Category: Church Planting


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 — 2 Comments
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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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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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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Finding the Person of Peace

Filed Under: Apostolic Ministry, Christendom, Church Planting, Luke 10, Man of Peace, Organic Church, Simple Church, The Viral Jesus Book, Viral Christianity by rossrohde — 2 Comments
March 1, 2011

Finding the person of peace and the house of peace is key to ministry "Jesus style."

Recently a blog friend, Tim, asked a very practical question. Just out of curiosity, what methods to you employ in your context to search for persons of peace? This statement made me think of you walking down the sidewalk looking for a p.o.p. So, I’m wondering what that type of searching looks like for you. Thanks!

You can see the dialog that this question started in the comment section of Cesar, Man of Peace. However, I’d like to share the core of what we discussed and develop it a bit further.

My Response to Tim’s Question

Hi Tim,

  1. Finding the person of peace is not about technique. Every person of peace story I know and every person of peace I have found has been different. Having said that, there are things we can do to find the person of peace. Here’s what I would say:
  2. When I consistently pray about finding people of peace, I find them. When I don’t focus my prayer on this, I don’t.
    1. Finding people of peace is about listening to the voice of the Master. Therefore, it is a spiritual exercise based on a loving, abiding relationship, not something we can manufacture.
    2. Luke 10:5-6 say: “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you.” The house mentioned here is the “oikos.” I don’t think it is particularly focused on the building where people live but the connected people who may just live is a particular building…or not; see An Oikos Isn’t a Building.
  3. This giving of peace, I think, is speaking the gospel of peace, or giving a blessing in the name of the Lord. It is, in essence, making Jesus the potential for conversation. I don’t think it means necessarily giving the whole gospel, just opening the conversation. If the peace rests on them, i.e. they respond and engage, stay there!!! Don’t take off, after having spilled the beans. Focus! On the other hand, if they don’t have interest, don’t cast your pearls before swine. Just move on and look for a real person of peace and a real “oikos” of peace. We focus our attention and energy on people who are moving toward Jesus, not convincing the uninterested that they should be interested.
  4. With this in mind, apostolic ministry (finding men and houses of peace then making disciples) is about finding ways to make Jesus the subject of conversation. How do we do that? Any way He tells us to, as he speaks to our heart and mind. It is not a matter of us coming up with a clever plan. But, if Jesus gives us a clever plan, then do it.

Further Thoughts

  • Jesus is our model for ministry. Yet little of what we do in ministry nowadays looks anything like what Jesus did, or what he taught his disciples to do. Our idea of ministry has been so damaged by institutionalism, and the individualistic Western worldview, that we find it hard to think about doing ministry as Jesus actually taught us.
  • When we start actually doing what Jesus taught his disciples to do, and what he expects us to do, we start bearing fruit. I know this from experience, and it is why I wrote my upcoming book Viral Jesus[1].
  • This kind of actual obedience to Jesus, who speaks to our hearts and minds, should be normative, but is actually very, very rare in the West.
  • We have replaced Jesus inspired ministry with what we think of as following biblical principles. Yet, supposed biblical inspired ministry actually ends up not looking at all like what Jesus did? Isn’t that ironic?
  • I find myself wondering, and praying about, what would happen if say 500 Christians in the Bay Area of California would just do what Jesus actually speaks to their hearts based on an intimate relationship with him. This would end up reflecting Jesus’ and the apostle’s ministry in the New Testament. Yet, I only know about 20 people in the entire Bay Area that are willing to live like this. Does this make you as sad as it does me?
    • I spoke about 500 people in the Bay Area of California actually following Jesus into ministry. What would that look like if all over the world people where doing this?
    • I suspect that what we would discover in the West is what our brothers in China began to discover in 1949 and onward (see The Miracle of China and Thank You Chairman Mao). This would be both exciting and dangerous. Are we really interested in something exciting and dangerous? Do we prefer something we can control, even if it ends up being unfruitful?
    • Do you agree with me that institutionalism and the Western worldview get in the way of the viral ministry I’m talking about? Why or why not?
    • Where do you think the disconnect, between what Jesus did and taught about ministry and what we actually do, comes from? I’ve laid the disconnect at the feet of institutionalism and Western cultural worldview. Do you agree or do you have different ideas?
[1] Projected release date is Feb. 2, 2012 from Strang Publications.

