More Anglicans at risk not being supported by their church or their Communion.  What is more important, the elite structure of bishops and the structures of governance or the suffering people?

Something the Burmese are having to ask themselves.

Prayers for these dear Anglicans.

But they ARE supported by their Lord…
“For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” (Matt 18:20)

Indeed, He is always faithful.

#1 you got me thinking and I remember this snippet…

Pure Christianity instead summons every soldier to the battlefield, where they are to utilize their gifts for the good of man and for the glory of God. Acts 8:4. The spiritual armor of Ephesians 5 isn’t for clergymen but for every man and every woman. The Lord has promised to furnish every saint with the requisite knowledge for these tasks. James 1:5.

The plain plan of God says, If you can do it, then you may do it, and you must do it. The plan of man says, “You cannot do anything unless we allow you and license you.” This is certainly why Charles Spurgeon, England’s unordained “Prince of Preachers” used to say and pray, “Lord, lead me not into a committee.” This is why D.L. Moody was not “ordained” and did not seek to be. This is the reason why Paul and Peter wrote: Rom. 12:6-8, Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness. And 1 Pet. 4:11: If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ.

This voluntary, servant-leadership ideal, we are confident, is what the world is now waiting to behold. This and this alone will turn their skeptical heads at this late hour. They are weary of all the self-serving forms of Christianity that have come and gone.

Throughout this ordeal with TEC the laity has been strong and determined and has often led.  Praise be to God for these folks.  And, as Festivus #2 stated.......when two or three are gathered, Jesus is there.

If you feel far away from God…
Who Moved?

#4 Good quote and #5 quite right.  It is pathetic when parishioners have more backbone than their bishops.  I totally fail to understand those called to the episcopate who then hinder the mission of the head of their church.  Where did they go wrong?  I can’t believe they did not start with faith and commitment to His cause.

Personally, I hope SF will run a thread on the subject of church planting soon.  It’s much more complicated than most people think, much more so than back in the 1950s.  Tom Herrick, the head of the Network’s church planting efforts, has lots of sage advice and resources to share.

For these folks in Spartansburg, or anywhere else, considering starting a new Anglican church, I’d highly recommend the classic book by Lyle Schaller called “44 Questions for Church Planters” (published by Abingdon Press).  Schaller’s 44 questions are issues that lay leaders should think through too.  The numerous cartoons alone are worth the cost of the book and taking the time to read it.

Then there is the masterful “Church Planter’s Toolkit,” a set of a dozen cassettes or CDs with an accompanying manual by Fuller Seminary’s guru on church planting, Robert Logan.  This resource is worth its weight in gold.  It is so practical, so sound, so thorough.

And one of the chief lessons from Bob Logan’s research is that the majority of new churches that flop and fail to get off the ground (and a substantial minority do fail) get in trouble by going public too early.  Logan compares the birth of a new church to the human pregnancy and birth process.  The nine months of pre-natal development are absolutely crucial.  If the new church is “born,” i.e., holds its Grand Opening and announces itself to the world too soon, it suffers all the usual problems of a premature baby.  Some of its essential life systems are underdeveloped.

David Handy+

David+ - thanks for the book suggestion - you are so right about planning. Haven’t seem Tom in years - he seems to still have the planting passion. One thing I would add, maybe for clarification, is when all those new families come to see what is happening, you have have something to offer outside of Sunday and Wednesday. It can be as simple as family day in the park on a Satuday, but do something to hook them and keep them.

David Handy is quite right about church plants, IMHO.  Not only is it an expensive business that requires an extraordinary commitment of time, it is very emotionally taxing and draining on the laity, as well as the clergy.  As it is, most of the “plants” of new Anglican churches I see in the U.S. are more along the lines of “rebadging” of TEC congregations and TEC clergy, although there are some notable cases of new churches being spun off from established congregations.

Festivus (#9),

You’re welcome.  And I agree.  The pre-natal period of development is when lots of critical things happen besides planning.  Bob Logan has a checklist of some 50 tasks that should get done before you go public with your first “official” worship service.  Of course, the core group has been meeting for worship for months already, just privately. 

