Bob Roberts (one of our speakers at the next 300 leaders) has a great post today entitled The Three Constants of the Great Commission:

“First – the coming of the Holy Spirit which is the power to fulfill the Great Commission.  It is present in all passages from baptizing in the name of the “Father, Son & Holy Spirit” to being “clothed with power from on high” to “signs and wonders” that go as the Gospel is spread.  The lesson for us is clear – no Holy Spirit – no Great Commission fulfilled.  Jesus makes all that clear in his guidance in John 14-16.

The second thing is “Go” – but it’s really translated “as you are going”, in other words the Great Commission should be a daily experience not simply a geographical experience . . .  Spreading the good news of Jesus, loving others, building bridges, serving humanity in the name of Jesus must be a daily and lifestyle occurrence.

Third, “nations” is in all passages – one is ends of the earth. God cares for all peoples.  Christianity must always be cross cultural and multi-cultural – the only culture we share is Kingdom culture that lays over all cultures.  When that happens the Gospel will be the same, but expressed differently – and that gets exciting. READ MORE.

Tickets can be booked at http://www.premier.org.uk/craig

The new Christianity Explored website creates a welcoming, unpressured and jargon-free place for people to explore the Christian faith. It is packed with answers to tough questions as well as some wonderfully engaging real life stories of people who have come to faith in Christ Jesus.

http://www.christianityexplored.org/

It also contains Week One of the Christianity Explored course and great video testimonies.

“The Christianity Explored course gives you time and space to think through who Jesus is and why it matters. “

Christianity Explored is an independent UK Charity which originated in All Souls Church, Langham Place, London. It is now also registered as a charity in the USA. They produce courses and other materials to help people understand from the Bible who Jesus is, why he came, and what it means to follow him. Our materials have been translated into 20 languages and are being used in 60 countries in all kinds of churches.

Adrian’s blog has done a great job of both tracking and encouraging the growth in the number of Christians, churches and ministries that are willing and eager to own the two labels of charismatic and reformed.

The apostle Paul was someone we could describe as being both reformed and charismatic. He wrote Romans 9, and spoke in tongues more than you do (1 Cor 14:8). He was also, perhaps above everything else, a missionary.

Following his example, ministries like New Frontiers are wanting to hold together moving in the gifts and the power of the holy Spirit whilst remaining firmly anchored in the doctrines of grace, all the while seeking to further the mission of making disciples of all nations. It’s how Paul did it after all.

One aspect of the life of Paul that perhaps isn’t being celebrated or advertised quite so prevalently though, is Paul’s economics, namely, how did he fund his mission?

We might expect him to be supported by his church, or perhaps to have drawn a healthy income from the conference or speaking circuit… what we actually find though (for example in 1 Corinthians 9, and 1 Thessalonians 2) is lots of hours of manual labour, tent making actually, to pay the bills. Why did he do it this way?

4 Big Reasons Paul Self Funded:

1) So as not to put an obstacle in the way of the gospel. Paul made it so no one could say to him, “You’re only telling me this because you’re paid to.”

2) To make the medium of the preaching plus the message of free grace match up. He brought a gospel of free, unmerited, unearned and unpaid for grace. He therefore chose not to charge for the bringing of that message.

3) To incarnate into the culture he was trying to reach. Paul wasn’t a weird missionary from abroad in a suit, he was the guy you just bought a tent from. His connections through business were surely one part of his mission, and an easy introduction into the city he was trying to reach.

4) He was giving an example to imitate. For all the young guys in the new church who were still sponging off their parents, Paul said, ‘do what I do’. Graft, sweat, earn your own bread.

There are other reasons we could cite, like not wanting to be a burden on the church, or being able to support others himself. Self funding was key to Paul’s strategy.

Perhaps to complete the Great Commission task, and see our continents of America and Europe re-won, the next missionary surge is going to have to include multitudes of missionaries who aren’t only reformed and charismatic but who also graft and sweat to fund themselves and the mission.

Reformed? Great! Charismatic? Praise God! Missional? Go for it!

Just one thing, who’s paying the bills?

Andrew Brims is helping a Salt & Light church plant in Badajoz, Spain. He works as an english teacher, and blogs at www.andrewbrims.wordpress.com.

