Wednesday, June 25, 2014

The Mission of the Church - Deploy Disciples

In a previous post, I mentioned that Village Seven's mission is:

To make, equip and deploy disciples who live out and proclaim the gospel through word and deed in Colorado Springs, the West and the World.

In this statement, we define "make disciples" as leading people from unbelief to belief in the power of the Holy Spirit. We define an equipped disciple as one who is prepared to engage with his heart, head, and hands in God's mission (for more on what it means to be an Equipped Disciple, see this post).  To deploy disciples means to help people actually engage in God's mission.

In earlier posts, I outlined how we seek to make disciples and equip disciples. Here is our strategy to deploy disciples.

Colorado Springs

a)    Provide guidance for God’s people so they can find and bring Kingdom focus to their places of mission in the church and in the world.

b)   Partner with churches/organizations that are compatible with our vision.

c)    Equip people to share and live out their faith and help them identify where and how to do this in the places they live, work or play.

d)   Train people in spiritual gifts and provide guidance for where they can use their gifts both internal and external to Village Seven.

e)    Identify key civic, social and other institutions where Christians can make a vital difference.  Help match people to these places.

f)     Plant new churches in Colorado Springs.

The West

a)    Plant new churches in strategic locations in the West.

b)   Support College Ministries in Colorado and the West.

c)    Training, equipping and sending out leaders.

d)   Encourage key leaders to serve with the Western Church Planting Network (WCPN) and Presbytery.

e)    Engage the congregation in financial and prayerful support of church planting and college ministry in the West.

f)     Develop a strategic plan for church planting in the West.

The World

a)    Engage God’s people in world missions through prayer, giving, and going.

b)   Partner with missionaries and organizations that are compatible with our vision.

c)    Focus on 2-3 areas of the world for strategic partnerships.

Monday, June 23, 2014

Leadership Training Part 3 - Theology 2

In previous posts, I have listed some of the resources we use in our officer training. One of the larger sections of our training deals with theology. I have already listed some of those resources. Here are some others that we have found helpful:

1. This is a helpful article on how the two natures of Christ (human and divine) relate to one another: What is the Hypostatic Union?

2. Introduction to the Reformed Faith by John Frame.

3. Are there two wills of God? by John Piper

4. Two books on the doctrine of election that are not required but recommended, are Chosen by God by R. C. Sproul and Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J. I. Packer.

5. For those who are interested in the debate on Federal Vision and the New Perspective on Paul, please read the PCA's paper on the topic. Also, D. A. Carson has some good lectures on the New Perspective on ITunes.

6. Recommended reading, but not required, is Richard Lovelace's Dynamics of Spiritual Life. We do read some quotes from this book in class.

7. On Sanctification, there are a number of good articles, including:
a. Gospel-Driven Sanctification by Jerry Bridges
b. Union and Imitation by Michael Scott Horton
c. Good Works and the Christian Life by Kim Riddlebarger
d. Not to mention numerous books by Bryan Chapell, Jerry Bridges, Tim Keller, Walter Marshall, etc.

8. On the Lord's Supper, we use mostly my notes, but a great resource (though not easy to read) is Ronald Wallace's Calvin's Doctrine of the Word and Sacrament.

9. On Covenant Theology, The Covenant of Grace, by Calvin Knox Cummings, as well as The Kingdom of God, by Richard Pratt.


Wednesday, June 18, 2014

The Mission of the Church - Equip Disciples

In a previous post, I mentioned that Village Seven's mission is:

To make, equip and deploy disciples who live out and proclaim the gospel through word and deed in Colorado Springs, the West and the World.

In this statement, we define "make disciples" as leading people from unbelief to belief in the power of the Holy Spirit. We define an equipped disciple as one who is prepared to engage with his heart, head, and hands in God's mission (for more on what it means to be an Equipped Disciple, see this post).  To deploy disciples means to help people actually engage in God's mission.

In an earlier post, I outlined how we seek to make disciples. Here is our strategy to equip disciples.

1)  Worshipping

a)    Worship that is Gospel-Centric shapes the head, engages the heart and challenges God’s people to God-glorifying life and deeds. 


2.  Shepherding

a)   The primary venue for shepherding is through Sunday morning communities with the implementation of the Shepherding Plan approved by the Session. This may be supplemented by small groups, as necessary.

b)    Begin Life-on-Life Discipleship program with the aim of equipping disciples according to the definition in this document.

c)   Develop systems and structures to help new people, and especially new members, connect with a Sunday morning community.

