The Evangel Dean School - Developing Wisdom

The Evangel Dean School: Developing Wisdom, Conviction, and Perspective in Church Plant Teams

© 2019. The Urban Ministry Institute. All Rights Reserved.

Copying, redistribution, and/or sale of these materials, or any unauthorized transmission, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher is prohibited. Requests for permission should be addressed in writing to:

The Urban Ministry Institute 3701 East 13th Street North Wichita, KS 67208

ISBN: 978-1-62932-326-8

Published by TUMI Press A division of World Impact, Inc.

The Urban Ministry Institute is a ministry of World Impact, Inc.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bible. A division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All Rights Reserved.

Table of Contents

Welcome Letter 7 Our Mission-Critical Perspectives 9 TUMI Theological Commitments 10 Life and Witness of the Church 11 Devotionals Devotional 1 Prayer Is the Walkie-Talkie of Faith 15 Devotional 2 God Is a Warrior 17 Devotional 3 Freedom in Christ 19 Devotional 4 The Power of Praise 21 Plenaries Plenary 1 Jesus Is Lord: The Great Confession of Our Faith 25 Plenary 2 Movements and Networks: Collaborating for Renewing Revival and Radical Mission 29 Plenary 3 Fit to Represent: Understanding the Principle of Authority and Submission 35 Plenary 4 The Holy Spirit: Expanding and Advancing God’s Kingdom in Enemy-Occupied Territory 39 Plenary 5 The Gospel of Jesus Christ: Hope for This World and the World to Come 43

4 • T able of C ontents

Appendix Appendix 1 The Nicene Creed with Biblical Support 49 Appendix 2 The Story of God: Our Sacred Roots 52 Appendix 3 Handing Down the Apostolic Deposit: Passing Down the Story through Discipleship and Tradition 53 Appendix 4 Christus Victor: An Integrated Vision for the Christian Life and Witness 54 Appendix 5 The Theology of Christus Victor 55 Appendix 6 Jesus of Nazareth: The Presence of the Future 56 Appendix 7 The Theology of Christus Victor 57 Appendix 8 A Call to an Ancient Evangelical Future 58 Appendix 9 Associations and Urban Church Planting Movements: The Efficiency and Reproductive Power of Standardization 62 Appendix 10 That We May Be One: Elements of an Integrated Church Planting Movement among the Poor 67 Appendix 11 Discerning Valid Urban Church Planting Movements: Elements of Authentic Urban Christian Community 69 Appendix 12 Rapid Church Multiplication: The Elements of Dynamic Church Planting Movements 70 Appendix 13 Understanding and Practice of Church Planting Movement Principles 72 Appendix 14 The Threefold Cord of Urban Cross-Cultural Church Planting Movements 73 Appendix 15 World Impact’s Church Planting Schema and the Pauline Cycle 74

T able of C ontents • 5

Appendix 16 Planting Urban Churches: A Difference in Culture 75 Appendix 17 The Interaction of Class, Culture, and Race 81 Appendix 18 The Complexity of Difference: Race, Culture, Class 82 Appendix 19 Targeting Unreached Groups in Churched Neighborhoods 83 Appendix 20 Ten Key Cross-Cultural Church Planting Principles 84 Appendix 21 Getting a Good Team Rhythm: Time Management and Ministry Stewardship 85 Appendix 22 Steps to Equipping Others 88 Appendix 23 Representin’: Jesus as God’s Chosen Representative 90 Appendix 24 Understanding Leadership as Representation: The Six Stages of Formal Proxy 91 Appendix 25 Investment, Empowerment, and Assessment: How Leadership as Representation Provides Freedom to Innovate 92 Appendix 26 We Can Do It?! The Viability of Church Planting in America 93 Appendix 27 Suffering: The Cost of Discipleship and Servant-Leadership 97 Appendix 28 Fit to Represent: Multiplying Disciples of the Kingdom of God 99 Appendix 29 The Efficiency of Dynamic Standardization: Models Supporting an Integrated Vision of Urban Cross-Cultural Church Planting 100 Appendix 30 The Heartbeat of a Church Planter: Discerning an Apostolic/Pastoral Identity 101 Appendix 31 Resourcing the Great Commission: The Three Contexts of TUMI Resources and Partnerships 114

6 • T able of C ontents

Appendix 32 Three Contexts of Urban Christian Leadership Development 116 Appendix 33 Hosting Your Own Evangel School of Urban Church Planting: The Process from A to Z 117 Appendix 34 Evangel Process Overview: Planning Process for Evangel School Deans 123 Appendix 35 Evangel Dean Training and Hosting Evangel Schools 128 Appendix 36 Dean and Dean Team Requirements and Certification 129 Appendix 37 From Seeker to Sensei: Developing Effective Movement Apprenticeships 131 Appendix 38 Toward a Flexible Strategy for Ministry: Coordinating the Team for Success 135 Appendix 39 Evangel Resource Pack Information 144

Welcome Letter

Dear Co-worker,

Welcome to the Evangel Dean Training.

