Ideas so dumb somebody oughta be shot at sunrise

I know fully that we all care about the 83% of our communities that are lost. I believe we all love Jesus, and that there is no way to love Him without caring deeply about the lost.

But maybe we gave up. Maybe we don't believe that we can make a difference anymore. Maybe in our lack of ideas to fix it, we try not to think about it. Maybe we just try to quiet the raging sound of screaming souls slouching into Hell, by telling ourselves that we are doing our best. I know that I have personally struggled with each of these emotions.

But try as I may, I cannot keep myself from trying one more time to get something done about reducing the 83% to something less. I just can't. I hope you who are impatient with me, can forgive me for it.

So recently, I ask several more astute thinkers than me, to sit with me and help me come up with 10 crazy ideas that would create the sea change that would cause us to believe again, and get the job done with more efficiency.

I don't know that any of these ideas are great. But maybe if we start kicking around some reasonably bad ideas, God will have mercy on us and give us one truly great idea that has the potential to get it done. In that spirit, I offer some crazy stuff. You should know that the good ideas on this list, (if there are any) were not mine.

1. All of our churches gave at least 1% of their income to church planting

2. Re-structure our district slightly by creating an executive presbytery whose sole job was church planting and Kingdom growth.

3. Free school church planting school for those who are gifted to plant! Many of our college grads are simply too indebted to take a risk.

4. All Presbyters must have mothered a church in the past 3 years to be a presbyter.

5. New standards for 'sovreign' churches; missions giving, baptizing new converts every year, and supporting church planting. Otherwise they go back to Home Missions status until these things are solved.

6. Create a District Church Planting school to equip great church planters

7. District Superintendent's job is restructured to allow him to be a full-time Pastor. His job would be vision and leadership by example. District staff under him would serve the district at his direction, in the same way that as a worship leader or youth pastor serve the church under the direction of their Senior Pastor.

8. Only tithes of Senior Pastor would go to the District- all staff Pastor tithes would go to church planting.

9. All churches would be required to financially support a specific church plant. No exceptions.

10. No credential holders could renew credentials if they had not personally brought in and baptized a new believer themselves (apart from their leadership role) int he past year.

Do you think any of these might help us get going toward reaching the lost 83% of our communities? Which ones should be discussed further? Are any of them so bad that the person who thought them up should be shot at sunrise? What could you offer as an idea to help?