I am a very fortunate man - blessed if you wish.
It is 12:46 am here in London, of course I am a little jet lagged having just flown in from LA yesterday morning. I forgot to put my melatonin in my bag, so tonight is a wonderful night of prayerful reflection and faith filled anticipation.
The year started off with a sprint. After a few days off over the Christmas, and New Year window, Meryl & I were privileged to host a remarkable gathering of men and women in OC. It started in March last year, when Alan Hirsch and I were having coffee and chatting around the question: "How is the notion of the Ephesians 4 gaining traction in the USA?" The idea was born to send out an invite to around 30 folks who may be pivotal to this conversation in the USA and invite them to a two day conversation in LA.
We sent out the invite and amazingly only three could not make it. Not only were the others keen but we had many asking to be part of the condo but we had to turn them away. Dear reader, it had to be God. How could we get as diverse a group such as Rick Warren, Bob Roberts, Neil Cole, Mike Breen, Alan Hirsch, Todd Proctor, Mike Slaughter, Dave Ferguson, Al Barth, Ed Stetzer, Hugh Halter and others all in the same room? It was a remarkable time.
Trying to find the mind of the Lord, without any one person trying to impose their position on the others, was amazing to watch. Everyone took notes, Everyone asked questions. Everyone had opportunity to speak, be heard and to engage with humility and passion. Everyone believed this was pivotal to the future of the church in America.
Then yesterday I landed here in London with a similar agenda. Here however, the relationships are older and deeper. The histories together more substantial and there is apostolic fruit on the table. What an incredible privilege. I was the only one who knew everyone present. We are gathering to learn from the old war horse Terry Virgo - a most remarkable man who has over 30 years in the saddle, of planting churches all over the world with a most amazing band of brothers, a family of churches called New Frontiers. Sitting 'at his feet' to learn from his journey includes Mike Eltringham from Dubai, Rory Dyer from Durban RSA, Todd Proctor from Costa Mesa OC, John Mark Comer from Portland Oregon, Darren Rouanzoin from Long Beach, Andrew Thomson from Capetown RSA, Craig Clarke from Johannesburg, Keath Gaitskill from Kingston UK, Joel Virgo from Brighton [for 1 day], Will Marais from Capetown... and the list goes on [Unfortunately Andrew Selley had to pull out at the last minute with the passing of one of his elders - our prayers to them all]
These are remarkable men whom I love deeply. Both older and newer friendships, we have done some time together and have found the Father together. I love the fact that there is no pressure to start something simply the delight of enjoying each other and letting God author our next steps.
Time to sleep...
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Saturday, January 12, 2013
2013 and Favor
This is going to be a very intriguing year.
For many, it is going to be the "year of the Lord's favor". They will step out from the 2012 nightmare - dark and dank, finding new space in the favor of God. Of course, we are always in grace, however, there are seasons of pain, trauma, uncertainty, vulnerability which force us in the everlasting arms of our God.
Then the season changes, The wisps of spring begin to bring in new fragrances of the color, texture and beauty of favor. Same God, different season.
In the joy of this discovery comes the rhythms of obedience that will produce much fruit. This is how Jesus described it:
"The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit" [less strategy, more obedience]
"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him" [less condemnation, more witness]
"My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work" [less my dreams. more his work]
"I say to you the Son can do nothing of his own accord but only what he sees the Father doing" [less activity, more meditative prayer]
"For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me" [less about me, much more about Him]
"And this is the will of him to sent me that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me" [less preoccupied by the new thing, more invested with those he has given me]
"I do nothing of my own authority but speak just as my Father taught me" [less personal opinions, more clear divine instruction]
These texts from John continue to shift us from the preoccupation with our own 'majesty' and draw us into ever increasing affection, praise and surrender to Him. In the time of favor, we are not to consider this as our due, or our reward. It is not. It is simply acts of divine kindness of which we are most underserving.
For many, it is going to be the "year of the Lord's favor". They will step out from the 2012 nightmare - dark and dank, finding new space in the favor of God. Of course, we are always in grace, however, there are seasons of pain, trauma, uncertainty, vulnerability which force us in the everlasting arms of our God.
Then the season changes, The wisps of spring begin to bring in new fragrances of the color, texture and beauty of favor. Same God, different season.
