Category: Apostolic Ministry


Letters to the House Church Movement

Filed Under: Apostolic Ministry, Church Life, Church Planting, Discipleship, Evangelism, House Church, Meeting Together, Organic Church, Recommended Books, Simple Church, Spiritual Life by rossrohde — Leave a comment
February 7, 2012

Click here to order Letters to the House Church Movement.

Some books are practical, some are theoretical; both have their place. Rad Zdero’s book Letters to the House Church Movement is strongly practical; while reflecting a deep understanding of the paradigms under which house churches and house church networks really work (theoretical).

Rad is a house church planter and network organizer in Canada; what we in the house church movement would call an apostle. He is also an astute theologian, though he might not call himself that. As such, he has had plenty of correspondence over the years, which touches on the real nuts and bolts issues that house churches face. By sharing his real letters with us he doesn’t paint house churches in some romantic glow. This is a warts and all look at what house church practice is really like.

Here is a sampling of the kinds of issues and questions Rad deals with.

  • What are actual house church meetings really like?
  • How do house churches deal practically with problem people?
  • How do you deal with the house church radicals who have a chip on their shoulder about traditional churches?
  • How do house churches multiply and how do they deal with missions?
  • What are the real problems (not the imagined problems of those who have never experienced house church) that house churches face? How should they be dealt with?
  • What does leadership look like in house churches? What is the role of elders and apostles? What does that word “apostle” actually mean in a house church setting?
  • What is the role of women in house church?
  • How do house churches answer the common criticisms that they face? What is their biblical backing for these answers?
  • How do house churches group themselves into networks and how does that all work?
  • What is their relationship with more traditional churches?
  • What is house church spirituality like?

I could go on because Rad covers a lot of important ground just by answering real letters and emails he has received over the years. He does this graciously, openly, humbly, yet with a frankness and clarity I find refreshing. He doesn’t beat around the bush, but he is kind. I like that.

Who would profit from a book like this? First of all, any house church practitioner. Because Rad has long experience and the churches and networks he is dealing with are well organized and mature (or maturing), he has lots to say to us. Reading this book might show us some things we are missing.

However, I think this book would be good for people who are curious about house churches but have never experienced them or haven’t experienced them broadly enough to really know how they work. I would also include those who are critics of house church. My own experience with critics is that they are usually unaware of the reality and are often responding to their own imagined fears or some bad experience with an unhealthy house church practitioner (see bullet point three). It’s OK to criticize but that should come from an extensive enough knowledge that the critic isn’t just setting up a straw man and knocking it down. Rad gives the answers to the key criticisms that an experienced house church apostle of a large network would give. It’s best to get these answers from someone who actually knows what they are talking about from real experience.

Would I recommend this book? Absolutely, in fact I’m going to recommend it to one of the house churches I’m involved with. I think reading this book will give the Holy Spirit a chance to speak to us about what He wants us to do next.

  • Have you even experienced house church? What was that like, good or bad?
  • What questions do you have about how house churches work?
  • If you are a house church practitioner, what problems do you fact? Where do you need to grow? I’d suspect this book would be a good resource for you.
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Technique Disorder

Filed Under: Apostolic Ministry, Discipleship, Jesus is Lord, Organic Church, Simple Church, Spiritual Life, The Viral Jesus Book, Viral Christianity by rossrohde — 2 Comments
January 24, 2012

Sadly doctors and nurses can't help you with technique disorder.

I read a great blog post today that made me recognize, once again, that I have a serious ministry disease. As I thought about Felicity Dale’s blog, A simple/organic contribution to global mission, it brought to remembrance an issue I faced as a missionary moving from a more traditional ministry setting into organic/simple church ministry; technique disorder. I personally had a serious case of technique disorder. I ministered in a context that was such a disease “hot zone” that everyone I knew suffered from technique disorder. I suspect this is a Western Church malady but we US Americans have a particularly virulent form of the disease. Further, I know from experience that once we have the disease we Westerners inflict this disease on previously healthy non-Westerners.

Let me list some of the more common symptoms of technique disorder.

  • Perceptual spiritual blindness: The afflicted delusionally believe the right technique can fix any ministry problem. The patient fails to turn to Christ for answers.
  • Workshop syndrome: The afflicted search desperately for a workshop to train them in the magic pill techniques to do ministry the “right way.”
  •  Detail myopia: The afflicted focus in on finer and finer details of the technique when the technique doesn’t work for them.
  • Initiation avoidance: The victim fears starting ministry for fear they won’t do it correctly or may not have enough training.
  • Training hysteria: The patient expresses strong emotions about the need for more training or excessive loyalty to a particular technique.
  • Expert Confusion: The afflicted feel that some designated expert has the answers they are searching for.
  • Failure frustration: If and when a particular technique fails to bring the desired results, the afflicted become agitated and confused.
  • Ministry fatigue: Failure frustration can lead to prolonged lack of desire to continue in ministry since “it just isn’t working.”
  • Hostility response: Failure frustration and ministry fatigue can eventually lead to a rejection of all ministry associated with the technique. A typical expression of hostility response is “I’ve tried simple church and it doesn’t work.”

It may seem to the reader at this point that I am anti-technique, anti-workshop and anti-training; that’s not true. I train people. I both participate in and teach in workshops in organic church planting, for example Greenhouse, which I strongly recommend. I’m not anti-technique, I just feel we need to understand the limits of technique and where true power and effectiveness comes from. Techniques are helpful. They just can’t fix anything. They have no power in themselves. They can even be exactly what is needed for a given situation but still not work. Why? The answer is simple. Spiritual power and fruitfulness come from an abiding relationship with Jesus. Further, we ourselves can’t make any ministry “work” or “be effective,” or “bear fruit.” That’s Jesus’ job. He is Lord. And, since he is Lord, we need to actually follow Him into ministry.

So, where does that lead us? I suggest getting good training and learn many helpful techniques. If you are just getting started, in my opinion, there is no better place than Greenhouse. But every useful technique, concept and insight you get at someplace like Greenhouse still has to be activated by an abiding relationship with Jesus, through following Him. He will guide you how to use the techniques you have learned. He will show you when to implement them. He might give you something totally new to fit your unique situation. In other words, the Spirit of Jesus will breathe life into the great training you have received.  Mere training itself can’t do that. For further development of this issue go to pages 134-135 of my book Viral Jesus.

  • Does technique disorder sound familiar to you?
  • Have you ever suffered from technique disorder? How you found remedies that could be helpful to fellow sufferers? What are they?
  • Do you think this is particularly a Western or American thing? Why or why not?
  • Do you think technique disorder is contagious? How is it passed from one person to the next?
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Ownership

Filed Under: Christendom, Church Life, Church Planting, Discipleship, Jesus is Lord, Organic Church, Spiritual Life by rossrohde — 8 Comments
September 30, 2011

If we follow men we end up being controlled by them. Follow Christ.

We can own a car, or a house or a piece of land. What we can’t own, outside of slavery, is people. Yet, if we look at the behavior of much of Christianity nowadays, one would think that owning people is part and parcel of how Christianity works.

Let me explain ownership. When we own something, it is under our control. No one else dare use it unless they have our permission. This applies to cars and houses as well as people. So when we treat other Christians as if they are under our control (usually we use the euphemism “leadership”) we are acting as if we own them. We even usually end up thoughtlessly using the vocabulary of slavery; he’s under our authority, she’s one of ours, they belong to X (usually a name of a church, ministry or leader).

This idea of ownership is actually quite common in the church today. I’ve noticed it in my own ministry when I, as an organic church practitioner, end up beginning to do ministry with someone who is already a part of a traditional church. Let me give you three examples.

1.) If I win someone to Christ, and they are introduced by their friends to a traditional church, it is almost inevitable that they will sooner or later be told that they now “belong” to this church and should therefore only attend their services and be “under the leadership” of their pastor. In my entire organic ministry, I’ve never once told someone that they shouldn’t attend a traditional church. Why, because I don’t own the person who has come to Christ. They belong to Jesus. I was just His instrument to introduce a person to Him. But, I’ve watched time after time as new disciples become church attendees instead of disciples of Christ. Inevitably they no longer do organic ministry or frankly much ministry at all.

2.) If I end up in contact with someone who is interested in organic ministry, who asks me to teach them how to plant organic churches[1], yet they are part of a traditional church, I pretty much know what is going to happen. I will begin to disciples them. I will tell them that I have no power over them but they are to only follow Christ. They will begin to grow. After that they will tell someone in their traditional church what they are doing. Next, they will be told something like “organic church is bad or questionable” and “you belong to this church.” And, as this logic continues, since they “belong” to the church, they should not do any work outside of ministry that is under the leadership (often expressed “authority”) of the leadership of the church. Further, any ministry they do should benefit the goals of “their church.” On average this takes about two weeks.

3.) I will begin to disciples someone whose spiritual life has been nurtured in traditional churches. They will view me as a leader instead of as merely a more experienced person. They will assume that I have power over them. They will be leery of this perceived power, or conversely they will expect to put themselves completely under my control. Either way they are not really fit to be discipled. On the one hand they struggle to get past the fear that I will dominate them. On the other hand they will become passive and fail to follow Christ; assuming that Christ’s directives somehow come through me. It rarely seems to matter how much I tell them I don’t have power over them or how much I keep trying to direct them to Christ. The fear will paralyze the relationship (or end it). The passivity is almost impossible to eradicate. Sadly both states, fear and passivity, keep people from actually following Christ himself.

So, what’s the solution? The long term solution, in my opinion, is to keep winning people to Christ and pray that they don’t have any Christian friends until they become followers of Christ himself. Should I completely avoid ministry with traditional Christians? No, hopefully I can say something that will move them closer to Christ. And, occasionally I find someone who is tired of the power game that is so predominant in the Church today. Such a person is ready to try to find out how to follow Jesus himself. These people are worth their weight in gold. In such a case, a more experienced organic disciple can train them in the skills of following Jesus himself. They can point them to others who have specific experience that might be of use to them. And the more experienced organic Christian can begin to watch as Jesus comes to life in their soul. This, in turn means that the relationship becomes mutual, each learning to follow Jesus from the other.

  • Do you think equating the traditional form of Church leadership to slavery is overstating the case? Why and how?
  • Can you see how traditional leadership tends to isolate people from Christ rather than direct them to Him?
  • What would you do in the three stated scenarios?
  • Have you ever struggled getting a traditional Christian to actually follow Jesus instead of other people? Have you found ways of effectively connecting them to Christ without controlling them?
[1] I never recruit anyone, precisely because they don’t belong to me, they belong to Christ. I only try to disciple people in organic church planting who ask me to do so.

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Chinese Takeaway

Filed Under: Christendom, Church Planting, Evangelism, Meeting Together, Recommended Books, Spiritual Life, Viral Christianity, Worldview by rossrohde — 7 Comments
May 19, 2011

Please excuse the pun.

I had dinner with some friends at a Chinese restaurant a couple of nights ago. We were discussing simple church. One of my friends asked me what was my take away from my visit to China awhile back? What did I learn from my study of the Chinese house church movement? It’s a great question, so here is my answer.

What We Still Don’t Get in the West

We in the West are still thinking more about simple church than living simple church. Oh, we may gather and have a nice meeting, but really the script is only playing in our brains. We are like actors playing a role, more than people living a life. We are still actually just thinking about it as a series of interesting concepts and dabbling a bit for fun.

The Chinese never went through that phase. Simple church was forced on them (see Thank You Chairman Mao). They had Christendom stripped away from them; and once it was, simple church emerged. We are coming from the opposite direction. We haven’t had the stripping process forced on us; we have to do it ourselves, under the direction of God (see Detox).

But, because of our Western tendency to think about everything, rather than actually let it come from the heart; we are thinking the thing to death and not just going out and doing it. The “it” I refer to is not gathering in simple churches, but being missional. We’re not going to get there until Christendom is actually stripped away from our hearts and minds. Once we are actually naked, as far as Christendom goes, we will be free to run the race without encumbrance.

Here’s yet a further way to say the same thing. We still see simple church as a technique or model. We ask technique questions. How do we do such and such? They are valid questions, but we are showing, by the questions we ask and the way we ask them, we think the power is in the technique. The power is in Jesus, not the technique. Get rid of the impediments of Christendom, so you can run the race in such a way as to win. When you are ready to run the race, Jesus will fire the staring pistol. Actually, he already has, but we are standing at the starting line discussing with each other the differences between starting pistols and revolvers. We need to run!

What the Chinese Have

Click here to buy the Heavenly Man.

But still, the Chinese have something that we don’t have. It is not persecution (although they have that, see Misunderstanding Persecution). They have radical obedience. When Jesus fires the starting pistol they start running. They may not know if it’s a 400 meter or a marathon. They don’t care, they run until Jesus tells them to do something else. They don’t stand around at the starting line discussing the difference in strategy between a 5K and a marathon. They run.

If Jesus speaks into their heart for them to go to such and such a place, they drop their nets and go. If, in the process, they get the bagoomba beat out of them, they figure that Jesus must be in that too. If you are still having trouble understanding what I’m talking about, read The Heavenly Man[1]. Pick up the heart of what Brother Yun is actually expressing through his stories. He was more radically obedient in his first weeks of being a Christian than most Western Christians are in their lifetime.

We go to seminars. I’m not against seminars. I’ll be teaching in a Greenhouse in a couple of weeks. But I hope those who I meet in Florida throw down their nets, and don’t just talk about the idea of simple church planting.

  • Why do you think we are so interested in techniques?
  • Why do you think we find throwing down our nets so hard?
  • Have you thrown down you nets?
  • Is your church missional? Are they even talking about it? See what I mean?
[1] Product Warning: The Heavenly Man is Christian crack cocaine. Once you start reading it you can’t stop. Be prepared to miss some sleep.

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When Words Get Ruined

Filed Under: Apostolic Ministry, Church History, Organic Church, Worldview by rossrohde — 6 Comments
April 18, 2011

Sometimes definitions get so ruined we can't communicate.

One of my frustrations as an organic church practitioner is that, as I dialog with more traditional Christians, I find that we use the same words, but often mean very different things by them. This makes true and thoughtful communication very difficult. Let me give you a few examples: elder, pastor, apostle, leadership, church, evangelist and teacher. I could give a few more, but this will suffice for now.

There is a cause for this. More traditional Christians have learned to use words, not by their original biblical meaning, but by what they have come to mean in the current cultural context of the church as we know it. Organic Christians find it helpful to go back to the original meaning of the words we find in the text. We do this because once one goes back to the design of the church, as we find it in the New Testament, these words and their original meanings become very helpful, descriptive and strategic. But if I use the word “pastor” meaning a person with a spiritual gift and God given design of caring for the needs of others; the traditional Christian hears “a person with the top hierarchical title and position in a congregational church.” They are two completely different things.

So what do we do about this? I can use a word, and have to explain it; or I can avoid the word and come up with something else. I’m going to give an example of how I’ve personally chosen to use both strategies with different words. For me, the issue is ease of clear communication. I realize others will have different opinions and reasons for how they use each of these words. I’m just giving an example of what I do.

Apostle

The word apostle is from the Greek apostolos. Here’s how StudyLight.org defines the word:

1. delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders

  1. specifically applied to the twelve apostles of Christ
  2. in a broader sense applied to other eminent Christian teachers
    1. of Barnabas
    2. of Timothy and Silvanus

An original reader of the Greek text in the year 68 A.D. would have completely understood that first line. From the word “specifically” onward, he or she would have been completely mystified as to what the writer of the definition is talking about. An apostle is a sent one. The twelve were changed from being mere disciples to apostles in Matt 10:1-2 when Jesus sent them on a mission. Barnabas, Timothy and Silvanus (as well as Andronicus and Junia [a woman]) are just more biblical examples of sent ones, apostles.

Apostles are people sent by God on a mission to extend his Kingdom. They existed in the 1st Century and they exist today. The Latinized version of this same word is missionary.[1] Someone convinced that only the original twelve were apostles, would probably whole heartedly agree that God still sends missionaries to extend the Kingdom; not realizing they are being completely inconsistent. What we have from “specifically” onward, in the above definition, is the traditionalization of the definition of the word. It is unbiblical tradition rearing its ugly head. That doesn’t come from Greek or the Bible, it strictly comes from the definer’s tradition. And, that’s the problem, in my opinion.

I still use this word because I can just say I am using the word by its original definition, “sent one,” someone sent by God to extend his Kingdom. The hearer may not agree that I can or should use this word in this way, but they can easily understand what I’m talking about. At least we’re communicating. For more on this read What Is an Apostle?.

Leadership

I can use the word “leadership” in a sentence, talking about Christians, without cringing. O.K. maybe I can’t; but I’d like to be able to. There is a reason for my personal cringe factor. The second we use this highly charged word, we all tend to go to the worldly meaning of leadership. It means someone in a hierarchical position who has positional power, control and authority over others. And, we use the word authority as a synonym for “power.”

This understanding of what leadership is all about is baked into our bones. When we use the word, we have an extremely difficult time getting to what Jesus was actually saying in Luke 22: 24-27. Jesus isn’t saying, “Be a new type of leader, one who expresses his or her leadership (positional power and authority) by serving for the good of others.” That’s being a benefactor; something Jesus tells us not to do in Luke 22:25. This is a concept commonly called “servant leadership.” Isn’t it amazing that we end up doing exactly what Jesus told us not to do…all in the name of Jesus. Servant leadership is an oxymoron. Jesus is actually saying don’t lead. That’s the way the Gentile power elite act. Do something different instead; serve others from a position of weakness; like a child or servant. For more on this read Leadership???

I no longer use the word leadership. I just tell the people I’m discipling, don’t lead, love and serve others. We’re all the same in God’s eyes. Once I use the word leadership with them, we’ll spend the rest of the day trying to figure out what’s good leadership and bad leadership. In my opinion, there’s no such thing as good leadership. Jesus told us to serve. I’ll stick with that. Leadership is non-Christian activity. I do this for ease of communication. I know that others won’t agree, and that’s fine, as long as we both know what we’re talking about.

  • Does it make sense to you why I’ve chose one strategy with “apostle” and another strategy with “leadership?”
  • Can you see how easy it is to have historical tradition even become part of our English Bible translations?
  • What could happen, as in the definition above, when we read a poor translation or study help and think we are getting the straight scoop?
  • Do you understand why organic church people, in going back to the original ecclesiological structure of the Church also tend to start using words as they were originally used in the New Testament? In your opinion, is this just rigid fundamentalism or is there a deeper reason?
[1] And, of course, the word missionary has taken on a completely different meaning from the Latin version of apostolos.

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Journeys to Significance

Filed Under: Apostolic Ministry, Recommended Books, Spiritual Life, Viral Christianity by rossrohde — Leave a comment
April 14, 2011

Buy Journeys to Significance by clicking here.

Neil Cole’s latest book Journeys to Significance: Charting a Leadership Course from the Life of Paul is a unique and intriguing take on leadership development. Most books nowadays view leadership from the “how to” perspective; understand these three things and you’ll be a great leader, or adopt these five principles to being an effective leader. In reality, that is a rather shallow understanding of what leadership really is. Further, from a Christian perspective, it short changes the spiritual dynamic of how God actually works throughout our life to develop a person who becomes more like him and in the process accomplishes his work through us.

In place of this shallow, trendy, technique and concept driven approach to leadership development, Cole takes a completely different path. He uses an interplay of three elements to discuss how God develops an effective leader over a lifetime. The first element is J. Robert Clinton’s understanding of the stages of leadership development. This first element, is more of a skeletal structure; important but not particularly noticeable on the surface. The second element is the life of Paul, as an example of a man who becomes a very mature leader. The third element is Paul’s missionary journeys, each viewed as a new and further progression in Paul’s ministry development.