We believe in the Church of the Living God! Thank you for joining with us in seeking to see the beauty of the Lord displayed in new neighborhoods around the United States and the world as healthy churches are planted among the poor. We believe the Lord has brought this group of leaders together so that his beauty can be displayed in new ways in the cities where God has called you to represent his Kingdom. As you praise, pray, work, think, strategize, and laugh with your fellow Deans-in-training we hope you will be encouraged in what the Lord will do through your investment in learning about the Evangel Church Plant Schools. Our prayer has been that you would leave this time encouraged in the Lord and clear on your strategy for training church planters working among the urban poor.

We are thankful you have joined us and look forward to our time together.

Grace,

Rev. Bob Engel Rev. Dr. Don Davis

7

I ntroduction • 9

Our Mission-Critical Perspectives

1. The Calling of God : We do all we do fully assured that God is at this very moment calling, gifting, and anointing men and women in the city to represent his interests there, and are convinced that these chosen city leaders will be the vessels through whom he advances his Kingdom. 2. The Kingdom of God : We are burdened to see the freedom, wholeness, and justice of the Kingdom of God embodied, celebrated, and proclaimed in church communities who show visibly what the “Rule of God” looks like when it is embraced by people who acknowledge Christ’s lordship. 3. The Centrality of the Church : We hold deeply the conviction that effective ministry takes place in the Body of Christ, the agent of the Kingdom, where we facilitate the multiplication of healthy, reproducing urban churches, especially among the poor. 4. The Power of Community : We share a passion to employ innovative distance education programming to create and outfit a network of training centers in urban areas that provide excellent, affordable, and spiritually dynamic ministry education that is sensitive to urban culture. 5. God’s Election of the Humble : We possess a certitude that God has chosen those who are poor in the eyes of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the Kingdom which he promised to those who love him (James 2.5). 6. The Standard of Excellence : We are held by the consuming belief that all effective, credible leadership development demands the requisite formality and rigor of disciplined excellence, with a flat refusal to be remedial or second-class. 7. The Explosiveness of Multiplication : We are zealous to facilitate and empower urban church planting movements that share a common spirituality, express freedom in cultural expression, and strategically combine their resources to reach and transform the cities of America and the world.

10 • T he E vangel D ean S chool : D eveloping W isdom , C onviction , and P erspective in C hurch P lant T eams

TUMI Theological Commitments

I ntroduction • 11

Life and Witness of the Church

Devotionals

D evotionals • 15

D evot ional 1 Prayer Is the Walkie-Talkie of Faith Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis

This devotional’s outline can be found on pages 223-229 in Ripe for Harvest: A Guidebook for Planting Healthy Churches in the City .

Notes

15

16 • T he E vangel D ean S chool : D eveloping W isdom , C onviction , and P erspective in C hurch P lant T eams

D evotionals • 17

D evot ional 2 God Is a Warrior Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis

This devotional’s outline can be found on pages 341-352 in Ripe for Harvest: A Guidebook for Planting Healthy Churches in the City .

Notes

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D evotionals • 19

D evot ional 3 Freedom in Christ Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis

This devotional’s outline can be found on pages 121-132 in Ripe for Harvest: A Guidebook for Planting Healthy Churches in the City .

Notes

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D evotionals • 21

D evot ional 4 The Power of Praise Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis

This devotional’s outline can be found on pages 33-40 in Ripe for Harvest: A Guidebook for Planting Healthy Churches in the City .

Notes

Plenaries

p lenary 1: J esus I s l ord • 25

p lenaRY 1 Jesus Is Lord The Great Confession of Our Faith Dr. Don L. Davis

Why are we so confused about the person of Jesus Christ?

• Jesus is acknowledged generally as a great moral teacher. • He is recognized as a central figure in a host of religious and philosophical schemes. • He is viewed in various ways in Western Christian religious systems.

Our Need Today Is to Get Clear Regarding Who Jesus Truly Is!

I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the son of God: or else a madman or something worse. ~ C. S. Lewis

https://www.cru.org/us/en/how-to-know-god/ who-is-jesus-god-or-just-a-good-man.html

Jesus Is Lord: The Great Confession of Our Faith

I. Jesus Christ Is Lord

Jesus is the recapitulation of all things. Eph. 1.9-10 – making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ [10] as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

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A. He is Christus Victor , triumphant over Sin, Death, and the Devil.

