Category Archives: 4. Rapid mobilization

Don’t pass the torch!

Don’t pass the torch — start with it in their hands.
Floyd McClung

You’ve got to listen to Floyd on church planting movements to catch his heart for Africa and the world. Visit his blog to download the audio or video of his series on CPMs.

Leadership without power

Where did we get the idea that the best way to train a church planter was to take them out of their situation and put them in a classroom for a few years? … If we have to build colleges to train the pastors we pay to plant churches, we’ll never see a multiplication movement that reaches the 80 million people of Central Asia.

Interview with Jay (5)

Jay: Let’s go on to your fourth characteristic — rapid mobilization.

Steve: This is a simple concept — everybody has a job to do. Movements don’t abolish the clergy, they abolish the laity. They ordain everyone for ministry.
You see it in Jesus’ ministry. Even before the woman at the well has come to a full understanding [...]

Liz’s question

This question just came in from Liz.

Hi Steve,
I’m reading your book at the moment and I get the impression that you are against theological education. What do you think?
I will say that when I studied Church History at Bible College I found it boring. Thanks for making Church History interesting.
Liz

Here’s my response.

Hi Liz
Thanks. I’ve always [...]

Where are the children?

Apparently only 3% of Australian children are in church each week. The figure for all ages is just under 9%. But the age of the Australian church is heavily weighted towards the elderly.
Then the penny dropped.
I’ve been collecting data on church participation in Australia. Nobody’s counting the children anymore. Or if they are, they aren’t [...]

Growing leaders by the Book

I sat down with a church planter yesterday. He’s done an outstanding job. Now he’s ready to really make a difference by growing leaders who plant churches.
So Steve, you’re the “expert” how do I put a curriculum together for training church planters?
Who says you need one?
Forget about the classroom and make the real the world [...]

Good to great church planting

In a recent article Dietrich Schindler contrasts “Good” church planting from “Great” church planting. His thoughts on “Generational Distance” got my attention.
My wife’s grandparents were married for more than seventy-five years when they died. Grandpa was 105 and Grandma was 97. They left behind over 150 progeny. In their lifetime, they saw themselves forwarded into [...]

A few more lessons from Africa

A few more lessons from Oscar Muriu on growing leaders for a church planting movement. . . Breaking up a vibrant, healthy church into five separate churches could be a recipe for disaster. Not if you’ve intentionally growing leaders and team members for every ministry of the church who are ready for the challenge. This [...]

Learning from Africa

I was talking to a group of church leaders about what Oscar Muriu has taught me about growing leaders for a church planting movement.
One of them challenged me with, “How do we know this works in Australia?”
He’s right. There are some things that don’t translate across cultures. Or even within cultures. That’s why I always [...]

Oscar’s sons and daughters

One reason for Oscar Muriu’s success in growing leaders for a church planting movement is that he didn’t know what he was doing. He was young enough not to know it couldn’t be done and smart enough to copy from the best. This what he told me. . .

All I do is I copy.
You don’t [...]