Why should we be Passionate about Reaching the Nations? Video with Matt Carter
In Memory of TRUE World Changers: Jim & Lyn Montgomery
Today I went to a Celebration of the Life of Lyn Montgomery…who entered eternity earlier this week to join her Lord and her love Jim. I have known Lyn only in these last 4 years, but I know I missed her most fun and fruitful days. The years wore on her beautiful body and soul, yet I long to know the woman that I heard the stories of today…at least to taste her carrot cake!
I’ve had the privilege of knowing the Montgomery’s son Len (who is an amazing man in his own right) and Len’s wife Mishal (amazing too!). My two boys are the same ages as their three boys (they have twin 6th graders). In fact, all those boys are right now at our house enjoying video games together!
I never had the privilege to know Jim either, as he passed in 2006. Never-the-less, I’ve been deeply impacted by his work, vision and writings. He brought us in the church/missions world the idea, strategy and success of saturation church planting. On his shoulders, the ministry of DAWN (or Discipling A Whole Nation) was birthed. The most popular work of his, was DAWN 2000: 7 Million Churches to Go. In modest numbers, the implication of Jim’s ideas have catalyzed more than 3 million churches around the world. What a wake!
In a time of hype about movements and changing your world, Jim and Lyn are the true thing. I truly believe that even though less than 100 people gathered to celebrate the life of Lyn Montgomery in Anaheim today, there are thousands of saints in glory who welcome Lyn home because of her influence for Jesus around our globe. Certainly her Lord Jesus said, “Well done good and faithful servant!”
Links for you:
Jim Montgomery’s Writings – Free Downloads from DAWN
Jim’s Impact in starting DAWN Ministries (Discipling A Whole Nation)
From 2006 – Tall Skinny Kiwi: In Memory of Jim Montgomery.
Jim Montgomery telling the story of Campus Churches, Students of Peace and @JaesonMa
Can we make disciples like Jesus modeled? video by Erik Fish
Catalytic leader of the Student Church movement, Erik Fish shares about making disciples at Cornerstone Community Church in Kansas City, KS. Erik challenges us with the question “Can we do what Jesus modeled for us today?”
© 2012 Cornerstone Community Church and Erik Fish – posted originally HERE
Erik & Jen Fish have a passion to be on mission with Jesus – as a family. They help catalyze Student Church Movements –see how student church planters are bringing the gospel to universities and the nations at http://studentchurch.org
More at http://ErikFish.com or on Twitter @FishErik
See also the articles:
Dumb Mistakes I Made Growing Movements by Erik Fish
Matches and Movements: What Kind of Revival Do We Want? Erik Fish
Quick Explanation of Neil Cole’s Books
Our calling at Church Multiplication Associates & @CMAResources is to multiply healthy disciples, leaders, churches and movements. 
Our 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:
If 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
If 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:
If 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
If 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
Absence of structure…a major asset
“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
Insightful Videos from Neil Cole
Our bro, Neil Cole was at the Newforms National Conference in April and they captured some video…these clips are short (3-5 minutes) and pithy!
You’re Going Too Fast! by General William Booth
From 1886 by Salvation Army founder William Booth
—
They say we go too fast! This accusation comes from all directions. Our enemies do not like our speed and our friends are afraid of it. What do they mean? If they had complained that we did not go fast enough, I could understand them. If our enemies had argued that after all we say about the evils of sin, the terrors of the Judgment Day, and the damnation of hell, we do not believe in these things ourselves, I could understand that, and feel humbled under their indictment.
If our friends came together and said, “Why don’t you increase the speed? Look at the dying millions at home and abroad. You have evidently got a wonderful way of reaching the masses. You have accomplished what no other organization has. You can adapt yourselves to all peoples and countries and climates. Why don’t you push on faster? Why don’t you train more cadets-send out more officers-hunt up more criminals, drunkards and fallen women? Go faster; get up more steam!” Now, this seems to me would be the natural way of talking for both foes and friends. But no! The cry is not “Go faster” but “You go too fast!” What do they mean?