But you’re right, Festivus.  While people are waiting for official worship to start, there are LOTS of other things that can be done to recruit people and minister to them before the official launch.

David Handy+

Ditto on church planting.

This should be viewed as opportunity. But for the opportunity to be realized, one can’t approach it as simply rebuilding a duplicate of their former church.  I hope they take advantage of the freedom to locate in the ideal location for growth (which will likely not be the ideal location for the current parishioners!), and become a rejuvinated church body in which each person is a missionary and evangelist to their community.  I hope they all sit back and subordinate their own desires for a church that best fits God’s purpose. Although its tough right now, it is a rare blessing to be given an open horizen in which to plan a church.

Daniel (#10),

Thanks.  I’m not sure what you mean by the “rebadging” of ex-TEC congregations, “rebranding” perhaps?

Anyway, my home church now, Eternity Anglican in Richmond, is one of those few non-breakaway new Anglican churchs that is a genuine, start-from-scratch new church.  The core group is made up of people from 5 or 6 different Episcopal parishes, none of which is dominant in terms of their numbers.  Affiliatd with Uganda, Eternity Anglican is blessed to have its own property, which TEC has no claim on.  And we have an outstanding pastor from the Global South, a Tamil from Madras, South India, as our priest, David Singh+.  I’m very, very excited about this unique new church.

Those inteerested in learning more about church planting should check out the ACN website, where the Titus Institute on Church Planting, led by Fr. Tom Herrick, has some helpful information and resources to get started.

David Handy+

In some ways I envy these folks - leaving together - making their departure together, in communion with one another.  I had to leave a TEC parish alone, without others with whom I could find support/kinship, and to a larger community without a orthodox Anglican witness.  Where do I go?

Angliscot-where do you live? I can probably find an Anglican church near you.

Angliscot -
Check out http://www.shelterinthestorm.org/

Regarding Church Planting, I am glad that Dallas has a diocesan missioner for Church planting.  She is one of the most on fire people I’ve ever met.  While we have lost CCP and a few other congregations, we are planting churches still!  We’ve planted in Frisco a 6 years ago, McKinney a couple of years ago , and are starting one in "http://www.stpaulsprosper.org">Propser which is preparing to launch this fall.  We’re reaching out in our first congregation designed primarily for hispanics and led by a hispanic priest (a re-plant of Resurrection, Dallas)

We are looking at several other sites.  While there are problems in TECUSA, it is also an exciting time to witness to the Truth and to stand up for the Gospel.  Please pray for the new churches in the Diocese of Dallas and everywhere the Church is reaching out.

YBIC,
Phil Snyder

I am quite confident that God will bless these faithful servants with leadership very soon and then we will all see their fruit in growth that will make their previous worship place pale in comparison! They will be in and remain in my prayers.
God bless them all!

there just might be other people in the upstate who would be happy to join with the the people in Spartenburg if the location were central...the note..of choosing a location which will promote growth is worth noting

We hear regularly about whole entities such as the DofSJ, groups of parishes and individual parishes who have left TEC.  I would be willing to bet that at least an equivalent number of people have left TEC parishes in ones, twos & threes - and we almost never hear about them.  I am one of these, who conscience has made it impossible for me to stay in a TEC parish which simply cannot make up its corporate mind what to do - and so does nothing.  I want to find a safe place to worship as an Anglican, but despite the kind suggestions above, I cannot find any such at a reasonable distance from where I live.  At the very least, I would hope that orthodox bishops would consider those like myself (and I believe there are many thousands of us)who are now disenfranchised and ask what they can do to provide new spiritual homes for us.

Angliscot (#20),

I’m sure you are right that there are multitudes of people like you who have left TEC virtually by themselves and now find themselves terribly isolated and alone.  I’m sorry. 

That is a terrible and impossible state of affairs.  The Christian life is of a kind where real fellowship and accountability are absolutely essential.  We simply can’t make it on our own.