1. He is the conqueror over sin – its power, judgment, and penalty, 1 Pet. 3.18; 1 John 2.1-2; Col. 2.10-14.

2. He is the victor over death and the grave (Hades), Rev. 1.12-18.

3. He has defeated the devil and his minions (i.e., the principalities and powers, Heb. 2.14-18; 1 John 3.8; Col. 2.15.

B. He is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, possessing all authority in heaven and the earth, 1 Tim. 6.13-16; Matt. 28.18.

1. He is the sovereign creator and provider over all creation, Col. 1.15-19.

2. He is the heir of all things, Ps. 2.6-9; Isa. 9.6-7; Heb. 1.1-4.

3. He is the head of the Church, Eph. 1.15-23; 5.23.

C. He is the Ascended Conqueror, exalted at the right hand of God.

1. He is the Lord of the harvest and the Head of the Church, distributing gifts and executing his will to fulfill his Great Commission, Matt. 28.18-20; Eph. 4.8-10.

2. He must reign until all his enemies have been put under his feet, 1 Cor. 15.22-28.

3. He will return to consummate the Kingdom of God, Rev. 22.12-16.

p lenary 1: J esus I s l ord • 27

II. The Conclusion of the Matter: Jesus Is Lord

All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name Edward Perronet (1780)

All hail the pow’r of Jesus’ name! Let angels prostrate fall. Bring forth the royal diadem, And crown Him Lord of all; Bring forth the royal diadem, And crown Him Lord of all! Ye chosen seed of Israel’s race, Ye ransomed from the fall, Hail Him who saves you by His grace, And crown Him Lord of all; Hail Him who saves you by His grace, And crown Him Lord of all!

Let ev’ry kindred, ev’ry tribe On this terrestrial ball To Him all majesty ascribe, And crown Hm Lord of all; To him all majesty ascribe, And crown Him Lord of all!

O that with yonder sacred throng We at His feet may fall! We’ll join the everlasting song, And crown Him Lord of all; We’ll join the everlasting song, And crown Him Lord of all!

A. He deserves our highest and exclusive worship, Rev. 5.9-10 – And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, [10] and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”

28 • T he e vangel d ean s Chool : d evelopIng W Isdom , C onvICTIon , and p erspeCTIve In C hurCh p lanT T eams

B. He commands our cheerful and absolute obedience, Luke 17.7-10 – “Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? [8] Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? [9] Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? [10] So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’” C. He is worthy of our unconditional love and devotion, 1 Pet. 1.8-9 – Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, [9] obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

What Will You Do with Him?

You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. ~ C. S. Lewis

p lenary 2: m ovemenTs and n eTWorks • 29

p lenaRY 2 Movements and Networks Collaborating for Renewing Revival and Radical Mission Dr. Don L. Davis

What Is the Difference between a “Revolt” and a “Revolution”?

A social movement that only moves people is merely a revolt. A movement that changes both people and institutions is a revolution.

~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

I. Why Movements and Networks Are Critical Today: Ten Compelling Reasons

A. Number 1: Vast numbers of unreached people with the Gospel

B. Number 2: Normal methods of operation are woefully inadequate

1. Too slow

2. Too expensive

3. Neither viral nor infectious

C. Number 3: The organic, convenient methods of authorization and supply

D. Number 4: The potential of technological tools to fuel connection and integration

E. Number 5: Changing winds of “professional” missionary engagement

F. Number 6: Noticeable lack of anointing and power in Western based initiatives

G. Number 7: Ramped up spiritual and societal opposition to traditional missionary activities

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H. Number 8: Benign neglect and underestimation of the spiritual potency of the poor in the world

I. Number 9: The Spirit’s historical empowerment of movement leaders at specific times and place

J. Number 10: The ability through certification to multiply representatives, leaders, and agents to spread and virally spread the movements/networks influence

Conclusion: Only a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the poor will make the impact needed at this critical time!

II. Definitions of Church Planting Movements (CPMs)

A. What they are not:

1. Not merely “evangelism that results in churches”

2. More than a revival of existing churches

3. Not “normal” denominational or association church plant reproduction

4. Not the effort of a limited group of “professional church planters”

5. Not “an end in itself”

B. What they are:

1. Church Planting Movements are a sub-species of the genus of social movements.

a. The “Me too” movement

b. The Black Lives Matter movement

c. The Environmental movement

P lenary 2: M ovements and N etworks • 31

2. How do Networks function in much the same way as church planting movements?

a. They may differ in terms of purpose .

b. They may differ in terms of authority .

c. They may differ in terms of certification .

d. They may differ in terms of organizational structure .

