Winning the World

144 Wi nn i ng the Wor l d: Fac i l i tat i ng Urban Chur ch P l ant i ng Movement s

4. Deepening our perspective and practice: We must affirm the role of all believers as gifted ministers of the Lord as well as acknowledge the need for all churches to be under the authority and guidance of strong, apostolic leaders who can protect, serve, and resource the body for the work of the ministry.

E. Complimentary Concept Five: indigenous leadership as primary alongside cross-cultural missionary facilitation

1. Key text: Rom. 15.15-16 (ESV) – But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God [16] to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God , so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 2. Definition of the pair: We must strive to see how indigenous leadership must be at the heart and center of all legitimate missional work, while, at the same time, recognize the critical place that God-called cross cultural missionaries can play in igniting church planting movements among the poor. 3. Description of the problem: the tendency to define legitimate spiritual effort and energy only in terms of indigenously led and focused work or expand to the point of interference and creating barriers by the role of outside cross-cultural workers to ignite church planting movements 4. Deepening our perspective and practice: Recognize the critical role for indigenous leaders to create and sustain urban church plant movements while at the same time affirming the limited but absolutely necessarily input of cross cultural missionaries to multiply such movements throughout a region or area.