Ralph's Blog RSSHOW TO MULTIPLY YOUR CHURCH by Ralph Moore
Introduction: Be Fruitful …And Fill All The Earth
It’s been almost a decade since my friend Bill Greig asked me to write this book. At that time, I was pretty focused on the need for the church to recognize that those people identified as Generation X had needs that differed from those of the Baby Boomers. Regal graciously published a book on that subject called “Friends: Keys to Evangelizing Generation X.” Then it was time to get on with the book you hold in your hands.
But, at that time the Christian community was still intensely focused on the needs of the Baby Boom. Mega-churches were (and are) doing a great job. Seeker driven congregations seemed poised to carry us into a kind of heaven on earth where evangelism would sweep entire communities into relationship with Jesus Christ. Church multiplication was simply not a big deal in America. I was sure this book, if I wrote it, was destined for Ebay or the discount book sellers.
So, I wrote “Starting A New Church.” I thought there might be a cadre of young pastors interested in starting something different from church as they knew it. It turns out there were quite a few of them. As my thinking went, they weren’t in a position to multiply churches. That power belonged to established pastors who were just not that interested in multiplication.
Starting A New Church still didn’t satisfy the original request for a book on church multiplication. The publishers thought it would sell five or six thousand copies in its lifetime. We were amazed to note that it doubled those numbers in the first year. It’s still no bestseller (What church growth book could be?) but I recently saw it in a catalogue of Regal’s 200 all-time bestsellers.
Seeing the church planting book on that list signaled the time had come for a book on church multiplication. I wrote this book, mostly for those pastors who used Starting A New Church as one of their tools when they planted the church they now pastor. My assumption is that these people made a sacrifice once to reach an unreached generation. And that they are willing to make further sacrifices to reach yet another. They, and others like them, are willing to invest time, energy—their very selves into disciplemaking that results in church multiplication.
Throughout Genesis we find the words, “Fruitful” and “Multiply.” In several instances they are used together, “Be fruitful and multiply…” God spoke them to, or over, Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac and Jacob. He even spoke those words over the birds and the bees. Abraham was told that nations would come of his multiplying efforts. In short, God is into multiplication.
Multiplication is what this book is all about. Not addition. Not church growth in the conventional sense. But, church growth in the parlance of the apostles or of Donald MacGavran. Growth through the rapid reproduction of churches. Churches like yours.
Part 1: To Add, Multiply or Both?
Chapter 1
Metaphor: 1943 Was A Very Good Year
1943 was indeed a good year. That was the time when free people amassed momentum against slaughtering dictators in Europe and Asia.
The year before had been bad beyond belief. 1942 was a bad year for democracy, particularly bad for Jews and Christians and bad for just about every person on the planet.
For Americans, the horrors of 1942 began on December 7, 1941 with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Things only got worse as the year progressed. We suffered mostly defeat and loss during that year.
By the time we got in the European war, the Nazis had overrun Western nations, save England which looked doomed to fall to nightly air raids. Hitler dominated Europe, North Africa and threatened the Middle East with its strategic petroleum reserves.
The Pacific news was worse. Japanese troops controlled much of China. They soundly routed American forces in the Philippines. They beat the British in Singapore and defeated the Dutch in Indonesia. Missionaries were being expelled and dying across Asia.
Japan ruled Asia from Manchuria, south to Indonesia. They controlled more square miles of territory than any previous conqueror in history. Only a few miles of ocean stood between them and conquest of Australia.
A few more Axis victories could have tolled the end of democracy. Nazi submarines had nearly made the Atlantic a Bavarian pond. The U.S. Navy was in danger of eternal rest on the bottom of the Pacific. If the tide didn’t turn, the United States and Canada would soon find themselves completely isolated, since much of Latin America were cautiously siding with Hitler and the Japanese. In fact, Adolph Hitler’s plan was to invade the United States on the 20 year anniversary of the end of war in Europe.
Had the monsters prevailed, most North Americans would speak German today. The “Japanese Hawaiian Islands” might be might be flooded with tourists from America instead of the other way around.
And, don’t forget that Hitler murdered, not six, but ten million people. Six million were Jews, many of the others, evangelical Christians.
