciding to resign at Bethel and take a pastorate than I have ever been. . . . The urge is almost overwhelming. It takes this form: I am enthralled by the reality of God and the power of his Word to create authentic people."

Jamison will be speaking on core-gathering for the church planter. "When a man feels a call from God to plant a church, he usually seeks counsel from others and an assessment from a network like Acts 29. If his calling is confirmed he begins the noble-work of church-planting. Yet it is often at this point where the man has no idea what to do next." See the schedule & register here.

Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians has become for me a beautiful example of the intense love that a church planter should have for the people that Jesus has given him. Writing to a young congregation who was undergoing unexpected afflictions and beginning to despair, Paul (with Silas and Timothy) encouraged their Thessalonian brothers to hope in the Gospel. But what has struck me most about his words is not their content but their tone. Paul’s language is just drenched with emotion and affection. Paul loved these people deeply, and did his church planting work among them from the deepest part of his soul.

This text has become an intense challenge for me as a church planting pastor just north of Boston. I have been prayerfully asking myself this question: would I be able to write this kind of a letter to my people? In seeking to answer that big question well (in other words with a big, loud YES), I’ve formulated 18 smaller questions that emerge from the text and that I have found helpful as I reflect on the depth (or lack thereof) of my love for the people Jesus has given me.

1:2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers…

1:5b You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.

1:9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

2:5 For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. 6 Nor did we seek glory from people…

2:2 But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.

2:9 For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.

2:7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

2:11 For you know how, like a father with his children, 12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

2:19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? 20 For you are our glory and joy.

3:5 For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain… 8 For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord.

3:10 … as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face.

4:1 Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.

4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality… because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you.

4:9 Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, 10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more…

4:13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.

4:17 … and so we will always be with the Lord.

5:12 We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you…

5:23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

------

Matthew Kruse is a pastor at Seven Mile Road just north of Boston. Seven Mile Road is a growing community of Bostonians who have experienced undeserved grace from God and are longing to live our lives in response to His surprising gift of the Gospel. Our deep hope is to become a biblically faithful community that exhibits an engaging love and concern for the culture that God has placed us in. For more information, go to sevenmileroad.org.

Brent Thomas grew up in Arizona in the Glendale-Peoria area, and though he left and pastored in other areas of the country with his wife Kristi and their family, it became clear Brent was to plant Church of the Cross in his hometown – and he sees his background as a local as a benefit to his ministry there as he has a deep love for his home and the people of Peoria, Arizona.

Acts 29: What were the biggest challenges you faced in planting Church of the Cross?

Thomas: Much of our initial core came from "traditional evangelicalism." This meant that much of our initial challenge was overcoming preexisting notions of "what church looks like." This "evangelical baggage" has been coupled with the challenges of suburbia (false security, fulfillment and community, consumerism, etc.).

Acts 29: How did you become involved with Acts 29? What have been the biggest benefits of being in the network?

Knowing that we did not want to be "lone rangers," we began to explore our options... Acts 29 seemed to be the perfect fit for us. Very few organizations seemed to stress deep doctrine, missional living and cultural engagement the way Acts 29 does.

Acts 29: What advice do you have for men who are wrestling with the decision to plant?

Know yourself, your calling and your culture. The call to plant must be coupled with a call to a particular culture as well. I was an Associate Pastor for a short time in rural KY and it didn't take long to realize that I often thought quite differently than those raised in that part of the country. Suburban AZ and rural KY share different sensibilities and it became quite important to quickly realize this in light of who God has called me to be. This isn't good or bad, it just is.

You must be convinced of and committed to your specific call. That conviction will bear you through many dark times.

To read more about Brent and Church of the Cross, see the full church profile. Also read about other new members to Acts 29.

Acts 29: How did you become involved with Acts 29? 

I have many friends in A29. It was through these friends I was encouraged to join the network to be apart of what God is doing in planting Gospel-centered missional churches.

Acts 29: What have been the biggest benefits of being in the network?

1. Friends: It was very lonely for me in the early days of planting. I found that other guys were planting were either not really focusing on theology or they had no theology. As I met A29 guys I thought, these are my people! A commitment to wrestle with scripture and submit to it, and a passion to reach people with the gospel.

2. The Gospel: It is an honor to be in a network that is all about the gospel. There are other good networks out there but I love that A29's training is usually centered around unpacking the depth and applying the power of the gospel to your congregation.

3. Men to plant churches: Our church has helped plant 5 churches in 7 years. We want to plant more, at least 2 a year in the next five years. I hope to find some good men through A29 that Crossbridge can bless.

Acts 29: What advice do you have for men who are wrestling with the decision to plant?

Get alone and get quiet and wrestle with Him. Make sure your wife is on board. Deal with your internal issues (i.e. go see a counselor!)

To read more about Chuck and Crossbridge Church, see their full church profile. And read more about planters in Seattle, Dallas, Phoenix, Nashville, Winston-Salem and many other cities.

Thune planted Coram Deo Church in Omaha, Nebraska, and will be speaking at Ambition, the upcoming Boot Camp in Louisville, Kentucky, November 10-11.

SEE BOOT CAMP SCHEDULE | REGISTER

Last week, after Scott Thomas had interviewed the UK Coaches, Dai Hankey (bottom right) turned the microphone around to interview Scott with these questions:

1. Who are you, what do you do, and what does that all entail?

2. What are you doing in the rainy UK right now?

3. Had you ever heard of Wales before you came here?

4. What are your dreams for Acts 29 in the UK?

5. Why is church planting so important, in your opinion?

6. How do you know if God is calling you to plant a church?

7. What struggles, battles or pitfalls should a first-time church planter be aware of?

8. What’s a pearl of wisdom you have for someone just setting out to plant a church?

9. How do you stay focused and fresh as a church planter?

10. What’s the single biggest threat to the gospel right now?

11. What’s a piece of encouragement you have for a guy who is “in the trenches” of church planting?

12. Would you say a quick prayer for the UK and for Wales?

Listen to the brief 10-minute interview with Scott's answers here.

The final installment of a 4-part series. The entire article is available in PDF form here.

Very simply, is the location clean? Will people be comfortable in the restrooms? Will people be comfortable if they have small children crawling on the floor? If the overall atmosphere is not generally clean and adequately maintained, a statement is being made about your congregation.

How difficult it the facility to find? Is it near a known landmark, in a known neighborhood, and/or accessible to the freeway and major arterials? If not, it may be cumbersome and difficult for people to find you and thereby inhibit your growth.

Is there any opportunity for you to either temporarily or permanently place signs on or near the facility to notify people about your services and related events and information?

Will there be days that you do not have access to the facility, or have access for limited or altered times? Will your rental agreement have precedence over other rentals, or will there be an ongoing possibility that your event could be bumped in favor of another? If possible, it will be important to clarify these issues in your contract, as well as the length of notice you are guaranteed if a conflicting event is scheduled. You will likely need at least sixty to ninety days’ notice to successfully relocate your service or alter its meeting time. You should include in your contract that such notice be given to you in writing in order to safeguard your interests.

It is to your benefit to negotiate for a long-term contract that provides you a short escape clause should you decide to move to another location. Since you will be purchasing supplies and equipment for a particular location, as well as promoting that location to the community, you want to ensure that you can remain there for as long as you possibly can. Still, since it is possible that a better option may arise, you will want to have a stipulation in your agreement that lets you out if you give, for example, thirty or sixty days’ notice.

As a final note, the following categories of potential locations may be of some help for your consideration: schools, churches, hotels, warehouses, community centers, theaters, and concert venues.  

This has been a four-part series - download the full article here.

Part 3 of a 4 part series. Click here for Part 1 & Part 2.

Will there be sufficient open space for people to mingle and meet before and after the services? While this item may seem simple, the issue of hospitality can be key for a new church hoping to connect with visitors in an informal setting.

For most starving church planters this issue is critical. Working on a limited budget trying to juggle start-up costs with salaries, facilities, and programming can be maddening. However, you must remember that it is your hope to remain in your first location as long as possible because the costs and management complexities associated with moving can be very damaging to the momentum of a newly forming congregation. The right location may cost you some additional monies, but as a long-term investment, beginning with the right location can promote quicker growth and subsequent increased financial resources.

It is often amazing how many things are needed to hold a simple church service. From paperwork, to sound gear, to projection equipment, to refreshments, to nursery items, the list continues to grow as your service matures. Therefore, it will be necessary to have adequate storage for your initial items, as well as additional space for future acquisitions. Ideally, this space would be located in your facility and easily accessible for set-up and tear down. This allows all the items to be stored on wheels for easy transport. However, if your facility does not permit you such storage, you may want to negotiate having a storage facility left on the property, or acquire trucks or vans for weekly transport of all materials to your site.

Some facilities carry with them particular public perceptions that can be either harmful or beneficial. For example, if you occupy a church building recently vacated by a cultic group, or a congregation that had embittered their community, your arrival may cause many to mistake your church for the previous tenant. Conversely, some locations are viewed as beloved community centerpieces and the use of such locations may allow your new congregation to be viewed in a positive light in relation to the general good reputation of a particular facility.

You should expect to need approximately one parking space for every two or three church attendees. If your congregation is younger and largely single, that number could increase to one parking space for every one or two church attendees. If you are anticipating going to multiple services in your facility, you will need sufficient parking for certain people to be parked for both services (e.g., set-up and tear down people, children’s workers, sound engineers, musicians). And if you are anticipating having multiple services and a full Sunday school program, you should plan on needing double the amount of parking of a single service. In urban areas parking can be tremendously costly, sometimes as expensive as the actual facility and requiring separate negotiations and contracts. Some facilities in neighborhoods rely primarily on off-street parking, but this parking should be used with regard to the neighbors, who often become embittered if they cannot park in front of their homes or are forced to deal with increased traffic.

Does the facility have a kitchen? Does the facility have a gym? Does the facility have a dining area for a common meal? Does the facility have available classrooms for education, prayer, and other meetings? Does the facility have any potential office space for use during the week? How can these additional spaces be resourced to benefit your new work?

Can you have access to the location for special events (e.g., concerts, meals, lectures, parties, weddings, outreach events) and special services (e.g., Christmas Eve, Easter, New Year’s Eve)? Can you use the facility for midweek activities if and when the need arises? The more flexibility your facility provides, the wider range of options you have at your disposal for creative programming and experimentation. This is particularly important as your congregation transitions from a core to a public congregation since many of your initial programming ideas may prove unfruitful and force you to examine additional options.

See previous installments for this series: Part 1 & Part 2. We have one more post to come!

Scott Thomas is just returned from training UK church planters as coaches under the leadership of Timmis. Meet them here, and listen to some wicked accents - England, Scotland & Wales, represent!

[CJ Mahaney preaches on 1 Tim: 4-15: "preach the word in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching."]

One thing I've continued to roll over in my head is C.J.'s wise exhortation to be patient with our people's growth in knowledge and sanctification...

What happens when our applications and instamatic sermons don't produce what we want to see overnight? (and they won't) If it's really impatience at work, we'll begin to despair of seeing growth and change. If it's a certain lack of grace in our outlook, we'll miss the gracious hand of God already at work in His people by His word independent of us ... If it's self-righteousness, we'll love our people less as we grow intolerant of weakness. And we'll likely mistake weakness for wickedness. All because what took us months and years to arrive at, we want to see in our people yesterday. … We'll tend to beat the sheep rather than feed the sheep. We'll drive the sheep rather than encourage them…

Thus the pastor finds himself in a downward spiral. Once we're dispirited, there are two basic options left to us. The really disciplined and stony-faced heaps up another round of overly prescriptive and moralistic applications, divorced from gospel indicatives. Meanwhile, the less self-willed fall deeper into despair and maybe leave the ministry discouraged and distressed.

