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December 2006
The History, Mission, Vision, and Values of the Commissioned Pastor Designation
The ideas that resulted in the commissioned pastor designation first began to take shape in 1998 when a group of RCA pastors were attending training with Bob Logan of the Church Planting Institute. That's when it became clear that a church "multiplication movement" would require exponential growth in the number of people who were qualified to lead those churches.
The pastors who attended church planting training in 1998 could see that starting hundreds of new churches over the next 10 years or so would require hundreds of called, courageous, competent leaders. The RCA had depended for almost 375 years on seminary-trained pastors to lead churches. This process of preparing pastors reflected an "addition" mindset that added just a few more graduates a year to the leadership pool of the RCA.
The next logical step was to embrace a "growth principle": leaders must reproduce leaders. The true fruit of an apple tree is not an apple but a new tree; in fact, a whole orchard can grow from one fruitful tree. The best fruit of an equipping leader in the church of Jesus Christ is not more followers but more equipping leaders. While growth occurs by adding more followers, exponential growth comes only by multiplying leaders.
Leadership Lessons:
From Peter Drucker's Managing the Non-Profit Organization:
First, the most common mistake [when implementing innovation effectively]--the one that kills more innovations than anything else--is the attempt to build too much reinsurance into the change, to cover your flank, not to alienate yesterday. Next you have the problem of organizing the new. It must be organized separately. Babies don't belong in the living room, they belong in the nursery. If you put new ideas into operating units--whether it's a theological seminary or an automobile plant--the solving of the daily crisis will always take precedence over introducing tomorrow...And yet you have to make sure the existing operations don't lose the excitement of the new entirely. Otherwise, they become not only hostile but paralyzed.
In Mark 2:22 Jesus speaks of putting new wine into new wineskins. That passage and Drucker's observations apply to starting new congregations for the harvest to come in, and to church-based leadership training systems like those for commissioned pastors.
Missional Structures:
Ponder this mathematical gem: the average-size classis among the 45 in the RCA presently has 24 churches. Together they make up the 934 churches represented in denominational statistics at the end of 2005, plus about 100 new plants not organized as churches yet. What strategy will be developed for the creation of a new classis here and there in due time, as we plant 400 new congregations by 2014? The next eight years may require the birth of 10 new classis structures, or some kind of "super classis" design. Take out a clean sheet of paper and think: What would a new multicultural missional classis look like? Non-geographic in design? What vision and values would you build in? How would you do it differently? What would be essential to keep the same?
Book Look:
Be Fruitful and Multiply, by Bob Logan (ChurchSmart Resources, 2006; 800-253-4276, www.churchsmart.com/). Bob Logan may be more familiar with the American church planting scene than anyone. He is the designer of CoachNet.org, the online monster-resource for church health, growth, and reproduction. This compelling 178-page book explains why churches must start new churches continually and how to cultivate a church multiplication movement from where you are. Two thumbs way up! Chock full of illustrations from history and around the world today showing the power of church multiplication to effectively gather and disciple the whole harvest. For a copy, contact Susan Ketcham at sketcham@rca.org.
Multicultural Life:
In January 2007 RCA leaders will gather to continue to explore the RCA's multiracial, multicultural future. Learning to share power and value the strengths of different and diverse cultures in our churches will be crucial. The United States is the most multinational nation on the face of the earth, and North America is still our primary "mission field" for the first two decades of this millennium. Meanwhile, relationships with churches and leaders in Mexico and the Caribbean continue to grow, raising questions of affiliation with the RCA of our neighbors to the south. For example, one planting leader has direct contact with 120 leaders of churches in the Dominican Republic who would strongly consider becoming part of the Reformed Church in America. Pray for God's wisdom to shed lots of light on our path ahead.
Upcoming Events:
Mark your calendars for January 24-28, 2008, in San Antonio, Texas. A major RCA gathering around Our Call (to multiply and revitalize) will occur from Thursday to Monday. This will tie in with the every- other-year denomination-wide church multiplication summit for church planters and parenting church leaders. REMINDER: see the October 2006 edition of Incite! to catch the wave on Thrive! training for planters and teams in Orlando, Florida, February 26-March 2, 2007.
Testimony Time:
The February "Called & Connected" pages of the Church Herald highlight a strong parenting church, Third Reformed of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Under the leadership of senior pastor Jeff Porte, a vision for church planting at Third has led to a combined worship attendance of more than 2,400:
- A new satellite congregation led by church planter Jason Zimmer draws as many as 400 people each week.
- The River, a church Third Reformed planted two years ago, reaches people in an economically depressed area of downtown Kalamazoo. Under the leadership of pastor Rob Link, The River has added three new services and has grown to serve 600 people.
- New Community, or NC2, is a new cell-based church in Lawton, Michigan, that Third Reformed planted in partnership with Southridge Reformed Church, also of Kalamazoo. Adam Potgeisser is the pastor, and 90 people gather for worship each week.
- Third Reformed continues to hold contemporary services in its original location and recently added a traditional service that attracts as many as 330 worshipers each week.
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