Reflections on Exponential 2010

Last week I spent a few days in Orlando, Florida for the Exponential Conference. Exponential is the largest national church planting conference, and over 3,000 people involved in church planting were in attendance. This was my first time attending this particular conference and I was pumped about all that it had to offer. After three days of different messages and workshops by some of the leading voices in church planting combined with networking and meal-time conversations, both my brain and heart were full! It was a great week and left me with a lot to process (which took a while because I was waiting for my brain to return).

At conferences such as these there always seem to be some buzzwords that are floating around, and unfortunately most of the time they're nothing more than that. Exponential had its buzzwords: missional, incarnational, community. Yet there were a few others that were heavily emphasized, and I believe were about more than just cashing in on the latest lingo. The heart-beat of Exponential was a focus on reproduction, multiplication, and movements. Now I am not referring to reproduction and multiplication in the sense of child-bearing, rather in the sense of church-bearing if you will. It seemed at every turn the discussion was on the reproduction and multiplication of churches.

While church planting has become more popular and has increased dramatically in recent decades, most efforts have been aimed at addition. "Let's plant churches." This is good but the general consensus is that it isn't good enough. We need multiplication. "Let's plant churches that plant churches that plant churches..."

Spending a few days with thousands of church planters further affirmed that church planters are visionaries. They are "big picture" people. I love this! I find it energizing! Exponential wasn't about planting more churches, it was a call to plant a movement! Movement is a squishy and rather ambiguous term. For the sake of a big vision I will borrow Ed Stetzer's definition of a movement:

"A church planting multiplication movement is a rapid reproduction of churches planting churches, measured by a reproduction rate of 50 percent through the third generation of churches, with new churches having 50 percent new converts."

I want a movement. I want to be a part of one. I'm not interested in planting a church. I am interesting in planting a church that plants churches that plants churches. And yet, reproducing churches need reproducing leaders. The Bible doesn't have much to say about planting churches. Jesus talks about planting seed. Jesus calls us to go and make disciples. The church is the byproduct of making disciples.

I walked away from Exponential not just challenged to plant churches, but to plant the good news of Jesus, to make disciples with a holy anticipation that churches will then be born.

He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground."

Mark 4.26.

Go plant something!

Reflecting on What it Means to be a "Tentmaker"

I've always heard that Paul was a tentmaker and to be honest, up until recently that meant very little to me.

Yet, as I have read through the Book of Acts these past two weeks I have found myself reflecting on this some more.

In Acts 18 Paul arrives in Corinth and stays with a couple named Aquila and Priscilla. This couple are tentmakers like Paul, and we read that Paul stayed and worked with them. This would not have been uncommon for Paul, as most Jewish men were trained in a specific trade when they were young. Yet as this narrative continues to unfold we learn that Paul was in the synagogue on every Sabbath proclaiming the good news of Jesus.

Paul did not come to Corinth to make tents. He came to Corinth to announce the resurrection of Jesus and to invite others into this movement. He just so happened to be a tentmaker. Paul made tents so that he could be in the synagogue carrying out his true calling.

Almost two years ago our income was reduced a bit, and I picked up a part-time gig cleaning windows. What we didn't know at the time is that we would soon enter into a season of life dependence on this job would increase, as we transitioned to a church planting intern role. I think that I find myself reflecting on Paul's trade more because I can resonate with him now. There is a sense of solidarity. I did not move to Aurora to clean windows; I moved to Aurora to announce the resurrection of Jesus and I just happen to be a window-cleaner. I wash windows to help pay the bills, which enables us to be God's agents of transformation and hope in this community.

The economic climate in which we find ourselves may very well lead to a decrease in well-funded ready made church planting opportunities and will cause us to rethink how we can creatively and innovatively reach people with the good news. I am thankful for the bucket and squeegee that God has placed in my hands and the endless opportunities to advance God's kingdom here on this planet that are attached.

So what about you? Are you just a tentmaker, or are you an agent of resurrection who just happens to be a tentmaker?