How do we climb out of this pit? ...We come to the gospel afresh. For that grace of God that patiently conforms the pastor to the likeness of Christ, is the same grace that's at work conforming the people to Christ as they hope for His coming (Titus 2:11-13). We remember that Christ is their wisdom from God... righteousness, holiness and redemption. So, our boast needs to be in the Lord, not our progress (1 Cor. 1:30-31). And we renew our trust in God's word to build God's people and kingdom--while we sleep and to inevitably glorious fullness (Mark 4:26-34).

We must depend upon God's grace and God's word, or we'll ruin ourselves and our people.

Thabiti Anyabwile is the pastor of First Baptist Church of the Grand Cayman Islands, and author of The Decline of African American Theology amongst other books.

You can hear more of the God Exposed teaching sessions with Thabiti, Mark Dever, Danny Akin and others here.

Will your building be sufficient with its current lighting or will you need to bring in additional lighting (e.g., lamps, stage lights)? Conversely, some facilities have so many windows and so much natural light that it becomes difficult to project images in the room or to alter the atmosphere when desired. Also, some rooms are so dark that people are forced to squint, which may cause them headaches or eye strain.

This area is particularly important but also very complicated. The costs associated with acoustically engineering a room can be staggering. Therefore, the average church planter will be forced to deal with varying degrees of acoustic difficulty. For example, many older churches were acoustically designed for an organ and congregational singing, while a community center meeting room is designed for a lecture without live music in mind. You will need to determine which types of instrumentation you will use for worship and factor that into your consideration of a room, along with what type of sound equipment you will need. Remember, however, that whenever possible you will want to try and find a way to hear the room when it is full of bodies during a live music performance. This is necessary because the acoustics of a room change dramatically if the room is empty or filled with such things as chairs and bodies, and also vary greatly if the people are standing or seated. The human body tends to greatly deaden sound and the size of your congregation in relation to the capacity of your room will cause marked differences in the sound. Also consider other features, such as balconies, under which sound can be trapped, and high ceilings, which also tend to consume sound. Most acoustic complications can be worked around but the subsequent costs in sound equipment can be quite high.

Many older buildings do not have sufficient power for sound and video equipment. Some buildings are still running on two pronged outlets without a ground. Others do not have “clean” power and can cause feedback in a sound system (usually this is more of a problem with analog rather than digital sound boards). Therefore, you may need to use lots of power strips to protect your equipment, and may need a power conditioner for your sound if feedback from old power is a recurring problem.

Physically, where is the facility? In which neighborhood is it located? How accessible is it to major arterials and freeways for those commuting in? To be considered in this category are such things as natural boundaries that tend to divide people psychographically into various communities. These boundaries often include such things as major freeways and arterials, lakes, rivers, bridges, and railroad tracks. If you want to reach a particular community, it may be vital that you are in that community and not merely near it, since most of its people may rarely leave their neighborhood unless absolutely necessary. For other churches with a regional attraction, a specific location may be less important because their people commute in from varying distances and are less concerned about particular neighborhood identities.

Does the space have sufficient additional areas to set up childcare? Will the children’s areas be clean, appropriately lit, safe, and have a controlled temperature? Will the children’s areas permit future growth as the number of children in the congregation grows? The issues surrounding children’s ministries can be critical to a new church, particularly those with young families wanting to ensure their children are left in a safe and nurturing environment. The costs associated with children’s items and additional labors of setting up and tearing down each week can make the rental of an existing outfitted church or school with children’s rooms particularly helpful.

To see factors 1-5, read the first post in this series. Look for more considerations and tips in finding a facility from Mark in future installments of Finding a Facility: Help for Church Planters.

On September 13th, Andrew and Tanya Pack launched Anchor Church in Seattle - with a goal to take Jesus' good news to their fellow Seattleites, and to love their city well. A former member and staff person of Mars Hill Church, Andrew spent the last few years as a Mars Hill campus administrator, finishing a degree, finding a wife, starting a family, and fulfilling the requirements of an elder at Mars Hill. This summer, he was sent out as a pastor to plant a new work in Seattle.

He stopped by the Acts 29 offices last week, excited and overflowing with stories of God's grace to their church already.

"A few weeks ago a woman who was spending time with our Gospel Community became a Christian," he told us. "One of our core members had thousands of dollars worth of tools stolen (that he needs to put food on the table for wife and baby). I got the word out to the church at 10am and by 7pm that night we had raised the money to replace everything."

They have had opportunities as Missional Communities to go out and just serve the city together, and in the midst of all this, Andrew is committed to being a people who pray - and recognize the importance of prayer in anything they do.

How can you pray for the Packs and Anchor church? "That we would keep our eyes on Jesus and His Glory," says Andrew. "That He would save as many people as possible in Seattle and that we would be faithful to the job that He has for Anchor, whatever that may be."

To read more about Anchor Church, see Andrew's church profile. Also, read about more new church planters in Acts 29!

Dave is speaking at the Acts 29 Louisville Boot Camp, "Ambition," on November 10-11.

See the FULL SCHEDULE HERE and REGISTER HERE

See the FULL SCHEDULE HERE and REGISTER HERE

I was recently going through some old files and found this article I wrote sometime in the late 1990s for church planters. I post it in hopes that it can be helpful to church planters hoping to find a facility.

When you meet, where you meet, and how you meet all proclaim something about your perception of God and your new congregation. Therefore, when selecting a facility, a new church plant is doing a great deal more than simply finding a place to house a gathering. You are making a statement and there are multiple variables to consider according to your priorities. The following article is intended to be a practical means of aiding young churches as they consider a physical home for their corporate gathering(s). The information was collected over a few years of personal struggle as our young new church met in four locations at four different service times in the first two years.

Simply put, what does the building look like from the outside and inside? Is the entrance easily visible? Does the building look maintained, safe, and clean? Inside, how are the colors, sight angles, and overall décor? When was the facility last updated and how does that relate to the identity of your congregation?

This issue may not seem significant, but should be carefully considered. Once you launch your congregation, will it be possible for you to change your time if needed (e.g., from an evening to a morning service)? If needed, can you arrive early to set-up, or stay late? If and when your first service fills to capacity, can you extend your usage to permit you to go to two services in the same room with the same set-up configuration?

How many volunteers will it require to set-up and tear down for your weekly gathering? Storage plays an important role here. Obviously, if you have to transport everything from sound equipment to children’s materials each week, you will also need a vehicle and lots of faithful hands. While there is something to be said for the first servants in a church setting an example of diligent labor, the sad truth is that such responsibilities end up being a management headache dumped on a handful of faithful people who are burned out in six months or less. A church plant that begins with a small core must also face the reality that they have few volunteers who should be used wisely for the benefit of the entire church and spread between multiple areas of need (e.g., worship teams, children’s teachers, office help).

Every room has an odor. If you meet in a gym, it is likely your church will smell like sweaty guys. If you are using the building of a church that frequently cooks, or if you are using a building that has old carpet and drapes, or if you are using a building that is musty because of poor ventilation, then it may be an inconvenience to some, and a problem to others who have allergies. This is also true for the use of flowers, incense, and the like in a service.

To be considered in this category are simple matters such as room temperature and seating. If you live in a warm climate, does the room have air conditioning? If you live in a cold climate, does the room have adequate heating? If the room is filled, will there be sufficient air circulation to keep the room ventilated with fresh air? Does the seating permit general comfort, particularly for those who may have physical problems such as back pain?

Look for more considerations and tips in finding a facility from Mark in future installments of Finding a Facility: Help for Church Planters.

Why You Shouldn't Go to Seminary by Bob Thune

"It's time to call a spade a spade," writes Thune, an Omaha-based Acts 29 church planter, in his recent two-part series. "I am not anti-seminary. I have a seminary degree myself, and I cherish the education and the spiritual formation that it provided me. But it’s time for someone to challenge the standard assumptions." With plenty of carefully noted caveats, Thune disassembles the "I'm called to ministry, therefore I go to seminary," formula.

Why You Should Go to Seminary: An Interview with Dr. Ed Stetzer

Ed writes in his web interview on goingtoseminary.com: "I realize some people are suspicious of seminary because they feel it institutionalizes the work of ministry. ... But I would push back against that attitude and say that most graduates will tell you the education they received has helped to shape a proper theology, ecclesiology, and missiology.

"Seminary also offers something personal that we tend to lose as pastors and planters: camaraderie. As a planter, I was constantly around people and, at the same time, I was utterly alone. The time spent in seminary gives you the opportunity to learn how to seek out strong friendships and remain accountable in them. It is a side benefit to the education but a helpful one nonetheless."

The Gospel: The Key to Parenting and Guarding Against Moralism

Tim Challies interviews Bill Farley on his new book, Gospel-Powered Parenting and, in his 8th question, asks how parents could guard against promoting gospel-opposed moralism in parenting. "The only way," says Farley, "is to understand the nature of New Birth, to understand justification by faith alone, and to aim all of your parenting efforts at these targets. Parents that center their families around the gospel tend to get these results."

Not Everyone Understands What You Mean When You Say "Character"

Tim Chester briefly contrasts the modern secular understanding of character versus the biblical understanding of character. "In our culture... character has come to be virtually synonymous with personality. My character is the combination of idiosyncrasies that mark me out as different from other people. We used to say ‘He is a man of good character’ meaning he is a man of integrity and generosity. Now we say ‘He is a character’ meaning he is an eccentric, a bit different."

Healthy Pastors: Pastors Do Get Depressed

From our friends at The Resurgence comes Dr. Catanzaro's three-part series on Healthy Pastors. "Your pastors may be built as tough as a Dodge, but I tell you they weep, ache, sweat, agonize, intensely labor and lose sleep over their tribe. They weep over those who are living separate from Christ and labor to keep sheep in healthy pastures away from harmful predators. They sweat to provide nurturing food. They ache and agonize to provide a better way for you and for me. Give them the best of your prayers, service and work—your sacrifices and action of faith will be the aroma of Christ."

In Chicago? "Principles of Urban Church Planting" Huddle is October 13 with Eric Mason

Darrin Patrick, Acts 29's Vice President and Jonathan McIntosh with Rethink Mission have been working with the Chicago Partnership for Church Planting. They are hosting their second huddle on "principles of urban church planting" on October 13th from 9:30am-1pm. Eric Mason (Epiphany Fellowship in Philly) and Phillip Jenson of St. Andrew's Cathedral in Sydney will be speaking. RSVP by emailing Sam Smith at ssmith "at" htcchicago.org. 

In Raleigh? "Advance the Church" at Vintage 21 - October 7 with Jeff Vanderstelt

Jeff Vanderstelt (Acts 29's Second Vice President), Tim Smith (Mars Hill Church Worship Pastor), and JD Greear (Acts 29 church planter) will be teaching at this training day on Vintage 21's Raleigh campus.

10 Events in October & November: Colorado, North Carolina, Maine, Massachusetts, Washington, New York, Kentucky, Australia and Ecuador!

We have a lot coming up this month and next on the calendar, all over the country and beyond... check them out.

On his blog, Sam Storms writes an insightful and encouraging post from his Colossians series, "The Easiest Thing About Prayer", listing seven reasons to persevere in prayers that seem to be met by silence. 

The easiest thing about praying is quitting. Giving up seems so reasonable, so easy to justify. It’s always been that way, which is why Paul wrote in Colossians 4:2, “continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” Persevering in prayer when no one seems to listen strikes many people as a sign of fanaticism, if not mental instability...

I recently saw the film The Island (that’s not a recommendation!) in which unsuspecting clones are nourished and sustained to serve as organ donors for their wealthy sponsors who aspire to live as long as possible. These “folk” know virtually nothing of the outside world or its ways. Two have escaped and are in conversation with a rather strange man who happens to mention “God”.

“What’s ‘God’?” asks one of the clones.

