Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Factors Of Survivability Of Church Plants In The Tarrant, Collin, North Texas, And Denton Baptist Associations, Aaron James Meraz Sr.

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

When I planted Bridgeway Baptist Church, McKinney, Texas, in October 2005, my association put me in contact with two recently deceased church plants to get some of their materials to use in our church. I talked with the two pastors and asked them why their churches died, hoping I could avoid their destiny. Though both churches made it past their fourth birthday, the pastors said that they needed more time to give to the church, a team member, and more financial support. I began looking into the survivability of church plants and, thanks to my church planting colloquium, was able …

Book Review: Strategies For Change, Jeff Mansell

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Simple Church: Returning To God’S Process For Making Disciples, Bob Beaver

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Planting New Churches In A Postmodern Age, Daryl Thompson

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

No abstract provided.

The State Of Church Planting In The United States: Research Overview And Qualitative Study Of Primary Church Planting Entities, Edward Stetzer, Warren Bird

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

The launching of new Protestant churches in the United States, widely known as church planting, plays an increasing role in today's ecclesiastical landscape. This article summarizes salient findings from existing literature (multiple church planting studies, 54 doctoral dissertations, 41 journal articles, and over 100 church planting books and manuals), giving particular attention to a 2007 study by Leadership Network, which itself involved fresh research among more than 200 church-planting churches, over 100 leaders from 40 denominations, 45 church planting networks, 84 organic church leaders, 12 nationally known experts, and 81 colleges and seminaries. The Leadership Network findings review the contributions …

Changing Perspectives On Leadership During Four Decades, Eddie Gibbs

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

The significance of leadership for the growth of the church has been a constant focus of attention throughout the history of the Church Growth movement in North America during the past four decades. During that time, different aspects of leadership have been explored in response to the challenges and pressures encountered by leaders. Increasing pressures have resulted in heightened levels of stress.

Using Markov Chain Simulation To Measure The Eternal Impact Of Personal Evangelism,, Charles H. Reilly

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

All Christians have been commanded by Jesus Christ to share the Gospel message with unbelievers so that they too may be saved. However, few Christians regularly share the Gospel with non-Christians, and there are eternal consequences to this disobedience for everyone. A Markov chain model is proposed for estimating over time the proportions of persons who are saved and receive eternal life in heaven and who are condemned to hell. An evaluation and an analysis of the model are presented. Simulation results for the model indicate that a moderate increase in present personal evangelism efforts will result in only modestly …

Introduction, Gary L. Mcintosh

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

For the past fourteen years, it has been my privilege to edit the Journal of the American Society for Church Growth. John Vaughan’s vision of seeing a new journal devoted to Great Commission research became a reality when the first issue was released in 1990. He edited the first four years, and I followed him as editor in 1995. My two major goals were to publish on a regular time schedule, and to move to multiple issues per year. Both of those goals were accomplished in 1997 when we first began publishing three issues per year. Now, after editing thirty-seven …

The Art Of Vision Casting For Church Multiplication, J. D. Payne

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

“A plan in the heart of man is like deep water, but a man of understanding draws it out.” Proverbs 20:5 (NASB). The writer of the above verse reminds us of the importance of having knowledge in regard to moving one’s plans out of the deep recesses of the heart to the surface to where those plans can be carried out. This proverb has much to say about casting a vision for multiplication. Casting, or drawing out that vision from the heart so that others will take ownership of that vision and work to carry it out, requires a discerning …

Book Review: Breakout Churches: Discover How To Make The Leap, Gordon Penfold

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

No abstract provided.

Book Review: The Living Church – Convictions Of A Lifelong Pastor, Roger Trautmann

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

No abstract provided.

Book Review: The Myth Of The 200 Barrier, Phil Stevenson

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

No abstract provided.

Remembering Bill Sullivan, Gary L. Mcintosh

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

One of the founding members of the American Society for Church, Bill M. Sullivan, passed away on June 23, 2007. Bill’s passion for church planting and evangelism made him a beloved leader in the Church Growth Movement.

Understanding Church Size Based On Empirical Data, Bill M. Sullivan

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

One of the most remarkable graphs I have ever seen was developed by ANSR’s own Rich Houseal. While he was serving as president of ASARB he was able to acquire, from five other denominational statisticians, the church attendance data for their respective churches. Attendance data has only been collected in recent years and has not been readily available. Of course, actual report data is more desirable than survey data. It may not be 100% accurate but it is generally consistent and reliable. Most denominations have standard reporting procedures which over time have produced an acceptable level of reliability.