The above sermon will shake you to the core. Tope didn’t mention those who have recently been denying hell by name, but his disagreement with them could not have been clearer. This is a compassionate yet very direct sermon on a painful but important subject. It was my delight to pray with someone at the end who wanted to become a Christian, and I know there were others. But perhaps the real targets were people like me. People who theologically believe this teaching but don’t live as though it was true. I urge you for the second time in two weeks to watch a sermon by my pastor. If you want to download it, visit the Jubilee Church London site.

Tope: I’ve got to ask you. You, are moving to London, and I live in London. You are very welcome to my city! But why are you moving to London?

Terry: Well, it’s fascinating. It’s something I never anticipated happening. I was born in Brighton and when I first left secular work, I really felt God gave me promises for Brighton. Quite amazing to be honest. I can show you whole Bibles with verses underlined and things written in the margin. And I really felt God was going to do something remarkable in Brighton. And I think he has! And I think that I never anticipated the way everything would develop. I’m now based in Church of Christ the King, Brighton, which we started back in about ’79 or ’80. And it’s been wonderful to watch the progress. And we would gather with about 1200 now on a normal Sunday. We’re going into different congregations, and a new generation of elders has come through – outstanding young men. And I have the privilege of seeing my son, Joel, leading that. You couldn’t ask for more privilege – it’s just such a joy! So they’re doing brilliantly, the works prospering and to be perfectly honest, over the last, I don’t know, few years maybe, I’ve felt I’m not sure I’m doing anything apostolic here. I’m involved all over the place, and I’m away a lot. I’m visiting our churches.. I’ll be going over to America and Mexico later this year, we’re in all sorts of nations, which I love doing. But when I’m home, I’d love to be more involved in a more cutting edge way, more pioneering, bit more hands-on. And the process of different things happened.

Another son of mine, Simon, is pastoring a church in Kingston, North London. And there’s about 100 of them meeting in a hall. I became aware that they had their eye on what was a Bingo hall – a 2000 seater. And how God prompted them to believe that they could buy it and they went and offered £1.5m for it. And my heart leapt and I thought ‘Wow, they’ve really got faith for something’. And to be honest there’s a prayer battle to win that property. And to be honest, we’ve been through such things in Brighton. The first building, that was a real prayer battle. Our second building, even bigger prayer battle – believing God for nearly £4m. I’ve been through those battles. And I felt my juices start flowing ‘Yes! I’d love to be involved with that’.

I’ve been there, they’re superb people and I was praying about it all and then I’ve had a number of specific Scriptures, people bringing prophetic impressions to me, it all flows together in a way that I feel, ‘No, that is God. I really feel God’s leading me’. So we’ve put our house on the market and we would love to move to Kingston as soon as possible, and throw in our lot. And I know I’ll keep travelling and Kingston isn’t far from London Heathrow or London Gatwick so we can keep travelling. But to be honest, this weekend has been quite key to me that I’ve been feeling ‘Kingston!’ and I do feel very focussed there. But someone said to me ‘It’s great you’re moving to London’ and recently I’ve spoken in a few South London churches and people have said ‘Oh, you’re coming to London’. Hasn’t quite registered to me. I think today and over the last couple of days and our praying together and praying about London, something’s happened in my Spirit, even over this weekend. And although Kingston will be where you’re focussed, I feel God’s doing something in my heart about London. And mingling with your people at the end this morning, I just loved the people. I loved these Londoners, I love their style, I love the way they’ve been. And I just felt ‘Hey, I’m not only coming to Kingston, joining of heart with you and other guys around.’ I believe there’s something in it, which I’ve yet to see to be honest. It’s like up-to-date, I’m talking about the last 24 hours, I feel Gods done something in my spirit about ‘come on, let’s believe for this vitally important city’, and that maybe there’s something more to do there.

The above sermon was one of Tope’s finest. It had me squirming in my seat from the first sentence. You will do well to listen. You will do well to pray as I have today, “God give me opportunities to put this into practice.” May God use this sermon to wake many of us up to evangelism. Downloads and more sermons available on the Jubilee site.

This great post from The Resurgence discusses several reasons why we often don’t evangelize.   I think that he hit on a key reason for many of us here:

“Many times, we don’t try to speak the gospel into people’s lives because we’re not really sure of it ourselves. We may not be sure of what we believe or whether it is relevant or applicable to the issues of life that our friends may be dealing with.