Speed is a good thing… Read the rest here
“I Mean Something Which We Cannot Control” by Roland Allen
If we are willing to relinquish control and allow for spontaneous multiplication in our churches, we will see the gospel go further than we ever dreamed possible. In the classic book written ahead of its time, The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church: And the Causes That Hinder It
By spontaneous expansion I mean something which we cannot control. And if we cannot control it, we ought… to rejoice that we cannot control it. For if we cannot control it, it is because it is too great, not because it is too small for us. The great things of God are beyond our control. Therein lies a vast hope. Spontaneous expansion could fill the continents with the knowledge of Christ: our control cannot reach as far as that. We constantly bewail our limitations: open doors unentered; doors closed to us as foreign missionaries; fields white to the harvest which we cannot reap. Spontaneous expansion could enter open doors, force closed ones, and reap those white fields. Our control cannot: it can only appeal pitifully for more men to maintain control.
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
A movement that empowers the common Christian…
Neil Cole says of the early period of Church Multiplication Associates, “‘We want to lower the bar of how church is done and raise the bar of what it means to be a disciple.‘ Their rationale was that if the experience of church was simple enough that just about anyone can do it, and is made up of people who have taken up their cross and follow Jesus at any cost, the result will be to do the uncommon works of God. ‘Churches will become healthy, fertile and reproductive.’ If this is right, then many of our current practices seem to be the wrong way around…we seem to make church complex and discipleship too easy.”
(p. 104 of The Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch)
Review of Viral Jesus by Felicity Dale
I’ve been looking forward to the release of Viral Jesus: Recovering the contagious power of the Gospel
We have known Ross for several years, and every time we meet him he has a new story of how he has met with a “person of peace” (see Luke 10), led him to become a disciple of Jesus and started a community of Jesus followers. The book is full of stories of supernatural encounters, God working miracles in people’s lives.
The early church spread like wildfire, spreading throughout the then known world in a comparatively short time. Since then, it has become something different–a lethargic parody of the vibrant life it was supposed to be.
Could we see a viral Jesus movement again here in the West? Christianity is meant to be an adventure, we as his ambassadors on mission with God. Do you want to see your church revitalized? In this outstanding book, Ross examines the principles of what it would take to recapture the excitement and viral nature of evangelism and making disciples.
Don’t start reading this book late at night–you’ll not be able to put it down. I highly recommend it.
Originally posted on Felicity Dale’s Blog HERE
Not Jesus’ Way
“Christianity isn’t currently spreading rapidly anywhere in the West. That, in and of itself, is an indictment that we are not doing things Jesus’ way.”
-Ross Rhode in Viral Jesus
Finding the Person of Peace by Ross Rohde
Recently a blog friend, Tim, asked a very practical question:
Just out of curiosity, what methods to you employ in your context to search for persons of peace? This statement made me think of you walking down the sidewalk looking for a person of peace. So, I’m wondering what that type of searching looks like for you. Thanks!
You can see the dialog that this question started in the comment section of Cesar, Man of Peace. However, I’d like to share the core of what we discussed and develop it a bit further.
My Response to Tim’s Question
Hi Tim,
- Finding the person of peace is not about technique. Every person of peace story I know and every person of peace I have found has been different. Having said that, there are things we can do to find the person of peace. Here’s what I would say:
- When I consistently pray about finding people of peace, I find them. When I don’t focus my prayer on this, I don’t.
- Finding people of peace is about listening to the voice of the Master. Therefore, it is a spiritual exercise based on a loving, abiding relationship, not something we can manufacture.
- Luke 10:5-6 say: “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you.” The house mentioned here is the “oikos.” I don’t think it is particularly focused on the building where people live but the connected people who may just live is a particular building…or not; see An Oikos Isn’t a Building.
- This giving of peace, I think, is speaking the gospel of peace, or giving a blessing in the name of the Lord. It is, in essence, making Jesus the potential for conversation. I don’t think it means necessarily giving the whole gospel, just opening the conversation. If the peace rests on them, i.e. they respond and engage, stay there!!! Don’t take off, after having spilled the beans. Focus! On the other hand, if they don’t have interest, don’t cast your pearls before swine. Just move on and look for a real person of peace and a real “oikos” of peace. We focus our attention and energy on people who are moving toward Jesus, not convincing the uninterested that they should be interested.
