This week's chapter focused on the "how" of planting churches. Before reading the chapter I forced myself to try and think of as many ways to plant a church as I could. All that I came up with were essentially the "mother/daughter" and the "mission team" methods. I know that I know about other methods and have heard of them being used but for some reason they don't jump to mind readily.
I appreciate that Murray took the time to review the pros and cons of the "mother/daughter" theory because it is so prominently used within Western Christian communities. I think that he accurately assessed it. I have found that often churches are so eager to be "in" on the church planting movement that they tend to try and be ignorant of the negative sides of mother/daughter planting. They don't seek the experience of the many church planters that have planted before them, but rather just rely on their own resources. This tends to lead to the problem of cloning where the "daughter" can become just a mini-copy of the "mother" which totally negates the missional aspect of church planting. Rather than making carbon-copy of the "mother", a church plant is supposed to meet the needs of the new community in a way that the mother church could not.
At first I was taken aback by Murray's suggestion that persecution is a form of division church planting. However, after considering it for a bit I came to realize that his insight is indeed truthful and accurate. I was reminded of the first church in the book of Acts chapter 8 verse 1: "On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria." Even though the church was forced out of their comfort zones and their home, God used this to spread the gospel: "Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went" (Acts 8:4). It is encouragement that God can take even the most daunting situations and bring good from them for the glory of His kingdom.
I am really liking this book and how Murray details his insights with accuracy and evident research and experience. He is fair in his approach, showing both the positive and negative side of each idea.
J.Wideman