“Oh, well, you know when you close your eyes and ask for something?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, God’s the one who doesn’t answer you.”

It’s a bad joke, but for many people it rings all too true. People in Paul’s day faced the same temptation to quit that we do. But too much was at stake. Though defeated at the cross, Satan and his demons are still active. The weakness of the flesh abides. The threat of schism in the body of Christ is ever present. Great opportunities to share the gospel are at every turn. So, don’t quit, says Paul! Continue steadfastly in prayer. Keep watch at all times lest you despair. Be thankful for all God has done and will do in response to your petitions.

... I want to briefly address the reasons why a good God who can help often seems not to, or at least not to in accordance with our schedules. There are surely reasons other than these, but here are a few suggestions that I hope will encourage you to “continue steadfastly in prayer” (Col. 4:2a).

Dr. Storms notes that endurance in prayer without answers works in us:

Read Sam Storms' full blog. It's lengthy, but you probably could use the encouragement.

Jason Johnson is the son of a worship pastor, who planned to work at a church. But God called him away from his personal plans to plant a new church.

Jason and his wife, Emily, quietly began changing gears, gathering a core of trusted people, and developing the call slowly in planting Woodlands Point Community Church. In fact, SLOW DOWN is Jason's word to those who would plant a church.

Though new at planting, he is not new to ministry - growing up as the son of a worship pastor, Jason experienced firsthand the suffering and criticism that accompany a life serving at a church. He tells men to be sure of their calling and to stay away from church planting if they're not called to it.

Jason asks for your prayers: for wisdom and discernment to be a shepherd of people who reflects the heart and character of God.

To read more about Jason and Woodlands Point Community Church, see their full profile.

W.J. Subash was in Dallas solely to pursue a Ph.D at Dallas Theological Seminary. But God had different plans. After several months at DTS, he realized a great need.

Acts 29: What happened? What was the need?

Subash: I realized that there were a huge number of unreached people groups from south Asia and the churches in DFW are not able to reach them with the Gospel. In March 2001, my wife Alice and I decided to start Bible study groups and invite Asian Indians for the study. God blessed this effort. Within a few months, we ended up conducting Bible studies in five different places. Our church is a result of our Bible study movement that started in March 2001.

Acts 29: What is your philosophy of evangelism in your church and what does that look like practically?

Subash: It is found in our mission statement: exalt, edify, and evangelize. In other words, when we exalt the Triune God corporately and edify one another intentionally, evangelism must take place on its own. I emphasize in our church that what we do during the weekend is the climax of what we do during the week.

Acts 29: How can we pray for you?
 

Subash: Please pray that we will be able to reach the south Asians who are predominantly Hindus.

To read more about Subash and The Crossroad Church, read the full profile. And check out other new members' profiles as well.

Here's more information on the events Mike mentioned:

Ecuador boot camp (sera mejor si habla espanol)

Australia boot camp

Kenya Church Planting Foundations

If you have more inquiries, please contact: international "at" acts29network.org

I want to talk to you about the way we approach church planting and the making of disciples. I don’t want to dazzle you; I want to talk to you as a church planter for 16 years and as a church-planting director of Acts 29 where we get to play in the sandbox and dream big.

Jesus said in Matthew 28:18-20, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Jesus did not say go make churches. He said go make disciples. Where disciples are gathered, churches are formed. But if we fail to focus on making disciples we will use them to build our church.

I am humbled at the churches being planted by and through Acts 29. I am thoroughly baffled at how many people visit our website and follow what we are doing; mystified that people smarter than us that ask us to consult with them. I love that we cannot attribute growth to any human effort. We owe it all to the gospel.

The gospel is good news.

A disciple is a spirit-led follower of Jesus united with a gospel community on mission to all people for the glory of God. Acts 29 serves as a united community of pastors to encourage, rebuke, confront and celebrate the gospel being imaged through exaltation and incarnation.

Read the full article.

Here Scott shares his personal story of church planting, becoming the Acts 29 Network director, and the future of Acts 29.

"We’ve seen a steady stream of books come from Mohler’s pen in the past couple of years. I have read them all and am quite comfortable saying that this one is the best of the bunch. Logically, consistently, biblically, Mohler looks to the Ten Commandments and then calls us to live in light of those laws, not as people burdened by rules, but as a grateful people acting in love toward a great God." By the way, there's a similar, excellent book by an Acts 29 pastor's wife on teaching the 10 Commandments to your children.

'It's Not Your Church!' R. Scott Clark on Attitudes Towards Church Planting

The Westminster professor & author blogs succinctly on the biblical mandate for the church to be sent, challenging the attitudes of those who refuse to "lose" their people to a new church plant. "The church is for Christ’s glory. The fields are white unto harvest. The church is the divine institution for that harvest. How can we refuse our Lord? How can we refuse to extend his kingdom? Have we talked so much about “this kingdom work” and “that kingdom work” that we’ve forgotten that the church is the ONLY institution to which Christ gave the keys of the kingdom?"

Young Man, Learn Self-Control

Especially in light of the embarrassing, petulant behavior displayed by several public figures recently, we found this article from the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood relevant. Teaching our children self-control is protecting them, as "a man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls" (Proverbs 25:28).

Meet the Puritans: A New Blog

If you haven't found it yet, Meet the Puritans is a resource for those interested in 17th Century English Puritans. Think: John Owen. MTP intends to provide "original research, theological and devotional commentary upon the writings of the the Puritans, reviews of books about the Puritans, recommendations of books about the Puritans, and ... recommended reading." 

The Danger of Ending Every Sermon with Application

Kevin DeYoung, author of "Just Do Something," blogs on the pitfalls of always inserting application points to conclude sermons. "Some (many?) sermons should not end with application. Why? Because the point of the text is not always to get you to go do something... Are we so afraid of not being relevant or prophetic that we can’t end a sermon by exalting in the person of Christ? No application is needed to finish off this sermon. The last word ringing in people’s hears should be something along the lines of, 'Behold your God!'"

Lead09 Conference: Discount Extended to October 5

If you've been hemming and hawing about whether to go hear Tim Chester & Jonathan Dodson speak on the church's main themes of gospel, community & mission, you have one more week to register at the $75 discount price. Git 'er done.

Ambition: Louisville Boot Camp - Nov 10-11

Sojourn Community Church will be hosting our final boot camp for 2009, with Darrin Patrick, Dave Harvey, Matt Chandler, Ed Stetzer, Steve Timmis, Bob Thune and several other Acts 29 planters teaching on what it is to have a gospel-driven ambition to reach the lost and build Christ's church. Register now for your chance to win hip church planter frames! [uh, we're joking]

Eric says that God's been "dumb gracious," to Epiphany Fellowship as they've grown. He notes how young Epiphany is and says there's a lot of patience needed but that he's thankful that he has an exuberant and passionate young crowd that he has to pull back in wisdom rather than push to motivate. Epiphany will be adding three additional elders soon, too, and they are already helping Eric shoulder the load.

Also, in the clip below, Scott asks Eric about what has been the biggest challenges in planting. Eric shares about the loneliness that accompanies planting. 

(Guess who else just recently talked about loneliness? Mark Driscoll wrote a two part series, Leadership is Lonely, on the Resurgence.)

God's also been dumb gracious to Epiphany in their finances. Their church is at 50% of the funding that it needs after three years (most Philly churches take 8 years to get to 50%). In their multi-ethnic, rapidly changing neighborhood (three blocks from Temple University), finances are a consistent struggle. Eric says most indigenous residents (and most of the Epiphany Fellowship people) are forced to rent as the land is bought up, rebuilt, and too expensive to purchase. As Epiphany is working to become financially independent, they are also loving their city by working with the community to make home-ownership more economically viable for the locals.

We are thrilled to have Dr. Eric Mason as a part of our Network. His ministry in Philadelphia and to church planters across the country is a great encouragement. Please be praying for Eric and Epiphany Fellowship - for wisdom among the leaders and people, for maturity, and for the remainder of the funds they need to be stable and thriving.

And what is perhaps even less known is how this highly influential man, clearly passionate about Jesus and preaching his Gospel, personally walks with Jesus. I had the privilege of sitting down with Matt after his talk at boot camp last week and got to ask him about just that.

In this short video Matt highlights two main elements of a personal walk with God:

1. Answer the questions "how will I do this?" and "when will I do this?" when it comes to Bible reading, prayer, & solitude. Most men never get that far, never make a plan, and their walk with Jesus is sporadic at best. 

2. Keep a watch on what stirs or stifles your affections for Jesus. Matt carefully watches his heart to see what increases his affection for Jesus - and he makes more room for these things (for example, getting up early and going to bed early are personally important for him). He also looks for those things that steal his affection from Christ or deaden it, and intentionally removes those from his life (his example was that he has to not follow sports closely because he starts caring too much).

I also wanted to know how Matt was influenced by other men through his conversion and first steps in faith, shaping how he practices his faith. Much of his intentionality in spiritual disciplines in the pursuit of faithfulness and obedience came from the man who invested in him early on. You can watch this short piece as well.

I am so thankful for this brother in our network. He is a godly influence to many. And the men who invested in him as well as Matt's own intentional, disciplined, personal pursuit of Jesus has resulted in great blessing to us all.

Jonathan McIntosh posts the top reasons pastors say they want to quit: 1) to protect their family, 2) criticism, 3) the work is too hard, 4) they're restless, 5) they're jealous of others' talents & giftings, 6) nobody & nothing seems to change. Have another reason and want to voice it? Follow @JonMcIntosh, @acts29 and other church planting leaders as they conduct more "Twitter polls" in the future.

Gospel Awakening Defined via Chan Kilgore

Chan serves on the Acts 29 Network's Board of Directors and oversees the Florida Region. He writes, "a Gospel Awakening is when a person's affections are gripped with the beauty of the holiness and love of God and broken by the depth of their own sin." Chan has a four page article on what an "Awakening" movement is, reviewing Whitefield & Edwards' eras, and defining each element in the process of an Awakening. A great, clear & succinct piece.

Houston Boot Camp Recap from Jacob Van Horn

We are thankful for men like Jacob Van Horn, Acts 29 planter of Soma Austin Community Church, who participated in last week's boot camp and was able to write an excellent recap of the whole experience while the Acts 29 staff were running around getting interviews, organizing assessments, connecting folks, etc. 

Bible Translations and the Case for an Essentially Literal Approach

Bible translations have been in the news recently and Dr. Leland Ryken has been writing on the ESV blog to answer questions on this topic. Read about the two main philosophical approaches to Bible translation, metaphor preservation, meaning-based translations, and the advantages of utilizing 'essentially literal' translations.

Six Essentials of College Ministry

Our friends at The Resurgence posted this article from Justin Holcomb - helpful for church planters looking in to starting a college ministry. Don't confuse the gospel with religion, learn about sexual assault, teach students how to read the Bible for themselves, be ready to comfort students through divorce & death, study apologetics & be prepared to counsel students on shocking and raw issues.

Church Discipline: A True Story & Resources

Thabiti Anyawbwile found this goldmine three-post series on Church Discipline. It's the tale of a man's long road in discipline & his restoration process by Tom Ascol, with the third post including a helpful resource list. As practice of Church Discipline is scarce in evangelical churches, these posts give a real (and ultimately beautiful) example and rationale for this biblically mandated element of church.

Ambition: Louisville Boot Camp - November 09

By the way, we are excited to have Dave Harvey of Sovereign Grace Ministries as a speaker at Ambition coming up in a little over a month. He authored When Sinners Say "I Do" and, most recently Rescuing Ambition, which is scheduled to come out from Crossway next May. Come on out for the last boot camp of 2009!

