the reluctant leader

Every Nation F.U.E.L. Conf -- Ed Stetzer Quotes

My Baptist friend, Dr Ed Stetzer (Mr Ed as we respectfully call him) spoke to 150 of our Every Nation American pastors, campus missionaries and church planters in Nashville 2 weeks ago. Good conf. Good mssg from Ed.

Here are some Ed quotes from our conf:

It is not one or the other - healthy movements have relational connectedness and missional passion.

Tools not rules – make the tools so good that everyone wants to use them.

Many desire, talk about and pray to be a church planting movement, but few will pay the price to see it happen.

Stop trying to capture the glory of your past and find God’s vision for your future.

And the # 1 Ed quote of the month:

People never change until the pain of staying the same grows greater than the pain of changing.

Click here for Ed's blog about his 10 point "Movemental Christianity" mssg.

What is an Apostolic Team?

I can’t speak for other movements, but as an Every Nation leader, here’s what I mean when I say apostolic team:

“a team of mature and gifted leaders who work together to help grow, guide and govern a movement of churches and ministries.”

Yep, I made that up. And, I might change it, depending on the feedback.

Here’s a word for word break down:

Team – Think football, not tennis. Not a lone “super-apostle” at the top making all the decisions, but a team of leaders making apostolic decisions together. (When I use the “A” word, I do not mean people who write books of the Bible, but “sent ones” who plant, establish and strengthen churches.)

Mature – Spiritual, ministerial and relational maturity. Not novices. (Note: sometimes maturity has little to do with age.)

Gifted – Maturity is important, but it is not enough. Some might be mature, but not spiritually gifted to lead churches.

Leaders – Not only apostles, but also prophets, pastors, evangelists and teachers who do apostolic work.

Work – Spiritual leadership is hard work, a noble task.

Together – See “team” comment above.

To Help – Assist, aid, lend a hand, serve, encourage.

Grow – Larger, stronger and more influential.

Guide – Direction, focus, vision, mission.

Govern – In specified and agreed upon areas.

Hope that helps answer the “A Team” FAQ’s. If not, let me know.
And, feel free to ask me anything pertaining to leadership, and I’ll try to give my best answer on this blog.

What is an Every Nation Church (Part IV - "Socially Responsible)

Every Nation Churches and Ministries exists to…

Honor God and Establish
Christ-centered, Spirit-empowered, Socially Responsible
Churches and Campus ministries
In Every Nation

What does a "socially responsible" church or campus ministry look like?

First of all it looks different in every culture and community because the needs and opportunities are different in every community. What's important is that we demonstrate the compassion of Christ to hurting people.

Here are a few questions that all pastors and campus missionaries should think about: What if your church or campus ministry suddenly vanished from the earth -- would your community even notice? Would they care? Do you engage your community and culture in a way that they know you are there, and want you to be there?

Unfortunately many communities would not even notice if a church or campus ministry disappeared.

But we are called to engage our cultures and communities and establish churches and campus ministries that are socially responsible.

- In Manila being socially responsible means, among other things, that we fight poverty through education by providing scholarships to disadvantaged youth through the Real Life Foundation.

- In Nashville, DC, Orlando, Jacksonville and Raleigh it means we provide an after school program for at-risk students that focuses on academics, character development and life skills through our Youth Life Learning Centers in the poorest areas of the inner city.

- In Johannesburg it means we take care of orphans through Baby Haven.

- In Cape Town and other South African cities, it means we help develop self-reliance through pre-schools, adult training programs and health care services through the Thembalitsha Foundation. 

These are just a few of the examples of what "social responsibility" looks like in Every Nation in different communities and cultures.

A couple of Bible verses about social responsibility:

Matt 24:40 Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did  for me

Prov 19:17 He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.

What is an Every Nation Church (Part III Spirit-empowered)

Here’s part 3 of my blog about what an Every Nation church or campus ministry is supposed to look like. 

In summary and review, Every Nation Churches and Ministries exists to…

Honor God and Establish
Christ-centered, Spirit-empowered, Socially Responsible
Churches and Campus ministries
In Every Nation

What does a Spirit-empowered church or campus ministry look like?

In some denominations and traditions the power of the Holy Spirit means falling to the ground after being prayed for. In other traditions the power of the Holy Spirit is something that happened in Bible times, but not today.

What some people call the power of the Holy Spirit, might actually be a cultural response to the presence and power of God.

Some individuals and some cultures are emotional; others are analytical. Some are demonstrative; others are stoic. Some loud; others quiet. Huggers, hand-shakers. Loose, stiff. Serious, funny. God seems to love the variety. He created it.

I think His power can flow through all different types of cultures. 

When I say we want to establish churches and campus ministries that are Spirit-empowered, I mean churches and campus ministries that welcome and celebrate the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in ways that make sense to the culture and community where that particular church or campus ministry exists.

