In this time of crisis for the people of Japan, due to the March 2011 8.9 scale earthquake, tsunami, fear of a nuclear meltdown event and more, prayers are being offered up for the country.

But as Japan continues to be one of the most “Christ-less” countries today, Tim Keller points out that Christian brothers and sisters around the world might see a greater need beyond the physical and natural destruction that has happened in Japan just this week.

Check out this short video as Dr. Keller mentions some of the factors one may not immediately think about regarding bringing the Church to the country of Japan:

He makes a great case for the strategic influence of Tokyo, but also points out the spiritual need in Tokyo and the country. 

Here is another video from a church planting group (Mustard Seed) that helps further paint the picture of that neediness Keller speaks about:

Urbanization is a trend that isn’t going away anytime soon and the Church needs to take notice.

That’s the Cliff’s Notes version of some discussions being held at the super-event, Lausanne Movement gathering in South Africa this month.

At the conference, Dr. Tim Keller drew upon Genesis 1 and how we are made in the image of God to illustrate why the Church needs to focus upon the cities of the world:

“In these cities you have more image of God per square inch than anywhere else in the world…So God makes the numbers argument.”

Dr. Keller’s position on Urban Mission & Contextualization is quite sophisticated, given that it is a vision that has been 20 years in the making at Redeemer as well as through Redeemer City to City‘s church planting center.  Keller of course has all the while been working to mobilize a movement within NYC right in his own backyard.

Here’s Dr. Keller’s most recent 18-minute talk on the topic:

p.s. Tim Keller’s latest book is being released Nov 2nd. Grab your copy of Generous Justice.

QUESTION: Given this perspective on the mandate for urban mission, how can suburban & rural churches + laity contribute to this cause from where they stand?

On the last day of September, ministry leaders and church planters gathered together in New York City to discuss and encourage each other about what’s happening in The City…

If you pause the visit the Movement Day website, you’ll find some tangible reasons why they they came together.

• The 40 largest US metro regions are home to 170 million people — this is more than 50% of the total 2000 census population. And New York City is a unique home alone by itself — the 21.5 million people in the NYC metro area represent 1 out of every 300 people on the planet!

• In our large cities we face daunting spiritual and social challenges. These include vast unreached populations, profound poverty, and an emerging youth population struggling to surpass the 50% graduation rate.

• The critical belief is that it takes a movement of God’s Spirit and God’s People to transform a city. It takes collaborative leadership to initiate a Gospel Movement.

Dr. Timothy Keller of Redeemer Church gave one of the keynote talks.  He titled it, “It Takes A Movement To Change A City.”  It is a great talk, much of it is at the heart of Redeemer City to City‘s approach to church planting.

Listen to Keller detail his vision for a urban leadership and urban movements: (more…)

I recently had a conversation about the importance of building rock-solid dynamics and culture for a new (or any church for that matter) church plant with Dave Ingland  — he’s on the frontlines doing kingdomwork on the “left coast”. As a church planter, he can identify with Craig Groeshel of LifeChurch.tv who has undoubtedly encountered this very same issue in his growing multi-site multi-state network of physical church sites (13 and counting?).

Groeshel’s recent book “IT” addresses the “IT” factor which determines whether a particular ministry is set for growth and vibrancy….or not.  So I asked Pastor Dave for his review of the “IT” book.  Enjoy!

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It: How Churches And Leaders Can Get It and Keep It is the first book from Craig Groeschel that I have read. If his other books are anything like It, then it is safe to say that if you appreciate Pastor Craig’s gift of preaching, you’ll appreciate his writing style as well—they are both very similar.

It is this essence of Groeschel’s delivery that really helps to connect people to his messages. It’s a very natural, humorous, and engaging form of communication.

The title suggests that a definition and answer of just what It is will be given. Forget about that happening!

Craig Groeschel shares something tangible in his description of what It is, yet never comes out and declares a definition. We learn what is not It, but have to find out for ourselves just what It is.  That is the beauty of the book!

The “ah-ha!” Moments come when Groeschel’s words connect with your own thoughts and cause sparks to fly and change to happen.

Not only does Pastor Craig share his experiences in his search for It, he also (more…)