Seven Steps To Cloning An Elephant

Maurice’s Musings For 3-10-11

I recently came across two blog posts which piqued my curiosity and motivated me to write this post. The first post was one I found on Ed Stetzer’s “Lifeway Research Blog” (an official Southern Baptist outlet). This particular post was in response to an earlier post regarding the top 7 issues facing church planters. As I read the current post, thinking about how the author was responding to these seven issues, the thought that “popped” to mind was, “Seven Steps To Cloning An Elephant”. I have noted before in different newsletters that planing and running the modern evangelical church has become so complicated that the Apostle Paul wouldn’t be able to do it, and Jesus probably wouldn’t even recognize it. While I have great regard for those individuals who feel called and have dedicated themselves to “church planting”, I can’t help but ask, “What are you planting?”. And the advice I commonly see offered to budding “church planters” more resembles cloning instructions for producing an elephant than anything resembling the creation of a New Testament Church. Which brings me to the second blog post which grabbed my attention.

It was posted by our friend and fellow house church planter (and, like Stetzer, a Southern Baptist) Guy Muse. It was entitled “How To Start A House Church”, but I think it should have been entitled, “Two Steps To Cloning A Rabbit”. Guy’s steps were quite simple: Gather people, and make disciples. Wow! That’s simplicity that even I can understand. And the chances are quite high that, if followed, the result could be a rapidly reproducing and multiplying church planting movement. After all, biblical church planting is simply a discipleship process that leaves a church in its wake.

Isn’t it time to close down the elephant cloning project and buy a rabbit hutch?