Temporary Suspension of Gravity!
Such news would be plastered across headlines of newspapers world wide. Regular broadcasting would be interrupted to capture the effect of such amazing news. The very principle of gravity, thought to be always and continuously applying, suddenly and inexplicably suspended. A story just waiting to be understood, relayed and interpreted by all and sundry.
The thought that the God-designed and sustained principles of church health and growth could be temporarily suspended should also attract similar attention – at least from those wanting to partner with God to grow the kingdom.
However, it appears from contemporary training materials surrounding church planting and the establishment of new expressions of the church that perhaps key characteristics of a healthy growing church are dispensable in the earlier phases of church life. That, for example, we can seemingly dispose of seeding a culture of gift based ministry and or inspiring worship as a church starts.
How can this be? Does not all that is required to grow into a healthy adult exist in some form at the beginning of cell multiplication process of an embryo? And if all that is required is not present, then is not the long-term health of the adult compromised?
Let’s assume the ‘new’ church wishes to grow and reproduce healthy, holistic disciples, reflecting the creator’s plan and purpose for a fulfilled life. Should not the “church planting team”, who are training up disciples (those who are commencing in their relationship with Jesus) be deliberate about identifying what, in their small, embryonic (yet usually highly catalytic) community of faith, does not fully reflect God’s purpose for his bride, the church? And then be intentional to eliminate those things that so easily entangle, preventing church health and growth?
Recent NCD-based research into new expressions of the church reveals that the minimum factor – the very real and present barrier to the kingdom coming with increasing measure in a new community of faith – is potentially different for each one.
To say authoritatively and definitively, for example, that the first thing the new expression of God’s kingdom must develop is a culture of empowerment and effectiveness denies the work of Jesus in the lives of those starting the new work.
Perhaps God has orchestrated a culture, within the lives of the planting team, of highly developed empowerment and effectiveness, making resource deployment to develop such areas redundant and, essentially, a misuse of God’s resources.
Given the consistent lament of the church seems to be that we don’t have enough resources, surely inappropriate and ineffective use of kingdom resources results in the master not trusting us with more. (The parable of the talents is instructive in this regard.)
So mandating a hierarchy or priority for new church development becomes unsustainable. If we accept God pulls together a team of the right people for the right task, each team is unique. Necessarily therefore, each team will have an expression of “heaven on earth” well developed and another expression limited in its development.
For it to be suggested therefore, that a proven characteristic of a healthy growing and reproducing church is dispensable in the early stage of church development might beg the question that may be asked of someone suggesting that gravity can temporarily be suspended….”What planet are you on!”