My Weblog

Ralph Moore's new Blog

It's worth a visit. This is from Ralph Moore...

'I just launched a new website. It’s at www.ralphmoorehawaii.com.

It’s been a long time since you’ve heard from me via www.cpforum.net. I apologize for that. The nature of the site seemed to change and I lost interest.

The submitted articles took a turn away from disciplemaking and church multiplication. Instead of pulling us back on center, I got involved in other projects (including a new book coming out next year).

This site is decidedly different. It shamelessly promotes my books, contains a (fairly random) blog, my own current reading list and articles on disciplemaking and church multiplication. It is a lot more focused than the previous site.

One major difference is that, though you can comment on just about anything, I will generate the primary data. The reason for this is focus. The website is a disciplemaking tool containing disciplemaking tools. Its singular purpose is propagating the gospel by making disciples and multiplying churches.

I hope you will find it useful enough to recommend it to others.

Blessings and thanks for your friendship,

Ralph Moore'

Meet Abhay!

Hey, today I fly out for India. In the first week I catch up with my friend Abhay. Abhay is a Church planter and is spawning a movement of churches amongst Nepali people. Signs and wonders often happen under his ministry. Listen to his story. You'll enjoy hearing more about his story in posts to come!

Gupta - 'Breaking Tradition to Accomplish Vision'

Bobby Gupta has written an excellent book Breaking Tradition To Accomplish Vision. He is no arm chair theorist. Having been catalytic in planting thousands of churches in India, he is a man with a big vision. His book causes you to think big! Here are some of the main points that struck me after reading it.

1.Vision. Gupta’s journey was to continually think big until he had his whole nation in sight. His vision was not formed by ‘how much could/would we do?’, but by ‘how much needs to be done?’

2. Empowering others in the vision. As a pararchurch group, Gupta & HBI focused on networking and training other Churches.

3. Informal training. ‘A compelling vision/ mission leaves no time for formal training’. The primary focus is to release lay people with the ‘basics’. Training as you go. In the location of ministry. Both in methodology (Evangelism, contextualisation, church planting, leadership) and theology (basic biblical material, ministry philosophy etc). The curriculum used is adaptable and depended on the context.  It was ‘just in time’ training.

Mentoring and on the job training or ‘Immersion’  was also key components.

This said the informal training was conducted very intentionally and required resource of leadership and trainers (+ Trainers of trainers).

Formal training was also a key component in training leaders. So the initial release by informal training could be complemented by longer term formal training ‘as you go’.

4. Leadership. The release of the Eph 5. model (in particular apostles oversighting CP movements) was key. A clear understanding of the role of the Apostle in Church life as opposed to the pastor/teacher model is important. Apostles’ spawn churches, focus on multiplication and have broad vision. They might not even plant a church, or remain with a singular church. (e.g. Paul) The Christendom (Western) model has elevated the role of the pastor/teacher, often forgetting altogether the role of the apostle, or relegating it to the early Church only. The need for apostle in a post Christian era in the West is a helpful correction.

If you are interested in having your vision stretched, and want to dream big, then don't miss Bobby as he comes this year to the Crossway Conference.

Kicking out the box - By Jus Simpson

Justin and Debbie are dear friends who are planting a Church here in Melbourne... In fact they dream of a church planting movement. I have the privilege of walking this through with them... Below is a devotional that Jus wrote recently.

Kicking out the box
'...the believers who had been scattered during the persecution after Stephen's death travelled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria.  They preached the word of God, but only to Jews.  However, some of the believers who went to Antioch from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching to the Gentiles about the Lord Jesus.' (Acts 11.19-20)

For a while now, our community hasn't grown with people becoming followers of Jesus.  Its had me worried, but I haven't known how to lead us out.  Last week, my mentor Dave asked me some questions which really helped.  He asked how much of my 'church' day, I spent preparing for our Sunday get-togethers and how much I spent getting out and fostering relationships with people.  He suggested I spend no time preparing our meeting, and the bulk of my time out connecting with new people.  So this week I did something I've never done before.  I caught the train to Boronia and walked around the shops and prayed.  I went into a few shops and asked the owners if I could pray for their business.  At times I felt incredibly awkward, but when one shop owner accepted my offer, it made my day! 

