This episode is divided into two parts. In part one, co-hosts Sean and Russell argue that current church planting movement thinking started with Charles Finney and the Second Great Awakening. While not cited, this historical connection was made earlier by David Sills in his book Reaching and Teaching.
In part two, they trace church planting movement thinking from Charles Finney to J. Waskom Pickett to Donald McGavran to David Garrison. They also suggest that church planting movement proponents reject the attractional church model but embrace the principles on which it was founded.
This two-part episode is interesting and provocative, but they often quote historical books without citing their sources. I’m also not convinced that modern CPM thinking is rooted in the theology of Charles Finney (i.e., that there is a causal link between the two); but they do have similar characteristics in their efforts to reverse engineer revivals and church planting movements.
The link is clearer between Pickett, McGavran, and Garrison. However, I would also insert Ralph Winter as another link between McGavran and Garrison.
