Bloggings by Sam Poe

Thoughts From Holland

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:08:00 +0000

I just returned from Holland where I spent several days last week with about 30 church leaders from around the world. All of us were related to the Newfrontiers family of churches. It was wonderful to hear of numerous unreached or nearly unreached people groups receiving the Good News about Jesus through people from our churches. In some of these places reproducing churches are multiplying. One of our friends shared how in his country 10 years ago they had 8 people in their church, today there are 1800 people gathering in seven different churches they have started.

Edward Buria, who serves the church in Kenya apostolically, told us of the terrible famine that has been going on in their nation for the last several years. Some of their own church members have perished in the famine. Churches are rallying together to help serve those most affected by this crisis in genuine compassion. Edward, however, went on to tell us how that even in face of these huge problems many new churches are being planted and many people are coming to faith in Christ.

Our good friend Scott Marques shared how in Southern Africa God is using the combination of the Biblical principles of Farming God’s Way (now called Foundations for Farming) to help pave the way for planting sustainable and reproducing churches. Scott made this statement, “As the church loves God, believes God, receives God and lives for God’s glory, the church has the power to bring a life-giving, ‘transformational’ effect, through the power of the Holy Spirit to the world around it.” We have plenty of evidence that this is actually happening through church after church around the world.

To sum up our time in Holland I want to mention something Terry Virgo shared with us that really impacted me. He said we must share clearly that as Christians we are a ‘new creation’ in Christ. We no longer fall under the category of ‘sinners’ but that of ‘saints’ (i.e. ‘holy ones’). In other words, we are not only freed from sins’ guilt, but from sins’ power through Christ. Therefore we should not expect to go on sinning but rather to see the fruit of the Spirit growing in our lives. This reality points up the need for each new believer to experience the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Living out, in this present life, what it means to be a ‘new creation’ in Christ requires the power of the Holy Spirit working in us. To be a ‘transformational’ people we must be a Spirit-filled people.

Some thoughts from St. Louis

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 10:17:00 +0000

Marlene and I are in St. Louis, MO because I am here doing some video work and involved in some team meetings during these days. But here is the big news, today Marlene and I are celebrating our thirty-fourth wedding anniversary. We get the privilege of being with all our children and grandchildren for this special occasion.

I woke up in the early hours of the morning today and began to think about my life and the amazing blessing of God I am enjoying. I am so grateful for my wife, Marlene. She is an amazing gift from God to me. I love her heart of worship towards God. She has been willing to lay her life down for God’s glory and humbly serve behind the scenes as much as anyone I know. I can honestly say there is no one in this world I would rather pray together with than her. She is a great inspiration to me.

I am overjoyed to be here together with our three grown up children, Aaron, Andy and Abby along with our two beautiful daughters in law, Elisabeth and Eren. they have given us seven fantastic grandchildren. (By the way, these grandkids are all under nine years old and the energy level they produce is in itself a wonder. They are all asleep right now so things are pretty quiet.)

In these wee hours of the AM of this significant day of my life I have been meditating on Psalm 128 let me share it with you:

“Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD,
who walks in his ways!
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
around your table.
Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion!
May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life!
May you see your children’s children!
Peace be upon Israel!”

Because of God’s grace I am experiencing the blessing this Psalm proclaims and I want to thank the Lord for his faithfulness.

From the Nations To the Nations

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 22:09:00 +0000

New Community Church in Tacoma recently hosted ‘From the Nations To the Nations’ Cross Cultural Training Weekend. It was great to see about sixty people gathered from as far away as Missouri and Georgia. The teaching team was David Devenish, Lee Yarbrough and myself.

This was an important step for our church due to our vision of being a multicultural church where people from different cultures and races work together to see Jesus lifted up everywhere.

