The Outsourced Church

Posted by on Apr 28, 2010 in Church Planting, Discipleship, Missional | 1 comment Outsourcing is a very popular business model that companies use to cut costs and streamline work flows.  But the idea of outsourcing isn’t new.  The church has been doing it for centuries.  Back in the late 1700′s and early 1800′s, there was a movement to form missionary societies.  For example, the Baptist Missionary Society was formed in 1792.  These societies assumed the...
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What Does it Cost to Be on the Launch Team

Posted by on Apr 15, 2010 in Church Planting, Launch Team, Strategy | 0 comments In the early days of Christianity, it was tough being a Christian.  It wasn’t a decision you made lightly.  It was a decision that could easily cost your life.  As a result, the early Christians developed catechisms.  This was essentially a personal test to see if you were worthy of being a Christian.  The early Christians set the bar for discipleship pretty high.  That has...
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Tribal Church

Posted by on Apr 8, 2010 in Church Planting, Discipleship, Missional, Strategy | 7 comments I’ve been reading the Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch.  He does an excellent job of telling the history of the church and how the church evolved into an institution.  One of his points is that in a “Christian” culture, the institutional church is a natural evolution.  But the early church was not an institution.  It was much more a fringe movement on the edge of society. ...
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Build Your Band with Craigslist

Posted by on Apr 6, 2010 in Church Planting, Launch Team, Strategy | 1 comment A couple weeks ago I blogged about advertising on Craigslist to build your band and find a local worship pastor: Artists Wanted. Sean Olson, who is planting The Mill in Owings Mill, MD, took me up on the idea.  He placed an ad on Craigslist that said the following: “Looking for a top-notch musician who can play, develop and train band members. We are a new church plant in Owings Mills that...
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