There are three things that I think will help:

Apologetics: Apologetics is the defense of the Christian faith. If you’ve never studied apologetics, you should. Christianity is the most reasonable belief system on the planet and gives us sure footing on which to plant our feet so that we can have confidence in its truth.

Gospel Application: Sometimes we can become convinced that the gospel is true, but we don’t see how it plays out practically in our lives, from common things like coming home tired and cranky from work to more intense things like sexual molestation or an addiction to pornography. The more we begin to work at applying the gospel in all areas of our lives, the more we will see how it can benefit the lives of others who don’t know Jesus.

Discipleship: When we recognize that we have doubts, uncertainties, or are just confused about things, we should find another Christian brother, sister, or pastor and talk things out with them. Leaving issues unaddressed will never help us and it will hinder our ability to be missionaries for Jesus.

via Too Busy To Be Missional? | The Resurgence.

This is the second part of a set of notes on Terry Virgo’s first session at 300 Leaders.  I have previously shared the video and downloads for the whole talk.

3. There was Barnabus. He had been sent. The Apostles were staying in Jerusalem. People have written about whether that was right or wrong. But they heard about another church coming to birth. Barnabas was sent as an apostolic delegate. He was known by the Apostles, and he represented them. It was rather like Timothy later on. Receive him, like you would receive me.

So this church is touched by apostolic ministry. It is in touch with apostolic revelation and gifting. There is a big debate about whether apostles continue today. Some say there were 12. There were several catagories: Hebrews 3 speaks of Jesus the Apostle. He was the one and only. He was sent with authority which is the root of the meaning. In John’s gospel Jesus keeps saying he was sent. Then there are the 12 who Jesus chose. They are unique. A band of apostles that the church is built on. But there are other apostles. Paul, James, Barnabus, (Acts 14:14 doesnt distinguish between Barnabus and Saul). In Acts 13 they were prophets and teachers, now they are apostles. They were sent by God. Some have argued that Paul should have been one of the 12 but Paul doesn’t say that.

Ephesians 4 says Jesus ascended and gave. From heaven. Barnabus gets called. We don’t know for sure that Barnabus ever saw Jesus after the resurrection. Apostles don’t just write epistles so we don’t need them any more. Only a handful of them wrote Scriptures. Some who weren’t apostles wrote Scripture eg Luke. Apostles were not Bible writers only.

There is a job that apostles do. It is to do with foundations. Paul is a wise master builder (architect). He laid a foundation in a local church. It is not just that philosophically we are all built on a foundation. Rather, each local church has a time when that foundation was laid. The universal church was built on the foundation of the initial apostles. The local church is also built on the foundation laid by the apostles. Sometimes a church came to birth like this one in Antioch, getting before the apostles. The apostles then quickly send either an apostle or a delegate of an apostle to make sure the church is being built correctly.

We are looking for a rainbow of ministries as seen in Ephesians 4. Lloyd-Jones believed that only Pastors and Teachers continued and that evangelists had ceased. Some people will allow for evangelists to continue, or perhaps prophets. Some will refer to people who have died as an apostle or a prophet. I believe God has given a blueprint for the church, why should we reinvent another one. We have tried democracy, we have tried ecclesiastical heirachy, why not use the Bible model we see in Ephesians 4?

4. The list of names continues. Barnabaus was a Cypriot, Simeon was a black African, Lucius is also black, Manian was brought up with Herod. He was raised with the kings son. Like he went to school with Harry or William! He mingled with some pretty high people. And Saul who is a Hebrew of Hebrews. A pretty mixed leadership team. What a strange group. What is this? It is the Antioch church getting away from Jerusalem into a gentile world and saying “What kind of house will you build?”

It is a house that is so different than what had come before. There is continuity: we are Abraham’s children. We feel a sense of unity. But we are something fresh and new. God is creating one new man out of Jew and gentile. It is energised by the Holy Sprit. Very different in education, social background. What gives them unity? It is because they are first called Christians there. What do they have in common? It is Jesus. Not just a definition of doctrine, or an agreement of creeds.

