Missions

Church Planting Missions Women in ministry

Women Cry Out- Give Us Our Inheritance!

By on Sunday, November 27, 2022
spiritual inheritance

An interesting and profound story is found in Joshua chapter seventeen. It speaks of a man named Zelophehad who had no sons but only daughters. This is an amazing tale with many lessons about spiritual inheritance.

Inheritance For the Daughters

There must have been others in Israel who only had girls. These daughters of Zelophehad were different though. What was different about them? What does this have to do with seeing disciple making movements released??

Joshua 17:3 “However, Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, only daughters; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. 4 They came near before Eleazar the priest and before Joshua the son of Nun and before the leaders, saying, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers.” So according to the [c]command of the Lord he gave them an inheritance among their father’s brothers. 5 Thus there fell ten portions to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is beyond the Jordan, 6 because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance among his sons. And the land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the sons of Manasseh.” (NASB)
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Church Planting Discipleship Missions

Staying Focused as Disciple Makers

By on Sunday, October 23, 2022

What is the number one enemy you will face as you pursue the release of a Disciple Making Movement among the unreached? One would imagine that it would be intense spiritual warfare, keeping a visa platform, persecution, or some other kind of external challenge. Those are real and they are there to be sure. In my opinion, however, the greatest obstacle for those pursuing the release of a movement, is the inability to stay focused on what is most important. The tendency to become distracted doing many good things without doing what iblack-and-white-1845826_1280s most important is typical of those who hope to see movements but don’t.

Busyness is a major enemy in our lives. We can easily get so busy that we don’t have time to pray, to listen to God, to share good news with the Lost, or to adequately spend time with those who are expressing interest in coming to faith. These things usually happen in the early stages of our efforts to start a movement. When we don’t see things “take off” as fast as we had hoped, we allow ourselves to get involved in other ministry tasks that give us a bit of a sense of fulfillment. Teaching here or there, doing emails, making a video for a church about what we do, attending a seminar or conference someone invited us to…suddenly we realize we have had little time for the task of disciple making.

Later, when (and if) we do have some disciples and the first church gets going, it is again easy to become busy with things related to that church’s programs rather than continuing to pursue relationships with the Lost, or to invest in quality disciple making. We make the mistake of thinking that a weekly meeting of a few hours will make quality disciples. We fail to truly invest our lives in those God has given us whether it be in detailed prayer for them, or in developing deep relationships.

One of my favorite Old Testament Bible Heros is Nehemiah. In tnature-1984314_1280he sixth chapter of the book that bears his name, messengers come asking Nehemiah to attend a meeting with Sanballat and Geshem. Instead of agreeing he says,

“I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?” (Nehemiah 6:3)

Nehemiah is completely focused on his God-given task. He is not going to stop his work to go and resolve a conflict, listen to his enemies, or attend a meeting. He knows how to say a clear “no.” He continues to focus on what is most important. We need to do the same.

How hard is it for you to stay focused on what is really important? Do you clearly know in your own mind what is most important in light of your goal to see a movement of disciples?

In a recent training I asked the participants to make a list of everything they had done in the last week that took more than an hour of their time. After they had listed at least 15 things, I asked them to circle which of those things directly related to making disciples among the unreached. It was eye-opening for many of them to see how little time they actually devoted to the task they said was their primary vision. We all would benefit from a similar exercise from time to time.

Feeling convicted? I truly hope you don’t feel condemned. It’s very human to get distracted and not at all uncommon! Instead of feeling bad, look carefully at where you are at. Recommit yourself to stay focused on your true calling as a disciple-maker and messenger of the good news. Be willing like Nehemiah to say no to some things so you can say yes to what is really important.

The unreached wait to hear your message. New disciples wait to be encouraged, trained and mentored. Let’s get busy doing the most important things that lead to the release of movements.

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Leadership Missions Prayer

How to Develop the #1 Habit That Releases Movements

By on Monday, July 18, 2022

Have you ever made a New Year’s resolution and then failed to do those things? Most people have. We say, “I’m going to lose 10 kilos.” Or we might say, “I’m going to start exercising.” We make resolutions, we set goals- then we go back to our old ways. Sometimes this makes us not even want to set goals! The problem isn’t with goal setting. If a goal is to become a reality though, you have to change your behavior. There is one regular practice that will make a bigger difference than any other. It is the development of a daily intercessory prayer habit.

Habits Matter

We are creatures of habit. Habits are not things we think about. We just do them. I don’t think about if I will drink coffee in the morning. I just do. I don’t think about brushing my teeth either. It happens automatically. When I meet someone, I always say, “How are you?” Another habit.

There are many important habits we need in our life if we want to release movements. Sharing your testimony freely needs to become a habit. Praying for the sick should become normal behavior. Making room in your calendar to focus on discipling new believers – it needs to be a typical thing for you. read more

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Church Planting Discipleship Missions

What Does Worship Look Like in Disciple Making Movements?

By on Tuesday, June 21, 2022
worship in Disciple Making Movements

“How does worship work in a DMM?” she asked in the chat. My trainee is a gifted worship leader. Would a Disciple Making Movement approach make room for her gifts? The answer is yes, but it looks different than in a traditional (legacy) church.

Worship is vital to our spiritual life. Through worship, we grow close to Jesus, experience His presence, and gaze on His beauty. There, we are transformed. Every disciple must grow as an active worshipper.

Our understanding of worship, needs to grow beyond something that happens in a church building. It doesn’t need a sound system or gifted musicians leading a congregation. We need a more Biblical understanding of worship, and a more reproducible model.

Perspectives on John 4

Yesterday, I was doing a Discovery Bible Study with a relatively new believer. We happened to be studying John chapter four. It’s the story of the woman at the well.

As we processed this story, I took note of the insights my friend, reading the story for the very first time, gave. “It doesn’t matter where we worship now that Jesus has come. We don’t have to go to a particular place. What is important is that we worship Jesus from our heart, not only in a certain format.” read more

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Church Planting Discipleship Missions Prayer

Prayer- A Leader’s First Ministry

By on Tuesday, June 21, 2022
prayer and leadership

A Disciple-Making Movement (DMM) leader’s most important job is to intercede for those they lead. Leader’s who accomplish much, do so on their knees. It is in the place of prayer that we hear His voice, gain direction, strength, perspective, encouragement and where ultimately our real breakthroughs happen. Prayer in leadership is essential.

Prayer Can Not Be Delegated

The work on our knees can not be delegated to others. It is the responsibility of every Christian leader to pray themselves. We need to lead the way in prayer. That is not to say that we don’t also mobilize and raise up many others to intercede. We do. We must. There are others who may spend more actual hours in prayer than we do, or who may carry the work of intercession in very significant ways. As leaders, delegation is an important skill. This is one that you cannot delegate away though.

Biblical Leaders Prayed

In scripture, there are many examples of leaders who considered prayer and intercession for their people as one of their most important tasks. We read of Moses and the way he interceded on behalf of Israel. We read of King Hezekiah’s prayers of intercession. Paul prayed much for those he was discipling and training. read more

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Church Planting Discipleship Missions

Do I Start With Believers? It’s Hard For Them To Change!

By on Tuesday, June 21, 2022
new believers

“The harvesters are in the harvest,” the trainer said. “Hmm…I thought. What could that mean?” I was curious to know more. Would it be possible to start a Disciple Making Movement with brand new believers instead of older Christians?

A few days ago, one of my readers wrote this to me. “It’s hard for people to change,” they said. It is a common complaint of DMM practitioners. We, humans, are slow to change our paradigms.

It is not the new believers they were talking about. The older, more mature Christians they were training were not quick to shift their ideas about the nature of the church. My suggestion? Cast vision to all, but focus effort on new disciples. Give the most time to those who readily accept the Word of God as truth and aren’t steeped in church culture already.

Let’s Go Do This!

We were running training on the land we’d purchased to build an ashram (place of rest). It would become a home for widows whose families discarded them. It would also be a place we could train disciple makers. It was a bit of an experiment to buy land that way. In some ways, I look back on it as something I’m not sure I’d do again. That topic is for a different blog! read more

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Discipleship Missions Training

4 Principles of Integral Mission and DMMs

By on Tuesday, June 21, 2022
integral mission

Can community development and Disciple Making Movements flow together? This guest blog on integral mission was written by my friend Martine. Her story and input provide a clear answer to this question.

My first experiences in mission were in a time of famine. We worked among a nomadic tribe. They were one hundred percent of another faith and lived in Sub-Saharan Africa. As a medical doctor, I treated them during the day, and as a missionary evangelized in the evening.

During an epidemic, many children were dying of cholera. Often, too often, mothers brought me back the medicine I gave them, with their dead baby in their arms. They would tell me: “Thank you, Dr. M., for what you did to help us. But it was God’s will to take my child away “. As a young doctor, I felt more and more inadequate and desperate.

How could the Gospel I was sharing with these people bring them into His Kingdom? How could this Kingdom bring real transformation to their life and community?

At that time, these people had no clue what life in God’s Kingdom could look like or how to embrace it. read more

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Inspiration Missions Prayer

A Holy Dissatisfaction- My Prayer for 2020

By on Tuesday, June 21, 2022
holy dissatisfaction

This is an inside look at my heart, an invitation to pray with me today. I invite you to join me in holy dissatisfaction.

As I do each year, I’ve been pondering my goals for the coming year. What is God wanting to do? What is He laying on my heart to believe Him for? I want to be focused on the right things…the God things not just the good things or the many things.

You likely do too. It’s the start not only of a new year but a new decade.

As I pray, I find myself filled with what is best described as a holy dissatisfaction. I’m longing for more.

Instead of an informational blog this time, I’d like to share the prayer I wrote in my journal yesterday.

A Prayer for 2020

Lord, as I look to the New Year, You know I cannot do more. I can’t work harder. I can only choose to abide in You more attentively…to seek You, boldly asking You for more. Jesus, You are the One who can do the impossible, not me.

Stir in me a holy dissatisfaction with the status quo. Let my measuring stick be to become like You, to reflect You to the world, to see Your Kingdom come on Earth. read more

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Discipleship Missions Strategy Training

4 Ways to Keep It Simple

By on Tuesday, June 21, 2022
keep it simple

Human beings are complex. We like to complicate things. Jesus knew how to keep it simple. This is easier said than done. Simple doesn’t mean easy or light. When we keep things straight-forward, they are easily reproduced by others. The baton we try to pass to others can quickly become heavy. If you want to see a multiplication of disciples and leaders, work hard to keep things simple.

Experiencing the Kingdom

I sat on the floor in their tiny home. A group of women and a few kids had joined me. We chatted about their children. It was then time for the Bible story. The day before I had come to this same home. I’d shared the story with the beautiful lady whose house we now occupied. We’d practiced it until she could repeat it easily. She was not highly literate, but she was a fantastic storyteller.

keep it simple
A simple cup can hold the most delicious chai tea

She finished serving tea to everyone, then settled herself comfortably on the floor. Opening her Bible, she read a line then began the story. It took about three minutes to tell. She then told it once again and set out to make sure every woman there could repeat it. Discussion followed. read more

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