Frank Viola has written a book with the above title and I thought to write about his four models of the way churches were planted.
I really like the foundation laid in his book about the church being a living organism. You will find in my work that I like to contrast an organism with an organization. Although, I’m not fond of using the word “church” to describe this living organism. He then proceeds to indicate that like any organism, it naturally develops and grows without any interference from human beings and later was given not officials but spiritual leaders to give each some direction and encourage it to thrive. He uses terms like “community” and “organism” which are grounded in the New Testament concept of the household or body.
However, the apostles didn’t just leave these Christians after their conversion to only return on occasion. The difference between then and now is the fact that upon a believers submission to Jesus Christ, hands were laid upon them to receive the gift that was promised in Acts 2:38 (cf. Acts 5:32). It was such a part of their work that the first thing Paul asks a group of disciples in Ephesus (Acts 19) was, “Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?” Though that may seem to be a strange question to ask in today’s world, it was a very common question to ask by an apostle. They were in that business of equipping saints with spiritual gifts that each member of the living body provided for the edification of the body. They were interdependent on them. In addition, it provided the proof/evidence of the guarantee of their inheritance.
In addition to these gifts, Christ gave gifts of men in apostles, prophets, and other teachers like evangelists and pastors/teachers. Further, they were given in that order not as a replacement but as an addition to the need to build on the foundation of truth, which is Jesus Christ. The apostles were needed to pass on the gifts (see the Samaritans and Philip in Acts 8), but the other evangelists could be sent to provide leadership and present an example of the truth. Where they went, it seems from Titus and Timothy that they chose shepherds before leaving. Like the rest, these men had received the gift of the Holy Spirit and were given the charge to watch over the souls of men and women. Viola and I would agree on a big difference: their oversight was that of souls, not church organizations.
I found it interesting to think about the four models of planting churches or communities of faith. I’m still thinking on these models — Jerusalem, Antioch, Ephesus, and Rome. We have more to say about them, later. In the meantime, it appears to me that the relevance of these city names and the saints who lived in them is not a pattern of church planting. Jerusalem will never be duplicated in our lifetime. It was the beginning of the gospel being preached, the wave of persecution, and the beginning of judgment on Israel. The apostles stayed in Jerusalem, and Paul was commissioned to be the apostle to the Gentiles and was added to the number by Acts 9. His work with the saints in Antioch merely establishes his connection with the Gentile saints, while Jerusalem is the Jewish stand of influence. No support to preach to Gentiles would have come from Jerusalem, and for many years to come, a huge tension existed between Jew and Gentile fellowship. Our next blog will concern itself with Ephesus and Rome. Stay tuned.