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 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. © 1993 Sean P. Harry ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 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 CYVgj^ Q ja a afa^-20, CLUi§ Date Dean Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 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 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 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. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 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 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 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 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 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 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. C. A Model for Discourse 127 D. Conference Materials 130 Bibliography..................... 153 vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 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. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.