Quiet Time Religion

Here is a thought going through my head this morning, "What religion does not allow, grace does". 

I was speaking to someone recently about their struggles with their "quiet time". It struck me while we were talking that the goal of quiet times is not quiet times, but conversation with a person, with God. It's speaking to someone, and allowing them to speak as well. It's about relationship.

I don't know about you, but i don't approach talking with friends with a need for emotional connection or a huge sense of intimacy. I don't approach friendships in terms of duty to be together, but in delight in hanging out, catching up, sharing story, connecting with someone I enjoy. I don't place a burden on others to meet a need or give me some huge emotional lift. I spend time with people for the value of being with them, and allow the relationship to be what it is.

The goal of spending time with God is not found in how much emotional intimacy we feel, but in simply being with him. I approach being with my wife the same way... we just enjoy each other's company, sometimes laughter, sometimes sadness, sometimes just sitting together without talking, sometimes sharing our hearts very deeply... we talk while driving together, we talk over meals, we make dates to hang out without interruption, we turn off the phones, and give attention to each other. And if we get busy, then we go out of our way to make sure we have time to talk and be together.

It's about relationship, not religious duty. The same applies to our relationship with God.

I can tell you what happens if Sally and I don't have time together... we grow apart. We get disconnected. Hurts turn into offenses. Little things become big things.

Communication fosters deeper relationship with my wife, not an emotional relationship, but just pure relationship, sometimes with emotion sometimes not. It causes our hearts to stay connected, for trust to grow, for affection and commitment to be strengthened.

Spending time with Jesus is the same for me... it is not a thing to do, but someone to talk to. 

If this is true, then spending time with Jesus counts whenever it happens, any time of the day, any posture, any moment... walking, shopping, driving, it all counts! 

Growing, healthy relationships are intentional. If you want your relationship with someone to grow, then you get intentional about meeting up, about sharing dreams and disappointments. The same is true of our relationship with God. 

So let's chuck quiet time religion, as in the duty to do something to please God, and focus on talking to God, on speaking to him as a friend. Focus on the pure value of talking to him about burdens, about joys, and about the things that distress us. Tell him everything...

Does that mean there is no need to set aside time on a regular basis to read the Bible and pray?  Not at all... it will enhance your relationship actually. Be intentional about being spontaneous.

The big bonus is grace.  There is an impartation of God's grace that happens when we are intentional about being with God, about accepting his offer to give himself to us. So ask freely, and receive freely. If we love it when friends ask us for advice, for help, how much more does God delight in us when we ask him?

It's about grace flowing down...covering our sins, covering our fears and failures. Let it flow... ask for it, any time and all the time. When you shower or bathe and dress for the day. When you eat food. When you are driving or walking. Be intentional but don't be religious.

Remember, grace allows what religion does not. 

John's gospel says, "Of his fullness have we all received, grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth through Jesus Christ" John 1:16

Make it a receiving day today!  Be intentional but not religious.

Safe theology. Dangerous life.

A co-worker and a man I disciple wrote the following article after I spoke on values, safety, and what is really dangerous.

Many people worry about their safety and security. We happen to live and serve in South Africa, a country bound by fear and crime and loaded with gates, locks and alarms. But we also serve in a missional community where many people are preparing to go to hostile places around the world where the gospel has not yet reached. So, danger is a very real thing for many of our friends who are counting the cost of giving their lives.

Last week, I was listening to Floyd (our leader here) teach on values and he started talking about danger in a way that stirred my heart.

• Living in constant disobedience to Jesus…that is dangerous.

• When our greatest goal is to work 70 hours a week for 35 years so we can have a nice house and a pension…that is dangerous.

• When a Mom and Dad compromise the will of God while their kids watch on…that is dangerous.

• When you are more interested in insuring your life on this earth (70 years if you’re lucky) while you do nothing to insure your life for all eternity….that is dangerous.

