Do church planters need a theological education? Should those of us guiding potential church planters encourage them to get a theological education? We’ve all heard the well-worn put-downs that seminary can be a spiritual cemetery and that people just need Jesus, not exegesis. There is some truth that seminaries can be ivory towers that are far removed from the realities …
Discipleship happens in a place, and should affect that place. At Praxis Gathering 2016, however, we are focusing on Shaping Disciples for Mission, but we do so with a “place-based lens.” We couldn’t do it without the help of our friend Kevin Doi. Meet Kevin Doi Courtesy of Epic Church Kevin is the founding pastor of Epic Church and co-founder of JOYA Scholars, a …
One of the key characteristics most church planting assessors look for in potential church planters is teachability. Over the last three-and-a-half decades of starting churches and supporting church planters, three aspects of this trait stand out to me the most: knowing one’s self, practicing humility, and seeking wisdom. Knowing One’s Self A few years ago, I coauthored a book based …
Discipleship happens in a place, and should affect that place. At Praxis Gathering 2016, however, we are focusing on Shaping Disciples for Mission, but we do so with a “place-based lens.” We couldn’t do it without the help of our friend Matt Tebbe. Meet Matt Tebbe Matt Tebbe is a bi-vocational church planter who knows firsthand what place-based church is all about. …
I remember the first time I ever went on a “missions” trip (I love how there is an “s” added to that word for some unknown reason). As a person who did not grow up involved in or even remotely aware of churches, youth groups, mission trips, or any of the other cultural expressions of evangelical churches, the whole thing …
I remember the conversation like it was yesterday. It was one of those turning-point conversations that seemed small in the moment but ended up being very significant. I was finishing up some dishes in the kitchen after a long day with our four kids. My husband brought it up slowly. I have a feeling God is asking us to plant …
Discipleship is a lost love in our culture of “Go Big or Go Home.” At Praxis Gathering 2016, however, we will gather to recover the act and art of discipleship. This unique, annual church planting experience combines real-time practice with rich theology and deep reflection. Participants of all backgrounds, denominations and ecclesial styles will join together to plummet deep into the …
A few years ago, I coauthored a book entitled The Wholehearted Church Planter: Leadership from the Inside Out. The general thesis of this book is that almost anyone can plant some kind of church if they know and love God, know and love people, and appropriately know and love self. Writing on knowing and loving people, I reference Harry Emerson …
Discipleship is a lost love in our culture of “Go Big or Go Home.” At Praxis Gathering 2016, however, we will gather to recover the act and art of discipleship. This unique, annual church planting experience combines real-time practice with rich theology and deep reflection. Participants of all backgrounds, denominations and ecclesial styles will join together to plummet deep into the …
By Christopher Brown and Scott Hagley The Church has a problem: most of its future leaders are being prepared in ways that don’t work and for ministries that don’t exist. Ways that Don’t Work My (Chris’s) first call out of seminary was to be a bivocational church planter. For more than five years, I worked part-time at an independent café …