| 2010 Labor Day Conference |
A friend of mine is currently recovering from a major course of treatment for cancer. The treatments have been seriously painful and debilitating. Now he has always been a keen athlete, and was planning on basing his rehabilitation following treatment on training for the marathon. But that has proved very difficult so far because he can hardly maintain his current (very low) weight, let alone take in the calories that he needs to train for a marathon. So he has become involved by making a lot of his time available to help at various “Cancer Survivor” running events. In this way he is motivating others by example, even as he works on having his own turn to be one of the runners within these events.
I think Jesus would describe this as taking a lead through service. He is having an impact on his current sphere of influence, and his blogs about his walk through the valley of the shadow of death have been inspiring many of us.
Aaron is part of the team leading the Student CPx movement around the country. God is moving in power through these students in ways that you will enjoy to read about here. Student CPx still has trainings that are going on in other parts of the country through these summer months. This is another expression of leadership through service, laying down your life so that others can be equipped as Paul describes in Ephesians 4.
Robin and Margaret serve the Lord in Hong Kong, their home base for promoting church planting movement around the world. They both have jobs to help cover the bills, and put as much time as they can into this call of God on their lives. Even Robin’s Parkinson’s Disease has not been able to slow him down. Now they are pioneering much of the initiative to bring experienced church planting teams from India into Central and Eastern Africa. (By the way, these incredible initiatives could really do with some cash to expand their reach. If your home church is not yet actively involved in missions, this would be a good bunch to reach out to and help support. Contact Robin at info@222foundation.org for more info.)
Tim, a former Christian Rock Star and worship leader (you know, the type who flew around on private jets-really) has sold all, along with fellow super-star band members, so that they can follow the Lord’s call to see how to transform a small town in Oregon. Some of them are going to be with us for the National Conference to share their journey with the Lord and the incredibly exciting things that are now happen through their church planting initiatives. This is godly leadership through example.
It has become increasing clear to us on the H2H board, as we have spent many evenings on conference calls and seeking the Lord about the thrust of this year’s National conference, that the key component of infrastructure is leadership, and that the key characteristic of leadership is service and that the hallmark of godly leadership is humility. We would love you to come and join us as we seek to re-define what Christian leadership looks like from a Biblical perspective. If the way that God most commonly describes Himself to us is as Father, and if the picture that most describes New Testament church is family, then spiritual Moms and Dads must personify church leadership.
Well, I try to only presume upon 60 seconds of your time for the reading of these e-letters, so I had better bring this to a close. Maybe I can quickly point you to a couple more resources. My favorite article for this week, excluding our very own H2H article of the week can be read at this link. Martin Hannington, who has written this article entitled, From Orthodoxy to Orthopraxis, is one of the leaders in a British mega church that is actively de-centralizing and seeking the Lord how to live within a simple/organic context.
More later!
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:
- The REAL Dirt on Organic Church by Neil Cole
- Quit Praying that Prayer because it Ain’t Gonna Happen by Steve Lyzenga
- House Church Culture By John Fenn
- Jesus Manifesto by Leonard Sweet & Frank Viola
House2House is a donation supported ministry.
An Army of Ordinary People We match Amazon’s Price!
by Felicity Dale
An Army of Ordinary People contains the key to explosive, transformational, 21st century evangelism. Renowned church planter Felicity Dale shares stories of how God has always used—and is still using—ordinary believers to carry out his work in simple ways throughout the world. Some of these stories are dramatic—people being led to the Lord by the friends who counseled them through drug addictions and criminal pasts. Some are everyday—a dad spending his Sunday teaching Bible lessons to his kids, or a couple inviting their neighbors over to dinner and a spiritual discussion. But in each of them, there is a light bulb moment, when someone just like you thinks I can do that! And as a result, the gospel is spreading . . . and lives are being changed.
What’s With Paul & Women? JUST ADDED!
By Jon Zens
1 Timothy 2:11-12 has been used as a “clear” mandate to silence women in the church for over 1500 years. In What’s With Paul & Women? Jon Zens exposes the fallacies of this interpretation, and opens up the meaning of 1 Timothy 2:9-15 using insights gleaned from the Artemis-saturated Ephesian culture where Timothy was left to stand against false teaching (1:3). Going beyond 1 Timothy 2, this book covers the major issues in gender inequality with three Appendices: one on the Ephesian social world in which 1 Timothy was written, another on 1 Corinthians 14:34-36 and an extensive review of John Piper’s What’s the Difference? Manhood & Womanhood Defined According to the Bible. If 1 Timothy 2:11-12 and 1 Corinthians 14:34-36 have puzzled you, What’s With Paul & Women? will help in your quest to discern the mind of the Lord as the gender debate continues.
Finding Organic Church JUST ADDED!
By Frank Viola
From the author of Reimagining Church comes an essential guide that provides practical, effective tools for finding vibrant Christian communities. Driven by a passion for the body of Christ, Frank Viola has written some of today’s most authoritative and celebrated works on the growing home, organic, and missional church movements. Now Viola shares practical keys to a healthy and successful church plant. Viola contends that many congregations today are struggling to survive, not because of bad planning, but poor planting. He presents an essential guide for starting and nourishing organic churches in any culture. Drawing from both Scripture and a wealth of experience, Viola offers real-world tools, insights, and practical suggestions so churches won’t just grow, but thrive.
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Clayton, WA 99110-0229
House2House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
