Wisdom from Our Mentor

George Patterson
Every time we eat, we eat the fruit of God’s
tremendous reproduction power given to plants
and animals. Look around out of doors; it’s
everywhere — grass, trees, birds, bees, babies and
flowers. All creation is shouting it! This is the way
God works! . . . We ourselves don’t make the church
grow or reproduce, any more than pulling on a stalk
of corn would make it grow.
— George Patterson

Gleaned from Neil Cole’s blog Cole-Slaw

Church, C.S. Lewis, and a Waste of Time

C.S. Lewis

The church exists for nothing else but to draw men
into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are
not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions,
sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of
time. God became a Man for no other purpose.

— C. S. Lewis


Gleaned from Neil Cole’s blog Cole-Slaw here

Impact from Greenhouse Training in Milwaukee

Greenhouse Story 1

We at CMA Resources were encouraged by this email:

Greenhouse Story 1
Subject: HOLY SPIRIT IS MOVING MIGHTILY

Hey,

Just a short update after our time at the Milwaukee Greenhouse Training. I am leading 3 simple churches now and we have at least 2 that have planted from people in these. I let God do what only God do and am PROFOUNDLY dependent on Him to lead these. I have grown so much in my faith and like you, I desire to be nothing and Him everything. I learned alot from your trainers.

I have been meeting with our lead pastor and sharing what God is doing in our simple churches. He is going to have a total makeover of our 35 small groups and have them based on the organic church. We are spending the summer in our groups digging into 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus for leadership development and disciple training. We are desperate to learn from Him and Gods word.

There has been alot of heartache in my journey and I would not have it any other way. I will save a few of those stories for another time. I am living my dream my friend and I love it. Please pass what God is doing in Milwaukee on.

I am simply focusing on 2 things; the lost and leadership. You are always a great inspiration to me.

Jim

Quick Explanation of Neil Cole’s Books

Neil Cole

Our calling at Church Multiplication Associates & @CMAResources is to multiply healthy disciples, leaders, churches and movements.  Neil ColeOur friend, Neil Cole has articulated many of the things we have learned in these areas in his written works.  Below is a listing of those resources authored by Cole and their focal points:

 

Disciples:

Search & RescueIf you want to learn about making and multiplying disciples, then read Cultivating A Life for God  and/or  Search & Rescue [paperback version is titled  “Ordinary Hero“]

* (Practical Resource- Life Transformation Group brochures

 

Leaders:

If you want to learn about growing, releasing and multiplying leaders, then read Organic Leadership 

Organic LeadershipIf you want to lead a group of emerging leaders through advanced doctrinal study so they can be trained in context, and not be shipped off to a seminary, then check out TruthQuest 

If you want to learn about leadership development, learn about your own development, and get a great, practical,  and biblical perspective on the missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul, the read Journeys to Significance

If you want to shape a leadership development track for your ministry or network of churches, check out Raising Leaders for the Harvest

*(Practical Resource- Mentoring Guides for coaching leaders)

 

Churches:

Organic ChurchIf you want to be challenged about your view of the church, and think biblically about how to take the church to people, then you should read Organic Church

Church TransfusionIf you are part of a conventional church and want it to become a seedbed of mission and multiplication as the church was meant to be see Church Transfusion

If you want to gain insights that will pave the way for the emergence of fruitful multiplication of disciples, leaders, churches, etc. with a thick resource including 3-ring binder, 8 audio CDs and the Powerpoint, check out Beyond Church Planting by Neil Cole and Bob Logan.

 

* Practical Training- Organic Church Planter’s Greenhouse Story 1 & Story 2

 

Movements:

If you want to read about the top ten questions people ask about organic church, learn from a practitioner inside of a church multiplication movement and get a vision for the future of the church, then check out Church 3.0 

Neil Cole and CMA mentioned in Starfish & Spider

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Starfish & The Spider

 

The Starfish & the Spider- The unstoppable power of leaderless organizations
by Rod Beckstrom & Ori Brafman

Epilogue to the Paperback Edition page 209

 

Watch author Ori Brafman do a Presentation on the concepts at our CMA Conference!