Some cultures and communities respond to the presence and power of the Spirit with great exuberance and emotion, while others respond in quiet reverence. Some fall down. Some kneel down. Some bow down. Some stand still. All these responses are biblical and valid.

Here’s what Luke wrote about being Spirit-empowered:

you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

It doesn't matter if you fall down, roll around, shout & shake or stand as still and quiet as a marble statue - as long as you are an effective witness to your lost friends and neighbors when your religious experience ends and you go back to work or class. A Spirit-empowered church is a church filled with people who have been empowered by the Holy Spirit to live lives that point others to Christ.    

Luke also wrote this about being Spirit-empowered:

After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. (Acts 4:31)

How about that for a Spirit-empowered prayer meeting - the building shook! Wow!

As exciting as that building-shaking prayer meeting might have been, the proof that they were Spirit-empowered is what happened when they left the prayer meeting – they spoke the word of God boldly.

We can have world-shaking prayer meetings with all kinds of mystical and spiritual manifestations, but if we don’t live as witnesses and we don’t speak God’s word when we go home, then I don’t see the point in all the falling, shouting and shaking.   

I don't think the purpose of being empowered by Holy Spirit is so we can have exciting meetings. Rather I think the point is to help us live lives that honor God and point our friends, family and neighbors to Christ.

I don’t know about you, but I definitely need the miracle power of the Holy Spirit to be a decent witness. Left to myself, my witness would scare people away from God.   

What is an Every Nation Church (Part II Christ-centered)

This is the long-ago promised continuation of this blog about what an Every Nation church is supposed to look like.  (I’ve been traveling way too much lately – so my blogging has been less than consistent.)

Here’s my best description of why Every Nation Churches and Ministries exists:

To honor God and establish
Christ-centered, Spirit-empowered, Socially Responsible
Churches and Campus ministries
In Every Nation

What is a Christ-centered church and campus ministry?

It seems absurd to have to say that we are trying to build Christ-centered churches and campus ministries. Of course a church should be Christ-centered. However, it is unfortunately common for churches and ministries to be centered on almost everything but Christ.

I have seen churches that are preacher-centered, personality-centered, doctrine-centered, worship style-centered, spiritual gift-centered, prophet-centered, profit-centered, vision-centered, building-centered, political agenda-centered…

Many mega-churches in my city (Manila) are known, not by the church name, but by the name of their bigger-than-life mega-leader – Brother Bill’s church, Pastor Peter’s church, Dr Dan’s church.

Here’s what Paul said about this idea of being Christ-centered:

He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy.     (Col 1:17,18)       
 
Ultimately we exist to honor God and point people to Christ, not for any man, doctrine or experience to take center stage.

*** Latest accidental missionary post HERE.

What is an Every Nation Church?

"What is the key to empowering next generation leaders, and not seeing them eventually run off and do their own thing?"

I have been asked many versions of the above question countless times.

My answer is always something like this: before you empower leaders, you have to establish exactly what you are empowering them to do. In other words you have to be crystal clear about your mission, vision and values. If you are not clear about what you are building or where you are going - when you empower leaders, they will run full speed ahead in the wrong direction.

But, when you are clear about where you are going and what you are building, you can confidently empower next gen leaders, knowing they know what to do and where to go.

While having breakfast with my friend,  Mel Mullen, during the International Apostolic Summit last week, we had an interesting conversation about what kind of church we are trying to lead. We both expressed that we don’t always fit in the standard “Charismatic” box.

If we are not traditional Charismatic churches, then what are we?  In response to Mel's question about what kind of churches Every Nation is planting, here’s what I said:

"We want to plant churches (and campus ministries) in every nation that are Christ-centered, Spirit-empowered and socially responsible, and we want to do it in a way that is culturally relevant."

In my next few reluctant leader blogs, I want to explain what I mean by each of these ideas:

Christ-centered

Spirit-empowered

Socially Responsible

Culturally Relevant

My Day in the ER

Slept like a baby last night - woke up every 90 minutes screaming.

In case you missed  my "accidental missionary" blog yesterday, here's the story...

At 8:05 Sunday morning, while making final adjustments on my sermon, I was stabbed in the gut with a giant Rambo knife. Then someone started twisting it. At least that's what it felt like.

By 8:30 I was racing to Medical City ER, where I would spend the next 7 hours. They wanted to admit me, but Joey B helped me escape. I prefer to suffer at home.

Kidney stone.

ER doc said it was a half cm, but it felt like a sea urchin or a bowling ball.

Many of you know that I handle pain like a baby. Jack Bauer could get me to talk in 10 seconds. Glad I was not around during the Inquisition. 

I don't have the vocab to describe the pain, and all the words that come to mind should not be blogged by a pastor, on a Sunday.

Thx to all who prayed for me. Please don't stop. That sea urchin shaped bowling ball is still in there torturing me as it tries to get out.

A friend called when he heard I had a heart attack or something like that. I got a good laugh out of that one. And discovered that laughing increases the pain by 10.