By using this unique approach, Cole gives us a view of leadership development that is much deeper and reflective than the typical fare of today’s trendy, shallow take on leadership. He allows us to get a much better grasp of God’s unseen, loving hand as he develops us as unique individuals. He allows us to grapple with the interplay of this unseen divine hand, life’s circumstances and our interaction with both of them. God’s work in our lives, to develop us as unique, valuable, beloved and godly individuals, is not a simple, standardized process. Yet, if we cooperate with God in this process, we can become a beautiful illustration of God’s artisanship; at once an example to the world of his craftsmanship, while useful for his service and the good of others.

The apostle Paul is someone who cooperated with God to become a unique work of God’s craftsmanship. But, Cole does not portray Paul as a faultless, perfect demigod. Cole notes, “I believe that many, wanting to almost worship the apostle, have actually stripped him of one of his most admirable qualities—his openness to learning. The Scriptural text does not deify Paul, as we tend to do, but actually shows us all of his growth.”[1]

Paul’s lifetime journey, then, becomes a backdrop to explore the work of God crafting of a life. And, with the same gracious yet frank honesty of the Bible, Cole gives us a warts and all exploration. Paul becomes a man in process of maturation; maturation with a divine hand guiding it.

Cole pauses at the end of each stage of Paul’s life to draw real life, practical lessons. In doing this, he allows us to reflect on our own lives. By doing so, we can see God’s hand in our own life, realize that our bumps and bruises are not happenstance, track where we are in a life long journey towards significance, and get a glimpse of what may lie ahead.

Don’t expect Cole to portray a simple, easy journey. He is realistic and honest. The deep lessons that God wants to build into our life and character often come through pain and trial, not usually through victory and glory. … three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked…God’s workmanship in our lives is worthwhile, but it is not easy or painless. Yet, this honesty is paradoxically optimistic. God doesn’t pointlessly and cruelly beat us up. He doesn’t allow trial, defeat, heartache, betrayal and frustration heartlessly. Even these intensely painful episodes in our life are acts of divine love. They may be painful, but they are necessary if we are to truly mature.

Would I recommend this book? The answer is an unequivocal, yes. There may be tens of thousands of books on leadership, there may be hundreds, even thousands of Christian books on leadership, but few are this real, honest, deep and practical. None use this unique perspective. Further, as an interesting but valuable added benefit, Cole gives us a running and fascinating commentary on Paul’s life in Acts. You’ll probably never read Acts the same way again. This, in and of itself, makes the book worth buying; and it’s just an added bonus.

Below are some questions that this book may help you answer.

  • Where are you in God’s crafting of your life? Do you have a way to gauge that?
  • Do you have any idea what might lie ahead if you continue to cooperate with God in his development of your life and character? Are you cooperating?
  • Have you hit a plateau in your development? What can you do about that? How can you get going again?
  • Considering where you are in your life’s journey of development towards significance, what should you be doing to cooperate with God? Could the difficulties you are facing now actually be a gift from God, moving you towards greater character development and effectiveness? How can you tell? What should you do about that?
[1] Journeys to Significance, pp.88-89.

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The CIAM Syndrome

Filed Under: Church Planting, Discipleship, Evangelism, Jesus is Lord, Meeting Together, Spiritual Life, Viral Christianity by rossrohde — 2 Comments
April 12, 2011

The other day I had an interchange with Richard M. who was asking questions about my post Starting on the Wrong Foot. You can read the interchange by clicking the link and going to the last two comments at the bottom of the page. In Starting on the Wrong Foot I has posited the idea that if we start an organic church with a core of Christians, we are much less likely to become outward focused, viral, or fulfill the Great Commission, than if we plant a church among the new Christians we have won to Christ (or even those who have not yet come to Christ). This, of course, is a shocking idea; one that many find offensive. Nevertheless, I will hold to my position. It has been borne out over and over again in my church planting experience.

The question becomes, why do I hold to this shocking position? Why does my experience bear out this unexpected reality, that it is harder to become missional with experienced Christians than brand new Christians (or even those who are in the process of becoming Christian)? I think the answer lies in what I called the CIAM Syndrome, in my response to Richard. What is the CIAM Syndrome? It is the Church Is About Me Syndrome. It is something we tend to bring with us from church as we know it like Bedbugs in Our Suitcase.

I’m not the first to notice this syndrome. Here is a funny video about the CIAM Syndrome.

We have tacitly learned that I need my perceived needs met. Once they are met, I am content. We have also tacitly learned not to even ask the question, what does Jesus want to do?

The reality is that Jesus wants to do a lot. He wants to do a lot in us, and in the process, he wants to do a lot through us. This is a holistic process. It is not first he works in us, then he works through us. But, the more he works in us, the more he can work through us. He must lead that process; not us. He knows what he needs to do in us, to make us more fit to bear fruit through us. That is the whole point of his parable of the vine and the branches.

