Winning the World

236 Wi nn i ng the Wor l d: Fac i l i tat i ng Urban Chur ch P l ant i ng Movement s

Authority and Indigenous Church Planting Movements, continued

ice cream customer’s ability to “mix-and-match” his cone based on his desires and flavors available. Resources stimulate variety; they do not eliminate variety. 4. “Movements that grow from shared identity tend to be incestuous, that is, they only appeal to those people who share the cultural biases and practices of the group. Cross-cultural missions demands full investment of authority at the local level alone, and no interference from bureaucracies from above.” While loyalty to “our tradition” has often blurred or eclipsed our shared loyalty to the Kingdom of God, there is no evidence to suggest that strong communal identity and tradition must inevitably lead to the kind of ego-centric, incestuous clannish ness that some denominations and sects express. Contextual theologies, while absolutely critical for a full and free expression of the Christian faith among a people, must always be assessed according to the canonical Scriptures and weighed according to the doctrine and practice of the Great Tradition. Nothing could be more dangerous than assuming that contextualization means being free from fidelity to the Scripture as interpreted by historic orthodox faith. No people group can assert a primacy over and above what the Church, in the words of St. Vincent of Lerins, has “always believed, everywhere, and by all.” Although local expression is to be applauded and highlighted, it is never free from the tethers of biblical faith and historic orthodox doctrine. To be a Christian, by definition, is to be faithful to what the prophets and apostles handed down to us. This axiom applies to every people group who say “Yes!” to the saving grace of God in Christ. We are free to express the faith, not to recreate it.

5. “CPMs that emphasize indigeneity are most effective when no effort is made to plant churches within a shared tradition, identity, or focus.”

Actually, the data suggests that unless CPMs are affiliated and originate within a distinct tradition with its own shared spirituality and forms of standardization and authority, they stagnate or fizzle. Dynamic multiplication of churches occurs when a distinct faith community bonded together by its own doctrine, theology, and practice strategize to plant churches of