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Church planting, Day 2

Yesterdays post was just uploaded because my computer died, so that was from yesterday. It is actually Wednesday today and it is a beautiful day. I'm going to be renewing my vows with my wife at one of the Disney resort this evening so I'm excited about that. The getaway has been more than needed or that I can write at this moment. I feel like God is meeting me where I'm at right now as a battle fatigue, frustration and discouragement. This mornings speaker is a guy by the name of Ed Stetzer. He is a really cool guy that did a seminar yesterday about trends in church plants that cause success. The report that he used for the entire seminar can be found at www.missionalresearch.com and is very interesting. This mornings topic is about being witnesses to our culture based on Jesus' commission to us in Acts 1:8. The church (meaning us) needs to be multiplying our lives into others. Here is some of the gyst of what he said. John 3:16 translates to John 20:22 in that as Jesus was sent he now sends us. He used the passage in Acts 16:9, "During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." 10After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them."
*Church plants should be based on the how which is influenced by the who, when and where of that community.
*We need to come over to the community that we are in and build a church that relates to that community. We should not simply build the church that we want but the church that the culture dictates. We are planting the gospel that creates a church, not simply planting a church.
We have been called to do it. We need to do something to reach lost people.
2 Cor. 5:11-20- We need to persuade men about the good news of Jesus Christ. (persuade, compel, appeal)
*Being missional is not being sympathetic or wrapped around simply helping others. Being missional is a buzz word. It is being on the Master's mission. Missional is more than identifying with culture, it is sharing the good news of Jesus WITH WORDS. Relevance is a tool but the gospel is the goal. Relevance is only helpful if its sole goal is sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
1. We should not focus on personal transformation and not gospel transformation.
2. When your sermons are so practical they lack any gospel.
3. When we talk more about practical more than you talk about biblical.
4. When your outreach demeans others that preach the gospel.
5. When your approach makes you the hero and not Jesus.
6. When 'personal evangelism' is an oxymoron at your church.
7. When 'invest and invite' never leads to personal evangelism.
I missed the last 3, sorry.
3. Us (refers to a lost world). All around us people are seeking something. We need to seek and save those that are lost. Our hearts need to be broken for our community, we need the heart of Christ. The only thing that matters in the church is whether or not we live out the mission. The church needs to be about God's mission and the cross. Come over to what calls you, bring the help of the gospel & remember the us, those that are lost without Jesus.
GREAT STUFF, GOD'S SPEAKING TO ME. GREAT REMINDER THAT IT'S ALL ABOUT THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST.

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