When Peter goes to Cornelius and the pagan Roman starts to speak in tongues, the fire had lept across the chasm. It is only that experience of the Spirit that joined them together. The unity of the Spirit is not just a catchphrase. He has got the same as us. The Spirit-filled church is a phenomenon. It is different to what was before. In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek. We are allowed to eat Pork and still get to heaven! The restrictions are lifted. There is liberty. We are in Israel’s messiah. We are one. Jesus let women listen to his teaching which was outrageous. Neither male nor female, neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free. The early church would have had many slaves in it. Paul tells his friend to receive his runaway slave back as his brother. The twelve were all Jews, but he had a zealot who’s goal was to kill Romans, and a tax collector who collaborated with them to raise money. They sold their souls and were hated. What did they have in common? Only that they loved Jesus. He is the cornerstone where we find one another. The church is a phenomenal manifestation to the world of the way to break through racial hatred, sexual discrimination, social class war.

5. They were worshipping the Lord. Leaders together. Elders come together with a long agenda. Here is a leadership that said “lets worship.” God does stuff. They are ministering to the Lord. Bathed in worship. Not a business meeting. We are besotted with God. Lets raise churches that are besotted with God. We must model prayer and worship as leadership teams to our churches.

6. The Spirit said set apart. A house which is pre-occupied with world mission. A house that doesn’t think it strange that two of its key leaders go off to do something else. It is a global commission. Jesus said go and make disciples. The disciples went and planted churches. That is how people are discipled. A church is a group of disciples. We are called to world mission. Sometimes leaders will go and start again. Church is not a static thing. We are joined in mission. It is not that someone in our ranks goes to a mission society. The Bible doesn’t say they went and set up mission centres. They went to plant churches. Roland Allen urged us to found churches. His book was a radical call that came out more than a hundred years ago. We need churches that are in partnership with each other. Churches that extend God’s mission together. Fellowship is not a religious word, it is partnership in a shared purpose and action.

What kind of house will you build for him? The church at Antioch is a wonderful model. Came away from the Jerusalem base to start over again. Prophets were there, but tested by the Word, Apostolic involvement, great diversity. God’s church is a breathtaking phenomenon. They were worshippers, they fasted and prayed. They were involved in world mission. They saw the church as God’s agent in making Jesus famous throughout the world.

We do not want to just talk about the Spirit-filled church, we cry to God to multiply many of them.

I love this quote from a missionary and his response to well meaning discouragement from going to the field:

Amongst many who sought to deter me, was one dear old Christian gentleman, whose crowning argument always was, “The Cannibals ! you will be eaten by Cannibals!”

At last I replied, “Mr. Dickson, you are advanced in years now, and your own prospect is soon to be laid in the grave, there to be eaten by worms; I confess to you, that if I can but live and die serving and honoring the Lord Jesus, it will make no difference to me whether I am eaten by Cannibals or by worms; and in the Great Day my resurrection body will arise as fair as yours in the likeness of our risen Redeemer.”

John G Paton, Missionary to the New Hebrides. An Autobiography. P89-91

A while back I was privileged to be on Justin Brierley’s radio show Unbelievable?, debating the meaning of the resurrection. Now, they are putting on their first conference which looks interesting.

Unbelievable? The Conference will take place on May 14th. Here is the information:

Premier Christian Radio presents an apologetics day conference for anyone who wants help in thinking through and responding to the tough questions on faith from atheists, Muslims and those of other world views. Building on Premier’s popular faith discussion show and podcast ‘Unbelievable?’, the conference will focus on a number of questions commonly asked by sceptics and those of other faiths.

Conference Host
Justin Brierley is the presenter of Premier Christian Radio’s faith discussion programme and podcast ‘Unbelievable?’. He regularly hosts debates between leading Christian thinkers, atheists and those of other world views.

As you read this I am in South Africa for the second time in six months, and also the second time in my life. All my posts this week were written and scheduled before I went. I am definitely finding as a result of my first trip that Africa has a growing place in my heart. How could I not love the continent on which my wife was born and raised? While I was there last time I filmed the following interview with my friend Lex Loizides. In it we discuss his recently released DVD on creating and using your own personal tract. Lex is a great guy and a gifted evangelist. I encourage you to get hold of a copy, Newfrontiers resources will ship it anywhere in the world. Who knows the impact that this could have? Lex is also faithfully writing the Church History Blog, headlines from which appear in the bottom of my sidebar, and I strongly commend that to you. The video was filmed with my iPhone 4. You have to be careful to get the full quality video rather than the compressed version, the easiest way is to use the cable to download video to your computer.