In the joy of this discovery comes the rhythms of obedience that will produce much fruit. This is how Jesus described it:
"The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit" [less strategy, more obedience]
"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him" [less condemnation, more witness]
"My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work" [less my dreams. more his work]
"I say to you the Son can do nothing of his own accord but only what he sees the Father doing" [less activity, more meditative prayer]
"For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me" [less about me, much more about Him]
"And this is the will of him to sent me that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me" [less preoccupied by the new thing, more invested with those he has given me]
"I do nothing of my own authority but speak just as my Father taught me" [less personal opinions, more clear divine instruction]
These texts from John continue to shift us from the preoccupation with our own 'majesty' and draw us into ever increasing affection, praise and surrender to Him. In the time of favor, we are not to consider this as our due, or our reward. It is not. It is simply acts of divine kindness of which we are most underserving.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
How to be a good wingman II
I loved being on another man's team. When I came to faith back in the 70's, I was on Carl's elders team as a college student. Then when we planted back in 1983, I joined Dudley's transl-local team for around 20 years. Even when we moved to America 16 years ago, I valued the opportunity to wear both hands - leading and following. It was always so helpful because I both led a team as well as was on another man's team. This kept my feet on the ground, as I was constantly being reminded of the "agony and ecstasy" of collaborating on a vision that I hadn't initiated.
One of my favorite quotes in this regard comes from Colin Powell when he was leader of the American Armed Forces. When he gathered all these top generals together he would remind them with words to this effect: "When we gather to discuss and debate this matter, you are obligated to express your opinion and give your perspective. You owe that to the team. When we reach a decision, you are obligated to own it as if it were yours."
Being a good wingman, demands your honesty and integrity. The moment a team can no longer express their opinion freely and easily, it has lost it true trinitarian model. It is in fact dying and will ultimately fragment. It may take a few years, but it will implode. The very nature of true team in includes:
1. Every team player is valuable for their value as people, with their integrity, faithfulness and gifting;
2. Every player is valued for their eyes, lenses on each conversation. Their voice in dialogue is essential to the health and maturity of the team. Silence or worse a sense of being patronized is a sure sense that the team is losing her way, and surrendering to the dominant voice of a single leader. That then leads to a form of dictatorship even if it a is a pleasant or benevolent one;
3. Every player is drawn out to be engage in the conversation - it is not dominated by the alpha personalities in the group. That will always lead to imbalance and bias. A true wingman is valued by the leader, when they know that their perspective is essential and necessary. They are to honor this value by doing their homework, research and coming into the discussion, ready, studied and prayed up.
4. Every player leaves the room with the decision reached after prayer-filled discussion, owning it as if it was theirs. There is a conviction that we will all carry when the decision is made by "It seemed good to us and the Holy Spirit". It is so important that the private conversation never drifts towards "... well I never really agreed but..." This does so much damage and opens the door for the enemy to divide the team. Ownership is imperative to being a string and steadfast wingman.
One of my favorite quotes in this regard comes from Colin Powell when he was leader of the American Armed Forces. When he gathered all these top generals together he would remind them with words to this effect: "When we gather to discuss and debate this matter, you are obligated to express your opinion and give your perspective. You owe that to the team. When we reach a decision, you are obligated to own it as if it were yours."
Being a good wingman, demands your honesty and integrity. The moment a team can no longer express their opinion freely and easily, it has lost it true trinitarian model. It is in fact dying and will ultimately fragment. It may take a few years, but it will implode. The very nature of true team in includes:
1. Every team player is valuable for their value as people, with their integrity, faithfulness and gifting;
2. Every player is valued for their eyes, lenses on each conversation. Their voice in dialogue is essential to the health and maturity of the team. Silence or worse a sense of being patronized is a sure sense that the team is losing her way, and surrendering to the dominant voice of a single leader. That then leads to a form of dictatorship even if it a is a pleasant or benevolent one;
3. Every player is drawn out to be engage in the conversation - it is not dominated by the alpha personalities in the group. That will always lead to imbalance and bias. A true wingman is valued by the leader, when they know that their perspective is essential and necessary. They are to honor this value by doing their homework, research and coming into the discussion, ready, studied and prayed up.
4. Every player leaves the room with the decision reached after prayer-filled discussion, owning it as if it was theirs. There is a conviction that we will all carry when the decision is made by "It seemed good to us and the Holy Spirit". It is so important that the private conversation never drifts towards "... well I never really agreed but..." This does so much damage and opens the door for the enemy to divide the team. Ownership is imperative to being a string and steadfast wingman.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
How to be a good wingman I
Over all these years of empowering and releasing church planters, there is one thing that I do hear with some frequency - "if I had known what I know now, I would have been a much better team player..."
I would like to have some fun, with a touch of honesty and a splash of reflection, and share some of the ways in which we can all be better wingmen in this journey of leadership.
The more I study the Trinity, the more collaborative my leadership approach becomes. Of course there is captaincy in any leadership arrangement... It is is the trinity. It is in the home. It is in the church. But there is far too much alpha male thinking in lead pastor models in the modern church. We act as if that is the biggest piece of ecclesiology evidenced in the scriptures. Unfortunately, it is not even in the text - but that is for another conversation.
How do you choose whose team you you will play on?
Simple peep over his shoulder - what do you see?
1. With a new leader, you would not have had time to see him as a seasoned campaigner. Therefore, you can look and see what he was like as a wingman. Did he love, serve, care, sacrifice or was he self preoccupied, promotion driven, only fussed by how he would benefit by the moment [what is in it for me? Danger, danger, danger]
2. If married, how does he treat his wife, publicly and privately? How he treats her is how he will actually and ultimately treat the bride.
3. How does he speak of those who were once his leaders? Is there honor, respect and appreciation? Where there has been human weakness, is it treated with love but honesty in a redemptive way?
4. How has he handled others? Does he treat his team with authentic collaboration and partnership or are they there to fulfill his vision [where on earth is that in the text?] Are their giftings recognized, given air time, applauded or silenced and forgotten? Are staff joked about behind their backs and patronized? Danger, danger, danger. How do they handle staff no longer with them? Are they forgotten, spoke of poorly, disrespected?
These and others are certainly reasons to avoid these kind of leaders. If they have done it to others, they will just as easily do it to you.
More to come....
I would like to have some fun, with a touch of honesty and a splash of reflection, and share some of the ways in which we can all be better wingmen in this journey of leadership.
The more I study the Trinity, the more collaborative my leadership approach becomes. Of course there is captaincy in any leadership arrangement... It is is the trinity. It is in the home. It is in the church. But there is far too much alpha male thinking in lead pastor models in the modern church. We act as if that is the biggest piece of ecclesiology evidenced in the scriptures. Unfortunately, it is not even in the text - but that is for another conversation.
How do you choose whose team you you will play on?
Simple peep over his shoulder - what do you see?
1. With a new leader, you would not have had time to see him as a seasoned campaigner. Therefore, you can look and see what he was like as a wingman. Did he love, serve, care, sacrifice or was he self preoccupied, promotion driven, only fussed by how he would benefit by the moment [what is in it for me? Danger, danger, danger]
2. If married, how does he treat his wife, publicly and privately? How he treats her is how he will actually and ultimately treat the bride.
3. How does he speak of those who were once his leaders? Is there honor, respect and appreciation? Where there has been human weakness, is it treated with love but honesty in a redemptive way?
4. How has he handled others? Does he treat his team with authentic collaboration and partnership or are they there to fulfill his vision [where on earth is that in the text?] Are their giftings recognized, given air time, applauded or silenced and forgotten? Are staff joked about behind their backs and patronized? Danger, danger, danger. How do they handle staff no longer with them? Are they forgotten, spoke of poorly, disrespected?
These and others are certainly reasons to avoid these kind of leaders. If they have done it to others, they will just as easily do it to you.
More to come....
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Tyler and Houston
We arrived in Houston this afternoon. It was a remarkable few days with Dave, Lea and the community in Tyler Texas. It is such a privilege to work with these churches - one at a time, personal, intimate and intentional.
Apostolic ministry is in part about being a father - what do father's do?
For one, fathers are life givers. Through love they they give others life, rich authentic and substantial.
They also empower others to live without them. They raise up their kids to leave home not create eternal dependency. I love working with these churches, helping them find their story, empowering them to that end. Then one day they may leave home - as happened with Jesus on that farewell moment.
This weekend we are here with another remarkable community with Brian and Rachel, and One Life here in Houston. In both of these plants we have been involved since the initial possibility talks. These folks have poured themselves out to establish themselves in new cities - parachuting into new cities to bring an expression of kingdom advancing, gospel preaching to their respective communities.
It is such an honor to partner with these churches
Apostolic ministry is in part about being a father - what do father's do?
For one, fathers are life givers. Through love they they give others life, rich authentic and substantial.
They also empower others to live without them. They raise up their kids to leave home not create eternal dependency. I love working with these churches, helping them find their story, empowering them to that end. Then one day they may leave home - as happened with Jesus on that farewell moment.
This weekend we are here with another remarkable community with Brian and Rachel, and One Life here in Houston. In both of these plants we have been involved since the initial possibility talks. These folks have poured themselves out to establish themselves in new cities - parachuting into new cities to bring an expression of kingdom advancing, gospel preaching to their respective communities.
It is such an honor to partner with these churches
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
A Living Legacy
Delighted my new ebook entitled "A Living Legacy" has been published by Exponential...http://www.exponential.org/
Todd Wilson asked me to write this book. When we were together in Miami a while back, he listened to our story and was intrigued by the raw radical nature of discipleship with the view to church planting.
As with all of us, we have enjoyed our journey, but never felt like it was particularly amazing or that different. M and I have simply loved journeying with mates, believing that we could change the world through church planting.
Thanks to Dudley Daniel, this audacious notion was seeded in our hearts, changed the way we did life, giving us a pretty wild ride.
