Articles

As a missionary to China, Roland Allen asked the question, "Why do we choose to use methods that produce mediocre results rather than following the biblical example of the missionary methods of Paul which produced abundant fruit.  I believe he asked this question in both amazement and without comprehending the rationale behind using methods which were ineffective or marginal.  Why should we not just follow Paul's plain example.

"You want to know what I've learned this weekend?" the man said as he drove me to a Midwest airport early one morning. We'd just spent an incredible weekend together with a house church he'd helped foster and another group of believers who joined us when they heard I was in town. The latter were deeply conflicted about their current involvement with a congregation that sounded abusive. "I've been selling the wrong thing!" he continued.

"What's that?" I asked oblivious to what we were talking about.

"I've been selling house church," he said shaking his head with a sigh, "instead of Jesus." Obviously he wasn't talking about ‘selling' anything, but I love his discovery. Almost everywhere I go people are preoccupied with finding the right way to do church. It seems our hunger for church outstrips our hunger for Jesus.

"You want to know what I've learned this weekend?" the man said as he drove me to a Midwest airport early one morning. We'd just spent an incredible weekend together with a house church he'd helped foster and another group of believers who joined us when they heard I was in town. The latter were deeply conflicted about their current involvement with a congregation that sounded abusive. "I've been selling the wrong thing!" he continued.

"What's that?" I asked oblivious to what we were talking about.

"I've been selling house church," he said shaking his head with a sigh, "instead of Jesus." Obviously he wasn't talking about ‘selling' anything, but I love his discovery. Almost everywhere I go people are preoccupied with finding the right way to do church. It seems our hunger for church outstrips our hunger for Jesus.

More Details:

Author and Church Planter Neil Cole will be sharing Principles of Simple and Organic Churches

Dates:

10:00am November 27th- 2:00pm on November 29th

Place:

Irpin(just outside of Kiev,Ukraine), Christian Center of Ukraine located at 11 Fedorova Street

Directions:

Take Marshutka № 400 from Metro" Святошино " or Marshrutka № 392к from Metro " Академгородок ".

Editors Note:

This is a very challenging article that asks some very good questions. It may make some pastors very uncomfortable, and at first read you may not fully agree with what is written here because of what you have seen and experienced.

Our hope is that this article will simply motivate you to study freshly the topic of leadership in the local church. The questions before us are not about model or method, but more importantly-does the way we lead our churches magnify Christ as the Head and allow for the true practice of the priesthood of all believers? Does the way we view leadership limit the multiplication of disciples and churches?

May we be open to allow God to speak to us freshly.

Editors Note:

This is a very challenging article that asks some very good questions. It may make some pastors very uncomfortable, and at first read you may not fully agree with what is written here because of what you have seen and experienced.

Our hope is that this article will simply motivate you to study freshly the topic of leadership in the local church. The questions before us are not about model or method, but more importantly-does the way we lead our churches magnify Christ as the Head and allow for the true practice of the priesthood of all believers? Does the way we view leadership limit the multiplication of disciples and churches?

May we be open to allow God to speak to us freshly.

SOCIAL LEPROSY
In the book of John, Jesus prays for those who would follow his teachings after he ascended into heaven. What I find fascinating is that Jesus began by praying for what he didn't want to pray. Yeah, it sounds strange, doesn't it?

Why would anyone ever start praying by asking God for what they were not asking? Maybe the clue is in what it was that Jesus didn't pray. He says, "I pray not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the Evil One" (John 17:15).

Why did Jesus pray this?

BELIEVE, BELONG, BECOME
Someone once told me that every single human being has a desire to believe something, to become something and to belong to something. As we enter into relationship with others we need to listen for the clues to where people are at in this process.

Ask people questions about what they believe, find out what they are searching to belong to, help them to come to grips with what they want to become.

In the closing words of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus leaves us with what has become known as "The Great Commission". In it, Jesus charges his disciples with a set of tasks until he returns. Here's what Jesus commands us to do:
1) Go out into the world and make disciples.
2) Baptize these disciples in the name of the Trinity.
3) Teach them to obey everything Jesus commanded us.

If we take a moment to evaluate how we, the Church, have done in accomplishing these tasks, I think we'll see where we've missed the mark, and hopefully where we need to get back on track.

There's a great scene at the end of the film, "The Big Kahuna" where Danny DeVito's character counsels a young co-worker about his overt mode of evangelism.

He says, "It doesn't matter whether you're selling Jesus or Buddha or civil rights or 'How to Make Money in Real Estate With No Money Down.' That doesn't make you a human being; it makes you a marketing rep. If you want to talk to somebody honestly, as a human being, ask him about his kids. Find out what his dreams are - just to find out, for no other reason. Because as soon as you lay your hands on a conversation to steer it, it's not a conversation anymore; it's a pitch. And you're not a human being; you're a marketing rep."