Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Passion for Planting - Part 1


Tyrone Daniel has led the NCMI Trans-local Team for the last 6 years and recently relocated with his wife Nicole and 3 sons to Denver Colorado. They are currently pioneering Redemption City Church, a church plant based in the City of Westminster CO.

Passion for Planting - Part 1

Ephesians 1:1 -23

We are loving the adventure and journey of church planting here in Denver!!!!
It has been said, “The world at its worst needs the church at it’s best.” This sets a wonderful task ahead for us and forces us to ask ourselves some questions as we lay biblical foundations into the life of our church.

WE need to ask what we are building for? How we answer this question determines what we focus on and what we highlight as important!!

Are we Building: For The Moment

In Isaiah 38 and 39 King Hezekiah becomes ill but is granted another 15 years of life. Some time after this envoys come from Babylon and Hezekiah shows them all the treasures of his kingdom without, apparently, giving glory to God. When Isaiah comes back to Hezekiah with the word that everything will be taken from him and that is children will be sold into slavery, Hezekiah responds by saying “The word of the Lord is good .. There will be peace and security in my lifetime”

What a shortsighted view! As we plant friends, lets remember that we are not building for the moment or simply to make ourselves look successful. We must lay foundations now that will set the next generation up for success. Hezekiah literally sells the next generation in to slavery and bondage. Let us build and plant in such a way as to set our next generation up for victory, liberty, freedom and effectiveness.

Are we building: A Monument

2 Sam 18:18

Our intent can never be to set up a monument in our own name to our own successes.
What we are doing should reflect Him and His glory at every level - for Him and with Him!
We are not trying to draw people to our thing but rather point people to Him

Are we building: A Movement.

Acts 9:1 – 5

The debate about whose baptism the disciples are baptized into is quickly settled by them being baptized into the name of the lord Jesus! Even as we plant, we do it all in the context of a Kingdom and that Kingdom only has one King – Jesus!
Our intent must be to build THE Kingdom not our kingdom.

Are we building: A Ministry.

3 John:9

I am convinced that none of us would want said over us what we see in this Scripture “Diotrephes, who loves to be first”
We must keep before us the truth that it is not our ministry. It doesn’t belong to us!! WE share in His ministry and therefore are not looking to advance our ministry and make it known, but rather to share in a greater level of partnering with Him! In order to share in His ministry, we need to make space for Him to minister!!

Are we Building for: The Master

From the very outset of creation Gods intent for man is to multiple and be fruitful! Gen 12 talks about God blessing all people through people, Matt 28:18-20 Jesus commissions His disciples with authority to go and make disciples of all nations, Acts 1:8 similarly speaks of Power for purpose in all places!
It has been often said that ... world evangelization is a fantasy if we are not planting churches!

The only way we are going to disciple the nations is to plant NT churches in every village of every town of every city of every nation! What we need to remember is that church planting is not the primary focus! The King and His Kingdom is always the primary focus! When we focus on planting instead of the Kingdom …
- Mans needs become more important than Gods Devine Glory
- Strategy becomes a result of human observation instead of God inspired Revelation
- We shift the focus to growing our church rather than advancing His Kingdom
- Ultimately we sell out of Gods original intent for gimmicks and tricks because church planting is the central focus of everything!

I'm convinced that when church planting is centered at every level around our King and His Kingdom and therefore is an (not the only) expression through which His Kingdom comes - we will see cities and nations transformed and Jesus exalted above all!

Church planting is Gods strategy but must be done for Him and with Him. Let's live His dream!!

2 comments:

  1. I wonder, if you could take a snap-shot of church-planters minds, what their ultimate expression of 'church' would be? Would the 'model' far outweigh the 'mandate'?

    Church planting (whilst not directly commanded, but necessarily implied - there is prescription in the description!) should always be measured by effect and impact. In that regard, perhaps the most successful church-plant ever was Jesus' plant into Jerusalem - it has had the most impact over the last two millennia. Our churches are the direct legacy of that first plant!

    A study is long overdue into how He planted, and not just the description of the fruit of it in Acts.

    We so often talk about "our church's legacy", but we should really be looking at the continuation of Christ's legacy. You are so right - the church-plant must never take the place of the King!

    Much more could be said, but blogs are so short!

    Blessings
    Colin Walmsley

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  2. Awesome resource and blessing TK!!!

    Love
    Jimm Nestoras
    Atlanta

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