 

Absence of structure…a major asset

The Starfish & The Spider“The absence of structure, leadership & formal organization, once considered a weakness, has become a major asset. Seemingly chaotic groups have challenged & defeated established institutions. The rules of the game have changed.”

 

The Starfish & the Spider- The unstoppable power of leaderless organizations
by Rod Beckstrom & Ori Brafman

 

Watch author Ori Brafman do a Presentation on the Book

The Power of Presence by Jay Stiegelmeyer

The Church Has Left the Building

I think the best way I can talk about the “Power of Presence” is to share a story from my own journey. Let me tell you about my Life Transformation Group and how the Power of Presence has allowed us to plant kingdom seeds in people’s lives.

In the summer of 2011, my friend David led my friend Harry (both part of this group) to Christ at a table in a Chipotle restaurant close to our neighborhood. Since that night, a group of guys has been meeting every single week in that same Chipotle. We bring our Bibles and simply talk about what we’ve read that week and what’s going on in our lives. We don’t come with a hard agenda and we aren’t particularly flamboyant. What we are is consistent. We are there every single week.

The Church Has Left the BuildingOver the months, we’ve gotten to know many of the staff and even developed friendships with some of them. It’s been fun to watch the relationships grow. I remember the first time I realized that they had taken note of our consistent presence. It was Christmas Eve, and I strolled in there by myself to get my wife and I some lunch to go. One of the people there asked if our group was meeting early that day because of the holiday. Then, she stopped herself, and said “Oh, wait, it’s not a Thursday.” I knew then that they had come to expect us at that same time on that same night every single week.

Fast forward a few months to early spring time. There is another young staff member that works there named Alona. We’d gotten to know her and she’d started routinely giving us free drinks/chips (another benefit of the Power of Presence!). Anyway, she slowly moved from friendly chit-chat to actually asking us questions and showing interest in what our purpose is for being there every week. I could talk a lot more about Alona, but, suffice to say, she now has a Bible and has agreed to read the gospel of John with us. Please pray with us that God would speak to her heart and she would make a decision to surrender her life to Jesus, the Messiah!

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago. There is another middle-aged woman who works there named Shelby. We haven’t been able to get to know her as easily, but she’s definitely come to notice our consistently being there. A couple of weeks ago, she took her break outside at a table close to where Harry and I sat. I didn’t think anything about it really, but I do remember wondering what she must be thinking as we sat there talking about the Bible and things in our lives. Well, that brings us to this week’s meeting. She made a comment to Harry as he was going through the line that she was sorry for eavesdropping but that she couldn’t help but listen in and be encouraged by the incredible conversation that night a couple of weeks ago. Harry told her that she was always welcome to join in the conversation any time.

Well, sure enough, an hour later she came and sat down close by our table for her break and wasted no time in sharing her story with us. I know we’ve only scratched the surface of her story, but she shared about the addictions that she’s been able to overcome, about her father who is dying of cancer, about her criminal background, and about her dreams and aspirations. In her 15 minute break, we got her to title her autobiography for us (literally – it was the word written on her first hit of heroine).

Anyway, I could go on and on about this…and obviously this story is far from over. But, I believe in the Power of Presence. It directly led to Alona being drawn to the Lord and to His Word. It led directly to Shelby feeling comfortable enough to share her story with a couple of guys willing to sit and listen. And I didn’t even tell you about Aaron, the high-schooler who started meeting with us after seeing us in Chipotle one night as he ate with his friends. Who knows what God will be able to do with our group as we continue to show up and be obedient?

(c) 2012  Jay Stiegelmeyer

Jay Tweets @buffal0nickel

Used by permission

 

 

Now Available @CMAResources – MP3 Downloads!

