Church in the Making
June 9th, 2010
Posted by Chris
I recently finished Church in the Making (my amazon link) by Ben Arment. A few quotes, a few thoughts, and them some implications.
Quotes to stir things up:
When a new church struggles year after year to see fruit from its activity, we should assume it’s not quite time to plant. Instead, there is tilling, watering, and cultivating to be done. pg 27
…I’m not saying that ministry is easy. We will be under constant spiritual attack when we’re trying to further the kingdom of God. But growing churches is God’s job. That’s not our burden to bear. pg 43
It doesn’t matter how good your service, your worship, or your preaching, your church is ultimately judged by social network. pg 81
Thoughts:
- The way Ben focuses the content around 3 big ideas of Good Ground, Rolling Rocks, and Deep Roots makes it easy to add a sociological filter to church start, growth, and development.
- We’re comfortable with a theological filter, leadership filter, and even economic filters in the church but not with a sociological filter. Ben’s arguments from Scripture are exegetically sound and left me saying, “How have I missed this?”
- This book will give you practical guidance on how to recognize and cooperate with God’s work among people around you.
- I read it as a pastor and leader of a church that is over 60 years old and about to re-launch. Still, it was as applicable to me as I imagine it would be for a church planter.
Implications:
- Ministry leadership has to learn from Jesus as a model and become as adept at finding good soil as we are at studying theology or being informed of the general culture.
- Pastors have to learn to acknowledge the sociological factors when recounting their stories of God working in their midst. It will help the hearts of so many leaders and give those leaders permission to follow the work of God in their context.
- If you lead 1 or 1000 you have to get this book and apply it, if you want to round out your ministry leadership with the crucial but overlooked skill of sociological discernment. Not learning to recognize the sociology as a part of God’s working will cause you to overspiritualize and overagonize while missing God’s leading in ministry efforts that don’t gain traction. For those that gain traction, not recognizing the work of God in and through the movements of people will cause you to overestimate your part and succumb to pride.