- With this in mind, apostolic ministry (finding men and houses of peace then making disciples) is about finding ways to make Jesus the subject of conversation. How do we do that? Any way He tells us to, as he speaks to our heart and mind. It is not a matter of us coming up with a clever plan. But, if Jesus gives us a clever plan, then do it.
Further Thoughts
- Jesus is our model for ministry. Yet little of what we do in ministry nowadays looks anything like what Jesus did, or what he taught his disciples to do. Our idea of ministry has been so damaged by institutionalism, and the individualistic Western worldview, that we find it hard to think about doing ministry as Jesus actually taught us.
- When we start actually doing what Jesus taught his disciples to do, and what he expects us to do, we start bearing fruit. I know this from experience, and it is why I wrote my upcoming book Viral Jesus.
- This kind of actual obedience to Jesus, who speaks to our hearts and minds, should be normative, but is actually very, very rare in the West.
- We have replaced Jesus inspired ministry with what we think of as following biblical principles. Yet, supposed biblical inspired ministry actually ends up not looking at all like what Jesus did? Isn’t that ironic?
- I find myself wondering, and praying about, what would happen if say 500 Christians in the Bay Area of California would just do what Jesus actually speaks to their hearts based on an intimate relationship with him. This would end up reflecting Jesus’ and the apostle’s ministry in the New Testament. Yet, I only know about 20 people in the entire Bay Area that are willing to live like this. Does this make you as sad as it does me?
- I spoke about 500 people in the Bay Area of California actually following Jesus into ministry. What would that look like if all over the world people where doing this?
- I suspect that what we would discover in the West is what our brothers in China began to discover in 1949 and onward (see The Miracle of China and Thank You Chairman Mao). This would be both exciting and dangerous. Are we really interested in something exciting and dangerous? Do we prefer something we can control, even if it ends up being unfruitful?
- Do you agree with me that institutionalism and the Western worldview get in the way of the viral ministry I’m talking about? Why or why not?
- Where do you think the disconnect, between what Jesus did and taught about ministry and what we actually do, comes from? I’ve laid the disconnect at the feet of institutionalism and Western cultural worldview. Do you agree or do you have different ideas?
©2011 Ross Rohde
Posted by permission
Originally posted on Ross Rohde’s blog The Jesus Virus: here
Learning about Movements from History: Russia & China
We can learn much by comparing the results of the communist revolution in Russia with that in China. Both were bloody revolutions that attempted militarily to snuff out all opposition, close down all churches, remove all missionaries and incarcerate all of the church leaders.
The church found in Russia prior to the revolution was centered on cathedrals led by priests and was distant from the everyday lives of the people. When communism seized the church and all her assets the people had nothing to turn to spiritually and there was no movement.
In China, leaders such as Watchman Nee, had already made strives to empower ordinary Christians with the Gospel and let indigenous churches form in homes and places of business. As a result, when the revolution occurred the true church was still intact even after her buildings and leaders were taken away.
In fact, the Cultural Revolution of Mao Tse-Tung sought to eliminate all religion from society in China but instead mobilized the church and it grew from about 2 million Christians in 1949 to over 60 million. It is estimated today that there may be upwards of 80 million Christians in China.
Why did the church thrive in China and not in Russia? The foundation of empowering the common Christian in China set the stage for what happened there. The Little Flock movement and others we already in place so that when the heat of persecution hit the church she exploded with growth. There was no such preparation prior to the Soviet Union’s rise to power in Russia.
How will you prepare those in your “flock?”
by Neil Cole
© 2009
Originally posted here
Posted by permision
New Videos Posted @CMAResources
Some new videos have been posted on the CMA Resources website…Check ’em out:
Selecting & Making Disciples – Neil Cole
Sharing his story & about CMA – Mike Jentes for the Grace Brethren
Explanation of Person of Peace – Steve Addison
Modern Example of Person of Peace – Steve Addison
Movements that Change the World – Steve Addison
Consumers or Disciples? – Alan Hirsch
Following Jesus – Francis Chan
Sowing the Gospel – Romanian translation Greenhouse Story 1 Training – Neil Cole