The world was a bad place to live from 1937 to mid-1942. But then the breeze began blowing in another direction. Britain’s victory over Germany in North Africa salvaged Middle East oilfields for the Allies. The U.S. Navy severely damaged Japanese ability to make war when they destroyed four aircraft carriers at Midway Island (the same carriers which had attacked Pearl Harbor). These small victories bought time for the war to be won on another front—the home front. Thousands of miles from the frontlines, British, Russian and American farms and factories mounted an unprecedented attack against the Axis powers.
By the end of 1943 we were winning the war in the factories, farmlands and marching fields back home. The allies simply outproduced their adversaries in every way. They manufactured weapons, grew food and trained personnel at a rate the Axis powers found unimaginable. 1943 marked the end of the beginning of the end of the Second World War. By 1943, the shooting had also began to turn in our favor. From early 1943 to the end we steadily took out more enemy planes and aircraft carriers than they did of ours, further tipping the balance of power.
A massive invasion of Europe would wait till summer of ’44. Victory wouldn’t be official till 1945. But you could say that 1943 was the year that insured victory over the forces of hate.
A New Paradigm And A New Productivity
What had to change to advance the cause of democracy? Three things: 1. A change of thinking about the war itself. 2. The mass introduction of men and materials into the cause. 3. A “wedding of necessity” joining Western democracies and the totalitarian Soviet Union. Lacking those ingredients the world was doomed to decades, perhaps centuries of slavery and genocide.
An Essential Understanding
First the paradigm shift. It happened almost overnight. Before Pearl Harbor America had been spellbound by the propaganda of ignorance and isolation. Vocal leaders like Charles A. Lindberg touted a gospel of isolation. Lindberg, was highly impressed with Hitler and the Nazis. The first flier to conquer the Atlantic publicly stated that the only people standing against the Nazis were “the Roosevelt family, the British and the Jews.”[ii] His “America First” movement hawked a philosophy that suggested--Europe for the Europeans, Asia for the Asians. Let them fight their own wars.
Popular wisdom held that America was safe, it’s continent an island of tranquility separated from war by two very large oceans. Isolationist America remained undaunted throughout the late 1930s as Germany conquered much of Europe through guile and lightning war. They sat tight during 1940 while Hitler overran France and drenched London in her own blood through a nightly rain of bombs. Without a change of thinking, America would sit this one out.
Then things changed. Our enemies did us two favors in a week. The Japanese killed 2,200 Americans at Pearl Harbor. Four days later Hitler and Italy’s Mussolini, foolishly declared war on the United States to show unity with their Asian partners.
Those were the biggest mistakes the Axis countries could have made. They wakened the sleeping giant, America. Once U.S. citizens felt threatened they reviewed their position. They opened themselves to new, and threatening possibilities. That simple paradigm change became a significant key to victory.
Admiral Yamamoto, who engineered the Pearl Harbor attack feared that it would only serve to, awaken the “sleeping giant” proved prophetic. Americans got mad in a hurry. But anger alone can’t win a war.
Overwhelming Resources
False tranquility generated the second problem. We weren’t equipped to fight. During 1939, as the world burned, America reduced her army from 156,000 to just 49,000 men. Twenty years after “the war to end all wars, the United States fielded only the thirteenth largest army in the world. It was larger than that of Portugal but smaller than the fighting force of Bulgaria. Meanwhile, the Japanese Imperial Army could boast of 6,000,000 men under arms in partnership with a navy larger than the combined strength of the United States and Britain. In Europe Germany had invested six times as much as the United States on military hardware between 1935-1940.
But, the United States did have the capacity to produce soldiers and equipment in a hurry. Barely a year after Pearl Harbor we were fighting in North Africa and busily preparing for the invasion of Europe and the battle that would take the fight all the way to Berlin.
It’s important to note that early in the war our planes were not as good as the Japanese. And that the Germans had better planes, tanks and heavy guns throughout duration the war. Even as late as the invasion of Normandy in 1944 seasoned German soldiers wrote letters home describing the poor fighting quality of the American and British soldiers, most of whom had never seen battle before D-Day. During the war, Germany developed jet aircraft and medium range ballistic missiles; two technologies the allies only perfected after capturing German technology at war’s end.