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Critical Mass

Filed Under: Apostolic Ministry, Biblical Meditation, Church Planting, Discipleship, Evangelism, Jesus is Lord, Viral Christianity by rossrohde — 7 Comments
February 16, 2011

Are we sparking critical mass so that movements are started?

Have you ever noticed that the Apostle Paul didn’t stay places very long when he planted churches? Have you ever wondered why the modus operandi of his ministry was so much different than what we see today? Have you ever noticed that his ministry sparked a movement and the ministries we are involved in don’t? Have you ever wondered if Paul’s modus operandi and his effectiveness could be connected? I think they are.

I think we have much to learn from Paul and the way he did ministry. One thing I’d like to highlight from Paul’s ministry is that once he reached what I’d call “critical mass” he moved on. His moving on, after reaching critical mass, was expressed in two ways. First, when he planted a church he would reach critical mass, then move on. And, when he was training new missionaries he would move on after reaching critical mass. Let me give you an example of each.

Churches and Missionary Teams

One of Paul’s longest stays in a church planting ministry was in Corinth. Still, it was under two years. While there his team of Silas and Timothy as well as new workers Priscilla and Aquila laid the foundation of a new church and left. Corinth ended up being a bit of a troublesome church. This may be why the missionary team stayed so long. Imagine, two years being a long time to stay in one place!

Of even more interest to me personally was Paul’s ministry in Ephesus found in Acts 19 and 20. He sets up a ministry with some disciples in a place called the School of Tyrannus. This was probably a private rhetoric school, which was quite common at the time. Most of us read this and assume that this was a church. That’s unlikely. There is no other instance of anyone renting space or even having a dedicated space for churches in the New Testament. There was no need. Churches met wherever they could. What seems to be going on here is that Paul is training church planters. And here is the result of that work:

Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord (Act. 19:8-10).

Don’t skip over that last sentence “This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.” This isn’t talking about Asia as in China. It is talking about the Roman Provence of Asia, which is the western 25% of current Turkey. Still, think about what this is saying. Paul felt that all of the Jews and Greeks in a whole Roman province had been reached in two years. How did he do that? The answer is in Acts 20:4 “He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy also, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.” These are probably the names of the disciples who left the synagogue and met at the school of Tyrannus. They are the ones who planted the churches in Asia. When they got the work done, Paul had experienced missionary teams who knew how to plant churches and he moved on.[1] Some of these guys were planting churches in their own home towns.

The Secret

Once Paul reached critical mass he moved on.  What was critical mass? I suspect it was when he saw disciples who were demonstrating that they were following Jesus on their own. It didn’t matter if it was a new church plant or training new apostolic missionaries. In the case of Corinth, he could move on when the Corinthian church showed they were following Jesus. In the case of the Asian church planters it was when they showed they knew how to follow Jesus, the Lord of the harvest, into the harvest. And they showed that in spades…all of Asia was reached.

Paul never allowed people to depend on him. He wanted them to show, with their behavior, they knew how to depend on Jesus. Jesus is Lord. Paul was not, I am not, neither are you. Discipleship is connecting people with Jesus. That’s because they are Jesus’ disciples. Once they can demonstrate with their life that they are following him, our job is done and we can move on.[2]

  • Are you making disciples? 
  • Does your model of discipleship lead to dependence, independence or dependence on Jesus? What are the consequences of each? 
  • Do you think this concept of critical mass is important to movements? Why or why not? 
  • What would you want to see new disciples demonstrate as a sign that it was time to move on? 

 

[1] You can read more about Paul’s ministry at the School of Tyrannus and its implications in Viral Jesus when it comes out Feb. 2, 2012.

[2] To read more about viral discipleship and what to look for as a sign it is time to move on read: Making Disciples: The Key to Movements. 

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The Good Enough Syndrome

Filed Under: Apostolic Ministry, Biblical Meditation, Christendom, Church Planting, Discipleship, Evangelism, Simple Church, Viral Christianity by rossrohde — 6 Comments
February 14, 2011

 

The wine in old wineskins is good. It should never be good enough.

