Koine Vision Long Version

8/14/2019 Koine Vision Long Version

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KOINE MODEL

By Kevin McGill8/14/08

Phone: 214-606-7067Email: [email protected]

Website: www.koinechurch.org

Blog: www.koinechurchplant.blogspot.com


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INTRODUCTION

We, the Church, are one. In a great, global communion, we share one faith, one hope, one baptism,one God and Father of all (Ephes. 4:4-6). We come together in Koine (coin-aye). Koine is the Greek wordfor common and is also the root word for community. It is same the word used in Acts 2:44, where it is

said they had all things in common. That passage speaks of a shared life, with a shared purpose thekingdom of God. Moreover, 1 Corinthians 12:7 explains that even our spiritual gifts are to be used forthe Koine good or common good. It is when we come together in common for the gospel that Ibelieve Church takes place.

Now, imagine small, concentrated communities of passionate followers of Christ, coming together inKoine to reach their local neighborhood the Lakewood neighborhood, SMU, downtown, M streets, orUptown, and calling it theirs for the kingdom of God. This group would number between 30 and 50individuals within each Area Church, living out the gospel of Christ in their own neighborhood throughnatural, relational methods. Everything they would need (mens ministry, womens ministry, youth

ministry, discipleship, Biblical education, evangelism) would happen within the Area Church in natural,integrative ways lead by their pastor and other leaders. They would gather for a time of community andteaching on a weeknight. After a pastor led discussion on a given topic, smaller, core groups would beformed to allow more intimate dialogue and sharing. Everyone would stay in their given core group fromweek to week.

Once or twice a month, probably on a Sunday morning, all of these Area Churches would cometogether in Koine (common) to worship God for what He has done through the work of the Area Churchand beyond, and to be encouraged by the shared stories from the various Area Churches. The Koineorganization will support the Area Churches through the tithes and other forms of support. The Koineorganization will also provides a time of worship and inspiration during the Sunday morning gatherings.

This is a Koine Church.

I have developed and propose a relatively new model of Church called the Koine Model. 1 Thismodel was developed so that each person in the local Church might be able to participate in the work of the gospel, while engaging in holistic, discipleship-forming environments. The Koine model bestdescribes an environment in which the local Church is built up of smaller, Area Churches which areformed by people whose primary purpose is to share in common (koin) their efforts to bring love, justice, compassion and the hope of Christ to a local neighborhood.

I believe the primary environment in todays culture for a disciple-making Church is the houseChurch. Ed Stetzers book, Planting Missional Churches , calls the house Churches, Koinos Churches .2

Stetzer and Barna 3 both advocate the house Church model, although they recognize its struggle tobecome a valid form of spiritual expression for the American Christian community, a problem I hope thismodel will tackle. Stetzer recognizes that Koinos Churches allow for an integrated, authentic communityin which there are natural opportunities for discipleship and outreach, mens ministry and childrensministry devoid of large-scale program recruitment and marketing tools. Moreover, house Churches


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allow its members to utilize their spiritual gifts, taking ownership of the gospel through their ownministry. While the Koine model does not advocate the house Church as the only element in the localChurch body, it is the primary element.

In the Koine model, one will recognize an organization which puts its efforts into supporting local

Area Churches (house Churches), thereby demoting the Sunday worship event as the primary elementand the related programs that surround that experience. Instead, you will be introduced to a modelwhere authority has been decentralized and redistributed to the Area Churches, although an apostolicform of leadership hierarchy is maintained. Each Area Church will have a higher concentration of leadership through pastoral and elder oversight of these communities. In these environments, a greateramount of latitude will be given to the Area Churches to develop their own vision for their localneighborhood.

The readers should understand the Koine model is not trying to advocate a particular movement.God is doing an incredible work across a variety of Church structures, raising up men and women whoare teaching us what it means to be missional and incarnational. This does not mean the model willsimply transplant the emerging Church agenda, or the emergent Church agenda or the missional Churchagenda, or a combination of all three. Also, this model is not the end all. While the values that thismodel presents should never change, the expression of such values will. I see this model as an attemptto refocus the Church on its mission in the 21 st century. We find ourselves in a secular society that wouldleave the Church consumer-driven, isolated, and self-absorbed. This model is to readjust from worldlyvalues to kingdom living (Ephesians 4:17-19).

If the reader would like to review some problems I have seen in todays modern Church , and why Ithink some of these changes are necessary, review the appendix on page 27.


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OVERVIEW OF KOINE MODEL

The basic element of this model is to send out disciples of Christ into a local neighborhood, offering themsupport as they build Area Churches to spread the Gospel. Their emphasis would be small group discipleship,accountability (mens, womens), and service in their neighborhood.

The Area Churches are responsible for their given part of the city. Every Area Church should see itself as ateam of missionaries who come in common to transform their part of the city. Our Lakewood Area Church hastaken on the statement: We will leave Lakewood better than we found it. We will look after the spiritual and physical needs of our local neighborhood. With all of this in mind, membership into a group will begeographically based.

The Area Churches will be comprised of 20-40 individuals, no larger than 50. These groups will meet in a localhome, restaurant, or similar neighborhood location during a week night. There should be a time of teaching, andperhaps worship, before the group breaks up into core groups of about 5-10 for more intimate discussion andsharing.

The leadership of the Area Church will be compromised of a teaching pastor, who will oversee both the AreaChurch and core group leaders. The basic responsibility of this teaching pastor is to teach, counsel, and lead theArea Church(es) into the community to be salt and light. As the classic pastor, the pastor will act as a shepherdand spiritual guide for the group. Each core group leader is responsible for the smaller group discussion, socialand interpersonal needs. 4

The Koine Church is the uniting element for all of the Area Churches. The purpose of this organization is toact as assistance to the Area Churches, rather than as the Church parachurch if you will. 5 In its supporting role,the primary responsibility is to train and support the pastoral leaders as they are sent out into the community to

start and lead the Area Churches. The leadership team will meet with the Area Churches and advise them in themost strategic way to reach their neighborhood. The Koine Church is also responsible to support the AreaChurches on a monetary level. It will help, wherever it is deemed necessary and able.

Secondarily, the Koine Church will be responsible to hold worship services for its Sunday gathering. Thisgathering will be a time for the Area Churches to worship in response to the incredible work God has done in thelife of their Church during the week. It will also be a time of vision-casting and Biblical instruction. In that it is notthe primary vehicle for outreach, the Sunday morning worship event will focus on building up and discipling thelocal Churches to reach the lost, not necessarily to be a service for the lost.

The Sunday morning event will be relevant, edgy and fun, not because we are trying to impress the world,but because it is an honest reflection of the people within its gathering. Thus, the style of worship, teaching,etc., should be an honest expression of the style of those within the community.


