I spoke with a Sunday School class last Sunday about being in the business of not making church "members" but "church planters". I received this facebook message from one of the members of the class. She gave me permission to post this here. I think it is exactly what we are talking about in terms of "church planters".
So, I'm trying to wrap my head around your discussion in Pathfinders on Sunday. Then, the passage from Isaiah during worship made me think. God cares enough about every star to call it by its name. So, what's in a name? As a Bible scholar, you know that "back in the day" to know a person's name was to know something about the fundamental nature of that person.
That got me thinking.
Knowing a person's name is intimate in a way. It's how we start relationships.
Then, I thought about how our 3-year old son (who just had a birthday the day before Jude's) is intent on asking EVERYONE he comes across, "What's your name?" This is quickly followed by "Hi, (the person's name) I'm Gabriel." At first I was embarrassed by his upfront questioning of every stranger. But then, I started to notice something. People seemed to leave the interaction with my son just a little lighter than they were when we first encountered them. A small interaction from a small person, but I think he really makes an impact.
I'm not sure that we completely understood your full vision about church planting. I'd love to know about the idea behind "planting churches" that aren't "churches" as we've defined them for so long.
To know a person's name is to know them, in a sense. Maybe my 3-year old is smarter than I am. If it is about deepening relationships in our life - not just in our church life - I wonder if maybe my son is a church planter. And, I'd love to know how I foster that to keep him that way.
Just some thoughts.
-Lynaia