Newsweek Magazine, in this week’s issue, quote the Pew Forum research from which this amazing 7% statistic comes. Newsweek describes this as evidence “ that Americans are as loosey-goosey in their religious practices as many have long suspected.” I think that maybe God is up to something!
And because most of us reading this e-letter are a part of “that something” it seems to me that we need to collectively think through the impact that we can have. It has been known for a long time that 7% of any given population, that choose to work together towards stated goals, can have a profound impact on the remaining 93%. We could impact our work places. We could change the tone of our schools. We could demonstrate by our lives how “righteousness exalts a nation.” We could model new forms of leadership. We could touch this nation with the love of Christ. That underlines why in the last two e-letters I have tried to begin exploring the role of infrastructure to extend the influence of these God directed movements.
Many of you reading this know Robert Fitts, a true father to the emerging house church movements across the country. In his recent newsletter (which you can get by emailing him at [email protected]) he tells the story of God asking the Israelite army in 2 Kings 3 to dig ditches to prepare for the water that God was going to send. As Robert said in his newsletter, “This was a co-operative miracle between God and man. God sent the water, but men dug the ditches.” Digging the ditches is providing the infrastructure. Last week I touched briefly on prayer, leadership development, and tools, such as books and DVD in the development of a nationwide infrastructure. This week I want to focus on leadership development. But just before we do that, let me make a quick comment on the tragedy in Haiti and our response to it.
Haitians need our help. And part of having an infrastructure is working through groups that already have in place a mechanism to help in major disaster situations such as this one. Many of you will know of David Servant and the work of Heaven’s Family. They are already involved in Haiti, and if you want to help now, send any donations to them through their website at https://www.heavensfamily.org/donate. I would urge you to donate through a group such as this, where you can trust that all of the money given will be used responsibly and effectively.
Now back to our current theme of leadership development. God is the one who raises up leadership (Eph 4). But leadership development, is a cooperative venture between us and the Lord. Leaders tend to do things that others won’t do. They read a lot of books. They inconvenience themselves for others. I remember in my old network marketing days that it was commonly recognized that “luck” came to those who worked for it! In the parable of the talents we see the same principle enumerated. Put what you have to work, and you will be amazed at how God multiplies it.
Here are some tools that can help in development of different types of leadership capacity.
- If you share my interest in what God is doing in bring the mega and the micro together to both serve Him more effectively, then seriously consider booking in for Verge2010 at www.verge2010.org. Leading thinkers and practitioners of simple/organic church movements, along with leaders of mega-churches that are also moving in this direction, are coming together to explore what God is up to. This is happening in Austin over February 4-6th, so you will need to move pretty quickly on this one.
- People often ask Felicity and I how we have been able to start the churches that we describe in The Rabbit and The Elephant and elsewhere so easily among those who are not yet Christians. That is what the Luke 10 Weekends are all about. We are going to be doing another Luke 10 Training weekend here in Austin at our home over the weekend of February 19-21st. We are limiting it to 25 people, of whom we hope that 15 or so will be local people and 10 will be others flying in from around the country. Luke 10 weekends focus on the very practical application of Luke 10: 1-9 on how to plant church among unbelievers. Everything throughout the weekend aims to help you create reproducing churches that are growing from within the harvest. We will meet Friday evening and all day Saturday. There will be no planned stuff for the Sunday, but for those who fly in and for those who choose to stick around for Sunday morning, we will have fellowship, more Q&A, and thinking towards spreading the Luke 10 message around the country most effectively. There will be no charge for the weekend to those who fly in from outside Austin, but for those here in Austin we are asking for a $35 contribution towards materials. Thinking of Luke 10, Felicity’s current blog, which you can see here, is about this.
- Third, do get the National House Church conference into your calendar now. As always, it will take place over the Labor Day weekend – Sept 3-5, and this year we are continuing the tradition of meeting at the DFW Hyatt Grand at DFW airport. The focus of the conference this year, Infrastructure: Building platforms that sustain movements. The conference will continue the tradition of both providing a shop window for those who are looking at house churches for the first time, and focus on training for those already taking a lead within house church circles.
Finally, I usually end these short e-letters with a reference to an article or blog that has impacted me in the past week or so. This week I would like to point you to an article by Mark Setch, “The War on Fullness.” No, it’s not about obesity! It about the reality of spiritual warfare impacting the church, which according to Ephesians is supposed to be “the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Enjoy,
Tony and Felicity and the H2H team.
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Recent Stories:
Each week H2H publishes a story/article about simple church and/or living out our life in the Kingdom. Recent stories include:
- GIVE ME THIS MOUNTAIN By Robert Fitts
- The Antioch Gathering By Guy Muse
- Global House Church Summit – 200 million churches to go Report
- House Church and the “Pareto Principle” By William T “Bill” Faris, MPC
The Rabbit and The Elephant We match Amazon’s Price!By Tony & Felicity Dale and George Barna
Today’s Western culture is indifferent to church and Christians. Yet the early church existed in far harsher conditions—and it thrived. Much like a new litter of rabbits, the infant faith quickly grew and spread. And the result was a world transformed.
In The Rabbit and the Elephant, Tony and Felicity Dale (Simply Church) and George Barna (Revolution) say that the same thing is happening today. As Christians, we are the church – whether we meet in office buildings, college dorm rooms, coffee shops, factories, or homes – and the Holy Spirit uses us to expand that church to the far reaches of the globe. By practicing “simple church,” we’ll find that a small gathering of friends loving Jesus together and reaching out to the community around them can help us to be the church, the way God intended.
The rabbit and the elephant. Something small and something big. Find out what lessons they hold for you, for the body of Christ, and for the future of church as we know it.
From Eternity to Here: Rediscovering the Ageless Purpose of God
By Frank Viola
Deep within God’s Word lies a wondrous story like no other. A drama that originated before time began. An epic saga that resonates with the heartbeat of God. A story that reveals nothing less than the meaning of life and God’s great mission in the earth. From Eternity to Here presents three remarkable stories spanning Genesis to Revelation. Each story traces a divine theme that is woven throughout Scripture. Seen together, they offer an extraordinary glimpse into God’s highest passion and grand mission. What you discover will forever change your view of life, the church, and our magnificent God.
Organic Leadership
by Neil Cole
What are the weeds that hinder the natural growth of godly leadership? Are programs, people, and money truly the signs of a successful church? Where can you find an unlimited source of leaders? How do you mentor others so that they multiply? In Organic Leadership, Neil Cole asks these questions and more, boldly challenging many of the ideas about leadership and church life that we all take for granted.
House2House is a donation supported ministry.
