Imagine being on a first date with someone who spent the whole evening emphasizing a love for Mario Brothers. Imagine being served by a chef who emphasizes how good a store-brand steak sauce is. Or imagine riding with a helicopter pilot who emphasizes how new he is to flying.
Emphasis matters.
When it came to making disciples and planting churches, Jesus or Paul never emphasized being entrepreneurial. It’s true, they believe hell is real and that making disciples and planting churches is desperately urgent. Yet this never led them to highlight industriousness or creativity for church planters. Instead, they emphasized character (1 Tim. 3:1–7, Titus 1:5–8), conviction (1 Tim. 4:1–4, Titus 1:9), and capability (1 Tim. 3:2) for church planters. They underlined the need for men who taught the gospel faithfully and embodied that message in their daily lives.
They emphasized character, capability, and conviction because they knew a few things we tend to forget. They knew that the devil prowled and was powerful. They knew that the spirit was willing but the flesh was weak. And they knew the world was enticing.
The first church planters knew, as Jesus taught, that several kinds of soils produce people who profess faith in Christ but bear no fruit.
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