Focus on Reproduction, Mentor's Guide, MG12

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F O C U S O N R E P R O D U C T I O N

Never-Ending Stream

An urban church plant has become dependent on the resources, personnel, and monies from outside suburban denominations in its district. The pastor, who is a gifted, loving minister but “not from the neighborhood,” sees no real problem in this relationship. On the one hand, monies, services, and volunteer help stream in from the outside to sustain the little urban church, whose membership is small and not able to pay their pastor’s and staff’s salary. On the other hand, the urban church is highlighted in every newsletter and bulletin article on the denomination’s “urban outreach,” and the identity of the congregation has become a place which allows suburban believers of the denomination to come and “experience the city” with their friends in the church. A small but vocal minority of urban Christians want to break away and go “cold turkey” from the suburban resources. Others feel this is unnecessary and counter-productive, since most of the ministry of the church would end, as they know it, since virtually all of it is staffed and funded from the outside. How would you counsel these members to resolve these issues? An urban church plant is about to “take wings and fly;” after nearly four years of investment, the little congregation has grown to the point of becoming its own independent congregation in association with a Pentecostal denomination. Everything has gone remarkably well, except for a brewing conflict between the current leadership team (made up of 95% people from the community) and the head church planter, a person from outside, but who is godly, committed, and pastoral. The leadership team has gathered around a couple they want to ordain to be pastors of the church, but the church planter has serious questions, both about their financial integrity and doctrinal orthodoxy. The church planter knows of some rather shady dealings the couple has had financially in the past, and he is disturbed at their view of the Trinity, a kind of modalistic view that isn’t real clear about the deity of Christ. He has sought to introduce these issues to the leadership team, only to be rebuffed as an “outsider,” and a “foot dragger.” Everyone in the church plant loves the couple and believes they will make a great pastoral couple. What would you advise the pastor to do, in light of his current situation, and the momentum growing to make the couple the pastoral family of the new church? He’s Not the Right Guy

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