From TIME:
Though exact numbers may not always be available, the larger trend is clear: this numerical division between traditionalists and revisionists is also seen around the world. It’s the stricter Christian churches that typically have stronger and more vibrant congregations — as has been documented at least since Dean M. Kelley’s 1996 book, Why Conservative Churches Are Growing.
Rob writes:
For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14)
What are the motivations for planting a church? Before we go farther, let us be careful to understand the question the right way. By asking for motivations, we are after all not asking for reasons. Reasons can be quite innocent and of course reasons can be…reasonable. If we were to ask “what are the reasons for planting a church” we might say things like . . . .
Read it all over at Kardia.
Winfield Bevins writes over at Kardia Church Planting Initiative:
It is widely known that John Calvin was a theological giant of his day. However, what is little known about the reformer is his influence on international church planting. From 1555 until the time of his death in 1564 he concentrated on sending missionaries into France.
What followed was a church planting movement of epic proportions. During this time, eighty-eight preachers were sent from Geneva into France to plant churches. At least nine of them would become martyrs. Only seven years after the work began, there were over 2000 Reformed churches in France! Protestants eventually numbered over two million people out of Frances twenty million population.
Growth was not without a great price. Fierce persecution followed and in 1572, seventy thousand Protestants lost their lives causing a mass exodus of Protestants from France. These refugees planted thousands of churches through Western Europe and eventually the United States.
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 missionary church planting movement that influenced the world for Christ.
Read the whole thing over at the Kardia blog.
As you know, one of the priorities I’ve set for our common life is the development of our ability and willingness to plant churches. Why? Because church planting is the best form of domestic outreach in which we can be engaged. I regularly hear people both inside the church as well as outside the church lament the apparently deteriorating nature of our culture and country. Friends, the problem is not Congress nor is the problem which political party occupies the White House. It is not Wall Street or the educational system. The problem is that the church has failed to disciple its own and we have failed to commend the faith within us to others. Perhaps the greatest indicator of this failure is the lack of churches that populate our country. Do you know that in 1950 we had 1 church for every 400 Americans? Today, we have 1 church for every 2000 Americans. We want to change that.
This month’s letter comes from a young church planter that St. Andrew’s – you – have been working to equip to reach the unchurched in the Summerville area.
- Steve
Dear St. Andrew’s,
My family has been worshipping with you over the past month and over this past month we been have blown away by the love of God, the love of people, the proclamation of the Gospel, and the experience we have had to this point.
I am a church planter for the Diocese of the Carolinas. We will be planting in the summer, but decided to spend time at SAMP while we prepare for this journey. We came looking to be refilled after several years serving in a smaller parish. Anytime you serve in ministry, a time for refreshment is always needed. We are blessed to be able to get an extended period of refreshment time.
I first want to say thank you. Thank you for feeding my family. Thank you for providing community and worship that is life-giving. Within the first 10 minutes of being in worship at St. Andrew’s the first Sunday in March, it was apparent to my wife and I that we were right where we were supposed to be for this season of refreshment. The spirit was strong in worship, the sermon series, “The Church” is exactly what we need as we plant a new church, and the community has been loving and embracing.
Thank you for taking care of my son. On the way home from our first Sunday morning at SAMP, our son (2 years old) was singing “Jesus Loves Me” before we even got out of Mt, Pleasant. This was a life-giving moment not only for him, but for my wife and I as well.
Thank you for freedom. The worship as SAMP is very special. It provides freedom. Freedom to worship with powerful songs that are full of theology, powerful songs full of the Gospel.
Thank you for investing. Over the past 8 months I have been attending the Ridley Institute. I have had the privilege to sit under great theological teaching, eat some good food, and build some great relationships and friendships. I have seen Scripture in a new light, that has allowed me to see the story of my redemption in a way I have never seen it before and is equipping me to communicate the Gospel in a way I have not been able to communicate before.
Thank you for Easter. This was the first time in seven years, and most likely the last time for many more to not have ministerial responsibilities on Easter. I was able to show up, worship and reflect on the resurrection, and go home, not tired from serving, but refreshed from the service. We attend Boone Hall and were blown away at the experience of celebrating the biggest moment in History in one of the most beautiful places in Charleston.