Church Conflict/Church Growth, Thomas Hammond, Steve Wilkes

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

Sadly, conflict is a common occurrence in congregations of every denomination across America. It happens to traditional, blended, and contemporary churches for a variety of reasons, with the capacity to reach extreme levels of intensity. Its impact on a congregation can be devastating. Relationships are damaged, friendships strained, and many decide to stop attending. The church's ministry and evangelism efforts are usually brought to a standstill, leaving a divided fellowship that has taken its eyes off the harvest and has become distracted from fulfilling the Great Commission.

A Glimpse Into The Missional House Churches Of America, J. D. Payne

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

Discussions of house churches in western contexts have been increasing over the last decade. Though one can speculate as to the reason for the interest and growth in this particular expression of the Body of Christ, few have attempted to study the present realities. For some time I heard of these simple expressions of the Church in countries throughout the world, but wondered if there were such churches in the United States that were evangelistic and involved in church planting. I wanted to know if there were more to house churches than the stereotypical small group of disgruntled believers huddling …

Book Review: Growth By Accident, Death By Planning: How Not To Kill A Growing Congregation, Darrell Lamos

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

No abstract provided.

Shall We Reinvent Our 100 Year Old Denomination? Surveying Organizational Models, Kenneth Crow, Richard Houseal, Stan Ingersol, Dale Jones

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

David Moberg has described the life cycle of religious organizations in The Church as a Social Institution. His model suggests five predictable stages. FIGURE 1 In the beginning of the ascending curve there is a phase of incipient organization characterized by a negative reaction to existing churches, emotional enthusiasm for the new church, and diffused leadership. Second, as the age and effectiveness of the organization increase, there is a phase of formal organization characterized by membership commitments, specification of goals, symbolic separation from the larger society, and a gradual move from charismatic leaders to rational or bureaucratic leaders. Third, as …

The God-Equipped Magnificent Obsession: A Christ-Centered And Values-Based Strategic Intent, Allen H. Quist

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

It was the first-century believers’ Christ-centered core values that drove their evangelism behavior. Core values still drive the behavior of present day believers. For present day followers of Christ to maximize the work of Christ’s Great Commission, Christians need Christcentered core values held at an obsessive level, plus God’s preparation and provision. Believers making up the first-century church, engaged their world through touch points of their time; the Roman political system providing relatively safe travel and quality roads, the widely-used Greek language, and scattered post-Pentecost new Christian believers. Today’s Christians need to engage our world through the touch points of …

The Impact Of Donald A. Mcgavran’S Church Growth Missiology On The Church Of The Nazarene, Gary L. Mcintosh

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

On February 23, 2004 I interviewed Bill Sullivan by phone regarding the development of the Church Growth Movement in the Church of the Nazarene. The interview was recorded, transcribed, and then sent to Dr. Sullivan for his review. After receiving his edits, I wrote the following history of how Donald A. McGavran’s Church Growth missiology impacted the Church of the Nazarene. As the reader will discover, Bill Sullivan was the primary architect of translating Church Growth theory into action within this denomination.

Misperceiving The Real Reasons For Non-Attendance, Attribution Theory, Peter Burch

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

My wife Holly and I arrived at Vista Del Mar Baptist Church (VDMBC) in Pacifica, California, a suburb of San Francisco, just three weeks shy of Easter in the year 2000. VDMBC began in the garage of a tract home in the 1950s. After two decades of consistent growth, the congregation dedicated an attractive 200-seat sanctuary in 1976. Regrettably, the next two decades brought consistent decline and, when I arrived as the new pastor in 2000, the church had returned to a garage-sized congregation. Having no staff to direct, secretary to talk to, or walls to paint, I decided to …

Book Review: A Second Resurrection: Leading Your Congregation To New Life, Randy M. Keeley

Journal of the American Society for Church Growth

No abstract provided.

The Preaching Ministry, P. Raniero Cantalamessa

The Asbury Journal

Raniero Cantalamessa is a Franciscan Capuchin Catholic Priest. Born in Ascoli Piceno, Italy, 22 July 1934, ordained priest in 1958. Divinity Doctor and Doctor in classical literature. Former Ordinary Professor of History of Ancient Christianity and Director of the Department of religious sciences at the Catholic University of Milan. Member of the International Theological Commission. In 1979 he resigned his teaching position to become a full time preacher of the Gospel. In 1980 he was appointed by Pope John Paul II Preacher to the Papal Household in which capacity he still serves, preaching a weekly sermon in Advent and Lent …

Spreading Scriptural Holiness: Theology And Practices Of Early Methodism For The Contemporary Church, Laceye Warner