Enjoy the book as much as I had fun and tender moments, thinking of the dear friends and their remarkable acts of obedience.
Todd Wilson asked me to write this book. When we were together in Miami a while back, he listened to our story and was intrigued by the raw radical nature of discipleship with the view to church planting.
As with all of us, we have enjoyed our journey, but never felt like it was particularly amazing or that different. M and I have simply loved journeying with mates, believing that we could change the world through church planting.
Thanks to Dudley Daniel, this audacious notion was seeded in our hearts, changed the way we did life, giving us a pretty wild ride.
Enjoy the book as much as I had fun and tender moments, thinking of the dear friends and their remarkable acts of obedience.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Genesis Collective - 5 Yardsticks.
In Steve Addison's book entitled: "Movements that change the World", Addison argues that there are certain ingredients that are seen in every movement that has had local or global impact.
He writes: "In general, movements are informal groupings of people and organizations pursuing a common cause. They are people with an agenda for change. Movements don't have members but they do had participants...
"Movements are characterized by discontent, vision and action. Discontent unfreezes people from their commitment to the way things are. Movements emerge when people feel something needs to change. If the vacuum created by discontent is filled with vision of a different future and action to bring change, then a movement is born. Movements change people and changed people change the world...
"The renewal and expansion of the church, the breakthroughs always occur on the fringe of ecclesiastical power - never at the center. In every generation, in some obscure place, God is beginning something new. That is where we need to be."
Addison says that all movements have these characteristics in common:
1. White hot Faith;
2. Commitment to a Cause;
3. Contagious Relationships;
4. Rapid Mobilization;
5. Adaptive Methods.
He quotes Victor Hugo:
"There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world and that is an idea whose time has come."
Applying this to genesis collective,
1. White hot faith - we are simply passionate about being a gospel-centered Trinitarian crew. The gospel burns in our soul - not just in salvation, but in ongoing transformation and kingdom advancement;
2. Committed to a cause - we desire to see cities, counties and countries touched by this great gospel by planting effective, healthy, growing, multiplying, New Testament churches, partnering with God and his supernatural power as he continues project planet earth;
3. Contagious relationships - we love doing life with mates! In the humility of our humanity, we carry out vulnerability with honesty, removing any notion of being professionals and maximizing the idea that we need each other going forward;
4. Rapid mobilization - we are committed to the theology of multiplication. Seeing churches as seedbeds of leaders with a passion to multiply out, we are continuously on mission whether it be in the shadowlands of our city or the uncertain culture of foreign nations;
5. Adaptive methods - outside of the key, clear biblical 'must-do's', we give much room for each church to explore and discover their own adventure. There is certainly not one model, pattern or way of doing things. Culture and context must be factored in to ensure that this gospel is global in impact without losing the biblical essence.
He writes: "In general, movements are informal groupings of people and organizations pursuing a common cause. They are people with an agenda for change. Movements don't have members but they do had participants...
"Movements are characterized by discontent, vision and action. Discontent unfreezes people from their commitment to the way things are. Movements emerge when people feel something needs to change. If the vacuum created by discontent is filled with vision of a different future and action to bring change, then a movement is born. Movements change people and changed people change the world...
"The renewal and expansion of the church, the breakthroughs always occur on the fringe of ecclesiastical power - never at the center. In every generation, in some obscure place, God is beginning something new. That is where we need to be."
Addison says that all movements have these characteristics in common:
1. White hot Faith;
2. Commitment to a Cause;
3. Contagious Relationships;
4. Rapid Mobilization;
5. Adaptive Methods.
He quotes Victor Hugo:
"There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world and that is an idea whose time has come."
Applying this to genesis collective,
1. White hot faith - we are simply passionate about being a gospel-centered Trinitarian crew. The gospel burns in our soul - not just in salvation, but in ongoing transformation and kingdom advancement;
2. Committed to a cause - we desire to see cities, counties and countries touched by this great gospel by planting effective, healthy, growing, multiplying, New Testament churches, partnering with God and his supernatural power as he continues project planet earth;
3. Contagious relationships - we love doing life with mates! In the humility of our humanity, we carry out vulnerability with honesty, removing any notion of being professionals and maximizing the idea that we need each other going forward;
4. Rapid mobilization - we are committed to the theology of multiplication. Seeing churches as seedbeds of leaders with a passion to multiply out, we are continuously on mission whether it be in the shadowlands of our city or the uncertain culture of foreign nations;
5. Adaptive methods - outside of the key, clear biblical 'must-do's', we give much room for each church to explore and discover their own adventure. There is certainly not one model, pattern or way of doing things. Culture and context must be factored in to ensure that this gospel is global in impact without losing the biblical essence.
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