Tim Keller on the Reproducing Church

Tim Keller, the Senior Pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, New York City is just plain smart!  And not only is he smart, but he is talking about one of my areas of passion - the reproducing church!  So here is some great stuff by Keller in The Movement, an e-newsletter from the Redeemer Church Planting Center:  "For healthy churches to be reproductive (become natural church planting churches), the book-of-Acts- Christian-ministry mindset must be developed. This requires the adoption of several principles:

      

• First, the ability to give away and lose control of money, members and leaders. This presents a huge barrier for churches. Often, church leaders cannot bear the thought of losing money-giving families or key leaders or favorite friends. When a pastor helps organize new churches from his own church body, he loses money, members, numbers, leaders, and control. In addition, when a pastor lets go, he loses direct control while also assuming responsibility for problems in the project, a possibly unpleasant combination. Not unlike being the parent of an adult child, he is not allowed to provide direct instruction, but if there’s a problem, he is expected to help clean it up.
  
         
• Second, the ability to give up some control of the shape of the ministry itself. This is a scary premise, especially to ardent truth-lovers. But the simple fact is that the new church will not look just like your church; it will develop its own voice and emphases. On the one hand, pains must be taken to ensure that differences are not too great (or fellowship and cooperation will become strained). But on the other hand, church planting cannot take place in the context of cloning. If a church insists upon reproducing an exact duplicate of itself, or if it is not willing to admit the necessity and reality of gospel contextualization (in that different generations and cultures will produce a different kind of church), then that church cannot engage in church planting.
  
         
• Third, the ability to care for the kingdom more than for your tribe. Basically, the church planting mindset is not so much a matter of trusting new leaders but trusting God. Paul does not give the new churches up to themselves or others.  He committed them to the Lord."

Special thanks to Steve Addison for his post Church Planting Movements - It's All in the Mindset.

Comments

[Jeff Pessina]

Great Stuff Dave! Right on the right on!

Good leadership is always exponential. But many leaders fail in either seeing the value of letting go, or in the ability to actually do it. Control is a huge dilemma hindering reproduction of leaders and churches worldwide.

Leadership is influence. Jesus influenced 12 simple men and set the world on fire through them. Though he "commanded them", He did not really control them; in due and proper time "he gave them authority" and "sent them out" (Mk 6:7). The incredible world-shaking impact of their lives and deaths speak of his influence, not his control.

May God help us all to do the two-timothy-two-two a bit better, and follow the example of Jesus. If we do, we just might get the job done!

[janus]

It sounds a good deal like another grafting parable. Sometimes you have to cut a little off here to replant it over there so the whole vineyard grows.

as much as it makes sense it is hard to do that because you do care about people so much and you don't like sending them away so much. A vine is not as easy to get attached to. Still in the long run it does bear more fruit if you do it.

[Dave Ferguson]

Jeff, thanks for your comments. You and I are definitely like-minded. You should start your own blog...I'd like to read it.

[Carter M.]

Question for you Dave: Which of those 3 things is the currently the most challenging for you to live out?
Maybe that could be a another blog post. Or you can just answer it here. Or delete me. :)

[Dave Ferguson]

Carter, I think #3 - "...to care for the Kingdom more than your tribe" is the most challenging for me. By doing #1 and #2 you accomplish #3. And I get enough kudos from people and other groups for doing #1 and #2 that it makes it easier for me to do #3. So, I wonder if I would be as excited about doing #3 if nobody knew. ?? Dave