Why Tent-making?

As a part of the church plant I will be leading (which has now begun) I will also be returning to secular work 3 days per week. It’s not just a part-time job of course, it’s “tent-making”!! So what is tent-making and why have I taken this path?

The idea of tent-making is simply a part-time (or full-time) job to sustain you while you do Christian ministry in the remainder of your time. The reason it’s called “tent-making” in Christian circles is because tent-making was the part-time job that the apostle Paul had during his mission years.

Acts chapter 18 is instructive. Paul is in Corinth and we’re told that he worked alongside Aquilla and Priscilla who also were tent-makers. Then in verse 4 Luke says, ‘every Sabbath Paul reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks’. Paul here seems to work 6 days and rest 1 day per week. But on the Sabbath Paul engages in synagogue life by gospel telling. Here is a pattern where Paul seems to be working what we would call full-time as a tent maker, but in his discretionary time, he gets on with gospel proclamation.

But what happens next shows that Paul is not rigid or fixed in his approach. Silas and Timothy arrive from Macedonia (v5) and at this point Paul puts down his tools and he ‘devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ’. Either Paul was able to make use of funds that Silas and Timothy had brought, or Paul was supported day to day by Silas and Timothy in that case probably did have jobs themselves.

So what motivated Paul and his tentmaking? Was it simply pragmatics, so if there was a enough funds around he could go ‘full-time’ otherwise he had to suck it in and make tents? Or was there more at work in Paul’s decision to work?

In Acts chapter 19 Paul heads off on his own to the city of Ephesus. We are told in chapter 19 that Paul stayed there for two years (19:10), but we aren’t told in chapter 19 how Paul paid his bills. But in chapter 20, when Paul calls for the Ephesian elders to visit him in Miletus, we are told: ‘I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions’. So, while in Ephesus Paul paid his own way, most likely making tents by day. And Paul himself was generous! Paul’s own hands paid for his own food and board, as well as that of his companions (tent-making must have been not a little lucrative). But notice what Paul was trying to teach the Ephesians, v35: ‘In everything I did, I showed you by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive”‘.

In Ephesus, tent-making allowed Paul to achieve at least three things: [1] for Paul’s own godliness it meant that he was able not to ‘covet anyone’s silver or gold or clothing [or iphone]‘; [2] it allowed Paul to care for the needs of his companions (the ‘weak’), and also meant Paul didn’t have to take financial resources away from the Ephesians themselves (the ‘weak’?); [3] and it was a living model of teaching the Ephesian Christians the joyful responsibility of the Christian to follow Jesus’ example in caring for the weak, and being people who give and don’t just take; and [4] moving outside of Acts, Paul reminds the Thessalonian Christians that he worked night and day while he preached the gospel there so as not to be a burden to anyone.

So what conclusions can we draw from this brief survey of what the New Testament teaches about tent-making, especially for the church planter (Paul’s pioneer evangelism that he did is more relevant in our context to a church planter than a pastor of an established church)?

Firstly, we should be flexible. Paul sometimes did tent-making, and he sometimes lived off the resources of others (by which I mean, other Christians, not the people he was trying to reach). Church planters should be willing to be tent-makers, and not assume that raising their own support is the only option. Especially, if you are married and have a family, you should be willing to consider paying your own way. At the same time, being supported by other Christians to engage in pioneer evangelism is also supported by Paul’s conduct. In some Christian circles, there is something of a disdain for paid full-time evangelists or pastors, assuming that we ALL should be doing that work. But Paul didn’t see any incongruity between him being freed up to work full time and his teaching on the priesthood of all believers.

Secondly, we should be conscious of our own capacities and opportunities. If by working it can enable others to receive the gospel freely, then that in itself demostrates the gospel. We shouldn’t think of tent-making as necessarily the second best option when it comes to starting a church.

