Month / March 2010

by johnkking

Training Trainers: An Attempt to Train Church Planters in Training New Disciples in Doing Their Own Inductive Bible Study

[NOTE: This is an article I wrote in early 2006 that has not been published. I am posting it here because of its relevance to my greatest passion–training people to train others in a simple process of learning God’s heart and becoming obedient to His word.]

Likely we have all heard the old adage, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.  Teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”  What if we raised it to a higher power?  “Teach him to train his village to fish and you feed them all for a lifetime.”

Replication is one of the fundamental principles of Church Planting Movements (CPM).  Disciples of Jesus should replicate the Master’s ministry of pouring himself into people who will in turn teach what they are learning to others who pass it on . . . Churches also should be reproducing pregnant churches.  At its fundamental center Church Planting is about understanding and practicing this call to replication from day one.  It also serves as a basic test for all methodology.  Disciples should be discipled in a manner that they can replicate (e.g., if evangelists are going to be working in village settings it is best if they are trained in methods that will be readily available in the villages).

In the spring of 2005 I was commissioned with the task of developing and implementing an approach to training people to train others in doing their own inductive Bible study.  This assignment came because there was a weakness in this critical Bible study approach in Sierra Leone.  As David Watson trained church leaders there in CPM earlier that year he identified this deficiency.  With this insight, Jerry Trousdale and Shodankeh Johnson encouraged me to return in November 2005 and train a group in doing Inductive Bible Studies.

As I sought guidance in developing a strategy for accomplishing this task I was reminded that such learning is “only internalized through practical work.” I was reminded that church planters should be lead “through a time of struggling with passages that relate to the biblical basis of CPM, both as a way of solidifying their understanding of how the inductive process works, as well as being personally sharpened in looking for a theology of CPM.”

Where Should They Begin?

 “What is my theology of CPM?” and “What passages do I encourage disciples to investigate to discover the biblical basis for CPM?” were questions that kept arising in my thinking.  The answer was the Ephesus material.

Let me point out, that as a Bible student, few practices trouble me more than “proof-texting.”  Selecting a few verses from random biblical sites and stringing them together as the proof for a position is always tenuous at best.  While it may be acceptable when under severe time constraints, this methodology is very susceptible to abuse.  I much prefer finding a block of connected material and carefully studying it rather than skipping around.

Few cities rival the prominent position of Ephesus in the New Testament.  Jerusalem, Antioch of Syria, Corinth and Rome are possible candidates.  But when you consider them in light of CPM, Ephesus has more to offer.  Paul desired to work in the Roman province of Asia during the early stages of the second missionary journey, but the Holy Spirit prevented that from happening (Acts 16:6).  God’s Spirit had already prepared persons of peace (Lydia, the jailor, Dionysius, Damaris, Titius Justis, etc.) in Macedonia and Achaia and the apostle and his church planting team heeded divine directions.  But Paul was able to close his second church-planting trip with a short stay in the capitol of Asia and left with a promise, “I will come back if it is God’s will” (Acts 18:21).

Acts 19 tells the wonderful story of the successful launching of a church planting movement.  An opponent testifies to the impact of Paul’s ministry.  A silversmith named Demetrius was angered that the apostle’s work adversely impacted the “bottom line” of his business.  He pointed out to the other silversmiths, “you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia” (Acts 19:26).  We know that churches were planted in nearby Laodicea and Colossae during the time Paul was in Ephesus.

The three years Paul labored in Ephesus was his longest time spent with any of his church plants.  Many believe he rarely stayed longer than six to nine months in the cities where he planted churches.  I believe the reason he stayed unusually long in Ephesus was he essentially established a church planting training center in the “lecture hall of Tyrannus” (Acts 19:9).

When you examine Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, and 1 Timothy through this Acts material some interesting insights arise. (It is also interesting to note that John’s Gospel, his letters and Revelation may well have arisen in this context of Asia,too.)  In Ephesus Paul modeled Jesus’ teaching about seeking out persons of peace (Luke 10).  He quickly focused on training local leaders so indigenous churches would develop.  Much can be learned about doing church planting well by investigating the Ephesus material.