3. Steve Addison: “In a general sense, movements are informal groupings of people and organizations pursuing a common cause. They are people with an agenda for change” ( Movements That Changed the World , p. 28). 4. David Garrison: “A rapid and multiplicative increase of indigenous churches planting churches within a given people group or population segment” ( Church Planting Movements , p.7). 5. Daren Busenitz: “A startling declaration of the all-out commitment and intent of an inspired and trained band of disciples (in the form of the church) who will stop at nothing to evangelize, and train leaders for kingdom expansion into enemy territory.” 6. Don Davis: “An integrated and aggressive advance of the Kingdom of God among an unreached people group that results in a significant increase of indigenous churches that fundamentally share and reproduce a common constellation of elements that provide them with a unique identity, purpose, and practice” (adapted from Winning the World ).

III. Key Elements of CPMs Today

A. Garrison’s Three Elements of CPMs:

1. Rapid : CPMs involve the rapid increase of new church starts.

2. Multiplicative increase: CPMs occur when new churches are being started by the churches themselves, not by professional church planters or missionaries.

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3. Indigenous : CPMs multiply churches “generated from within [the people group or population segment] rather than without.”

B. Addison’s Five Concepts of CPMs:

1. White Hot Faith

2. Commitment to a Cause

3. Contagious Relationships

4. Rapid Mobilization

5. Adaptive Methods

C. Davis’s Three Principles of CPMs:

1. Shared Spirituality

2. People Group Identity

3. Dynamic Standardization

D. The need for a new draft : What will it require for the Holy Spirit to raise up a generation of leaders and churches who will take full responsibility for finishing the task among the unreached poor of the world?

IV. How Movements and Networks Can Leverage Impact for the Great Commission

A. “We are one body in Christ”: the power of collaboration

1. Recognition of our shared call, DNA, and mission

2. Admission of our individually limited resources but powerful unified role

3. Unswerving belief in our synergy and power together

p lenary 2: m ovemenTs and n eTWorks • 33

B. Movements and networks together for renewing revival :

1. A rediscovery of Jesus’ lordship and victory in the Already/ Not yet Kingdom of God

2. Dramatic outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the church to demonstrate the freedom, wholeness, and justice of the Kingdom

3. The spawning of a new, aggressive awakening among our churches to play their part to finish the task

C. Movements and networks together for r adical mission :

1. Identify a new generation of anointed, Spirit-born and endowed leaders

2. To share our strategies and resources to empower these leaders and their churches with tools necessary to engage their own cities 3. Release a new generation of workers among the unreached fields to generate fresh aggressive movements to reach the cities of the world The great thing about social movements is everybody gets to be a part of them. ~ Jim Wallis Every important social movement reconfigures the world in the imagination. What was obscure comes forward, lies are revealed, memory shaken, new delineations drawn over the old maps: it is from this new way of seeing the present that hope emerges for the future. . . . Let us begin to imagine the worlds we would like to inhabit, the long lives we will share, and the many futures in our hands. ~ Susan Griffin

p lenary 3: f IT To r epresenT • 35

p lenaRY 3 Fit to Represent

Understanding the Principle of Authority and Submission Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis

I. Myname.com: the age of extreme autonomy

A. We live in an age of independence and alienation.

1. The social climate of today: we demand that we design our lives ourselves.

2. The loss of prophetic voice: this attitude is often mirrored in ministry.

3. Run-amok and run-away Protestantism is creating fuel for heresy and schism.

Life doesn’t make any sense without interdependence. We need each other, and the sooner we learn that, the better for us all.

~ Erik H. Erikson

B. Jesus’s model of leadership as representation

1. Modeled on his relationship to the Father , Luke 10.16 – The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me. 2. Analogous to the Father’s sending of him into the world, John 20.21 – Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 3. Extreme fidelity to the Father’s intention, Matt. 26.39 – And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

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4. Unconditional availability to the Father’s purpose, Phil. 2.5-8 – Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, [6] who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, [7] but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. [8] And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 5. God’s abundant reward for completing the mission, Phil. 2.9-11 – Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, [10] so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, [11] and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

II. The Power of Representation

A. The Practice of representation: The Representation Cycle

1. The Commissioning : formal selection and call (e.g., Christ’s call of Saul of Tarsus, Acts 9.10-17)

2. The Equipping : appropriate training and investment (e.g., the equipping of the disciples, Matt. 4.18-22)

3. The Entrustment : endowed with the authority and power to act on behalf of the movement (e.g., the Great Commission, Matt. 28.18-20)

4. The Mission : faithful execution of the task (e.g., the ministry of the apostles, Acts 20.24)

5. The Reckoning : assessment and evaluation of the results attained (e.g., the bema seat of Christ, 1 Cor. 3.11-15)

6. The Reward : recognition and reward based on the faithful service and results attained (e.g., the crown of righteousness, 2 Tim. 4.6-8)

P lenary 3: F it to R epresent • 37

B. The Problems of representation

1. Issues of Conviction (Acts 5.19-20, 29): discerning the revealed will of God

a. What happens when you fundamentally disagree with your governing authority?

b. How do you discern God’s will when you disagree with your leader’s judgment?