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Area Church (House Church)


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Area Churches I A Picture

The one friend, who likes to talk about his God, invites Mike to hang out with some buddies for pokernight. Mike turned him down a couple of times because it sounded like a Christian thing. After a fewinvitations, he gave in and came. It wasnt a Christian thing, it was just poker night. Some of the guys talkedabout God, others talked about the Cowboys loss at the Super Bowl.

Mike begins to hang out with other guys in the group. They do everything together, including Cowboygames (Mike is a huge fan) and camping trips, etc. This goes on for a couple of years. Finally, Mike decides tocheck out this group of Christians his friends keep talking about.

At the group meeting, they spend a little time socializing, then start their bible study time. Everyone actuallyopens their Bibles. Mike kicks himself for not bringing his own. While Mike doesnt know who Mephibosheth is,everyone elses passion about the subject intrigues him to go home and google the name himself. The pastor

teaches. He isnt the most dynamic speaker, but he had some funny moments. It did seem like God really meantsomething to him, and that he was very serious about his faith. At one point, the pastor asked everyone if theyhad a friend that they were walking alongside with and showing them the way of Jesus. Some people explainedwhy it was hard to talk about Jesus with others; one couple shared they were really connecting with some co-workers and hoped it would go somewhere. Another member reminded everyone not to pursue the unsaved just to fix them, but because a deep love for them.

Loveis that why my friend kept inviting me to poker night? Kind of weird for a dude to do that. Mike thinksto himself.

At the end of the night, no one seemed to mind the 3 star teaching; the content was solid and the teachingwas much more interactive than before.

At the end of big group, one guy says that as one of the core group leader he has prayed, talked with theArea Pastor and went through Koine Churchs pastoral training program. Him and his core group are going tostart another Area Church in Lakewood.

So, now the core group leader has now been promoted to Area Church pastor, but over a new Area Church? Mike thinks to himself.

They plan to meet at Lakewoods Tavern on Tuesday nights. They wanted to start small so that others whoare lost could have room in this new community. The group prays for the new Church plant.

After about an hour, they break up into core groups.

Core groups? This must be what the new Area Pastor meant by core groups? Mike thinks to himself.

People are a lot more open and honest, as they share, although no one presses him. Evidently, the samepeople meet in the same groups, and they seemed to be really close friends. They have some good laughs andtalk about the concert the other night. The core group leader mentions something about a Saturday afternoon


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cookout at his apartment to reach the community. She invites everyone to hang out with her. Then, as thediscussion gets serious, one woman in the core group begins to cry. She just lost her job, and it is a strain ontheir family. Another woman prays with her, and then the older guy says there is an opening at his friends firm.He will check on it tomorrow morning. After everyone speaks, Mike has a strong urge to share about his recentdivorce, but he doesnt. Maybe next time.

On the way out, the pastor of the Area Church stops Mike and offers, What are you doing for lunchtomorrow? Want to get together? Mike is stunned.

Most leaders and executives he encounters in the corporate world are tied up with meetings, and he would have to make an appointment at least two weeks out. Mike thinks to himself. This guy is actually available!

Over the next couple of weeks, the pastor has called and met with him on two different occasions. He hasbeen invited to go camping with the guys before it gets too cold. Within a month, Ron, another guy in the groupasks if Mike wants to get together for coffee. Mike thinks hes a good guy, so why not. He begins to have coffeewith Ron whenever they get a chance. Usually they just to talk about life. They also start reading the Bibletogether and sharing what they find. Mike looks back and is amazed at how much of his time is spent withChurch people, yet not really, because theyre just his friends.

Every Wednesday, someone explains what ministry they did that week in the community. One of themembers leads a Bible study for the homeless; another couple invites an unsaved neighbor to their house oncea week for barbecue and games. Another group is putting together a benefit concert. Words like justice andcompassion and evangelism are thrown back and forth. In the beginning, nothing seemed interesting or exciting,until he hears about a couple of the members starting an after-school program. Growing up in a poor family,Mike remembers the impact his own education had on him. He talks to the couple who first presented the idea,and asks if he can help with their after-school program. For months, he volunteers once a week, and feels like

his life is worth something again, especially after the divorce.

Finally, the pastor approaches Mike about baptism. Mike knows right away that he wants to be baptized. Hiscore group leader offers to baptize him in the back yard. They have a huge party, and invite all of their friends.

And within a year, Mike has experienced evangelism, missions, mens ministry, singles ministry, Biblicaleducation, and spiritual discipleship first-hand. But more then that, he has experienced the Spirit unite men andwomen together to love one another and share with each other their resources, stories, and dreams. Mike hasexperienced Church.

And the things of this world start to become foolishness to Mike, though he doesnt know when it happened.

This picture of a person finding his way into a group, and finding his way toward Jesus, is not completelyfictional. In the small group I have been a part of for the past two years, I saw this happen over and over. People,isolated and disconnected, found their way into our Church, primarily through relationships. In this newenvironment, they find a Godly acceptance. Eventually, they either dedicate their lives to Christ, or pursue adeeper walk with God.


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Diagram of Area Church

Up t o w n A re a C h ur c h ( 75 20 4 )

MISSIONAL ENVIRONMENT

MissionalImpact Disci le

Disci le

Disci le

Disci le

Disciple

Disci le

Disci le

DISCIPLESHIP CORE

Discipleship = Biblical trainingmale/female accountabilitymissional training - resourcesharing - emotional support

Disci le

2 - Invitationto the

community

3 Commits toWay of Jesus

1- Personal/ CorporateInfluence

Relational Environment (Area Church)

1. Missional Impact - Disciple uses his/her influence to share the gospel in a missional environment.

2. Relational Environment - The person isinvited to a local body and encounters arelational environment.

3. Commits to the Way of Jesus - The visitor commits to a life of discipleship in thecontext of a relational environment and within the discipleship core.


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One of the values of this model is that it also serves as a discipleship/assimilation process into theChurch. Therefore, it will be outlined through the assimilation process. In the review of the Koine Model,the emphasis will be on holistic environments, rather than detailed programs that cannot account forthe many variables any given person brings to a community.

Koine Assimilation Model:

1. Missional Impact2. Relational Environment3. Discipleship Core

MISSIONAL IMPACT

Missional Environment I According to Genesis, part of our humanity is the tending of Gods kingdom(Genesis 1:26). This creation has been marred by sin. Thus, part of kingdom living is helping God restorehis kingdom. One way to restore his kingdom is by becoming welcome mats back into his kingdom. Aslittle welcome mats, we look first to the United States. As most know, the United States is no longer aChristian nation, rather the 5 th largest mission field and the largest mission field in the westernhemisphere. It currently has 120 million undiscipled citizens. 6 Therefore, the people are the primarywelcome mats in the U.S. culture in the Koine model. Each Area Church will be filled with disciples whowill extend love and friendship in their spheres of influence.