Thirdly, one advantage of tent-making in our context is that it means that smaller initiatives can be started, and that we aren’t as dependent upon outside sources of funding. The only problem with external funds for church planting is that the eventually run out! And as the time of expiration approaches, it is tempting for church planters to ditch their aspirations for evnagelism and just try and get as many Christians in as are needed to pay for the church planter.

Commissioning Service

Things are moving so fast that I rarely have time to stop and record what is happening – so that is the purpose of this post – to stop and reflect on what has happened so far, the first two weeks of Providence Church going.

So what has been happening? First, the commissioning service.

Commissioning Service

We had a quite wonderful commissioning service from St Matthew’s Anglican church in Shenton Park. It was a mixture of sadness (which was nice), moving testimonies, and a moving and faithful sermon preached from Jonah chapter 4 (find it here). As sad as we all felt about leaving, and as sad as people were that we were leaving, there was nevertheless a great feeling that it was a blessing and privelege to be sent on our new venture.

It has been a great blessing to be have been supported so strongly by St Matthew’s. One thing we have talked with St Matt’s about is how to make the partnership beneficial. Providence clearly benefits from the faithful prayers of God’s people at St Matthews, and monthly prayer meetings have been organised. We, on the other hand, hope to be able to impart to St Matthew’s all the lessons we learn along the way about mission and church planting.

Here is a copy of the prayer that was prayed at the commissioning:

Prayer of Commissioning for Members of Providence Church

Lord God, you who have founded your church on the precious cornerstone, our Lord Jesus Christ, and who have called people of all nations to be built up on him as a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, we thank you that we are a part of this calling, here in Shenton Park. We bless you for your holy presence among us, and we thank you for those you have raised up to minister to us in this place.

As we think of those who minister, and of what they have meant to us, we are reminded of the words of your prophet Isaiah: “how beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion ‘Your God reigns!’” We thank you for those who brought the good news of salvation to us, and we thank you for the faithful witness of your servants in this place and for your grace that has enabled this congregation to be built up over the years.

Now, like congregations of your people so many times in the past, and in response to your Son’s command, we recognise that the time has come to send some of our number out to share the grace that we have received with others.

We acknowledge the movement of your Holy Spirit among us over many months as your servants Nigel and Liz have caught a vision of ministry among people to the north of the city, and as you have opened doors to allow this to happen and moved in the hearts of others in our congregations to join themselves with them in this venture of faith.

Now the time has come for us to release them and to commit them to the service to which you have called them.

Go in the name of the Lord and in his strength to serve and have fellowship with the people to whom you have been called. Remember always that your first calling is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and to love your neighbour as yourself. May the Lord grant you patience when things do not happen as fast as you would like, tolerance when the ways of people may cause offence, perseverance when you suffer rejection, discernment when faced with new decisions, hope when you experience discouragement, discipline when tempted to stray from the Lord, humility when needing to accept rebuke, and a willing heart to repent when you sin. May you find unfailing joy in one another’s fellowship and support and in the love and support this congregation will continue to extend to you. May you abide in Jesus and so bear much fruit.

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,

Amen

15^th February 2009.

The Church Planter’s Idol?

In Under the Unpredictable Plant (1992), Eugene Peterson writes:

“Why do pastors have such a difficult time being pastors? Because they are awash in idolatry. Where two or three are gathered together and the name of God comes up, a committee is formed for making an idol. We want gods that are not gods so we can ‘be as gods’.

The idolatry to which pastors are conspicuously liable is not personal but vocational, the idolatry of a religious career that we can take charge of and manage.

[...] The pastoral vocation in America is embarrassingly banal. It is banal because it is pursued under the canons of job efficiency and career management. It is banal because it is reduced to the dimensions of a job description. It is banal because it is an idol – a call from God exchanged for an offer by the devil for work that can be measured and manipulated at the convenience of the worker”.

Peterson’s book is about vocational holiness, by which he has in mind the life of the pastor. The dilemma he begins his book with was his own personal dilemma: how working as a pastor and living as a Christian fitted together (or didn’t fit together).

Peterson then turns to the book of Jonah for answers (relevant, for me preaching through Jonah at the moment).