Victory came through a combination of high productivity on one side and attrition on the other. The attrition could not have happened without the great increase in productivity. We compensated for our lack of technological prowess through the sheer force of numbers.
We beat both the Germans and Japanese back home on the farm. We turned automotive factories to the production of tanks and warplanes, ramping war materials from near zero in 1940 to 50 percent of total American factory output by mid-1942. The United States went from the weakling on the beach to a hoard of 12 million men and women in uniform by 1945. Our factories produced over seventy thousand naval vessels and nearly 73,000 aircraft during the conflict. And we broke tradition by sending our young women into those factories. This amazing feat was also duplicated in the Soviet Union.
The allies, Great Britain, Russia, the United States and France united to beat the axis powers with often inferior equipment and after suffering unimaginable losses at the outset of conflict. Allied forces, a collection of inexperienced citizen-soldiers, destroyed battle-hardened armies. Many American troops were farmers who had never traveled a hundred miles from home before being shipped off to fight on another continent. The Allies waged war by tsunami. They simply overwhelmed the enemy with superior numbers on every front.
Sons of the great depression learned to march, with broomsticks for rifles. Factories were transformed into arsenals of war. Hope grew proportionately. Describing his feelings upon learning that the Americans had been dragged into the conflict, Winston Churchill wrote, “…now at this very moment I knew that the United States was in the war, up to the neck and in to the death. So we had won after all!”
By war’s end there were 4 tons of supplies for every soldier in the Pacific compared to just two pounds for each Japanese. Our products weren’t the best, but they got the job done. On D-Day, June 6, 1944 we launched an armada of nearly 6,000 ships, 12,000 aircraft and 2 million men. It has been said that if the invasion failed, America had resources in place to invade a second time. None of the planes and only a handful of those ships existed in 1942. Other than officers, the men were untrained civilians three years earlier. The allies in general and the United States in particular believed they could overwhelm their adversary with uncomplicated arms manned by personnel with merely adequate training. And, their plan worked—they won.
A Necessary Unity
Our initial losses highlighted the third problem—we were fighting, and losing, on many fronts while our enemies remained largely unscathed. Their supply lines were short and their captured territories, could only be breached by invasion from the sea—the most difficult military maneuver of all.
By December 1941, Hitler controlled all of Europe except England and the Soviet Union. The Japanese had conquered the British and Dutch in the Pacific, controlled most of South Asia and destroyed much of the American fleet at Pearl Harbor. All this with the employment of just twelve divisions of troops and the loss of only three destroyers.
England and America desperately needed to force our enemies to watch their backs while we attacked their front. Both the Germans and the Japanese had the luxury of fighting where and when they chose. We needed to open a third front to occupy them while we built reserves for the primary invasion of Europe.
It would be Hitler who provided that third front when he foolishly turned on his former ally, Russia. The invasion of Stalingrad would prove itself an important element in the ultimate allied victory.
Political idealism naturally kept the Americans and British apart from Soviet Communists. However, political pragmatism forced us to realize that we needn’t like each other to need and benefit from a forced unity.
Without the alliance of democratic societies and communists, the Nazi war machine would be invincible. Had Germany not remained pinned down on the steppes of Russia the D-Day invasion would have been “a gambler’s throw.” We could not have liberated Europe without Stalin in the war. Stalin couldn’t beat Germany without Normandy.
Pragmatism prevailed even prior to Pearl Harbor. By 1940, the United States and Britain were funneling supplies to the Russians. Western food and equipment allowed them to stand when Hitler attacked with more than 3 million troops along an 1800 mile front. It was the greatest military attack in history. And it dragged on until the end of the war. The Russian war sealed the doom of the Nazis by keeping them fighting on two fronts. Unity prevailing over differences allowed victory.
So what does all this war talk have to do with church multiplication? Well, if we, the church, could learn the lessons of 1943 we would have a fair chance of winning the battles we face today. Read on and we’ll learn how three changes of thought could better our position.
Chapter 2
Parallels: Takeaways From History
We are at war over the destiny of humanity. It is a spiritual war, just as the scriptures tell us.
