“Thinking Theologically About Church Planting” series by Dale Little

Canadian theologian Clark Pinnock has developed a theology of religions which follows the hermeneutical method of unpacking a sub-theme within Scriptures, namely God’s salvific work among the “pagans,” rather than the major plot line of God’s work of salvation in and through his chosen people.
[1] Clark H. Pinnock, “Clark Pinnock’s Response to Part 3,” in Reconstructing Theology: A Critical Assessment of the Theology of Clark Pinnock, ed. Tony Gray and Christopher Sinkinson (Carlisle, Cumbria, UK: Paternoster, 2000), 261-62.
Thus Pinnock appeals to the necessity of using peripheral and often less clear passages or personages of Scripture in order to build his case.
[2] Clark H. Pinnock, “The Finality of Jesus Christ in a World of Religions,” in Christian Faith and Practice in the Modern World: Theology from an Evangelical Point of View, ed. Mark A. Noll and David F. Wells (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988), 157-58; and Clark H. Pinnock, A Wideness in God's Mercy: The Finality of Jesus Christ in a World of Religions (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992), 22.
The resultant theology of religions is dependent upon Biblical texts which are open to varied and debatable interpretations. Read More…

“Women of the Bible” series by Ann Little
Exodus 2:1-10, Numbers 26:49, Hebrews 11:23

Moses may have been called by God to be the savior of the Israelites, but before he was able to fulfill this calling, he was saved several times by faithful women. In the last post we explored the story of the courageous midwives. If they had obeyed Pharaoh, Moses would have been killed at birth. Today let’s look at Moses’ mother, Jochebed and her courageous part in Moses’ story. Read More…

“Thinking Theologically About Church Planting” series by Dale Little

One of the tasks of churches is to engage the culture with the gospel of Jesus Christ, or perhaps better, the gospel which is Jesus Christ. The gospel engages culture when fundamental cultural values are challenged by the gospel. For instance, when it is demonstrated that personal meaning and purpose are best discovered and experienced within the kingdom of God and therefore within those microcosms of the kingdom which we call churches, the gospel has challenged the cultural understanding that personal fulfillment is found in such items as individual wealth and pleasure. The gospel is in a position to engage culture because, among other reasons, the gospel is distinguishable from culture. Churches manifest the gospel, and the God of the gospel, by clothing the gospel with community. These communities or churches therefore acquire the essence of the gospel, making them distinct from the culture and therefore able to prophetically address the culture. Read More…

“Women of the Bible” series by Ann Little

Exodus 1:8-22
During this year while we are hearing TMC sermons from Exodus, I would like to explore with you some of the hidden gems throughout the book and bring to light “the women of Exodus.” They were always willing and trusting, behind the scenes quietly obeying God. I like to think of them as God’s secret agents. Pharaoh, ruler of Egypt, was threatened by the Israelite men, but not the women. So God used these very unthreatening women to thwart Pharaoh’s evil plans. Read More…

“Thinking Theologically About Church Planting” series by Dale Little

Some contemporary evangelical theologians in the English speaking world (e.g., Newbigin, Pinnock, Yong, Tiessen) have proposed the idea that salvation’s parameters are broader than traditionally portrayed by evangelicals. However salvation is better understood as accessible through the proclamation of the gospel, with the resultant birth of churches. Read More…

“Thinking Theologically About Church Planting” series by Dale Little

It is possible there are fundamental incompatibilities between current Japanese culture and the Church of Jesus Christ birthed in Japan through the gospel. For example, vertically structured Japanese culture seems to exhibit a tendency toward leadership by control. So Japanese pastors naturally tend to lead through control, which makes the pastor central to ministry, rather than leading by empowerment, which emphasizes the significance of lay ministry sourced in spiritual gifting.

