Church Matters: Retrieving the Great Tradition

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Chur ch Mat ter s : Ret r i ev i ng the Great Trad i t i on

numbers of lost persons into saving community with himself,” p. 27.

C. Back to the Great Tradition: CPMs require traditions which share a fundamental vision and spirituality in order to efficiently reproduce and sustain their growth.

1. Dynamic missions movements and church planting/ church growth phenomena did not occur in a vacuum; there is no such thing as a generic church , anymore than there is any such a thing as a generic human being (every person is simultaneously a human being and an enculturated being). 2. The shared spirituality of a tradition (in terms of doctrine, practice, leadership, stewardship, thematic focus, theology, etc.) makes dynamic reproduction easier and more potent: case in point, Cambodian Southern Baptists and the seven-fold ministry structure.

3. Evidence shows that when the vitality of a shared spirituality wanes, so does the growth and multiplication of churches in a CPM.

D. The chicken or the egg ? CPMs and shared spirituality are symbiotic and mutually catalytic .

1. They are symbiotic: Whatever happens to one, dramatically impacts the other, either for good or ill.

2. They are mutually catalytic: Like a snowball going down the side of a hill, if either element gains dynamism and energy, the potential for influence and effect is directly felt by the other.