As Japan braces itself for a possible further serious earthquake, and deals with the consequences of such massive devastation caused by the last one, not to mention the risk of a major nuclear incident, how should Christians respond? Please understand that none of this is intended to claim that we have all the answers to such a disaster. In fact, like Job’s friends’ initial response, often the best thing we can do is say absolutely nothing, and share people’s pain.

I write this article with many unanswered questions. But, unlike those who allow suffering to drive them away from God, I am convinced that only God makes sense of suffering. For if the Japanese who died really were just the random fruit of evolution, why should it matter to us if they died? But if each of them are made in the image of their creator, and lovingly crafted together in their mother’s womb, our inherent feeling that suffering is NOT welcome in this world makes perfect sense. God loves every human being, they are precious to him.

1. We should not be surprised. We like to imagine that we are safe in the world.  The truth is that, like what may well be tens of thousands of Japanese who have drowned, we will all die one day.  Whenever that day comes, it will feel to us just as sudden, just as unwanted, and just as shocking.  But despite our trying to pretend otherwise, we are not immortal, and there is no guarantee that we will live to a ripe old age (Hebrews 9:27).
2. We should be humbled before the awesome power of “Nature,” which is actually the creation of a sovereign and awesome God whose power is greater than 10,000 tsunamis (Job 38:1-41). These scenes quite rightly should take our breath away, and make us realize how foolish our pride truly is.  We came from the dust and will one day return to that same dust.
3. We should not assume that the end is at hand. Yes, there do seem to be a lot of natural disasters lately.  Yes, Jesus did predict such things. But he also told us not to be alarmed, and there have been many such natural disasters over the centuries.  We do not know when Christ will return, but have a task to do in “speeding” his coming. (Mark 13:7-8, 2 Peter 3:12)
4. We should not assume that the end is not at hand. A disaster like this should remind us that Jesus said he will come like a thief in the night when we are least expecting it.  (1 Thessalonians 5:1-8)
5. We should not specifically blame the Japanese. There is a tendency to quickly jump to judgment in some evangelical circles. Perhaps this is because we secretly believe that because of our so-called righteous living we have made a deal with God that will protect us in this world from early death and other disasters. If we can therefore persuade ourselves that the Japanese somehow brought this on themselves, our delusion remains intact. The Bible knows nothing of such thinking, at least in the vast majority of occasions. There are a few biblical situations where natural disasters were the specific judgment of God. But these were rare, and God always ensured people knew about it by a proclamation from his infallible prophets. What seems to be far more common is the idea that God sends the rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:45), and that accidents do not tell us that their victims were more sinful than us, but that we all deserve death just the same (Luke 13:1-5).  See for example these two quotes:
   

   “As I look for a moment upon the poor mangled bodies of those who have been so suddenly slain, my eyes find tears, but my heart does not boast, nor my lips accuse — far from me be the boastful cry, “God, I thank thee that I am not as these men are!” Nay, nay, nay, it is not the spirit of Christ, nor the spirit of Christianity. While we can thank God that we are preserved, yet we can say, “It is of thy mercy that we are not consumed,” and we must ascribe it to his grace, and to his grace alone. But we cannot suppose that there was any betterness in us, why we should be kept alive with death so near.” Charles H. Spurgeon, vol. 7, Sermon 408.

   “You see what a horrible end those people came to; they didn’t think it was going to happen. O they knew they were going to die someday; but they didn’t know what that would mean. The horror of their end took them by surprise. Well unless you repent, that is the way it is going to be for you. Your end will be far more horrible than you think it is. You will not be ready for it. It will surprise you terribly. In that sense you will LIKEWISE perish.” John Piper