An Interesting Problem

My friend Erik Fish, a simple church planter with a call to university campuses, recently got these complaints from some of the student missionaries he works with:

“Erik, I’m frustrated. I’ve led five people to Jesus on campus this semester. I’ve seen about 20 people experience a miraculous healing as I’ve gone out to pray for the sick. But none of them are really following Jesus any further.”

“Erik, I’ve gathered Christians from all over the campus to pray together for revival. We’ve gone on treasure hunts and seen some really cool things happening. How come nothing seems to be happening with new people following Jesus and the gospel spreading on my campus?”

Erik’s wise response was basically you are making new wine but don’t have any wineskins to put them in. Here’s where you can read the rest of his post: Matches & Movements, Part II: Don’t spill your wine! This is a serious problem, seeing new wine spill on the ground. But there is another problem I’m seeing in the older generation (my generation) of simple church practitioners; we aren’t making any new wine at all.

The Old is Good Enough

What I’m noticing in my generation of simple church people is the ability to build a wine skin (start a simple church of already believers), then let the wine ferment and the permit the wineskin to crack and age. By this I mean that we seldom, if ever, go out and make new wine.

Frankly I’d love to have Erik’s problem, a bunch of gung ho missionaries gathering to pray for the lost, out healing the sick and making disciples by preaching the gospel of the Kingdom. I don’t want to make light of what Erik is facing. He is facing a real problem and he is following the Holy Spirit and doing something about it. But at least there is movement. I’d rather steer a car moving slightly in the wrong direction than try to steer a car when the engine is off and the brake is set.

Jesus, in addressing the problem of ageing wine skins (my generation’s problem), makes this observation in Luke 5:39: “And no one, after drinking old wine wishes for new; for he says, ‘The old is good enough (NASB) .” I think we have the “Good Enough Syndrome.” We are content to sip our lovely old vintage wine and not bother to jump feet first into the wine vat to make some new wine.

I’m not against experienced believers meeting in the presence of the Holy Spirit and ministering to each other. I do this as often as I can and it is spiritually refreshing, encouraging and invigorating. But it needs to lead somewhere. Water that doesn’t move gets stagnant. The Lord we are meeting when we gather is the Lord of the harvest (Lk. 10:2). He talked constantly about his kingdom and extending his kingdom. He told us to make disciples. It wasn’t an optional activity, in the Greek it says “while going, make disciples!!!”(Matt. 28:19). Making disciples is in the imperative, the going is assumed.

Where does this inertia come from? We have it baked into our bones from growing up in Christendom churches which suffer from the same lackadaisical and disobedient response to making disciples and extending the kingdom. I could go into the history here, but the real issue is that we have a problem and Jesus is our solution.

No Guilt Trips

Let the new wine pour from heaven.

I don’t want to lay a guilt trip on anyone because it won’t do any good. We’ll just feel miserable yet still end up doing nothing. Let’s look for a solution together. Let’s start gathering and praying like our wonderful younger university missionary brethren. Let’s go to the Lord of the harvest and pray for workers to be “thrust out” into the harvest field (Lk. 10:2). Let’s pray to be thrust into the harvest field ourselves. Let’s have the courage to not only pray but go out and pray for the sick. Joyously make mistakes, you’ll learn wonderful lessons. Let’s ask God to give us a partner if we don’t have one, (they went out 2X2 [Lk. 10:1]).

Here’s a practical idea. Attend a Greenhouse church planting training or set up a Greenhouse training course for you and your friends. Let me help you, here’s a link: Greenhouse.

Again my desire isn’t to lay on a guilt trip. Being in the harvest should fill us with joy. Watching new believers come into the kingdom is exciting. Having Jesus use his power through us to heal the sick and plant churches among the lost is unbelievably thrilling. If you ever do it, you’ll get addicted. Look at how the seventy-two responded in Lk. 10:17 “The seventy-two returned with joy and said, Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”

Not everyone is designed by God to be at the forefront of this type of activity, but all of us can be on a team that is involved and all of us can make a contribution in our God given design and giftedness. It all starts with prayer. May God bless you while you go and make disciples.