Entry of a visitor into an Area Church will be by invitation of one of the Area Church membersprimarily. While this will not be the only way for a person to join the Church, it will be quit difficult tofind the Church through conventional marketing means. In the Koine model, aggressive marketing is alsodiscouraged because when people enter a Church through marketing, they make a decision that theChurch will offer them a product. If they look to the Church as one to offer them a product, then itbecomes that much more difficult to communicate to the visitor what sacrificial love means and the costof discipleship. 7 But, if someone enters through missional impact, then it will be more clear thatChristianity does not offer goods for a consumer, rather a place where one can live the way of Jesus. 8

We tend to change by the means we are recruited.

It should be realized that the welcome mat is not the Sunday morning Church service in thismodel. Although we continue to create more edgy, seeker-sensitive services on Sunday mornings, veryfew seekers show up. Instead, believers attend who are often Church-hopping from a previous location.

A local Dallas Church with a typical attendance of 5000 a Sunday led by a dynamic speaker in 2003 saidthey had a five percent conversion rate. That is, only five percent were attracted by the Church serviceand as a result, dedicated their life to Christ.

This approach to evangelism is what I call, putting the salt back in the salt shakers. We take the saltout of the boxes, put them back in the shakers, and lay them out on the tables of the world.


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The Visitor I To this point, a member of the Area Church will have impacted its local neighborhoodand built a relationship with someone; having built a long-term friendship with them. Over time, thevisitor may want to grow as a disciple of Christ, and inquire about joining a group of people who aredoing the same thing. They will now move into the Area Churchs relational environment.

RELATIONAL ENVIRONMENT

Invitation to a Relational Environment I The first thing a visitor experiences in any community isrelationship . The visitor asks, Who are you? This coincides with Pauls reminder that discipleshiphappens in a relational context. Hebrews 10:24-25 states, And let us consider how to stimulate oneanother to love and good deeds, not forsaking our assembling together, as it is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near . Hebrews tells us thatchange (to stimulate) happens in relational environments where we can continue to come together andencourage one another. Even sociologists would tell one that change does not happen through isolation,but community. If the Church is called to discipleship, then we are also called to create gatherings, orrelational environments, where discipleship can happen. As an aside, I believe that this is the primaryresponsibility as pastors of the Church: to develop healthy, relational environments of the body of Christ.

What is exciting is that when a visitor walks in, they will also be introduced to the relationalenvironment that only an Area Church can provide. When one walks into an environment of 20 to 40,they walk into a collection of dynamic relationships, which are interwoven through several micro-networks, where opportunities to connect and build relationships are extremely high. Friends of everylevel are present, and opportunities to unite to do good work in the community increase exponentially.

Authentic Relationships I If the Area Churchs first function is to create a healthy relationalenvironment where discipleship can flourish, 12 then they must create an authentic environment. In this,connecting deeply is priority in the activity and pursuit of the group. One of the first things our AreaChurch had to do was to take off our masks. It was in this authentic environment that we began to facecertain sin issues in our life and try to overcome them. Other Churches that have implemented such amodel observed how much life transformation they saw by just taking off the mask. One particularHouse Church, which I will not name for obvious reasons, had a member who confessed his homosexualstruggles. The community stepped up, reached out, and showed true love to him. This fused theircommunity and strengthened their discipleship core.

Core Groups I The hope is that a visitor in this relational environment will begin to form closefriendships. Formatting will be discussed later, but for now, I will mention that, early on, it became veryimportant for my Area Church to still have small group time, or core groups. Therefore, an AreaChurch should not simply have a large bible study, then say good night. As much time as possible shouldbe given to the core group time. These core groups should have the same members from week to week,with an identified lay leader, so rapport and intimacy can flourish.


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The other six days of the week I I have observed that pastors tend to dismiss, or even devalue anyenergy given to community outside of scheduled meetings. Practically speaking, the Area Pastor shouldencourage other pockets of opportunities for people to form community outside of weekly group time.More so, these shouldnt be programmed times, rather natural relational opportunities. A Wednesdaygathering can only be a launch point for true community to take place, but will never take the place of community. In fact, it is in these outside experiences where our group has truly found its communalidentity. 13 Our group creates pockets of community through New Food Tuesday, music concerts,birthday parties, etc. Im pretty sure that a day doesnt go by when one my friends hang out together. If a pastor doesnt inspire and encourage their people to build natural networks of relationships outside of the Area Church meeting, then people will start to see the Area Church gathering on the weeknight aschurch time; discouraging true community to happen.

Wait, is this already too much commitment? Now, it should already be recognized that we areasking people to primarily come to a Wednesday night Area Church event, and then later on, we willalso ask people to come to a Sunday morning event. Then we are promoting that other people meet foraccountability or a video game night, and a number of other things. That might seem too much. In fact,Church leaders have recognized that a local Church only has two asks a week (three at the most) thatpeople will commit to any Church function. However, if accountability is just a cup of coffee and twoguys talking, or womens ministry is a road trip to New Mexico, then these are not fourth, fifth, or sixthasks. This is living life. Most people have normal, social activities with friends outside of programs andwork. If we offer natural and holistic relational environments for growth, then these relationalopportunities should grow naturally from the group. Church members will not feel taxed because theysee each other as friends. This is part of my vision to de-program and create more integrativediscipleship formation. If the Area Pastor does a good job of creating and encouraging these kind of environments, as we have tried to do in our group, then one should not have a problem encouragingpeople to spend more time together outside of programmed time.

DISCIPLESHIP CORE Living The Way of Jesus

Though, there may not be a central program, there is a central component to the discipleship coreliving the way of Jesus . This is the primary function of a disciple (Mark 2:14; John 15:14). 14 This is thecentral truth within the core and the thrust of the next section. At this point in the assimilation process,a linear path toward discipleship ends. Within the discipleship core, high-end programming becomesobsolete due to the nature of an organic community. There are too many variables and needs in such a

context, including past emotional pain, doctrinal unawareness, and personal sin.

Family Discipleship I Instead of a program-driven discipleship, the Koine Model will introduce afamily-driven discipleship. Maxwell discusses this model in his book, Millennium Matrix. 15 Effectivediscipleship happens when we walk alongside one another, much like the culture of a family. Instead of telling people how to live through a short term curriculum series, Family discipleship occurs whenmature believers spend significant, relational time and energy with other group members, that they can


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influence them toward living the way of Jesus. A family discipleship model can be observed in firstcentury as Rob Bell reminds us in Velvet Elvis .16 First century discipleship was most evident in therabbinical system. When a Jewish man was found worthy, the rabbi would say, Come, follow me.Then, the disciple of the rabbi would go everywhere he went. The disciple would learn by observing theRabbis conduct and practice. The disciple really became a part of the Rabbis family.

Another value of a family discipleship model is an on the field response to situations. Trainedleadership will more likely be aware of problems on the field, so they can respond accordingly. Thepastor and other mature members will influence and disciple others in an on the field approach.