Organic Leadership Conference

Organic Leadership Conference

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MP3 Downloads some of the great teaching and workshops from our Organic Leadership Conference.

Main Sessions 

2 hour Workshops (for only $.99!)
     Expanding the Kingdom of God….
…in Entertainment/Hollywood
…in Medicine/Business
…in Education
…in Politics/Government
…in Residential/Multi-Family Housing

Greenhouse Story 1 Training Track

Discovering God’s Heart for Your City

Foundations of Organic Leadership

Overcoming Obstacles to Missional Living

Moving from Centralized Mega to Decentralized Micro

Ancient – a story from Norway by Erik Fish

Norway by Erik Fish

Norway by Erik FishLast week, I stood at the edge of the North Sea with my friends from CMA in Southern Norway, watching the fog roll in over the rocky islands. It was an erie feeling, a combination of things both old and new. Good and evil. It is hard for me to describe the paradoxical atmosphere — it felt both thick and thin at the same time. Thick with fog and heaviness, yet thin with a sense that the veil between the natural and spiritual world was very small. What was God up to in this place?

We met a brother from the churches who told us about his sister’s family who lived on this land. We were invited to visit them.  Next to their home was an ancient burial mound. The meaning of the mound had been lost in time, but  local lore reported the site to be a place of unholy sacrifices meant to appease dark deities of old.

As we climbed the mound, brief images of ancient peoples, past tragedy, spiritual darkness, and suffering played across my mind. Was I seeing a vision?

We prayed at the mound. We declared the truth that Jesus reigns in this land and ancient gates of darkness were closed. I felt a deep sense of peace as we held hands and worshiped God.

What happens in the spiritual affects the natural. It was time to tell the family who dwelt in these lands the message of Jesus – the reigning King who frees us from fear, superstition, and dark forces. He comes to fill our lives with His love.

“When you enter a home, eat what is set before you…announce the kingdom of God…heal the sick, cast out demons…freely you’ve received; freely give.” -Jesus

We entered this precious family’s home. Their home was known by locals as a place for new age-type healings, but as always is the case with dark forces, there is another side to things. They served us coffee. As we sat together, they told us of the fear they often feel in their home. “We sometimes see evil spirits that come into our home.”

We told them Jesus does not want them to be afraid any longer. We shared God’s words with them. We spoke of Jesus’ power over demonic spirits. We shared that we were Jesus’ messengers and He wanted to bless their home and family and free them from these fears.

We prayed for the family, blessing their home.

No one appeared sick, but Jesus’ words about healing the sick kept coming to my mind as we sat in their living room.

“Is anyone here sick?” I asked.

“Yes! My son has pains and deformities in his legs.”

We knelt to pray for the son. His eyes lit up as he rose to try out his legs.

“I think they are better!” he enthusiastically reported to his family.

We left the family with our blessings. We invited them to follow Jesus further, trusting them to the care and follow up of their brother who had introduced us to them.

Every time Jesus entered a home, He always made things better. We have the power to do the same thing. Jesus came to bless all the families of the earth.

How are you letting Jesus into your family and the families of those you know?

—–

Originally posted by Erik Fish on his blog ErikFish.com  here
Used by permission

 

Foreigners and Aliens – quote from Roland Allen

Roland AllenThis year is exactly one century since an English missionary named Roland Allen wrote
a ground-breaking book, Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours?  In the book, Allen wrote truthfully and prophetically,

“Foreigners can never successfully direct the propagation of any faith throughout a whole country. If the faith does not become naturalised and expand among the people by its own vital power, it exercises an alarming and hateful influence, and men fear and shun it as something alien.”

 

Other Articles on Roland Allen:

The Legacy of Roland Allen: Part One-His Life
The Legacy of Roland Allen: Part Two-His Philosophy of Missions
The Influence of Roland Allen on 21st Century Church Planting
Audio Presentation on Roland Allen by Dr. J.D. Payne

 

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