September 27, 2011
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“The 10 Second Rule”

(The below isn’t something I wrote–just something that really resonates with my heart.  I wanted to direct you all to this resource because of that. More info can be found by click here.)

(It’s a simple rule for a revolutionary life!)

What does it actually mean to follow Jesus? Simply put, it means to believe Jesus’ message and obey it. So, why is it we don’t obey more often than we do?

Years ago I noticed that during the course of my day I’d have an impression from the Holy Spirit to do something I was reasonably certain Jesus wanted me to do. It would be an impression to either do something good for someone or refrain from doing something wrong. It might be to stop for a car broken down on the highway, speak to a co-worker about Jesus, or simply turn off my computer before I ended up at a site where no Christian should go.

Almost simultaneously I would sense another voice whispering to discourage me. “You don’t have time to do that – helping that person could get messy – you can’t afford to help them right now – stand up for your rights – you deserve it – it’s okay, once more won’t kill you.” If I listened to this other voice and thought about it long enough, the moment for obedience would pass, often to my relief. It finally dawned on me that by procrastinating on being obedient to Jesus, I was unintentionally teaching myself the habit of disobedience. Why is that?

Why did I hesitate? Because I knew that most decisions to obey would cost me something – time, money, embarrassment, inconvenience, or a momentary pleasure denied. By choosing not to obey Jesus, I avoided all of that! So the reason I wasn’t more obedient to God? Without hardly thinking about it, I automatically counted the cost and the price seemed too high for me. Then a decade ago a lay pastor from China taught me a simple rule that could break that cycle:

The 10 Second Rule:

“Just do the next thing you’re reasonably certain Jesus

wants you to do.”

 

September 21, 2011
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 I recently wrote an article for Mission Frontiers.  This is an excerpt with a link to the full article.

 

Jesus bypassed the cumbersome religious structures and irrelevant worship practices of his day, and started something living and organic. The word “organic” is a good one to describe a spontaneously reproducing simple church movement because it describes something that grows naturally, without artificial additives. It consists of elements that exist together in natural relationships that make growth and multiplication possible. That is how a simple church movement grows: it is not a top down hierarchical organization, but a movement held together by people who share the same vision and values. I have observed that successful churches in the conventional church model can actually be a hindrance to a simple church planting movement.

Notice the way Jesus got the disciples exercising gifts of leadership from the outset, before they were “ready.” Jesus didn’t wait for disciples to be born again, baptized, trained theologically and supervised under a safe religious system with guaranteed controls before He was involving them in leadership. He got them out telling others about Him within a few weeks of being with Him (Matt 10:1–14). He led the movement He began from underneath, very quickly involving the disciples in leadership assignments without mentioning positions or titles. He had a radically different paradigm from that of the religious leaders of His day, and of our day as well. He was training them to lead before they were actually born again, in our evangelical understanding of what that means. After all, the journey of discipleship doesn’t start when a person comes to faith in Christ, but long before.

To keep reading, please go here.

September 18, 2011
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How Do I Protect My Heart With So Many People Coming and Going in My Life?

by Sally McClung

Many years ago I was talking to the Lord about getting close to people…….only to have them leave and go somewhere else.  The Lord spoke so clearly to my heart and told me if I’d be faithful to love people and give myself to them, He would give me more friendships than I could handle.  That has certainly happened!  One of my biggest frustrations in life is that I can’t keep up the level of sharing and communication with all my friends in the way I’d like because I have too many!!!  A wonderful problem.  Our grumpy next door neighbor accuses us of running a b ‘n b without legal permission because he can’t believe we have so many friends that come visit. :)  If he only knew…..the ones who have come are just a drop in the bucket!

Some years later I was at another turning point.  My life was so full (wife, mother, friends, leadership responsibilities, traveling/speaking, writing) that I felt I couldn’t keep up with everything.  I wondered what should stay/what should go/how did I decide.  Derek Prince was with us.  He made a statement that answered my questions.  He said that we live in a world that presents so many challenges and opportunities.  One question everyone had was “what do I invest in?”  (with our time, our resources, our money)  He said the answer is easy – always invest in people!  That’s what God does.  Everything else fades, but investing in people lasts for eternity.  So simple.

