Harry - Starting New Disciples Of Chri ( 1)

168 Pages·1993·7.4 MB·English

by  Harry, Sean Patrick

STARTING NEW DISCIPLES OF CHRIST CHURCHES ON THE
PACIFIC SLOPE DURING THE DECADE OF
DISCIPLING (1990-1999)
A Professional Project
Presented to
the Faculty of the
School of Theology at Claremont
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Ministry
by
Sean P. Harry
May 1993
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© 1993
Sean P. Harry
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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This professional project, completed by
S ean P. Harry
has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty
of the School of Theology at Claremont in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
DOCTOR OF MINISTRY
Faculty Committee
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afa^-20, CLUi§
Date Dean
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Abstract
STARTING NEW DISCIPLES OF CHRIST CHURCHES ON THE PACIFIC
SLOPE DURING THE DECADE OF DISCIPLING (1990-1999)
Sean P. Harry
In 1987 the General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
established a priority of starting 200 new congregations denomination-wide
during the 1990s (Resolution 8763). In light of limited success with the Church
Advance Now (CAN) program of the 1980s on the West Coast, Disciples are
concerned for the implementation of this priority in Pacific Slope regions.
The Board of Church Extension of the Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ), through a survey by the Church Information and Development Services
(CIDS), has selected 270 “key target areas” for new church establishment in
the 1990s. Ninety of those top 270 key target areas are located on the West
Coast. For Disciples, no other geographic region has such a large number of
key target areas. Will Disciples on the West Coast be able to meet the need to
establish a significant number of new congregations during the 1990s? The
thesis of this project is that the goal of starting a significant number of new
Disciples of Christ congregations on the West Coast in the 1990s is possible.
This project is designed to be used by Disciples of Christ leaders to help
them: (1) develop a Disciples theology of evangelism, (2) better understand the
mission of the Christian Church in the context of the West Coast, (3) explore
and adapt models for establishing new churches, and (4) develop leadership
for starting new congregations. Each chapter contains a list of questions for
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further discussion, and includes a listing of additional resources. Included in
Chapter 6 is an outline for a new church development conference. A
successful prototype conference was held in January of 1993 for the Northern
California-Nevada region.
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Acknowledgments
... no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the wine will burst the
skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new
wine into new wineskins.
Mark 2:22 (NIV)
... Jesus replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if
you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain,
'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for
you."
Matthew 17:20 (NIV)
My heartfelt thanks to all who have helped with the creation of this project:
my professors and mentors, family members, colleagues and those who
believe!
This project is dedicated to the brave and faithful leaders of this decade
who will risk their lives for the sake of the Gospel.
iii
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Table of Contents
Page
Chapter
1. The Need and Problem of Starting New Disciples of Christ
Congregations on the Pacific Slope in the 1990s...........................1
Importance of the Problem..................................................... 1
Thesis..................................................................................... 5
Definitions of Major Terms...................................................... 5
Work Previously Done in the Field.......................................... 8
Scope and Limitations of the Project...........................................11
Procedure for Integration................................................................12
Chapter Outlines.........................................................................13
For Further Discussion................................................................16
2. Historic Methods of Starting New Congregations Among
the Disciples of C hrist.........................................................................17
Historic Patterns of Starting New Congregations.......................20
Historic Methods of Starting New Congregations........................40
The Theology of Starting New Congregations...........................43
Analysis of This Study.................................................................48
For Further Discussion................................................................51
3. The Message: Towards a Disciples Theology of Evangelism for
New Church Development..................................................................53
A Biblical Exploration of the Theology of Evangelism . . . . 57
An Open Door Approach to Evangelism
(Accepting Diversity)...............................................................60
iv
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A Disciples Theology of Evangelism (or Why Start New
Churches)........................................................................... 65
Conclusion.................................................................................71
For Further Discussion...............................................................72
4. The Mission of the Disciples of Christ in the Contemporary World . . 73
The Mission Statement...............................................................74
Sociological Analysis..................................................................77
A Snapshot of the Pacific Slope.................................................81
Why The Disciples?................................................................. 88
Conclusion............................................................................... 88
For Further Discussion............................................................ 90
5. Some Successful Models of New Church ....................................... 91
How Disciples and Other Mainline Protestants
Start New Congregations.......................................................92
Seme Other Models......................................................................97
Conclusion..................................................................................104
For Further Discussion..........................................................106
6. Developing Leaders for Planting New Churches.............................107
Leadership is K ey.....................................................................109
Leadership Training..................................................................113
Conference Outline...................................................................116
Conference Report...................................................................121
Conclusion...............................................................................122
For Further Discussion.............................................................124
Appendixes
A. West Coast Yearbook Statistics from 1909-1912 ............................... 125
B. West Coast Yearbook Statistics from 1912-1990 ........................... 126
v
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C. A Model for Discourse 127
D. Conference Materials 130
Bibliography..................... 153
vi
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1
CHAPTER 1
The Need and Problem of Starting New Disciples of Christ
Congregations on the Pacific Slope in the 1990s
This project addresses the challenge of establishing new Disciples of Christ
congregations on the West Coast in the 1990s.
importance of the Problem
In 1975 the General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
adopted resolution 7569 which set as priority the establishment of 100 new
congregations during the decade of the 1980s. The Board of Church Extension
(BCE), working in cooperation with the Division of Homeland Ministries (DHM),
was given administrative responsibility for oversight of this priority. After some
study of past efforts, the BCE launched the Church Advance Now (CAN)
campaign to gather support and funding for new congregation development.
Denominationally the effectiveness of the CAN program was highly successful
with 155 new congregations having been established by January of 1988.1 On
the West Coast over thirteen new congregations were either attempted or
established by the regions of Oregon, Washington, Northern Caiifomia-Nevada,
1 Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Board of Church Extension and Division of
Homeland Ministries, New Congregation Establishment. Christian Church (Disciples of Christ!
[Handbook] (Indianapolis: Board of Church Extension, 1988), 7-9.
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