You Were Made To Reproduce (Why Are Multiplying Churches Necessary? Part 2)
You can check out Part 1 of “Why Are Multiplying Churches Necessary?” here.
“Jesus lives on in an apostolic Mission that advances by Church multiplication.” – Wolfgang Simson
While there a lot of reasons that multiplying churches are necessary, the fact that it’s necessary because it’s in your DNA isn’t probably the first thing you think of. But if you stop for a moment and consider it, one of the most horrible things that can happen to a couple is that they are unable to have children. A couple can be healthy, popular, wealthy and successful, and yet miserable because they are unable to have children. They show us a fact the Bible already tells us: We were born to reproduce.
This reality goes all the way back to the very beginning of creation: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:27-28).
There are two powerful concepts that are at play here, I’ll start with the most obvious one and then move the more subtle one. First, when God created a man and a woman in the Garden, He did not put them there just to enjoy Paradise. His commission to Adam and Eve was to carry the very life of the Garden to the furthest reaches of the planet. This wasn’t to be done by them living forever and trekking across the entire planet (though they did live for almost a thousand years). God’s plan for Adam and Eve to subdue the Earth was really quite simple: be fruitful and multiply. It was that easy.
The second principle is just as powerful. These two humans were to be fruitful, multiply, and subdue the Earth, not because it was just the easiest way. In reality, this reproduction that God called Adam and Eve to was a facet of God’s nature. It is like God to reproduce Himself. And because it is like God to reproduce and He has put His likeness in us, we must reproduce because we are patterned after Him.
This is why Paul, the church multiplying king could write about the nature of Christ and say things like, “And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all,” (Ephesians 1:22-23) Notice that it’s the nature of Christ to fill all things with Himself and He manifests that nature through us, His church.
How does this apply to us? Multiplying isn’t something foreign to us as a church. It’s part of our natural and spiritual DNA. Just like the barren couple we started talking about, we will be frustrated in our lives and callings until we see successive generations of believers walk in the things Jesus called us to. But if we multiply ourselves, if we multiply leaders, and if we multiply churches, we become true to the very DNA Jesus sowed into us from the very beginning.
Photo Credit: Mountain view with sheep by Julie_Berlin.
Why Are Multiplying Churches Necessary?
If you look around, you can see multiple reasons in the earth to be discouraged. It seems no matter how many good stories happen in the news, there is a larger number of bad ones. This is especially true when you look at the church. It’s easier and grabs more headlines to believe that the best days of the church are behind us.
However, if you study Scripture or have your ears tuned to what the Spirit is saying to the churches, then you have a great cause for hope. The Word and the Spirit tell us that we are on the verge of one of the greatest harvests of lost souls in human history. Events (and the God behind them) are conspiring together to bring forth this harvest in a short period of time.
It’s with this context in mind that I want to present to you the need for multiplying churches. When we talk about multiplying churches, usually I sense a collective yawn in the room from people who haven’t really considered the implications of the world we live in. But we live in a unique time of history where the need for mutliplying churches is greater than ever before.
At this point it would be good for me to define what is a multiplying church. A church that I would consider a multiplying church has taken seriously Paul’s admonition to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2 and applied it at every level. Paul says, “what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” Paul was concerned about what Christ has done in him being reproduced in another three generations of believers. This wasn’t just a selfish concern, it was a concern for the dynamic elements that made him apostolic be reproduced in everyone that was touched by Timothy and those he mentored.
This plays out in a number of different ways, but one of the most concrete ways we see this play out is in church planting. If every member of the body is reproducing itself, the inevitable result is more churches come into existence. When we plant churches, that’s good. When those churches that we’ve planted plant churches that’s better. It’s even exciting when those second generation churches plant more churches. But we’re dealing with multiplying churches when the third generation of churches start planting churches themselves. If you’re lost, it may be because by this time, like a virus, its hard to know which church was the first church at all.
This is what we need for this hour: a church that carries the Gospel and spreads like a virus across the face of the planet. Over the next few weeks, I’ll look at the “Why’s” of multiplying churches, because before we can make them happen, we need to understand why we need them. I’ll leave the “How’s” of multiplying churches to those who are actually seeing this accomplished. Before I close, I want to quote Wolfgang Simson’s Starfish Vision. He shares an equation that I believe is important for us to understand because it stresses the importance of multiplying churches. The equation is this: J=MC2.
“Jesus lives on in an apostolic Mission that advances by Church multiplication.”
Photo Credit: Studying Till The Sun Goes Down by Jakert Gwapo
Food for Thought: New Logo Edition
Every week here at Pursuing Glory I try to bring together the best posts I’ve found that will equip the end-times church to operate in her God-ordained destiny. These are the best blogs, articles, books and other resources related to our purpose here at this site. Feel free to visit, comment, and make use of the resources found at each site.
So call me crazy, but I’m really excited this week to include a new piece of artwork here on the blog that I think better compliments the “Food for Thought” feel. The previous graphic with some guy advertising grilled brain was fun, but maybe it wasn’t quite the “brain food” graphic that I was looking for. Let me know what you think of the new picture. Now, with no further ado, your links for the week:
Greek and Hebrew Evangelism Probably the biggest thing that holds back many in the church from missional lifestyles is the fear and confusion surrounding sharing their faith. This article by Ross contrasts a confrontational, idea-based form of evangelism (Greek) with a conversational, listening-from-the-heart style of evangelism (Hebrew). Ross’ message is that evangelism can be as easy as pointing out to those we know and love the places in their life where God is already working. I think this style has a lot of merit and it would be interesting to know how this has worked out practically in the lives of others. You can catch other great articles from Ross over at thejesusvirus.
Felix: Before and After This post by Keith Giles looks at the writings of a first century pagan and his view of the church before and after his conversion. While his words before his conversion sound harsh and his thoughts after his conversion sound more complimentary, the interesting thing about both accounts is that they each describe how the people of God should live and operate together. Get this at-once-unbeliever, now believer’s take on the the first century Jesus movement. Keith is a profound and challenging blogger that you can read more from at Subversive1.
Missional House Churches in America Part 1 Probably the biggest news of the week on the house church front is that the house church movement is big news! Several articles came out in major newspapers talking about the move of many Americans into house churches. J.D. Payne, a researcher and mission-minded theologian who has written and researched the house church movement, looks at the missional impact of this flourishing house church movement. J.D.’s research is deep and thorough. His case studies highlight the true potential of God’s people living out Christianity together. He blogs regularly at Missiologically Thinking.
TV Series on “The Kingdom” This is more of an announcement than an article you can read, but it’s exciting none-the-less. Those of you who have read Houses That Change The World or the Starfish Manifesto know that Wolf has a serious heart for the Kingdom. An understanding of the Kingdom of God has to be central to anything that God is birthing in this hour. Wolf has put together a series of television broadcasts that will be aired in Finland and then repackaged for distribution. Check out the broadcasts and stay up to date with Wolf and his wife Mercy at While We Slept.
Photo Credit: Design Probes – Food for Thought by centralasian.
Cluster Map
Pursuing Glory 