 

3.  Teaching

The purpose of teaching is to equip disciples to live in step with the truth of the gospel with their hearts, heads, and hands for the glory of God.

a)    Community Leaders, Elders and Teachers must understand the definition of an equipped disciple and must give an account for how their teaching/shepherding addresses the entire definition of an equipped disciple.

b)   Community Teachers will state in their course objective the primary focus of equipping disciples for all areas of life, use class interaction while developing clear applications on equipping, look for ways of telling stories of application that present models of disciples, need to have a defined next step.

c)    Village Seven Elders and teachers will equip our people to engage the un-churched where they live, work, and play by demonstrating through personal story word and deed ministry, providing quarterly evangelism training, incorporating evangelism training in the Life-on-Life Discipleship, and equipping people to invest and invite in their neighbors.

d)   The Inquirers’ Class will be redesigned so that it explains the gospel, explains what it means to live out of the gospel, introduces them to V7PC and Presbyterianism. It also connects people to the shepherding and equipping ministries of the church. The Inquirers’ Class will include a visit to a community. Elders and community leaders will be informed that they are visiting the community so that they can follow up with them after their visit.

e)    Offer ‘Disciple Making’ classes, seminars, and conferences for all members that address key discipleship topics that we believe are important for all church members.  These ‘Disciple Making’ classes will be designed to help new and seasoned members of Village Seven to live in step with the truth of the gospel with Heart, Head, and Hands using their time, talents and treasure.

f)     Create a Leadership University that is designed to equip and train the leaders needed to accomplish this mission. This Leadership University will include training for church officers, ministry leaders, shepherds, disciplers, and those interested in vocational ministry.

Monday, June 16, 2014

Leadership Training Part 3 - Theology 1

In an earlier post, I listed some of the articles that the men read on gospel foundations. In another post, I listed some resources that we use for understanding how the church ministers in its particular context in such a way that it is faithful to her biblical mission. In this post, I am listing some of the resources we use to understand sound theology. Of course, our primary text is Scripture, but God also has given the gift of teachers to the church. So, we use a variety of other biblically saturated resources as well. Here are a few:

1. The Westminster Confession of Faith (alone with the Larger and Shorter Catechism). Officers in the Presbyterian Church in America take a vow to “sincerely receive and adopt” these confessional documents “as containing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures.”

2. Concise Theology by J. I. Packer. The title says it all. This is a collection of short articles on a wide range of theological topics. It is easy to read and saturated with Scripture proofs.

3. "Why Use Creeds or Doctrinal Statements?" by John Frame. In this article (which I can't find on the web), Dr. Frame explains why it is not enough simply to say, "We believe the Bible." Creeds and doctrinal statements are helpful for clarity.

4. Here are a few articles related to our understanding of Scripture:
a. The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy
b. The Cambridge Declaration
What About Prophecy and Tongues Today? by Richard Gaffin
c. Ten Basic Facts about the New Testament Canon by Michael Kruger
1. “The New Testament Books are the Earliest Christian Writings We Possess
2. “Apocryphal Writings Are All Written in the Second Century or Later
3.“The New Testament Books Are Unique Because They Are Apostolic Books
4."Some NT Writers Quote Other NT Writers as Scripture
5.“The Four Gospels are Well Established by the End of the Second Century
6.“At the End of the Second Century, the Muratorian Fragment lists 22 of Our 27 NT Books
7.“Early Christians Often Used Non-Canonical Writings
8.“The NT Canon Was Not Decided at Nicea—Nor Any Other Church Council
9. “Christians Did Disagree about the Canonicity of Some NT Books
10. “Early Christians Believed that Canonical Books Were Self-Authenticating

5. Here is the PCA's position on the doctrine of creation. Related to this, here is an interesting article on science and faith.

I will continue this list of resources in future posts.

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

The Mission of the Church - Make Disciples.

Every church has (or should have) the same mission. Jesus gave it to us. He said, "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you, and, behold I am with you, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20).

At Village Seven, the elders have sought to define what this means specifically for our church. We have summarized it in this mission statement:

To make, equip and deploy disciples who live out and proclaim the gospel through word and deed in Colorado Springs, the West and the World.

In this statement, we define "make disciples" as leading people from unbelief to belief in the power of the Holy Spirit. We define an equipped disciple as one who is prepared to engage with his heart, head, and hands in God's mission (for more on what it means to be an Equipped Disciple, see this post).  To deploy disciples means to help people actually engage in God's mission.

This raises the question, how do we seek to make, equip, and deploy disciples? I will address in later posts how we seek to equip and deploy disciples. Below is our strategy for making disciples (leading people from unbelief to belief).

