Category: Apostolic Ministry


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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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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Non-Viral Church

Filed Under: Apostolic Ministry, Christendom, Discipleship, The Viral Jesus Book, Viral Christianity by rossrohde — 2 Comments
January 12, 2011

Church as we know it is not reaching our society

Why isn’t the good news of Jesus flowing through our society virally, like it did in the early centuries of the Church; or as it is in China today? This is really the central question of my up-coming book Viral Jesus.[1] I’d like to point out five key reasons why we are not capturing the society around us. In fact, we are currently losing ground.

No apostolic ministry

The Church was meant to be founded on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. The Kingdom was meant to continually expand into places and groups it had not yet reached through apostolic ministry. Many Christians nowadays have no idea what an apostle is. They’ve never seen apostolic ministry in action. In fact, many falsely believe that apostleship isn’t even a currently active ministry or spiritual gift. I develop these concepts more fully in: Infrastructure Gifts, Apostles and Insiders, What Is an Apostle?, Peace to This House, and Why Simple Churches Don’t Work, Reason #7 (avoiding apostolic ministry).

No discipleship

Jesus basic command to his Church was to make disciples. But actual, effective discipleship is a pretty rare commodity nowadays. We are not training people with the requisite skills to actually become disciples of Jesus (see Making Disciples: The Key to Movements). For other posts on effective discipleship see: Sequentialism, Organic Discipleship, What a Difference the Spirit Makes, and a post by Molong Nacua, 10 MEGA-SHIFT IN MAKING DISCIPLES. 

Preaching instead of training

Did you know that the word commonly translated “preaching” is used exclusively in the New Testament for interaction with non-believers? When we see interaction with believers we commonly see a word that is best translated dialog. Dialog is an effective way of training. Public speaking to the masses (what we commonly call preaching) is one of the least effective training tools. We have put most of our eggs in the wrong basket.

In my post Spiritual Anorexia I stated the following: Have you ever been personally discipled? Has the majority of what you’d call discipleship revolved around sermons? Has the discipleship you have been engaged in been focused more around information about Jesus than actually learning to encounter and follow Jesus the Lord? Most American Christians would answer these questions like this: personally discipled, NO, revolved around sermons, YES, focused on information YES, learning to encounter and follow Jesus the Lord, WHAT??? This is a recipe for spiritual starvation.

We are of the world, but not in it

The Church’s general moral behavior isn’t any better than the average citizen who doesn’t know Jesus. We aren’t distinctive in our spirituality or holiness. Worse still, we somehow have been completely disconnected from the very people who need Jesus. Most Christians don’t really know or hang out with many non-Christians in any deep way. But what the non-Christians do see of us isn’t particularly attractive, let alone beautifully distinctive. From their perspective, why should they want Jesus?

Christendom has inoculated people from Christ

What we call Western Christianity, in reality Western Christendom, is, from a non-Christian’s perspective, wholly unattractive. They see our sub-culture, which is comforting to us, and find it unappealing. This is true of Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Mainline Protestant, Evangelical, Charismatic or Pentecostal, expressions of Christianity. It doesn’t matter if it is “liberal” or “conservative.” It doesn’t matter if it is the latest, coolest expression (with gelled hair, Starbucks coffee and flip-flops) or traditions from 150 years ago. People in the West aren’t, for the most part, against what they know of Jesus, but they are turned off by what they see of the Church. Currently we are even losing many of our own children.

Frankly, we need a ruthless self examination and recalibration. It is one thing to be despised because someone already hates Jesus (Jn. 15:18). It is another thing to be so unattractive that others distrust Jesus because of our non-biblical, religious sub-cultural. I’m OK with people hating me because of Jesus. I’m not OK with people hating Jesus because I’m culturally insensitive or disconnected.

  • Do you think we need a ruthless self examination and recalibration or will a few tweaks in methodology suffice?
  • Do you feel capable of distinguishing between what is biblically Christian or that which is merely cultural Christendom?
  • Are you associated with apostolic ministry? Do you even know people involved in apostolic ministry? Do you even know what it is?
  • Are you being effectively trained to be a more faithful disciple of Jesus? Are you discipling others?

 

[1] Concerning my book, I’m still in the negotiation phase with a publisher.

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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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Starting the Organic Life

Filed Under: Apostolic Ministry, Church Life, Church Planting, Discipleship, Evangelism, Luke 10, Meeting Together, Organic Church, Recommended Books, Spiritual Life, Supernaturalism, Viral Christianity by rossrohde — 12 Comments
December 6, 2010

Starting the organic life

Below is a comment from a recent post. It outlines some common questions I often get from people who are starting the organic life. I’ve put in a number of links which should direct people to earlier posts, training recourses and books which are helpful for people at this stage of the journey.