2. Issues of Character (Gal. 1.10): when our or our leader’s character falters

a. What should you do when a failure character matters occurs?

b. Are we obligated to follow leaders who lack godly character?

3. Issues of Conscience (1 Tim. 1.5): when your moral compass is compromised

a. What should you do when asked to go against your conscience or sense of duty and right?

b. Is it ever right to go against your conscience, even if ordered to do so?

C. The Promise of representation

1. The promise of Availability : the power of joyful submission (Heb. 13.7)

2. The promise of Authority : the legitimacy of credible oversight (Heb. 13.17)

3. The promise of Adaptability : the freedom of delegated mission (1 Thess. 5.12-13)

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III. What a Rediscovery of Representation Can Do:

A. Awaken a new sense of belonging and interdependence.

B. Raise up a legion of loyal, qualified spiritual workers.

C. Restore the Church’s imprimatur to certify God-called and anointed individuals.

Bottom line: Whom do you represent? For whom do you exist?

p lenary 4: T he h oly s pIrIT • 39

p lenaRY 4 The Holy Spirit Expanding and Advancing God’s Kingdom in Enemy-Occupied Territory Rev. Bob Engel

The world is changed. I feel it in the water; I feel it in the earth; I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost, and none now liveth that remember it. ~ Galadriel, The Lord of the Rings . Enemy-occupied territory – that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us to take part in a great campaign of sabotage. ~ C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity . And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. ~ Acts 16.6-10

I. Two Kingdoms in Conflict: The Battle of the Ages

A. The purpose of the two kingdoms

B. The priority of the two kingdoms

C. The plan of the two kingdoms

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II. The Great Campaign of Sabotage

A. The Holy Spirit: the Great Campaign Commander

1. The Lord

2. The giver of Life

3. Proceeds from the Father and the Son

4. With the Father and Son is worshiped and glorified

B. The Church: the saboteurs of the Great Campaign of Sabotage

1. Don’t focus on the negative.

2. Don’t let fear guide your thoughts, plans, and actions.

3. Don’t focus on the past.

4. Don’t compare yourself.

5. Don’t settle.

6. Don’t drive people away.

7. Don’t procrastinate.

III. Victory through Defeat: #selfdeath

A. Only the conquered can know true blessedness.

B. The old cross vs. the new cross

C. Reckoning ourselves crucified with Christ

P lenary 4: T he H oly S pirit • 41

IV. The Holy Spirit as Power: Heightened Ability

A. Heightened awareness of the presence of Jesus

B. Heightened experience of grace

C. Heightened meaning and quality of prayer

D. Heightened love for God and the children of God

E. Heightened awareness of the world to come

F. Heightened desire that none should perish

V. The Holy Spirit Is a Missionary Spirit

A. The missionary Spirit labors.

B. The missionary Spirit labors for the salvation of humanity.

C. The missionary Spirit labors for the salvation of humanity everywhere.

VI. The Urgency of the Holy Spirit: A Call to Action

A. Understanding your personal role in this call to action

B. Understanding your role within your church in this call to action

C. Understanding your Dean Team’s role in this call to action

p lenary 5: T he g ospel of J esus C hrIsT • 43

p lenaRY 5 The Gospel of Jesus Christ Hope for This World and the World to Come Rev. Bob Engel

It is the camp law: people going to their death must be deceived to the very end. ~ Tadeusz Borowski, This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen . In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. ~ 2 Corinthians 4.4

I. The World and the Gospel of Jesus Christ: “And though this world, with devils filled”

A. The crushing brutality of evil and sin

B. The aggression of the false gods

C. The lethargy of the Church

II. The Church and the Gospel of Jesus Christ: The Endgame

A. She is the Church Militant : ever moving forward.

B. She is the Defender of the Faith : what the Church has believed everywhere, always, and by all.

C. She is the Agent of God’s Kingdom Witness : there is no other.

D. She is the Steward of the Gospel : a steward must be found faithful.

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III. The What of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: The Only Power unto Salvation