I am praying for all of you everyday. It is refreshing to be a part of a life-giving church that is investing in my family. The investment you are making in us will be the biggest investment anyone can give to the new church. You are helping us become healthy ministers and helping me become a healthy pastor. My prayer is that our church can be a life-giving church like SAMP. I pray that we can make a difference in the life of Non-believers and seasoned Christians. I pray that we can be a game-changer for Summerville, as you have been a game-changer in Mt. Pleasant. But more importantly, I pray that we together can proclaim the Gospel unashamedly for years to come and that together as a body of Anglicans, a body of believers, a body of Gospel-Centered people, we will change our communities in a way that only the power of the Gospel can.
Thank you.
Grace and Peace,
Phillip Wilson
Lead Pastor
Trinity Church, Summerville
George Weigel offers this fascinating look at Pope Francis. Especially interesting is his detailing of the politics behind the election (included in the article but not excerpted below – click link below to read more):
A reforming pope. One of the principal dynamics of Conclave 2013 was a settled determination among a clear majority of the cardinal electors to see that the next pontificate addresses, in a root-and-branch way, the incompetence and corruption that has made too much of the Roman Curia an impediment to the New Evangelization, rather than an instrument of it — and in doing so, to empower the good people of the Curia to give the world Church the benefit of their remarkable talents. Pope Francis is not going to have a happy time reading the 300-page report on Vatileaks and related Roman messes that is waiting for him in the papal apartment. But he will read it with a reformer’s eye, with the aid of some very shrewd and reform-minded veterans of the Curia, and with a clear understanding from his own experience (as related to me last May) of what went wrong in the management of the Church’s central administrative machinery under the leadership of Benedict XVI’s cardinal secretary of state, Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B. It may be reasonably expected that real reform, in both curial culture and curial personnel, will follow in due course. The sooner the better, many would say.
A pope in defense of human rights and democracy. Pope Francis has left behind an Argentina in which he was a stern critic of the Cristina Kirchner government’s deepening of that beautiful country’s democracy deficit, and of Madam President’s commitment to a public policy of bread and circuses wedded to legally enforced lifestyle libertinism — what Benedict XVI aptly called the “dictatorship of relativism.” At a moment when the momentum of the democratic project in Latin America is flagging (while new opportunities are opening up in places like post-Chávez Venezuela and the inevitable post-Castro-brothers Cuba), the new pope should be able to rally Catholic forces in defense of religious freedom and other civil liberties in a continent where they are now under assault. And if he can do that at home, he can do it throughout the world.
Pope Francis is also deeply committed to the Church’s service to and empowerment of the poor, as he made unmistakably clear in his ministry in Buenos Aires. But those Gospel-based commitments should not lead anyone to think that he will be Paul Krugman in a white cassock. That seems very unlikely.
And now for the ironies.
As we approach Easter, we give thanks for our risen Lord, and for the many blessings of this life-including the opportunity to serve here in Rwanda. We wish all of you at St. Andrew’s a blessed Easter and we want you to know how much we appreciate the support of St. Andrew’s.
In Christ,
Louise King
On Sunday, March 31, we will celebrate the most amazing event in human history: the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead!
Jesus’ resurrection is central to our faith. In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul tells us, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in you sins . . . If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.”
The glorious reality that we celebrate is this: Christ has indeed been raised from the dead – “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”
The resurrection is the deal-breaker for the Christian faith. The resurrection separates Jesus from all the other religious leaders. He predicted it and He did it.
I’ve studied world religions for many years and I’ve never encountered a man like Jesus Christ. And while we may find commonality amongst the world relgions with regard to values and morality, a chasm exists between the self-revelation of God in Christ and the religions that spring from the heart of humanity.
Every time I examine the religious systems of the world they always bottom out with one word: “works.” You must earn your salvation. You must work to be closer to God – through reincarnation, by fasting for 30 days, by making a hajj, by observing the law, or whatever it might be. It all comes down to W-O-R-K-S. All attempts by human beings to put themselves in right standing with God.
Jesus puts Christianity in a completely other category. The Christian story is about what God has done from His side. It’s about God’s search and rescue mission. It’s about God’s restoration of our broken relationship. Jesus Christ claimed to be God and in His face, in His life, we see the kindness of God reaching out to us – before it ever occurs to us to reach out to Him – Jesus is God’s action to find, save and restore us.
