In his follow up to Raising Rabbits, Not Elephants, Tony Webb expands on this simple process of gathering people to Jesus's mission. Gathering is a simple but missing key to much of what we are doing today in Jesus's mission. Gathering is the fabric of the NT. For us to intentionally engage our gatherers is a simple key to furthering the gospel in all contexts: for new church plants and for established churches. May we value the mission of Jesus so as to engage all the simple processes that He has given to us! One of these: gatherers!
Tony has taken the time to think very, very deeply about the nature of the church, in a way firmly rooted in Scripture. And, he has taken the time to think deeply about how to genuinely reach people and form new, healthy churches in the modern Western context (possibly the biggest challenge we face within that context today). And, he has done the work of actually putting his conclusions to the test—taking massive action—and is getting extraordinary results within his sphere of influence (now all over the U.S.). In short, this book is excellent… far more excellent than may be apparent at first glance. It is not just theory or the ideological work of a theologian who stays safely tucked away in a classroom, never doing the labor he speaks of. This book pulls together ideas and action in a very rare way. I am eager to put what I’ve learned here into action in my own sphere of influence.