the reluctant leader

What Does It Mean to Be Apostolic?

Had a good discussion with a room full of leaders in Nashville last week, talking about what it means to be an “apostolic” church movement.

 

Here are some of our thoughts:

 

1. Unfortunately apostolic is usually defined in governmental terms of “who is in charge” rather than in missional terms of what are we called to do.

 

2. The starting point of any apostolic discussion should be the mission, not the authority structure.

 

3. Authority structures exist to serve and protect mission. The mission dies not exist to prop up the authority structure.

 

 

Biblical apostolic teams should:

 

1. Provide visionary leadership for health, growth and expansion

 

2. Equip people to be more effective in ministry

 

3. Provide governmental leadership in times of crisis and emergency

The Hedghog Principle: How We Can Be Our Best

Matt Rasch has served as an Every Nation Ministries campus missionary in Innsbruck, Austria and Budapest, Hungary. He is now in the process of planting a new church in Marseilles, France. To earn his Fuller Seminary degree he is writing a paper called “The Hedgehog Concept” based on the bestselling book, Good to Great by Jim Collins.

Matt asked me to help him finish his paper by answering these three questions:

1. What can our organization be the best in the world at?
2. What drives our economic engine?
3. What are we deeply passionate about?

This blog will take a quick stab at the first question:
What can our organization be the best in the world at?

In order to answer that question, we must first know exactly what our organization IS, not what we DO. Our organization, Every Nation, does a lot of different ministry activities – church planting, cross-cultural missions, campus ministry, military outreach, social justice, orphanages, stopping child trafficking, AIDS care, feeding the hungry, after school programs for at-risk kids, and the list goes on and on and on.

It is easy to confuse what we do with what we are.

What we do is determined by what we are. Every Nation IS a movement of churches that are united together TO DO church planting, campus ministry and world missions.

We ARE a group of churches. We DO church planting, campus ministry and world missions.

So, back to Matt’s first question - what can we be the best at?
I think we can be best at planting new churches that reach the campus, that do world missions and that plant other churches.

Some churches only want to reach their city - that’s not us. While we want to reach our cities, we can’t stop there. We must plant churches in other cites. But we can’t stop there either. We must do world missions.

If we plant churches that do not reach the campus, that do not reach the world and that do not plant new churches, then we are not being our best.

Focus, Clarity & Simplicity

Focus, simplicity and clarity are essential tools of leadership. Rather than narrowing the focus, too many ministries try to do anything and everything that can possibly be done in the name of God. This is rarely effective. Better to do one thing with excellence, than to do 100 things halfway. Focus means we can't do everything.

Here's the Every Nation Churches & Ministries focus, as clear and simple as I can blog it:

Why do we do what we do?
To honor God

What do we do?
Establish churches and campus ministries

What kind of churches and campus ministries?
Christ-centered, Spirit-empowered, socially responsible

Where do we establish churches and campus ministries?
In every nation

In short, Every Nation Churches & Ministries exists to:
 Honor God and establish
Christ-centered, Spirit-empowered, Socially responsible
Churches and campus ministries
In every nation

The Accidental Missionary in Southern Africa

I need to come to Africa more often. Not because they need my input - but because I need theirs. I need to learn from their passion for worship, their intentional diversity, their perseverance, their commitment to campus ministry. (And I need a regular fix of Nandos peri peri sauce.)

Past 3 days with our Every Nation Southern Africa leaders was huge. Inspiring testimonies from EN church-planters and campus missionaries serving in Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Zambia and South Africa.

When the South Africans talk about campus Bible studies, they are talking about 300, 500, 800 or 1000 students attending. When most of us talk about campus ministry we’re happy to have 25 or 50 - and we do back flips if we have 100 students at an event.  

We see lots of mega-churches (defined as over 2000 in attendance) in cities all over the world, but why not mega-campus ministries with thousands of students?

I wish all our Every Nation Campus Ministry missionaries in Asia, North America, South America, Europe and the South Pacific could visit some of our campus chapters in South Africa. Many of them have “cracked the missional code” on their campuses.

Now in the Joburg airport, about to fly back to Nash. This Manila-Dubai-Lagos-Abuja-Lagos-Joburg trip has been refreshing. It’s always great to visit my friends in this part of the world.

Pix coming soon…

What a MESS!

Our ministry MESS gets bigger and better each year…

I've been too busy to blog last few days because I’m at the Every Nation M.E.S.S. (Middle East Strategic Summit) with our leaders from Dubai, Sharjah, Ral Al Khaima, Abu Dhabi, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, India and Sierra Leone.

Leaders from Egypt, Bangladesh, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain were not able to attend - but they sent encouraging reports of all God is doing in their nations, including testimonies of former Al-Qaeda operatives who have repented and are now training for ministry.

Even though most of these nations are “closed” to Christian ministries, the hearts of the people are open to the gospel. Because of our security protocols, I can’t post photos or give details - but here’s a summary of the country reports:
     - Huge need & great opportunity
     - Closed doors & open hearts - Intense persecution & death threats
     - Plentiful harvest & scarcity of workers
     - "Macedonian" calls for prayer & help

Common Middle East prayer requests:
     - protection - believers established in word and faith
     - new strategies to share the gospel
     - jailed believers & their families 
     - apostasy bill will not become law (Iran)

I fly from Dubai to Lagos, Nigeria in 16 hours. Can’t wait to visit one of my fav churches in the world, the Chapel of Glory in Lagos. After Lagos, I fly to Joburg for a few days of strategic meetings with leaders from southern Africa.

Please pray for the persecuted church in the Middle East.

