In the twelfth and final chapter of Vintage Church we answer the question, "How Could the Church Help Transform the World?" In this chapter we focus on the importance of Christians and churches getting upstream to major cities where culture is made for the purpose of effective culture change. Much of this chapter will echo themes Dr. Tim Keller and others have stressed in their ministries. I also quote at length some very important thinking on this issue from sociologist Dr. James Davison Hunter. An excerpt on the role of church in culture from Vintage Church pages 303-304 says:

Sadly, most cities do not have enough churches that are cities within the city. As a result, masses of people do not hear about Jesus, and makers of culture do not hear about Jesus. Therefore, missional churches everywhere need to make a focused effort to concentrate on planting missional churches in cities. In our history as an urban church, this has always been our heart and by God's grace we have seen many other churches planted that are likewise strategically focused on major cities. (Go to www.acts29network.org for more information about our church planting network.) I want to be clear and stress that God loves all people and we need missional churches everywhere. Still, because of the city's strategic importance, resources such as money and leaders should be sent to the city to plant missional churches as cities within cities on mission for the gospel.

These upstream churches are the best opportunity we have to reach new generations, new residents, new cultures, new subcultures, and new culture creators and transformers.... Remember, suburban and rural areas along with other cities in the nation and other nations of the earth can be reached from the city because the city is so far upstream.

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In Vintage Church chapter eleven we answer the question, "How Can a Church Utilize Technology?" This chapter includes a succinct summary of technological innovations in the history of the church such as pews and seats, electricity, organs, and the Internet. We also discuss the things churches need to consider regarding their use of technology. An example of this is the following excerpt from Vintage Church pages 274-275:

In addition to using technology in the corporate worship service, the church also benefits from taking full advantage of the opportunity for its preaching and other resources to become "sticky" to a larger audience for a longer period of time, thereby multiplying its influence. This includes use of the Internet, which has become the new front door for churches and the place people visit before showing up at any physical location....

Admittedly, not a lot of pastors are interested in the specific details about new technology. However, consider why it matters to churches. First, nearly everyone is on the Internet. Second, while on the Internet people are primarily looking for content and connection—two specialties of the church. In short, technology gives the church an opportunity to provide gospel content and relational connection to more people than ever before....

I offer this chapter as something of a field guide for those churches that want to wisely determine how to utilize various technologies for the benefit of the gospel. In offering specific counsel I am well aware that much of it will quickly become dated as innovation continues, but I offer it nonetheless in hopes of being helpful. My point is not that our church is cool and yours can be too, but that there are some great new ways to reach more people for Jesus that are worth considering for every church.

Vintage Church:

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In Vintage Church chapter ten we answer the question, "What Is a Multi-campus Church?" With the fast growth of multi-campus churches and the multiple ways they are organized and led, we felt there was a timely necessity to discuss and define multi-site churches. Since Mars Hill, where I preach, is a multi-campus church with video broadcast sermons, we addressed this controversial issue as well. The following excerpt on multi-campus churches is taken from Vintage Church pages 247, 254:

With increasing advances in technology, we are now seeing the principles of one church meeting in multiple locations exponentially applied. The result has come to be called the "multi-site church revolution," which includes the controversial advent of "video venues." In many ways this is the circuit-riding preacher model renewed by technology. This chapter is devoted to exploring these two phenomena in both theological and practical detail....

Admittedly, by the time this book is published we will be doing things differently and likely will have added even more campuses. In sum, since our experiment with video two years ago, we have grown to a church with a peak attendance of eight thousand people spread across sixteen services on seven campuses with the capacity to double our attendance in the coming few years. Half of our attendance already participates via video, and in the coming years video will be the primary way in which people hear me preach the gospel. I now preach live four times on Sunday at our main campus. Some weeks I pre-record the sermon if I am traveling, in which case all services are video, and if I am sick or need a break I can just preach the morning services, which is a great relief.