• Wanna hear something else dangerous? Dangerous is when you install gates, alarms and locks all around you and your family while you open your doors wide to the father of lies, the great destroyer and accuser, satan.

Perhaps it would do us all some good to consider the differences between danger in the world and danger in the Kingdom.

You can lead people if you don't "need" people

John 2:23-25, "During the time he was in Jerusalem, those days of the Passover Feast, many people noticed the signs he was displaying and, seeing they pointed straight to God, entrusted their lives to him. But Jesus didn't entrust his life to them. He knew them inside and out, knew how untrustworthy they were. He didn't need any help in seeing right through them."

Jesus had no need of people therefore he could lead people. Needy leaders are grasping leaders. If we trust God to bring us the people we need, people will sense our security, that we won't "claim them" as own own, and be more likely to follow us.

A visiting friend commented, after visiting me when I was a young leader, "You see people for how they can meet your needs and help you fulfill your vision... God wants to change that. God wants you to see people for how you can help them fulfill their vision, not yours. If you will hold people with a relaxed grasp, with your hands open, God will fill your hands with more leaders than you know what to do with. But if you hold onto them tightly, then your hands will be full and God cannot give you more people, especially the right people."

Complicity and Confrontation

Complicity and Confrontation – 1 Samuel 2:12 – 3:14

“Do not share in other people’s sins...” 1 Timothy 5:22

Corruption and Compromise - Whenever corruption and compromise takes place, the spotlight should be on the one who committed the sin, the perpetrator.

But that can be a distraction from another sin, that of complicity on the part of those who knew about the sin and were silent. To be silent when knowing about sin is agreement with that sin.

Complicity is the sin of hiding people’s sins.

Not so obvious is the sin of leaders in the background who know about the corruption and compromise, and are silent. There are those in the foreground, whose sin is seen, and those in the background, whose sin is not seen, but is just as great an act of irresponsibility.

It was once said, “The despicable conduct of those in the foreground is not possible apart from the irresponsibility of the leaders in the background...”

Silent Perpetrators – Those who are fearful of being rejected, who are filled with indecisiveness, concerned about their image, lacking in love for their leader or friend, clinging to the safety of being inconspicuous, saying little or nothing, turning a blind eye, claiming busyness, rationalizing responsibility, are guilty of anemic spirit; these are the leaders and friends who fear man more than God, who are prisoners not leaders, and cowards not true compatriots.

The biblical figure who was guilty of the sin of complicity is Eli the High Priest (I Samuels 2: 12-35; 3: 11-14).

Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinebas, were priests under Eli’s leadership. They ate meat that was to be offered for sacrifices and seduced young women who assisted at the tabernacle. The New Living Translation calls them scoundrels. As an old man, Eli did confront his sons on one occasion. However, it was weak and half-hearted, and therefore ineffective. He did not stop their blasphemy. He covered it up. Despite his age, Eli still had responsibility. In fact, God repeatedly warned Eli to discipline his sons (I Samuel 3:13). Under the authority of God, Eli could have dismissed his sons from priesthood. He did not. Eli could have cut them off from the community (Numbers 15: 30). He did not. Therefore, God harshly judged Eli, making good on the promise to bring an early death to Eli’s sons and the rest of his family as well as cut his family off from the line of priests.

When things go wrong publicly with a leader, look beyond the public to the private. No man or woman who sins publicly is without a private world of family and friends and fellow leaders. Who knew and did not speak up? Who spoke up but did not follow up? Who followed up but did not speak up?

What roles do leaders and leaders of leaders and family and friends of leaders play in corruption, compromise, and cowardice? We cannot claim culture when God says it is compromise.

Complicity – participation in wrong-doing. Complicity comes from the word accomplice, meaning an associate, an ally, to wrap or fold together. An accomplice is a person who helps another person commit a crime.

Complicity is the result of the fear of man. It is caused by a lack of the fear of God. It is the sin of negligence. It is to cover up, to conceal, to deny, minimizing, or otherwise failing to challenge or expose wrongdoing. Silence about the sin of a friend or family member or another leader is not love, it is cowardice.