Once these foundations are in place…..then the hard part comes. :)  Working with and relating to people!!  Unfortunately criticism and disappointment will always be there in some way or at some level.  If we want to accomplish something, then we’ll be the object of criticism at some point.  If we don’t want to be criticized, then we can do nothing.  We probably should expect it and be ready……easier said than done.  Even Jesus himself couldn’t please everyone!!  A big key is finding our security in our walk with the Lord – not in whether people are happy with us or not.

I’ve been taught and have learned to “hear” the criticisms and ask God if there is any conviction from Him in them.  If I’m wrong, I need to make it right (often easier said than done too because the criticisms tend to have a hurtful “barb” in them).  But many times there is an element of truth – that’s why we have to take them to the Lord. If it’s unjust criticism (often from someone’s pain or insecurity), then we need to try and “shake it off.”

Of course we have to forgive!!  One more thing that’s easier said than done.  But it’s an act of will and by doing it, it will bring healing to our hearts.  We need to be careful not to attack back, when those who leave are offended by us.  We need to be on guard that bitterness doesn’t enter in.  Again I was taught to think of the needs of the person who is criticizing – why would they say this?  What does it reflect in them?

We can only be hurt to the extent and depth that we love.  If we love deeply, we can be hurt deeply.  It’s a risk – but a good one to take. :)

If we’ve been disappointed and hurt, it’s important to respond in the opposite spirit.  Easier said than done, but that is the clear goal to work toward. Forgive the person, pray for the person, look for ways to encourage and bless the person, ask God to see them as he sees them.  This brings healing to our hearts and allows us to move on without carrying the offense with us.

More important than what people say is what God knows about us!  Very few have been more criticized in the Bible than Noah.  God said of him in Gen. 7:1 – “I have found you righteous in this generation.”  Quite a commendation.

Well……all this kinda poured out of me in response to a recent email from a friend, and Floyd suggested I post it here in case it would be a blessing to you as well.  I don’t know if any of it is helpful, but I decided to go ahead and share it.  It was a good reminder to me as well!!!

September 16, 2011
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Why Are So Many People Going To Hell?

A friend recently asked me, “If there are seven billion people on the planet, and one billion are Christians, why are so many going to hell? That means six out of every seven people are lost. Doesn’t the Bible teach that God wants all men to come to repentance?”

 

Good question. And it came from a sincere heart of compassion and concern for people.

My response was to share seven Biblical truths that have helped guide me as I have considered this question:

1. God is righteous and loving, and we can trust him to judge all men fairly. Abraham said, “Shall not the judge of all the earth do what is right?” God knows the hearts of all human beings and he alone can judge them – and he will judge them lovingly and truthfully. We can trust God to judge righteously and this trust in God is the heart of our relationship with God.

2. God judges people based on what they know to be true and what they do with that knowledge of the truth he has revealed to them, not on what they don’t know. To say it another way, God will not judge people based on what they don’t know about Jesus, but what they do know and if they have lived up to the truth they have. The Bible says of Jesus in John 1, “The true light coming into the world enlightens every man”. This does not mean Jesus is in every person, it means he pursues and seeks to reveal himself to every person to the point that they turn to him for forgiveness of their sins. In Romans 2 Paul says the laws of God are written on the hearts of every human being, and it is that knowledge of truth that forms the basis of how God judges people.

3. Scripture, not our emotions, guide us in how we think about heaven and hell and God’s judgement. Most arguments I have heard against hell have been based on emotion, not Scripture. I have heard many people argue from their feelings, not revealed truth, when they consider this topic. Naturally, it is right to feel deeply about the big questions of life. We should not be cold or indifferent to matters of life and death, of justice and mercy. But arguments and statements that begin with subtle accusations against the character of God will not lead us to the truth. Questions about God’s trustworthiness, or doubts about the rightness of eternal separation from God, though understandable, are not sufficient in themselves to form our beliefs. If God exists, and if he has created us, and we have all sinned against him, he has the right to judge us.