How Do You Train in Three Days?

 How do you train people to do their own inductive Bible study, introduce them to the Ephesus material and guide them in the process of discovering their own nascent theology of CPM in three days?  That was my dilemma.

After prayer and through dialogue with colleagues I decided to introduce the church planters to inductive study by giving them the one-page chart that had been developed by David Sargeant.  This Inductive Bible Study Approach—Outline is a succinct tool that encourages Bible students to answer basic journalistic questions:  who, what, where, when, why and how.  It calls them to think about the text in a way that equips them to re-tell it in their own words—basic exegesis.  Then it pushes them to think about how the passage should be applied to their own lives.  Through the S.P.E.C.K. method and additional discussion questions the students are led to determine how they will obey the text they are studying.

The first day in Sierra Leone I passed out copies of this outline and introduced the students to the issues it raises.  After some time was spent on this approach I divided them into six randomly assigned small groups.  Each person was given a 3-Column format to use in reporting the results of their inductive study.  Unknown to them, each group was assigned a different section of the Ephesus material.

Acts19:1-22, Acts 19:23-20:1, Acts 20:13-38, Ephesians 1:1-23; Ephesians 3:1-4:16 and Ephesians 6:10-24 were the texts I selected, formatted and gave out copies.  Each small group was encouraged to spend time discussing the questions raised on the Inductive Bible Study Approach.  Also, they were taught that the first two sections of that outline would be helpful in completing the “Exegesis” column and the rest of the sections would be helpful in completing the “Application” column.  After spending time as a group examining their texts they were dismissed to use the rest of the day to complete in writing their 3-column study of their assigned text.

On the second day a representative of each group presented his/her rephrasing of the assigned text.  After all six passages were retold, then a different representative of each group shared what he/she heard God calling for obedience from the assigned text. 

Quickly the students realized their assumption that all the groups had been studying the same texts was incorrect.  But they also began to recognize that the other passages related directly to their text.  By teaching what they had encountered, each group broadened the knowledge of the other five groups.  Then the students turned in their 3-column papers.  This process took the first half of the second day.  That afternoon we began the process of distilling principles related to Church Planting that appeared in the texts:

  1. The importance of prayer was recognized first.  Paul’s practice of praying for those he was discipling was clearly seen in the Ephesians texts.  His conduct while in Ephesus and Miletus shows the importance of prayer in his church planting strategy.
  2. The role of obedience was mentioned second.  This is especially evident in Paul’s dialogue with the Ephesian elders in Acts 20 and it is also seen in the choice of Ephesian believers to destroy their magical stuff (Acts 19:18-19).  We noted that Paul’s desire that they know Jesus would have entailed behavior and not just head knowledge.
  3. The issue of spiritual warfare being a part of church planting was noted.  The riot in Ephesus and Paul’s words to the elders about them not seeing him again, were coupled with the “spiritual armor” text in Ephesians.  There was the recognition that some will find the spread of the gospel has an adverse effect on their income and will oppose the work.  It was noted by some of the participants the importance of remembering that the war is not with “flesh and blood, but with principalities and powers” (Eph. 6:12).
  4. The need to develop indigenous leaders was discussed.  This insight was gained from Paul’s dialogue with the elders.  It was also noted that Paul’s conduct in Ephesus, during the time he taught the disciples in a rented school, shows him pouring himself into others.  I also pointed out that Colossians and Philemon are additional letters Paul wrote to believers who lived in the province of Asia and would be worthwhile for them to study in this context.
  5. The fundamental significance of having a servant heart was examined last.  Paul’s lifestyle was held up as an example for the elders to incorporate into their lives.  His practice of tent making was discussed as a way of looking at using a trade as a means of furthering the spread of the gospel.  Some of the participants shared that there are times when such will be beneficial rather than a hindrance to their efforts to plant churches.

Church Planters recognize these are important elements of CPMs.  These students discovered these within their investigation of the assigned texts.  Their sense of the biblical basis for CPM is stronger because these elements arose from connected texts.  Through the discovery process their inductive skills were sharpened as they exercised them.  While my original goals seemed overly high, I believe they were realized.  Did any of the students develop a full-blown theology of CPM?  No, that did not happen, but students of very diverse skill levels were benefited.