Every leader has a choice: you can obey your culture or obey Christ. Christ or culture, who will you follow? Who will you obey?

Skill of confrontation – what should one do when a friend, a follower, a family member, or fellow leader sins?

1. Pray for true love, for wisdom, and for courage and strength to do the right thing with the right attitude of heart and mind. 1 Timothy 2:2, “pray for those in authority”.

2. Go to the person alone. Ask questions - don’t make accusations. Speak with respect not anger. You are not responsible for their actions; you are responsible for your actions. Do not be drawn into an argument, do not be swayed by emotions.    1 Timothy 4:12, “let no man despise your youth... but be an example”

3. Take time for discernment – an “injury time out” of a few hours or if needed, for a few days, to reflect, to discern, and to seek God’s wisdom and guidance.

4. Go with another person who has witnessed the same situation. Give the guilty person the opportunity to confess their sin himself or herself. Wait a few hours, not days or weeks or months to hear their response. 1 Timothy 5:1 “do not rebuke an older man, but speak to him as a father”

5. Offer to go with them to confess their sin to their leaders.

6. Go to the proper authority to report the sin. If they don’t confess their sins openly to their leaders. Go with tears, not tantrums. 1 Timothy 1:8, “lifting up holy hands, without wrath...”

“If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words...he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which comes envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth...from such men withdraw yourself…

Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts, which drown men in perdition and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, for some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierce themselves through with many sorrows...

Flee these things... fight the good fight of faith... keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing...

Command the rich not to be haughty nor to trust in uncertain riches, but to trust in the living God, who gives us all things to enjoy...” 1 Timothy 6:3-19

See also 2 Timothy 2:14-18...

“A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God will perhaps grant them repentance, so they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will...” 2 Timothy 2:24-26

This article was adapted from other articles and sources, which have been lost. To my regret, I cannot attribute proper credit where it is due.

Planning Not to Be Needed

Every great leader is a leader who wants others to outdo him, to excel him and to replace him. The test of a leader is to be able to serve without a title or position... what a great challenge!  

“One aspect of a job well done as a servant leader is what we do to prepare others to carry on after our season of leadership is completed. Your personal succession planning efforts will speak volumes about your motives as a leader. It is likely that anyone leading from an ego involved in the promotion and protection of self is not going to spend much time training and developing their potential successor. In the use of His time and efforts on earth, Jesus modeled sacrificial passion for ensuring that His followers were equipped to carry on the movement.”

Blanchard, Ken, Phil Hodges. The Servant Leader. Nashville: J. Countryman, 2003.

Seven Marks of Disciple Making Churches in the Muslim World

This article is from Joel News International:

West-Africa - Seven Marks of New Churches in the Muslim World

For more than seven years Jerry Trousdale studied disciple making movements in the Muslim world, especially in West-Africa. In that period more than 6,000 new Muslim-background churches were started in 18 countries, comprising 70 different Muslim people groups. Trousdale found that ‘church’ is being done in a specific way:

1. Groups are kept small. The average church size is 31.2 Christians per church. In extremely high-risk areas this is approximately 15 Christians per church. Church buildings are uncommon as they only increase the risk of persecution.

2. Every member is expected to participate in ongoing ‘discovery Bible studies’ in which people together learn how to obey God and help one another grow in faithfulness to Him.

3. The leadership of the church is somewhat collective, but typically includes a facilitator who is receiving ongoing biblical training and mentoring. This is done two to four times a year, without extracting them to other regions. The facilitators support themselves financially.

4. Many churches set aside special times every week for prayer and fasting.

5. Between 60 and 70 percent of the churches report a dramatic healing or deliverance that usually causes the church to suddenly accelerate in growth.