Devotional Support I To live the way of Jesus is to establish the kingdom of God on earth. WhenJesus said that the kingdom of God is at hand, and that it was already here (Luke 17:20-21). The herepart of His statement was referring to the Church. 17 The first element of kingdom living is being aware of the presence of God by seeking a personal relationship with Him. The Area Church raises andencourages a God-pursuing lifestyle as each member models a life of prayer and Bible reading. This isdone by praying with one another throughout the week and during appropriate gatherings. This is also

done by promoting the studying of Gods Word, such as teaching curriculum that focuses on Biblicalknowledge and Bible study methods. Even more, the members will be encouraged in opportunities forfasting, solitude, silence, giving, etc. These can be done simply as reminders, but obviously should bedone in times when someone is facing a particular struggle. In our group, we have taken a Saturdaymorning retreat at the Area Church house, fasted together as a group, and rallied around and supporteda local missionary as expressions of a devotional lifestyle.

Use of Spiritual Gifts I To live the way of Jesus is to implement the gifts He gave us for His Churchand kingdom. According to 1 Corinthians 12:7, spiritual gifts are given not for the individual purpose, butto benefit the common, or Koine good. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the group to encourage and

allow everyones gifts to flourish.

Paul continues to tell us that a healthy Church is the sum total of its gifting in 1 Corinthians 12:14.The way this is manifested in our group is that every individual is a champion of their own corner of thespiritual gift market. 18 For example, we currently have someone who is very serious and active inministering to men, another who is dedicated to sound doctrine, another to feeding the poor. So wefeed the poor, mind our doctrine, and work on building strong relationships with men. They all inspireand champion their part. The 30 of us are stronger for it because we are operating not under the giftingof one pastor, but with the giftings of all the members. In fact, the Area Churchs activities and effortsshould be the sum total of the spiritual gifts of the group and very little else. A group, which takes on atask for which no one has a gifting would be pushing the group outside of its own design. This is wherewe begin to bring in the hired-guns, allowing a local church to be lead by leadership that does nothave an invested interest. Therefore, if an Area Church approaches the Koine Church and asks forfunding or assistance for an activity that is completely above and beyond that groups ability, then itmay be denied.

One of the visions developed through our Area Church is based on a principle from Matthew 10. Inusing our spiritual gifts, we have found it much more effective to pair people up in twos and threes to


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Area Pastor - Relational Leadership I It is important to address the relational role of the pastor, notbecause I consider it the only role, but because that particular role has been dismissed in recent years, inpart due to the business model of the Church. According to the Koine Model, the Area Pastor isexpected to be a spiritual guide for his members, available for counseling and friendship. He is alsoexpected to build and model intimate, close relationships for the Area Church. He should oversee andlargely be concerned with the members spiritual condition, checking in with them, encouraging them,and offering advice when appropriate. The Area Pastor should also be an active member in their lives.Members should consider him friend first, pastor second. If a pastor seeks to lead a healthy community,they model it by building authentic relationships, by doing ordinary things with their congregation likebirthday parties, camping trips, dinners, etc. The pastor should be accessible. He has to be available fordrop-ins and I need someone to talk to right now meetings. While a pastor cannot care for theneeds of all 30-50 people in an Area Church, he can model such care to his core leaders in the group. Iwill address how the pastoral leader will support core group leaders, who in turn, will care for the needsof the Church in the following sections.

M. Rex Miller, among other leading Christian authors, believes that a pastors ability to relationallyconnect will be the definitive role of the pastor in the 21 st century. Although a relational role should beconsidered part and parcel to any pastor, I have found it is absolutely fundamental for our generation. Inministering to my peers, I have discovered that we struggle with a deep sense of loneliness. Ourgeneration shows all the signs of isolation through self-absorption and self-destruction. 20 Bulimia andanorexia is now up to 40% on college campuses, and the number of students who suffer from anxiety isnow 1 in 4. 21 David Crabb in his book, Connection, tells us that most of those who seek therapy andcounseling would not need to, if they had vital, intimate relationships. 22

John Naisbitt, best-selling author and future-trend setter, introduced the phrase high-tech/high-touch. As technology continues to discourage human interaction between one another, the culture will

desperately seek physical human engagement as compensation. Typically, a member of our modernculture will look for high-touch in relational environments such as the family, bars, clubs,sporting/music events and the Church. When visitors fill out a visitor card, their primary goal is to find aplace to connect. The majority do not say that they are looking for solid preaching, lively music or anincredible facility. The ability to connect is a deal-breaker. If a visitor does not find it, they will turnelsewhere.

Miller tells us that this turning away from the American Church may be due to the modernorganization in which we pastors find ourselves. Todays pastor fills a low-touch role. Miller tells us thatpastors have become insulated, as they now have a third-party filter: the administrative assistant. This

means that to see the pastor, a congregation member has to schedule a meeting with his assistant aweek or two in advance; they should only expect to meet with the pastor once a quarter, at most. This,and several other organizational issues, keeps leaders from relating to people on an individual,unscripted, and personal level as Miller explains. They remain insulated from the very work they arecalled to do people. 23 Now, dont misunderstand the point here. A pastor should have as muchadministrative help as needed, but not to act as a relational filter. Furthermore, common sense tells usthat most people will not wait two weeks just to tell someone about an immediate emotional problem


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or to seek spiritual advice. They will turn to their co-worker, friend, or even another religion to solvetheir problem. The discipleship process becomes compromised because leadership is unavailable,leaving a community to turn elsewhere for guidance and counsel. Our generations need for high-touchcannot be cured by EHarmony, short-term programs, or an hour a week counseling session: it can becured only by God and His people, the Church. Koine Dallas, an alternate faith-based community asBarna would call it, must have Area Pastors who have high-touch.

On a personal note, it is my conviction that we need leaders who are willing to jump in the trencheswith us. If there is one belief that I would be willing to give it all up for the glory of God, it is the raisingup of Godly leaders to shepherd Gods people. 24 The last thing our generation needs is a pastor wholeads them from the plasma screen pulpit. Rather, we long for leaders in the living room, at coffee shops in a car on a rainy day, praying with the man who is going through a painful divorce.

Area Pastor - Leader of the Word I Continuing, the pastor will need to be a leader of the Word.Jonathan Edwards made this resolution, Resolved: To study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly, andfrequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive, myself to grow in the knowledge of the same. This

has practical implications. The Area Pastor needs to spend a good deal of time studying. Requiring apastor to spend at least two hours a day reading and meditating on the Word isnt too little. Not onlydoes the pastor model personal devotion, but He becomes a source of biblical knowledge and educationfor the group of people in the Area Church.

