Modelling the message

At the end of an article that reflects on David Fitch's proposals for overhauling church planting, Jason Hood reminds us of the important example of the Apostle Paul. Whilst the whole article is worth reading, these words in themselves are solid food for thought:

Paul's own method for ministry was a message: his gospel (1 Cor. 15:1–4; Rom. 1:1–4) and his gospel-shaped way of life (1 Cor. 4:8–17).This message impacted Paul's method of ministry. He did not choose a tent-making approach to ministry for pragmatic or financial reasons, but for pastoral reasons. He used his lifestyle to model the sacrifice and service required of every Christian (Acts 20:33–35; 1 Thess. 2:9–12, compared with 1 Thess. 4:9–11; 2 Thess. 3:6–12; and a point also made in the middle of 1 Cor. 8:1–11:1).