This is our household - only the husband is our 17 year old son Garhett!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Revolution Church Lakewood is offically an Acts 29 Church!
...and there was a resounding chorus of angels singing Hallelujah!
Why is it such a big deal that we are aligned with Acts 29? Well, here is why:
Revolution church is a 6 year old church plant that was dealt a severe black eye in year 4 and has to struggle to recover. Statistically, church planting is a suicide mission. Church planting books and conferences often observe that 80% of new church plants fail within the first four years (though this data has not been carefully sourced). A controlled statistical study by Ed Stetzer showed that out of 1000 churches planted between the years 2000 and 2005, only 68% remained viable after four years. Revolution is one of those survivors.
A number of factors contribute to this failure rate, but denominations and church-planting agencies often compound the problem by throwing money and opportunity at any young Christian leader with a dream and an entrepreneurial spirit. Since my involvement with our denomination (The Reformed Church in America) I have witnessed several church planters come and go, burning through hundreds of thousands of dollars while trying vainly to hold together a core team by the sheer power of their charisma.
From the outset, the Acts 29 Network has had a different model. They have held firmly to the biblical criteria for eldership given in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. No man can be approved to plant an Acts 29 church unless he is an exceptional man in every way: a strong husband and father, a sound theologian, a gifted leader and preacher, and a proven start-from-scratch entrepreneur. While others are looking for better methods, we are looking for better men.
And the numbers seem to indicate that God is blessing this approach:
From 2006 to 2009 Acts 29 assessed 414 potential church planters and approved 240 (58%) to go forward as Acts 29 Candidates. (Candidates must gather a core of 40 people before moving to Full Member status). Two hundred of those men are now Full Members who are active in church planting; the rest didn’t make it through the candidate phase.
Of church planters who are assessed, approved, and progress to Full Member status, the viability rate within Acts 29 is 98.4%.
Acts 29 currently has 204 Full Members and 85 men in candidate phase (including our own Will Walker), for a total of 289 churches affiliated.
With over 40% of applicants rejected, you’d think that aspiring church planters would be going elsewhere. But the exact opposite is happening: in 2009, Acts 29 had 470 new applicants – an average of 39 per month. God is raising up an army of men who want someone to shoot straight with them. They want to know if they’ve got the right gifting, calling, and experience to plant churches – and they’re coming to us because they know we tell the truth.
So why am I so happy about Revolution being affiliated with Acts 29 - it's all about the leadership. Our leadership is exactly as described in scripture - accountable to each other and to our ecclesiastical head. This type of leadership was non-existent during the first 5 years of Revolution and never came into existence until the last 2 years.
Now, under the leadership of Pastor Scotty West, who is on the international board of Acts 29, we have taken the biblical model of leadership seriously. Our elders and pastors are all required to meet, without exception, the guidelines of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. No excuses. The men that run Revolution are these guys.
It is unfortunate for some, but fortunate for the body, that we now adhere to this model . It's not just anyone that can (or should) lead a church. It is a serious endeavor and unless your own household is in order - you shouldn't even think of Pastoring a church. When we follow the Bible’s instructions for church leadership, surprisingly… it works.
So watch for the changes at Revolution - in March we will be ordaining two new pastors at the church as well as installing our elders and deacons that have completed their training period.
It's so exciting!
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
YOU should go to this!
Monday, January 04, 2010
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