Ask yourself this question? How many homeless people do you know personally? I'm not talking about the ones you ignore on your commute or see on occasional forays into the city. How many do you know by name? With how many have you had a conversation lasting more than the 5 seconds it took to say "no" when asked for a quarter? To be honest, before moving back into Philadelphia, I knew none. My suburban townhouse was situated in a quiet development of neatly manicured homes. I saw some homeless people, not in my neighborhood mind you, but occasionally would drive by someone who appeared to be down and out.

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Missional churches are not necessarily anti-traditional. We gladly submit to apostolic Tradition and find value in many traditions of the the Church throughout the centuries. Problems arise when churches of any tradition expect  other churches, even churches they help plant, to hold to the same traditions it took years for the traditional churches to develop. All churches develop their own traditions but they cannot be imposed on other churches as if there is one way to do church. If you were to step inside our church plant you would find a blend of ancient and contemporary. For example, we sing both hymns and contemporary music.  We are not avant-garde and don't use the latest technology although we recognize its benefits when used well. We recite the Lord's Prayer or  Apostles' Creed. We observe the Lord's Supper weekly but don't say that all churches must/should do this. We move purposely from Praise to Confession to Thanksgiving to Intercessory Prayer to Proclamation to Celebration. Anyone who listens to our audio on our church website will hear preaching that is anything but seeker-driven, moralistic, or pragmatic. We are not here to entertain. We are not preoccupied with the worship wars and issues which confront many established churches. We are here to preach Christ and Him crucified.

Last October I was standing in my garage in our suburban home packing boxes getting ready to move to Philadelphia. I received a call from my brother John who had recently moved back into the city. He told me someone wanted to speak with me. The voice on the other end said, "Do you remember Peter R"?  John met Peter after moving into Powelton Village, a West Philadelphia neighborhood. He told Peter where our family was originally from in the city and gave Peter a business card. When Peter saw the name "Davis" he asked John if he knew a Stevie Davis (yeh, I was little Stevie Davis). When John told him I was his brother, Peter said (and here I paraphrase his language), "You're kidding me. Your brother really messed me up." John asked Peter what he meant by "messed him up." Peter related that I used to sell him heroin and one day he came to my house to buy. I told him that I wasn’t dealing anymore because as Peter remembers it, "I found Jesus."

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I have read a number of critiques of the “missional” church planting model. An upcoming conference this month hopefully will shed some light on defining and critiquing this model. I haven't seen "the" missional model. Neither has anyone else. There are multiple understandings and practical outworkings of missional. My concern is that this might be an academic exercise from a monochromatic perspective. It’s interesting to me how different missional looks between practitioners and academicians. I would hope there would be a fair treatment of the subject, not just this is bad and we need to expose it and avoid it.

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Our first year back in Philadelphia, the city of my birth, has been interesting in many ways – some unexpected. During the summer I applied to the Census Bureau for a temporary position for a little money on the side and to meet people in our community. I took and passed the test (really) but was requested to send in a copy of my fingerprints since the FBI had flagged me. Soon after I was notified that I was "deemed ineligible" for federal employment. Past arrests had caught up to me.

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In an earlier post I mentioned reading books and listening to guys who have actually planted churches. By no means do I wish to disparage those who contribute to the formation of church planters in ways that I could not. I am a strong proponent of seminary training and took courses in church planting from men I admire and learned from.

One of those men was Dr. E. R. Jordan, now with the Lord, who as founder and  pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Lansdale, PA was deeply committed to church planting.It was under his ministry that my wife and I planted our first church in Philadelphia in 1982, now called Living Hope Church. I learned much in the classroom but it was nothing compared to what I learned from him.  Much of what I learned was during casual times at breakfast (He always said, "You pray, I pay") or on the phone when I needed advice. He never hovered over the church plant but let me know he was only a phone call away. If you are thinking about church planting have someone you can learn from, pray with, go to when you need help. Believe me, you will need help.

Prospective church planters in college or seminary who spend their time in an established church miss out on many aspects of ministry. They should consider working with a church which more closely parallels the ministry they will be involved with.

While in seminary back in the late 70s and early 80s I had the opportunity to be part of a church plant in the Philadelphia suburbs. My brother John started the church in 1975 right out of college. He would be the first to say that he was not prepared for church planting and pastoring at that time and did seminary while pastoring. I was part of this new church for 4 years while in seminary at Calvary Baptist Seminary and was able to gain invaluable experience. At different times I served as deacon, Sunday School superintendent, did door-to-door evangelism and visitor follow-up. My wife and I worked in children's church and youth ministry. We lived the struggles of a young church. The church moved several times before settling in permanent facilities.

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Normally I would not run a 5k on Sunday, or any other day. At 55 years old my running days are few and my walking days many. On Sunday I do not care to have other distractions in preparing to worship with God's people. That takes precedence over everything.

It is true that the world has crammed countless activities into Sunday. This is one indication that Christianity and churches are more and more on the margins of society. This is one way of understanding the idea of "missional" which has been applied, misused, and misunderstood in countless ways. The church, that is God's people, is God's mission in the world. As God sent His Son into the world, as Father and Son sent the Holy Spirit into the world, so Father, Son, and Holy Spirit send the Church into the world. The church is on mission daily and not only when gathered on Sunday. God's people are in the world, in their communities, in the lives of unbelievers – for the gospel's sake, to make Christ known, to be a visible expression of God's power and proclamation.

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Church planters need more than classroom instruction. If you are presently in college or seminary and taking church planting or missions-related courses, ask yourself this question. Has my professor ever planted a church? Does he have any experience in actually starting a church from scatch or with a core group and seeing God raise up a church? If not, although you might learn a great deal of theory which has its place, don't settle for theory and textbook learning. Find a church plant and place yourself under the leadership. Ask questions. Get as much experience in as many areas as possible.  Put out signs, clean up after the Lord's Supper, spend time with the leadership team, arrange chairs, become part of a small group, etc. Come to think of it. Why not come to Philadelphia and and be part of a new church plant?

          After planting a church in Philadelphia in 1982, my wife and I with children went to France in 1988 to work with a French national to plant churches. One of my mistakes was thinking that since I had planted a church in Philadelphia that I knew something about planting churches in France. I thought I had much to offer but forgot that I had much to learn. 

          I’m careful in listening to church planting experts who have never planted a church. Not that they don’t have some good and helpful things to say but much remains in the realm of the theoretical. Ask yourself – has this guy ever planted a church? I enjoy listening to church planters, hearing their stories, and can relate to their challenges, disappointments, and dependence on Christ to build his Church.

          Most church planters will tell you that they are not experts. Most of them do not write books (or blogs). Are you interested in church planting? Read some good books (Hesselgrave, Stetzer, Malphurs, etc.) but don’t forget to talk to guys who are planting churches now. There are some things you can’t learn from a book or in a classroom. Speak with us or visit with us at Grace Church. We have some young guys working with us who have a heart for urban ministry We’re not experts, still have much to learn, but do have something to pass on. It won’t guarantee success. It may guarantee failure in man’s eyes. But it will not leave you indifferent.