As someone who for the time being is moving away from what Peterson calls ‘pastoral vocation’ (ie full time pastoral work) it will be interested to reflect on my own experiences and Peterson’s conclusions. More to come.

The Tension of Jonah Chapter 2 (Part 1)

Ok, need some help here. Preaching on Jonah chapter 2 shortly and interested in anyone’s thoughts on the place of chapter 2 in the narrative of the book and the tensions it raises (and whether those tensions can or should be resolved).

Jonah chapter 2 is recognised as a psalm of thanksgiving that Jonah declares from within the large fish that has swallowed him.

The tensions are created by what Jonah says in chapter 2, and what he has done in chapter 1 (and will do in chapter 4). The tension of the peity of the Psalm alongside the rebel on the run. Bruckner (2004, 77) summarises the tensions:

• Jonah is not yet rescued (he’s still in the fish) and yet he gives thanks for his deliverance.
• Jonah claims piety in relation to God but has not repented of his own flight from God.
• Jonah claims to be much more pious than those who cling to idols (think sailors, Ninevites, and Israelite reader/listener) and yet his actions betray him.

Interpreters have come up with different ways to resolve the tensions of Jonah chapter 2 in lights of the broader Jonah narrative: [1] to deny the tension; [2] ignore the tension by focusing on Jonah’s piety; [3] ignore the tension by focusing on the narrative and dismissing Jonah’s piety as either shallow and hypocritical, or ironic.

Any thoughts?

An Introduction To Elders (I)

While it’s true that leadership emerges in all organisations, what can be said about leadership of the New Testament churches? In a series of posts I want to outline my view of elders in church. I hope that you can sharpen my thinking along the way.

The posts will cover the following (though not necessarily in this order):

• Why do churches have elders? Is it simply that churches need leadership and so we need elders, or is it something more intrinsic to the gospel?
• Who should be an elder (including the subject of men and women)?
• How should elders be appointed?
• What should elders do?
• How do elders relate to deacons?
• How does the subject of elders impact church planting goals and methods?

Church Plant Among the Churches

(Month – 7)

One thing the church planting literature doesn’t deal with is how to helpfully engage with churches in the area of the new plant. How should we approach this?

As a church plant we want to be a blessing to other people. In the first place, to the not yet Christians who we are seeking to reach, but also to other Christians we know who are labouring to the same end.

Firstly, Church plants should seek to good to the Christians and churches around them. In Galatians chapter 6, Paul says:

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Christians want to do good to those around them, especially to ‘the family of believers’. There are many ways that we can do good including praying for people, serving them, partnering together. The church plant can seek to do good toward the churches around it by specifically communicating clearly with people what is happening; sending people we meet who might be more helped by an older more established church; and by saying ‘no’ to Christians in the are who may be interested in joining the church plant, but who would be better served by staying where they are.

Secondly, church plants will seek to do good ‘according to opportunity’. Paul delineates the doing good to all people by saying ‘as we have opportunity’. Life is such that all of us are limited to the extent and way in which we can do good. A church plant team throwing their time and energy into reaching out to not yet Christians will have limited time and energy to be serving the existing churches. Which is not to say that there might be specific ways that we can – only that we need to be realistic (as Paul was) about what is possible.

Thirdly, church plants will seek to partner with Christians in their network as the opportunity for gospel partnership arises. In 3 John the apostle commends Gaius for having shown welcome and partnership to the itinerant gospel workers. John says that we should ’show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth’ (v8). Where possible, it makes sense to partner with other Christians working together for the truth. It really doesn’t matter whose ‘church’ individual ventures comes under. What matters is serving God for his glory. So if there are other Christian parents in the primary school class of your child, it makes sense to work together for the truth. We want to do what is good for the kingdom, not just what is good for our ‘turf’ (as if there is such a thing!).

