Back Again

I have not posted in a while, y'all probably think I don't love you. I'd like to say it's because I have been so busy. That's only partially true. Most of it is I have not had much to say.




It has been a fruitful time in a lot of ways. I have been part of a small learning group called Future Travelers. We met in Tacoma in February (I think!) and then Exponential was two weeks ago and next week is the last meeting with the Future Travelers. It has been really fruitful to be around some of the best church planters and practitioners of discipleship and evangelism.

A really good book I can recommend: Missionary Methods: St Paul's or Ours? By Roland Allen. Written in 1912, it still has amazing insight. That's not surprising, he is gleaning insight from the Bible, which is always relevant. Because America is a huge mission field, what he has to say about mission work is applicable to us.

Some leading edges: partnering with “networks” to plant new churches. A church planting network is a group of... what? Churches, planters, theologians, mentors who come together to help plant churches. It's a tougher job than people imagine. The networks are becoming much more diffuse. That is, instead of being “institutional,” they can do work on a case-by-case basis in many contexts with many kinds of planters. So, at one time there was a sense that you planted one kind of church one kind of way. Now the work is more “well-known” and there are broader, scriptural principles put to work in a variety of places. My great hope is that not only will the Kentucky Conference partner with a network—to either plant our churches or to teach us how to become our own network. And even moreso, I think that individual churches interested in church planting could work with these established networks to be fruitful in church planting.

And always-- who have you told about Jesus today?