The Tentmaker Group Launches

Posted by D. Goodmanson on Jul 31, 2007 in Church, Church Planting, Church Technology, Culture | 7 comments

The Tentmaker Group website has launched! If you know people looking to fund a church plant transition, pastors who seek supplemental income or people interested in roles that will re-invest money into church planting and ministering to people in their city, this is one avenue.  From the site:

The Tentmaker Group exists for God’s glory to create self-sustaining, gospel-centered movements to change cities.  Learn more about our vision. The Tentmaker Group was created in answer the following questions:

How do you transition into ministry?

How do you create a sustainable movement?

How do you fund a church plant?

How do you change a city?

For many, funding is a significant challenge to the pursuit of their calling. The Tentmaker Group provides opportunities to help fund these transitions and city-changing movements.

Total Church: Is the American Church Ready?

Posted by D. Goodmanson on Jul 28, 2007 in Church, Culture | 4 comments

I've been reading Total Church, a remarkable book that looks at a 'radical reshaping around gospel and community'.  In it they talk about the community formed at The Crowded House, where: 

We are committed to caring for one another, discipling one another, investing in relationships and resolving conflict. We will expect one another to make decisions with regard to the implications for the church and to make significant decisions in consultation with the church. We will not view church as a meeting you attend. We will not let conflict continue unresolved. (emphasis mine)

Chester/Timmis argue that just as a 'married man must take into account his wife and family' in making decisions, the same should be done in the family of God.   The book then points out:

This is not a process of 'heavy shepherding' where the leader tells people what to do.  Our statement does not say decisions are made for people.  It says they are made with regard to the community to which they belong.  Nor is it top-down.  It is a community process in which everyone is accountable to everyone.  As leaders, we submit our schedules, priorities and key decisions to the community. 

In the book they cite one attender who quit his 'high-paying' job as a bank executive to teach English as a second language.   Is the American church ready for this?  (The book is not yet released in the US.  I believe Mark Moore has 50 copies for purchase.)   They go on to say:

I cannot be who I am without regard to other people.  Into our pervasively individualistic world-view, we speak the gospel of reconciliation, unity and identity as the people of God.  This is perhaps the most significant 'culture gap' which the church has to bridge.  (emphasis mine)

The Church in a Post-Christian World

Posted by D. Goodmanson on Jul 27, 2007 in Church, Church Planting, Culture, Ministry Design | 4 comments

Since I did my session on Post-Christian World, here are a few add'l external links from the last day in the blogosphere that relate:

What do our church buildings witness to? "Our church buildings witness to the immobility, inflexibility, lack of fellowship, pride and class divisions in today's church." According to "Radical Renewal: The Problem of Wineskins Today" (Howard A. Snyder), post at Mark Moore's blog.

The Center for Christian Leadership is pleased to announce an upcoming conference, Beyond the Church Doors: Developing a Missional Mindset within Your Congregation, on March 31 and April 1, 2008, featuring Dr. Ed Stetzer and Dr. Alan Roxburgh. If your church is developing creative and strategic ways of engaging in missional ministry, we would like to profile your activities in our conference materials.

Take the Missional Church Survey online >>

Many North American churches today are shifting away from an “attractional model” of ministry designed to draw people into the church building to a “missional model” which involves training and equipping whole congregations to act as missionaries in their local communities. We would like to know how your church is engaging in ministries of compassion and service in order to further the gospel and impact the culture. …

We are compiling a list of stories that will inspire others to creatively engage in missional practices. Please share one or two of your church’s activities that have impacted your community. (HT: djchuang)

Also check out Inc. Magazine's newest issue, Fun! It's the New Core Value to continue to see how the culture shift is changing institutions.  

Communication in Our Post-Christian World (GCA Session)

Posted by D. Goodmanson on Jul 26, 2007 in Church, Church Planting, Culture | 6 comments

Here is the session I did at GCA on Communication in Our Post-Christian World (86-page PDF).  There is a lot of stuff the pdf won't explain but it will provide a general idea of the conversation.  For example,

We are in the middle of one of the greatest worldview transitions in recent history.  Gen-X is turning 40. While much has been discussed in terms of culture/postmodernity, it is now beginning to take hold institutionally as this generation moves into positions of power.  How the values of Gen-X & Y are reshaping ecclesiology, theology and mission and causing greater diversity in the forms and expression of the church.  

The ghost of Christianity and Christendom and it's gospel inoculation impact on mission.  The reversal with new church expressions seeing 'tradtional/modern' churches as synchronizing to a dying culture.

How the increased connectivity of Gen-x & Y creates a Virtual Tribalism and the impact on evangelism, outreach and churches. A look at this hyper-affinity and the 10 Idols of these new generations. 

For those who asked for the church planting movie, it's located here: Post-Christian America & the Urgency of Church Planting (This post also has the link to all stats/sources) 

GCA Church Planting Conference – Day 2

Posted by D. Goodmanson on Jul 24, 2007 in Church, Church Planting, Culture, Ministry Design | 1 comment

I attended Emerging 1 & 2 and Evangelism 1 & 2 today. Emerging Session 2 was led by Steve Treichler from Hope Community.  Some quotes:

"We are in the middle of the greatest worldview shift in 200 years and evangelicals have largely sheltered themselves from this transition."  (Meaning: we no longer understand our culture)

"The gospel is a chocolate covered waffle cone.  In 11 years of our church  I have never told our people, "'you should invite your friends to church.  We do  very little 'should'." (Meaning: If our people don't see the gospel as something to prize and share, our people don't get it.) 

Here are a couple quotes from Martin Ban who is currently the Senior Pastor of Christ Church Santa Fe.  These are from his session, Making Room: A Trinitarian Reflection on Evangelism and Cultural Engagement with the Gospel. This was an excellent session which impacted me particularly as it relates to how God has allowed us to be IN Christ.  I'll have to digest this for a bit, but here are two quotes that struck me (but don't really indicate the thrust of the message). 

"The gospel is not efficient."   (As it relates to loving others and being missional.

If our people learn a Systematic Theology of Grace it results in a reduction of risk (taken by people).  We need to teach our people a Kingdom view of Grace with enables them to take greater risks. 

Dan said one of his mentors was Dick Kaufmann (he also mentioned Frame, Keller, Schaeffer, Newbigin and others) so I liked him from the get-go.  Plus, he presented his session with a triperspectival understanding of evangelism.  Eg., He discussed things like the Logos, Ethos and Pathos in evangelism.  He's going to send out his presentation PowerPoint so I will refresh myself on a couple thoughts and post on these.