The 21st century has revolutionized the lifestyles of people all over the world. The information and communications technology boom has contributed to this revolution. In addition to lifestyles being changed, the perspectives, views, opinions and practices of people have also changed drastically. Because of these changes, the Christian church in general should understand how to effectively reach out to people who are hungry for the gospel and not just “shove the gospel down their throats”.
Given this need, the book of Ed Stetzer “Planting Churches in a Postmodern Age” is a timely book. Stetzer has provided a very comprehensive guide for pastors, preachers and even lay people who seek to plant churches. He enumerates a number of approaches which could become part of the toolbox of church planters in constructing and planting churches. He delves on theory but not too deeply as to intimidate those who are not very familiar with Christian and evangelism jargon.
Rather, he couples the theory with a healthy sense of the practical side of church planting through the approaches and types of church planting that he cites. His book does not only look at the big picture of church planting, he also takes into account the details needed such as the establishment of a team that will facilitate the sustainable growth of the church, how to conduct evangelism and several other details related to conducting Bible studies or small group meetings. Stetzer also shows a good sense of Biblical truths and applies this to the methods and approaches of planting churches. He also takes into consideration the historical perspective in establishing the case for planting churches in this postmodern culture that we have.Stetzer's discussion on postmodern culture and of the characteristics of postmodern generations is particularly helpful in making the churches rethink of their strategies in mission and church planting. What are considered as traditional perspectives now might have worked for previous generations.
However, this present generation has developed a distinct worldview and set of characteristics. How then could the church effectively reach out to this generation if it is not aware of their characteristics and attitudes? As a response to this, Stetzer has described postmodern generations correctly and excellently. His descriptions can help churches identify the recipients of its message and tailor-fit their strategies to effectively reach out to this generation.The book succeeds in presenting a model of church planting that draws heavily from the Bible and at the same time provides sound practical advice from the experiences of the author. His presentation of his ideas are interesting and avoided much of the “Christianese” found in other books on the subject of church planting.
This makes it a veritable guide and manual for both veterans and newbies in church planting. Organization The author divided the book into six main parts.The first major section deals with the rudiments of planting churches. He enumerates and identifies the biblical imperatives and principles why there should be continuous reaching out to people for Christ. The church is of course the most logical way for people to experience the love of Christ in a community setting.
He calls for a shift of the dominant framework of church planting in the United States. Planting churches should always flow from an unrelenting focus on missions.The United States used to send missionaries to other countries in order to establish churches. Such a mindset should also be used in planting churches within the country. He presents a discussion of the Great Commission in view of the features of modern society and the need for all believers to be continually involved in the planting of churches. This led him to say that “the New Testament points to the fact that new churches and church planting are the direct and inevitable consequences of believer’s involvement in witnessing and proclamation.
” Upon this biblical foundation of church planting, he presented various church planting models being utilized by the body of believers today. He discussed, albeit briefly the types of church planting, the approaches and strategies and provided some examples of these.After this section, he presented the basics of new church life. As what he did in the first part, he presented solid biblical truths about the church as the body of believers and as the bearer of Christ's message and love in this world. Against this backdrop, he described the church planter, together with the characteristics and qualities that he or she should have.
Love, faith and a sensitivity to the cultural setting that the planter will immerse into are but some of these qualities. To facilitate the faster growth of the church, the author talked about the church structure next. Through the structure, the efforts of various people who care for the church and its mission can be brought together. In relation to the discussion on structure, he also discussed the relationship between the church planter and the pastor. He provided several suggestions on how to maximize this relationship and make it work for the best of the church being planted. He also warned against possible conflicts and friction that may arise.
The last topic in this part is about the relationship of the laity in the process. Of course, it is a given fact that the pastors and church planters can only do so much. In order for the growth of the church to be sustainable, the laity should be involved. After all, the church is the body of Christ working together in building his kingdom on earth. The third part of Stetzer's book is perhaps its strongest one and attempts to present a description of the various sub-culture in the society nowadays. His message is that these cultures should be understood and even analyzed.
Through this, the church will learn how to deal with them. Once the church has gained a good understanding of the people who belong to these cultures, then it can adjust the presentation of the Christian message in forms that can be understood by the people belonging to these cultures. He discussed the characteristics of the previous generations of Builders and Boomers and contrasted this against the Postmoderns. He says, “Post-moderns need to be reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the current pattern of ‘church’ isn’t reaching them.” In effect, he is saying that the Church is not relevant to the postmoderns. Moreover, he argues that the church cannot expect postmoderns to participate in worship and church services that were conceptualized for older adults.
Hence, he proposed that church planters can be effective if they are not bound by traditional norms but have unfailing commitment to Christ and making his message known. In addition, it would greatly enhance their effectiveness if they are immersed in postmodern culture. He therefore called for postmoderns to become Christ's agents in reaching out to postmoderns.The author did not only dealt with postmoderns, he also discussed effective means of reaching out to ethnic groups. The bottom line, however, is a more culturally sensitive approach to mission.
Part four deals with the “dirty work” of church planting and outlines various principles and strategies in approaching the church planting process. The author dealt with the process of evangelism in view of postmodern culture. He also provided help in other details such as the establishment of small groups, the financial aspect of the church and how to choose the name of the church.These approaches and strategies are followed by Part Five, which presents more detailed how-to's in planting churches.
The practical side of church planting such as finding a meeting place, how to “market” the church and the ministries it implements and its launching. In addition, practical tips in regards to worship, preaching and age level ministries are presented in this section.