However, as long as we are focused on our perceived needs, we will short circuit the process. We have to trust him. We have to have absolute confidence that he knows what to do in us, and how to work through us. If we have that confidence, we can enter into a lifelong process that leads to radical transformation and abundant fruit. It will be painful at times. Can we trust him in the pain? Can we trust him that he loves us too much to do something that isn’t for our own good? Can we trust him that even when we can’t sense his presence, he hasn’t abandoned us? Can we trust him that when our ministry plans don’t work out, he has a lesson or two for us or just needs to work on transformation more, before he chooses to bear more fruit through us? Can we really trust him?

We need to learn that church isn’t all about me. It is all about Jesus. We need to learn that we, nor anybody else, leads an organic church meeting; Jesus does (see: Authority: How Jesus Leads a Church).  We need to learn that Jesus is the Lord of the harvest, and we are not. That being the case, we need to learn to follow him into the harvest, instead of coming up with all sorts of clever plans. In order to do that, we need to learn to listen and obey. We need to learn that Jesus has our back. We don’t have to worry because he will take care of us IF we trust him. For thoughtful commentary on that read Keith Guiles most recent post For Richer or Poorer? My experience tells me that it is easier to teach this kind of vibrant, spiritual and Jesus dependent lifestyle to new Christians than it is to most “already Christians.”

Yes, I know that my stance on this can seem hurtful. I know that some will find it insulting or even incomprehensible. I’m not trying to hurt or insult anyone. But I know what my experience bears outs. Does it mean that I’ve given up on those who are already experienced Christians? Of course not, that would mean I need to give up on myself. I’m in the midst of getting these bedbugs out of my own suitcase. And, like I told Richard M., if we are starting with experienced Christians who are already willing to be missional, already willing to set aside every encumbrance to run the race that needs to be won; we can start with a group of experienced Christians. Just don’t call it a church and don’t call them a team. It just carries too much baggage.

  • Do you find this stance of mine hurtful, insulting or incomprehensible?
  • Are you currently involved in planting churches and winning the lost?
  • Is your church multiplying itself? Is it even trying? Has it even asked the question of itself?
  • By being honest with yourself in answering the above questions, do you have the courage to ask Jesus what he wants to do about it?
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Important Lessons from India

Filed Under: Apostolic Ministry, Biblical Meditation, Discipleship, Evangelism, House Church, Meeting Together, Spiritual Life, Supernaturalism, Viral Christianity, Worldview by rossrohde — 5 Comments
March 28, 2011

Indian Leadership Training

In my post You Have My Permission to Gossip I shared an excerpt from recent letter from Victor Choudhrie. Now I’d like to share all 12 of Victor’s points. It is interesting to note the difference of focus and emphasis between the Indian Church and what is common in the West. It should come as no surprise, after reading Victor’s points, about the coming feast of Pentecost that the Indian house church movement is growing explosively. They are doing it without tons of money. They are growing explosively even among illiterate people who can’t read their Bibles. Amazingly, that doesn’t even prevent them from becoming effective leaders. To see how that is done read Felicity Dale’s recent post written while visiting the Indian house church movement How illiterate women in India can teach advanced topics.

The house church movement in India (and other places like China, the Philippines and Indonesia) is growing explosively. They are producing healthy, vibrant Christians. They are rapidly reproducing networks of multi-generational churches starting with non-Christians. Every Christian is involved. They do this without paid, seminary trained clergy. It is common for them to baptize hundreds, if not thousands of new believers at one time. Let’s sum up. They grow explosively and have vibrant, on-fire Christians. This is far from the norm in the West. Isn’t it time we started learning from them, instead of assuming that they need our help? So here are some lessons from Victor. Learn from an experienced apostle who has learned from the Master. Learn to think like he does, instead of our typical unfruitful Western patterns.

One of 1,460 baptized in one day

1.      Pentecost is the Birthday of the church.

2.      Pentecost is a Harvest festival in Jewish calendar. Our Lord changed it into a harvest of souls.

3.      On this day the Holy Spirit came down like the tongues of fire on the disciples and they spoke in at least 16 understandable languages to people from every nation under the sun. (Acts 2:5)

4.      3000 families were baptized in one day, who immediately started meeting in homes where they had apostolic teaching, fellowship, broke bread and prayer. This resulted in signs and miracles, sharing of material blessings and daily addition of new souls. (Acts 2:37-47). Within a short time additional 5,000 families were added (Acts 4:4). Soon the new believers were upgraded and became disciples, who made more disciples and multiplied exponentially (Acts 6:1); and then there was daily multiplication of quality churches (Acts 16:5).

5.      The modern day Pentecostal movement was started by 18 Afro-American women in Azusa street in 1906. It has now multiplied into 600 million Pentecostals all over the world. Sadly the Pentecostal church does not know its history that it was started by women and continues to degrade women in the church based on distorted versions of Paul’s teachings.

6.      A house church does not need any special building, special day, special person to run it. Wherever two or three gather to gather to eat, meet and gossip the gospel, make disciples and multiply, is an authentic church because the Lord is present in their midst. (Matt. 18:18-20) House churches are biblical, historical, effective, productive, customizable, gender neutral and free.