From his learning of the Word, he needs to value teaching others the doctrines of scripture (1 Tim3:16-17; 6:17-19; 2 Tim 4:1-5). An important event of the Area Church gathering should be a relativelyshort teaching session. The teaching should value doctrine and biblical exposition according to theteaching pastors style. The pastor should limit his time because every minute given to teaching is lost tocore group time, which means we lose time for community. I have found that the Socratic 25 method of

teaching is useful, since this encourages community and relational interchange. This means his teachingstyle will look different. Personally, I look at it like this (next page):


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A Sunday morning preacher starts with an opening illustration so that he can gain every onesattention on him as the communicator, and move them through the rest of his points.

An Area Pastor will start with an opening question (Socratic method) so he can put the attention on

one another. His objective is to form community by getting everyone to listen and talk to each other. Hethen leads them through group dialogue toward the points he would make, but leaving room for othersto contribute. Some of the best ideas I have had over the last two years was due to teaching throughthis tension. Leading the dialogue to a given point, while allowing for contribution and even correction. Itypically have 10 minutes of open discussion, and then 10 minutes of direct teaching. The openingquestions should deal with the subject for the evening, but encourage interaction. It would looksomething like this:

Area Pastor - Visionary and Advocate of the Gospel

Continuing, the Area Pastor is the one who casts the vision to bring the gospel to theirneighborhood. But the message of the gospel is not simply telling people about Jesus. If the gospel is theredemption of all creation, then we share the message as we give life to our own plot of land, so tospeak. Some will share the gospel by taking care of the poor and needy, others will do it through art, andothers will do it through raising their children. Whether its public expression, or relational influence,each member will explore how their gift and passion can translate into gospel living.

Main PointOpeningIllustration

Preacher communicates truth.Preacher puts attention onhimself to present his sermon

Area Pastor puts attention oneach other to form community.

Questions toward the main point

Area Pastor asks questions towardstruth.

Opening

Questions


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The Area Pastor will support those within the group to promote the gospel throughout theneighborhood. The Area Pastor will not create a huge vision and program for a local neighborhood, andthen recruit everyone to join his vision, rather he is to learn about everyones own micro-vision, helpthem develop that mission, and be the middle-man between them and their vision. As I mentionedbefore, I spend at least a 3 rd of my time helping Area Church members live out their gifts in their ownway in a sense I am their advocate. 26 For example, someone in our group is passionate about reachingthe poor in Lakewood. There is a great non-profit in the area who does a remarkable job of reachingthem. Last week, I scheduled a meeting between the leader and the Area Church member. I no longerfulfill the role of recruiter, and manager, rather supporter and advocate.

DISCIPLESHIP CORE - Core Group Leader

While the Area Pastors role is to oversee and maintain a healthy community, he cannot possiblymeet the needs of 30 to 50 people. It is also unhealthy for community to share openly at such anunmanageable size. Therefore, after 30 minutes of large group teaching, groups will be broken up intocore groups. These core groups between 7 to 10 will have their own core group leader who will help thepastor share the load of the leadership. Specifically, the core group leader will help facilitateconversation in his or her group. The leader will also encourage members to connect authenticallyduring and outside group time, and help the pastor share responsibility and direction for the overalldirection of the Area Church. While the leader will not be considered a pastor or elder, he/she will beheld up to the standards of 1 Timothy 3.

Depending on a few key factors, core group leaders are also perfect candidates for future AreaChurch pastors. It is in a core group where a pastor can prove able to lead. If it comes to it, a core group

leader could be encouraged and supported to go out and plant another Area Church elsewhere.

DISCIPLESHIP CORE - Elder

To be developed.

AREA CHURCHS MISSIONAL INFLUENCE

While we touched on the missional impact of the Church in a local neighborhood from a

nonbelievers standpoint, it would be different as a disciple. The Area Pastor casts the vision for themissional impact of a Church in a local neighborhood. The Area Church now adopts a given area,focusing on the subculture of that area. In their vision, an Area Church should be aware of the socio-economic condition of the neighborhood, the cultural values, and history. Then, they should take timeto consider as a group the various needs of the community, and how the members can best handle theneeds according to the gifts within the group. It is here where a pastor steps in as advocate andsupporter of the members.


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In regard to missional impact, the group should also flesh out how the message of the gospel is bestexpressed in the context they are in. For instance, Lakewood would see the gospel message throughfamily services and benevolence ministries. While Uptown will see the gospel through more relationalmethods, since it is a concentration of young singles. Lower Greenville would hear the gospel primarilythrough family, and the arts, but not necessarily benevolence ministries like Lakewood.

There has already been one name ascribed to the members of the Area Church discipleship core.But they should also consider themselves a missional core. As part of the missional core, the AreaChurch would understand that part of their roles as members of the Church is to help spread the gospelto their local neighborhood.

Area Church Planting I One of the most exciting aspects of this model is its reproductivity.Depending upon the success of a particular core group within a church, an Area Church would becapable of spinning off other Area Churches. If a core group leader proves himself able to lead, then theleader would go through a training program through Koine Dallas (more on that later).. The leadershipdevelopment program would work with them by first assessing and then preparing them for the work

of a pastor. If they qualify, then the Koine elders would meet with the candidates Area Church pastor todiscuss future plans and location. Afterward, the core group leader would challenge his core group to bethe seed group for the next Area Church. However this comes to fruition, the future Area Church pastorwould take at most, five others to start a new Area Church wherever the Spirit would lead them.

The value of this strategy for Church planting is three-fold. First, the DNA of the house Church ismaintained because it can send out its own leaders with its own value systems. The leaders have alsoexperienced first hand what it is to be in such an environment, and can learn by example the familymodel. Continuing, a culture of Church planting is maintained at the most fundamental level. Everymember of the house Church should be prepared to leave, and reach another part of the city. Thismaintains a passion for evangelism and discipleship. Finally, it keeps the Area Church lean. Instead of

fattening up with members, and the Area Church becoming lost in its own members, they keep thegroup lean so unbelievers would have room to join.

City Church Planting I Eventually, the Koine Dallas hub, and its Area Churches will become too big tomanage as an organization. Furthermore, there are many other unsaved people throughout the rest of the DFW area that would not step foot into a conventional Church, but would be more than happy tovisit a local spiritual group. Therefore, there will be a need for other Koine hubs throughout Dallas. Atthe same time, it will be obvious that some house pastors have the gifting to start, and lead anorganization much like Koine Dallas. Therefore, they will be trained and equipped to be sent outelsewhere. While there will always be room to Church plant outside of Dallas and Fort Worth, Koine will

emphasis local Church plants.

Missionary Support I Finally, global outreach would still be a concern for Koine Dallas, but it wouldbe handled through the local house Churches. There is a couple in our group who have a passion toreach the mixtecs in Central America by translating the Bible into their own language. Last April,members of the house Church rallied around them, and began supporting them. Imagine, instead of onelocal ministry within a Church trying to fund the dozens if not hundreds of missionaries, rather a local


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Area Church emotionally and financially supports and rallies around a missionary. The financial returnwould significantly increase. If a house Church asked all 40 members to commit $25 to $50 a month, thereturn would be incredible. But the greatest value of this type of support would be for the Area Churchmember. They could personally partner with a missionary, sharing their passion and mission for a peoplegroup. Both missionary and member would experience a synergy that would be lost if the missionarywent through a larger organization.


