Bishop Neil

April 5, 2010

In his installation address at the initial gathering of the Anglican Church in North America last June, Archbishop Robert Duncan called on us to plant 1000 churches in 5 years. The next week the Rev. David Roseberry called Archbishop Duncan and asked if he were serious. The archbishop affirmed that he believes God is calling the Anglican Church in North America to be much more than a denominational lifeboat. Instead we should be a church planting movement reaching the unchurched because Christ is worthy to be "worshiped and obeyed to the ends of the earth."

Let me unpack what this dramatic challenge means for us as a new diocese.

First, in order to accomplish Archbishop Duncan's call, church planting here must become more than wishful thinking or a pleasant platitude like "world peace" at a beauty pageant. God in the New Testament and today often reaches non-Christians by planting new churches in their midst. Church planting must become a central focus for all of us and for the congregations that we lead. We need to be encouraging our best and brightest leaders to plant new congregations. Our prayers, programs and budgets should reflect our commitment to seeing new congregations established. Both our long-term objectives and short-term priorities need to have church planting at their center.

And it needs to happen starting now. In the past, churches wanted to plant churches...as soon as they had more members, more money, more time, and more leaders. But somehow those days rarely came. To plant 1000 churches in five years, we will need to begin today, not when it is more convenient.

Secondly, we need to be creative and inquisitive. The old adage is true: "If you only do what you've always done, you'll only get what you've always gotten." Instead we need to learn how to plant churches from folks who have successfully planted churches. We need to be reading books and attending conferences in order to understand some new models for planting congregations. These new models do not require big budgets or huge numbers to start new congregations, just a passionate concern for those outside of Christ's kingdom.

Thirdly, we need to be thoughtful and intentional in answering these three starter questions:

• ·         What leaders are being raised up by God to plant churches?

• ·         Who are the unreached, unevangelized, unchurched, or de-churched people whom we already know that the Lord may be calling us to reach?

• ·         Where are strategic geographic and demographic centers that need church plants (think areas with Super Walmarts, state universities, etc.)?

Finally, we need to look beyond the walls of our church buildings and see a world of people who have yet to know, love and obey Jesus. Much of our attention over the last several years has understandably been on getting our congregations established. But in order to plant 1,000 churches in five years, we need to look up and see the vast fields that are ripe for harvest (John 4:35). How can we begin to build relationships with those disconnected from Christ? What are their needs and aspirations? Are we willing to pray that God would give us His heart for them? For our hearts must change before anything else. We are the biggest obstacle to planting new churches.

Modifying a Prayer Book thanksgiving, we should pray, "We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy and delight you" (BCP, p.836). Can you think of anything that will require greater effort than planting more than a score of churches in our diocese? Can you think of an accomplishment that would bring more satisfaction and delight to the Lord and to us than seeing thousands of people reached with the gospel, gathered into the Church and then bringing their neighbors to Christ?

For the sake of the glory of God, for the extension of his kingdom, and for the eternal life of those who need Christ, let's ask the Lord to enable us to begin and plant new churches as soon as possible!

With you in the joy of the Good News of Jesus the Messiah,

+Neil

with the Rev. James Hobby,

Canon for Congregational Development

We spilled into our last sabbatical tired and out of shape in every way, physically, emotionally and spiritually. "There are bikes in the shed," they told us. "Help yourselves". Hmmm. Maybe. One day we ventured out, deciding to ride to another town, but, carelessly, not calculating the distance. I remember how grueling it was... on how many hills I had to dismount and push the terrible thing... how painful it was just to walk the next day. Still, we were mighty pleased with ourselves. Twenty-seven miles!

When we'd recovered from the initial shock and could move again, we chose, more carefully this time, another destination. And another. And then another. Thus began a mutual love of biking. When we returned a year later and once again got the bikes from the shed to try our initial route, we shrieked with joy the whole way. Was this ever hard? How could we have thought so?

I remembered this at 7 this morning when I began a run after a long hiatus, and two days before I wanted my jeans to be loose. My jeans won't BE loose by this weekend, but if I don't give up today, there's hope for next weekend. Layering ride upon ride, run upon run, there WILL be progress. The thing is to start, and then to start again.

When our son began to write music, this truth took a different shape. You can't write your tenth song first. It only comes after the first nine, which won't be as good. Don't be discouraged. Keep writing.

And I always want the first coat of paint to be the last. But you almost always have to have a first coat before there's a last.

Now I see that this has been true of studying the Scriptures this whole life long. It is a layering process like everything else. Passage by passage, thought by thought. The more I look, the more I see. And the more I see the microscopic, the DNA, the more I see the whole, the macro...

Joseph, the son of Israel who was rejected by his brothers and sold into slavery in Egypt, there rescues the whole Gentile world from famine. One day his own brothers, themselves now starving, journey into that Gentile world looking for food. Recognizing them and overcome, Joseph stages a reunion. Removing, we assume, his Egyptian 'disguise', and pledging his love and forgiveness, Joseph promises them that God has brought great good from their treachery. I will never forget first hearing this echo in Paul's promise (Romans 11) that the Jewish leadership's rejection of Jesus in the 1^st century meant life from the dead for Gentiles. Then Paul promises what we have already seen in the Joseph reunion tableau... that the Jewish brothers of Jesus will one day come, hungry, to the one they cast out. Jesus is longing for that reunion. The macro is in the micro. The universe is in the cell.

The Israelites in the desert found that hoarded manna rotted. They were permitted no bank accounts and no insurance policies. God is enough. He will be tomorrow who He was today. Later, through Jeremiah, God chastises them for digging cisterns next to streams of living water, just in case. God is enough. Will He not be tomorrow who He was today? Jesus' story of the servant who buries his master's investment makes the same point. Of what is the servant afraid? He is afraid that his master will reap where he has not sown. In other words, he is afraid his master will fail to supply him for what he is required to do. It is a warning about our hearts and a golden thread of truth through the whole of Scripture.

The Author of Life is a communicating God who has built His truth into all creation and breathed it into His Word. Passage by passage, thought by thought. The more we look the more we see. His Word is like C. S. Lewis' stable in Narnia, far bigger within than without. The more it is explored, the more vast, and the more thrilling, it proves to be. Nobody will ever really know it. But the more we look the more we'll see. Layer by layer He'll show us what we need to see in His Word, and of Himself.

We learned years ago at Redeemer that many adults shy away from adult education classes or Bible studies because they feel biblically illiterate and fear exposure. I want to apply our bicycle lesson to our Bible reading. Just dust it off and hop on. There's a universe of love and wisdom in the smallest part. Passage by passage, thought by thought. It takes no time at all to be filled with awe.

www.oneyearbibleonline.com

You can go to this website and print out a Bible reading schedule. Don't worry where you start. Just start! Don't worry if you get behind. Just pick up where you left off! Some people like to read Old and New Testament selections together. Some like to read a book at a time. Choose whatever you like, just choose and begin!

Before you read each day, ask God to speak to you through His Word. As you are reading, ask Him to show you the heart of the passage and how it applies to your life. Some days will feel more vibrant than others. No worries, just persevere!

He will answer you!