In Paul Murray’s novel Skippy Dies, there’s a point where the main character, Howard, has an existential crisis. “It’s just not how I expected my life would be,” he says. “What did you expect?” a friend responds. After pondering, Howard replies, “I suppose—this sounds stupid, but I suppose I thought there’d be more of a story to my life.” If you strung …
You Can't Reproduce What You Aren't
Here at the V3 Movement, we cannot encourage enough the importance of planting churches from a place of community. In fact, we’re not sure it’s even possible in church planting to create something that doesn’t already exist. That is, there’s this funny thing about creating true community: you can’t reproduce what you aren’t. In light of our conviction, we bring you …
Why We Need Pastor-Theologians for Leading Churches in Mission
Anyone doing the work of planting churches will meet unpredictable cultural challenges. By definition, you are going into uncharted turf. You will have to listen, encounter new issues, interpret, translate and engage in ways you never would have to in established churches. Anyone wishing to lead a traditional (attractional) church into contextual engagement will face the same challenges and tasks. …
Leadership Is a Community Affair
The V3 Movement being a communal movement, we’re excited to bring you another personal interview from a series of interviews with church planters who are embracing place-based church planting in a fruitful manner. These planters are using V3 Learning Cohorts to ground their leadership and their missiology in community. [Tweet “Leadership is a community affair. http://thev3movement.org/learning-cohorts/”] Today we’re speaking with Jared …
Kairos Community Pastor Noah Stepro on V3 Learning Cohorts
The V3 Movement is a communal movement. As such, we are excited to bring you personal interviews with other church planters who love what is happening in the church today, are engaging it in a fruitful manner, and are utilizing V3 Learning Cohorts to help ground themselves and their missions in the communal reality of church planting. Discover how being …
Disciple-Making: Playing Ball in All Four Fields
When it comes to disciple-making, church-planting movements often use a tool known as the Four Fields. Field One (Go) is the entry strategy. Typically, it involves discovering a person of peace, as in Luke 10:1-12 (for a great description of the role of a person of peace read JR Woodward’s article, “The Person of Peace and Their ‘Oikos’”). Field Two …
Six Insights into the Art of Leading Spiritually
Last week, I wrote an article entitled “What is Good Spiritual Leadership?” In it we looked at the connections between leadership and intimacy with God, as well as leadership and the discovery of the authentic self. I have continued to be fascinated by this topic of spiritual leadership. This has led me to write about a few more aspects I …
How To Never Let a Holiday Go Un-Missional Again
It’s “Ordinary Time” according to the traditional Christian liturgical calendar, but in our neighbourhoods it’s a new year! We start school in a new grade, sign up and get involved in new programs and activities, and get involved in sports teams, music lessons, and clubs. We transition out of summer and increasingly find ourselves caught up in all the busyness of …
A Church Planting Book Essential: Subterranean, by Dan White Jr.
I was honored to write the foreword for Dan White Jr.’s book, Subterranean: Why the Future of the Church Is Rootedness, so I can tell you that this is an important read. It is important because Dan writes from his lived experience. I will share some slices from the foreword in hopes that you will pick up the book and read it yourself. …
What is Good Spiritual Leadership?
As we develop our leadership teams and plan our programs, one question should continually be at the forefront of our thoughts: What is good spiritual leadership? Most of us aspire to be leaders, to be noticed, to feel successful. We want to know that what we do makes a difference in God’s world. I wonder, however, if in striving towards …