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Koine Church (The Area Churchs Hub)


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Diagram of Koine Church Hub

Corporate Worship Gathering

Area Church

Pastoral Training/Support

Financial Support

Leadership Development WorshipEvent

- Koine Church (Hub) -


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KOINE CHURCH MODEL

I have struggled for years regarding the effectiveness of the local megachurch or attractional church.But in the end we cannot dismiss it as an abhorrent work of man, no matter the frustrations.Megachurches have played a valuable role in our history. Therefore, below are some observations that

show the value and need for certain aspects of the attractional model.First, historically the attractional church reminded us that we needed to keep in touch with our

culture in order to share the gospel. It gave us a reboot, and recommitment to the gospel message.Though, I do not believe a Church should be relevant for the sake of the gospel, I do think the Churchshould be relevant for the sake of honesty. For too long, Church members either lived divided lives listening to Elvis at home and the old rugged cross at Church. Or they bought into the belief that therewas a sanctified form of music, abandoning all else. Some could imagine the sermons that told us onlySatan would use drums or electric guitars. We should live honestly within the style of the culture(though not always its values).

Continuing, the megachurch stepped in a time in western Church history where denominations wereon the decline. As denominations lost relevancy and effectiveness, the megachurch or attractionalChurch model served as an alternative. The megachurch kept the American Church in a holding pattern.This is obvious as one realizes that most mega Churches are made up of those who have left the classic,denominational Church.

Also, the megachurch has really acted as a parachurch. The effectiveness of a parachurch is its abilityto help support the local Church by collecting and redistribute resources, training, etc. In fact, I reallyconsider the Koine Church hub as the parachurch entity of the various Area Churches. Its role is to comealong side and support the effort and leadership of the house Church. Therefore, I have set out not to

completely dismantle the mega Church/attractional Church, rather take from it what worked whilehelping the Church continue to evolve.

Finally, the megachurch, much like the parachurch, has the capacity (though has struggled to date inthis area) to offer leadership development. If a local Church turned its money and resources away fromprograms, and poured into men who were gifted as pastors and leaders, the influence and effectivenessin a city could be ground-breaking.

With a quick reexamination of the model presented on page 26, you will see that the Koine Church asan organization is broken up into two parts: leadership development and worship service. The followingsection will work through these different elements.


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KOINE CHURCH I LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

One drawback to the house Church in the American culture has been the lack of support and

accountability a local house Church can expect to receive. Some resist a house Church because of validconcerns of the leadership. We are asked to submit under the guidance of a house pastor, but whodoes this leader answer to? We can imagine a house member say. Who can we report to in case theyhad questions about leadership, including doctrinal differences, impropriety, and the like? Some havecorrectly identified this as an apostolic form of leadership, though I wouldnt emphasis hierarchy. Truly,the member is not worried about hierarchy, rather a checks and balance system for their local pastor.Whether this is the effect of the American culture, or a basic human need, I believe it is valid to expectan organization to offer accountability and encouragement for the local pastor.

Pastoral Training I Koine Dallas first and foremost would offer pastoral training for a house pastor.This training could consist of biblical and theological education, communication classes, internships, andoverall training to lead a local house Church. Some of this training could be outsourced to a localinstitution like Dallas Theological Seminary, or Fellowship Dallas.

Pastoral Support I On-going emotional and council would be available through Koine Church. Either acoaching system between seasoned house Church pastors or staff would be available for the localpastor. Each house Church would be responsible for the financial support and well-being of a localpastor. It would be likely that the Koine Church would collect the funds and redistribute it across theboard to cover the cost of each house Church. I will not take the time to flesh out the logistics, thoughavailable to discuss it.

Pastoral Accountability I At times, accountability can be another word for control. But it is the intentof this model to not control the activities of a local Church pastor, but help maintain his character andspiritual life. It will also be a checks and balance to make sure that the Area Church pastor adheres tothe values and doctrines of the faith. Furthermore pastoral accountability, through the coachingsystem, would allow the pastor to work through issues and concerns in their given house Church. Thiscoaching system could be made up of fellow area church pastors with more experience, or a leadershipteam from Koine Church.

KOINE CHURCH I FINANCIAL SUPPORT AND ACCOUNTABILITYFirst, Koine Church would offer financial oversight. Therefore, Koine Church would collect the tithe

from all the Area Churches. Its important that an organization still manages the finances. First, this is sothat a third-party is involved in the finances, so the Area Pastor is not tempted in inpropriety. More so,this was a value we see in the early Church. Everyone gave financially for the common good of all (Acts3). Those who had gave to those who had not. Koine Church will redistribute the funds for staffing,


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childcare, local outreach endeavors, etc. It should be noted that within this model, very little money willbe placed toward the corporate worship event. Therefore, it is hopeful that money can be redistributedto help support a local house Churchs effort to reach a neighborhood, cover child support, and otherneeds that each Area Church would have. Financially speaking, a local house Church has a greaterchance for longevity if an organization like Koine Church can come alongside and support it.

KOINE CHURCH I WORSHIP EVENT

If you reexamine the diagram on page 26, you will observe that the worship event takes up only one-fourth of the circle. This is intentional, as the effort of Koine Church should not be on a large attractionalshow, rather a gathering that proclaims the Word, gives vision to reach the city of Dallas, and spurs oneanother on through testimony and corporate worship.

First, the church plant members and advisory board is still grappling with the issue of frequency of

service - will we meet once a month, twice a month, or once a week? As the Church continues todevelop, this will become obvious.

Now, the thrust of this overall gathering is a time of responsive worship. First, a response to God, andhis work in the world. This will come through a time of testimony and sharing. Imagine fifteen or twentyhouse Churches coming together, and a handful taking a few minutes to express on video, live, or othermeans of how God has used them in a part of the city. Continuing, music and creativity will be anotheropportunity to respond to the creative power of God. The traditional worship music can be a part of theservice, but will not be the only creative expression. Also, there will be a time of teaching from GodsWord. Corporate and universal instruction, and correction through Gods Word should always be heldup in large gatherings whenever appropriate and possible.

It should be remembered that the worship event is not the welcome mat for unbelievers. Theworship leaders are concerned with leading people in worship, rather than create a safe environmentfor unbelievers. Hopefully, it will also not be an unsafe environment for unbelievers. Rather, through ourhonest expression of Gods love, they will run to God.


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APPENDIX

Observations Along the Way

While I strive to be a leader who focuses on the solution, rather than the problem, it would becompletely false to say that some of this is not born from discontent. Therefore, in an effort to remain

honest, the reader should also understand the concerns I have for the modern Church. But with theseconcerns, I hope to also find a solution.