And Bruce's audio is up and not to be missed. He spoke on The Enduring Legacy, sharing his 15+ years of wisdom in raising up and training leaders in the church - he spoke with conviction, humility and clear expertise and those who are working on their own leadership development system in their churches or needing to improve that system will find his talk incredibly helpful. Among other things, hear about CCCC's core value of sanity, "the principle of the two stickies," operating in rhythms of grace, and being extremely careful about who gets your time as a leader.

You have 52 days: November 10-11, we'll be hosting our final 2009 Boot Camp, Ambition, in Louisville at Sojourn Community Church, planted by the Acts 29 Network's Southern Regional Coordinator, Daniel Montgomery.

Who is coming to town? Well, some of their last names rhyme with matrick, metzer, mimmis, mandler & marvey. You'll have to check out the speakers & schedule yourself. . . and register!

See you there for a great close to a booming year at Acts 29!

Acts 29: Covenant Grace Church is about 10,000 miles (16,000 KM?) from the US. How did you hear about Acts 29 and become involved?

Greg: First heard of A29 from John Piper's ministry, Desiring God. After reading and researching the online resources, I made contact with guys in South Africa who were also impacted by A29. Some of these guys went over to the US to attend the Text and Context Conference. Since then, we have remained interested and sought to connect. We then attended the Cape Town bootcamp in Feb 2009. The benefits are numerous -- a great bunch of people with a clear mission and God-exalting theology. Awesome resources.

Acts 29: What's your story of church-planting?

Greg: My wife Wendy and I were born, raised and completed our education in Port Elizabeth. In November 2004 we felt a call to plant a church in New Zealand, and Gracenet Community Church was established with the assistance of a team sent from South Africa. Planting a church in a foreign country presented some great opportunities and challenges. However God graciously gave us favour and many wonderful people from different cultures and nationalities were added to the church.

In April 2008 we landed back in Port Elizabeth, reflecting on a decade of growth in ministry. It has been an amazing journey, and in the last couple of years our lives have been greatly impacted by a fresh vision of the Gospel with a renewed understanding of God's Grace and Sovereignty. This renewed vision of Gospel-centredness led us to pioneer another church plant in our home town.

Acts 29: So, on this second time through church-planting, what advice would you pass on for men who are wrestling with the decision to plant?

Greg: Don't do it alone; make sure you have support and a team. Ensure your theological convictions are firm and clear. Build relationship with other like-minded churches.

To read more about Greg, Wendy and Covenant Grace Church in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, read their full church profile. And read more about other new Acts 29 members here.

We are half-way through assessments here in Houston, finishing up a week in Texas -- our very own Tyler Powell gives us the half-time report. Pray for our assessors & those being assessed for wisdom, discernment & grace.

For some reviews of boot camp, read Clear Creek Community Church (our host) pastor Greg Poore's blog, or attendee Zach Nielsen's posts.

Our staff spent a good part of the day chasing down church planters with cameras, collecting great interviews for all y'all. 

Matt Carter, the pastor of Austin Stone Community in Austin, Texas. Scott Thomas caught him for a few minutes before he went up to preach and asked him about what's been going on in his life and pastoring his family. [The book he mentions is "Good Christians, Good Husbands?"] We are thankful for Matt's openness, transparency, and the heavy truth he brought to us on the crucial importance of a biblically qualified, one-woman man to pastor and teach the church.

Bonus: Guess what? We have some of Tuesday's workshops online already!

The GCA blog recently posted the six top factors causing stress or satisfaction in church planters’ wives: the husband, the support system, Sabbath rest, reliance on Christ, boundary ambiguity and physical health. GCA blogger Shari Thomas also shares 8 more secondary factors.

5 Portland Church Plant Killers

Thought-provoking piece from a Portland inside view: "Of the dozens of planters who parachute in from Texas and Missouri and Pennsyltucky every year, few make it to their first birthday. In other parts of the country, churches are setting up franchises faster than Starbucks. Here, the going is slow. Every failed attempt only serves to inoculate the city against future efforts. What are we doing wrong?"

The Importance of Liturgy

Did you catch this from The Journey St. Louis? OK, so it's a year old. But it's a good one. "Liturgy, like theology, can be missional.  If it’s done thoughtfully and explained simply, it can be very attractive to a rootless generation." Do you have a sense of the importance or the positive effect that liturgy can bring to corporate worship? With a younger generation that mostly didn't grow up going to church at all, liturgy bears no baggage or inanity. In fact, to an overmarketed, chaos-ridden and jaded generation, liturgy has a beautiful depth, age & simplicity difficult to find elsewhere.

Gospel-Centered Life Study

The Acts 29 Network’s very own Bob Thune (Coram Deo, Omaha) has developed The Gospel-Centered Life study.  Among other uses, this material is for “Church-planters who want to form Gospel DNA in the churches they start.” They extended their “free review copy” deadline to September 30, so you have a few more days to see an electronic copy before making any purchase decisions.

Top Church Blogs

Hey! Acts 29 made #29! “Some [of these blogs] focus exclusively on ministry, while others are more like theology blogs. Regardless of how you label them, these are the world’s most popular church blogs written by many of today’s most influential church leaders, theologians, and Christ followers.”

House Church Stats: How Many Worship in a House Church?

Ed Stetzer dizzies us with his intellect as he presents us with the complex data for how many people attend a house church. The numbers crunch quite differently depending on your definition of what a house church exactly is. [Oh, and the graph at the end of the article is where the money’s at.]

Houston Boot Camp Starts Tomorrow

We wish you were all with us for boot camp! (If you still want to come, you have to show up tomorrow with a checkbook and a thousand apologies, and maybe some golf clubs for Director Scott Thomas, and… just kidding.) Please do pray for us: For the speakers and their families sharing them with us, for those being assessed and their assessors, for the attendees in general, and for all the folks working hard to pull off the event. 

We have added the measuring of arrogance and pride as a piece of the assessment process at the advisement of J. Allen Thompson, church planting consultant for Redeemer Church Planting Center. Allen calls these “stallers and stoppers.” We have recently rejected several church planters who have applied for Acts 29 on the basis of arrogance.

Allen calls the first staller/stopper “Self-Centered.” It is displayed by arrogance, betraying trust and being unethical. The measurable aspects of arrogance, according to Thompson’s research, are the following:

Russ McKendry, lead pastor of L2 church in Denver, and the Acts 29 Rocky Mountain Coordinator, has been preaching through Proverbs and recently taught on "Haughty Eyes," but made some great observations about what isn't pride. In uprooting and tearing out pride, it is important to correctly identify the pervasive weed and not dig up the good plants.

Here's a great section of his sermon transcribed:

Most people think of pride in a continuum of someone who’s arrogant to someone who is groveling. We try to rein it in when we see it growing so our disposition is back to an acceptable [groveling, navel-gazing] part of that continuum.

We are not to be people who just give up on ourselves. Most of us have a problem not in that we think too highly of ourselves but that we . . . don’t take ourselves seriously.

Some Christians have never asserted themselves in their faith; they don’t think that there are people in this life that they have to be on mission for. . . Each life is necessary in missional Christianity . . . This is what Jesus talks about when he says “what good is a lamp that’s put under the bed? What good is salt that’s no longer salty?” . . . It’s that mealy-mouthed Christianity that has no purpose and no significance – that is an evidence of a person who does not take themselves seriously enough. And I think that if Jesus himself came and lived with some of you for a week he would have to say, ‘what in the world is wrong with you? Either you believe me or your don’t. And if you believe me, and I have saved you, I have created something to happen in this world through your life.’

In the same vein, Acts 29 pastor Ray Ortlund Jr. comments on God's lament over his rebellious church in Isaiah 1:2 in Isaiah: God Saves Sinners: "How dimly we grasp the significance of our lives. We shrink our self-awareness down to the sequential passing of one moment after another, thinking piecemeal, rarely looking beyond, unaware of the magnitude that we are before God. We trivialize our choices. We don't think they matter that much. But God does not trivialize us. To him, there is no greater tragedy in the universe than his own children in rebellion against him."

Consider these questions:

In 2005, Stephen Wagoner was called to plant churches. In 2006, he realized this calling was to "The Triad" of North Carolina (Winston Salem, Greensboro, High Point). In 2008, Stephen and his wife Brooke moved their family there and in January this year, replanted 1.21 Church.

Acts 29: How did you build up your core?

One at a time. God in his grace has slowly and steadily has been sending people in our direction. I then meet with each individual and share the vision of 1.21 for the Triad & the world. Some stay and some leave. There are a lot of meetings a lot of networking.

Acts 29: What is your philosophy of community in your church
and what does that look like practically?

We are a cell/Missional community structured church – so we place HIGH priority on Gospel community and allowing the truth of Jesus to seep its way into every aspect of our lives. We desire for everyone to Love and Be loved – to know and be known. We do this in and through our gospel community groups – who meet geographically throughout out great city.

Read the full article from Stephen about his story & 1.21 Church.

Read about more Acts 29 members and their churches in Illinois, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Georgia and elsewhere!

Yes, you can still come to boot camp next week, but you need to register ASAP! Get training from Bruce Wesley, Matt Chandler, Eric Mason and many of the Texas region Acts 29 church planters. The focus will be on what it looks like to endure as a planter and leader, fixing our eyes on Jesus, our Finisher, who endured the cross.

In June, Steve Timmis became the Western Europe regional coordinator, and we launched the new region with a boot camp on the other side of the pond. Hear great basic teaching on church planting from our globe trotting, church planting Acts 29 leaders: Steve Timmis, Scott Thomas, Jeff Vanderstelt & David Fairchild. Don't miss Steve's Q&A session here.

What does it look like to lead well? San Diego Boot Camp looked at the concept of influence (as opposed to coercion) in leadership in many facets: influence through brokenness, community, the Word and worship, persevering, and through mission & vision. We have audio from David Fairchild, Brian Howard, Matt Chandler, Darrin Patrick & Jeff Vanderstelt. This is where Matt briefly spoke on "Why I am an Acts 29 Guy" and don't miss all the great workshop audio.

How can you know if you’re called to plant a church? Called to preach? Called at all? Do you have to fall into a trance, have a seminary degree, hear God’s audible voice or have everyone’s vote? With our largest international attendee list ever and speakers from all corners, this was one of the most broadly united Boot Camps for church planting and the gospel we have hosted. Hear Steve Timmis (UK), PJ Smyth (South Africa), Mark Driscoll (Seattle), Scott Thomas (Seattle), Matt Chandler (Texas), Dave Bruskas (Albuquerque) and more. Bonus: Russ McKendry (A29 Rocky Mtn Regional Coordinator) & Hunter Beaumont's workshops on GCA's Seven Seasons of Church Planting, part 1 and part 2 are incredible. Oh, and Hunter compiled a killer reading list for church planters that we thought we'd share with you today, too.

Vintage21 Church hosted a boot camp geared not only to teach and train those with intentions of planting a church, but for those who trying to get their seedling churches to “thrive.” Listen to Tyler Jones (East Coast Acts 29 regional coordinator), Ed Marcelle (Northeast Acts 29 Regional coordinator), Danielle Montgomery (South East Regional coordinator), Mark Driscoll and Scott Thomas, of course, but don't miss our wise and gracious guest speakers: Wayne Grudem, Danny Akin, and Andreas Kostenberger. And today, we uploaded the huge (don't say we didn't warn you) Raleigh manual, so you can have all the great notes!

Can’t make it to Houston next week? You have one last chance at an Acts 29 Boot Camp in 2009. "It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ is not known" (Rom 15:20) is the verse setting the tone for this boot camp. Who's speaking? Darrin Patrick, Matt Chandler, Ed Stetzer, Dave Harvey, Steve Timmis and more - look for solid teaching from church-planting movement leaders of not just Acts 29, but Sovereign Grace Ministries, the Porterbrook Network, and the Southern Baptists. We'd love it if you joined us.

by Scott Thomas

September 01, 2009

“Words matter. Words are malleable and can be used to illuminate or obscure. Words can hurt,” writes Seattle Times Editorial Page Editor, Ryan Blethen published August 22, 2009. Blethen probably doesn’t know what a helpful reminder he gave to the Christian bloggers with his article. He said, “What we [journalists] do can alter somebody's life for better or worse.” Then he made the most convicting statement, “Almost every professional journalist is careful not to abuse this right of free speech…Bloggers are writing past this line and finding themselves in trouble.”