The Asbury Journal

The early Methodist movement-above all else-was evangelistic. However, the contemporary language of mission and evangelism with which we are familiar was not in use during the 18th century. In the "Large" Minutes, John Wesley summarized his understanding of Methodism's purpose: "What may we reasonably believe to be God's design in raising up the Preachers called Methodists? A. To reform the nation and, in particular, the Church; to spread scriptural holiness over the land." The early Methodist movement offers resources to local congregations among Protestant denominations in the contemporary North American context preoccupied with a shallow connotation of evangelism as merely …

Book Notes, Kenneth J. Collins

The Asbury Journal

A Century of Holiness Theology: The Doctrine of Entire Sanctification in the Church of the Nazarene 1905 to 2004
Mark R. Quanstrom
2004. 232 pp.,paper, $29.99
Kansas City, Missouri; Beacon Hill Press

John Wesley's Moral Theology: The Quest for God and Goodness
D. Stephen Long
2005. 257 pp., paper, $34.00
Nashville: Abingdon Press

Methodist Theology Today
Clive Marsh, Brian Beck, Angela Shier-Jones, and Helen Wareing, eds.
2004. 256 pp., paper, $21.95
New York London: Continuum

The "Way Of Salvation" And The Methodist Ethos Beyond John Wesley: A Study In Formal Consensus And Popular Reception, Ted A. Campbell

The Asbury Journal

It has been well documented that the "way of salvation" was central to John Wesley's thought. But how did Methodists in the nineteenth century express a theology and spirituality of the way of salvation? This article examines formal doctrinal materials from Methodist churches (including catechisms, doctrinal statements, and hymnals) and the testimonies of Methodist men and women to discern how teachings about the way of salvation were transmitted after the time of John and Charles Wesley. Based on these doctrinal works and personal testimonies, the article shows a consistent pattern in Methodist teaching and experience involving a) conviction of sin, …

The Sense Of The Scripture: Re-Examined In Light Of Philosophical Hermeneutics And Recent Literary Approaches, Marcel Dumais, David R. Bauer Translator

The Asbury Journal

In the context of romanticism in which scientific exegesis emerged in the

nineteenth century, the psychological interpretation proposed by Schleiermacher and the positivistic postulates that characterized the theory of understanding set forth by Dilthey have influenced the concept of the literal sense of the Bible, conceived as "the sense intended by the author." But hermeneutics has undergone a decisive shift under the influence of the phenomenology of knowledge. The intrinsic and cyclic relationship between the object known and the knowing subject, explored by Heidegger, has been taken up and developed by Bultmann (preunderstanding), Gadamer (appurtenance/fusion of horizons), and Ricoeur (distanciation, …

John Wesley In Conversation With The Emerging Church, Patrick S. Franklin

The Asbury Journal

As the Emerging Church is one of the most significant developments in current popular Western ecclesiology, it is important that it be engaged theologically. As part of this engagement, this paper brings the Emerging Church into a constructive dialogue with John Wesley, a theologian who shared similar passions and faced comparable challenges. It maintains that Wesley would applaud the spirit and creativity of the Emerging Church, especially its mission to reach contemporary seekers and its desire to recapture an ancient-future faith. However, he would also challenge some potentially harmful tendencies and exhort the Emerging Church toward maturity in these areas. …

Unintended Outcomes, Curious Inventions & Misshapen Creatures: Juxtapositions Of Religious Belief And Faith-Formed Practice & The Renewed Case For The Educational Mission Of The Church, Mark A. Lamport

The Asbury Journal

Christianity is fundamentally a peculiar way of life. Christian initiation is the process a person goes through within a Christian community of being formed and transformed into a new being, modeled after the likeness of Christ. Yet, two facts need faced. First, after almost two thousand years after the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the vast majority of the world's population has not accepted the Gospel. Second, after almost two thousand years of performing baptisms in the church, the lives of the baptized are not significantly different than the lives of the non-baptized. Fact two explains fact one, but …

Journal In Entirety

The Asbury Journal

The "Way of Salvation" and the Methodist Ethos Beyond
Ted A. Campbell

The Preaching Ministry' The Content of Christian Preaching
R. Raniero Cantalamessa

The Sense of Scripture: Re-Examined in Light of Philosophical Hermeneutics and Recent Literay Approaches
Marcel Dumais (Translation by David Bauer)

John Wesley in Conversation wit the Emerging Church
Patrick S. Franklin

Unintended Outcomes, Curious Inventions, and Misshapen Creatures: Juxtapositions of Religious Belief and Faith-Formed Practice and the Renewed Case of the Educational Mission of the Church
Mark A. Lamport

Spreading Scriptural Holiness: Theology and Practices of Early Methodism for the Contemporary Church
Laceye Warner

Features

Book Notes …