It is hard to describe the growing small voice of discontent within me, having worshipped for at leasttwenty-five years and having served on staff at a local Church for the past ten. This is a discontent thatgoes past individual hurts and denominational disagreements. I have watched Churches move from thetraditional, evangelical model in the early and mid-80s, to the Willow Creek model through the late 80sand 90s, to the present day models that promotes high organization through attractional methods.However, the condition of the American Church has not significantly changed. Others who share thisdiscontent, are now a part of the emergent /emerging movement, while others are simply trying to

grapple with a new way of doing Church. This small voice of discontent is best explained through anobservation:

We are not changing.

Statistically speaking, as the American Church, we are not changing as a whole. While there are smallpockets of deep, spiritual change, as the whole American Church, we are not becoming more likeChrist. 27 It is probably better to say that we are changing, but in the wrong way. 80 to 85% of AmericanChurches are on the downside of their lifecycle. George Barna recognizes that the Church in America hasbeen in decline for the last 30 years, 28 and anticipates it will continue to do so. One reason he offers isthat the Church continues to fail in reaching its main objective to spread the good news and make

disciples. 29 The local Church has a budget and resources that far outstrip most Churches around theglobe, and throughout history. We have more programs, led by more well-trained leaders and teachers,yet our Churches remain filled with cultural Christians. Although most attractional Churches havediscipleship and evangelism in their mission statement, there are no clear, ongoing environments inwhich one can move toward Christ and His mission; rather, a series of short curriculum or experience-based programs. More importantly, the local Church continues to struggle in raising up a pool of leadersfrom within its membership who actually guide others to become more like Christ.

This observation seems to fly in the face of many modern evangelical Churches that continuallypreach discipleship and evangelism. Even today, the American Church has invested more energy to

preach the Gospel and assimilate people into a discipleship-making process than in previousgenerations. However, the message is not my concern; it is the Church environments we have created. Ithas become apparent to me that we, the Church, preach change, but have unwittingly created non-change environments. In these insulated environments, we preach on the edge sermons, whilehanding people bunny slippers and bubble-gum filled discipleship. Bill Hybels said we (Willow Creek)have made it too easy. What was made too easy was not the doctrinal statement, rather theenvironments. One can communicate the message of sacrifice through a sermon, but communicate


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childrens ministry. 33 Each one of these niche programs requires so much time and effort from a disciplethat they can commit to only one or two. Modern discipleship formation is just too taxing for mostbelievers. Therefore, people have to choose. Some are all about evangelism, some are about mensministry, some are about discipleship, but in the end, this shopping mall of programs producesunbalanced Christians. The disciple has to choose if they want men-to-men relationships or toevangelize. Their spiritual health is limited, like one strong arm attached to a weak body. All of thisresults in myopic Christianity. It should be recognized that, most recently, Churches have tried to bestrategic in its programming, but an organization can limit itself to only three or four programs and stillask far too much time and energy of its members in the long run. 34

A solution for Niche-Market Programs I I believe the disciple Jesus created didnt have to choosebetween one area of discipleship, or another. I believe Jesus original intent was to create balanced, fullyintegrated disciples in the context of community, as we see emerge in Acts 2. What if we offered acommunity environment in which the three or four programs were integrated? It is my proposal to de-program and create more integrative, discipleship formation in a relational environment.

Non-Serving Environments I 1 Corinthians 12:18 says, God has placed the members, each one of them , in the body, just as He desired. Paul tells us that God, like a conductor, has ordained that everyperson is put into a local congregation for an express purpose. If an environment doesnt allow for theflourishing of spiritual gifts for the common good from all of its members, then it may not be a healthyChurch. If 1 Corinthians 12:18 says God has placed the members there, just as He desired, to contributetheir spiritual gifts, what would that mean for the modern local Church? If we look at a corporate bodyof 2000, and consider, that God has put at least 1600 in the body just as he desired, counting thosewho have an active relationship with God, then this has serious implications. The Church leadershipshould allow the 1600 eyes/ears/mouth/hands to serve in some capacity for the common good. Infact, some would argue that all members could use their spiritual gift in a local body of 1600 just as well

as a body of 30. But most Church leaders know that even half of 1600 could never use their gifts incommon for the good of all in such a large church. Managing that would be mind-boggling. Herein isthe crux of the volunteer problem in the local Church. I believe that we (yes, myself included) havecreated such complex, corporate and professional organizations with voluminous congregations thatmost people neither have a place nor the expertise to serve. They belong to a body in which they are notneeded, counter to 1 Corinthians 12:18. The indictment is on us to either send them to anothercongregation, or change our environments so that every person has a chance to serve.

As an aside, church leaders know that people feel engaged and important in a Church plant of 30,whereas they may feel like a cog in the wheel in an established Church of 600 or 6000. The member

does not feel his own personal impact because of the sheer size of a large Church. But in a group of 30,their tithe check or willingness to cook a dinner will have a greater impact. In short, we should keep thesize of the Church environment to the level in which all can appreciate and effectively use their spiritualgifts.

A Solution to Non-Serving Environments I The Koine model would create smaller, more organicbodies where members could serve in activities that are more attainable and where ones gift(s) would


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be needed for the whole of the body, or Area Church. It has been my conviction that I am a poor Biblicalleader if even one person walks into a Church, but has no place to give their gifts.

Non-Missional Environments I Finally, our environments communicate a non-missional lifestyle. Onecan preach a thousand messages on how to be missional, but it seems to me that if the Churchsorganization promotes a non-missional message, then people will live a non-missional spirituality. Weare called to live a missional life, whereby we are all called to reach the lost in holistic, authentic, andrelational environments. A missional environment is disproportionate to a consumeristic environment.Missional should be an authentic and relationally-driven style of living. It puts the responsibility of living out the Gospel on every person in their work place, at the grocery store, and with their families. Itgives greater priority to building authentic relationships, and communicating the Gospel throughnatural, in the trench experiences. Consumerism is concerned, not about the interpersonalrelationship, but rather the needs of a buyer. Energy and resources are put into marketing the product,hoping someone will buy it. The consumerist Church says to a visitor, How can I talk about Jesus in sucha way to get you to come back? while the missional Church says, How can you see Jesus through myrelationship with you?

Solution to Non-missional environments I What if we created such environments in which wechallenge groups of believers to live missionally sending them out in missional groups into aneighborhood? It is my proposal to form the best missional environments by forming Christiancommunities which live holistically with each other in their local neighborhoods among their unsavedfriends and neighbors.


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Koine Dallas Strategic Calendar 08 09 I

Goal for 2008 2009:

3 Area Churches.1 weekly or bi-monthly worship event TBD.

September December08 IBuilding community outside and within Love On Dallas

Compassion OutreachBenefit ConcertsLocal Gatherings (house parties/ open-mic/birthday parties)Loving your neighbor

Discipleship Track #1 Area Church

Start 2nd

Area ChurchStrategic Plan Developmento Retreat with Jon and Kim, Me and Jenny, and co-pastor and wife.

