» 2007 » April

While in Sweden recently I had the good fortune to meet Johan Pernryd. We discovered that we shared a common experience of starting a church that we eventually had to close down. Here’s Johan and Philippa’s story. . .

How did you get involved in church planting?

We were students in Uppsala, Sweden (Johan studied to be [...]

Thoughts from Stuart Robinson on the shifting roles of the US and China:
35,000 feet above the dusty plains of Pakistan, flying toward the 15 million people of Karachi, I studied yet another report on the re-positioning of nations in God’s world.

After a mere half century, America is being replaced as the world’s leading nation.

America used [...]

If you want a simple introduction to the coaching process you need look no further than my Startup Guide to Coaching Leaders.

If you’re after a more scholarly analysis coming from a seasoned practitioner, have a look at Robert Rowley’s Doctor of Ministry Dissertation: Successfully Coaching Church Planters.

I’ve had a quick look and it’s very promising.

Thanks [...]

Parthenon

The second installment on Paul’s understanding of his calling as a pioneer church planter.

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one [...]

Apostle Paul – Rembrandt
I’ve grown weary of relying too heavily on business literature, the social sciences or even contemporary “missional” theology for my understanding of church planting movements. It’s back to the Book for me.

I’ve been working through Schnabel’s Early Christian Mission: Paul and the Early Church. Detailed but valuable insights into the mission of [...]

The Crucifixion – Jan Bruegel the Elder, 1595

Recently Rick Warren debated prominent atheist Sam Harris for Newsweek magazine. In Australia the Age reported that Allan Meyer from the Careforce church debated atheist Dr John Perkins on Palm Sunday before a sell-out audience of one thousand. Rick Warren and Allan Meyer are two of the best [...]

In Raising Up Church Planters, Glenn Smith, examines a number of effective models for growing pioneering leaders. One is based on the GE model of a leadership pipeline.

The leadership pipeline model provides a system for always having the leaders you need. The model entails a series of passages that come with very specific values, compulsory [...]

I’m blown away by the quality and potency of the research papers that Leadership Network are cranking out with persistent regularity. Did I also mention how well they are presented and the zero dollar price tag?

The latest offering is “Models for Raising Up Church Planters” by Glenn Smith, a veteran church planter and church multiplication [...]

Three titles I am finding of great benefit in wresting with the work of the Holy Spirit in mission.

1. Volume 2 of Schnabel’s Early Christian Mission: Paul and the Early Church. It’s detailed and technical in parts. But there’s gold if you’re willing to dig for it.

“Early Christian Mission (2 Volume Set)” (Eckhard J. Schnabel)

2. [...]

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The story of how God worked through the tragic death of Mark and Sharon Jenkin, as told by Mark’s father David at Crossway Baptist Church, Easter Sunday, 2007.