Those who had stronger study skills were kept interested because of the purpose of strengthening their theology of CPM.  All were presented with a study methodology that can be replicated.  Their homework for the third day took this issue of replication to a new level.  Every student was assigned 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and 4:11-16 to be studied overnight and bring in a 3-column format.  This time they were not given these texts already typed out.  They were told to write the texts in the first column and then do their exegesis in column 2 and the application in column 3.

The third day they were directed to turn in their homework on these texts.  They were asked to report on the texts.  Several complained that it was much easier to do the work when the texts were provided in the 3-column format.  I asked, “How many of you work primarily in a village setting.  Most said that is where they would be doing their church planting.  Then I asked, “How many of the villages have photocopy machines?” 

“None of the villages,” was their answer.

“How many of you have computers and internet access to format such studies?” was my follow-up question.  Very few had such capability.  I introduced the issue of reproducibility at this point.  While I have the ability to expedite their study in this way, they do not and the people they will be training to teach others in the village how to study will not have such a capacity at all.  They were challenged to make sure they utelize resources to which the people they are teaching will have access.

We can (and often do) unintentionally make the process unattainable for our target audience.  When this happens we program them to not replicate themselves.  Their study in 1 Timothy which focused on the personal qualities of pastors and evangelists gave them additional insights into planting churches in such a way that they can plant churches which plant churches.  We must not allow technology to get in the way and prevent indigenous churches from arising.

by johnkking

It’s About Control

Planting vs. Transplanting—An Analogy

In my last post I affirmed that what many currently call “church planting” is better described as church “transplanting.”  A leadership core group is developed within one church that will leave and move into a new area and form a new church launch.  Since this core arrives as a functioning group, it has really been transplanted.  (If you want to see some fascinating pictures of this, go to www.instantshade.com and click on the link to tree transplanting.)

By contrast consider planting an acorn and growing an oak tree.  We all realize it will be a long time before these baby trees will be large enough to become shade trees, but they have some real advantages.  It is very expensive to transplant already-grown shade trees.  While it appears to be a much faster process, transplanting is also a slow process.  Whether a tree grows from an acorn into a shade tree and then is transplanted, or just grows where that acorn is originally planted, it always takes years.  Because you can plant and care for numerous seedlings you can actually start many more churches by planting than transplanting.

Also, the reality is when you transplant risk is involved.  Large trees with extensive root systems require great care and much equipment to give a good chance at survival.  There is always shock that comes from the digging process, planting process, and stabilizing the tree in its new location.

Many people who grow in one church and move to a new location also find it shocking to be transplanted.  While they do their best to prepare for the move, it is hard to anticipate what actually happens.

When I speak of church planting I am not talking about church transplanting.  I am not talking about people leaving one congregation to be the leadership core for a new church somewhere else.  I am speaking of planting “baby churches” in new communities—especially among people groups who do not have a good Jesus option.  Let me define the terms I use and then test them to see if they ring true.  I am convinced God is calling us to such church planting.

Franchising—It’s About Control

A large well-known corporation bought out his postal/copy center.  He had to fund a face-lift and everything had to be arranged and decorated to their specifications.  The new name recognition and national advertising budget came at a high price.  Little did he realize how far the control extended.  When the executives decided to remove all visible clocks from their stores so the waiting public would not fuss about how long they were standing in line, my friend had to remove the clocks that he was selling as a side-line business in the store he owned.  They owned the rights so they called the shots.

Transplanting is the dominant methodology of starting new churches for the same reason.  It’s all about control!  Leaders who have been entrusted with “protecting” the flock demand that control techniques be in place to insure uniformity.  Since they control the money, the methodology will have to address their concerns. (I know this well.  I have been guilty of the very thing I speak of here.)

What is wrong with this approach?  It will not produce indigenous churches that are culturally appropriate to impact people different than those who have the control.  White, upper middle-class churches transplant white, upper middle-class churches.  Living organisms reproduce after their own kind.

But that’s the Biblical Way!

