How Church Planting brings New Life to a Church

The deathly grip of tradition!
There are few greater terrors for a Christian, than "getting into a rut" and fewer disasters for a church to stay-the-same. This is what tradition is, it is doing the same things for decades without change. It is seeing the same people for decades without change. It is sitting in the same "church" building and sitting in the same seat without change. It is meeting in the same home group decade by decade without change. It is engaging in the same spiritual routines decade by decade without change.

(BTW: Tradition is not believing the same fundamental doctrines decade by decade -there is another name for that- that is called faithfulness not tradition, and faithfulness to truth is what we are all called to. To eternally believe that men can't be women and women can't be men and to eternally believe that homosexual practise is sinful, is not a tradition, it is truth and faithfulness.)

Why is tradition so deathly?
(i) Idolatry. The chief reason tradition is so deathly is because traditionalism becomes a comfortable rock on which we end up trusting, an alternative god we find refuge in. We may think we are trusting in God but really we are trusting in a set of comfortable traditions which we hope will not change.

(ii) Faithlessness. Linked to idolatry is the fact that a comfortable situation is one which never tests faith. We know the routine, it's not going to change, we don't need the faith needed to step out in uncharted waters and do something new and radical and different. Faith in traditional churches is rarely challenged.

(iii) Growth implies change. The third reason tradition kills spiritual growth is because by its very nature growth needs change, growth is the opposite of tradition. A church or a believer who is growing is constantly changing. Tradition stymies growth.

The large church at Jerusalem scattered

The scattered church at Jerusalem
I have often pondered the divine reasons for the most remarkable incident in the early church. After phenomenal growth, from 3000 to 5000 converted men (which translates to at least 10,000 people in total),  suddenly they are scattered from Jerusalem (Acts 8). A magachurch scattered! What a "failure!"

One reason they were scattered was to fulfil the command of Christ to preach the Gospel in Judea and Samaria. If we don't obey the commands of Christ he will make sure they are fulfilled!

But perhaps a second reason the church was scattered was to prevent Jerusalem becoming some great spiritual centre, to prevent deathly traditions being established, and to ensure the virulent growth of the church.

Forest fires renew the forest

In the same way that devastating forest fires renew a forest, so change in church life renews the local church.

The role of church planting
There are many ways that God renews the local church. He may renew the church by persecution. He may renew the church by allowing a deceiver or wolf to slip into  the midst scattering some of the sheep. He may prune the church of dead wood to make it more fruitful. He always challenges the church through his Word. Or he may encourage them to plant churches. As churches are planted new people must rise to new tasks, new resources of money must be raised and new relationships made with all those challenges.

Church Planting Stirs up a Church

A reason not to plant
My guess is that the singular reason churches fail to consider church planting is that they want to remain comfortable, and that means remaining traditional. Perhaps it is just too much hassle. Another reason may be that they fear losing their fame, as instead of growing they shrink in size! But God will always bless the church that sacrificially gives.

How is your faith?
Every Christmas I get newsletters from Christian families around the world. Sadly, many of them (with notable exceptions) are in very comfortable traditional church situations. And tragically it shows. What you get is a list of all the holidays, educational qualifications, job promotions the family have experienced in the last year. Normally there is no hint of anything spiritual - except the obligatory Christmas verse at the end. No mention of faith growing through sacrifice or sorrow. No mention of perseverance through pain. No mention of new levels of sacrifice leading to joy. What you read is a typical western  life style sprinkled with the lightest coating of Christianity. Luke warm is putting it mildly. Kinda remember that Jesus had a word to say about that kind of religion?

So how is your faith? The same as it was 10, 20, years ago? Is your serving at the same level, your sacrificial giving the same?  Are you growing or have you become stuck in a rut?

May he cause us to grow in 2020!