This culturally rooted controlling leadership style raises theological questions, not only about personal leadership style, but also about decision making in the local church. Congregationalism is leadership of the many. It might be emerging as the predominant decision making structure among evangelical churches in our postmodern world. It has strong Biblical support. By contrast, Japanese culture tends to push pastors toward leadership of the few or even leadership of the one. Read More…

“Women of the Bible” series by Ann Little

Of all the Marys in the New Testament, Mary Magdalene is mentioned most often. Magdala was a place name, so she was actually the Mary from Magdala. One verse offers an insight as to the reason for her devotion to Jesus: Luke 8:2 “and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out.” Jesus had healed her from a tortuous life controlled by seven demons. I cannot imagine the horror of that kind of life, nor the incredible relief, freedom and joy at being healed. No wonder we see her faithfully following after Jesus. Read More…

Summary of paper Dale presented at the Church Planting Theology Conference in March 2023 at St. John’s College, Durham University Centre for Church Planting Theology and Research (UK).

Books and articles that deal with church planting are common, but seem short on theological considerations about church planting. In general, church planting literature seems to predominantly emphasize the pragmatics of church planting such as strategies, case studies, goal setting, demographic surveys, leadership styles, cultural insights, etc. Now, this is helpful and appreciated by church planters like myself. But it would also be beneficial to see more of a focus on theological aspects of church planting. Even publications on theology of mission seem to give little attention to church planting.

Despite this apparent lack of theological reflection about church planting in the literature, implementation of church planting seems to remain a priority for cross-cultural evangelical missionaries and mission agencies as well as for in-country evangelical denominations. Given this situation, an attempt to place church planting in theological context might be a timely reminder that church planting is ultimately rooted in a theological framework.

The purpose of this paper is to suggest a hypothetical book that attempts to present church planting from a theological perspective, drawing from the fields of biblical theology, systematic theology, and missiology. Read More…

On Mar 21 Dale read a paper in England at Cranmer Hall’s Church Planting Theology Conference (Durham Univ.) titled “Thinking Theologically about Church Planting—God’s Ecclesial Mission and Ours.” Perhaps his paper will appear in a follow-up publication from the conference.

After the conference we enjoyed a week in Scotland, chasing down family roots and friends/relatives.

“Women of the Bible” series by Ann Little
(Originally written in Sep 2021, after the death of Juni)

In Luke 7:11-17 we read about a woman who at one time had both a husband and a son. In this story she had lost both and the scene we are introduced to is the funeral of her only son. All of this spells loneliness, no financial support, and the end of the family line. Read More…

“Thinking Theologically About Church Planting” series by Dale Little
(Originally written in 2004)

During one four year stretch of church planting in Japan I intentionally modeled a certain style of leadership. I thought the people in my church plant had settled nicely into the way my wife and I were “doing church.” So when our church plant called its first Japanese pastor, it was with no little surprise that we watched him easily and quickly implement a style of leadership which was diametrically opposed to ours. The people of the church seemed to take to the new leadership style like fish to water.

Even after picking ourselves up from the floor, shedding a few tears, placing some time and distance between us and the newly planted church, and gaining some perspective, we still felt like we had lost confidence in our ability to church plant in Japan. Read More…

“Women of the Bible” series by Ann Little

Luke 2:36-39
At the end of the Christmas story passage in Luke, when Mary and Joseph visit the Temple, we meet Anna the prophet. As new parents Mary and Joseph followed the law very carefully for their newborn son. At his circumcision they named him Jesus just as the angel had instructed both of them. They presented him at the temple and gave an offering. According to Jewish law, a spotless lamb was the accepted offering for the first born son. However, because Mary and Joseph were poor, two doves or pigeons were acceptable. Read More…

“Women of the Bible” series by Ann Little

Luke 1:5-25, 39-80
As we approach the Christmas season one of the women who stands out in the story is Elizabeth. There are many things I could write about her, but let’s look at three important points.

1. Elizabeth suffered the disgrace of infertility
2. Elizabeth enjoyed the blessing of a special miracle, a touch from God
3. Elizabeth became the mentor and comfort for Mary, just when she needed an ally.