Many of us have encountered bloggers who failed to do proper research and then published potentially damaging material with little thought about the consequences. With one national denominational publication I have made repeated offers to call me or email me to confirm the facts before coming to a conclusion. My phone remains silent thus far. Blethan urges bloggers to ground their words in fact. He said, “If it is not then the writer runs the risk of being sued for libel, which is a false statement that damages a person's reputation.”

It’s almost like some Christian bloggers ignore the ninth Commandment altogether. "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor" is still a pretty good principle. If libelous lawsuits aren’t enough to dissuade bloggers, Christian bloggers might read the back page of the Ten Commandments before publishing opinions. Blethen reminds us, “Whatever that opinion is, it needs to be grounded in fact.”

As believers in God’s Word and careful exegetes prior to teaching others, we should apply that same care to our blogs. Words do matter. I am not just trying to stay out of libelous lawsuits; I want to represent the gospel with my words.  

“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:29-32)

Jonathan McIntosh has unleashed a new resource for missional churches in the form of the brand-spankin'-new www.rethinkmission.org website - featuring interviews with church planters & authors and covering topics from new music to missional preaching. With an advisory board like this one, we're sure to see great, solid stuff. Who's Jonathan McIntosh?

"Jonathan was on staff for 5 years as a pastor and teacher at The Journey, a missional church in St. Louis; he is a student of culture and created The Journey’s cultural engagement ministries that have attracted media attention worldwide. He truly believes, as one poet said, that “the world is charged with the grandeur of God,” and that our first job as human beings, Christians, and missionaries is simply to notice; to come awake to that grandeur."

Speaking of Rethink Mission, there's an interview up with suburban Acts 29 church planter, Trey Herweck, on the unique challenges of the suburban church context. Asked about suburban Idols, Herweck states:

"The mindset of the suburbs with all of the stuff that surrounds you is “herein lies my heaven, herein lies my security, herein lies my salvation.” In the suburbs I see a lot of churches doing good things, I see help for the poor, I see passionate music and preaching, I see cool programs and state of the art technology and buildings, there is church growth, there is effective community assistance, there are good people, there are people overcoming addictions, becoming better fathers or businessmen … but if you’re asking me do I see a lot of people falling in love with Jesus? I don’t necessarily see that."

September 15-16 - It's only two weeks away! This boot camp will be unique in its focus on "leadership for the long haul" - delving into what it takes to not just plant a church, but to endure to the end as a church planter. There's still time to register for this boot camp featuring Matt Chandler, Eric Mason, Bruce Wesley and more. 

Lead 09 is coming up October 9-10, and will take place in Auburn, Maine. This conference will be featuring Acts 29 planter Jonathan Dodson, as well as Tim Chester (co-author of Total Church). Check out Acts 29's upcoming events and boot camps here.

That's right, 1999 is going away this fall ... So we need your help & input ASAP. What do you like about this website? What needs to stay, and what new stuff do you want to see? Please take our very-short-survey! 

Acts 29: Tell us about your calling to plant a church.

Ryan: Three years ago I was content. Life was good and there was nothing I would have changed.  I had an amazing new wife, I had the great privilege of serving in my first full-time ministry position, a boss that was challenging me and helping me grow, and I was getting to do all God put on my heart to do. And then came that night. 

Sitting in a business meeting, I heard God speak to me more clearly than ever before. So clearly in fact, that it scared me, because what He said would change so much of what I had grown so comfortable with... God said, “I have not called you to follow man, your journey will never be easy, and I want you to plant a church." . . . I came undone.

I called my mom on my drive home, telling her exactly what God had said, but her response seemed too simple to me.  She simply said, “I can see that.” 

A bit frustrated, I finally arrived home and immediately sat down with my wife Tami to tell her what God had said. To my amazement she said, “I can see that.” I sat there and stared at her finally replying, “How come I am the only one who seems shocked by this?”

Just to be safe I met with 4 or 5 other close friends in order to share my story with them, to which all of them replied, “I can see that.” I may not always be the smartest guy in the room, but after six people said the same thing and agreed with God I nervously accepted what He had said.  

Read more about Ryan's calling, and his advice for those who are working through discerning their calling, and all about Redemption Bible Church in his full profile here.

And... read more about other new Acts 29 members!

 “I believe many complementarians do a terrible job of offering a defense for their views,” says Rick in preface to his recent blogpost Addressing Questions Regarding Gender Roles. He continues by stating that he sees three main “fronts” that need to be considered in persuasively and intelligently discussing complementarianism. Here they are with the questions that Rick poses:

Rick’s full article contains many helpful, thoughtful & practical examples. Get it in PDF form here.

Rick will be speaking on Idols of Church Planting at the Houston Boot Camp next month – for more info or to register, click here.

By Scott Thomas, Acts 29 Director

August 25, 2009

Some lively discussion has taken place in a Southern Baptist blog regarding our ecclesiology and the giving covenant. Baptist Press (a Southern Baptist Publication) picked up many of the errors of that blog concerning cooperation between Acts 29 churches and Southern Baptist Churches. I have never written a blog that attacks another person or organization and I am not about to start now, but it seems that some clarity is needed.

We are not sure why one denominational publication is obsessed with Acts 29 and continues to publish information without checking with us.  It seems odd at best, and agenda driven at worst, to publish information about what Acts 29 believes and practices without ever checking with Acts 29 leadership.  

We are glad to have SBC churches in our fellowship.  They give to the Cooperative Program and we are glad.  They are governed as elder-led churches (rather than elder-ruled churches).  And, they have expressed to me that they would like it if the misrepresentations would end and we could focus on the gospel, mission, and church planting. I am assured by Southern Baptist leaders that the attacks by those in the SBC are not representative of the larger convention. The annual Southern Baptist Convention in Louisville overwhelmingly endorsed and affirmed younger leaders, the leadership of men like Akin, Stetzer, and Greear, and that change must take place rapidly and radically to be more about the gospel.

My goal is to reconcile the relationships between Acts 29 churches and Southern Baptist churches so that we can spend our time, money and energy planting gospel-centered churches and not interacting through blogs and comments ad infinitum, ad nauseam. It felt like “death by brothers” as our Vice President, Darrin Patrick succinctly commented on Timmy Brister’s blog

Here is the timeline:

Below is the current covenant that we use with our members. I will add my comments in parenthesis to explain how Acts 29 applies these things. Acts 29 church planters and their elders covenant together according to the following essentials. This covenent was introduced to our member churches in June of 2008 and implemented in June 2009.

Acts 29 Covenant (as of June 2009):

Acts 29 church planters and their elders covenant together according to the following essentials:

• Primary funding consideration shall be given to Acts 29-approved planters. (primary funding consideration means that we ask our planters to first consider another Acts 29 church plant, but it is not required. If they want to give to the Cooperative Program, we encourage them to do so AND give to church planters.).
• 1% of your general income will be given to The Acts 29 Board Fund (This voluntary fund is a new concept to promote foreign missions training, emergency relief, pastoral couples' retreats and is administered by the board—you will not see that on the old covenant that some bloggers found).
• However, denominational and network-affiliated plants must honor their agreements with other affiliations and we will arrange the terms on a case by case basis. (For those who hold to a dual affiliation like PCA or SBC or others, their primary funding consideration should be to their sponsoring organization).
• Furthermore, each plant must also honor any agreement with a funding Acts 29 church. (With existing Acts 29 churches, other agreements can be made in exchange for their support, although I am not aware of any said agreement).
• We acknowledge that it is the spirit and not the letter of this principle which is most important, and are willing to extend grace as needed to churches that are financially struggling. (Acts 29 does not check on where and how much an Acts 29 church gives and no report is required. We want our churches to be multiplying and generous churches but understand that special circumstances affect a church’s ability to fulfill the covenant. We are seeking gospel health with our churches and not cash dispersements).
• If a church plant leaves Acts 29 either of their own choice or for disciplinary reasons they are expected to repay their Acts 29 funding donor(s). (This is written to hold those who receive funding from Acts 29 churches accountable for their financial help).
• If a church plant dissolves whether or not they repay their funding is determined by their covenant with their sponsoring church. (This is also included to hold those who receive funding from Acts 29 churches accountable for their financial help).

It seems that the gospel will best be imaged as we humbly seek to voluntarily cooperate together for the advancement of Christ's Kingdom and for God’s glory.

2 Corinthians 5:17-21, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

I want to thank Scott Gordon for his humble and thoughtful SBC Today blog written to thank Mark Driscoll for his ministry. This was received as a gesture to recognize God’s grace in other’s ministries—even if we disagree.

Today we attended the Acts 29 Midwest quarterly meeting. It’s basically a get-together of Acts 29 church planters, leaders, and other interested parties. The meeting took place at the Journey in St. Louis. We enjoyed reconnecting with Journey pastor Steve Miller- the last time we saw him he had to leave the Upstream Jet Set trip to Marsaille early due to a stomach bug. He’s better now.

We work with a lot of Acts 29 guys. In fact, we’ve got on on our board of directors- Kevin Jamison, pastor of the Oaks Community Church in Middletown, Ohio. We’ve always appreciated Acts 29 and their contribution to the ongoing conversation among leaders about the need for culturally appropriate expressions of the church. They have provided a sense of movement and identity for hundreds (thousands?) of church planters who would otherwise be on their own.

That said, this was our first official Acts 29 function. The short meeting was a “mini-conference” of sorts- with a message by Bob Thune of Coram Deo in Omaha and a live interview with “Your Jesus is Too Safe” author Jared Wilson. We went into the meeting with certain expectations. We wanted to connect with some of the planters/pastors. We wanted to catch up with friends. We wanted to check in with the Acts 29 network to see how things were going, and how involved Acts 29 churches were in international missions.

Some things that surprised us about the meeting:

• Not everyone was white and middle class. Call us ignorant, but most of our interaction with the network was with 30 yr. old white guys who grew up in the suburbs but moved into the city to plant a church. But in a roomful of Acts 29 planters, there were a handful of black, Korean, Chinese, and Filipino church planting teams.
• Women were present. Sure the network is a boys club, but there were several ladies in the room- planter’s wives, no doubt, but it was nice to see. Some might have us believe that Acts 29 would block them at the door.
• Hair: As much gray and as gelled spikey. Who knew that Acts 29 had anyone younger than Darrin Patrick?
• Despite being made up of young and innovative guys, a lot of what we heard was surprisingly modern and, well, traditional. It’s a wonder these guys ever get lumped in with the emerging church. We heard a lot of proposition, a lot of linear discussion, and quite a bit of “how-to.” Maybe an Acts 29 meeting in California wouldn’t be as modern.
• Lots of those in attendance weren’t actually part of the Acts 29 network. There were students, denominational representatives, Darrin Patrick fanboys, and at least a couple Driscoll wannabes.

As much as we were surprised, we also saw lots of what we expected to see at an Acts 29 meeting:

• A relentless focus on the gospel. Seriously, we heard countless references to the gospel- being “gospel centered,” “gospel focused,” and “gospel literate.” Acts 29 leaves no doubt in our minds that the gospel is the single most important thing to them.
• Lots of sports analogies. Acts 29 is a bit of a boys club, and they like to talk about “wins” and “home runs” and “moving the ball down the field.” Thune’s curriculum, “The Gospel-Centered Life” was referred to as a “playbook.”
• Macbooks, iPhones, and horn-rimmed glasses. The stereotype isn’t totally unfounded.
• No-nonsense, honest, straightforward communication. I get the feeling that nobody at an Acts 29 meeting is going to tell you everything’s okay unless it really is okay. They seem to practice a kind of radical honesty that is both refreshing and unnerving at the same time.
• Fun. Everyone there wanted to be there. They genuinely enjoyed being together, and we felt welcome.

