The Arrogance and Impatience of Church Planters

 

How slowing down helps us start stronger churches.

 

I met with a pastor of a large and influential church with the hopes of engaging him in a church planting movement for our city. Over lunch, his observation about church planters surprised me, "I find that most church planters are characterized by two things: arrogance and impatience."

He quickly added, "And I guess I should not be surprised at that. Who else believes that he can gather disinterested people, lead them to a new life in Christ and help them embrace a mission to change the world with little or no physical resources?"

I think the second comment was his way of trying to diffuse some of the tension in the room. After all, I am a church planter—you know, arrogant and impatient. But he was right about church planters, and that is deadly.

The future of church planting requires a commitment to weed out arrogance and impatience in the men who plant churches. A church might get started with an arrogant and impatient leader, but it will not grow healthy with such a leader.

In the church planting movement, we must address arrogance and impatience with thorough assessment, training, and coaching. It's a slower process, but it's better.

The Scary Truth About Christian Giving

 

 We need to be more ruthless about ridding ourselves of surplus wealth.

The Bible gives a two-sided portrayal of wealth: It is good, but it can seduce us into sin. The solution, according to New Testament scholar Craig L. Blomberg, is to freely share it. In Christians in an Age of Wealth: A Biblical Theology of Stewardship (Zondervan), Blomberg, who teaches at Denver Seminary, argues that sacrificial giving is an essential part of good stewardship. He spoke with CT editor at large Rob Moll about our spending patterns and whether Christians are required to tithe.

If, as you argue, Christians are no longer bound by the Old Testament principle of tithing, what's so bad about low rates of giving?

Over the past 40 years, self-identified evangelicals have given between 2 and 3 percent of their incomes to churches and Christian organizations. Stewardship is a crucial part of the Christian life, and according to these figures, it is sadly lacking.

Now, on any topic, we have to filter the Old Testament through the grid of Jesus' and the apostles' teaching. In Matthew 23:23, Jesus tells the Jewish leaders that they neglect the weightier things of the law, though they did tithe. This is often cited to claim that Jesus still promoted tithing. Yes, he did—for Jews still under the Mosaic Law.

Former Archbishop Desmond Tutu Says He Would Choose Hell Over 'Homophobic' Heaven

Speaking recently at the United Nation's launch of its "Free & Equal" campaign to promote fair treatment of LGBT persons, former archbishop and South African anti-apartheid activist Desmond Tutu declared that the issue was so close to his heart that he "would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven" and instead choose "the other place."

The 1984 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former head of the South African Anglican Church and South African Council of Churches made the remarks last Friday, July 26, during the press event in his home country, where same-sex marriage is legal but where views remain antagonistic toward homosexuals.

Calling for greater protections for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender persons, Archbishop Emeritus Tutu, 81, said, "I would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven. No, I would say sorry, I mean I would much rather go to the other place."

He added, "I would not worship a God who is homophobic and that is how deeply I feel about this."