Read More…

“Thinking Theologically About Church Planting” series by Dale Little

This ostensibly simple question seems to be answered in three basic ways in writings on ecclesiology.[1] Contemporary publications about the Church, by the way, appear to be on the increase.[2] Roman Catholic and Orthodox folks would hold that a church exists where the sacraments are correctly administered by qualified personnel. The broad flow of Protestants could be said to believe that a church exists where there is correct Biblically based teaching. And perhaps, to select one group of Protestants, charismatically oriented believers might hold that a church exists where the Holy Spirit is active.
[1] For an example see Lesslie Newbigin, Household of God: Lectures on the Nature of the Church (London: SCM, 1952, 1964).
[2] For a helpful but irenic introduction to various contemporary ecclessiologies see Veli-Matti Karkkainen, An Introduction to Ecclesiology: Ecumenical, Historical and Global Perspectives (Downers Grove, IVP, 2002).

There are elements of truth in all three of these answers. Read More…

“Women of the Bible” series by Ann Little

In Mark 12:41-44 we see a very short story about a widow:
“Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.”

The contrast between the rich people and the poor widow was startling. How happy the temple religious leaders must have been to see the offerings of the wealthy. They were noticed by everyone. However, no one noticed the widow as she quietly made her way to the treasury to give her two small coins. Read More…

“Thinking Theologically About Church Planting” series by Dale Little

The book of Acts has always been a rich resource for thinking biblically about mission. In 2002, Baker published David Pao’s Harvard Ph.D. dissertation, Acts and the Isaianic New Exodus. Pao argues that the priority Isaiah placed on the notion of the word of God is a hermeneutical key for understanding Acts. He tells us that the word of God, the logos, is the central theme of Acts. Read More…

“Women of the Bible” series by Ann Little

Luke 13:10-17
When I first moved to Japan and lived in Aichi-ken, I was curious about all the little old bent over ladies that I saw. I wondered, was this a result of carrying babies on their backs for many years, or long hours working out in the fields, or from many years of deep bowing? Knowing that they probably suffered pain, I also wondered at their ability to keep going and marveled at their strength and tenacity. In Luke 13 we read a very brief story about a women with a similar condition. Read More…

“Thinking Theologically About Church Planting” series by Dale Little

Have you often found yourself wishing that the size of the Church of Jesus Christ in Japan might be bigger than it is? I have. Church planters in Japan and in other cultures resistant to the gospel can be encouraged to persevere in their ministry by understanding that small can be significant within God’s mission. [i]

[i] These thoughts were given in sermon format at Takayama Chapel (Shichigahama Machi, Miyagi-ken, Japan) on Aug. 10, 2003. I am indebted to the following article: George Vandervelde, “The Challenge of Evangelical Ecclesiology,” Evangelical Review of Theology (2003) 27:1, 4-26. Read More…

“Women of the Bible” series by Ann Little

In Matthew 15:21-28 and Mark 7:24-29 we have a somewhat puzzling conversation between Jesus, the Jewish teacher, and a nameless foreign Gentile woman from Syro-Phoenicia.

What was this woman’s problem? Her daughter was possessed by an evil spirit that was trying to harm her. She no doubt spent most of her time protecting the child and neutralizing the evil as best as she could. What was a mother to do in such a situation? Her solution was to ask Jesus to heal her little girl. Read More…

“Thinking Theologically About Church Planting” series by Dale Little

“Sensei (teacher), please bring a short biblical message at the beginning of our business meeting next week.” “Sensei, I feel as if God has abandoned me.” “Sensei, we’d like you to perform our engagement ceremony.” “Sensei, my mother was hospitalized yesterday. Please pray for her.” “Sensei, can you teach that twelve-week class on our doctrinal statement again?”

These kinds of requests and comments do not sound like the kinds that might be found on the forefront of evangelism. Nevertheless, the issues above typify discussions with people in my church plant. The issues often deal more with establishing the church plant than with evangelizing the lost. From a practical point of view, it seems that a major and necessary role of the church planting missionary is to provide care and nurture for the community of faith that the church planter is trying to coax into existence. Read More…