A. Purpose: the Reign of God

B. Problem: the Wrath of God

C. Plan: the Peace of God

D. Priority: the Command of God

E. Proof: the Expectation of God

IV. The How of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: Proclamation

A. The Mission of the Church

1. The prophetic voice of the “really-real”

2. Keeping the primary the primary

3. Knowing by hearing

B. How should the Church pray for the Proclamation

1. Words would be given

2. Boldness would be prevalent

3. Speed and honor would be granted

V. The Why of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: What Does It Profit a Man to Forfeit His Soul?

A. People are eternal.

1. Annihilationism is not an option.

2. Love wins is not an option.

3. This is high stakes: Heaven or Hell.

P lenary 5: T he G ospel of J esus C hrist • 45

B. There is no other way to be saved.

C. You’ll want to give up.

D. There is a hell and people are going there.

The Rich Man: an evangelistic story

E. For the fame of His name and His glory

Jesus has defeated death and the grave.

VI. The Urgency of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: A Call to Action

A. Understanding your personal role in this call to action

B. Understanding your role within your Church in this call to action

C. Understanding your Dean Team’s role in this call to action

Appendix

A ppendix • 49

A pp end i x 1 The Nicene Creed with Biblical Support The Urban Ministry Institute

We believe in one God,

(Deut. 6.4-5; Mark 12.29; 1 Cor. 8.6)

the Father Almighty, (Gen. 17.1; Dan. 4.35; Matt. 6.9; Eph. 4.6; Rev. 1.8) Maker of heaven and earth (Gen. 1.1; Isa. 40.28; Rev. 10.6) and of all things visible and invisible. (Ps. 148; Rom. 11.36; Rev. 4.11)

We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages, God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God, begotten not created, of the same essence as the Father, (John 1.1-2; 3.18; 8.58; 14.9-10; 20.28; Col. 1.15, 17; Heb. 1.3-6) through whom all things were made. (John 1.3; Col. 1.16) Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became human. (Matt. 1.20-23; John 1.14; 6.38; Luke 19.10) Who for us too, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, suffered and was buried. (Matt. 27.1-2; Mark 15.24-39, 43-47; Acts 13.29; Rom. 5.8; Heb. 2.10; 13.12) The third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, (Mark 16.5-7; Luke 24.6-8; Acts 1.3; Rom. 6.9; 10.9; 2 Tim. 2.8) ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. (Mark 16.19; Eph. 1.19-20) He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his Kingdom will have no end. (Isa. 9.7; Matt. 24.30; John 5.22; Acts 1.11; 17.31; Rom. 14.9; 2 Cor. 5.10; 2 Tim. 4.1)

50 • T he E vangel D ean S chool : D eveloping W isdom , C onviction , and P erspective in C hurch P lant T eams

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and life-giver,

(Gen. 1.1-2; Job 33.4; Ps. 104.30; 139.7-8; Luke 4.18-19; John 3.5-6; Acts 1.1-2; 1 Cor. 2.11; Rev. 3.22) who proceeds from the Father and the Son, (John 14.16-18, 26; 15.26; 20.22) who together with the Father and Son is worshiped and glorified, (Isa. 6.3; Matt. 28.19; 2 Cor. 13.14; Rev. 4.8) who spoke by the prophets. (Num. 11.29; Mic. 3.8; Acts 2.17-18; 2 Pet. 1.21)

We believe in one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.

(Matt. 16.18; Eph. 5.25-28; 1 Cor. 1.2; 10.17; 1 Tim. 3.15; Rev. 7.9)

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sin, (Acts 22.16; 1 Pet. 3.21; Eph. 4.4-5) And we look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the age to come. (Isa. 11.6-10; Mic. 4.1-7; Luke 18.29-30; Rev. 21.1-5; 21.22-22.5) Amen.

The Nicene Creed with Biblical Support – Memory Verses

Below are suggested memory verses, one for each section of the Creed.

The Father Rev. 4.11 – Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created. The Son John 1.1 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Son’s Mission 1 Cor. 15.3-5 – For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. The Holy Spirit Rom. 8.11 – If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

A ppendix • 51

The Church 1 Pet. 2.9 – But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Our Hope 1 Thess. 4.16-17 – For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

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A pp end i x 2 The Story of God: Our Sacred Roots Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis

A ppendix • 53

A pp end i x 3 Handing Down the Apostolic Deposit Passing Down the Story through Discipleship and Tradition Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis

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A pp end i x 4 Christus Victor An Integrated Vision for the Christian Life and Witness Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis

A ppendix • 55

A pp end i x 5 The Theology of Christus Victor Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis

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A pp end i x 6 Jesus of Nazareth: The Presence of the Future Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis

A ppendix • 57

A pp end i x 7 Ethics of the New Testament Living in the Upside-Down Kingdom of God – True Myth and Biblical Fairy Tale Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis

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A pp end i x 8 A Call to an Ancient Evangelical Future Revised 36-5.12.06

Prologue In every age the Holy Spirit calls the Church to examine its faithfulness to God’s revelation in Jesus Christ, authoritatively recorded in Scripture and handed down through the Church. Thus, while we affirm the global strength and vitality of worldwide Evangelicalism in our day, we believe the North American expression of Evangelicalism needs to be especially sensitive to the new external and internal challenges facing God’s people. These external challenges include the current cultural milieu and the resurgence of religious and political ideologies. The internal challenges include Evangelical accommodation to civil religion, rationalism, privatism and pragmatism. In light of these challenges, we call Evangelicals to strengthen their witness through a recovery of the faith articulated by the consensus of the ancient Church and its guardians in the traditions of Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, the Protestant Reformation and the Evangelical awakenings. Ancient Christians faced a world of paganism, Gnosticism and political domination. In the face of heresy and persecution, they understood history through Israel’s story, culminating in the death and resurrection of Jesus and the coming of God’s Kingdom. Today, as in the ancient era, the Church is confronted by a host of master narratives that contradict and compete with the gospel. The pressing question is: who gets to narrate the world? The Call to an Ancient Evangelical Future challenges Evangelical Christians to restore the priority of the divinely inspired biblical story of God’s acts in history. The narrative of God’s Kingdom holds eternal implications for the mission of the Church, its theological reflection, its public ministries of worship and spirituality and its life in the world. By engaging these themes, we believe the Church will be strengthened to address the issues of our day. 1. On the Primacy of the Biblical Narrative We call for a return to the priority of the divinely authorized canonical story of the Triune God. This story – Creation, Incarnation, and Re-creation – was effected by Christ’s recapitulation of human history and summarized by the early Church in its Rules of Faith. The gospel-formed content of these Rules served as the key to the interpretation of Scripture and its critique of contemporary culture, and thus shaped the church’s pastoral ministry. Today, we call Evangelicals to turn away from modern

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A Call to an Ancient Evangelical Future , continued

theological methods that reduce the gospel to mere propositions, and from contemporary pastoral ministries so compatible with culture that they camouflage God’s story or empty it of its cosmic and redemptive meaning. In a world of competing stories, we call Evangelicals to recover the truth of God’s word as the story of the world, and to make it the centerpiece of Evangelical life. 2. On the Church, the Continuation of God’s Narrative We call Evangelicals to take seriously the visible character of the Church. We call for a commitment to its mission in the world in fidelity to God’s mission ( Missio Dei ), and for an exploration of the ecumenical implications this has for the unity, holiness catholicity, and apostolicity of the Church. Thus, we call Evangelicals to turn away from an individualism that makes the Church a mere addendum to God’s redemptive plan. Individualistic Evangelicalism has contributed to the current problems of churchless Christianity, redefinitions of the Church according to business models, separatist ecclesiologies and judgmental attitudes toward the Church. Therefore, we call Evangelicals to recover their place in the community of the Church catholic. 3. On the Church’s Theological Reflection on God’s Narrative We call for the Church’s reflection to remain anchored in the Scriptures in continuity with the theological interpretation learned from the early Fathers. Thus, we call Evangelicals to turn away from methods that separate theological reflection from the common traditions of the Church. These modern methods compartmentalize God’s story by analyzing its separate parts, while ignoring God’s entire redemptive work as recapitulated in Christ. Anti-historical attitudes also disregard the common biblical and theological legacy of the ancient Church. Such disregard ignores the hermeneutical value of the Church’s ecumenical creeds. This reduces God’s story of the world to one of many competing theologies and impairs the unified witness of the Church to God’s plan for the history of the world. Therefore, we call Evangelicals to unity in “the tradition that has been believed everywhere, always and by all,” as well as to humility and charity in their various Protestant traditions. 4. On Church’s Worship as Telling and Enacting God’s Narrative We call for public worship that sings, preaches and enacts God’s story. We call for a renewed consideration of how God ministers to us in baptism, eucharist, confession, the laying on of hands, marriage, healing and through the charisms of the Spirit, for these actions shape our lives and signify the meaning of the world. Thus, we call Evangelicals to turn away from forms of worship that focus on God as a mere object of the intellect, or that assert the self as the source of worship. Such worship

