What Would Jesus Tell Us?

WHAT WOULD JESUS TELL US? - If you are a pastor or church planter, young or more mature, and set out to plant a church - would Jesus instruct you to lure young people away from existing churches - and, in this way, bring them, their friends, and their families into your newly planted church? Or, would Jesus tell you to go into the highways and byways, i.e., to the unchurched and unsaved, and bring them into My house (Matthew 22:9, Luke 14:23)?

Although I am not a fan of Pastor Rick Warren's Social Theology nor his views on inter-religion ecumenism -- I am a strong fan of his ideas on church planting and church growth. In his book, published in 1995, titled "The Purpose Driven Church," Warren says, "The Saddleback statistic I'm most pleased about is the fact that 80 percent of our members found Christ and were baptized at Saddleback. We have not grown at the expense of other churches" (page 50).

In his autobiography "Strength For The Journey," Jerry Falwell tells of the beginning of the Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia. Their first service was in the Mountain View Elementary School in Lynchburg; they had 35 people that day. The next week, Jerry and several men went in search of a permanent church building and found a deserted soda bottling building -- with sticky syrup still clinging to the floors, walls, and even the ceiling. They went to work cleaning it and on a July Sunday in 1956, they held their first service in their new Thomas Road Baptist church building.

To grow the church, Jerry took a map of the area, put a black spot on the location of the church -- and drew 1/2 mile circles around it. That first morning, he lay the map on a table, lay his Bible on it -- and read from Acts 1:8 the message Jesus left for His apostles and for us, ". . . and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."

Then, Jerry went door-knocking, setting as his goal 100 homes a day, 6 days a week. First, in the 1/2 mile circle around the new church building. When he had saturated that circle, he expanded to the 1 mile circle -- and continued this process until he had saturated the entire community with his door-knocking and inviting the unchurched to come to Thomas Road Baptist church.

On page 184 of his book, Jerry writes, "I wasn't out to steal souls from other congregations in the area. In fact I congratulated each person who claimed active church membership and wished them and their church God's best."

I sincerely believe this is what Jesus Christ is telling us in Matthew 20:19-20: Go - Make Disciples - Baptize Them - Teach Them.

And, in Matthew 22:9, He is telling us to, "Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the Wedding Feast."

No where does He tell us to go into other churches; to use our ability to relate to young people as a lure to bring them into a newly planted church -- and through those young people, to bring their friends and families into the new church. That is not church planting and church growth. That is spiritual felony! And, that is not what Jesus Christ has told us to do.

Just my thoughts.

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill