A Black Missional Critique of the Missional Movement

Guest post by Kyle Canty
There’s a complex question that gnaws at my heart as I observe evangelical culture; “Does the broader evangelical church in America recognize that there is something that they can learn from the African American church?” I follow conferences and as of late, I’ve kept up with the missional movement. I love listening to those who have mined the themes associated with everything missional and topics around justice and mercy for the marginalized. I frequent blogs, YouTube videos and the major declarations put out by the evangelical machine.
During the past couple of years I’ve recognized the homogeneity of these circles—most of the speakers are white. Interesting enough, many of the topics that are being written about and presented at these events are topics that I’ve heard about throughout my life. (e.g., justice, mercy, meeting felt needs, etc.)  Well before these were popular topics within evangelicalism, these were important issues among black pastors, preachers and theologians. The black church finds its uniqueness in the soil where it is cultivated—usually within marginalized and oppressed communities.

A movement without color

I was originally introduced to the missional conversation by my pastor; who is one of very few African American professors teaching within evangelical seminaries. We engaged in doing contextual ministry within Philadelphia with limited resources and tremendous opposition. One of the things that missional theology taught me was to question the things that contradicted God’s kingdom agenda. The thing that was missing for me as I viewed the movement was color.
I wondered to myself, ‘Does a black pastor of an inner city church have anything to teach a white suburban pastor?’ This question gets me thinking through power structures. The question is loaded with complications. Although loosely associated, the decisions regarding the broader missional movement rest in the hands of the few.  The answer to my question gets to the heart of a problem.
The missional movement is relatively new within evangelical circles. In fact, the missional movement is still fighting back accusations that the overall movement is a sinister break from ‘traditional conservative Judeo-Christian principles and values’. There is a rapid delivery of books, blogs, conferences, fashion, tweets, FB pages and posts about this Biblical theme that’s been missed for so long by so many. Although there is this rediscovery of missio Dei and what it means to be sent, there is also a danger that the voices are predominantly white and suburban.

The privileged accent

If the voices of the missional movement remain largely those of the dominant culture, then there is the possibility that the movement will begin to speak with a privileged accent. Call it what you want—whether it is in a suit, tie and comb over or in skinny jeans, fashion rims, tatted up, it is still coming from a place of access, comfort and homogeneity.
Although we are in the age of post-Christendom, the existing structure of evangelicalism still wields a significant amount of power. The presence of Christian publishers, magazines, academic institutions, conferences, conference centers, radio programs and mission organizations are all part of a construct designed to win the battle.  The proverbial ‘table’ that is so often talked about is actually nestled inside evangelicalism’s board room.
So it is often said that Blacks need a seat at this ‘table’ in order to influence what goes on as the movement becomes more mainstream. Why is it so hard to sit down at this table called the Missional Movement? Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that the missional movement is nestled inside of evangelicalism and this movement has not properly dealt with race. Different clothes and music, but the same homogeneity exists.

Deconstructing the deconstruction

The movement that sought to deconstruct Christendom needs deconstructing. The task of addressing inconsistencies within the movement is best handled by those who can view omissions and pathology from the outside. As the black church gets used to hearing about missional theology and the movement, it will recognize and embrace and add its unique accent to the conversation. However, I wonder if many will simply bristle at yet another predominantly white movement talking about Christians opening up coffee shops to engage in post-modern conversations when the national unemployment rate is 6.7% for whites and 13.3% for blacks.
In conclusion, yes, the black church is not without blemishes and the need to transform.  We are not perfect, but who is able to speak to the ills of White Evangelicalism like the Black church?  Additionally, one black conference speaker, professor or friend is not diversity, but could be construed as tokenism. It was brought to my attention recently by a friend and mentor that most Blacks can sniff out tokenism and so the Missional Movement needs to know that many of us know that a black woman on a panel covers two categories on the diversity checklist.

Learning from each other

I guess one of the things that I need to say is that there are many things that the movement can learn from the Black church outside of gospel music and our unique preaching style. The Black church and those it has produced are not novelties to be observed from afar—instead the body was meant to benefit from parts. (1 Corinthians 12:12-27)
Let me make this clear—preachers, pastors, Bible believing black folk have been busting their tail ministering to people in the worst conditions for a very long time. Suburban White academics are ‘probably’ not the best folk to reference when you need to figure out how to minister to oppressed people groups. If the missional movement is concerned with reaching the kind of folk that Jesus reached, then perhaps they may want to diversify their think tank to include inner city, bi-vocational Black pastors who serve within extreme conditions.
This article was originally posted on Kyle’s website, The Rooftop, here.

About The Author

Author: Kyle Canty
Married to my lovely wife Pam of almost 13 years. I love my children…10 year old Micah, 8 year old Karis and my new born Shiloh Elyse (5/4/13). I enjoy the challenge of seeing how the Biblical text interacts with culture. I love the city and reading about God’s heart for the marginalized of society. I love Jesus, His church and the city. My love for urban culture springs from growing up in North Philly–those that know can understand why your heart never really leaves this place. I am a graduate of Cairn University (Philadelphia Biblical University) with a Bachelor’s of Science in Bible/Pre-Seminary and a Master’s of Science in Christian Counseling. I also have a Master of Divinity Degree from Biblical Theological Seminary. I am currently pursuing a doctorate in Urban Missiology at Biblical Theological Seminary. Find me online here.

Is Your Church a Family or an Orphanage?

Is Your Church a Family or an Orphanage? – Dhati Lewis

http://youtu.be/8uCscsPdVkA

Dhati Lewis discusses the Church being a family, not an orphanage and explains the difference between the two.
He says, “The Church is a family, not an orphanage. You see, the reality behind an orphanage is usually characterized by a couple of things. Usually have one or two overworked staff trying to serve a bunch of underserved kids and we spend all of our time and all of our responsibility trying to depend on those individuals to take care of all of the work.
There’s really no burden of responsibility for the orphans to maintain, but a family it’s all in. There’s this responsibility that each and every one of us have…The one text I want to point us to is 1 Timothy 3 and as I was looking at this text and looking at the reality of what God is saying as He’s talking about elders, people who are to take leadership and incarnate.
What He says is that he must be a good manager of his home. Why? He says because if he can’t manage his own household how can he care for the household of God…What type of leaders are we training? We spend most of our time training people to lead systems, and not lead people, to lead structures.”

I really believe when we talk about incarnational leadership, we must have the same affection, the same compassion that we have for our kids when we talk about the people in our church.

1 Timothy 3: 1-5 says, “Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?)”

Radical Repentance

“If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?”
JOHN 3:12

The path of progress, of spiritual maturity, hinges upon our willingness to let go of the old ways and embrace the new ways; to rise above the lower order of things and walk in a higher order – a heavenly way, a spiritual way, as opposed to the earthly, natural, carnal way that we are so used to walking. Repentance is a continual process of agreeing with what God shows us about ourselves and then making the necessary adjustments.

The Holy Spirit is intent upon making radical adjustments – to create in us a willingness to look at things differently; an eagerness to begin seeing things as God sees them, regardless of how uncomfortable that may be; to value the things that He values and let go of lesser things; to align ourselves with His Mind and Will for all things; to leave our ground altogether and come onto His ground – regardless of the consequences.

Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

We start new churches to reach people who desperately need the Savior.

Such Were Some of You

By Jim Carpenter And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. ~ I Corinthians 6:11 (ESV)
READING: I Corinthians 6:9-11
One day during the planting of my first church, I met a young woman named Mary (not her real name) and asked her if she would be interested in our new church. In reply she asked me a question: “What would you think if prostitutes and homosexuals and drunks started coming to your church?”
“I think that would be great,” I said. “We’re starting a church for people just like that.”
Mary then explained that she worked as a bartender in a topless bar. She and her husband were friends with the kind of rough people she had mentioned. Within a few weeks I started a Bible study with Mary, her husband Bob, and two of their close friends. All of them turned from their sins and trusted Christ to save them! Our young church welcomed Mary and Bob, loved them, and helped them to grow spiritually. Mary quit her job in the bar and eventually became my secretary.
In I Corinthians 6, Paul lists a whole series of sinful lifestyles that are incompatible with the kingdom of God. But then he gives praise to God’s saving grace by saying: “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
We start new churches to reach people who desperately need the Savior. And those are the people Jesus saves!
Father, Thank You for Your amazing grace! Please help our church to reach the lost, the forgotten and the desperate, to Your glory. Amen. 

Dynamic Church Planting International (DCPI) “Equips Leaders to Plant 5 Million Churches Worldwide.” Learn more

One Person Can Change the World

“I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.”
EZEKIEL 22:30

The Lord searches the whole Earth, and when He has found a person who sees that Purpose, and daily orders their life according to that Purpose, and (here is the key!) consistently rises up to pray for the fulfillment of that Purpose, then God will move Heaven and Earth on behalf of that person; for He has found, at last, some ground to build upon.

That person is numbered with the Remnant because, I promise you, men and women like that are few and far between.

Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

Transformational Truth

“Pilate said to Him, ‘What is truth?’”
JOHN 18:38

We are often unprepared for Truth, which is why Truth is revealed to us progressively. We must “grow up into Him” – we could not handle it otherwise. Even the little bit of Truth which is revealed to us often upsets us at our deepest foundations. We must be willing to live with the uncertainty and pain which Truth brings. But if we accept the Truth, and totally give ourselves to it, it will begin to change us. We will begin to be conformed to it, and it will become less painful.

I am convinced that if we refuse to accept the Truth we have been given then we will eventually lose it. This is why some grow spiritually and some do not. Even though they may acknowledge the same Truth, they may not be willing to accept the consequences of being transformed by that Truth, thus what little they have soon becomes dead manna.

Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

The Joy of Unconditional Surrender

July 28, 2013 Hello Dave! A new blog post has just been added to the site... The Joy of Unconditional Surrender by Chip Brogden Since everything God has done, is doing, and will do is somehow connected to the increase of Christ, it certainly follows that all of it is working to decrease everything else. This is a process at work within every man, woman, boy and girl: to bring each of them to the end of themselves so they will embrace Christ and be willing to lay down the tattered, filthy garments of self-centered living in exchange for the righteous robes of the Christ-centered life. It is a process that was working in you long before you ever gave your life to the Lord. You do not have to understand the process to benefit from it, but the process will go a lot more smoothly if you do understand it so you can cooperate with it... Read the rest of this article: http://theschoolofchrist.org/articles/the-joy-of-unconditional-surrender.html

Christ, Not Theology

“Put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”
EPHESIANS 4:24

The old man (self) is put off, and the New Man (Christ) is put on – this is Christianity. Christ then becomes my Righteousness and my Holiness. But too many of us take a natural, intellectual approach to Christianity. We think if only we can instruct people concerning the tenets of our faith, or persuade them with a logical argument, or woo them with some emotional plea, then we will have disciples. This is a falsehood. That is not Spirit and Life.

Christianity is not memorizing certain doctrines or disseminating a systematic theology or having people repeat a so-called “Sinner’s Prayer.” Christianity is becoming one with a God-Man! You can have all the other in its proper place, but for too long that “other” has been offered as Christianity. And so people touch our beliefs, our doctrines, our religion, our theology, our zeal, but they do not touch a Living Christ.

Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden

 

Church planting places us on the “front lines” of spiritual warfare.

"I Have Many People in This City"

By Jim Carpenter One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” ~ Acts 18:9, 10 (ESV)
READING: Acts 18:1-11
Church planting can be a fearful thing.
We are often called to plant churches far from home. We may have little money and few contacts in the community, and we may feel the pressure of not only starting the church, but also providing for our families.
Sometimes we start churches where there is outright hostility to the gospel. Church planting places us on the “front lines” of spiritual warfare. The devil hates Christ, His gospel and His church.
Thank God we have the witness of church planters who have gone before us, like the Apostle Paul. He knew the personal price of starting churches in enemy territory. He was hated, slandered, beaten and left for dead.
But through it all he knew God was in control. In the Greek city of Corinth, Paul faced a society where many cultures and religions mingled. Pagan immorality and idolatry were rampant as well as a prideful trust in the human intellect.
But the Lord reassured him: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.”
God has a plan for your church plant! When God calls us even to hostile territory, we’re under His protection. And the Lord of the harvest knows the ones He is calling to Himself: “I have many people in this city!”
Thank You, Lord, that this church is Your project. Please show me the people You are calling to Yourself. Amen. 
Dynamic Church Planting International (DCPI) “Equips Leaders to Plant 5 Million Churches Worldwide.” Learn more

The Deeper Christian Life

“He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”
MATTHEW 10:38

Are you worthy of the Lord Jesus Christ? Hear what the Lord is saying here. “If you do not take up your Cross and follow Me, you do not deserve Me.”

It is not merely a question of are we following Christ. The crux of the matter is: have we taken up the Cross? There is an order to this call to become disciples of Jesus Christ: first, we must take up our Cross; only then may we follow after Him. It is not, “first follow Me, and later take your Cross.” The Cross is step one. Our taking up the Cross is basic to our following Christ, not something we are called to do after many years. The so-called “deeper Christian life” is but the normal Christian life. Anything less is abnormal. There is no greater depth to the Christian life but what God expects of all of us from the beginning. If we are getting any “deeper” it is only because we have hitherto been shallow. We must take our Cross and follow Jesus.

Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden

 

When we speak the Word of the Lord to others, history will be impacted through changed lives.

Messages in the Wilderness

By Christine Cunningham In the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. ~ Luke 3:2 (NASB)
READING: Luke 23:32-43
Bill lives in a building guarded by electric doors and surrounded by razor wire topped walls. Rolls of razor wire coil on the ground between the wall and building. He lives in a high security prison serving several life sentences. He will never again be on the outside of the razor wall. He is a serial killer. He cannot even remember how many he murdered.
Bill is also a Christian. God has so changed his life that he works as prison steward and librarian. Bill beams when he shares the love of Jesus with fellow prisoners. He graciously accepts his prison condition believing it is God’s sovereign plan for his life, enabling him to speak God’s Word to some of the roughest criminals in the prison system.
John the Baptist was the son of a priest who cleared the way for the Lord in the wilderness. God’s Word was not lost in John’s wilderness, and it is not bound in the confines of a prison. God’s Word came to Ezekiel among the captives by the river of Chebar and to the apostle John on the isle of Patmos. It came to Bill in his prison cell.
Wherever we are, when we speak the Word of the Lord to others, history will be impacted through changed lives. Epic history may not change, but when the destiny of one life is impacted by God’s Word, we are history changers.
When we feel the word you have given us is not changing lives, Father, remind us of the lives of those who have spoken your words and changed the course of life and history. Help us to speak the Word you give us so we can be world changers. Amen. 
Dynamic Church Planting International (DCPI) “Equips Leaders to Plant 5 Million Churches Worldwide.” Learn more

When Christian die with unrepented sin 3

By John Fenn

 

Hi all,

Did you hear about the Texas pastor claiming the Holy Spirit told him anyone who gave $52 towards getting new blades for his helicopter will have a transportation breakthrough of their own "in 52 days or 52 weeks"? I have to wonder if some pastors are even going to make it to heaven! If so, does a stunt like this survive heaven's scrutiny?

 

First things first: Does a Christian who dies go straight to heaven?

The confusion around this question is rooted in the Middle Ages when infant mortality was high and you were in old age if you lived to be 40. A money raising scheme was started that taught there is a middle place for the dead in between heaven and hell where the dead wait for release - and for an offering of course you could pray and send your dead loved one out of there and on to heaven.

 

And while that teaching may sound corrupt, it is the same principle used by ministers to manipulate people today for instance, when they are told to give $52 for new blades for the pastor's helicopter to get a transportation breakthrough of their own.

 

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/06/19/texas-pastor-donate-to-fix-my-helicopter-and-get-a-new-car-from-god/

 

Or I could mention bringing $100 to the platform at the speaker's feet and you will get healed or have a financial breakthrough. Or put this cloth under your pillow and pray this pray for 7 days and on the 8th day send your prayer request with your best offering to... With preachers doing things like this, we can understand the confusion among believers in this day.

 

Bible says...Christians go to heaven right away

Paul compares and contrasts the earthly with the heavenly, stating we groan and long to be clothed upon from on high - not that we want to die as much as we just want to be "...clothed by our house which is from heaven." II Corinthians 5:1-10

 

He compares our bodies to tents and homes saying, "...if the tent which is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." (Your glorified body will last forever - eternal in the heavens)

 

But he turns his readers towards hope, saying this: "Therefore being of good courage, and knowing while we are home (present) in the body we are absent from the Lord (for we walk by faith, not by sight), we are of good courage I say, but would prefer to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord." v6-8

 

(And just in case you know someone who believes there is no such thing as sin anymore, all is grace and love with no accountability, v10 says: For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each one of us may receive what is due us for things done while in the body, whether good or bad.")

 

So this shows a Christian who dies goes straight to heaven - but what about those unresolved sins?

 

Wow those people were carnal!

He wrote the Corinthians Christians go to heaven when they die, but have you seen what kind of believers they were? They make my examples of the speeder, porn addict, bitter woman and suicide look like spiritual giants by comparison.

 

Among the issues in Corinth were a man sleeping with his step mother, believers (who met in homes) divided into cliques with the rich people refusing to eat and have the Lord's Supper with the poor people, wives finding their freedom in Christ and flaunting it, refusing to properly dress as local custom required, thus dishonoring themselves, their husbands, and their faith, 2 brothers who sat in the same (house) church suing each other in court instead of being mature enough to settle it between themselves, and much more.

 

But those are not what he dealt with first - the first sins in their midst he addressed before telling them Christians who die go directly to be with the Lord, is the carnality of living like un-born again people, or as 'mere men' as he put it.

 

"And I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, for you were not able to receive anything else and even now you aren't able for you are still fleshly. Since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly and living like mere (un-born again) people?"

 

Spiritual loyalty and strife

Here he speaks of people claiming to be of one spiritual camp or the other - I am of Paul or I am of Apollos -The issue wasn't liking one ministry over another, rather letting it get to the point of jealousy and strife among them.

 

But what if those living as mere unborn again people (in strife and jealous of one another) die before growing up in Christ?

 

He tells them: "No man can lay a foundation other than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, each person's work will become evident. The day will show it because it is to be revealed by fire, with the fire itself testing each person's work (actions). If anyone's work remains, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet as through the fire." (3:11-15)

 

So here we see that Christians who die with carnality built upon the foundation of Jesus in their hearts will be saved, but as by fire - their strife and jealousy likened to wood, hay, and stubble here, which will not survive the Lord's scrutiny.

 

Later he would speak of walking in love - clearly the things of love are the gold, silver, precious stones which are untouched by fire.

 

Think of it this way

So I've answered the basic question about what happens to Christians who die with unresolved sin - they go to heaven - yet the works of the flesh will be burned away, though they will be saved. So imagine a believer still filled with anger and hurt and bitterness towards their past, yet they love Jesus - they make it through but all that hurt and unresolved bitterness doesn't - what grace to finally be free! What love to not allow such things into His perfect kingdom of love and peace! Things which bring torment or caused us torment are not allowed in heaven - what grace!

 

So imagine that woman who committed suicide. Those who murder themselves aren't well in the mind and emotions, yet murder is a sin that can be forgiven (ask Moses about that one). The emotional damage that caused them to not think right and end their life will be burned away by the Lord, allowing only them in their purest and most whole condition to come into heaven - what love and grace is the burning of the chaff!

 

Paul considered himself not to be 'perfect' or mature yet, so we will all have unresolved things in our hearts and minds when we die. But anything not of the Lord will graciously be burned away so that we enter heaven without that burden: Who we really are in Christ will pass through, free from fear and worry and sins!

 

I think the larger question is...

Once we settle that Christians with unresolved sins go directly to heaven whether they lose everything but their salvation, or receive a reward, it still makes us wonder about that 'Christian' who sleeps around, bar-hops, or otherwise lives like the world.

 

If Christ is truly within them, how can they live with no apparent progress in their walk with the Lord?

 

So I must ask; Can a person have an experience with the Holy Spirit but not be born again? Can a person claim to be born again, even go to a born-again church, but not walk with the Lord in part because they aren't really born again?

 

People may have a genuine experience with the Holy Spirit, but not be born again.

Consider the person of Lydia in Acts 16:14. Paul and his group went to where Jewish women met by the river in Philippi to pray in the hopes of telling them about Jesus. We are told that Lydia was a 'worshipper of God' and listened to Paul.

 

Note - she was a worshipper of God but not born again. THEN the text says 'the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken of by Paul' Only then did she believe and was baptized. Up until that point she worshipped the God of Israel, but did not believe in Jesus. Do you know people who worship the same God, our God of Israel, but aren't born again? Lydia was one of those people before she met Paul.

 

Jesus also told the woman at the well in John 4:22 that she didn't know what she was worshipping - yet clearly she was a spiritual woman, and being a Samaritan, thought she was worshipping the one true God. Yet she didn't know what she was worshipping Jesus said. Do you think there are people in the world who worship what they think is God, but in reality they don't know what they worship? Obviously, yes.

 

Do you suppose there are people in the pews of our churches who are worshippers of God, maybe they even feel the presence of the Holy Spirit, sing the songs, donate money, yet don't open their hearts to Him?

 

Consider Judas

Judas was one of the original 12, which means he went out teamed with the others to lay hands on the sick, cast out demons, and cleanse the lepers. He was there to hear the report of the other 70 who were sent out when they all rejoiced that the demons were subject to the name of Jesus. Luke 9:1-2, 10:1, 17

 

Judas spent the same 3 1/2 years with Jesus the others did and saw all His miracles - yet he rejected the Lord and betrayed Him.

 

When I was a newly born again Christian, a family member went on a youth group retreat one weekend, and came back on fire for God. He said he didn't know what happened to him, but that he felt something he had never felt before - peace, rest, joy. But it didn't 'stick'. There was no change. He clearly experienced a touch from the Holy Spirit, but...

 

To this day some 40 years later, he doesn't know nor walk with God. He hasn't raised his kids to know the Lord, doesn't go to church, yet respects me and what I do. He had a single weekend where he experienced the Holy Spirit when he was 14, but wasn't born again.

 

There are other examples in scripture of people who had experiences with the Lord and Holy Spirit but were unchanged, but I've run out of room today. Next week I also want to address the ongoing cleansing process of the Lord in our lives which cleanses us of sins we don't even know about, and other issues. So stay tuned.

 

Until next week, blessings,

John Fenn

www.SupernaturalHouseChurch.org     CWOWI@aol.com

 

New CD/MP3 Series:

(2 cd/MP3, $12/set or MP3 $10)

How Could God Let this Happen?

Insights into why God Allows Difficulties and Tragedies in our Lives

    We have all asked, 'Why did this happen?' on everything ranging from losing a job, divorce, accidents, to the car breaking down in the middle of nowhere. Why does it seem on some things His hands are prevented from helping us, and other times it seems He just sits and watches us go through things without lifting a finger to help?

    In this 2 part series John provides insight into the spiritual forces and 'spiritual legalities' at work, answering these questions. You'll be able to say ‘Oh that makes sense' to many of the unanswered questions you've had. This series explains why, what opened the door, and how to walk in a life protected and provided for, how to work with God so He CAN help, so that Godly coincidences and goodness will surround and follow you all the days of your life.

 

 

A Predictable Path

“Indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.”
PHILIPPIANS 3:8

For the Christian, Christ is increasing, Christ is becoming larger and larger, Christ is becoming the focus. It is quite simple to see who is, and who is not, living up to this standard.

The more spiritually mature a person is the more Christ-centered they cannot help but become. This is the unavoidable and inevitable consequence of becoming a Christian, a disciple of Jesus. This is how the Holy Spirit leads each and every true believer, and there are no exceptions to the rule. It is as predictable and certain as the sunrise following after the darkness of night.

Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden

MEETING PRACTICAL NEEDS

Meeting Practical Needs in the Name of Christ  

Gospel workers with New Life in Jesus ministry in Paraguay are not afraid to “get their hands dirty” as they serve the Lord in a variety of roles. Last year they built a bathroom and septic tank for a very poor family in Mora Cue. As part of their outreach, the believers went door-to-door, sharing the gospel with every family in the village. New Life in Jesus plants churches and conducts Bible training in rural areas throughout Paraguay.

5 Common Artificial Barriers to Small Group Ministry Growth

by Mark Howell

 

If you’re like many, you’ve wrestled with the question, “Why can’t we break through this barrier?”
Here are what I believe are five of the most common artificial barriers that limit small group ministry:

1. The impression that the weekend service meets the minimum weekly requirement.  Is it crystal clear in your church that being part of a small group plays an essential role in spiritual growth?  If being part of a small group isn’t consistently referenced as essential in both the weekend and everyday communication, you can be sure that your congregation has the impression that attending the weekend service meets the minimum weekly requirement.  See also, Life-Change at the Member Level.
2. Too many selections on the next step menu.  It may surprise you to learn that too many options is actually demotivating.  In a fascinating study by Sheena S. Iyengar and Mark R. Lepper (Choice is Demotivating) it was learned that more is rarely better.  Their study examined customer responses to two jam sampling opportunities on two consecutive weekends at a high-end grocery store in Menlo Park, CA.  The first weekend featured a stand with 24 selections (extensive choice).  The second weekend featured a stand with just 6 selections (limited choice).  Of the 242 customers who passed by the sampling stand with 24 choices, 60% stopped while only 40% stopped at the limited choice stand the following weekend.  Predictably, the customers seemed to prefer the more extensive choice.  Surprisingly, the checkout stand revealed a different story.  30% of the limited choice customers purchased jam while only 3% of the extensive choice customers purchased jam.  See also, If I Was Starting Today, Part Four.
3. Minimum leadership expectations are too challenging.  If you’re not finding enough leaders to connect the unconnected adults in your church, the problem could be that you’ve set initial leadership expectations too high.  Is this true in your small group ministry?  Sometimes a simple calculation can reveal the answer.  In a recent consultation I learned that two of the minimum requirements for leadership were church membership and tithing.  Both admirable qualities, don’t you think?  Still, a simple calculation revealed that the number of members giving at a level that could be assumed a tithe was insufficient to connect the unconnected adults in the congregation (# of unconnected adults divided by 10).  See also, Small Group Leaders: Qualifications, Hoops and Lowering the Bar.
4. Entry level leadership opportunities are too infrequent.  If you’re limiting entry level leadership opportunities to once a year during the big small group ministry push, you’re missing out on a very important ingredient.  Remember, a significant percentage of potential leaders aren’t yet attending 3 or 4 weekends a month.  If your recruitment efforts aren’t year round, you’re going to miss out on a large harvest.  See also, 5 Keys to Launching Groups Year-Round.
5. Insufficient effort at launching new small groups.  The easiest thing to do is add members to existing groups.  At least that’s the way it seems.  The truth is, if you’re not starting new groups, you’re missing out on the easiest way to connect unconnected people.  See also, Critical Decision: Add Members to Existing Groups vs Start New Groups and Top 5 Advantages of New Groups.  

Mark Howell serves as Pastor of Communities at Canyon Ridge Christian Church in Las Vegas, NV, and as LifeWay's Small Group Specialist. He founded SmallGroupResources.net, offering consulting and coaching services to help churches across North America launch, build and sustain healthy small group ministries. He spent four years on the consulting staff at Lifetogether and often contributes to ministry periodicals such as the Pastor's Ministry Toolbox and ChurchCentral.com. More from Mark Howell or visit Mark at www.MarkHowellLive.com/about/

Books, other people, experience – nothing of this world can cause us to learn of the love of God.

The Revelation of God's Love

By Peter Sung And to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. ~ Ephesians 3:19
READING: Romans 8:9-15
God’s love is so wide, so high, so deep, and so long, that Ephesians tells us it surpasses knowledge. We cannot come to know it on our own. Books, other people, experience – nothing of this world can cause us to learn of the love of God. If it is unlearnable, how can we come to understand it?
God’s love is alien; it is out of this world. God the Father had to break into our world and reveal it to us. The love of God in Christ is nothing less than revelation. In Romans 8, Paul tells us that this love is so other (holy) that God must put his Spirit in us and cause us to cry out, “Abba Father.”
The love of God the Father – demonstrated on the cross and made alive to our hearts by the Holy Spirit – these are potent truths that we preachers are called to proclaim.
There is no preaching good enough, no argument savvy enough, and no personality charming enough. The application of God’s love to the human heart is a divine work that only the Holy Spirit can do. Cleverness of speech was insufficient for the apostle Paul and it is insufficient for us. We who are dead in our transgressions are made alive to God by the power of God, and on this work of God we are wholly dependent.
Prepare your sermons diligently and faithfully. But pray and trust even harder knowing that the most important work is done by the Holy Spirit. Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power?
God, Awaken me to your love by the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dynamic Church Planting International (DCPI) “Equips Leaders to Plant 5 Million Churches Worldwide.” Learn more

"What is necessary is faith. What is needed is the kind of faith which, uniting a man to Christ, sets him on fire."

Free eBook: "The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church," by Roland Allen

Download and share this free eBook with your leadership team, The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church, by Roland Allen.
From Verge Network, topics covered in this eBook include:

• A manual for gospel multiplication
• A better understanding of barriers to the expansion of the church
• The factors that encourage spontaneous expansion

Get Download Now

Resource provided by Verge Network


Download Instructions: To download this resource, follow the directions listed on the Verge Network download site.

The Return of the King

“This Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come.”
MATTHEW 24:14

Why does the Lord delay His return? Not for any lack of desire on His part to consummate His Kingdom, but because of His great love, and His compassion for all. Peter says He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. We have noted how the Gospel of the Kingdom is rarely preached today. Perhaps God is revealing this to His people yet again, re-emphasizing it to the Ekklesia so it can be proclaimed to all nations as His last invitation before the end of this age.

The fact that we do not know when He will return, the fact that we are to be ready at all times, means there is nothing to prevent Him from coming today. The next great event in the recovery of the Heavenly Order is the return of the King.

Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

Do we desire to build a community of God in our church plants?

The Biotic Potential for Churches to Grow

By R. Jayakumar I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. ~ I Corinthians 3:6
READING: Mark 4:26-29
Biotic potential is the inherent capacity of an organism or species to reproduce and survive. Since God is the Lord of our vision for new church plants, our churches must bear results, grow, reproduce and survive. However, challenges and obstacles, as well as some of our practices, may tend to blind church planters from seeing this inherent potential for growth and reproduction.
The church plant is constituted by God’s people coming together for God’s purpose. God has vested spiritual gifts and authority on every believer for the purpose of fulfilling His mission. His Word has life, His gifts are given for the common good, His people are commissioned, His presence is guaranteed, His Spirit is convicting the world, and His coming for the finality of His Church is irrevocable. Biotic potential must make every church plant grow.
Then what is our role in this endeavor? Our role is not to be the seed of our plants; but rather to release the God-given biotic potential within the church plant. Paul, who had this insight, said “God makes it to grow.”
Do we desire to build a community of God in our church plants? How much pre-eminence do we give to God’s Word as we disciple clueless people into Christ-like disciples? Are we contented to attract crowds or do we fashion disciples of the Lord Jesus? Are we utilizing the God-vested spiritual gifts within His people to grow His Church or do we permit Christians to remain merely spectators of attractive church-gymnastics? Do we merely preach on the Great Commission or do we execute it by reaping a harvest of reproducing disciples?
Lord, Help me to see Your inbuilt growth potential in all my church plants and to do nothing detrimental as I plant this church. Amen.
Dynamic Church Planting International (DCPI) “Equips Leaders to Plant 5 Million Churches Worldwide.” Learn more

Why Many Christians Are Deceived – David Platt

David Platt discusses why many Christians are deceived.

http://youtu.be/4xG_4LuyLZE


He says, “Everything would be different in these mens lives, because this encounter with Jesus—everything! Which is why we know that people who profess to be Christians, but who’s lives look just like the rest of the world are deceived. All kinds of people who supposedly made a decision—prayed a prayer, signed a card, walked an aisle, accepted Jesus into their heart—but their lives don’t look any different. They say they’re a Christian, but the reality is they don’t know this Christ. Because when you know this Christ, everything begins to change in your life. I heard one preacher put it this way: Imagine I got here late this morning…then all of sudden I come running out on the stage and I say, ‘I’m sorry I’m here late…I was driving over here on the interstate and I got a flat tire and got out and fixed the flat tire, but I accidentally stepped out into the middle of the interstate and this Mac Truck hit me head on. And it hurt, but I got up, finished fixing the tire and got back in the car and drove here. So, I apologize for being late.’ If this was the story I told you, you would know one of two things: 1. I’m lying 2. I’m very deceived. And you know that, because…

when somebody gets hit by a Mac Truck, they look different than they did before.  

Based on that reality, I’m pretty sure I’m on safe ground in saying when a person comes face-to-face with God in flesh the Savior King and Sovereign Lord and He reached down into your heart and saves you from the clutches of sin and self you’re going to look different. You’re going to look really different. Everything changes when you follow this King!”

Neil Cole: Can Groups Be Missional & Make Disciples?

Hanging Great Weight on Thin Wires

Can Small Groups Become Missional and Make Disciples?

by: Neil Cole
Pastor Brian Jones tells of the response he got from one “nationally recognized” pastor when Brian told him that he hadn’t figured out the whole small group thing yet. Brian said the pastor’s response was something like this:

“Well, Brian, that’s because they don’t work. Small groups are things that trick us into believing we’re serious about making disciples. The problem is 90 percent of small groups never produce one single disciple. Ever. They help Christians make shallow friendships, for sure. They’re great at helping Christians feel a tenuous connection to their local church, and they do a bang-up job of teaching Christians how to act like other Christians in the Evangelical Christian subculture. But when it comes to creating the kind of holistic disciples Jesus envisioned, the jury’s decision came back a long time ago – small groups just aren’t working.”[1]

It is true that we have been trying to make disciples in small groups for a few decades now and are no closer to seeing the world transformed by missional agents than before we started this experiment.
Groups don’t make disciples; disciples make disciples. It is my contention that for far too long we have placed the burden of sanctification on group meetings that were never meant to transform a soul, but to give transformed souls a place to join and interact in a healthy manner.
Your church is only as good as her disciples. A hot band, dynamic preaching, state-of-the-art facilities and wonderful programs do not make a great church if the disciples are simply consumers and unengaged in the grand work of making disciples. But if the disciples in your church are empowered and engaged in mission, than your church is strong and healthy, even if you do not have laser lights or fog machines. We have done things backwards for too long. We must reverse the order. We think that the solution to having good disciples is to make better churches, when in fact the way to have good churches is to make better disciples.
Correctly applying the activity and behaviors of discipleship in the correct grouping can make significant impact on the overall life of the church as well as her impact on society as a whole. The absence of key groupings robs the church of a needed interaction and participation in significant spiritual behaviors.

The Base Unit of Life: 2 to 3 People

Both the Old and New Testaments use the phrase “two or three” repeatedly. At least ten times “two or three” is suggested as an ideal size at which to conduct ministry. The Bible does not say “two or more” or “three or less,” but regularly “two or three.” The following are all strongest in groups of 2-3:

• Community (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)
• Accountability (1 Timothy 5:19)
• Confidentiality (Matthew 18:15-17)
• Flexibility (Matthew 18:20)
• Communication (1 Corinthians 14:26-33)
• Direction (2 Corinthians 13:1)
• Leadership (1 Corinthians 14:29)
• Mission (Luke 10:1; Acts 13:2-4)

God has designed all of creation to reproduce at the level of two. If you cannot reproduce disciples at this level you are not likely to reproduce them at all. This grouping is the beginning of all life.[2]

The Family Unit: 12 to 15 People

Small groups of 12-15 are a much better size for caring for one another’s needs and feeling a part of an intimate family. It is small enough that all parts can intimately know one another, yet large enough to have significant diversity and shared responsibility for one another. It is a natural sized grouping to opperate as a spiritual family on mission together.
In the church, we often run into problems because we expect too much from this sized grouping. The Western church is littered with dysfuntional and disgruntled groups of this size. Viewing a group of 12-15 as the only one necessary and capable of doing all God desires of a church is like trying to be able to have the performance of a sports car yet carry the passenger load of a minivan combined with the toughness and luggage capacity of an SUV. You really cannot find such a car, or group of twelve. If we have strong life growth and accountability in the group of 2-3 then a group of 12-15 can relax and be the family it is meant to be. But when the only group we have for everything is this group of 12 we are expecting way too much.
A small group of 12-15 alone will not be able to accomplish the work of missional disciplemaking. But if disciple-making groups of 2-3 are already at work transforming souls out in the fields of life, then gathering those disciples into spiritual families will be far more productive. We need to put less weighted expectations on small groups and reorient the responsibility of disciple-making to the right context: a disciple in relation to another disciple. Small groups do not make disciples; disciples do. If your disciples are missional then your spiritual families will be missional, but, as we have all discovered, this will not work the other way around.
My book Church 3.0 has an important chapter on the variety of group sizes using the Scriptures, sociological theories of group dynamics and even some historical examples to determine what are the best sizes for the variety of demands and needs in Christ’s kingdom.
[1] Brian Jones “Why Churches Should Euthanize Small Groups,” http://christianstandard.com/2011/01/why-churches-should-euthanize-small-groups/
[2] My book Ordinary Hero presents a thorough explanation of the power of groups of 2 or 3.

Why Saying “Let’s Go To Church” Is Bad Theology

People are prone in the church to have a dualistic thinking of the church, so they see church as a 2 hour event, and they see everything else as “their life.” The Church has got to get rid of its dualism and say to every believer: “You are the church.” Now everything counts. Find out why in this video clip from Verge Conference by Jeff Vanderstelt and Caesar Kalinowski.

http://vimeo.com/37191980

Spiritual life isn’t automatically passed on when God’s spiritual children have physical babies.

Why God Has No Grandchildren, Part 1

By Jim Carpenter Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. ~ John 3:3 (ESV)
READING: John 3:1-8
This is probably a familiar saying: God has no grandchildren. Physical life is passed on when we have children; they grow up, marry, and have children – our grandchildren. But spiritual life from God doesn’t work that way. Spiritual life isn’t automatically passed on when God’s spiritual children have physical babies. You can be born again, but your children may not be.
Jesus revealed to Nicodemus why God has no grandchildren. If they are ever to see heaven, all people need an inner change that is impossible for them to make: “You cannot see the kingdom of God (v. 3).” “You cannot enter the kingdom of God (v. 5).”
Maybe you have heard preachers describe “three steps to being born again.” But no one can engineer their own birth. And even more impossible, people don’t produce their own spiritual life. New birth is not within their control.
It is right to command that sinners repent and believe, but wrong to think that becoming a Christian is just about praying a prayer or making a decision, as if it was all a matter within the sinner’s control.
As Paul said: “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised” (I Cor. 2:14).
How can any “natural man” repent and believe in Christ? Answer: he cannot, on his own. Cannot. Every converted soul is a miracle of God. The Spirit of God must do a work within each one to make that person a new child of God. Not a grandchild.
Thank You, Father, for the miracle of the new birth. Please work this miracle in great abundance in this community. Amen.
Dynamic Church Planting International (DCPI) “Equips Leaders to Plant 5 Million Churches Worldwide.” Learn more