For some, the idea of spiritual warfare represents a pre-scientific explanation of the human condition. For others spiritual warfare is restricted to a highly personal contest pitting individual Christians against dark forces of evil.
Both ideas end in isolation. The first from a conflict that is only imagined. The second understands warfare but isolates individuals in an attempt to live a merely peaceful life.
But, the battle is real and it won’t submit to our pet theories. Spiritual warfare centers on evangelism—two forces wrestling over the hearts of humanity. And it is a war that must be fought strategically. There is much we can learn from the Allies victory in World War II. The implications for church multiplication are obvious.
First the parallels. As in 1942, we live in a world of doom and gloom. Church attendance has fallen off to just 26 percent, a long fall from the comforting 40 percent that we’ve all come to take as gospel. Morality on television and in music is at an all time low. War and the threat of terror stalk our dreams. The centuries-old war between Christianity and Islam rages stronger than ever.
We Need A New Paradigm
Yet, like America in 1942, a kind of optimistic isolationism rules our thinking. We take comfort in the size of our very large and visible churches while ignoring the slippage in overall church attendance. Many even await the emergence of the “next Billy Graham” to keep the gospel visible in the West. Meanwhile we don’t plant churches fast enough to keep up with population growth, let alone think about saturating the culture.
Change is what this book is all about. We need to overcome the peaceful isolation of our comfortable church campuses. A missional church invades and permeates. The operative term is, “Go,” not, “Come.” I can summarize isolation with a single question: “When was the last time you spent time hanging out with pre-Christian friends—on their turf and with their friends?”
Unity Of The Brethren
Isolation isn’t the only thorn in our side. We must surmount an idealism that divides the Body of Christ. We should re-think the unity of the brethren. What is your attitude toward the emerging church? Toward your Roman Catholic brothers and sisters? Toward Pentecostals? Or, toward the more Conservative wing of the family if you are a Charismatic?
We must admit that we need each other. I can’t tell you how frustrated I get when reading some of today’s bright young authors. I question their logic, sometimes disagree with their theology and their taste in clothing often reminds things my grandfather wore. BUT, I thank God for them. I don’t have to agree with them to need them.
I’m smart enough to know that every revival the church ever experienced from Acts 2 to the Great Awakening to today’s fresh young thinkers upset established leaders like me. When I was young, I vowed that I would not become a Pharisee in later life. Well I am in later life and choose to engage and respect a rising generation of leaders. I will not put a bushel over someone else’s candle after having begun ministry demanding change.
And while we are talking about change, I confess that I’ve been attending mass on an occasional basis. I’ve become friends with two Catholic priests in our neighborhood. We actually like each other. We publicly pray for each other’s churches. And, contrary to much that I’ve been taught, I’ve discovered that they believe they are saved by faith in the risen Christ.
I can’t find any good reason to reject my brothers and sisters in Christ. I even struggle because I realize I am supposed to love the guys who host all those websites attacking other Christians over minor differences in doctrine.
If we can get over spiritual isolation and divisive idealism we can get onto the task at hand—saturation evangelism.
Potential Victory Through Productivity
Here is where the lessons of productivity come into play. There are two of them.
First, we need an approach to evangelism that centers on church multiplication instead of addition. This is pretty simple, “stop counting converts and begin counting congregations.”
Second, we need a faster approach for producing the materials of spiritual war. This calls for re-learning some old lessons about disciplemaking. These two changes could result in a strategy of spiritual warfare by tsunami. Much like democracies in 1943-45, we could overwhelm the opposition with our numbers. It’s been done before and only ignorance or selfishness can keep it from happening again.
The Power Of Multiplication
Human population multiplies relentlessly. Bacteria multiply into pandemics. As new technologies emerge whole industries multiply. Meanwhile, Christians continue to think in terms of addition. We count converts and rejoice in the size of our churches. Small churches take refuge in the shadow of visibly successful larger churches. This is a form of social isolationism that is losing the battle. The number of Protestant mega-churches (attendance over 2000) has mushroomed from 16 in 1960 to 1210 by 1995. Those numbers doubled in just five years. Yet, church growth has not kept up with population growth in 49 of the United States. According to the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board, “Hawaii, where 13.8% of the state's population (1.3 million) regularly attends church, was the only state where church attendance grew faster than its population growth from 2000 to 2004.” Church attendance in Hawaii grew, largely, because of rapid church multiplication launched by two congregations two decades earlier. Compare the stasis in overall church growth to the rapid proliferation of mega-churches and you can see that we need another angle on our problem.