6. We should not blame God, but we should pray. We believe in a Sovereign God. But we must not make him out to be the author of sin (James 1:13). God knew the earthquake was coming (Isaiah 46:9-10), could have stopped it and didn’t, and as per Romans 8:28 will work this out like everything else for his glory and for the good of those who love him. He will also use it to awaken fear in hearts, so that the gospel can then bring peace and salvation (Luke 13:1-5). But that is a very different thing from making God the pleased creator of this event. Some assume that choosing not to stop something is the same as initiating that event. I do not believe that is so. We must not curse God, or charge him with wrongdoing (Job 1:22).  But we must pray and ask God to limit the pain these terrible events have caused, and to use them so that many might turn to him.
7. We should understand that suffering is in the world because of sin in a general sense. Death entered the world because of human sin. (Romans 5:12)  Because our forefather sinned, and because we go on sinning, the world has been subjected to a law of decay (Romans 8:20-24). We live in a fallen world. In a fallen world many things are broken and do not work as God intended them to originally. Thus humankind’s sin, rather than Japanese sin, is responsible for this disaster.
8. We must not assume that the devil “won” this time. God was not asleep. Satan is indeed described as the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4), and is therefore in some senses responsible for disasters. However, he does not have a free hand. He is prowling around seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). But, as in the case of Job, God is perfectly capable of preventing his actions, and does indeed put a limit on them. If Satan was free to do whatever he wanted in this world, we can rest assured there would be far more disaster than there is now. He is after all a murderer (John 8:44). We are right to be angry at the effects of all this death and destruction that he causes, but not right to ascribe to him more power than we ought! Anger is in short a natural response to such suffering, but should not be directed at God.
9. We should look forward to the day when there will be no more pain. The very fact that suffering feels so wrong should point us to the fact it was not part of God’s original plan, nor is it part of his glorious fulfillment. One day there will be no more sea to destroy lives and separate loved ones. (Revelation 21:3-4).  What a glorious day! We should long for it more and more as our TV sets bring such devastation into our living rooms.
10. We should share the glorious gospel of Jesus that brings us hope and work to relieve suffering.  The temporary nature of life should prompt us, if we have any compassion at all, to be looking for opportunities to talk about our Savior.  In addition, and as a vital part of our outreach, some of us should consider giving to the specific relief funds being set up to help Japan.  But all of us should look for ways to relieve suffering far from where we live, and also on our doorstep.  We are called to “remember the poor” (Galatians 2:10) and demonstrate the love of Jesus with the word of the gospel, and the deed of alleviating pain.  We cannot and should not turn aside like the good priest, but instead should spend ourselves as the good Samaritan did, all the time pointing to the One who, with limitless resources, gave himself that we might all live.

There is not very many videos of Jack Hayford available for free online. It was a delight therefore to watch this one over the weekend and I really felt that it benefited me. I could hear God speaking to me through his Word. I encourage you to watch the following video and then consider booking in to our next 300 Leaders Conference where he will be speaking.

The video is followed by some notes I took when I watched it:

Psalm 119:165

Peace is wholeness or completeness. Let God’s Word help us become like this. People tend to think of religious people as being pious and inflexible. We do have boundary lines, but when God’s wholeness is lived out in relationships it imparts freedom. Your being needs to encounter the Book. Then you will be an influence. We are not called to merely make remarks about things that we disapprove of. There are ways we can prophesy our future. There is a biblical law of reciprocity. Give and it will be given to you. There are principles of life that rebound on you. Judge not and you will not be judged. Giving is to be pressed down and running over.

Be gracious and non judgmental. Relate to people in these ways. Love and receive people who are way out of line. It doesn’t come easily. Like a bay. Something is shaped in you. Wash out an area in you where goodness can come and favor and winsomeness to others. People will begin to recognize you as someone they can trust.

Everything about Jesus has this quality. People came to him. Something in him drew them to him. This kind of person is a witness for Christ. We are to be like this. It’s not passivity, but establishing the grounds for our witness.

Our goal is winsomeness. There is a power in simply letting people know we like them. We must never condemn. A simple example of condemning is to say “I am through with them..”. We mustn’t give up on people.

There can be something in us that blocks our relationships with others. It is not that our values are wrong. It is not that our gospel must not be spoken. Something in the way that we relate to others should open a tide of influence. People will be drawn to you and thereby to Jesus.

Bob Roberts is a man on a mission, and he makes sure all his church plants are on that same mission:

We require our new churches to do 3 things:  work somewhere around the world in a hard place, work with the poorest in the inner-city, and multiply churches.  We have them do all this in the first 12 to 24 months.  Why?  Because we are setting DNA.  If this is done early on, like the offering, like evangelism, then it will only grow as the church grows – but if it is not done until a church has so many or so much it will never happen.  The spread of the early church wasn’t because of local mega-churches with big budgets and lots of seminarians.  It’s never about how much money and how many people you have.  If you have 100 million and you give it away this year, in most countries the next year they’ll be asking for another 100m and forget where the last one went.  It’s about obedience and God’s resources – not yours. . .  READ MORE at HOW POOR CHRISTIANS LIVE OUT GLOCAL ENGAGEMENT.