6. More than half of the Muslim-background churches are planted among people who are considered totally unengaged by the gospel. About one quarter of the churches are in Muslim-dominant regions where persecution is very common. In some areas, the sheer number of churches that are planted changes the spiritual environment, which in turn gives Christians much greater freedom.

7. Disciples reproduce disciples, and churches reproduce churches in ways that are biblically informed and culturally appropriate. There are not many programs, but quite of lot of genuine transformation of individuals, families and whole communities.

Source: Jerry Trousdale

Six Types of People You Meet in Church Planting

Guest article

by Todd Bumgarner

As a church planter, you are called to raise up disciples and leaders. It's an investment of time and energy that is critical to the mission of your church. One of the hardest truths early on in church planting is discerning who is with you and who is not. As I have worked with people, I’ve learned there are six categories into which someone falls. Categorizing people is helpful to determine where to focus your time and energy and to wake you up to the reality that some people, despite their excitement and interest, simply are not on board.

1. Family

These are the folks who are all-in. They’ve caught the vision and want to help in any way possible. They are servant-leaders and their commitment is apparent via a verbal conversation in which they express it. It is important to realize that simply showing up at things does not make someone part of the family (consistency does not necessarily equal commitment). A better gauge is to combine their consistency with their language. Folks who are in the family use phrases with first-personal plurals like “our church” or “we can do this.”

2. Fence

These are people who are interested in what you’re doing, excited about what you’re doing, have come to one or more of your vision meetings, or otherwise expressed their interest/excitement. People in this category require patience. Often people on the fence are plugged in to other church communities, and asking them to uproot from that to join what you’re doing is a complicated decision and process. I tell people on the fence that we are not in the business of stealing people from other churches, but to cast the vision and trust that the Holy Spirit will do his job.

In a church plant, people on the fence ultimately have to be called by the church planter to commitment. A church plant consisting only of interested and excited people (but with no commitment) will fail. This is the category where the most time and prayer will be spent. In addition, a prayerful ear to the Spirit’s prompting of when to call them to commit must be discerned. The goal is to move people from the fence to the family or discern if perhaps they are simply a “friend.”

3. Fans

On Facebook, having a lot of fans is great; in a church plant—not so much. Fans love what you’re doing, express their excitement, follow you on Twitter, meet you for coffee, let you buy them lunch, but never come to anything that you organize. Fans are typically podcasting Driscoll, reading Piper, and can give you the latest update on Chandler’s cancer faster than it takes for you to find it on the web.

Fans will suck the energy out of you. Often people in this category are another “F” word I like to use: “floaters.” They don’t have a church home, and float from one church to another, avoiding commitment, and seeing themselves as getting “fed” from guys they podcast. Fans love to talk about terms like “gospel-centered” and “missionally-focused” but fail to ever translate their talk to their walk.

Fans need to be quickly moved to the fence or the farm or they will consume your time and distract you from the mission.

4. Friends

Friends are typically gospel-centered people who are playing in the same league but on a different team. They are interested in what you’re doing, realize the importance of it, and want to support you in any way they can, but in the end are plugged-into and committed to another church. Friends are great, but they’re not family. You can call on friends for practical help and outside advice, but when you’re trying to build a family, sometimes you have to limit your time with friends.

5. Farm

The farm is made up of people who were on the fence and turned out not to be in the family when you called them to commit, or folks who were fans that you simply had to move to the farm, as they were much more interested in hanging out in the grandstands than ever making it onto the field. Instead of being all-in, they’ve verbally or non-verbally stated that they are out. The sad reality of a church planter is that once people are on the farm, it is typically a distraction from the mission to continue to pursue them. If they want to rejoin the fence, trust that they will on their own.

6. Foes

Foes are the critics and the opposite of “family.” We’ve had a few of these in our short history as a church plant, including one lady who accused me of trying to attract people to our church with beer, and another I’ve never met who sent me an email with some poor exegesis of 1 Timothy 3 and tried to tell me that I was not qualified to be an elder. I would have liked to meet her.

As a church planter, you will have a growing family, people on the fence, a host of fans, some good friends, a growing farm, and a number of foes. Your goal is to call people to commit and determine who’s in the family so that you can march forward with your mission to reach the unreached for Christ.

By Acts 29 Network

When is Church Growth Not Healthy Growth?

I am a big fan and a friend of Mark Buckley, who pastors Living Streams Church in Phoenix, Arizona. Mark and his wife Kristine have been the guests of All Nations in the past and will come again next year, God willing. We are willing - just need to work out the dates with Mark and Kristine.

I love Mark's perspective on when church growth is not good growth...

Healthy Things Grow Naturally - December 2012

Many people say healthy things grow. If something stops growing, it’s not healthy. Some people apply that logic to churches and others apply it to businesses. I want to clarify that concept. No plants, animals or people keep growing indefinitely. All living things reach a maximum size determined by genetics and environment, otherwise they would become gigantic. When healthy things reach maturity, new growth comes through reproduction.

No business or church can grow indefinitely either. Healthy businesses stay focused on their customers and main products. If they get overextended they are vulnerable to all kinds of problems. Healthy churches grow to a size determined by the gifts, talents and opportunities given by God to the congregation and leaders. They reproduce by raising up mature disciples who establish new ministries and plant new churches. The apostles left Jerusalem to preach the gospel and establish new churches. Some of the new churches they established grew larger and lasted longer than the church in Jerusalem.

Jesus said, “See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or toil.” (Mat. 6:28) Healthy things grow naturally. It is a flawed form of judgment to value people by the size of their ministry, business or bank account. That is like saying your mother was an incredible woman because she raised you in a big house. The impact of your mother, father, or friend is as great as the love they showed you and the wisdom they imparted to you. If Christ is in you, you may not be impressive to the world, but the faith and love you have can transform the life of anyone who believes your message.

One reason I enjoy the challenge of sports and games is the opportunity to make progress in ways that are measurable. A smoother golf swing improves my scores and helps me to feel like I’m learning and growing. We need to have a sense that we are growing in wisdom and understanding in life as well. After midlife, our bodies diminish in strength and energy. Life can be depressing if we focus on that decline. Fortunately, the Lord allows us to grow in grace and wisdom throughout our lives.

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” (II Corinthians 4:16) Inward renewal comes as we draw near to the Lord in prayer and experience his grace. I’m learning to trust God in deeper ways, so my faith stays alive under stress and pressure. Spiritual growth can be measured by peace in our hearts and confidence in God when we face the pressures of life.

Our six year old grandson Matisse captured a scorpion and released it recently. The next day he asked his mother, “If I can catch a baby scorpion, how can we train it to hunt? Do they have books on that?”

Matisse will grow in size, wisdom and understanding in the years to come, but he is precious to us right now. You too will naturally grow in wisdom and understanding as you read the word of God and put it into practice. Yet I hope you realize that you are loved as much today as you will be on the day you meet the Lord and receive your reward.

Join the Largest Prayer Meeting in the World

Hello, 20 years ago God allowed me and several others the privilege of helping to pioneer what is most likely the largest prayer initiative in the world, called "30 days of prayer for the Muslim world". Since that time it has spread all over the world and now millions of people pray during Ramadan for pre-believing Muslims.

I want to call this prayer and awareness initiative to your attention and ask that you join me in supporting this amazing opportunity to stir up love and faith and reconciliation toward Muslims who have not yet come to faith in Jesus. Join believers all over the globe praying during Ramadan - not because we believe in Islam, but because we believe for those who follow Islam to come to faith in Jesus!

Who knows what God will do when we join with many others to fast and pray during Ramadan for Muslims to come to faith in Jesus!!

Since this and many other prayer initiatives began to reach out in love to Muslims, many have had dreams of Jesus, met followers of Jesus, and have opened their hearts to the peace of God through Jeus Christ. The greatest solution to war and strife in North Africa, India, Indonesa, and the Middle East is prayer and the love of Jesus.

