Four Connections

Saw this by Steve McCoy - Keller on Church: Four Fronts & Three Goals - summarizing some points from Keller's book Center Church. 

In Tim Keller's book, Center Church, he discusses four ministry fronts...

1. Connecting People to God (through evangelism and worship)
2. Connecting People to One Another (through community and discipleship)
3. Connecting People to the City (through mercy and justice)
4. Connecting People to the Culture (through the integration of faith and work)

Center Church, pg 293

In the same section Keller explains three goals of ministry and their comprehensive scope as taught by Edmund Clowney...

"In his biblical-theological work on the church, Clowney speaks of the biblical "goals of ministry" as threefold: (1) we are called to minister and serve God through worship (Rom 15:8-16; 1 Pet 2:9); (2) we are to minister and serve one another through Christian nurture (Eph 4:12-26); and (3) we are to minister and serve the world through witness (Matt 28:18-20; Luke 24:28; Acts 5:32)."

Center Church, pg 294

Interesting stuff to think about.

Center Church - A Model for Ministry

Tim Keller has a new book coming out this week - Center Church.



Above is the trailer for the book. Here's a synopsis:

In Center Church, Timothy Keller offers challenging insights and provocative questions based on over twenty years of ministry in New York City. This book outlines a theological vision for ministry—based on classic doctrines but rethinking our assumptions about church for our time and place—organized around three core commitments:Gospel-centered: The gospel of grace in Jesus Christ changes everything, from our hearts to our community to the world. It completely reshapes the content, tone and strategy of all that we do.City-centered: Cities increasingly influence our global culture and affect the way we do ministry. With a positive approach toward our culture, we learn to affirm that cities are wonderful, strategic and underserved places for gospel ministry.Movement-centered: Instead of building our own tribe, we seek the prosperity and peace of our community as we are led by the Holy Spirit.

An Introvert's Role Model

You never know who God might choose to use!

"For instance, one middle-aged candidate didn't pass his denomination's assessment process; they thought he was too introverted and couldn't engage unchurched people. (They also rated him as a 'mediocre preacher'.) Upon further prayer and conversation, they revised that decision. He went on to plant a thriving church in the northeast. Today this pastor has launched an entire network of dynamic new church starts. That's the story of the introverted, bookish, 'mediocre preacher' named Tim Keller [pastor of the 5,000+ Redeemer in NYC]."

-Matthew Woodly, "A Calling Confirmed", Leadership Journal

There's hope for us bookish introverts!

Hat Tip: bob.blog: Who should plant a church?

More on Tim Keller

Multiple Site Churches: Yea or Nay?

To Multi-Site, or not to multi-site? That is the question!

Here's a discussion on that topic by Mark Driscoll, James MacDonald (pro) and Mark Dever (con) - Multiple Sites: Yea or Nay? – The Gospel Coalition Blog

Multiple Sites: Yea or Nay? Dever, Driscoll, and MacDonald Vote from Ben Peays on Vimeo.

Mark Driscoll and James MacDonald have employed a multiple-site strategy at their growing churches. Mark Dever holds only one service at Capitol Hill Baptist Church. How do these three pastors justify their contrasting positions biblically? Watch Driscoll and MacDonald seek to convince Dever to go multisite as he asks them pointed questions about the wisdom of their churches’ approach.

More resources on the Mult-Site decision from the Gospel Coalition.
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Don’t Misunderstand the Ancient-Future Path

I am interested in the concept of combining historical liturgy, good doctrinal teaching and the experience of God's presence in Christian community.  Therefore, I was fascinated by this article by "Chaplain Mike," heir to the late Michael Spencer at the Internet Monk site.  - Don’t Misunderstand the Ancient-Future Path.  "Ancient Future" is a Robert Webber term (from the book Ancient Future Faith) for the combination of looking to the ancient heritage of Christianity and the future of ministry. Mike says:

There is no single uniform way of walking on the Ancient-Future path.

That is because “Ancient-Future” is not a formula. It is a mindset. It is a different approach, a different way of looking at what it means to follow Jesus as his church. In general, evangelicalism does not have the same That is because “Ancient-Future” is not a formula. It is a mindset. It is a different approach, a different way of looking at what it means to follow Jesus as his church. In general, evangelicalism does not have the same perspective. When people take to the Ancient-Future path, they are embracing an alternative point of view, not just certain practices.

 Read more at the link.