5 Foundational Priorities of a Spirit-Formed Church

Been traveling too much to blog lately. Fly to Singapore in a couple of hours, but thought I better throw something up here so both my readers would not think I died or got kidnapped. Don't want Nancy Grace flashing my mug shot and asking the world to help find the missing missionary...

A couple of weeks ago about 50 Every Nation pastors and leaders met with Pastor Jack Hayford for two days of food, fellowship, teaching and training. On my other blog I wrote about the time with Pastor Jack and the EN pastors.

Here are some notes Pastor Jack gave us, but never actually talked about. Ran out of time, I guess. Jack's notes are bold italics. My comments follow his points.

5 Foundational Priorities of a Spirit-Formed Church

1. A Vibrant Prayer Meeting – It does not matter what percentage of the church is present, as long as the prayer time is passionate and focused.
My comment: It also does not matter how loud or how long the prayer meeting is. Volume and length are Pharisaical measuring tools. God is more concerned that our prayers are biblical, sincere and faith-filled.

2. A Commitment to Prioritizing Worship – It’s not about the talent and giftedness of the music team, but the “heart-quest” for God.
My comment: It is also not about the music style. God does not prefer the latest Hillsongs to ancient hymns. He is not attracted to a certain music style. Heart - it's about having a heart after God.

3. A Central Focus on the Scriptures – Both studying and responding to the Word of God that leads to transformation.
My comment: Does not matter if you are pentecostal or conversational in your delivery, as long as the Word is communicated. God anoints His word, not my style.

4. Evangelistic Action: Shining as a Beacon in the Darkness – Through a consistent presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, declaring the whole message of the whole Gospel to mankind.
My comment: For us, this means engaging our community and culture through long-term relationships, not random acts of ambush evangelism on misc strangers.

5. Community Sensitive: Serving Social Needs – Glorifying the Father includes the Church demonstrating deeds, which reveal God’s heart of compassion through corporate action.
My comment: The early apostles told Paul to "remember the poor" (Gal2:10) as he planted churches among the Gentiles. We should do the same. No matter what place or people we are called to, we must remember the poor as we do life and ministry.

    

Pastor Awaiting Public Execution for Preaching the Gospel

Just got off the phone with Simon, one of our Every Nation missionaries in Asia. He was calling from NYC, where he had some meetings with the US State Department and the UN concerning human rights and religious freedom.

Simon always has great testimonies, amazing open doors and life & death prayer requests.

Along with his church planting duties, Simon oversees our ministry to North Korean refugees. Lately, he has been working with the State Dept and the UN, trying to get Son Jung Nam released from a North Korean prison, where he is awaiting public execution for preaching the Gospel.

Recently, Simon and underground believers helped Son Jung Nam’s daughter, “Sarah” escape to a safe house, where her life is no longer in danger.

Since the National Association of Evangelical (NAE) of America is beginning to work with the UN on human rights and humanitarian projects around the world, they flew Simon from Asia to DC to talk about human rights violations in China and North Korea.

At a special dinner meeting, Simon got to meet Ban Ki Moon, the United Nations Secretary General who, being Korean, has a deep concern for the plight of North Korean refugees.

Please pray for Simon and his family, and the special projects he leads – projects that we can’t give details about without jeopardizing lives. 

***Last 2 blogs on my "accidential missionary" site are about Bethel-Franklin's new bld and our church plant plans for SF.

Corporate Culture & How We Do Church

Here are my thoughts about the role of corporate culture in the local church.

I am not suggesting that these 3 points should be the corporate culture of your church – every church needs to figure out what corporate culture serves their unique vision and values – but these 3 help us do what God has called us to do.

1. The passionate vision of a world-wide mission movement – a missional culture.
It all starts with a vision to reach our world and our neighborhood, to plant churches in every nation and small groups in every coffee shop, to send missionaries around the world and across the street. This is what we are called to do. Vision. Mission. I love both. But God loves people, so we must develop...

2. The caring atmosphere of a church family – a relational culture.
Now it gets difficult. How do I run with the vision, and not run over people? It is common for visionary movements to leave a trail of body bags dotting the path of their world-changing activities. It is also common for highly relational ministries to accomplish little. Is it possible to be visionary and relational at the same time? Vision & family - we have to be both, while also developing...

3. The organizational excellence of a multinational corporation – a professional culture.
Corporate excellence. Professionalism. In every area - accounting, IT, HR, graphics, facilities, communication - we must operate by the same standard as other institutions in our community. And that standard is different in every context. We reject the worn-out idea that giving God leftovers is acceptable. He deserves and demands our first and our best.

But, how do we keep a family/relational atmosphere and maintain professional excellence as we run with the vision and fulfill the mission? 

I must admit - it’s hard to hold to all three at the same time, because sometimes they seem to pull in opposite directions. But, I know that our success is, in part, dependent on creating and maintaining the right corporate culture. Yours is too.

Latest entry on my multiply site: "She Forgot to Say: 'World Peace'"