I am sometimes just a little embarrassed these days about the so-called “Warnie Awards.” They are something of a reminder of the good old days of Christian blogging, when almost all of us knew each other, especially the ones that were not political bloggers. Sometimes back then the online blogging community felt more connected. There were certainly a lot more links and interactions with each others posts flying around. It was of course much smaller, and basically much friendlier. With my tongue-in-cheek I started something called “The Warnies.” Basically the idea was to recognize blogging excellence in others and to continue my mission to point out great resources to my readers. Sometimes we really rose to the fun behind the idea and people even posted mock acceptance speeches. These days the Warnies largely live on as a gadget in my sidebar that automatically promotes links to individual posts on the sites of previous winners. It is very rare for me to award a new Warnie, not least because I don’t want to swamp you. I find that I look at it myself most days to check up on what my favorite bloggers are saying. But from today a new blog has the award and will be appearing in the side bar: GlocalNet.

In the past week I have had the privilege of meeting Bob Roberts who is an extraordinary man. He is the pastor of a Texas mega-church which has several daughter churches. But that is not the most remarkable thing about him. Through a series of God-ordained co-incidences and the guiding of the Spirit, Bob has found himself moving in worlds he never imagined he would. He has some incredible friends, and has made a remarkable impact as he has laid aside ingrained fears and prejudices to work to demonstrate the love of God to people that Texans are really not “meant” to get along with! But more remarkable even than that is Bob the person. I have not spent very long with him, but I instantly recognized him as a brother. He is humble, passionate, and clearly loves the Lord, loves Christians of different backgrounds, and loves the varied people of this world who do not yet know Jesus. Bob is now a new friend of mine, and I am very sure that you will find his blog posts edifying and at times challenging to you. I have already started reading one of his books, and I am sure that they are going to also prove very helpful.

It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the LORD
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it,
and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go the law,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
(Isaiah 2:2-3)

God’s word MUST prosper. Many must come and hear his ways. His mountain shall indeed be the highest of all. Given this, surely this verse gives support to those who, like Spugeon, believe that there will be a large end-time revival, and that more will be saved than not.

It is surely also, whatever your belief on the extent of salvation, quite right to pray for success for your own church both in terms of those in it learning to follow God’s ways better, and for others also to come. Spurgeon certainly expected growth, and urged his students to seek for salvation at every service. Not every church is called to become large. But every church is called to grow spiritually and to see some have their lives transformed by God as a direct result of coming into the church’s sphere of influence.

“Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” Philippians 2:3

Stop. Whatever you are doing right now, just stop. I know you are probably busy but you can spare five minutes can’t you?  Ask God the following question “am I doing anything out of rivalry or concept? Please show me.”

What about that promotion you applied for at work?  Are you thinking of the good of the company? Do you honestly feel you can contribute at that level? Or are you seeking to advance your career selfishly, oblivious to the fact you may be being promoted to your level of incompetency? Have you considered the effects on your family if, by taking on a role not made for you, you are fired in a few months? How would you feel if someone better than you got the job instead?

What about that ministry at church? Notice I didnt call it YOUR ministry. It’s not. Are you serving in the way you are because your gifting meets like a glove the need of the people? Or are you serving because you somehow managed to squeeze yourself like a square peg into a round hole?  How would you feel if someone else was found who could better do your role? Would you feel insecure and angry or would you be confident that there must be a more suitable role that you can serve in?

Are you on sone kind of “Christian leadership ladder” in your imagination? Do you hope for a steady rise to the so called top.  Or are you perhaps longing for a meteoric climb? Are you simply serving  time at the moment hoping to build your credentials for a future launch to run your own church? Do you secretly despise the leader you currently pretend to follow? Are you using him so one day you can strike out on your own?