For the Glory of God

(Month -7)

One of the most arresting paragraphs I have recently read came from the pen (Ed. do they still use pen’s instead of keyboards in the UK?) of the always interesting Tim Chester:

“How easily we say: ‘I have planted this church through this strategy … these missiological principles … through my energy … through my skills.’ I wonder how often God withholds his blessing because he knows we would use his blessing to rob him of his glory”.

Indeed. That last sentence hit me between the eyes when I read it. I wonder how often my own proud heart has been too interested in its own place in this world and so all too ready to rob God of the glory that is due to him alone. An important warning for us all.

Then, this morning, I was reading John 15 and came across Jesus saying:

⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (TNIV)

There are wrong ways to respond to the critique that we might be robbing God of his glory. One would be to stop using wisdom in planting churches. Another would be to not expect much from God so that we don’t rob much! Both would be wrong.

A better way is what Jesus teaches here in John 15: to ask God to give success to our desire to see people’s lives transformed by the gospel and for glory to go to God. For it is to the Father’s glory that we bear much fruit. I guess the key is to celebrate together what God is doing in every little answer to prayer and to pray broadly and consistently.

Frequently Asked Questions

Month -8.

I have been speaking to my church about the upcoming church plant. It has been a good process to go through to visit the mid-week groups to engage them with what might happen.

It has also been a way to hear from people frequently asked questions. Some of the key questions that come up regularly are:

• Why plant churches?
• What are the details of what the church plant will look like? (the nitty gritty)
• What the the theological principles driving the philosophy of the church plant?
• Why can’t you just do what you are planning to do from within your current church setting?
• What oversight and authority will you come under?
• How will it be funded?
• What will be the measure of success and failure?
• How much should we be relying on the observations of church planting research?

And perhaps my favourite question which came from a playgroup friend (not a Christian as I understand it):

“So will you guys be growing your own vegetables?”

I hope to answer these important questions (starting with vegetable growing) one by one.

Churches Don’t Have DNA

I have been reading some excellent books on church and church planting recently. A common theme that comes up is a ‘church DNA’ (e.g. see Alan Hirsch Forgotten Ways; and Neil Cole Organic Church).

The thought is that in the same way that cells have DNA that make up their very fabric and nature, so must churches. Further, the DNA dictates that way that a cell will grow and multiply in a healthy manner.

It’s a helpful metaphor. Except for one thing — churches don’t have DNA. Churches aren’t molecular cells (hence the metaphorical bit!). Churches are people gathering together. People have DNA. The problem with talking about DNA is that it makes it sound that once you get ‘it’ in the church, you’re set. But that’s not true is  it? Surely what a church needs is people who have a mindset and heart for loving God and serving Him in this world. And mindsets need constant reaffirmation and theological direction.

Actually, the idea of DNA is quite a helpful metaphor for thinking about how we grow as a church. But you have to keep on affirming your ‘DNA’. Though, just maybe, your DNA might change over time (that would be freakish).

Month -12 Kids

Right now there are not a small number of issues and ideas I am thinking through about the prospective church plant (not a perfect phrase, but leave that for another time).

One important issue that has been raised already a few times is: what about kids? How will our children be catered for and cared for in a small church plant? For example, one person said, “we’re interested in being a part of a church plant, but are a bit worried that there won’t be anything for Milchezedek to be a part of?”

I am not planning to solve the problems of the ‘how’ right now, since it will be an outcome of other important questions being answered. However, here are some preliminary thoughts:

Firstly, as a passage like Ephesians 6 makes clear, the primary responsibility for nurturing our children in the Lord is that of the parents, in particular fathers. As much as we want church to be a an important place for our children to be nurtured, we must not fall into the trap of taking kids to violin lessons, swimming lessons, language classes and church – as though we farm out each nurturing component to the relevant experts. Maybe a better starting point is not “what is available for my child?” but “how can we help parents disciple their children?”

Secondly, I suspect we teach our children much through the decisions we make as Christians. Parents who make decisions to faithfully follow Jesus (not matter what costs that may bring) teach their children that following Jesus is foundational and of greatest importance.

After that, I am, at this moment, flat out of great ideas. Got any?