4. Everything outside hell and eternal separation from God is the grace of God to us.  We have all sinned and the just result of our sin is God’s judgement. Everything we receive outside hell is the grace of God. That is not just a handy formula to cover the problem of evil and suffering in the universe. It is true truth. It is true even if we traveled on a spaceship to another planet. Romans 1 says we have all done three things with the truth of God: a) we have suppressed the truth 2) we have exchanged the truth about God for lies c) God has given us what we demand and that is to leave us alone, to withdraw from us and turn us over to our evil devices. To receive anything but judgement from a loving God is his gift to us, not something we deserve.

5. It is the will and intense longing of God for every human being to consciously experience forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ. God’s purpose is to reveal his mercy in Christ through the cross, and for each of us to consciously enjoy forgiveness through trusting Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins. God uses many “means” (circumstances, people, supernatural interventions, dreams, miracles, hardships) to bring people to salvation, but the Bible makes it clear that God wants us to know who and how we are saved. He will work through the cultures and religions of people to save them, but he also wants people to know what is true and not true about their cultures and religions.

6. God will not override our free will in seeking to lead us to salvation and forgiveness of our sins. God respects us enough to allow us to choose to be with him for eternity, or to reject him. To force us to be in his presence forever could be a greater cruelty that hell itself.

7. If we obey the truth we know, it will lead us to more truth, and eventually to the truth that God offers forgiveness of our sins through Jesus and his death on the cross. One way to see this, is to recognize that there are redemptive analogies in every culture, i.e., pictures of God’s forgiveness in Christ, that when pursued, these redemptive analogies lead to the person of Jesus himself. Jesus casts a “shadow” (a limited revelation of who he is) on all cultures and peoples; if people follow those shadows, they will lead to the historical God-man Jesus Christ, as revealed in the Bible.

September 5, 2011
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 I am excited to have the opportunity to share at the World Mandate Conference in Waco, Texas, September 16-18. World Mandate is a conference for anyone who loves Jesus and wants to know more about his heart for the nations of the world! Located in Waco, Texas at Baylor University’s Ferrell Center, we have people of all ages from all over the country who gather together for this weekend to worship Jesus, intercede for the nations, and hear from speakers who have lived out the mission of Jesus all over the world.  The conference will be focused on the passion that Jesus has in his heart to reach the nations. We believe this is a passion Jesus wants to place in every believer’s heart, whether or not you ever live in a foreign country. World Mandate exists to help believers become more aware of what Jesus is doing in the earth! Join us for this powerful weekend! 

For me details, see the World Mandate website.

July 28, 2011
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There is a must read post by my friend Carl Medearis on CNN about why we should stop evangelizing and start talking about Jesus. I encourage you to read it and give me your feedback. It is provocative, engaging and of critical importance. Carl makes some very important distinctions we should give serious thought to… 

Many evangelicals have turned their faith into a religion that they want others to join, which Carl believes – and I agree – is not why Jesus came to earth nor what he taught while he was on the earth. 
If more people learn to initiate spiritual conversations about Jesus that lead to mentoring people to faith in Jesus and growing in their faith with others in new faith communities, something exciting would happen on this planet. That is what we are about in All Nations. 
Carl believes Jesus transcends all religions and calls people to himself… and when they respond to him, that Jesus allows that person to grow in their relationship with him while they are still in their mother culture and religion. By staying in their religious and cultural context people are able to lead many more people to faith in Jesus; in effect they become bridges to Jesus. 
The opposite approach to staying in your context when you come to faith in Christ is referred to as “extraction” – i.e., it is best to extract people from their culture and religion. The belief behind this practice is that people will fail spiritually if they stay where they are, they are too weak; and they will compromise theologically, they are too ignorant. 
Sally and I have left people in their context when they journey to faith in Christ since we started working in the drug dens of Afghanistan and the streets of Amsterdam. We saw prostitutes and drug addicts stay where they were, grow to be powerful men and women of faith, and lead many others out of their addictions and brokenness. They didn’t continue in their sin, but they stay in relationship with those they knew and loved, their family and friends. It was hard for people, true enough, but people developed a more mature faith grounded in the culture where they came to faith. It is sad to see people lose contact with family and friends and adopt a new “Christian” culture that cuts them off from the very people God wants them to influence. 
We wouldn’t say to a banker or politician to leave their culture and vocation if they came to faith. Why? Because we believe God is big enough in this person to help them overcome temptations of greed or power and live faithfully as a follower of Jesus where they are. Yet, we immediately assume a Muslim or street person must leave their life situation. 
Church planting movements are exploding on our planet today, and one of the reasons is church planters and disciple makers have learned the power of a changed person remaining where they are to influence others for Jesus. 
In the end, it comes down to a matter of trust. Do we trust the Holy Spirit in people? Do we trust God to work in their life context? The reality is, whether we trust God or not, God is working in the lives of millions and millions of people right where they are – all over the world. 
Perhaps it is time for some of us to catch up with how God is reaching and changing people to follow His son Jesus, without them joining a religion called Christianity. Regardless, please follow this link to go straight to the CNN article by Carl Medearis if you would like to read his article and give this some more thought. 

 

July 27, 2011
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Amusing, Insightful & Honest Church Planting Report from Zambia

 by Dan & Regina Bumstead

5 months ago Mandate Schools sent a team for 6 weeks. One young guy – just a normal church kid back home – did something heroic. He met two families broken with sin, shared a message of hope for a better life, and baptized the men as repentant converts. The women remained skeptical.

Yesterday I sat with these two families (the women are no longer skeptical), sharing a Bible story with them that I will later share with our weekly “Leaders Meeting”. They will assist. They are being trained to lead their own Bible study at their home. Another family is being trained in the next village, and another in the next. Our short term goal is to get one Convert led Bible study in each village that all of our disciples from that village may participate in. Eventually many more such simple churches may hive off from that one. Our method – MAWL: Model, Assist, Watch, Leave.  This is part of our “100 year strategy” – training converts to lead “church” in their homes.

The Leaders meeting that they were to assist in – well, again it became a hilarious, unpredictable event of attempting by all means – and we have exhausted many means – to get the meat of the gospel powerfully ingrained in lives. We tried (a second time) a Storying method where each person makes hand signals for a line of the story, then with much group repetition the story is memorized (in theory). Not that this method does not work – many have usesd it with great success. But again we find that either well intentioned teachers of Methods are exaggerating their own stories for personal glory (yes, there is pride even in missionaries!) or we are somehow not able to do what others have done because of our inadequacies or the difficulty of the people group we are working with. (In fact we heard a report that the International Mission Board (of the Baptist Church) – a cutting edge board that has in recent years reworked it’s strategy after exhaustive research to focus more on simple church planting methods which we have also adopted – has made a statement concerning the Lozi people of Southern and Western Zambia, that they are one of the most difficult groups to work with, and therefore have adjusted their strategy to reach them.)

So – back to the Leaders Meeting – after working hard at memorizing that passage we all sat and started with questions – first comprehension of the story itself, but then questions of understanding of the life messages in the story. It was the simple story of Phillip running to the chariot and instructing the Ethiopian about Christ and the resulting baptism. Sparks flew! The New Apostolic Church teaches infant baptism, that a person is saved by baptism (not faith), and that at baptism the person is born again and filled with the Spirit as the apostle imparts it. However, none of them feel assured of going to heaven – perhaps a teaching  to allow them to extort more indulgences from them. The whole group openly discussed the conflicting views. One person in particular seemed to be arguing the NAC positions. But by the next day we heard from that person that he went to work and told all his friends that in fact their understanding of baptism and impartation of the Spirit were totally false! We will see how many want to be baptized in two weeks at our Celebration Service.