January May 09 IWorship Service and Planning

Continue to love on DallasCompassion OutreachBenefit Concerts

Area Church #1 and #2 continue discipleship track.Recruit Volunteer Team

Childrens MinisterWorship BandWeb/Video DesignFinance Team

Recruit Leadership TeamAssociate PastorWorship PastorArea Pastor #2Program Director


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June - August 09 IWorship Service and Planning

June Preview ServiceNetwork and connect with those who visitedIntroduce them to an Area Pastor or Church memberFollow up with a mixer night at one of the local house churhes. Poker night, movie nightWork with leadersWork with house ChurchesOnly word of mouth no marketing

July Preview Service(See above)

August Preview Service(See above)

~ September 09 Worship Service Launch ~Begin #3 Area Church.


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ENDNOTES

1 This model is developed from Randy Frazees model, in his book, the Connecting Church. It has also beenimplemented at some level by Cornerstone Community Church in Simi Valley, California.http://www.cornerstonesimi.com/2

I dont know about the reader, but it still amazes me how I come up with a name like Koin, and then find it inEd Stetzers book with a similar name and similar model.3 George Barna, Revolution. Tyndale House Publishers, 2005. 45, 49.4 At a given point, some will argue that a small group leader of any modern church could fulfill the same functionas an Area Pastor. As most small group directors are quick to point out, the greatest weakness in the current smallgroup model is the leadership. No matter the energy and effort put into small group leaders, they are, at the endof the day, lay people who have other full-time jobs and other concerns. Much like a volunteer youth pastor, asmall group leader cannot provide the same quality of leadership or time on a consistent level as a full time youthpastor.5 I argue that the value of the mega-Church has been its ability to act as a parachurch. Much like parachurches,megachurches can gather a great amount of resources; therefore it is very difficult to argue against its value.Because of its size, it is able to redistribute the resources to do some great work in a city and across the globe.From helping orphans in Africa, to offering parenting classes for single-mothers. Unfortunately, its size makes theessence of Church, which is community, nearly impossible. Though the work of the Church is to establishcommunities that evangelize and disciple, it cannot empower the congregation members to do the work of theChurch, because it spends too much energy keeping its own organization afloat due to its vast programs andefforts.6 George Hunter, The Rationale for a Culturally Relevant Worship Service, Journal of the American Society for Church Growth, Worship 7 (1996): 131.7 Rob Bell touches on this issue in his book, Velvet Elvis . He retells the story of the founding of their Church. Robrefused to allow people to put up signage, posters, or any marketing whatsoever. As he says, people have to wantto find us. Rob Bell, Velvet Elvis. Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan. 2005. 099.8 Consider this how do we want people to message our Church? A place where we offer goods, or a place of growth and spiritual discipleship? The Church can never hope to meet every variable of every person that walksinto the Church. While needs might be met along the way in spiritual discipleship, the messaging should not be

need-based, but change-based.9 Hirsch and Frost deal with Incarnational Ministry in the section of their book, Incarnational Ecclesiology.Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch, The Shaping of Things To Come , 2003, Hendricks Publishers.10 See Jim Henderson, Ordinary Attempts: Evangelism for the Rest of Us: Why Didnt the Right People Try? Next-Wave (July 2000). See www.next-wave.org/jul00/Ordinary_Attempts.htm . Accessed 23 August 2001. See also thewebsite off-the-map.org.11 Scot McKnight, A Community Called Atonement. 2007. 130-131.12 Its always been interesting to me that some Church leadership set up a false dichotomy between relationshipgroups and discipleship. Both should happen together as it says in Hebrew 10.13 It is interesting that our greatest opportunity for communal identity and missional impact intersect at suchevents. The more natural, common social experiences a pastor can create for a Church, the easier it is for theunsaved to intersect with the saved.14 Jesus clearly lays out the way of Jesus in Matthew 5, and then in John 15:14, he tells us that we are his friend,

if we do what he commands. The essence of discipleship is to follow His Way.15 M. Rex Miller, The Millenium Matrix. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. 2004.. 162.16 Rob Bell, Velvet Elvis. Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan. 2005. 129-131.17 Dr. Glenn Kreider. Professor of Systematic Theology. Dallas Theological Seminary18 Ethan Watters talked about champions in his book Urban Tribes. I would highly recommend that you read thisbook. He works through the basic dynamic of these concentrations of community cropping up in the single,uptown cultures throughout the U.S. cities.19 M. Rex Miller, The Millenium Matrix. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. 2004. 162.20 M. Rex Miller, The Millenium Matrix. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. 2004. 155.


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21 Hara Estroff Marano, Psychology Today, A Nation of Wimps, July 5 th. 2006.22 Larry Crabb, Connecting. Nashville: Word. 1997.23 M. Rex Miller, The Millenium Matrix. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. 2004. 156.24 M. Rex Miller, The Millenium Matrix. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. 2004. 155.25 Socratic method is a form of teaching that uses a question and answer format. This form of discussion isillustrated from Socrates work: Socratic Dialogue. This form of teaching takes time and practice, but can reallycharge a community to build on one anothers personal beliefs, while keeping each others doctrines and positionsin check. Benson, Hugh (2000) Socratic Wisdom (Oxford: Oxford University Press).26 Once again, I refer you to M. Rex Millers Millenium Matrix, pg 162.27 Win Arn, cited in Malphurs, Planting Growing Churches , 44.28 George Barna, Revolution. 200529 Matthew 28:18-20.30 Cornerstone Community Church has developed and implemented a model very similar to what I have proposed.You can find more on this Church at http://www.cornerstonesimi.com.31 Jim Henderson and Matt Casper, Jim and Casper Go To Church. Barna Books, 2007. 114.32 Truly, some Christian celebrities do exactly what Hollywood celebrities have done. Encourage people to changetheir outward appearance, promote their own abilities and talents, and seek their own 15 minutes of fame.Sweet, McLaren and Haselmayer write a very good article challenging the Christian celebrity. First, they point out

that the world remains cynical toward Christianity because of its hypocrisy through its Christian celebrities. Theysaid it so well:The greatest heroes, the greatest stars in the future, are not those who are the greatest celebrities,but those who are the greatest persons. Leonard Sweet, Brian D. McLaren, Jerry Haselmayer A is for Abductive,The Language of the Emerging Church. 2003. 60-62 .

33 Randy Frazee deals with this issue, and has presented a great model called the Connecting Church. In fact, mymodel is a direct result of his model. Randy Frazee, The Connecting Church. Zondervan, 2001.34 Simple Church by Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger is an example of a more simple approach to the programs of aChurch.

Documents

Koine Vision Long Version