Are you sure that your desire to church plant has been put there by God? Do you think you have all the answers or are you humbly seeking Gods help? Were you surprised when someone suggested it was time you lead? That could be good if it is a sign of humility. But it could be bad if it means that God has never stirred your heart with a godly ambition. Are you actually following the call of man or the call of God?

And Pastor, what of the growth of the church God has entrusted to your care? Are you constantly comparing yourself to others? Do you feel envious of a church growing faster or bigger? Or do you feel superior to one growing slower? Why do you want the church to grow? Is it so that you will look good or is it so God will be glorified by souls coming to know him and worship him as Lord?

It is only as we spend time on our knees being examined by God that we can know the true answers to these questions. Truth be told, all of us have mixed motives at best. Many of us start out as young guns, full of a cocksure confidence that often goes with youth. Those challenging circumstances you face may be Gods way of taking the wind out of your sails. God knows I needed him to do that for me. Has he broken you in as a man might a wild horse?

The irony is, when God truly humbles a man, taking away that sense he can conquer the world with no one helping him, it is then that the man is fit for service. Do you feel weak? Then God can make you strong! Do you exclaim like Paul “who I worthy for such a task?” Then God can qualify you! Do you lack wisdom? God will give it to you. Do you feel alone? God will give you those to serve alongside or under who he has specifically designed to cover your inadequacy. Not everyone is built to plant a church as the top of some pyramid. Far more are called to serve a leader in an existing church. Or, if indeed called and equipped by God to start a new work, to do so under the direction and support of another wiser leader.

If these words have hit a raw nerve in you, they are not intended to make you give up. Though, if you are doing something God never designed you for, a change of direction may indeed be the best thing, as quickly as possible. But perhaps, as God convicts you of independence, you may be able to still do the role you have, but with a different attitude. Perhaps you can find a godly leader who can shepherd your soul. Perhaps you can find a vision bigger than your own to gladly support. Perhaps God will take a humbled, almost broken, you and use you as a tool in his hands for the advance of his kingdom and his glory.

Will you join me in praying “God, test my heart. Weigh my motives. Purge me of any wrong desires for my glory. You know my heart. You know that even tho my ugly pride rears it’s head from time to time, I have determined to follow you and seek your glory. Make me a tool in your hands. May I bring honour to your name. May I serve you with true humility. And as you advance others may I rejoice that the cause is strengthened. Thank you for dying even for this most ugly of my sins. Thank you for your resurrection power that is given to me that I might be free! Help me to find my identity in you and to cease striving. “

Do you live in the USA? Are you reformed, and theologically persuaded that the charismatic gifts continue? Perhaps like many you have not seen a positive model of how they can be expressed in a Bible-loving environment. Are you longing for a more dynamic experience of the Spirit’s power?

If the above describes you, please come to St Louis January 14-16 2011 for the Mobilise student and twenties conference. I will be there live blogging this exciting conference, and my pastor Tope Koleoso will be one of the main speakers. Tope is an engaging preacher who is sure to inspire and inform in equal measure. It has been a real delight for me to be in the same church as him since 1995. After a church planting phase of ten years, Jubilee moved to a cinema with 100 people. Since then God has granted remarkable growth, and almost 1000 people gathered on Easter Sunday 2010. It is thrilling to see what God is doing, and it is such a privilege to me to follow Tope’s leadership.

Take a look at this description of Tope’s seminar track to whet your appetite, and the video that follows. This conference could alter the direction of the rest of your life. Can you afford not to come?

The Holy Spirit – Living a Spirit-Filled Life (Tope Koleoso)
The Christian life was never intended to be solely characterized by an academic approach to theology, but by the Word of God made alive by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit-filled life should never be perceived as an optional extra for the Christian, but become the daily pursuit of the disciple. In this seminar we will look at the components of a Spirit-filled life, church and walk.

BOOK IN BEFORE NOVEMBER 23 FOR EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT

We simply cannot afford to neglect the medium of the Internet as Christians.  It truly does represent a revolution in human communication as far-reaching as the book itself. The following article states that approximately a third of the worlds population will be online in just a couple of months:

By the end of 2010, 71% of the population in developed countries will be online, compared to only 21% of people in developing countries. Regionally, 65% of the population is online in Europe, 55% in the Americas, 21.9% in the Asia/Pacific regions, while a mere 9.6% of the population is online in Africa.

via Internet to Surpass 2 Billion Users This Year.