Two great and timely articles for your consideration, with highlights from each.
1 . "Lessons Learned from Church-Planting by Peaceable Division".
- God leads even young, small churches to plant; it’s not a mission merely for large, established churches.
- The heat of planting tests and reveals a church’s ecclesiological priorities. "To plant or not to plant” will always drive us to ask why we exist as a church. "
- 3) Church planting reinforces gospel motivation. - "the point of ministry isn’t building my own kingdom; it’s building God’s. "
- Church planting by peaceable division presents unique pastoral challenges.
- Church planting is an opportunity for Satan. "Be on the lookout for opportunities Satan may use to drive relational wedges that cause disunity."
- Church planting is really hard but really worth it.
2. "Divide and Prosper: A Historical Account of Church-Planting by Peaceable Division"
- Nineteenth-century American Baptists repeatedly formulated and successfully executed “a generous, self-denying, and benevolent plan” of multiplying churches by dividing members. "
- In New York City, the church in Oliver-street felt compelled to send out “very many” of its members not only to start a new church plant, but “for the purpose of strengthening feeble societies”—to revitalize dying churches.
- What Leads Churches to do this? The Great Commission. For example, the “first/old church” in Albany intended their new church plant “to enlarge the church,” meaning the church universal.
- Excessive Numbers “either these communities must become inconveniently numerous, or they must, as in many other instances, divide and multiply”
- Conviction By The Holy Spirit - Peaceable divisions were prayerfully and patiently decided upon only after the church had been granted a sense that the Lord was in fact willing to have them plant a church in this way
- The Demands of Peaceable Division - Humility: we cannot deny the reality of the temptation to vainglory. In a world that equates bigness with success, it’s easy for vanity to lead a pastor or a church to lust for members.
- ...peaceable divisions offer a deeply self-sacrificial approach to missions.