Based on the five ways of doing multi-campus church, we are doing the partnership model at one of our seven campuses, the teaching-team model roughly 20 percent of the time across all campuses, and the regional-campus model. We also have some smaller informal gatherings both in the U.S. and around the world experimenting with the low-risk model to see if there is potential to make Mars Hill a national and international church.

We are by no means experts at all of this, but we have learned some things that I believe are helpful. (Seeing how friends such as pastors Ed Young Jr., Craig Groeschel, and Larry Osborne do their campuses has been very helpful.) Therefore, the following suggestions are offered as observations-not obligations-for those considering doing multi-campus church.

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In Vintage Church chapter nine we answer the question, "What Is a Missional Church?" With the ongoing debate between traditional churches, seeker churches, emerging churches, etc., there is a need to clarify what a missional church is and is not. In this chapter we explore the history and nature of a missional church. Regarding the missional church, excerpts from Vintage Church pages 219-220 say:

Thankfully, the mission of the church is not that complicated. The mission of the church comes directly from the command of Jesus, who, following his resurrection and just prior to his ascension, said, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:19-20; see also Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:46-49; John 20:20-31; Acts 1:5-8). Jesus speaks of going, evangelizing, making disciples, and planting churches that plant churches to continue the process. Therefore, the mission of the church is nothing less than bringing the entire world to Christian faith and maturity.

A missional church must strategize how to carry out the mission to today's increasingly non-Christian culture.

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In Vintage Church chapter eight we answer the question, "How Is Love Expressed in a Church?" Regarding love in the church, excerpts from Vintage Church pages 193, 196-197 say:

Inextricably connected to the doctrine of the Trinity is love. In the very nature of God there is a continuous outpouring of love, communication, and oneness. In perfect love, the three persons are characterized by reciprocal self-dedication to the good of the whole Trinity. Because God is a relational community of love, God is the source and model of all that is love....

Because God commands us to love, we must acknowledge that while it can and should include our emotional feelings, it is not based solely upon them. Despite our emotions, it is always possible to obey God and love because of the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, who has connected us to the source of all love. Thus, we can love even when we are not feeling loving. That is why the Bible likens love to a fruit of the Spirit's work in our lives (Gal. 5:22-23; Rom. 5:5; 2 Tim. 1:7).

...The question persists, how should we love? Obviously, since Jesus was Love incarnate, he is the greatest example of love and the model for our own loving life, empowered by the same Holy Spirit as was his (John 13:34; 15:12; Eph. 5:1-2). In the remainder of this chapter we will explore some of the ways that deep Trinitarian love is visibly seen in the lives of the Christians who comprise a church.

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In chapter seven of Vintage Church we answer the question, "What Is Church Discipline?" This doctrine is widely ignored, often misunderstood, and incredibly important. In preparing to write Vintage Church I did not find one book on the subject that I felt covered the breadth of biblical teaching on the matter. So, this chapter is packed with a vast overview of what the Scriptures say regarding various forms of church discipline. Our excerpt from Vintage Church pages 172-173 says:

Church discipline is one of the most misunderstood and yet most desperately needed ministries within the church. We do not believe that it is an optional ministry of the church but one required of us in Scripture.

There are multiple mandates for church discipline to church leaders and churches throughout the New Testament from both Jesus and Paul (Matt. 18:15-17; Gal. 6:1; 1 Cor. 5:1-13; Titus 3:10-11; 2 Thess. 3:14-16). Subsequently, it is imperative that unrepentant sin and false teaching by professing Christians be disciplined by the church through its leaders.

Discipline is the responsibility of the church body, which includes Jesus Christ and the elders, deacons, and members of the church. Discipline is intended to bring believers in line with God's standard for his glory, the progress of his kingdom, and the blessedness of the individual as well.

Sadly, what most people think of when they hear "church discipline" is excommunication, the final stage of the biblical process. Excommunication is what happens when discipline fails to result in repentance and reconciliation. This misunderstanding plagues most discussions and most practices, sabotaging the grace of God that can come through church discipline.

