I was talking with a first-time church planter about how things were going. As we were talking about some of the difficulties he was facing, he blurted out, “I just don’t like the people who are coming to my church! I wouldn’t choose to hang out with these people, and it’s hard to create a community with people you don’t enjoy hanging …
What Would Help You Most?
What do you need to start a movement? The V3 Movement is a dedicated to creating resources and training opportunities for Church Planters and Missional Movement starters. If you are reading this, it is because you want to start a movement. You want to see the kingdom of God to take root in your neighborhood. You want to see new movements …
When Clinton and Bush Go to Church…Together
A few years back I had two separate events occur in the same month that started an inner storm in me. First, I had a parishioner, dear to me and dear to others, decide to leave. The circumstances around her departure have left me scratching my head ever since. She kindly shared with me, “Dan, I don’t feel safe in this …
Pearl Jam, Prophets, and Their Importance to the Church
The other day, while driving to some meetings a couple hours away, I was thrown back to my high school days when an early Pearl Jam song came on the radio. As I listened to the once billboard-charting tune “Jeremy,” I heard the pain of a generation ringing through the intricately woven lyrics. Later, after a quick Google search, I …
We Must Prepare for Change—and Opportunity
We begin 2017 by racing into a new decade that is likely to change at warp speed. As a consequence, leaders in our churches need to learn from the business world how to prepare for change and anticipate a host of new challenges before they arrive so that we all have lead time to create new and innovative responses. One …
A Place-Based Missional Learning Experience
Our friends at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary have created a place-based missional learning experience any serious church planter can benefit from: The Graduate Certificate in Church Planting and Revitalization. The Graduate Certificate in Church Planting and Revitalization forms pioneer leaders attentive to God and God’s world. Participants will learn to listen to the Holy Spirit and their communities, they will practice leading teams in …
Subverting Church Planting Stereotypes
If I am being honest, I’m not generally a big fan of books on church planting. My lack of enthusiasm stems from two primary observations. First, many books on church planting are authored by people who actually have surprisingly limited experience in church planting or whose credibility rests on a single (relatively meaningless) criterion—their ability to draw a large crowd. …
The Striking Disconnect Between Knowing and Doing
The pastor asked an earnest question: “Why don’t we do this?” The teaching had been compelling. He was stirred, convicted, convinced. Of course, love of neighbour is central to what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Of course, care for the communities where God has placed us is a reflection of God’s Kingdom’s desire—human flourishing, the redemption of …
4 Keys to Individual and Congregational Disciple Making
It’s the beginning of a new year, and, like many of you, I am wondering how to grow both my own faith and that of those I disciple over the coming months. Sometimes I think we get it all wrong. We want to tell people how to live without really asking them about their lives. We unwittingly add to their …
RePlacing Church 53: Casper Ter Kuile on the New Spiritual Communities of the Religiously Unaffiliated
Casper Ter Kuile is co-author (along with Angie Thurston) of the How We Gather report and its sequel, Something More, which map a landscape of life-giving organizations that are emerging even as religious affiliation declines, such as Crossfit and The Dinner Party. Casper is training to be a minister for non-religious people to build a world of joyful belonging. He …