But lack of overall church growth and evangelism could change if we can renew our minds. At first, our efforts will be small and seem insignificant. But like anything else that multiplies, time and momentum are on our side.
But, if we want to see massive multiplication of congregations and Christians we will need to sacrifice one of our most sacred cows—a professionally trained clergy. We are talking multiplication of congregations, not of seminaries. We haven’t time to build enough schools to sustain serious multiplication (think of your church multiplying itself 100 times in a lifetime). To do the job, we’ll need to revert to Jesus’ method for multiplying himself in a group of hand-picked leaders. More about that in a later chapter.
Why Add When You Can Multiply?
Most pastors, myself included, are concerned with making a good showing on the weekend. Why? So we can add members to our churches. This puts focus on two things, a great program and good teaching.
I’ve had staff meetings where members of our team were totally bummed because of a bad transition from one element of the service to another. This happened in spite of large numbers finding Christ that day. I’ve heard pastors criticized for preaching too long though a third of the church wept their way through the message. When adding members is our goal, we lose all biblical sense of priority.
Change the focus from addition to multiplication and strategy changes with it. Transitions are important, but less than before. The effect of the sermon grows more important than its length. In fact, the entire weekend is only a vehicle leading toward those relationships which we call discipleship. And disciplemaking is the key to everything, “Any church that focuses on disciplemaking is by definition going to be a more authentic church.”
But this extends far beyond authenticity. My goal is to clone myself in as many people as possible. Not in some sadistic, authoritative way—but in the sense of “Follow me as I follow Christ.”
In this scenario, every mistake becomes a learning experience. Every tear is precious. Nurturing a movement outshines building a large church. I want to multiply converts, leaders, home groups and churches as fast as possible. Multiplication always trumps addition. I want to overcome Satan in my little corner of the world with radical disciples of Jesus Christ.
Some Very Good News
While the Western church is growing richer it is gradually edging itself to the margins of society. That’s the bad news.
The good news is that the non-Western church is multiplying quite rapidly. In 1960, 30% of evangelical churches were in non-Western nations; by 1997 that figure became 70%. The real growth of Evangelical Christianity in recent years has been in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. In 1960, non-Western Evangelicals were about half as numerous as those in the West. By 2050, only about 20 percent of the world’s Christians will be non-hispanic whites. Philip Jenkins, in his excellent book, The Next Christendom adds, “Soon, the phrase ‘a White Christian’ may sound like a curious oxymoron, as mildly surprising as ‘a Swedish Buddhist.’ Such people can exist, but a slight eccentricity is implied.” And Christianity grows faster than Islam. By 2050, there should still be about three Christians for every two Muslims worldwide. Some 34 percent of the world’s people will then be Christian, roughly what the figure was at the height of European world hegemony in 1900.
Even the concept of foreign missions is changing. By the 1950s, two-thirds of the 43000 Protestant missionaries in the world hailed from the United States. Today American accounts for only a small percentage of overseas missionary personnel. While Non-Western Christians are sending missionaries. Two of the three largest churches in Europe were planted by Nigerians, and one huge Nigerian church, can claim more than 6,000 church plants outside its home country. South Korean has now 12,000 Protestant missionaries serving in other countries, more than any country other than the United States. Better yet, the 2006 goal of the Chinese underground church was to place 100,000 missionaries into Muslim lands along the old Silk Road between Mongolia and Jerusalem. Mostly bivocational and underground, this “army of worms” still compares as a tsnumi when held up to the estimated 40,000 to 50,000 American missionaries working overseas today. And, the largely rural Chinese church is migrating to the cities as jobs become available. Since they so naturally form churches this becomes another form of missionary activity.
