We reproduce what we know; we know what is modeled before us.
As a pastor, I have the honor of seeing members regularly sent from The Church at Brook Hills to the unreached people groups in Birmingham, across North America, and throughout the world. As a faith family, we are delighted to be a part of what the Lord is doing in the world.
However, it is not enough for any church just to send people to reach others. She is called to make disciples, baptize, and teach. The process does not end with the sent ones.
The church sends to multiply disciples, leaders, and other churches. What missionaries have heard, they are to pass along to faithful men to teach others (2 Tim 2:2). Imitation is important to this Great Commission task (1 Thes 1:6). Those sent set examples to others (1 Thes 1:7) that the faith go forth everywhere (1 Thes 1:8). The church should always be praying that the “word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored” (2 Thes 3:1, ESV).
And here are some questions all churches should ask regarding the sent ones: Can they reproduce what they have seen and heard? Or, have we been modeling something before them that they cannot reproduce? Yes, they can go, preach the gospel, make disciples, and gather those new believers together as local churches. But can they equip new disciples to do likewise? Or, does the process end with the sent ones?
One of the reasons evangelicals do not observe more reproduction is because our models are difficult to reproduce. We have made discipleship, disciple-making, and church planting very complexity realities.
For example, our expected approach to training pastors and missionaries is more based on a complex academic model than a biblical one. So, it should not surprise us whenever our pastors and missionaries apply such complexity in local churches and on mission fields. Generally, the process ends with them. Most people in the pews (and new believers from the harvest) are unable to own and execute a complex model.
The 4 billion remain. More of what we have been doing is not sufficient for wise Kingdom citizens. Recognizing the sterility that often comes with complexity is the first step toward the edge of change.
———-
Last week, the Southern Baptist Convention released a report noting their decline in membership. I addressed this matter in the most recent episode of Strike the Match: iTunes | Android | RSS
I’m nervous about confusing “complex” with “complicated.” IMO, an inability to embrace the complexity of unreached contexts, coupled with our simplistic models of ministry, is one of the reasons why the 4 billion remain. We desperately need more contextual nuances in our approaches, but it doesn’t need to be complicated.