 

July 19, 2011
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A Story From The Field

From a church planter in a key area:

I am busy working on a newsletter, but I thought I’d tell you this story – as this has made my day last week!

In the clinic we started praying with patients as we are able, often asking God for a Word of knowledge or picture or scripture that He wants us to share with them. Several weeks ago we prayed with a family — especially for the one lady (lets call her Zite) who has been married for 3 years and can’t get pregnant. Her husband often talks of getting a 2nd wife. We have also prayed and shared with their extended family on another occasion. Last week it worked out that the girls who assisted me the 2 months that Lindsey is away, couldn’t come to work. So I decided to ask Zite to assist me. She and her husband were fine with it, even though I can’t pay her for her help. She understood the work quickly, and is quick to see the needs around her in the clinic.

Last week Wednesday before we started to work, I shared with her about what God is showing me the past few days- especially about hope and faith.

We read together from Rom 8: “For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”

I continued by sharing about Abraham’s life, and we spoke about what she learned about God through this story.

Suddenly she asked me – can you pray for me! I said ‘yes – for what?’ She said her back was aching. I thought – wow! This is the 1st time here where someone asked me out of her own for prayer. Immediately she asked if Sarah could also come and pray with us – I guess because the previous time we were 3 people praying for them. Sarah had just left the centre, but I still prayed with her. After I prayed, she asked me: ‘What did you see?’ I said: ‘Nothing’. I asked her – what did you feel? She said: ’ I felt so much peace/ was relaxed’ I asked whether she usually feels this way, and she said: ‘No, I just felt this way when you prayed for me’. Wow!!! Jesus is just so real! Again she asked me -’ what did you see?’ I then realized she thinks I see pictures every time I pray with people!! :) So I explained that I don’t always see pictures – sometimes, but not always – and just as people often communicate in different ways to each other- whether it is eye to eye, or on a phone, or with a text message, God doesn’t communicate with us every time in the same way. Then she said ( which was where I just wanted to laugh – and will for sure be always one of my highlights) ‘So what hour/time do you usually see these pictures?’ Hahahaha! This was so sweet.

I explained further about how God walked with Adam and Eve, how there was relationship, and not religion. I continued sharing a bit about the fall, and then what Jesus came to do, and how He then poured out His Spirit on those who believe. And that God didn’t stop talking- He desires to communicate with us – and we can learn how to hear His voice.

We also read John 6:44-51 – where Jesus says He is the Bread of life, and how God is the one who draws all men unto Him, and teaches them.

I can just sense her hunger and brokenness, and that she has really been touched by God. But so often I have seen where it is like the seeds that fell on the rocks, and just as quick as it grows, so quickly it withers away.

Please pray with me for Zite and her family – that God will be the protector of every seed. And that I will not pressure any conversation, but will just be listening to God’s Spirit. That I will be quiet when I need to be, and be talking to her when I should. I trust God for opportunities that she can get more exposed to His Word – as I obviously don’t want to be the one to whom she will look for answers – that she will not see me as some sort of ‘medium’, but be looking to God as her source, and be spending time in His Word.

I just realized again last night – I am just here, witnessing what God is doing, and seeing how He is using others’ prayers to prepare the ground. So keep on praying, it is not in vain – God is busy! He never disappoints!

July 18, 2011
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Doing as the Apostle Paul Did

 10 Reasons Pastors and Missionaries Don’t Follow Paul’s Principles of Church Planting
 

Because of the orderly fashion in which the book of Acts is written, and because of the missions and leadership principles Luke deals with, we may assume he intended Acts to serve as a training manual for pastors and missionaries who were committed to spreading the Gospel. Unfortunately, most Christian leaders don’t accept the Book of Acts as a guide for how to plant and multiply churches. I am convinced that if spiritual leaders spent just half their time doing what Paul did, the world would already have been evangelized several times over. And the churches they planted would have been born with multiplication in their genetic code. 

