Simple Church Planting Idea: Seven Signs in John

http://www.cmaresources.org/article/seven-signs-in-john

Seven Signs in John: A Simple Process for Evangelism and Starting Churches

The 7 Signs are as follows:

1.     The turning of water into wine (John 2:1-12)

2.     The healing of the royal official's son (John 4:46-54)

3.     The healing of the paralytic at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-17)

4.     The feeding of the five thousand (John 6:1-14)

5.     The walking on water (John 6:15-25)

6.     The healing of the man born blind (John 9:1-41)

7.     The raising of Lazarus (John 11:1-46)

The way it works is that each week the person or persons you are sharing with is encouraged to read one of the stories once every day. So in the first week, they read the story of Jesus turning water into wine every day. At the end of the week when you get together and read the passage again together, you ask four simple questions and have a discussion about the passage. The questions are:

1.     What does this story say to you about people?

2.     What does this story say to you about Jesus?

3.     What does this story have to say about you?

4.     Who needs to hear this story?

Author, pastor: Old models of church don’t work anymore

WILMINGTON, N.C. (ABP) -- Old models of church that view it as a center for multiple programs led by a pastor who shepherds a flock just don’t work in the post-Christendom era, according to an author and pastor.
http://www.abpnews.com/content/view/5809/53/

Why Europe? by Ed Stetzer

Earlier this year, I got a handout in at the Innovation3 Conference led by Ed Stetzer. "Why Europe?" I didn't think to look for an online version until this morning in talking with our great church planting team here.

http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2009/02/i3-paper-why-europe.html

In just a few interesting pages it lays out the cultural directions of Europe (some of which the US is following fairly closely). It also lists some characteristics of the church planting efforts there. And ultimately it lists some things we can learn from successes there.

You might find it worth a scan of even just the bullet points.

Prayer Cards for UPGs

Free downloads in various sets to remind us to pray for unreached people around the world.

http://www.joshuaproject.net/prayer-cards.php

"five to seven times easier to plant a new church"

“It’s probably five to seven times easier to plant a new church than to help an established church that’s in deep difficulty to restore its vitality. I wouldn’t discourage established churches from doing that, but it’s much more fruitful and efficient to plant new churches.”

David T. Olson
Director of the American Church Research Project (RNS)

as quoted in the April 6, 2009 Baptist Standard (http://www.baptiststandard.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9383&Itemid=9)

Brian McClaren (sp?) Podcast

Just listened to Off the Map Production’s podcast “A Generous Heart Toward The Powerless With Brian McLaren.” McClaren’s speaking bout violence and power, is pretty heady but gave me some new thoughts to chew on regarding the Sermon on the Mount and even the atonement. His take on the Sermon on the Mount havig much to do with power and how to confront it was interesting. At the end he asks if he can “get political” and makes some interesting connections between this new take on atonement and what it might mean for a better way to confront violence and specifically terrorism. “Just War” theory is discussed some too. I’m not enough of a theologian to know if I should fully endorse what all McClaren says here, but I can say it is interesting and seems to be offered in a Christ-like spirit. If you listen to it, comment below and let everyone know what you go tout of it.

Podcast for Urban Christians

I just listed to a Fermi Project (with which George Barna has some connection) Podcast. #29 Jon Tyson. Had some solid words about the church in an urban environment. I especially resonated with this...

"I don't think Paul had that clear of a strategic an idea of what he was doing. ... He knew he was going to have some level of influence [but] I don't think he had a grand idea of how to do it. I don't think he sat down and said, 'Let's map out all the larger cities in the world and move to them becasue this is where culture is formed.'

"It seems like the Spirit led him. He's wandering around listening. 'Where's God moving? What's God doing next?' The Spirit leads him, he goes to a place. And I think it developed over time like that.

"I get a little cautious when people are only purely strategic... We are famous in the chuch for building skeletons and trying to bring them to life. And I'd rather find out where God is moving, where the Spirit is leading."

Get it on iTunes. Here's the iTunes description of the podcast.

This episode features Jon Tyson, a church planter in the heart of Manhattan and a part of the Origins Movement - a church planting movement committed to multiplying missional communities in the major urban influential centers of the world.