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In Vintage Church we begin to transition into some more practical aspects of the life of the church. In chapter six we answer the question "How Can a Church Be Unified?" The following excerpt concerning church unity comes from Vintage Church page 138:

Every church and every church leader knows the painful cost they must pay when there is disunity. While a lack of unity does not always rise to the level of betrayal that Judas demonstrated, every breach in unity costs the leaders time, energy, emotion, and momentum. Division is often the cause of the greatest stress, pain, conflict, and despair in any church. I hope in writing this chapter to help churches and Christians define and defend unity.

Theologically, unity is to be pursued by churches and among churches for five reasons. (1) Jesus prayed for it often. (2) As the leadership goes, so goes the rest of the church. (3) Without unity spiritual health and growth cannot be maintained because the church gets diverted from Jesus and his mission for them. (4) Unity is fragile because it is gained slowly and lost quickly, which requires that it never be assumed or taken for granted. (5) Paul repeatedly commands unity in churches (1 Cor. 1:10; 2 Cor. 13:11; Eph. 4:3; Phil. 1:27).

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In chapter five of Vintage Church we answer the question, "What Are Baptism and Communion?" Part of that answer can be found in these excerpts from pages 114 and 130:

By virtue of reminding us of our connection to Jesus and his people, baptism and Communion are supposed to be incredibly meaningful. In Christianity, baptism and Communion have been sacred rituals practiced for thousands of years in every culture by people who, by faith, trust in Jesus alone for their salvation. Different words are used to describe these sacred rituals. The most common term is sacrament, which refers to an outward, visible sign of an inward, invisible spiritual reality. In this sense, there are many sacraments. But most often the term is applied specifically to rites instituted by Christ for his church....

The church will stay on mission as it reflects deeply on the sacraments as gospel dramas where the Word is spoken and made visible, and where the blessings of life with the triune God brought to us through the Word made flesh, who died for our sin and rose for our new life, are lived out faithfully in the sacramental community of the Spirit to the glory of God the Father.

Vintage Church:

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In the fourth chapter of Vintage Church we answer the question, "Why Is Preaching Important?" In a day when preaching has been junked by some and reduced to a fifteen-minute Dr. Phil karaoke, the centrality, authority, and necessity of preaching must be stressed with great force.

The following excerpt on preaching is from Vintage Church pages 90 and 104:

Jesus' ministry included feeding the hungry, healing the sick, loving the outcast, and befriending the sinner. But we must never forget that Jesus' ministry began with preaching. Thus, preaching is the first priority of ministry that leads God's mission, which is accompanied by various other ministries that support, supplement, and sustain the preaching of God's Word in truth with passion....

There is an ongoing debate as to the purpose of the sermon and whether it should focus on converting the lost or maturing the saved. The apparent conflict between preaching for seekers and preaching for believers is resolved simply by noting that both need to repent of sin and trust in Jesus to live a new life empowered by the Spirit. Therefore, a sermon can and should effectively communicate to both audiences, and it will if the preacher is able to go after the root of sin and explain Christian jargon in order to speak the "tongue" of the hearer. This includes saying the name of Jesus and making him known.

Vintage Church:

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In the third chapter of Vintage Church we answer the question, "Who Is Supposed to Lead a Church?" In succinct fashion we deal with elders, deacons, church members, and women in ministry along with a few other practical issues.

The following excerpt on church leadership is from Vintage Church page 67:

Human leadership in the church is little more than qualified Christians who are following Jesus and encouraging other people to follow them as they follow Jesus. Because of this, church leaders must be good sheep who follow their Chief Shepherd Jesus well before they are fit to be shepherds leading any of his sheep. This is in large part what Paul meant when he told Christians in various local churches to "be imitators of me, as I am of Christ" (1 Cor. 11:1).

Serving under Jesus in formal church offices are elders, deacons, and church members. Philippians 1:1 illustrates this church leadership structure: "Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints [church members] in Christ Jesus who are at Phillip, with the overseers [elders-pastors] and deacons." Packed in this verse we discover the three kinds of leaders who take responsibility for the health and progress of the local church.

Vintage Church:

In this book, Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears discuss the essentials of what it means to be a biblical church. Find out more.