Overall church growth is rapid. This is especially crucial in China as it emerges as the dominate player in the geopolitical world. It is estimated that between 20 and 30 percent of China’s population will be evangelical Christians by 2030. In 1960 there were 24 nonbelievers for every believer in the world. Now there are only six. By tomorrow, there will be 175,000 more Christians than there are today in 238 nations around the world.
Unfortunately, the less and less Christian West still controls the wealth and power of the world. And that’s what this book is all about. With a little imagination, if we can learn the lesson of 1943—that is that we can overwhelm an entrenched enemy by ramping up our numbers. To do so will require “manufacturing” thousands of new churches. It’s a tough call and a daunting task. But, it can be done.
Chapter 3
Kingdoms In Conflict: A Battle We Dare Not Lose
The U.S. is the most militarily powerful nation on earth and the richest. But its economy will be soon be surpassed by China and India, perhaps even Brazil sometime in the next two decades. That transition could point toward social upheaval and/or military confrontation. We will stand or fall on our most basic democratic value—the value of individuals over the state. Democratic ideals grew from Protestant thought. Our post-Christian society still clings to basic Christian values. But, as the church becomes smaller compared to the populace, those values may end up in the backseat.
As keepers of the nation’s values, the church finds itself providing national security. The nation is only as secure as its most basic values. Even as our current numbers decline, we still provide that security.
And security is a real issue. Evangelism and church planting are at the front edge of a conflict between two kingdoms. Luke describes Jesus sending 72 disciples to bless, heal and announce that his kingdom is near. Upon hearing of their victories, even over demons, Jesus remarked the “he saw Satan falling like lightning from heaven.” When the church advances, the forces of darkness recede. Today, darkness seems to prevail over traditional Western culture. But, it recedes wherever the church is expanding.
This is a spiritual battle. Not some kooky rant about demons in the closet, but a tug-of-war between two kingdoms. On one front it is fought by radical Muslims. On a second front we find Chinese pragmatism funding wars in nations resource rich nations around the world, “The tragedy in Darfur—and perhaps the future tragedy in Chad—is fueled by China’s reliance on brutal regimes for access to oil.” The Chinese are the industrial imperialists of the 21st Century. Another front is the never-ending battle against crime, drugs and pornography. Finally, postmodern humanists scream for the elimination of “intolerant Christians” in the name of secular reason.
The list goes on, but we had better believe that bringing people to Christ does more than add to God’s kingdom. It promises to preserve our way of life—perhaps our very lives. It is good to remember that whenever the forces of darkness have prevailed in western history Jews and Christ-followers have come out losers.
Keep Your Eyes On The Prize
We can’t afford to settle for any goal short of world evangelization. We must disciple nations. When Jesus said to make disciples of the nations, he wasn’t suggesting that the church make a few disciples in a few countries near Israel. Nor did he mean a few disciples in each nation. The command suggests transformation of the entire world.
Idealistic? Sure it is! But if you lose the ideal you shoot too low. Politically correct? Probably not. But it is not imperialistic to seek to disciple the nations, if you do it, one heart at a time. This is not about grasping political power. It is all about the values of God’s kingdom at the root of the society.
In the midst of huge cultural upheaval Nigeria has quietly become the most Christian nation on earth. In that country Muslims kill their Christian neighbors while Christians love their Muslim neighbors—the Christians are winning the war. Love conquers all. The hope of the gospel is becoming the hope of the people. In 1960, over 60 percent of the population of Nigeria were Muslim. Today, 62.4 percent are Christian. The president of the country is a believer. And they have done it without firing a shot. The country has its monstrous share of problems. But after you contrast the Christianization of Nigeria to the Islamic “revolution” in Darfour we can discuss political correctness.
Sure, we mustn’t couch our mission in terms that make us look chauvinistic. This is why the temptation to link our gospel to a political party is so dangerous. Most evangelicals supported George W. Bush in both his presidential contests only to have to wear his reputation over the war in Iraq. We cannot risk bowing to political pragmatism. We must stay on target to win entire cultures to the Kingdom of God. This is a war where love is the best weapon. It is also a war where more soldiers on the ground equates to victory.