Really?  Do we really see the cultural uniformity we presume in the early churches?  Jerusalem’s first challenge is over cultural uniformity.  Will the widows who do not speak Hebrew received benevolence (Acts 6)?

While the same gospel is preached to Jewish and Gentile communities, cultural diversity existed which did not conflict with the teaching about Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection.  Remember, Paul rebuked Peter to his face for his failure to uphold this in Antioch.

A close reading of Acts and Paul’s letters reveals he was not into the franchise control business.  Churches were established quickly, indigenous leaders were appointed, and Paul moved on to new regions.  Yes, he continued to mentor and teach these leaders, but Paul’s methodology was not edict, but calling for them to make right choices based on what they know of Jesus, Paul’s own example, and his reasoning with them through letters and messengers.  Paul did not discuss “handing the church over to the locals” at some distant point when they were his clones.  His practice acknowledged the continuing work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of these believers.  He knew they would rapidly mature as they put into practice the things they already knew.

by johnkking

Transplanting or Planting?

Years ago, one of the books in the Firefox series was open on my in-laws’ dining room table. The line art picture revealed a sagging pear tree limb growing through a wash tub of dirt that was sitting on a wooden post. The goal of this process was to tease roots out of that limb into the dirt so the rooted limb could be disconnected from the tree and used to start another pear tree.

Decades later I began to hear people talking about “church planting” in the United States. As I listened to what they were discussing, I realized it was actually transplanting. They described a process of gathering a nucleus of people within one church who would form the leadership team that would later move to a new region where there were no churches (or at least not the “right kind” of church). Here these people would “plant” a church that would reflect the spiritual DNA of the “mother church” out of which they were sent.

Please do not misunderstand anything I write below. I value these efforts to spread the borders of the kingdom, but what is being done here is not planting. It is actually transplanting.

Planting involves placing a seed in the ground and watching the mystery of God at work. Only he knows how a tiny seedling tree sprouts. Only he knows how the gospel planted in the heart of a household can sprout a community of faith. Is it possible that our refusal to plant churches in this way reflects a lack of faith in God? Do we actually believe that he is incapable of producing a harvest?

I am leading a class of children in some discovery studies. Their ages span several years and they bless me and challenge me in many ways. I love the ways they respond when they discover insights for the first time. They rarely respond to a passage as though it is “old hat.”

We started the class months ago talking about missionaries that our congregation has been supporting and having each one pray for a particular country. We kept a globe in the center of the table and read passages that discussed sowing the seed. Then we moved to Mark’s Gospel and read it over several weeks with the thought in mind that Mark was writing for a Roman audience that loved a hero. I suggested Jesus’ life story is presented sort of like a comic book, a real-life action hero.

Yesterday I mentioned something about “church planting.” Some of them confessed that this imagery had sounded odd to them when they first heard it. The girls had pictures of spring time when stalks break through the ground and flowers appear. I asked if they had ever done a school project of planting a seed in some soil in a styrofoam cup. All had and at least one of the plants had been a vegetable that eventually had to be transplanted and actually produced fruit.

I asked if any of them had any idea where I got that imagery. They shook their heads no, so I asked them to turn to Matthew 13. We read the parable of the sower and then Jesus’ explanation. Jesus is the one who used this word picture from horticulture. He knew the process that had been launched from creation. He knew we were surrounded by learning labs, if only we have eyes to see.

Then I reminded the class of how we started this whole process with our time of praying for missionaries. I asked about the people for whom they had prayed. I reminded them of the family and their daughter (the same age of some of my students) who had visited our class when they were back in the states. I pointed out to them that this family was busy sowing the seed of the gospel in Brazil.

I am sure some of my childhood memories are why that line-art illustration stuck with me. In the backyard of the house where my great-grandmother lived, there was an abundantly fruitful pear tree. Each fall we would go over to visit her and pick all the pears we wanted (without making a dent in them). Those were the sweetest, most delicious tasting pears I have ever eaten. We would not only eat our fill, we would carefully wrap the pears in newspaper and place them gently in a cardboard box that would be placed in the living room which was only heated Thanksgiving Day and Christmas. Periodically we had the treat of another pear until they were all gone.