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A Call to an Ancient Evangelical Future , continued

has resulted in lecture-oriented, music-driven, performance-centered and program-controlled models that do not adequately proclaim God’s cosmic redemption. Therefore, we call Evangelicals to recover the historic substance of worship of Word and Table and to attend to the Christian year, which marks time according to God’s saving acts. 5. On Spiritual Formation in the Church as Embodiment of God’s Narrative We call for a catechetical spiritual formation of the people of God that is based firmly on a Trinitarian biblical narrative. We are concerned when spirituality is separated from the story of God and baptism into the life of Christ and his Body. Spirituality, made independent from God’s story, is often characterized by legalism, mere intellectual knowledge, an overly therapeutic culture, New Age Gnosticism, a dualistic rejection of this world and a narcissistic preoccupation with one’s own experience. These false spiritualities are inadequate for the challenges we face in today’s world. Therefore, we call Evangelicals to return to a historic spirituality like that taught and practiced in the ancient catechumenate. 6. On the Church’s Embodied Life in the World We call for a cruciform holiness and commitment to God’s mission in the world. This embodied holiness affirms life, biblical morality and appropriate self-denial. It calls us to be faithful stewards of the created order and bold prophets to our contemporary culture. Thus, we call Evangelicals to intensify their prophetic voice against forms of indifference to God’s gift of life, economic and political injustice, ecological insensitivity and the failure to champion the poor and marginalized. Too often we have failed to stand prophetically against the culture’s captivity to racism, consumerism, political correctness, civil religion, sexism, ethical relativism, violence and the culture of death. These failures have muted the voice of Christ to the world through his Church and detract from God’s story of the world, which the Church is collectively to embody. Therefore, we call the Church to recover its counter-cultural mission to the world. Epilogue In sum, we call Evangelicals to recover the conviction that God’s story shapes the mission of the Church to bear witness to God’s Kingdom and to inform the spiritual foundations of civilization. We set forth this Call as an ongoing, open-ended conversation. We are aware that we have our blind spots and weaknesses. Therefore, we encourage Evangelicals to engage this Call within educational centers, denominations and local churches through publications and conferences.

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A Call to an Ancient Evangelical Future , continued

We pray that we can move with intention to proclaim a loving, transcendent, triune God who has become involved in our history. In line with Scripture, creed and tradition, it is our deepest desire to embody God’s purposes in the mission of the Church through our theological reflection, our worship, our spirituality and our life in the world, all the while proclaiming that Jesus is Lord over all creation.

© Northern Seminary 2006 Robert Webber and Phil Kenyon Permission is granted to reproduce the Call in unaltered form with proper citation.

Sponsors Northern Seminary ( www.seminary.edu ) Baker Books ( www.bakerbooks.com ) Institute for Worship Studies ( www.iwsfla.org ) InterVarsity Press ( www.ivpress.com )

This Call is issued in the spirit of sic et non ; therefore those who affix their names to this Call need not agree with all its content. Rather, its consensus is that these are issues to be discussed in the tradition of semper reformanda as the church faces the new challenges of our time. Over a period of seven months, more than 300 persons have participated via e-mail to write the Call . These men and women represent a broad diversity of ethnicity and denominational affiliation. The four theologians who most consistently interacted with the development of the Call have been named as Theological Editors. The Board of Reference was given the special assignment of overall approval.

If you wish to be a signer on the Call go to www.ancientfutureworship.com

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a pp enDi x 9 Associations and Urban

Church Planting Movements: The Efficiency and Reproductive

Power of Standardization Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis • October 17, 2006

Aggressive advances of the Kingdom of God through integrated church planting movements allow for standardization, i.e., the ability for Christian workers, missionaries, pastors, and congregations to employ a common set of values, resources, practices, and structures to establish, sustain, and multiply its members, leaders, congregations, and church plants.

* This outline is merely suggestive of the kinds of shared processes and practices that a coherent, integrated movement might employ to give expression to its particular understanding of the elements listed in the complimentary document That We May Be One: Elements of an Integrated Church Planting Movement Among the Urban Poor.

I. Standard Practice in Christian Worship

A. Observing shared celebrations of the Church Year (i.e., Advent, Easter, Pentecost, etc.)

1. Christian formation through the Church Calendar

2. Celebration of the Church’s holy days and seasons

B. Suggested Orders of Service (for ordinary and special occasions)

C. Understanding and administration of the sacraments/ordinances

1. Lord’s Supper

2. Baptism of new believers

D. Use of the Lectionary for reading and preaching (e.g., the Revised Common Lectionary )

E. Sharing services of specific dedications and commemorations (e.g., child dedication)

F. Prayer meetings, and special seasons of intercession

G. Special convocations and praise gatherings among member churches