This truth is too good to keep to ourselves.
It was this truth the compelled those early disciples – and every true disciple since – to go to every corner of the earth with the Gospel.
Friends, our corner of the earth is Mt. Pleasant, West Ashley, North Charleston, James Island, Charleston County, Berkley County . . . it’s wherever you live. Easter at Boone Hall Plantation is an amazing celebration. The service is from beginning to end a celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. We will rejoice, we will honor, we will worship The One who conquered death.
Easter at Boone Hall is also a time of outreach into the community.
There will be about 4000 people attending the Easter Service at Boone Hall this year. Who will welcome them? Who will extend to them the hospitality of our Lord? Who will help care for their children? Who will ready the tent for the celebration? Nearly 600 people are needed to help with our service at Boone Hall.
If we say we love Jesus but our lives don’t demonstrate the reality of this love our faith isn’t worth a thing. Jesus lived and died for others. Yes, we celebrate Easter and Boone Hall is a wonderful celebration. But we already know Christ. Easter at Boone Hall is also for those who don’t yet know Him.
St. Augustine once wrote: “Without God we can not, without us He will not.” Will you pray for Jesus to be glorified in Mt. Pleasant that day? Will you ask the Lord whom He wants you to invite – and then do it? Will you help set up, greet, minister to the children and take care of our guests? Will His heart beat in your chest? Will His hands reach out through yours? Will you see one another through His eyes?
I hope you’ll say “yes.”
To send an evite to your friends click here.
To volunteer to serve click here.
In the family,
Steve
Dear St. Andrew’s Family,
As you know, over the past three years our Campus Planning Team, led by Bill Maddux, has worked exhaustively to creatively address the increasing limitations on the life and ministry of St. Andrew’s caused by our space limitations. During the months of December-January, the Vestry of St. Andrew’s, at the recommendation of the Campus Planning Team, engaged the Winkler Group to conduct a planning study regarding the potential for a capital campaign. Many of our church members confidentially shared their opinions through interviews and surveys, and I am thankful for the opportunity to hear your thoughts. The study, along with specific recommendations, has been formally presented to the church leadership and I want to pass along the results to you.
Over the course of four weeks, the Winkler Group conducted in-depth personal interviews with 144 people. These interviews represented a wide cross section of church members. Additionally, so that we might have a thorough and balanced study, and so we might provide all church members the opportunity to have their voice heard, electronic surveys were sent out to the entire congregation and hard copies were available after services. In all, 271 electronic surveys were completed and returned.
Below are some of the highlights from the findings of the study:
Where to do we go from here? Based on your feedback and on the recommendation from the Winkler Group our next steps are to:
We greatly appreciate the opinions and input you have shared with us.
I want to thank all of you who participated in the study. Your honest feedback and assessments have proved invaluable and will help ensure our continued success in proclaiming the Gospel – not only in our generation, but in those yet to come.
In the family,
Steve
I am thrilled to unveil the church plant website for the Diocese of the Carolinas. We’ve made church planting the top priority for our Diocese and have established a fairly sharp team that directs, assesses and coaches our church planters. Additionally, you will find materials on the site that assist established churches to assess and revision their existing mission and ministry.
We’ve named our church plant initiative, “Kardia Church Plant Initiative.” It takes it name from a little phrase +Fitz Allison said to me 25 years ago when I was a very young seminarian at VTS: “what the heart desires, the will chooses and the mind justifies.” May Christ and His cause be our greatest desire.
marc5solas has a great article addressing one of the byproducts of contemporary American Evangelicalism’s seeker-senstive, best life now, entertainment/video driven, smooth off the rough edges “church” – our kids are fleeing.
The facts:
The statistics are jaw-droppingly horrific: 70% of youth stop attending church when they graduate from High School. Nearly a decade later, about half return to church.
Half.
Let that sink in.
There’s no easy way to say this: The American Evangelical church has lost, is losing, and will almost certainly continue to lose OUR YOUTH.
For all the talk of “our greatest resource”, “our treasure”, and the multi-million dollar Dave and Buster’s/Starbucks knockoffs we build and fill with black walls and wailing rock bands… the church has failed them.
Miserably.
The Top 10 Reasons We’re Losing our Youth:
