Planting Pitfalls: Don’t undo what Jesus has done
As part of the Planting Pitfalls series building on his research among struggling plants, Dan Steel, local pastor and part of the Acts 29 UK network, encourages church planters to build wisely and so avoid some of the most common risk factors. This article looks at the vital topic of unity.
I vividly remember when they turned up on a Sunday afternoon at our fragile, newly-established church family.
There were about 5 of them and, before the service they seemed super friendly. They were keen to see what was going on and so had come down to support us. After the service though, conversations with coffee and biscuits in hand were a little different. They quickly moved to questions over our understanding of the (Revelation 20) Millennium. They were very happy to share their (minority) interpretation and how that affected all kinds of aspects of living the Christian life.
Disunity within a church plant can come in many guises. It can come from the outside, as disgruntled or dangerous teachers come looking to influence a new work. The desire to find a pond where you can be a ‘big fish’ is more common than you might expect.
But it can come from within as well. When speaking to planters who had struggled, disunity in the early stages was remarkably common and yet it emerged from different aspects of church life:
Theological. Sometimes the theological breadth within a plant team was too broad to bear – especially if people were arriving from a spectrum of churches; or sometimes the plant itself was a response to the parent church having an unhelpful emphasis. More often than not, this caused divisions and cracks down the line.
Authority. A number of examples came from churches where the authority of the lead planter was questioned, both in the day-to-day running of the church, or else in larger questions such as the decision to acquire a building.
Philosophy. Sometimes disunity arose because the ministry philosophy adopted by the plant did not match the church’s expectations. That could be about how to reach out into the area into which they were planting, or for example, about an emphasis on preaching the word of God as the prime means by which God grows his church.
Relational. Whether the unrest originated from the previous 3 factors (or a combination of them) or it simply emerged due to a breakdown in relationships, relational disunity was always the consequence and often ended with people leaving the church.
A number of the planters interviewed were surprised by how much of a struggle maintaining and building unity was. As we read the New Testament epistles, however, perhaps we ought not be surprised! As Paul deals with disunity in the church in Ephesus (or Galatia or Rome or Philippi or even with James and Timothy), he is quick to call the church to stay unified. To live out the unity that they already enjoy in Christ. To not undo what Jesus has done.
It’s particularly evident in Ephesians as Paul urges them to continue to live out what Jesus has won for them. At the heart of his epistle lies the spiritual truth that the gospel has brought together what sin and rebellion, ever since the Garden of Eden, has blown apart. Into a world of war – both war in the vertical dimension between humanity and God but also the horizontal dimension between humanity and humanity – God has brought peace. Peace even between Jew and Gentile with the dividing wall of hostility being removed and one new humanity constructed. Paul says, live out this peace.
The letter ends with a well-known call to don ourselves with gospel armour as we seek to stand firm in the midst of spiritual oppression. Often that’s simply taken as a broad reminder that Satan is real and that he sits as our true enemy in life and ministry (and church planting). Which is of course true.
But when we consider the broader context of the letter, might it be that Paul is reminding them that the spiritual battle they are engaged in is – in large part – the battle to maintain and live out unity? Satan loves to divide and disunite what Jesus has re-united through his work on the cross.
Satan loves to divide and disunite what Jesus has re-united through his work on the cross.
Yes, no doubt disunity will be painfully evident because of our own selfishness, sin and immaturity. Yet, let’s not forget that as churches (and church plants) form factions and look increasingly like our increasingly polarised and pugnacious world, Satan is smiling.
When it comes to planting new churches, one practical outworking is to consider whether (and when) we ought to slow down and more carefully build and train our core team. This is particularly important where the plant is a joint project of a number of churches.
Building slowly and carefully with a longer lead-in may well end up with deeper roots reflected in a more stable unity in the long run.
We easily take for granted that we’re working from the same proverbial ‘hymn sheet’ when it comes to definitions of words such as ‘church’, ‘leadership’, ‘vision’ or even the ‘gospel’. Much sweat and tears (and fights and factions) might be avoided down the line if we spend time at the beginning carefully working through some kind of syllabus to both envision the church, and also to deliberately promote unity. Building slowly and carefully with a longer lead-in may well end up with deeper roots reflected in a more stable unity in the long run.
Will you partner with us to enable us to give long-term support for healthy church growth?