I’ve been on the road the past several days but you’ve been prayed for regularly during that time.

I have to say, this post is exceptional in my understanding of things. I think you’re on to something with the art over science analogy and Knnuki hit on something profound with the questioning of intentionally planting churches. It may be intentionally building relationships is more the NT norm and those living people/relationships begin to function in a NT way as a living organism. Any organization would be secondary and even cultural it seems to me. That organization must not become a crib containing a growing enity that is bigger than the crib, but a Body that adapts the structure to let life out and free to be what life is. Just some thoughts but mainly grateful for your thoughts.

Paul B.

FYI, somewhere way down towards the end of the incredibly long article I just posted here I quote the last few paragrahps of what you say here.

A great principle. Of all the things I learned in college, church, or where ever, nothing has made as much of an impressions as life learning. It has been hands on experience combined with the knowledge of others that has perked up my learning. Someone can read the Bible everyday of their life through and through, but unless they give their life over to Jesus, it’s all useless. Kind of like going to class, if we do not get our and do it what have we done. All of this to say, I listened to someone one day counsel a local about church planting, what repulsed me was the fact that their was not experience there. How can I justifiably suggest or tell someone how they should or should not do something if I have never done it. The problem with the advice was that it biased what was in a seminar, which in the same was not meant to be taken as “This is how you plant a church”. Just because it was in a book, class, or seminar does make it law, right, or the only way. However, in your answer for the IMB and mentorship, the MAC Region somewhat adopted a mentorship program for incoming career; however, others such as ISC, Masters, Journeyman, fall through the cracks as far as I know. If you would like to see the brochure let me know.

I guess I’ve always seen three “steps” in “missions.” Evangelism, Discipleship, and Church Planting. It seems like focusing on the first might be to short-sighted. The second is something that is likely a natural consequence of disciple-making, which, of course, is the Commission.

Watchman,
Unfortunately, very little of the “Science” even recommends “conversation over a pint.”

It was a nice lunch, but in the end it left me wondering how all or any of that is really going to help me in my conversation over a pint with my co-worker buddy who just got fired. Or for that matter, how is it going to help the guy I mentor?

-Start a renewed organization-wide focus on missiology and ecclesiology.
-Fly church planters (not organizational leaders) back to Richmond to conduct training at ILC
-Require all mentors to undergo training in how to be a mentor. We currently have lots of “mentors” that don’t even know that they’re mentors!
-Make the missionary apprentice program a true apprenticeship by not assigning them to a job until they’ve completed two years of working alongside (same city, same job, meeting daily) the experienced church planter who writes the job request. In other words, you don’t get to bring in new people and leave them to fend for themselves anymore!
-Make no committments to missionary apprentices beyond the two years. Allow the church planter to decide whether the apprentice will “work out” or not.

We’ve made some progree toward this, but our policy of “Send as meany as possible” really undermines the mentoring process. Also, the further we gat away from a personal relationship between leadership and supervisee, the worse off we are.

Guy,
Thanks. I think you’re right to be concerned about who is selected as a mentor. I keep going back to personal relationships as the key. The RL should know all of his “direct reports” personally, and that pattern should coontinue all the way down to the line. That way, we can hold people responsible (“Hey, you trained Jimbo and allowed him to bring on some apprentices, but he obviously wasn’t ready…”)

Mr. T,
Okay, maybe a little science.

Anonymous,
Sorry, I’m no master. I do my fair share of training, but always as one learner to another. I am a stepchild, after all.

Ewinwe,
I’m wondering about the wisdom in even having an agency-wide strategy. If we acknowlege the differences between peoples and cultures, why not focus on a company-wide ethos, and let the regions/clusters come up with the strategies?

Oh, yeah, control…