“Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” But he perceived their craftiness and said to them, “Show me a denarius. Whose head and whose title does it bear?” They said, “The emperor’s.” He said to them, “Then give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were not able in the presence of the people to trap him by what he said; and being amazed by his answer, they became silent.
Luke 20:22-26
The conversation ends with intrigue. The scribes and Pharisees were adept at diplomacy, seeking the restoration of Israel’s glory. The question that formed the trap laid for Jesus was predictable. His reply was not and left religious leaders immobilized and silent. Jesus didn’t need to gain points with the people. His King-Solomon-like response was aimed at transformation. Jesus evaded the culture’s trap, captivated his inquisitors, and gave the people who wanted to learn a chance to hear a better message. Church planters need to know what to do and how to do it, but it’s easy to focus on the skill with which Jesus handles situations and miss the deeper lessons of his ministry.
Church planting by nature is an entrepreneurial activity. It requires many coffees, backyard barbecues, planning meetings, discipleship groups, and leader training. Growth is the necessary good, and therefore church planting attracts a particular kind of personality. The ability to execute, strategize, woo, persist, communicate, and relate are invaluable skills for planting a church.
Church planting can feel like a roller coaster ride of fleeting wins and crushing losses. It doesn’t have to be that way.
Working in the trenches, week after week, month after month, a minister can begin to believe that skills like these will lead directly to results. Sometimes that’s true; sometimes it’s not. Church planting can feel like a roller coaster ride of fleeting wins and crushing losses. It doesn’t have to be that way.
Jesus notes in John 15 that real, lasting, transformative fruit is only possible through an abiding relationship with him. The word for abiding means a sojourning, a walking alongside. It’s a different kind of center, a qualitatively distinct form of energy and motivation. The religious leaders in Jesus’s day had vision, strategy, and skills which, in the end, became its own kind of trap. Yet, instead of crushing them, Jesus graciously transformed their heart and invited them to more. Inability gave way to amazement and silence. The scribes and Pharisees found a new center.
Skills and results are necessary, but they can never be the center. Burnout, relational damage, and moral failure are usually the result of making skills and results ultimate. This conversation between leaders in the church and Jesus in Luke 20 is a reminder that the gospel isn’t something we merely believe or remember. It’s something we experience. Abiding in Christ, knowing that we are ineffably loved and live in that love regardless of outcomes, gives way to a heart that is both amazed and quiet. What a radically different kind of strength! This is the center that Jesus wants for his leaders and is perhaps the greatest gift of planting a church.
