How Possible Is Church Multiplication?
Often when I write or talk about churches that are planting multiple churches I get pushback in the form of the question “I wonder how many of these church plants are more like house churches?” I’m not sure why I get that question more than “I wonder how many people these churches are reaching?” So […]
Church Planting Isn’t the Goal: Interview with Wayne Cordeiro
Wayne Cordeiro is known for effectively planting hundreds of churches over a long period of years, but in a recent interview with me he said, “I’m learning that Church planting isn’t the goal; discipleship is! Church planting is actually a byproduct of biblical discipleship.” Everyone needs to let that statement soak in. Cordeiro has shifted […]
Seven Lessons from an Interview with Ralph Moore
Ralph Moore, pastor of Hope Chapel in Honolulu, is a 70-year-old, humble hippie who is planting the third Hope Chapel in Hawaii. Ralph is responsible, directly or indirectly, for more than 1,000 church plants. I was struck by his humble, straightforward way of sharing both himself and what he has learned. Here is what I learned […]
The World Doesn’t Need More Pastors
When I restarted a church in 1969, I shared the following mission statement: “Every member a minister.” In 1982 the statement changed to “Every person a minister.” In 1990 the statement changed again to “Every person a missionary.” When I left that church in 1993, 80 percent of the people were involved in some form […]
From Doers to Equippers – Part One
In the majority of established churches in the U. S., the paid staff does most of the daily ministry. All one has to do is read passages like Ephesians 4:11-12 and I Peter 2:9 to see that God never intended for churches to function that way. What Christianity needs today is a fresh view of […]
From Doers to Equippers – Part Three
What happens during the transition? The pastor must carefully and slowly chip away at destroying the dependent culture and establishing a growth culture. For eight years, I chipped away at changing the culture to one of equipping. I spent those 8 years filtering out whom I had to see and get fired and whom I […]