  • Do you agree that part of our problem is that we have it baked into our bones from growing up in Christendom churches which suffer from the same lackadaisical and disobedient response to making disciples and extending the kingdom? Can you think of other reasons? 
  • Can you think of other resources besides Greenhouse that could be helpful? 
  • Do you think we can do this type of activity in our own wisdom, power, using the best techniques and be effective?
  • What do you think the ultimate source of this lackadaisical attitude for the spread of God’s kingdom is?
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Best 5 Story Posts of 2010

Filed Under: Apostolic Ministry, Church Life, Church Planting, Discipleship, Evangelism, Jesus is Lord, Luke 10, Man of Peace, Organic Church, Simple Church, Viral Christianity by rossrohde — 1 Comment
January 3, 2011

Stories have a special way of capturing what people are experiencing

I started this blog on May 26, 2010 as a resource for people who long to experience a simple, living Christianity that spreads easily from person to person, in other words, the Jesus Virus. My first post was An Oikos Isn’t a Building. I’m sure at least five people read that post, maybe six. Since that time, I’ve written 117 posts. And, by the grace of God, I’m now getting regular readers from all over the world: the United States, Finland, Greece, England, The Philippines, Australia, Mexico, India, Argentina, South Africa, New Zealand, some countries I can’t name for security reasons…the list goes on. Most of these readers probably haven’t read some of my earlier posts. But these posts related to the purpose that God put on my heart; to be a resource. So, I’d like to do a series of posts throughout 2011 that highlight older posts from 2010 which, in my opinion, were helpful for that purpose. Here is the first in that series: The Best 5 Story Posts of 2010.

I may be a blogger, but I’m also a simple church planter and practitioner who is attempting to live the life I blog about. One of the things I blog about is the stories that come out of the ministry God is giving me. Stories have a special way of capturing what people are experiencing. They can also help us learn practical lessons. If you read the following stories, in the order they are given, they also weave a bigger story. So, in that spirit, here are what I think are the five best story posts from 2010.

Story 1: Meeting the Person of Peace

Those of us who plant simple/organic churches, among those who don’t yet know Christ, look for the person of peace Jesus taught about in Luke 10:6. Here is an encounter I had with such a person: Cesar, Man of Peace.

Story 2: Following Jesus into the Harvest

Organic ministry isn’t just about leading people to Christ and planting churches (as wonderful and fun as that is). It is about following Jesus and seeing what He is up to. In the process, we end up ministering in people’s lives. That can be anything from giving a child a cup of cold water to…Here’s an example: Francisco- Another Story from the Harvest.

Story 3: Taking Others into the Harvest

When Jesus begins to give us fruit, in the form of people, we need to make disciples; that is, help them become disciples of Jesus. In the process, we should take them into the harvest with us. Here is an example of what that can look like:  Burgers and Jesus.

Story 4: Learning to Follow Jesus, Not a Technique

We can be doctrinaire about how we think ministry “ought to be done.” Or, we can just follow Jesus, even when He doesn’t play by our technique and paradigm rule book. I would like to suggest that following the Lord of the Harvest into the harvest is always wiser. Here is an example: Another Story from the Harvest.

Stories 5 and 6: Gathering Under Jesus’ Lordship

When Jesus gathers us together, we find out that gathering under Jesus’ lordship is both dynamic and seldom what we expect. Here are a couple of brief stories from when my friends and I have gathered under Jesus’ lordship. You will meet some new people (friends I partner in the harvest with) and some people who by now I hope are old friends: Organic Church Gatherings – 2 Stories.

If you find these stories helpful to you in understanding what this organic/simple life, under the lordship of Jesus, is about,  share it on Facebook, Twitter, another social media or email it to your friends. My calling is to share what Jesus is up to. I’m just one of many who are living this exciting and fulfilling life.  And, I hope to encourage you to begin or deepen in this journey which Jesus is calling many of us, around the world, to embrace.