Dear Ross,

I like your blog. It has been encouraging to me. My husband and I have been Christians for 17 yrs. We have left institutional church a year ago. We have led all types of evangelism in institutional churches. We haven’t really connected with anyone yet to start a house church, meaning an apostle or leadership and it hasn’t been for a lack of trying. We are in a holding pattern and not really sure what to do from here. We are in Tampa, FL. Did you just step out or were you connected with others?

Hi Melanie,

Thank you for your encouraging words. And thank you for your trust that I might be able to give you some advice. The most important thing when receiving advice is to listen to the voice of the Spirit to discern what is coming from God and what is just me.

1.       Don’t stop loving our family in the institutional church.  

One of the most important things is to not give up on our brothers and in the institutional church. Remember when you were there? You loved God and wanted to follow him and serve him. Many are still there with that same heart. But you’ve begun to see that the Emperor has no clothes, see Bedbugs in Our Suitcase. To love them and respect them doesn’t mean you have to go back. It also doesn’t mean you have to ignore the problems of the naked Emperor. It does mean that you have to be gracious, loving and chose when, how and with whom you speak about the Emperor’s lack of clothing. 

2.       Do reach out.

Buy The Insider by Jim Petersen and Mike Shamy here

Since you understand evangelism, start working on relationships. For more advice on this see a recent post Sharing Jesus with Postmodern Friends. There are two kinds of evangelism: the evangelism of an apostle and the evangelism of what Jim Petersen calls an insider. It might be good to read Jim Petersen and Mike Shamy’s book The Insider: Bringing the Kingdom of God Into Your Everyday World. Here is a link where you can buy that book. You need to ask God if you are principally apostolic or he has placed you as an insider? 

a.   Apostles are looking for the man of peace. They tend to do very up front evangelism, often with supernatural acts. They really don’t care much if the majority ignores them if they can find the man of peace and get started in their oikos, their sphere of influence. From there the Gospel spreads; see What Is an Apostle?

b.   Insiders are working with people who are already in their own sphere of influence. Most of us aren’t apostles. But we are all insiders. This kind of evangelism is bit by bit based on relationship, see Sharing Jesus with Postmodern Friends.

3.       Make disciples who will reproduce.

For more on this see my post Organic Discipleship. Here the most important thing I can tell you is connect people with Jesus. They are his disciples, not yours. To do this you need to predominantly focus on skills, not information; again see the post Organic Discipleship for some of the skills I teach new disciples. 

4.       Get the basics of organic church.

Click here for information on Greenhouse training

To buy Organic Church by Neil Cole click here.

To get the basics of organic church do your best to go to a Church Multiplication Associates Greenhouse. There you will be taken through the basics of Neil Cole’s Organic Church book. If you haven’t read it, read it now. But, don’t skip the Greenhouse. They are the same concepts, but two different experiences; one which deeply reinforces the other.

 

 

 

 5.       Get connected with others.

Get connected with others

You asked: Did you just step out or were you connected with others? I’ve been in ministry since my first year of college in 1974; so I’m not afraid to “step out” and try something new. But, those who step out of the institutional way of doing things always go through detox,  see: Bedbugs in Our Suitcase. Everyone’s story is different, but we all need to go through detox and detox takes longer than we want or expect. We always think we are through it, then realize God is working out something else out of our spiritual DNA.  Having said that, it is always best to have partners. I’ll quote Petersen and Shamy on this. Partnering commits us to action. Most good intentions die of neglect before they’re born. We resolve to do something. Then we get busy and the idea slips away from us forgotten.[1]

  • Does God have you on a journey into a more organic expression of the Christian faith? 
  • If so, where are you on that journey? 
  • What kind of recourses and advice do you feel you need for the place you are in your journey? 
  • Who can you partner with who can help you be faithful to God’s call on your life? 

 Click the “read more” button at the bottom right to see more resources mentioned in the comments.

[1] Jim Petersen and Mike Shamy, The Insider: Bringing the Kingdom of God Into Your Everyday World (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2003), 183.

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Apostles and Insiders

Filed Under: Apostolic Ministry, Biblical Meditation, Christendom, Church Planting, Discipleship, Evangelism, Luke 10, Man of Peace, Recommended Books, Supernaturalism, Viral Christianity by rossrohde — 1 Comment
December 3, 2010

Click here to buy The Insider: an entire book devoted to how be an insider.