I don’t have any solutions to offer.  All I can say is that I think the number of people like you out there is “Legion,” so to speak.  My guess is that there are probably even more ex-TEC members who have left by themnselves than have done so along with a recognizable group.  And they are scattering, and going in all directions in their urgent search for support and a new church home.  And there may be some in your area.  You just may not know about them.

That’s why we need lots of forms of networking.  A lot more than we have currently.  Maybe some person with a bright idea of how to foster it, and a fire in the belly to pull it off, will feel the call to help develop more such conservative Anglican personal networks and more networking events and forums.  The need is great.

David Handy+

Bretheren, we really can’t plant a church--except maybe six feet under!  Really, it is the Holy Spirit that plants a church.  The membership will probably be recycled Episcopalians and hopefully new converts.  There must be an effective evangelistic program, but even though all of us must be able to witness, there is a special gift in certain individuals or ministers who are really good at it.  This underscores that if the Holy Spirit is planting a church then He will provide the talented people as leaders to do the job.  Now any group planning to “hive off” needs to determine what their group will offer that is not already availabel in the numerous churches that are already present in the community.  From a practical side, churches grow in areas that are growing.  New houses and an influx of new residents will lead to all churches and other endeavors to prosper in that area.  It is an uphill task in a stable community or one that is declining.  Being a small or nongrowing church in these areas may be all that can be expected.  In the secular world about eighty-five percent of new small businesses fold in the first year.  This is due to undercapitlization, poor leadership, or no business plan, budget, market research and general lack of planning.  If you are being led into a new church start then have at it, trusting the Lord, working hard and expecting many disappointments and setbacks.  If the Lord is in it, it will ultimately succeed.  Oh and also, the Devil doesn’t fight fair.  IMHO

Prophet Micaiah (#22),

I mostly agree with you.  But while the conventional wisdom is that the best place to start new churches is in new housing areas, experience shows that the real situation is far more complex than that.  That is, yes, booming new suburban developemnts are indeed prime areas for launching new churches.  But on the flip side, the competition is also intense, since many denomincations will be interested in starting new churches there too.

OTOH, what really matters isn’t the population growth rate so much as the mobility of the inhabitants.  That is, a county where the total population is stable or even slightly declining could be a better area for church planting than a rapidly growing area, if there is acutally more turnover going on.  That is, let’s say a stable county or area with 50,000 people has 10,000 new residents move in each year, while 10,000 residents move out. That may still be a more promising area for a church plant than a new major suburban area that has only 20,000 people now and is picking up just 5,000 people a year. 

But of course, the availability of land for a new church is also a major consideration.  That’ probably the biggest reason why starting churches in new growth areas is so popular; there is still virgin land available.

My point is that there is a lot more potential for starting new churches in many places than most people think.  After all, “the harvest is plentiful, but the church planters are few.” And that’s our real problem.  The gift and skill set needed for being a successful church planter is very different than what long-established churches require.  The Lutherans (ELCA) estimate that only 7% of their pastors have what it takes to be successful church planters, the entrepeneurial spirit etc.  I think it may be even less in TEC.  And that’s our real problem.

Not to mention the fact that during the late 1960s and up through the mid 1980s TEC, like other “mainline” denominations, basically got out of the church planting business, because we focused on social justice matters.  There are many TEC dioceses that didn’t start but one or two new churches in about 20-25 years, from 1965 to 1990.  And so we have to relearn how to do it.

As Peter Wagner, the church growth guru at Fuller Seminary loves to say, “It’s easier to have babies, than to raise the dead.  And a whole lot more fun.” I agree.

David Handy+

David Handy+

Hi NRA+

I appreciate your comments on this thread. 

My point is that there is a lot more potential for starting new churches in many places than most people think.  After all, “the harvest is plentiful, but the church planters are few.” And that’s our real problem.  The gift and skill set needed for being a successful church planter is very different than what long-established churches require.  The Lutherans (ELCA) estimate that only 7% of their pastors have what it takes to be successful church planters, the entrepeneurial spirit etc.  I think it may be even less in TEC.  And that’s our real problem.