Why don’t missionaries and pastors follow the principles and practices of Paul? I asked that same question recently of a group of young missionaries in training with All Nations. Here are some of their answers:

1. Fear of Death. People just don’t want to die like Paul did. Paul’s methods for reaching the unreached and the unchurched are so radical that they guarantee fierce opposition, even persecution and death. 

2. Intimidation. Most of us don’t think we are a “Paul.” Pastors and missionaries excuse themselves by saying Paul was a “special person with a special anointing.”

3. Pride. On the other hand, some leaders think they can improve on the way Paul did things, so they don’t take his methods and principles seriously. One missionary said to me rather flippantly, “If Paul were alive today he would change the way he did things.” When I asked him why he thought that way, he didn’t know. He just assumed Paul would learn from our understanding and make changes accordingly. What arrogance!

4. Unfocused Goals. Many spiritual leaders have unclear goals of what they want to accomplish. Staying busy in ministry can easily take the place of being effective in ministry. 

5. Unbelief. For some, the challenge to trust the Holy Spirit to break Satan’s strongholds over cities and nations requires steps of faith and obedience they are not willing to take.

6. Ignorance. Few leaders have taken time to seriously study the church planting methods of Paul. Some even believe Paul had no concern for the poor. They suggest that by planting churches Paul had not thought through the best way to advance the kingdom of God. 

7. Confused Missiology. Another reason I see for the church not following Paul’s method of church planting is that people have changed, added to and amended how Paul did missions so much that he now gets blamed for all the slip-shod, unfocused, ineffective activity that is being done in the name of “missions.” This is especially true for short-term missions activities, where so much more could be done if the leaders of these outreaches would apply the principles and practices of the great apostle. It should be pointed out that many of the churches Paul started were established on “short term” outreaches.

8. Poor Interpretation of Scripture.  Some movements and churches have neglected the Pauline methodology because of the misunderstanding about what Jesus meant when he instructed his disciples to “…make disciples of all nations.” There is a grave mistake in the thinking of some that cross cultural missionaries are commissioned by Jesus to reform the social, economic, educational and political structures that exists in nations. “Discipling nations” has thus come to connote transforming a nation rather than spreading the gospel. This approach to missions actually devalues the important ministry God has given to ordinary persons in a local church. Christians are to be salt and light in society, but that is not the calling of the cross-cultural missionary. When cross-cultural missionaries attempt to civilize rather than evangelize, they will colonize.

9. Inconsistent Application of Paul’s Principles. According to Roland Allen (Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours?), some people have neglected Paul’s methods because they have “…adopted fragments of St. Paul’s method and have tried to incorporate them into alien systems…” The failure that has resulted from these hybrid methodologies has been used as an excuse to reject the apostle’s methods. To quote Allen again: “For example, people have baptized uninstructed converts and the converts have fallen away; but Paul did not baptize uninstructed converts apart from a system of mutual responsibility that insured their instruction.” Obedience based discipleship based on hearing and obeying the Spirit as He instructs new converts is a much surer way to prepare followers of Jesus for baptism. 

10. Disrespect For the Apostolic Calling of the Church. The Pauline approach to missions has lost it’s stature in some circles because some spiritual leaders have borrowed the term “apostle” to reinforce their position of authority or dominance over their followers. Others have wanted recognition or prestige in the Body of Christ. “We are apostles,” they claim, expecting have the same title means they deserve the same respect those early apostles had. Those were men of great courage who opposed the Roman Empire, withstood the fierce persecution of the Jewish leaders, and suffered and sacrificed to spread the gospel all over the world. If so called apostles were truly “sent ones” they would be giving their time and energy to pull down Satan’s strongholds in the 10/40 window, endure stoning and jail sentences, plant scores of churches among the unreached, and spreading the good news of Jesus with courage and passion.