1.    Equip God’s people to share the gospel in word and deed where they live, work, and play.


2.    Proclaim the gospel to our community in both word and deed.


3.    Create opportunities for our people to invest in and invite un-churched people to places where they can be exposed to God’s Word and God’s people.


4.    Provide ministries addressing areas of brokenness.


5.    Connect newcomers to the church so they are enfolded into membership and receive the shepherding and equipping necessary to be part of God’s mission.


6.    Create an environment of authenticity in relationships.

Monday, June 9, 2014

Leadership Training Part 2 - The Church and Her Mission

At Village Seven, we take leadership development seriously. Men who may be called to serve as elders or deacons go through 9 months of classroom instruction as well as a one year apprenticeship. In an earlier post, I listed some of the articles that the men read on gospel foundations. Here, I am listing some of the resources that we use for understanding how the church ministers in its particular context in such a way that it is faithful to her biblical mission. In my opinion, no one has been more thoughtful or theological in his thinking on this subject than Tim Keller. As a result, most of the resources have been produced by him.

Center Church by Tim Keller. For some, this might read like a textbook, but it is incredibly rich. In this book, Keller not only lays out his philosophy of ministry, but gives leaders the tools for developing their own.  I found the Kindle version hard to read. This is one that you will want to read in print. There are video discussions of most of these chapters on Vimeo.

How Do Word and Deed Ministry Fit Together? by Tim Keller. The title of this article says it all. Very helpful for those in leadership.

Missional Church by Tim Keller. Keller wrote this article years ago, long before he wrotes Center Church. I found it very helpful.

Reading Scripture Missionally by Christopher Wright. Unfortunately, I cannot find a link to this article online. However, Wright has written several books along this theme. In this article, he shows that the mission of the God is not ancillary to the mission of the people of God, but is seen throughout Scripture.

Insourcing by Randy Pope. Randy shows how equipping disciples for mission is key to the church's mission.

The Burden of Change by John Frame. This is a short article on how and why church leaders must be change agents.

Leading Change by John Kotter. This book is the standard text on how to lead change in an organization. Those in officer training are not required to read the book, but we do review the outline of it. A good summary of the book can be found here.

Leadership and Church Size Dynamics by Tim Keller. Church size affects how a church operates. Since Village Seven is a large church (at least by PCA standards). This is important to understand for those coming from smaller churches.

No Man Left Behind by Pat Morley and David Delk. We do not use this book in our Officer Training, but we have used it with our staff and other leaders. The book is not just about how to minister to men, but how to develop sustainable ministries. It provides a very helpful model.

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Great Books on Knowing God

All of us have a tendency to fashion God in our own image. The result is that we worship a god of our own creation rather than the God who is really there. The truth is, the real God is far greater than any idol of our making. Without knowledge of this true God, our faith will be weak, our worship tepid, and our spiritual growth stunted.

The antidote to this false worship is knowledge of the true God, or, as Francis Schaeffer put it, The God Who Is There. The way we come to know this true God is through His own revelation in both Scripture and nature. Yet, we do not need to embark on this journey alone. One of the gifts God has given to His church are teachers who can open up the Scriptures to us in order to give us a greater glimpse of who God is.

Here are some of my favorite books that will help you come to know more about the great God we worship.

The God You Can Know by Dan Dehaan. This is a relatively short, easy to read book and is a wonderful introduction to the character of God.

A Heart for God by Sinclair Ferguson. This is another short, easy to read book that is rich in its description of God and His character.

Knowing God by J. I. Packer. This is a bit longer than the two above, but is one the greatest Christian books of the 20th century. Once you read it, you will want to reread it again and again.

The Holiness of God by R. C. Sproul. As the title says, this book focuses on one attribute of God, His holiness. It is both very readable and very profound.

Monday, June 2, 2014

Summer Reading - Defending the Faith

In 1 Peter 3:15, we are told that we should always be prepared to give an answer for the hope that is within us. Today, we are bombarded with questions about the truthfulness of Christianity. These books will help you answer questions that you and your friends are asking.

The Reason for God by Tim Keller. Keller deals with questions like "There Can't Be Just One True Religion?" "How Could a Good God Allow Suffering?" "How Can A Loving God Send People to Hell?" and "Science Has Disproven Christianity."

A Shot of Faith to the Head by Mitch Stokes. The subtitle says it all: "Be a Confident Believer in an Age of Cranky Atheist." Like Keller (but with a different approach) Stokes also deals with the relationship of faith and science. Yet, this book is much broader than that. He also deals with the problem of evidence and the role of faith.

Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions by Greg Koukl. This book focuses on the practical ways you can engage with unbelievers.