One OPC church planter told me once that a parish that is in the process of organization, needs to have its leaders meet daily for prayer… before the first ad is put in the community newspaper.  Based on my other conversations with him, it’s clear to me that there is a lot more “stuff” that goes into planting a church, than daily corporate prayer, too. 

RE:  The competition involved in surburban church planting .. yeah, I’ve noticed that, too.  There are so many opportunities in inner-cities that seem to go overlooked, sometimes because the day-to-day concerns of one parish sort of drown out everything else; but quite often otoh, it seems like the preference is to have one more parish in the ‘burbs. 

I know of one AMiA parish that is part of a co-op of sorts - one Sunday per month, in the early afternoon, the rector and some parishoners go out and host a meal and have worship at a spot in a run-down neighborhood.  The remaining Sundays, other churches come in and do the same, when it is their turn. 

But it doesn’t even have to be a parish plant - it could simply be a day-care ministry, or a neighborhood watch ministry, or an after-school program.  Lots of possibilities. 

The pastor at my last church makes it a point to have about one mission trip per year.  He takes a lot of laity along.  Part of the point of it, is to get people thinking about missionary opportunities around them.

Thanks, Moot (#24),

I appreciate your thoughts on this too.  You are right that having an outward-directed mission mindset is crucial.  Alas, all human institutions, including the church, tend to fall into the trap of becoming self-centered.  It’s the natural, normal, predictable pattern for long-established churches to focus on the care of their current members and loving one another, rather than on reaching out to those outside the fold.  And that happens in ALL denominations, even the most evangelical ones.  That’s one of many reasons why the planting of new churches is absolutely essential for sustained, steady church growth and for fulfilling the Great Commission.  Put another way, it usually takes new churches to reach new generations or new immigrant groups or other new cultural groups.  It takes all kinds of churches to reach all kinds of people.

David Handy+

Getting everyone on the same page conceptually is sooo important at the beginning, and should be reinforced periodically.  If you don’t do the groundwork properly, just wait until you announce a proposed location away from your old church, or a more visitor friendly service format, or begin to make the difficult trade-offs at new church construction time.  Not everyone leaves a church for the same (or right) reasons, so it is a mistake to assume that everyone leaving is on the same page. The first few months after departure is a great teaching time.

Last time visiting my daughter near Richmond, I had to listen to a homily by her Episcopal rector that spoke to the issue of the “schism” in a manner somewhat unfavorable to those who have separated that caused me to email a very kind, but precise letter as to why I had to leave TEC.  Now that I know about Eternity Anglican, I will make you all my place of worship the next time down and thereafter.  Thanks for the tip, David Handy+.

Petra (#27),

You’re welcome.  We have a website you can visit, http://www.eternityanglican.com to get some impression of the church.  Our address is 1900 Chamberlayne Ave., only a short distance north of I-95 in central Richmond. 

David Handy+

FYI - The Anglican Initiative for Mission, http://www.theanglicaninitiative.org is hosting the Anglican School of Church Planting May 24 - June 8th at Christ Church, Plano. It may be that this event is booked full, but the curriculum is definitely worth looking into.

"It was a dark and stormy morning” in Columbia Sunday as an ominous weather-front came through. I wonder how it was at St. Christophers in Spartanburg with the Bishop presiding. He appealed to upstate churches for reinforcements in the pews. Of course, the story will be how many keep showing up and whether they can make a go of it. It is very sad that a good and lively congregation has been broken, largely by the agenda of the national Episcopal leaders on homosexuality.

The folks in Spartanburg might want to contact http://www.christchurchmidland.org and their former rector, Jon Stasney. They left ‘peacefully’ and never looked back. They now have a thriving, vibrant parish forcused on ministry & mission w/o the yoke of TEC which caused them much consternation and distraction prior to their departure.A good blueprint for those in similar circumstances.