7.      The best way to celebrate the birth day of the church is to replicate the original first Pentecost i.e. to reap a huge harvest of souls. Aim at baptizing at least 3000 souls. And why not, after all, you believe in a great and awesome God for whom nothing is impossible. You have more resources than Peter. He had no silver or gold, nor vehicle or mobile phone.

8.      Reaping a huge harvest requires abundant sowing, (2Cor. 9:6), watering, manuring, protecting from predators, etc. It will include fasting and praying and uniting with like minded people from neighboring churches.

9.      Every Christian is “ordained” to fulfill the Great Commission of our Lord, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptize, equip and send them on to do the same to the ends of the earth”. “As the Father has sent me so I send you”. There is a huge implementation gap. If just a few Christians obeyed this great command, the church will go ballistic. (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; John 20:21).

10.  The best way to fulfill that Command is to bring forth lasting fruit (John 15:16) which includes sharing the whole wisdom of God, baptizing and breaking bread from house to house. (Acts 20:20,27; 1Cor. 11:20-23).

11.  Your workplace, village and the community or business, wherever God has planted you to be a Tree of life, is your primary nuclear church and you are accountable for their souls.

12.  Aim to be a millionaire of souls. If you consider yourself ‘the least’ in the kingdom, then God can multiply you into a thousand within a short period of time. Isa. 60:22; Matt. 11:11; 1Cor. 1:26-31

  • Can you name three lessons you learned from Victor?
  • What did you note in the Indian way of doing things that is different from what you are doing? Can you ask the Holy Spirit how to apply that to your context?
  • What did you notice in Victor’s way of doing things (really the Master’s way) that cause the viral spread of the Kingdom?
  • Even Western house churches don’t really behave like this? What do you think is holding us back?
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Pearls and Pigs

Filed Under: Apostolic Ministry, Biblical Meditation, Evangelism, Luke 10, Man of Peace, Viral Christianity by rossrohde — 3 Comments
March 9, 2011

Some "pigs" are perfectly decent human beings.

Jesus’ statement in Matt 7:6 about pearls and swine is well known by most Christians. In fact, it, like so many of Jesus’ statements, has become famous enough to become part of cultural literacy. His actual statement was this, “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces” (NASB).

What was Jesus really saying? I’ve heard discussion about this passage focus on two themes:

  1. Those who aren’t interested in the gospel are dogs…a bunch of worthless swine.
  2. Be careful with whom you share the gospel.

I’m not sure either of these options quite captures the essence of what Jesus was trying to get across and how he actually lived his life.

When Jesus Calls Names

Jesus wasn’t above calling someone names. He did it to provoke the Syrophoenician woman. But he wasn’t being a racist; he had another purpose in mind. To read more about this see: Collateral Good and Behind the Portcullis. And, Jesus famously called some of the Pharisees a brood of vipers and whitewashed tombs. But, in general, Jesus was gracious to all but the arrogant, hypocritical religious elite. So I don’t think Jesus is trying to teach us that we are supposed to distain people who aren’t like us, or don’t understand what we are talking about. It doesn’t fit his character.

Jesus Didn’t Preach to Everyone

I think the second option is closer to the truth about what Jesus was teaching; but it is still 20 degrees off center. It is going in the right direction; it just doesn’t quite get us where he was trying to take us. I think is misses the wise spiritual discernment process which helps us determine with whom we share the gospel. Let me explain.

Have you ever notice that Jesus didn’t preach to everyone, every time he got a chance. Sometimes he did, for example the Sermon on the Mount. But other times he could completely ignore the crowds and focus on one person; for example the hemorrhaging woman or Zacchaeus. He also would engage people as long as they moved towards God. The woman at the well in is a good example of this. When they showed they weren’t really interested, he just ended the conversation and moved on. A classic example of this, is the man commonly called the Rich Young Ruler.

Why do we feel we need to preach to everyone and convince them our gospel is right? Are we defending the gospel or our own sense of rightness? When Jesus sent out the 72 he told them not to greet anyone on the road and don’t move around from house to house. I suspect this was part of Jesus showing us how to focus in on the people we should actually be sharing the gospel with. He gives us more specific instructions in Lk. 10: 5-6; telling us to look for the house of peace and the man of peace. You can read about my thoughts about this in Finding the Person of Peace.

Casting Pearls in the Mire

So, what then do I think Jesus was teaching in Matt. 7:6? I think he was saying preach the gospel by looking for ways to make him the topic of conversation. If someone responds, continue to engage them. They are probably the person of peace, or as it says in Matthew 10, a worthy man (v.11). On the other hand, if they are not interested, don’t continue the conversation. And don’t feel guilty about ending the conversation. To continue on would be to force your will on someone else. This potentially makes them angry at you, causing them to disparage the gospel and Jesus even more. In other words, they will trample your beautiful pearls in the mire. They may be perfectly fine human beings, in many ways, but they aren’t ready for the gospel at this time. And, they may never be.

