On church planting

We thank God for the wonderful privilege for the opportunity to serve as part of a church planting team in a growing township in Malaysia. The process of planning and planting a new congregation, a new community of God's people (or "City within the City", to borrow Tim Keller's terminology) has been for us thoroughly exciting ... and yet, terribly confusing at the same time.

The words of Mark Dever proves helpful in encouraging us to stay the course, to keep our focus on what we're really on about:

"In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe (Heb 1:1-2)"

Living as we do after the Fall but before the Heavenly City, we are in a time when faith is central, and so the Word must be central - because God's Holy Spirit creates His people by His Word! We can create a people by other means, and this is the great temptation of churches. We can created a people around a certain ethnicity. We can create a people around a fully-graded choir program. We can find people who get excited about a building project or a denomination identity. We can create a people around a series of care groups, where each feels loved and cared for. We can create a people around a community service project. We can create a people around social opportunities for young mothers or Caribbean cruises for singles. We can create a people around men's groups. We can even create a people around the personality of a preacher. And God can surely use all of these things. But in the final analysis the people of God, the church of God, can only be created around the Word of God.

Asked about his accomplishments as a Reformer, Martin Luther said, "I simply taught, preached, wrote God's Word: otherwise I did nothing ... The Word did it all." The Word of God brings life.

Quoted from Mark Dever, "Expositional Preaching" in Nine Marks of a Healthy Church (Crossway).