We’d like to thank Acts 29, the Journey, and Lifepoint Ozark for letting us tag along. We’re fans of Acts 29, and we look forward to serving network churches however we can. Be sure to check out the Acts 29 website for more information.

The Purpose of Fight Club 09 was to challenge men to fight for the radical transformation of the gospel of Jesus Christ in their personal lives. This would include how Jesus expects men to take responsibility and lead in their homes, their families, their churches, and culture; to be responsible and honor Christ in their use of time and their finances, to be wise in career and life decisions. The Apostle Paul exhorted the men in the Corinthian church to be watchful, to stand firm in the faith, to act like men, to be strong (1 Corinthians 16:13). We put that together with his final letter to Timothy whereby a man of God can say, as Paul did “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). Above all, men were challenged to examine their lives and to kill sin wherever the Holy Spirit makes it known through conviction.

The audio/video from Fight Club 09 is now available here.

What’s included:

“Fighting for Gospel Transformation in Your Church” - Scott Thomas [@acts29]

“Fighting for Gospel Transformation in Your Family” - Keith Watson [@pastorkdub]

“Fighting for Gospel Transformation in Your Job” - Leonce Crump [@crumpII]

“Fighting for Gospel Transformation in Your Time” - Matt Adair [@mattadair]

“Fighting for Gospel Transformation Over Your Flesh” - Jason Martin [@jason_r_martin]

“Why the Church Needs Fighting Men” - Scott Thomas [@acts29]

Bruce Wesley planted Clear Creek Community Church in 1993 with nine families in League City, Texas - where engineers abound, working in the petro-chemical industry or at the Johnson Space Center. 

As they have grown greatly, Clear Creek now meets in multiple locations. Bruce hopes to see more campuses based around high schools. He writes, "Because communities grow up around high schools, we envision planting a new campus near high schools all over the bay area. We are committed to training up kingdom minded leaders for tomorrow through mentoring, coaching and church planting."
 

We are excited to have Bruce and Clear Creek Community host Endure, our boot camp next month. Come on out! Meet our brothers at Clear Creek, and hear from Acts 29 church planters as they encourage leaders in how to make it through the long-haul.

ENDURE: Houston Boot Camp
September 15-16, 2009
INFORMATION HERE
REGISTER HERE 

The following is an excerpt from Acts 29 Pastor Eric Mason's session at Advance09. Eric will be speaking on Enduring Hope at the Houston Boot Camp next month.

“And I pray that you... may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

– from Colossians 3:18-21

God wants us to pray. But he wants our prayers that have particular characteristics that reflect his power and the abundance that he wants to give. This is not a prosperity gospel – which is self-focused – but one that is looking to God, and asking him to show off.

The Bible says that people without vision are unrestrained. This ‘vision’ is not talking about you dreaming up a plan and a packet or something on your website. In this case, it’s talking about a biblically-based dream; a gospel dream.

There are two types of dreams that exist: a pipe dream and a gospel dream.

I like the Urban Dictionary a lot – it has some funny definitions. According to that website, a pipe dream is “a vain dream that will never happen given the harsh reality” or “a fantastic but vain hope from fantasies induced by getting high.” There are more: an illusion, chasing rainbows, etc.

Some of us have pipe-dream prayer lives because our passions are not gospel-centered. Our dreams are not centered on Jesus.

How do you know if your dream is gospel-centered?

This is what it looks like:

This is where your vision comes from.

A gospel-centered dream and prayer is centered on Jesus as the eternal reality. Colossians 3:1 says “keep your mind on things above” – in other words, you need to have a divine imagination. This imagination is based on the heart of God, and you should be wanting to see God bring sneak previews and commercials of the eternal kingdom to where you will live and dwell.

It has to happen in us first. You can’t pray about what you haven’t experienced. Many times we wish for our context things that the gospel hasn’t done in us yet. And we have to be deeply impacted by the reality of the gospel ourselves. Gospel-centered dreams flow from experiencing the regenerative work of the gospel.

We have to get under the control of God the Father. When Paul prays for the Colossians that they “be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God,” he is talking about being under the control or influence of God. We are not to be “filled with wine” but “the fullness of God.” Let who God is get to you so that it rocks you and blows you away – so that as you look at his eternal triceps, you realize “God is smokin’!”  Then, you pray in light of this knowledge, and you pray a gospel-dream to a God who is able to do more than we ask or imagine.

Listen to or watch the full version of Eric Mason’s talk.

Eric will be speaking on Enduring Hope at the Houston Boot Camp next month. See details or register here.

Since then, I wanted to know just how important each characteristic and micro-skill was to our Acts 29 members who are doing assessments, and wanted to create a standard minimum score for the 10 Characteristics.

We polled our members, and from a little over 80 responses gathered some very helpful data I’d like to share with you.

General Scoring

With a possible 300 points available among 60 micro-skills, the minimum score required was 84%.

The Top Three Characteristics:

An encouraging element of second and third places is that they display a balance amongst our church planters in both the mental and applied knowledge of their theological beliefs. We do not want to be among the pastors who sacrifice their families for ministry, and divorce head-knowledge of the gospel from our personal practice of it.

The Top Five Micro-Skills:

Our next step is to apply all the scores we have and weight our assessments appropriately. We are thankful to all the Acts 29 members who participated in this survey, helping us sharpen our assessment even more. 

Maurice and Damita Stargell will be officially launching Hope Church of Henry County on September 13. With a core gathered and ready to run, the vision is to bring together a joyful, multicultural community of worshipers of Jesus, centered on His gospel.

Acts 29: You launched Hope Church of Newnan in 2002. Now you are planting a new church. Why?

Maurice: I knew from the very beginning that God had called us to be a “church planting church” with the mission of establishing gospel centered, life-giving churches throughout Metropolitan Atlanta.

So, I began praying about Henry County; I started spending more time there, and learning about its culture. It wasn’t long before God confirmed that this was His plan, and we’re now beginning to build this movement of hope in Henry County from the ground up!

Acts 29: What advice do you have for men who are wrestling with the decision to plant?

Maurice: 1) Know that you're called.

            2) Consistently love & lead your family.

            3) Don't just preach the gospel... believe it and live it.

Read more about Maurice and Hope Church here.

This summer, Aaron Dailey brought his seven-year-old Life Connection Church into the Network, becoming a full member of Acts 29. We are excited to see how Acts 29 is growing in the Southwest!

A29: How did you become involved with Acts 29?

Aaron: I was looking for a relationship with people of like-faith and we reached out to Acts 29. We have gotten exactly what we were looking for: we have met some great dudes and gotten to share resources and ideas.

A29: What were the biggest challenges you faced in planting your church?

Aaron: (1) my damnable pride - when I started at 24 I had a lot more pride. I thought I had everything figured out and did not set myself in a place where I was surrounded by coaches. I think having good godly coaches would have been a great idea.

(2) My idol of the approval of man - I do not think I had enough security in Jesus and the gospel. I wanted everyone to be happy and I wanted everyones approval and we ended up having no community or commitment.

(3) Teamwork - because I rushed into planting, I created a one-man show instead of a team. A core team is really important.

A29: How can we pray for you?

Aaron: I really want to see growth and maturity. We desire to plant more and expand. Please pray because only God can do that.

Read more about Aaron and Life Connection Church in Phoenix.

Meet other Southwest Acts 29 church-planters Heath and Harvey.

"The flames lit on their little heads
and bravely and dangerously went they onward."
- Garrison Keillor

This potent description from a radio show host on the book of Acts speaks to me as a church planter.  The church that I've been privileged to help plant, Grace, is approaching the two year mark in September.  It's been a journey of ups and downs, despair and joy, setbacks and progress.  I've learned more about myself and my strengths and weaknesses than any Keirsey report could ever show.  My idolatries of being successful or important are constantly exposed by the tossing waves of weekly attendance or offerings.   Yet in the midst of this cauldron of insecurities and challenges, I feel more alive than ever.

My wife and I will tell you that leaving behind the secure environment of an established church to start something new has been one of the most refreshing and invigorating steps of our spiritual lives.  It ranks up there with salvation and marriage.  There was something about stripping off the comforts of certainty that caused us to seek God in fresh, real ways.  My prayer life is rich.  My spiritual senses have been renewed.  Like the crispness of the autumn air, we feel alive.

Church planting is epic.  By that I mean that church planting is a series of adventurous and heroic acts over a long period of time.  It's not like a two-hour movie where everything is resolved conveniently in time for dinner.  This is an epic marked with miraculous provision, lives being transformed before your very eyes, and twists and turns that you could never have imagined.  In short, it's the adventure of a lifetime.

I think that all of us were made for adventure.  The box office returns of action/adventure films reveal to us our longing for something that is worth putting our lives on the line for.  I remember when God called me to plant this church.  I had a divine dissatisfaction with the status quo.  When the Holy Spirit revealed to me that I was to lay down all my former ministry to follow the guidance of the Master, God's grace caused everything else to pale in comparison.  It wasn't easy, but it has certainly been good.

I pray that this blog stirs your heart to be willing to bravely and dangerously go onward in whatever the Lord puts in front of you.  That fact that you don't know how the story ends is one of the things that makes an adventure what it is.  But this is what we were made for on this earth: to lay down our life and take up our cross.  We know that this is where life is truly found.

(Above) Smoke rises from the still-burning rubble of Gojra, after inhabitants fled the Muslim attack on Saturday. Our Pakistani Acts 29 pastor walked through to assess the damages to the church and Christians of Gojra (below).

"Dear Brethren in Christ,

The black smoke was still rising from 60 destroyed homes of village Korian which were flattened by fire. An other tragic incident happened on August 1, 2009. It was an other day of mourning for Christians when Muslim mob attacked at Christian Town and gunned down 9 Christian women, children and men and burnt down whole Christian colony of Gojra . . ."

Yesterday, an Acts 29 International pastor in Pakistan wrote us in urgency and distress as he reported to us about the terrorist attack on a Christian city in northern Pakistan. His relatives from the township called him in tears: "they have burnt whole colony and they have no shelter to stay in Gojra now!” Those who survived the merciless attack are now homeless and many are hiding and mourning in nearby villages after a Muslim attack. 

In the midst of their sorrows, the Christian victims' responses to the press are a light: "We are trying to face this in the name of Jesus Christ. The Bible says you cannot take revenge" (from the Washington Post's article). Another devastated man told the Post, "they have subjected us to severe cruelties. May God show them the right path."

Hundreds of homes are completely destroyed leaving hundreds more Pakistani Christians without shelter.

Elliot Grudem, Acts 29 pastor, is in communication with our pastor in Pakistan, and they are spearheading relief to the hundreds of Christians who are mourning and without shelter. Please read more about this tragedy and help if you can. There is more information (as well as photos) posted at The Resurgence, as well.

Finally, the Pakistani church-planter asked us to pray:

"Keep our all brothers and sisters in your regular prayers who are facing great trial of their faith and also lost their relatives in Muslims Mob attack. Kindly pray for our brothers and sisters who are outside of their homes and need shelter and food. Temperature is more then 40 degree centigrade. They need food, medicines, utensils and beds on urgent basis."

Please join us in prayer for our suffering brothers and sisters in Pakistan.

With the help of Tim Keller’s work and others, here is my attempt to cautiously define the gospel: Through the person and work of Jesus Christ, God fully accomplishes salvation for us by the Holy Spirit’s regeneration, rescuing us from judgment for sin into fellowship with him, and then restores the creation in which we can enjoy our new life together with him forever.