We need to understand that pushing the gospel on people who really aren’t interested ends up causing more harm than good. For a good example of this see A Christian Believer Attempts To Convert A Free-Will Thinker. WARNING: this is not written by a Christian. Quite the contrary, it is written by an angry atheist. If reading such a thing will offend your sensibilities, don’t bother clicking this link. My point is to show what happens when we feel it is our duty to force others to try to see Jesus like we do. I don’t think Jesus told us to do this. And by concentrating our efforts on those who are already moving towards Jesus (the person of peace, the worthy man) we don’t see Jesus and our gospel stomped through the mire. We also save ourselves a lot of grief. And, consequently, we don’t needlessly harm others who really aren’t ready to hear the gospel and may never be. That, in my opinion, isn’t an act of love.

  • What do you think our motivation is for trying to force people to listen to the gospel?
  • Do you think force is every an appropriate option for sharing Jesus? If so, when and how?
  • Can you think of any instance when Jesus used force to preach the gospel against someone’s will?
  • If what I’m suggesting is correct, does it make sharing the gospel a little easier?
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Do We Need Ministry Teams?

Filed Under: Apostolic Ministry, Biblical Meditation, Jesus is Lord, Organic Church, Simple Church, Worldview by rossrohde — 8 Comments
March 8, 2011

How much of this is biblical and how much cultural?

Felicity Dale, in her most recent blog in Simply Church: A House Church Perspective, entitled The A-team: A question asks an important question about the actual practicality of organic, apostolic teams: Should we be looking to form five-fold ministry teams? I was encouraged to read the response to Felicity’s question because I saw a consensus forming that coincided with my own thinking.

My Answer to Felicity’s Blog

I’m glad to see the thoughts I had when I read this post and tried to answer the questions, in my own mind, are being addressed by others. For me it is confirmation.

To summarize: we tend to think of the “team” part of a fivefold team in ways that are too Western. We need to think more on a network scale and more relationally. We also need to think in less planned and more situational ways. Finally there is a special relationship between the apostolic and prophetic.

How does this look practically. Within a network, the more mature apostles, prophets, evangelist pastors and teachers know who each other are. When situations come up, those in the network know who is both mature and gifted to deal with a given situation. If a teacher is called for a teacher will be called. All of this is done under the direction of the Holy Spirit.

At the same time, apostles and prophets probably have a closer, more intentional working relationship. I would agree with Joseph Cartwright that we should concentrate on each function multiplying others with the same function. But I wouldn’t discount the Holy Spirit developing some relationally based teams that work well together.

All of what I’ve said above should be led by Jesus our Lord. It is not some technique or model we reproduce. Jesus will give us what we need, when we need it and he will coordinate it. But we need to pay attention and obey.

Further Thoughts about “Team”

I wonder if we don’t get hung up by the word “team.” That word isn’t in the text. I suspect if we could go back in time and talk to Paul, Barnabas, Timothy, Titus, et.al. and refer to their groups, in their various permutations, as a “team,” they would have wrinkled up their brow and wondered what in the world we were talking about. The concept of “team” and team sports seems to be a modern construct. It doesn’t seem to show up before the Renaissance. We can get a general idea in this Wikipedia article History of sport.

So, I suspect just the act of calling these ministry groups “teams” ends up warping our thinking along the lines of what sports teams do and particularly how business teams function and therefore how current ministry teams function. Ministry teams, in typical traditional church and mission ministry, are really just business teams brought into the ministry arena.

What we see in Eph. 4:11-13 is a list of kinds of gifted and called individuals: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. These kinds of people have a particular spiritual gifting and calling to “to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up  until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

Once we stop looking at these people as a “team” we can again re-ask a set of questions more accurately.

  1. Do they work together? Yes.
  2. Do they do work together intentionally? Sure.
  3. Is their structure organizational like a business team? Probably not, at least not necessarily so.
  4. Could they function like a business team? Yeah, if Jesus called them to do so; which might happen, particularly if it helps in a specific situation. But, that should not be our default way of seeing Eph. 4:11 people functioning together. It is our culture’s default thinking, not God’s default thinking. We don’t have to get stuck in our own cultural paradigms. But it is easy to get stuck in our cultural paradigms if we are not aware of them.
  5. What is their working together based on? Relationship and the call and coordination of Jesus the Lord. That can be very ad hoc or very structured and intentional. Felicity gives a great example of a structured and intentional team Church Multiplication Associates; a group of people I consider personal friends and who I deeply respect.  I believe they have been called to do exactly what they are doing and Jesus the Lord is giving them fruit because of their whole hearted obedience.
  6. Is “team” the only model? No.
  7. Is “team” a model we can reproduce? It’s the wrong question. A better question is: What has Jesus asked you, your friends, your church, your church network/s to do? The power isn’t in the model. They power is in Jesus and obedience to Him.
  • What has Jesus asked you, your friends, your church, your church network/s to do?
  • Are you asking and listening about this subject? You probably won’t get an answer to a question you don’t ask.
  • Do you agree with me that we have imposed “team,” as a cultural construct, into the Eph. 4 passage? Why or why not?
  • Now that the subject of cultural constructs has come up, can you see others that we are blindly inserting into our thinking and understanding of the Scriptures?
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