P.S. To subscribe to regular updates or get more information on how you can get your church community and movement involved write to: 30-days@bfp-listen.de

Below is an update from 30 Days…

Dear friends,

20 years ago a few mission leaders were praying together. They felt challenged to focus their attention on reaching the Muslim world. Thus was born the 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World movement.

Today, that agency has 10 times more teams working in the Muslim world than they did 20 years ago. Many other mission and church agencies have joined in. We have seen major breakthroughs. For example, in South Asia at least half a million Muslims come to faith among the Bengali. In Iran, Christian satellite broadcasting is widely viewed and supports a strong and growing underground church movement with thousands of house fellowships multiplying throughout the country. Several hundred thousand members of an unreached Berber group in North Africa have come to faith in just one of several movements taking place in that region.

The 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim world prayer event has played a big part in that - educating, motivating and encouraging believers to respectfully and lovingly share their faith. The guide is now distributed in over 38 languages, and millions have participated. We have a team of people across the planet who not only contribute to the contents of the booklet but also are actively involved in ministry reaching the lost.

We feel an urgency to continue calling the Christian world to pray. This is not the time to stop praying, giving and going. The avalanche of prayer, we believe, is seeing much fruit. And as we watch events take place in North Africa and across the Muslim world, we sense we must add our prayers and actions to the work God is doing. We are investing in eternity!

You will read many more miracles and facts in our coming prayer guide. I encourage you to get the prayer materials to your family, friends, church and social network. At our end we are doing our utmost to produce the prayer guide so it will engage as many Christians as possible. We also encourage everyone to contribute financially to the ongoing work. There are many bills to pay for the new booklet and of course for the people in the fields.

So, what of the next 20 years? According to a 2011 Pew study, twenty years from now the Muslim world population will have doubled from what it was 20 years ago. Muslims will represent a quarter of the global population. As followers of Christ, we must rise to meet this growth with a double portion of faith and love. Let's keep up the avalanche of prayer.

God bless you,

Ron and the team.

New Book

Mirror, Mirror - A Reflected Life

by Carolyn Ros

I wanted to draw your attention to this new book published by a friend.

From the press release:

Carolyn Ros, or Kari as she was known during her growing-up years, seemed to have everything going for her as she graduated from high school and headed off to college. The child of American missionary parents, she had grown up in Japan speaking two languages. Very early on she was chosen to model for Japanese advertisements, she excelled in her studies in a well-respected international school, and seemed to be the belle of the ball. Underneath it all, however, was a mountain of fear and doubt that was plaguing her and driving her deeper into anorexia and bulimia. Then, on top of all that, her world came crashing down as her face, hands, and knees were injured in a motorcycle accident. She was left a shaken shell. It would take years of serious probing and honest self-examination and a bold question from a fellow college student to get her started back on the road to self-realization and fulfillment. The book not only includes her story, but also many of the spiritual meditations that brought her renewed hope and strength.

Please see here for the full press release.

New Videos

I wanted to draw your attention towards two new videos, shot during my furlough in the United States. Both were shot during my time at LCC Redding.

The first is on Discipleship and can be found here.

The second is on Discipleship and Leadership and can be found here.

If you have the time, check them out!

Leadership is a Performing Art

Leadership is a performing art, not a science. It is the art of influencing others, not just to accomplish something together, but to want to accomplish great things together. Servant leaders challenge existing processes without manipulating or overpowering people, then they enable others to act by encouraging their hearts, modeling the way forward, and inspiring a shared vision. The authority that servant leaders have to impact the lives of others comes from their ability to serve artfully, and thus to influence people align themselves to want to act together. Servant leaders pay attention to individuals, stimulate people intellectually, inspire a big vision, and through these art forms, influence others to act together to achieve what they could not do alone. Servant leaders live what they ask others to do. Their integrity and character sustains their artful ability to inspire many others.