  • Do you have stories like this? If not, do you want to? If so, do you want to share them? Feel free to send me your stories by posting a comment. I may post (with your permission) some of those stories as a resource to others.
  • What one or two lessons did you learn from these stories? Do you want to comment and share your lessons with others?
  • Did you find anything strange or mystifying in these stories? What would that be?
  • What questions do you have about this kind of organic/simple church ministry? If you’re asking that question, probably others are too. Good questions lead to new posts.
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Infrastructure Gifts

Filed Under: Apostolic Ministry, Biblical Meditation, Christendom, Church Planting, Discipleship, Evangelism, Jesus is Lord, New Covenant, Simple Church, Viral Christianity by rossrohde — 4 Comments
December 27, 2010

All of these gifts work together to build an ongoing movement

Are some spiritual gifts more important than others? When Paul lists spiritual gifts in a numeric order, is he referring to some gifts being more significant than others? I don’t think so. I’m referring to I Cor. 12:28: And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. I do, however, think we need to understand how certain gifts play key roles to work in conjunction with one another; and that there is chronological order involved. I’d like to highlight then, the spiritual gifts mentioned in Eph. 4:11, explain briefly their role and how they work with each other.

I believe the role of the cluster of gifts mentioned in Eph. 4:11 are to build the infrastructure of the Kingdom. It is on these five spiritual gifts that continual forward movement of an organic Kingdom is hinged. Without all of them working together, the growth of the Kingdom slows down dramatically or even stops and begins to shrink. This is what we are currently experiencing in the Western world. And, it is what the Holy Spirit is changing so that his Kingdom can once again grow like tiny mustard seeds that grow large in one season; like just a pinch of yeast that can leaven a whole lump of dough.

Working Together to Build Foundations

In Eph. 2:19-20 we see this infrastructure metaphor touched on: Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.

The role of both apostles and prophets is to work together to build the foundation of the Kingdom where the Kingdom has not yet reached.[1] Paul refers to this idea of the apostle as a foundation builder (see particularly Rom. 15:20; I Cor 3:10). But imagine a builder trying to build a foundation without the information from the Master Architect? That is where the prophets come in. They are especially gifted to listen for the voice of God and understand. They are so crucial to apostolic foundation laying that Paul actually has them working together in the foundation laying. That has been my experience in apostolic work. I may have good, strategic ideas; but without the prophetic I’m not sure if they are just my ideas or divine direction.

Continual Reproduction Starts Early

In Eph. 4:11 the next key player mentioned is the evangelist. As I mention in Evangelists and Insiders the role of an organic evangelist isn’t to do all the evangelism, it is to train the new believers how to share their faith effectively, early and often. God takes continual reproduction, generation after generation seriously.

Caring for the Flock

Christianity is a contact sport. It is not some pristine, polite, protected activity. It is real and sometimes quite raw. When sheep get beat up, attacked by wolves and butt their heads with one another, they need shepherds. Jesus is the chief Shepherd as I explain in The Pastor in Organic Church. But the Spirit often uses especially gifted people with particularly warm hearts and divine relational skills to deal with these issues. Jesus the Good Shepherd is working through his spiritually gifted shepherds. Pastor or Shepherd (same word in Greek) is not a hierarchical position in organic church; it’s a spiritual gift, nothing more…but also nothing less. It’s important to developing the infrastructure of an ever growing movement of the Spirit.

Teaching Sound Doctrine

It is interesting that Teacher is mention last as the foundational infrastructure gifts. That is not last in importance, but I do believe there may be a chronological issue involved. Christianity is all about connecting with God directly and in community. Because of the new covenant, even brand new believers can learn to hear and obey the voice of the Spirit. This seems to be the apostolic strategy in the New Testament; get them connecting with God regularly and normally. Then, and only then, do they need to make sure they got it all right.

So teachers play a key role in infrastructure building of the Kingdom. But, if we hit them with “perfect doctrine at all costs” right of the bat, we end up with a bunch of immature Christians arguing over who is right. It is a pastor’s nightmare. Instead, we get them connected directly with the Holy Spirit and then teach them how to discern good doctrine from weird stuff. Teacher are important to the infrastructure, but their role has to come at just the right time so as not to send the Church into a detour from the direction of the Spirit; which is always going to focus on a continually and rapidly reproducing movement.