Activating ordinary people in very simple churches is how the gospel undercut the pagan Roman Empire in just three centuries. In the middle of the second century a Christian leader would write to a Roman acquaintance, “... We are in your towns and in your cities; we are in your country; we are in your army and navy; we are in your palaces; we are in the senate; we are more numerous than anyone.” A century later these Christians controlled the emperor’s throne. They did so while living under the terrible pall of bloody persecution. Love conquered in Jesus’ name. They also did it by massively multiplying the number of disciples and mostly secret churches.
Christianity and And Culture
Mention the intersection of faith and culture and someone immediately brings up the Crusades. Let’s face it—the Crusades happened and they were wrong. Some will debate that they were not even motivated by an attempt to wrest Jerusalem from the infidel, but rather a Frankish attempt at real estate development. And any sincere heathen will admit that the Crusades didn’t reflect the teachings of Jesus. Nevertheless, the Crusades are a real and significant part of church history. The problem with Christianity is that Christians so often do it badly. The Crusades, the Inquisition and Slavery sully our reputation to this day. But that unholy triad does not reflect the teachings of Jesus nor the mandate to disciple nations.
When nations come to Christ they build hospitals and schools, care for the poor and improve public sanitation. Morals improve as does the quality of life and a stronger economy usually emerges. Civil rights become important and ‘freedom’ becomes more than an idealistic concept.
Bono said it well when asked why people need God, “I look around at the twentieth century: it’s not a great advertisement for unbelief. Where did Communism bring Russia? Look at what more openness is bringing to China. I will say this for the Judeo-Christian tradition: we have at least written into the DNA the idea that God created every man equal, and that love is at the heart of the universe. I mean, it’s slow. The Greeks may have come up with democracy, but they had no intention of everyone having it. We have to conclude that the most access to quality in the world has come out of these ancient religious ideas.”
We are first called to disciple nations. While this most primary call is a spiritual issue, it also carries seeds of rescue from poverty, racism and evil dictators. Those are crucial needs. But they find their place in line after the discipleship process. They should not precede it.
Remember it was group of small prayer meetings that spilled into the streets of East Germany in 1989. Their number grew to more than 50,000 people meeting behind closed doors in small groups. When they finally went public, their number swelled to over 300,000 praying Christians. Quiet, underground, disciplemaking resulted in an earthquake that toppled the Berlin Wall. This bit of history represents the power of making disciples. To be sure, the external pressures exerted by Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul never hurt. But then again, these men were working from Christian convictions.
Following the lead of William Wilberforce, Christ’s discples overcame slavery in England and the United States in the 19th Century. A pastor named Martin Luther King Jr. led the Civil Rights Movement in the 20th. A Polish Catholic named Lech Walensa led a revolution in his country. The point is that positive world changes have usually followed large scale disciple-making. First things first.
Staying On Message
Salvation is not necessarily freedom from torture or social improvement. It begins with a life changing experience with God. It includes becoming a devoted follower of Jesus Christ. It is nurtured by membership in a local fellowship of believers.
For these reasons, a purely social gospel falls short. But so does a salvation that only includes a ‘decision’ recorded on a card at a crusade, or at the end of a church meeting. Paul went about the process of discipling nations in three simple steps: 1. He made converts (often coupling his preaching with the miraculous—what John Wimber would have called a “power encounter.” 2. He made disciples of his converts. 3. He quickly organized those converts into churches, appointing elders whenever he left the city.
Have you read the book of Acts lately? Do I need to point out that Paul spent mere days in some locations before being driven out of town? However, he usually left in his wake small, less-than-perfect congregations with ill-equipped leaders (by our standards). He kept up the coaching through letters—and he didn’t have email. He had to communicate through an archaic messaging system that took months or years for round-trip correspondence. Yet that is the model set before us in scripture.
We are in a titanic battle for the soul of the planet. One that we dare not lose. When the other side prevails disaster follows. We can’t afford balance or neutrality—abroad or at home. The job must be done. We produce or perish.
Our recent history hasn’t shown astounding results. We need to discover a new approach to cultural change. We need to find new angles of attack. The new ways are actually the old—the methods of St. Paul. That is what this book is all about. Stick with me. Together we are going to unearth a simple plan for overwhelming our enemy with numbers. This is about saturation church planting. It is doable and it’s easier than you think.
