Velocity 2010 – Alan Hirsch

Velocity 2010 Church Planters Conference

Speaker: Alan Hirsch

More of the same will not bring fundamental change.

Our decisions make a difference in the world.

Why do we need to be Missional?

It’s not a cute new term. Not another cool buzz word.

Concepts:

1. Cultural Distance:

m0…….m1………..m2…………m3………..m4

Each ‘M’ signifies one significant cultural barrier to the effective communication of the gospel
(M0 is easier – M4 is more difficult)

Significant Cultural Barrier to Communicate the Gospel Meaningfully:

• Language
• Worldviews
• Other Religions

Culture is heading in the direction of becoming more difficult. Closer or at m4, not at m0.

Church must become cross-cultural missionaries again. (This is HUGE for Grovetown)

“Attractional” Church works well in sector m0, however it doesn’t work as well in sectors further out.

When people plug into church, they have less connection in the sectors outside of m0. This is a problem.

“Extractional” Church – It extracts people from their networks of people outside the church.

We are asking the disconnected from Christ to do the cross-cultural work and move from their sector to the m0 sector.

Christians are all missionaries, we are obligated to take the gospel message to other sectors.

*Research in Australia, what non-churched people thought of: God, Jesus, Spirituality, Church

Results: God; positive, Jesus; positive, Spirituality; positive, Church; negative*

The Church can work with the fact that the “basic message” of the church is viewed as positive.

What has to change? The Church. – It must adapt itself to deliver the message.
(My note 1 Cor 9:19-23)

The contemporary church is carrying the load.

America: 40% of Americans would be attracted to the contemporary model of the church.

Strategic Problem… 95% of churches are trying to become what will only reach 40% of the population.

2000+ Churches have over 2,000 people in attendance. There are over 400,000 churches in America!!! Big strategic problem.

Missionary Problem:

60% of Americans will not go to the contemporary style church.

Plus…the 40% is not increasing, its decreasing.

**More of the same will not get fundamentally different results**

More of the Same?

• Organizational Insanity
• “The problems of the world” – The problems in the church cannot be solved by things that created the original problems (What got you to 40% will not get you the 60%)
• Digging holes

(The church of Christ was built for ADVANCE, not Defense)
(A message makes you a MESSENGER)

Solution – The church will have to look different than the contemporary model of the church.

The in Western Culture battle will be won at the level of imagination…or it will be lost at that level.

Einstein – “I value imagination more than I value knowledge.”

Missionary has to go amongst the people. “You know nothing about church”

Ask 2 basic questions:

1.    What is church to these people? – You cannot assume the answer to this.
(Churches have to be much more diverse – A thinking of the church vs. a model of the church)

2.    What is gospel to these people? – You cannot assume the answer to this.
(The church does not have a mission, the mission has a church)

If the only thing you have is a hammer, everything begins to look like a nail.

Will the reformation model work? It was formed from a culture where people felt guilty for their sin. Do people now feel guilty for their sin?

The church is supposed to be the Good News people, not the guilt bearing people. That makes us become the Pharisees, which Jesus reserved his harshest criticisms for.

You plant the gospel, not churches.

People are enslaved to idols: work, money, sex, etc…that offer everything and give nothing.

The churches decisions matter!

Church planters should be missionaries first before we are planters.

Velocity Conference: Main Session 1 Highlights – – Main Session 3 Highlights – – Breakout Session 2 with Pete Wilson Highlights – – Main Session 4 Highlights – – Breakout Session 3 with Tony Morgan Highlights – – Main Session 6 Highlights