Years later when I first started preaching I ministered with a congregation just down the road from that house and the pear tree was still there. I would remember those experiences as I drove by and wish that I had a pear tree just like that one.

The illustration showed me how to do it. Now two things keep me from having one in my back yard. The first is the time and effort it would take to get a branch to root. The second (and bigger deterrent) are all the wasps that are attracted to those pears. I hate wasps!

by johnkking

The Jesus Hymn Applied

The apostle Paul enjoyed a special relationship with the church in Philippi. This was the first city he visited after responding to the invitation to “Come over to Macedonia and help us” (Acts 16:9). Here he encounters two persons of peace (cf., Luke 10 & Acts 10). While it is not surprising that Lydia and her household come to faith in Jesus (Acts 16:15), the transformation of the jailer and his family stands in stark contrast (Acts 16:33). Lydia is known for her piety and as “a worshipper of God” (Acts 16:14).

Jailers were notoriously cruel and ruthless. When this man awakens to the doors thrown open by the earthquake, he moves to commit suicide. Though it takes a mighty work of God and an incredible experience of grace to get his attention, the jailer comes to faith.

Paul’s time in Philippi is brief and momentous, but God tightly knit their hearts together. One of the purposes of Philippians is Paul’s expression of gratitude for the support this church has given (Phil. 4:15-16, “Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need.”) He goes on to say, “I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God” (Phil. 4:18).

But this is not the first time one encounters the name of Ephaphroditus. He is first mentioned at the end of Philippians 2. That chapter contains the incredible hymn which holds up the humble servant nature of Jesus as the model for every believer. Paul urges these Jesus followers to exhibit this mind of Christ. They are to set aside their selfish wills and pursue what is best for others. If their union with Jesus has brought blessings into their lives they are strongly urged to humble themselves like Christ did in his incarnation.

I believe Epaphroditus provides a key to applying Paul’s teaching in the beginning of Philippians 2. When you examine all that is said about this brother in chapters 2 and 4, you find he was sent by the believers in Philippi to Rome, where Paul was under house arrest. He carried a financial gift that the church had gathered when they learned of Paul’s condition. Epaphroditus was actually supposed to remain with the apostle, for a season, but he became extremely ill. Word of this illness reached the believers in Philippi and this caused Epaphroditus grave concern (Phil. 2:26). Due to his illness, this brother “almost died” (Phil. 2:27).

How would your congregation respond if it sacrificed to send one of its own to assist a beloved missionary and your guy had to come home before he could complete his mission? Would there be great disappointment? Would there be members who questioned his faithfulness? Would people welcome him home or would they grumble and complain about his failures? How well do you deal with major disappointments? Are you able to see situations with Jesus’ eyes?

Paul uses an unusual word in Philippians 2:30 that is translated, “risking his life” (NIV). It only appears this one time in all of Scriptures, but is found in other writings. It carries the connotation of a gambler who places his whole life in as the wager for the game of chance. It is as if Paul says, “Epaphroditus was literally ‘all in’ for your sake.” He opened this section by writing, “I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs” (Phil. 2:25).

Though this group of believers would likely feel great disappointment that their messenger had been unable to complete the responsibility they had anticipated, they were to see him as Paul did. Epaphroditus was to be received as a brother. He was to be seen as a fellow-laborer. He was a fellow soldier who had laid it all on the line. Epaphroditus was to be received as a faithful messenger.

Having the mind of Christ will prevent them from grumbling about this brother’s perceived shortcomings. When they consider this situation from his perspective, they will treat him with love, dignity and respect. They get to act like Jesus toward a brother who risked it all.

How do you deal with disappointments in other believers? Do you treat them as Jesus would? Do you treat them as Jesus did when he laid aside his glory to come as a man? Are you willing to die to yourself over these matters?

It sounds strange to admit it, but for years I never saw the connection between the first section of Philippians 2 and the last one. I often preached about having the mind of Christ, but did not recognize that Epaphroditus was going to be the immediate case study for the believers in Philippi. Will they practice the principles to which Paul calls them? How will they receive this brother? Will they greet him warmly and calm his distress? Only if they exhibit the mind of Christ.