  • Have you ever wondered why those particular five gifts were mentioned in Eph. 4:11-12 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? 
  • Do the metaphors of foundations and infrastructure make sense to you? 
  • What is keeping us from having a movement of the Spirit? Could it be that Christendom has emphasized certain of these gifts, nearly ignored others, and doesn’t allow them to work together under the coordination of the Master Architect? 
  • What would the Western Church look like if it took these gifts as seriously as we see the Early Church taking them? 

 

[1] Or, like in the Western world where the Kingdom is in such bad repair that the Holy Spirit needs to start over or do a huge remodel.

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Evangelists and Insiders

Filed Under: Biblical Meditation, Church Planting, Discipleship, Evangelism, House Church, Organic Church, Simple Church, Viral Christianity by rossrohde — 1 Comment
December 8, 2010

In my recent post Apostles and Insiders I contrasted the role of apostles, who are designed by God to take the Gospel to new soil, and insiders, who continue to share the Gospel with people with whom they are in relationship. The way these two different types of people share the Gospel is very different because they are playing very different roles in the expansion of the Kingdom. Through the Spirit coordinated effort of both, we see the Gospel spread through a society like a small bit of leaven in a lump of dough.

In a Facebook conversation with my friend Lyle, he made the comment “I’m wondering if this gets apostles, evangelists, and workers in the harvest all mixed up.” It’s a good point. I’d like to use this post to clarify the role of evangelists in the harvest and how they relate to insiders.

Evangelists

See this video of an interview with Ed Waken to get the heartbeat of an organic evangelist.

Evangelists and Insiders

Evangelists have a very important role to play in the Great Commission; but in an organic context it is not what most of us have come to expect from evangelists. The key verses to understand are Eph. 4:11-13:

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 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.

Here’s a key phrase we tend to blow right past when we read this passage: to equip his people for works of service. That’s what each of these five gifted types of people do; they equip others for works of service. But each does it in a different ways. How does an evangelist equip Jesus’ people for works of service? An evangelist’s role is not to preach the gospel for everyone. That is sadly what it has become, but that’s not the function of this gift. It is to train others how to share their faith in natural, normal ways, so that insiders 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.

If the Kingdom is to spread through the society, like leaven spreads through an entire lump of dough, we can’t have a few apostles preaching the gospel in new soil and then a few more evangelists carrying the burden from that point on. In an organic system, everything reproduces after its kind. Apostles not only do apostolic work, they reproduce budding apostles. Evangelist reproduce budding evangelists, while at the same time they are teaching everyone to be mature enough to share their faith as insiders.

In an organic formation of the Kingdom, everyone shares their faith. And, they have a few very experienced and gifted people, called evangelists, who help them learn to do that. How? They do it through life and relationship.

Insiders

Every insider should know at least one gifted evangelist who can be showing them how to: Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone (Col. 4:5-6). That’s what insiders do, year after year, graciously showing with their life and through conversations how outsiders can become insiders.

Let’s imagine for a moment that a new insider, Toby, wants to reach his old friends with the good news of the Kingdom. How does he do it? In church as it has become, he would have been sent to an evangelism class where he would learn to share the gospel in a forceful way. The usual outcome was that Toby lost most, if not all of his friends; and the organic spread of the Kingdom got stopped dead in its tracks.

In an organic setting he would talk about this with more experienced Christians, having natural conversations and dialog. The more experienced Christians would say, “why don’t you talk to Ed Waken[1], he’s really good at that. Ed would start sharing life with Toby and in the process Ed would help Toby lead his friends to Jesus. In the process it’s even possible that a church would get planted in one of Toby’s old spheres of influence. Isn’t that a much more natural, friendly, gracious and seasoned way to give an answer to everyone?

  • Have you ever been connected a real live evangelist like Ed? 
  • What would be some of the first things you asked him? 
  • Do you feel personally equipped to let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone? 
  • Have you been turned off by traditional evangelism to the point that you’re afraid to share your faith? 

 

[1] Ed is a real, natural, gifted evangelist who works among Church Multiplication Associates churches (and others). You can see his blog here: Thoughts Out There by Ed.

 

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