Steve Timmis has a definition that I like: "Jesus Christ, God’s promised rescuer and ruler lived our life, died our death and rose again in triumphant vindication as the first-fruits of the new creation to bring forgiven sinners together by the Holy Spirit to live under his gracious reign as His Kingdom people."

The focus of the gospel is not on the inadequacy of mankind (or even on his transformation), but rather on the glory of God. I am transformed when I live in line with the gospel (Gal. 2:14)—avoiding both legalism and licentiousness—and pursue the joy found in complete and utter surrender of my unrighteous life in exchange for His righteous life expressed graciously through every aspect of my Christian walk (Gal. 2:20).

How does this process work?

It is found simply in the not-so-simple phrase by JI Packer, “God saves sinners.” [J.I. Packer, “Introductory Essage,” in The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, by John Owen (London: Banner of Truth, 1959) 4-5.]

"God – the Triune Jehovah, Father, Son and Spirit; three Persons working together in sovereign wisdom, power and love achieve the salvation of a chosen people, the Father electing, the Son fulfilling the Father’s will by redeeming, the Spirit executing the purpose of Father and Son by renewing."

"Saves – does everything, first to last, that is involved in bringing man from death in sin to life in glory: plans, achieves and communicates redemption, calls and keeps, justifies, sanctifies, glorifies. Sinners do not save themselves in any sense at all. Salvation, first and last, whole and entire, past, present and future, is of the Lord, to whom be glory for ever; amen."

"Sinners – When we are born, we are dead, condemned, depraved, corrupt, perverse, sinful and completely unable to save or even lift a finger to enable salvation (Rom. 2-3; 6:23). This vile sinner doesn’t even know he is dead. The law of God exposes the extent of our wickedness (Gal. 3:24).

The gospel is what makes us right with God (justification) and it is also what frees us to delight in God (sanctification). The gospel changes everything!

When Harvey Turner became a Christian, he felt called to plant a church almost immediately. Attending Bible College and teaching at youth groups and Bible studies, Harvey took advantage of smaller opportunities to preach and lead until he had birthed a church: "I started a Bible study to reach some lost friends, which over time grew to about 60 people in a living room... we started functioning more like a church," says Harvey. Living Stones of Reno was born.

Through struggles of moving from a house to a larger building, from one service to multiple services and other difficulties, Living Stones has undergone many changes and grown. And there is much to celebrate: in early February, Harvey got to baptize 27 - some religious and some irreligious - who had finally grasped the gospel of Jesus and the grace of God the Father in Reno, where casinos are full and churches are few.

We asked Harvey what advice he has for men who are trying to decide whether to plant a church or not. He stated, "first, ask yourself: are you really sure you want to plant a church? Is there anything else you could do?" He recommends strongly that if you can do something else, do it, citing that the work is too hard with too little pay and too much heartache. But, he says, if "you will be absolutely miserable until you [plant a church], get off the couch and do it."

Read more about Harvey and Living Stones.

Meet another Southwest church planter.

In October, 2006, Heath Taylor planted Old Town Bible Church, with the vision of leading a people who both shared the gospel in the local neighborhoods and and built a community of worshippers of God who demonstrate the gospel to each other.

Heath says, "we want to be a people who extend Biblical grace to sinners and saints alike. The Bible says that all who are saved are saved by grace. Grace that God initiates and gives us as His irrevocable gift. Christians are called to live in this God-given grace and extend it to one another in love. We want to be a church that practices Biblical grace in our fellowship together in hopes that the effect will transform the community in which God has sovereignty placed us and called us to serve."

We asked Heath about how God has shown grace to him and his church. He responded, saying "The most impressive thing to me as a pastor has been to identify needs and weaknesses, pray that God would provide strength and solutions and then to watch Him provide the people in the body with the right gifts to serve and grow us. Two years in, I can honestly say that it is God that grows His church according to His will and not the gifts of a visionary pastor / leader. It's His church and He is in control."

Read more about Heath and Old Town Bible Church here.

Meet another Southwest church planter.

It has been 500 years since the birth of the great Protestant reformer, John Calvin.  He was born July 10, 1509 in the town of Noyon in Picardy, near Paris France.  He studied law and eventually earned his doctorate in law.  In 1531, he converted from Catholicism to Protestantism.  In March 1536, Calvin published the first edition of his Institutes of the Christian Religion, which became one of the most important documents of faith for the Protestant Reformation.  

Calvin’s Ministry

Through God’s providence, Calvin ended up in Geneva, where he would become the dominant leader of the Reformation movement.  During his ministry in Geneva, Calvin preached over two thousand sermons.  On average, he preached twice on Sunday and three times during the week.  His sermons usually lasted more than an hour.  He preached without notes directly from the Hebrew or the Greek.  

 

Calvin and Church Planting

It is widely known that John Calvin was a theological giant and leader of the Reformation.  However, what is not widely known about the reformer is his influence on church planting.  From 1555 until the time of his death in 1564, he trained and sent numerous missionaries into France.  What followed was a church planting movement of epic proportions.  Only seven years after the work began, there were over 2000 Reformed churches in France!  Reformed Protestants eventually grew to over two million people in Frances alone.  

Growth was not without a great price.  Fierce persecution followed and in 1572, nearly seventy thousand Protestants lost their lives in the St. Bartholomew Massacre.  This caused a mass exodus of Protestants from France. However, their suffering was not in vain; they planted thousands of churches through Western Europe and eventually came to the United States.  

Conclusion

John Calvin left a great legacy of academic achievement, doctrinal integrity, and missionary zeal.  He also deserves to be remembered as the father of a great church planting movement that influenced the Western world for Christ.  Today, John Calvin has nearly one hundred million spiritual ancestors who are committed to his legacy of Sovereign grace.  

By Habitual Sabbath-Breaking Pastor Scott Thomas

July 23, 2009

[for a PDF version, click here]

I am driven. As far back as I can remember I wanted to excel, to accomplish, to produce and to be successful. As a teenage kid in my backyard, I shot basketballs strategically, religiously and sacrificially until 11:00 pm most nights. I dreamed of playing college basketball because my only perceived avenue to get to college was a sports scholarship. I played college basketball on that scholarship, and with my degree and sports accolades in hand I set out to succeed as a pastor.

As a driven pastor, working seventy hours a week was common. Days off were notional. I felt justified to work non-stop because the need was great and I sadistically took on nearly dead ministries that demanded ICU-like care around the clock. As each church began thriving, I looked for another game to conquer and I moved my family to the next team. My perception of achieving success drove me to “steward” my gifts for even greater good – more success.

I have been killing myself in Jesus’ name for years.

It became clear that I had an idol of success as I was backstage preparing to preach at an Acts 29 church. I was praying for the 800-or-so mostly college-age people in the room and God said to me in that still, small (pesky) inner voice, “What about your sin?”  I was convicted of my sin of success. That I trusted in my abilities as a functional savior. I know that Jesus is our source and fountain of all joy. Yet, in reality I found joy in achieving my definition of success. Sick.

I am honored to serve as a pastor at Mars Hill Church. I get to direct the Acts 29 Network. I get to interact with big-name pastors and with wide-eyed, passionate young church planters. I get to travel the world (London, NYC, Hawaii, Scotland and even Texas). My job is a sandbox in God’s Kingdom. But as long as I am killing myself, the dust of my overworking toy truck clouds God’s glory.

A Repentant Prayer of a Sinner

From this day forward, Jesus, I relinquish control. I will rest in You and in Your will to build Your Kingdom. I will enjoy every aspect of the journey on which You are taking me. I will worship You and glorify You by taking a Sabbath (including not worrying if You need my help on my day off). I do not have to prove my worth to You, others or, the most annoying, myself.  I am declared righteous by the unmerited gift of Jesus. I am loved by You in spite of my ongoing sins. Rather than killing myself in Your name, lead me to turn and see God’s glory in You—especially when the demands of ministry come like an avalanche toward me.

“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”
– 2 Corinthians 4:4-6

Get a PDF of this article here.

Our top three contestants with the most votes are:

Our winners will each receive a free book. Thanks to all who participated!

Speakers include Steve Timmis, our new Western Europe director, Scott Thomas, Jeff Vanderstelt and David Fairchild. Check out the audio for these brilliant sessions here.

Acts 29 church planters were surveyed on 10 qualifications of a church planter and 60 microskills. I wrote a blog that detailed these characteristics more fully.

The top three characteristics are (in order):

The top three microskills from those surveyed:

Undoubtedly the first years of church planting are hardest and most volatile for the church planter - which is why so many churches never make it past their childhood, as the planter implodes under the pressure brought on from lack of resources, exhaustion and loneliness among other factors.

A significant factor in survival during the first few years is getting the church planter connected to wisdom and encouragement through other men who have gone before him. Acts 29 wants to see this happening through planters coaching planters and many other avenues. Here we pass along some wisdom from Jonathan Dodson, lead planter of Austin City Life in Texas.

FIVE THINGS NEW PLANTERS SHOULD KNOW
By Jonathan Dodson

• FUNDRAISING: Don’t forget to ask the pagans! If you are fundraising, remember that God used the pagan king Cyrus to fund the rebuilding of an entire city. He can definitely handle your church planting needs. Most pagans know more about your city than you do, and some of them love it more than you. Be sure to ask God first and others second when you are fundraising. And don't forget to ask the pagans.

• STUDY: Spend more time with people and less time with books in the first year of church planting. Learn your city, know its lostness, love your city, re-learn how to share the gospel in your context. Most of your reading should be your Bible and what I call "emergency reading"--reading in areas that you are deficient so that you can lead well. Don't spend inordinate amounts of time in your study or at the library. Spend time with your people, your fellow citizens, your neighbors. Ask them good questions. Fall in love with your target people. The more you know and love them, the more you will be able to share the gospel in a way that makes sense, that strips away misunderstandings of the gospel and slides in truly good news. Deliberate time with people also leads to better applied gospel from the pulpit, better preaching.

• MISSION: Identify the top 10 Obstacles to the Gospel in your Context. Don’t do this from the armchair, do it from anecdotes (conversations) and cultural exegesis (spending time in pockets of resistance or indifference). Sure, read local authors, newspapers, and magazines, but don't stop there. Talk deeply with nonbelievers. Ask them what they think of when they here the word "gospel." Ask them what puts them off from Christianity. Learn from them on mission.

• CULTURE: Identify the top 10 Obstacles to the Church in your Context. Anecdotes and exegesis. Learn the history of hypocrisy in your city or town so that you can apologize and distance yourself from mockeries of the Church. What do people think of when they think “church”?  Have they ever gone to one? Why did they stop? Learn how to talk about and be the church in your cultural context in a way that is biblically faithful and culturally sensitive.

• TECHNOLOGY: Don’t spend ungodly amounts of money or time on developing your first website. It will all change anyway, several times. You should be with people, not websites and blogs (!). Here are two good, inexpensive web solutions for early stage church planting: Church Root & Clover Sites. If you don't like social networking, find someone on your team that does. Network through social media, but don't make it a substitute for spending time with people. More time with people; less time with the screen.

Jesus Jr.

By Ray Ortlund Jr.

Our local deity is not Jesus. He goes by the name Jesus. But in reality, our local deity is Jesus Jr.

Our little Jesus is popular because he is useful. He makes us feel better while conveniently fitting into the margins of our busy lives. But he is not terrifying or compelling or thrilling. When we hear the gospel of Jesus Jr., our casual response is “Yeah, that’s what I believe.” Jesus Jr. does not confront us, surprise us, stun us. He looks down on us with a benign, all-approving grin. He tells us how wonderful we really are, how entitled we really are, how wounded we really are, and it feels good.