In a viral movement of the Gospel there are two very distinct kinds of people who are used by God to spread his Kingdom. There are those who bring the Gospel to a new place for the first time; they are called apostles. Then there are those who continue the spread of the Gospel generation after generation. Jim Petersen and Mike Shamy, in their book The Insider: Bringing the Kingdom of God into Your Everyday World call these people “insiders.” These two types of Kingdom agents have very different roles and therefore act very differently. Both are important, both are highly strategic, both are essential if the Kingdom is to saturate a people, city or society with the Kingdom of God.

The apostle Paul understood the difference between these two roles and knew exactly who he was and therefore what role he was to play. He also understood and appreciated the role of insiders. He encouraged insiders to act like insiders. Their job was not to imitate his Kingdom activity, it was to follow Jesus into the harvest as they were designed. He alludes to these two distinct roles in Colossians Chapter Four.

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 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 4:2-6).

Apostles

We know more about the Apostle Paul’s activity, due to Luke’s writing in Acts, than any other 1st Century apostle. He has become the gold standard of apostolic ministry. In this passage we can feel Paul’s heartbeat. Listen to what he says. He longs for an open door for his message. He wants to “proclaim” the mystery of Christ. He is willing to be in chains to do so. He is preoccupied with clarity and he feels that this bold assertion of the Gospel is what he “should” do. This is the no hold barred, bring the Gospel at any cost attitude of a committed apostle. Apostles often attract people to Jesus thorough supernatural demonstrations of power. But does he encourage all the Colossians to act the same way?

Insiders

Paul’s suggestion to the insiders at Colossae is in stark contrast to his own behavior and attitude. He suggests that they be wise toward outsiders. They are to make the most of opportunities. Their conversation is to be gracious, seasoned and considerate, so that they can answer thoughtfully. And, instead of the no holds barred attitude of an apostle, they are to have such deep relationships that people are asking questions about their faith. Insiders attract people to Jesus through living beautiful Jesus colored lives.

Two Different but Crucial Roles

Why is there such stark contrast between these two approaches to Kingdom expansion? In order to understand this, we need to delve a bit deeper into the apostolic role, the insider role and how they work together to saturate a society with the good news about King Jesus.

In my post What Is an Apostle? I refer to apostles as “sodbusters.” Their job, like early pioneers in the American West, is to break the ground in new territory. They do this by following Jesus teaching for apostles in Mt. 10, Mk. 6, Lk 9 and Lk. 10. Through the Spirit’s direction they find the person of peace and the household of peace and plant a church there. Then they help these people become disciples of Jesus, who can further spread the good news of the Kingdom.  Once they have built a foundation (see Building on the Right Foundation), they leave the work to the new disciples, who are insiders in their own society.

To break this new ground, in a place where Jesus is not known or understood, where there is not a hint of what Jesus is all about (or a place where Jesus’ name and reputation has been harmed like here in the West), they must be bold. Their goal is to show that this Jesus they talk about is real and has something to offer. They want to get the first few seeds planted so that those seeds can reproduce thirty, sixty and a hundred fold. They only need to find those special few people called the people of peace to do this. People of peace will introduce them to their oikos, their sphere of influence, where the Kingdom will take root.

Once the person of peace and their sphere of influence become founded in the faith, the apostles job is done…and the insider’s job has come to the fore. Paul, as an apostle moved from place to place. But he encouraged the Colossians to do their insider’s job as they lived their daily lives with the people around them. They were to continue to spread the Gospel by by being Christians, “little Christs,” for people, see Sharing Jesus with Postmodern Friends. They were to allow the delicious aroma of Christ, like fresh baked bread, to attract people, see Disconnected. Insiders are there for the long haul. They take their time and allow their friends, family and associates to see Jesus, smell Jesus, and hear the beautiful music of Jesus in their life. To do this they need to be gracious, seasoned, and answer carefully.

It is important then to know who you are so you can know what role to play. Much damage has been done encouraging insiders to act like bold apostles with friends and family. Those who know insiders need to smell Jesus before they hear about Jesus. But, when that moment comes, insiders are to make the most of every opportunity. Who are you? In the power and direction of the Spirit, do what you were designed to do.

  • How has Jesus wired you, as an apostle or an insider?
  • Another way of asking this is; which role do you feel the impulse of the Spirit to fulfill?
  • Have you, like many insiders, become hesitant to share the gospel because you have been guilt tripped into acting like a bold apostle?
  • If you do have the spiritual impulses of an apostle, do you have the resources and knowledge to know how to play that role in the power and guidance of the Spirit?
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