Sometimes we get boxed in.  We want something more than we currently experience, but we don't know what to do about it.  Sometimes, our thinking limits us from experiencing more of God - our thinking has boxed us in.  Sometimes, we have got so used to what we have become, that we don't expect anything more or anything different - our low expectations box us in.  Sometimes, we have routines which we follow, day after day, week after week, and we don't venture out from these - our routines have boxed us in. 

Dave's questions kicked out the side of my box - he challenged my thinking and routine.  Me trying something new ripped the side of the box off.  I won't being going back to my usual routine.

The believers who travelled to Antioch and preached to the Gentiles are my heroes.  Prior to this, the early Christians had seen the Jesus movement as being essentially within Judaism.  But these believers changed their thinking and did something very different.  They reconsidered God's Good News and how Jesus wanted to save Gentiles as well as Jews.  (This thinking was very different from how some Jewish people regarded the Gentiles; cf. Acts 22.21-22).  They also changed what they were doing, connecting socially with the Gentiles, so they could share this Good News.  (This change of routine was very radical, even within the Jesus movement cf. Acts 10-11; Gal 2.11-13).  These believers kicked out the side of their box!

There is a song lyric, 'There must be more than this.'  What do you long for more of?  Do you sense God wants to do more or different within or through you, but you have no idea how to get out into it?
Do you have any patterns of thinking which box you in, and limit what God wants to do in you? 
Do you have any routines which box you in, and limit what God wants to do through you?
Do you have someone who is helping you get out of your box?

A prayer.
'Now to him who is able to do immeasureably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus thoughout all generations...' (Eph 3.20-21).  Jesus, please help me recognize any box I have put myself in.  Please help me see out of it.  Please give me the courage to kick out the side of the box.  I want to move out of my self-imposed limits and live in all that you can do.  Please connect me with wise friends who will help me kick.  Amen.

Jus

A healthy Church

Frank Rees Principal of Whitley has written a great article on healthy Church... I have highlighted what struck me...

A Healthy Church

For the church to be healthy, we have to know who we are and in Biblical thought that means to know whose we are.

Baptists have always explained this through the centrality of believers’ baptism. The healthy church has believers’ baptism as its central symbol. Here we know who we are and whose we are: we are believers in Jesus, obedient to his call and example, and our life is immersed in his way. We follow him, and his priorities  define what we are about.

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘You did not choose me, I chose you’ (John 15.16). Paul described the church as the body of Christ.  Jesus is the ‘head’ of the body, the one whose will and purpose directs the whole body. The healthy church is made up of people who respond to Jesus: we hear his invitation, ‘Follow me.’ We give our lives to his way and discover that with him we receive forgiveness and we become agents of his love for others.

Being a Christian and being the church  is different from belonging to an  individualist, voluntary  club. In the Jesus community of disciples, we find that we are becoming whole together. We give and receive, as we relate to him and to each other. In the New Testament this common life is called ‘communion’ or ‘fellowship’ and it is supremely expressed at the Lord’s Table.  Again the priority is important: it is not our table, but the Lord’s.  Jesus invites us to share fellowship with him. This is our life.

A healthy church is, then, a community of disciples of Jesus. We gather to worship him, in the presence and power of his Spirit. We serve him as he guides and enables us, through the gifts of his Spirit. Our purpose is to follow his example, in serving the mission of God in the world: to bring God’s creative love, healing and hope to all the nations.

A healthy church does not pretend that it can save the world: only God can save the world, but God calls us to be part of that mission. A healthy church is thus a missionary church, living out our obedience to Jesus through being good news. A healthy church is a ‘good news people’,  not just in what we say but in how we live. Faith, hope and love, peace and joy characterise our lives. This way of life is infectious. A healthy church will be a growing church, made up of growing people.

A healthy church knows who it is by, by knowing whose it is. We are a people of God, called into communion with God, through Jesus, by the power of his Spirit and also with all God’s people, past, and present and future. What a wonderful live we share! We are immersed in the life of God!

Frank Rees

July 2008

Communication II - Phil Pringle

More quotes from Phil Pringle on communication

KISS > Keep It Simple Stupid

• If what we say is complicated and complex we are foolish.
• Great leaders speak in clear, simple, easily understood terms.
• Everybody following understands exactly what is required.
• The signal is clear about where we are going and where we are not.
• Great leaders master the art of communication.
• Successful communication is not in how much is said, but rather in the clarity. Did the listeners get it?
• If they 'got it', at what level were they inspired to act?
• Our people get courage from clear communication.
• They get ready for war.
• Say it as simply as you possibly can.