Jesus Jr. appeals to the flesh. He does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him. He is not able to understand them, much less impart them, because Jesus Jr. is the magnification of Self, the idealization of Self, the absolutization of Self turning around and validating Self, flattering Self, reinforcing Self. Jesus Jr. does not change us, because he is a projection of us.

It is time to tear down Jesus Jr. It is time to rediscover the real Jesus. Still today, even to us, his invitation stands: “Come to me” (Matthew 11:28).

Ray (shown above with his wife, Jani) pastors Immanuel Church, an Acts 29 church in Nashville, TN.

We had 95 entries for the Gospel Tweeting Contest to find the best 140 character or less gospel explanation. We need to choose a winner. Here is the original contest tweet:

“Looking for best tweet explaining the gospel in 140 characters or less. Winner gets copy of Driscoll's Religion Saves” (I am going to try to get a signed copy by Mark!).

Now, help me to vote for the winner. Choose up to three of your favorite by tweeting the numbers in order of preference followed by hashtag #gospeltweet. For instance: "@acts29 101, 98, 107 #gospeltweet" Some really good explanations are found at the end of the list so don't vote too quickly.

Tweet your favorite to @acts29 or to facebook or leave a comment at the bottom of this blog. Follow the votes on Twitter here:

Scott was interviewed by Yohaan Philip while he was at CCK in Brighton. Below are the interview notes.


YP: Can you tell me a bit about yourself, Scott?

ST: I grew up in a fundamentalist type of church as a young man. It was kind of empty because it didn't seem to be consistent with where scripture was going. So when I went to Bible College, I questioned everything - why things were done the way they were, why certain rules still remained intact?  The college president said not to worry about it. He said to focus on Jesus and the rest will come. So I began to live my life around that principle and it all began to make sense. A lot of the rules still didn't make sense, but following Jesus did. So that's how it all began. I began youth ministry at the age of 19. I was a youth pastor for 10 years and then a lead pastor for 16 years. In 2003, I attended an Acts 29 boot camp. Prior to that I always felt out of place as a pastor. I couldn't relate to a lot of pastors as I felt they were more concerned about their jobs rather than reaching the lost. So when I found Acts 29, it was a perfect mix - finally I had found my match! It was all Jesus, all mission all through the local church. In the very first session when the director got up to talk, I felt the Holy Spirit say clearly and very strongly, "You're supposed to do this." I kept this to myself and eventually came into Acts 29. I was on the Board of Acts 29 and when the Director left, Pastor Mark asked if I could take it on. I had to respond to what the Holy Spirit had said to me 3 years earlier. So for the past 3 years we've been helping young guys to start churches, establish them and strengthen them. It's all for His glory.

Scott standing just outside of Brighton next to the English Channel

YP: Tell me a bit about your family.

ST: I will have been married for 28 years this summer. I’ve got 2 boys - a 20 year old and a 16 year old. They're both serving the Lord. My oldest son works for Acts 29. He's Tyler Powell's assistant. He is very intelligent and will probably lead through a visible leader as opposed to being a point person. My younger son will probably be leading something. He's going in that direction. On his first day at Kindergarten, I asked him to be the leader. And at the end of the day, the teacher who said that he had wanted to be first in everything - to go out to break, to eat - called me in saying that his father said that he was the leader! He has grown considerably as a leader since!

YP:  You mentioned during the meeting with the CCK men that you got to experience at close quarters Mark Driscoll the family man, and that was something to be emulated. We have seen Mark the preacher, but can you tell us more of Mark the family man.

ST: First of all, I would say that being a preacher is a privilege, not a right. And before you can be a preacher you have to be a pastor. And that takes a lot of work. A lot of young men have this idolatrous idea of being a preacher because they want to preach to thousands of people and they don't realize what goes on behind it. It’s hard work to be a shepherd of a flock. Mark is first and foremost a pastor who wants to reach people. That's his passion. And he does that through the best way he is gifted - communicating. He tries to communicate to reach lost men.

Where I’m really impressed with Mark is the fact that he loves his kids. I love to see him and his wife hold hands, her just really paying close attention to him, and him responding to her. He lights up when his kids come into the room. That man, the character of the man in his own home, really makes him worth listening to.

YP: Thanks for using that pastor - preacher illustration. I find that quite helpful! During the meeting, you mentioned how Mars Hill is so predominantly Jesus centered. What's been helpful in shaping that underlying foundation for you?

ST: It's really ultimate that we have Jesus as the centre of everything we do. The gospel really is at the centre of everything. The person and work of Jesus Christ and how He has saved us and redeemed us from our sins is the metanarrative of the entire Bible. It must be the communication that we have from the beginning to the end - the thing that we're saying and everything we do. Sadly today, the Bible is being used, or even more crudely, it’s being raped to help build the Church, instead of being the focus of Jesus. So being Jesus centered means that everything we do is centered on the redemptive work of Jesus. Keeping that the very focus of everything, we turn it into building the Church. There's always a danger of Christians becoming insular and wanting to build the Church as an institution rather than building up Jesus Christ, the One for whom we're building the Church.

YP: On the subject of building the Church, what are some of the key features that you look for when you develop and assess church leaders and planters?

ST: First, we'd look for a man who has spiritual vitality. A man has to lead from within. He's a gospel-transformed man and he's going to lead others. That's what's got to drive him. It's not that he's a pastor preacher, but he's called to transform lives by the power of the gospel.
Then it comes to a man who has a real calling on his life. He understands that he has been called by God to do a certain work. Acts 17 talks about how God has appointed certain men at certain times to do certain work. And that calling has to keep him secure especially during difficult times. We realize that we can't be just called ourselves, but a group of men, church leaders, commend a man. Acts 13 says that Paul and Barnabas were set apart by the Holy Spirit, and the church commended them and sent them out to do that work.

Additionally, a man has to have theological clarity. So he has to be very teachable. He has to understand what the gospel is all about and he has to be able to communicate that quite well.

Also, in a pastor’s home he has to know what it means to be a man of God. In his home, he has to live in the authority and identity of Christ and from that we have instruction and discipline. The foundation of that is Jesus Christ. It's all wrapped in worship of Jesus. And a man has to lead that. He lives in the foundation of Christ, for the glory of God and under His authority and identity of Jesus.

YP: This is your second time in Brighton. I hope you've enjoyed coming back?

ST: We just barely got in and went straight to work, so I've hardly seen anything yet.  But more than Brighton, I've been impressed with the development of CCK and seeing it move forward. It's exciting to see issues that were identified a year ago being addressed and brought into fruition. It's not so much about seeing Brighton, but the work that's being done in Brighton through CCK.

As a side note, I am driving a Ford Edge that was loaned to me free of charge by Ford Motor Company in their Influencer program. They target bloggers of popular websites. Acts 29 is ranked as the 15th most popular Christian blog. This is a pretty nice ride, although I haven't driven it myself since Jeannie is enjoying it so much.

We are excited to announce that we assessed and approved our first church planters in our newly formed Acts 29 Western European Network. Stuart and Rachel Dean are starting a church in Haywards Heath England in West Sussex (39 miles south of London).

On a few occassions in the past, our church planter assessors have emerged from their assessments by stating, "We have just been to church!" I didn't know what they really meant. I do now. When we assessed Stuart and Rachel, we experienced a Holy Spirit enriched, God-glorifying assessment. Stuart and Rachel blew us away with their love for Jesus and commitment to His call in their life in spite of their personal struggles with Rachel's health.

New Western Europe Director Steve Timmis with Stuart and Rachel Dean

For more information about our Western Europe Network, contact Steve Timmis.

To contact Stuart, email him here

Standing on the outside of the church in London where we are having the conference.

“Church is the result of mission and the means of mission,” said Steve Timmis. He argued that the New Testament is a model for mission. It is reaching out where there are no existing works of gospel evangelism. Steve said that every church is called to be a church planting church. Church planting was not vital to evangelism; it is central to it. Steve illustrated it through Acts 13 where the local church sensed a call to proclaim the gospel by planting churches. They chose Paul and Barnabas, their senior pastor and associate. They didn’t choose the interns who had just finished Bible College. They chose their best men. Church planting doesn’t happen circumstantially, but rather intentionally.

Over 100 men from 12 different countries attended the Church Planting Conference. The men were intrigued, challenged, energized and eager to learn.

David Fairchild led a session on “Keeping the Gospel Church” from the Book of Galatians chapter one. David summarized the gospel as “Jesus Christ, God’s promised rescuer and ruler lived our life, died our death and rose again in triumphant vindication as the first-fruits of the new creation to bring forgiven sinners together…under His gracious reign as His Kingdom people.“ David urged the attendees to make an unwavering commitment to the gospel in our church planting. He identified 10 ways we have a tendency to distort the gospel.

The men enjoyed periods of worship and filled the old church (built in 1796) with robustly sung hymns.

Jeff Vanderstelt led a session about “Being a Leader who Grows Leaders.” He pointed out the fact that Jesus’ Great Commission includes making disciples. If our churches are not raising leaders, then we are not making disciples who can make disciples. This same mandate is found in Deut. 6 where fathers are to raise children who will raise children. A good Dad raises his children to lead their own families, not to keep their 40-year old children in their basements. A good church planter raises up leaders who will lead, sometimes better than the planter. 2 Timothy 2:1-2 encourages us to develop leaders who will develop other leaders.

In the final session of the day, David Fairchild talked about “Keeping a Gospel Heart” and he confessed the difficulties he had when he planted Kaleo church out of a heart of anger and not a heart of gospel. He made an interesting statement. He said “It is possible to preach about Christ without preaching the gospel.”

Our day ended with a quick trip to the spectacular St. Paul’s Cathedral (where Princess Di and Prince Charles were married) and then pizza with the volunteers of the Church Planting Foundations Conference.

Taken from the Inside of St Paul's about the same time Tyler (and the security guard) told me it says "No Photography." Oops.

Tomorrow, Steve Timmis, Jeff Vanderstelt and I will share with the men who are eager to learn and network with us.

By Pastor Scott Thomas

This week, Mark Driscoll and I were honored to have spent some time with Jonathan Falwell and a few members of his team including David Early, Matt Wilmington and Charles Billingsley. It was an extremely meaningful trip for Mark and me. We felt loved and befriended in an authentic way.

Scott, Jonathan and Mark in Lynchburg

We met some of his key pastors and had a fun meeting where we talked at length about church planting, multi-site and missional evangelism. We all went out to eat and then visited Thomas Road Baptist Church’s new 930,000 square foot facility. That’s like a million square feet for Jesus! The highlight of the trip was when Jonathan drove Mark and me around Liberty’s campus that ended at Jerry Falwell’s grave. For both of you that don’t know Jerry, he was an evangelical Christian pastor, televangelist, and a conservative commentator. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church. He founded Lynchburg Christian Academy (now Liberty Christian Academy) in 1967, Liberty University in 1971, and cofounded the Moral Majority in 1979. Jonathan said his Dad raised over 3 Billion Dollars during his lifetime.

Mark and Jonathan at Jerry Falwell's Gravesite

We somberly observed the gravesite that was just outside of his former office that overlooked the baseball field, a pastime favorite of Jerry’s. Jonathan told stories of Dad and explained the many nuances of the beautiful site. When Jonathan asked us if we wanted to see his Dad’s office, we both agreed like a puppy getting a treat. And what a treat it was! Jonathan was visibly touched afresh by entering into Dad’s office that lay intact as it was found when Jonathan found his Dad the day he died on May 15, 2007.

Jonathan and Mark in Jerry's Office

On the wall near the Jerry Falwell Memorial Garden were brazened sayings often heard from Jerry during his ministry. One said, “We do not determine a man’s greatness by his talent or worth, as the world does, but rather what it takes to discourage him.” Another said simply, “Never Quit.”

Never Quit. It struck me that it was that saying that will be the legacy of the Falwell family. Five things I saw in Jonathan that he did not quit.