Characteristics of a Wise Church-Planter
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The most important factor in determining an effective gospel-centered church plant is the lead pastor. Cool bands, hip buildings and powerful children's ministries may contribute but do not make the biggest difference. It is the clear visionary guidance of the lead planter.
1. He is sent by Christ to preach the gospel (1 Cor. 1:17; Gen. 12:4).
Jesus is still calling church planters to preach the gospel of repentance and redemption and restoration. He is looking for those faithful men who are centered on the gospel and not on the faddish methods of crowd building. He is looking for those who are willing to sacrifice all for God's mission.
2. He preaches the Gospel by the power of the cross of Christ and not with worldly wisdom or methods (1 Cor. 1:17-18; 2:1).
He preaches Christ crucified (1 Cor. 1:23) and with the power and wisdom of Christ (1 Cor. 1:24). Our message is to be Christ crucified, risen and coming again. It is the only message we have for a lost world. Dependence upon cute, creatively-overblown, human-centered homilies can distort the gospel and nullify the effects of the cross.
3. He is fully dependent upon Christ and boasts only in His work on the cross (1 Cor. 1:26-31).
A lead pastor is confident by nature. He is planting a church because people are following his leadership. It is important to understand our weakness when separated from Christ and not to reflect on our abilities. Our standing before God is a gift given to us and sustained by Him.
4. He is filled with God's power and it is demonstrated in his preaching (1 Cor. 2:4-5; 4:20).
A cross-dependant church planter reverts to the power of the Spirit and not on his own abilities or intelligence or gifts, though they may be superior to others.
5. He thinks with the mind of Christ on all matters (1 Cor. 2:14-16).
Every issue of the church plant must be filtered through the mind of Christ. This means that we utilize God's wisdom and not man's (1 Cor. 2:6-16). We gain this by quiet meditation, reflection and introspection.
6. He is a laborer for God's glory alone and does not take credit for the fruit of his seed sowing (1 Cor. 3:4-11).
We are merely God's farm hands and hod carriers. Nothing can be accomplished by us without Christ and without the help of other laborers in the field. We can't make the sun to shine and we can't make it rain. Only God gives the growth and only He gets the credit.
7. He is a trustworthy bondservant of Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 4:1-2).
We are willing slaves of Christ as we row in the lower deck of the ship rather than act as the captain. Others are to see (regard) our attitudes and our faithfulness to Christ who is leading His church.
8. He has a humility that is deep and practical (1 Cor. 4:6-7; 10-13).
A church planter must truly and practically see himself as a recipient of God's mission, gifts, vision and abilities. Anything he possesses comes from God. Followers of God's mission must see this modeled in the church planter. Others must be drawn to the mission by our sacrifice for it.
9. He is exemplary in his behavior as a model to be followed by others (1 Cor. 4:16-17; 11:1).
Of all of the things required in a church planter, this is the scariest. We are asking others to not only follow Christ and His mission, but we are asking others to imitate our lives. We are called to be a spiritual example to others. We are called to live missional lives as a model to others. We must also serve as an example in our moral lives, our financial lives, our sexual lives, our marital lives and our familial lives.
10. He is a spokesman for God-even when speaking into the tough issues in life (1 Cor. 5:1-4; 14:4).
I view this as a fatherly role. When our children sin we must respond to their actions because we are the authority in that person's life. Even if we are uncomfortable in confronting, we must speak up, discipline, redeem and restore.
© 2007 Scott Thomas
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