5 Ministry Tension Points

Remember shooting rubber bands at your friends in elementary school? If you stretch it too much it breaks. If you don't stretch it enough it will not hit the target. If you stretch it and aim it properly, bulls eye! The trick is to keep the right amount of tension on the rubber band.

Managing healthy tension - that's what leadership is all about.

Here are 5 tension points that leaders in our ministry (Every Nation) must deal with in 2009. Too much tension and we snap. Too little tension and we accomplish nothing.

1. Ministry & Family. This transcends nations, cultures, ages and careers. No matter if you are a businessman or a pastor, you will have to deal with this one. We can't afford to sacrifice our families on the altars of temporal success. Is your family top priority?

2. Local & International. We were given the power of the Holy Spirit so we can reach our "Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth" not just so we can have exciting religious experiences. As we build strong local churches, we must not forget the nations. This local/international tension creates tough time and money decisions. Are you reaching your city and the world?

3. Campus & Church. We are called to plant churches and we are called to reach campuses. Building the church by reaching employed adults helps the financial bottom line. Growing the church by reaching the campus costs money - lots of money. And students don't generally give a lot in the offerings. No matter the cost, we must do both - it's a calling, not a preference. Are you reaching the next generation?

4. Established & Emerging Leaders. I've always wanted to lead the kind of church the next generation would love. Most pastors will naturally reach people 10 years older and 10 years younger - unless they make cultural changes. So, a 40 year old pastor will attract people in their 30's and 40's. If that 40 year old pastor wants to reach teens and 20's, he will have to make intentional adjustments. What are you doing to intentionally reach people from other generations?

5. Unity & Diversity. This is not just an American black & white issue. Ethnic diversity is a fact of life in cities all over the world. Diversity will pull us apart unless we make every effort to keep the unity of the spirit. Are you doing life and ministry in a way that builds unity in a diverse world, or do you only relate to people like you?

I pray God will give us wisdom to lead through these and other tensions we will certainly face in the coming years.

Money & Ministry

A few months ago, I was asked to talk to 150 of our Victory and Every Nation staff members about budgeting and money at our annual Manila planning meeting.

After telling old stories, I mentioned 6 principles and attitudes that have guided the way we have raised, managed, spent and accounted for money at Victory-Philippines for the past 25 years.

1. Faith – God is our source. Always has been, even when the church was small and poor, and our offerings were heavy (all coins, no paper).

2. Stewardship – God owns it all, and we will give an account to Him for how we raise, manage, spend and account for His money.

3. Generosity – We give our best to our missionaries our staff, and to the poor in our congregations and those we serve through the Real Life Foundation. It is now popular in the West to be generous to the poor in Africa, while ignoring the poor in our communities.

4. Integrity – How we raise, manage, spend and account for ministry money is important to God, and to people. Our goal has always been to raise and spend money in ways that honor God. It is possible (and common) to raise ministry money, but dishonor God at the same time.

5. Professionalism – Churches and ministries should live by the highest professional standards. We hire the best to do our external audits, and we have made it clear to them that we want to be held to the highest standards, not to the barely-get-by the law standard.

6. Wisdom – I am fortunate to have smart people around me I can ask for help with negotiations, contracts, investments, legal issues and other financial matters that pastors are not trained to handle. (Lost a key adviser last week.)

What guides you as you manage God's money?

On Success in Life and Ministry

Every Nation Winter Conference Notes & Quotes (part 2)

Three days in Jacksonville, Florida with 180 American pastors, church planters and campus missionaries. Great time of worship and fellowship. Here are some notes and quotes from day 2 on success in life and ministry.

Russ Austin
- Friends are an assignment from God.
- We can’t create friendships for everyone, but we can build a culture where friendships grow.
- The biggest pitfall in ministry is pride.

Kevin York
- Humility is simply having an accurate memory.
- Success starts with healthy self-awareness - knowing who you are - and knowing who you are not.

Jim Laffoon
- We tend to measure our success by externals rather than eternals. Real success is about eternal things - beginning with our relationship with Christ.
- When I was a pastor, my greatest mistake was counseling too much and discipling too little.
- The only person who wants to be in charge is the person who is real insecure and has never been in charge.

***accidental missionary sports page discussion about Manny Pacquiao vs Oscar De La Hoya massacre***

Every Nation Winter Conference Notes & Quotes (part 1)

The 2008 Every Nation Winter Conference. Three days in Jacksonville, Florida with 180 American pastors, church planters and campus missionaries. Hosted by Southpoint Community Church. Great time of worship and fellowship.

Our first day featured a panel discussion about how to balance family and ministry. Here are some notes and quotes from day 1 on marriage, family and ministry.

Brett Fuller
- The goal is not to become a better pastor, husband or father. The goal is to become a better Christian - every day. If I become a better Christian, I will be a better pastor, husband and father.
- Ministry is not an act or a hat we put on in certain situations. It must flow out of how I live at home.
- The church as a mistress is a bad one – it will never fulfill you.

Debbie Austin
- You don’t become a good husband or wife by reading books and learning marriage skills, but by letting Jesus change your life – by just living to please God.

David Houston
- Don’t give all your energy to your job - save the best for your family.

Part 2 coming soon.

Thankful for My Friends

Fly to Jacksonville tomorrow.
The '08 Every Nation Winter Conference.

Can't wait to see friends from all over America.

The Every Nation winter conf is for pastors, campus missionaries, church planters and church leaders. While our summer F.U.E.L. conference is designed for practical equipping, our winter conference is all about  relationships.

Take 3 min and 50 secs and check out our promo vid, HERE.
Makes me want to watch Tombstone & Gump again. And makes me thankful for my friends.