The current "strategy forces the church planter to focus on attracting givers more than on evangelizing lost people"

[Jay]

Don asked:

Say someone is converted in such a Bible study, or at least professes to be. They continue on, happy to be part of a Bible study, but refuse to be baptized and/or join the church, and perhaps even refuse to attend regularly. What then? Do you just carry on without calling them to account? Accept their profession when they refuse to obey the Scriptures?

I think you treat them as a nonbeliever and move on, in keeping with Matthew 13:1-8, 24-30, and 47-50. Not everyone who comes and is interested in the gospel. Just keep working with the people who hear Jesus’ voice and come to Him (John 10:24-30).

Right, but if all you have is a Bible study, under what authority do you do this?

Right, but if all you have is a Bible study, under what authority do you do this?

Um….the Bible’s authority?
Seriously, the authority in the church rests in the Bible, not in anything else. The authority for church discipline comes from ‘two or three gathered’, where Jesus is in their midst (Matthew 18:18-20). As for baptism:

Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. (1 Peter 3:21-22 ESV)

Where is your family going to church for 5 years while you are out raising funds?

[Mark_Smith]

Where is your family going to church for 5 years while you are out raising funds?

Typically meetings for support are held on Sundays. Last year we were in 46 different churches. When we were home we attended a church a couple towns away. We are praying that it doesn’t take 5 years to develop the amount of support that we need.

Right, but if all you have is a Bible study, under what authority do you do this?

It seems to me that you are operating under the authority of a sending church until you form your own church. You also have the authority of Christ (Matt 28:18-20).

Starting a church too early can lead to several things such as unqualifed or untested leaders (since you can’t have a church without leaders). It can lead to evangelism not being a part of the DNA of the church since most of the early members are transfers from other places.

While I am a theoretician on this, and not a practitioner, it seems that growing a church out of the gospel will take longer to organize but will be just as biblical a church and perhaps more suited to its surroundings.

I also think we should take care when rejecting out of hand best practices. We are not pragmatists. We are, however, practical. That means that in most cases, we should do what works. (Not whatever works.) If people with experience say certain things work, let’s give that consideration rather than simply reject because they don’t have a verse that goes with it.

I am not going to name names here, but I’ve left a few churches in my time more or less because of exactly what Larry notes—the leaders were unqualified. (examples include covert/lying KJVO, failure to appreciate significance of a teacher soft-pedaling the Trinity and acquiescing in prosperity theology, failure to understand significance of pattern of love of money) So I would agree 100% that hastily incorporating a church can be extremely dangerous. I would suggest even that some churches have been decades without qualified leadership—and I’m not talking about mainline, liberal churches, either.

Don, in your past, do you know of church planters that didn’t start the church fast enough, which has led to the lack of accountability and discipline?

[Joel Shaffer]

Don, in your past, do you know of church planters that didn’t start the church fast enough, which has led to the lack of accountability and discipline?

good question. I think what is being described here is a fairly new phenomenon, at least it is the first I have heard of it.

What I have known are church planters who simply gave up. Even knew of a case where a guy started a church, was running around 100, but disbanded the church and went home because had had a year of no growth. That was an odd one.

To comment on the original problem that this article addresses:

Jimmy Scroggins: I’m afraid this strategy forces the church planter to focus on attracting givers more than on evangelizing lost people. It really doesn’t matter how many lost people he reaches or baptizes; his sustainability and “success” will be evaluated and celebrated only if his fledgling congregation gives enough money.

The planter’s ability to remain “in business” is directly tied to his ability to shift the costs from his sponsor churches to his own congregation before his startup money is exhausted. It is unlikely that new believers will be able to carry that load fast enough. He has to go hard after transfers from other churches in order to make it work. So again, the focus of the church planter almost has to be on attracting givers as opposed to reaching lost people.

I have seen this take place among many evangelical church plants. The denomination’s church planting arm or the mother church creates a system where they decide to support the church plant for x amount of dollars and x amount of years (usually 3-5). This works fairly well among church plants that are started in growing affluent suburban communities, but not so much in rural or urban communities that have significant poverty in their neighborhoods. Too much of a one-size-fits-all mentality………

When a church is small… there are no leaders except the pastor who is doing the planting. Problem solved. He is the one knocking on doors, preaching, teaching, etc. As it grows and matures, the congregation recognizes leaders in the congregation.

I fail to see the problem.

[Larry]

Right, but if all you have is a Bible study, under what authority do you do this?

It seems to me that you are operating under the authority of a sending church until you form your own church. You also have the authority of Christ (Matt 28:18-20).

I think the first is a good point, not sure how the Great Commission grants authority to remove from an informal Bible study.

I understand what you are saying, but why would you need to formally remove someone from an informal Bible study in terms of church discipline? When I refered to the authority of Christ, I was referring to the authority to go and start from scratch planting churches with unbelievers. I do think that should come through a local church sponsorship/sending/whatever.

…..actually, been there done that. Guy came in arguing that Paul was the AntiChrist. Another guy I know was asked to go for hitting on a girl who had no desire to be around the gentleman.

But Bert, that’s not the same kind of thing as church discipline, which is what Don is referring to. They certainly could be, I suppose. But it is likely that both of those would have been known before becoming members, and been asked to leave a church anyway.