The Apostle Paul said that his calling to people of other cultures was “to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of (Christ’s) name among all the nations.” [Romans 1:5] Heaven is going to be filled with the wonderful diversity that is only possible when people of many cultures are joined together as one ‘New Community’ under Christ’s glorious and gracious rule. In his book ‘Let the Nations Be Glad’ John Piper says, “God’s great goal in all of history is to uphold and display the glory of his name for the enjoyment of his people from all the nations.” Our vision for this kind of cross-cultural training is fueled by this great goal of God’s heart.

Can you say, 'Coeur d’Alene, Idaho'?

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 18:42:00 +0000

Marlene and I just returned from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. This may seem like a strange and exotic sounding name for a town. Actually it is a French term. Around here we pronounce the name of this city “Core-Dah-Lane”, however, for all you French speakers, this pronunciation may not sound quite right. The meaning of this name is said to be ‘the heart of the awl’ which at face value may not shed much light on the subject. However, as the story goes, French fur traders came into the area in the late 1700’s and when they began trading with the native peoples who lived in this beautiful place they said in their quaint way, “these people have the heart of the awl” which I guess in our present day speech means, “these guys are sharp as a tack when it come to doing business!”

Anyway the main reason I brought up this subject was to say it was great to join with Terry and Wendy Virgo from England and other friends from here in the Great Northwest at Prairie Avenue Christian Center, a church there led by our good friend, Ted Hoit. We had a couple of days together as a group of leaders, receiving great teaching from Terry and praying together. Wendy had a morning together with the ladies, which got rave reviews. We also ate some good food… always an extra bonus! Then on Sunday morning Prairie Avenue Christian Center was welcomed into the Newfrontiers family of churches. We are really grateful for God’s goodness reflected in how he joins our hearts together with those He chooses in fulfilling His great mission to bless the nations.

Great Time in New England!

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 04:03:00 +0000

Last weekend Marlene and I had the privilege of Participating in Celebration Northeast held at Gordon College near Boston, MA. This was a great event for all the family attended by all the churches related to Newfrontiers in the Northeastern part of the USA.

I think one of the most moving and memorable moments during the Celebration was when we all prayed for two couples and their children who are making plans to make the move to two different nations in the Middle East where there are many who have never heard the Good News of God’s great Salvation through His Son, Jesus.

This was a historic moment for us. Clearly there is an increase among us of those taking specific steps toward going to other nations out from our own numbers here in the USA. I am convinced that this is just the beginning of a new dimension of our church planting vision. We have a great desire to see new churches planted right across our own nation. We are so thankful for those who have recently made moves to other cities here such as Chicago and Charlotte, NC. We are equally grateful for those God is releasing to go to other nations to see churches planted among the many who have never heard of the love and grace of Jesus Christ.

A Note From John Bunyan's Hometown

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:01:00 +0000

We have just come through an amazing time at the Newfrontiers International Leadership Conference in Brighton, England. Terry Virgo, who leads the movement was our main speaker. God clearly used him to not only bring clear perspective regarding our past but also pointed the way forward into the future. I felt he wonderfully modeled for us how an apostolic leader of a movement can prepare that movement to move into the next generation. I heartily recommend downloading those talks from the Newfrontiers website at www.newfrontiers.xtn.org

Right now, Marlene and I are in Bedford, England. Bedford is especially famous for being the home of John Bunyan who wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress. Bunyan wrote this allegorical story while in prison in Bedford for holding church meetings that were not under the authority of the Church of England. This book is a wonderful example of the power of a narrative in conveying the ways of God in the life of a person. This allegory has had amazing appeal to those who are highly educated as well as to children. If you have never read this story that comes to us from the 17th Century let me recommend it to you.(If you don't like to read 17th Century English try the edition in today's English.)

Telling God’s Story

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:23:00 +0000

As you may already know, Marlene and I are passionate about sharing God’s Great Salvation Story with others. The Bible is not just a collection of isolated stories. It is a purposeful, flowing narrative of God’s workings in human history. It really is an amazing story that comes from many human authors writing under Divine guidance from different times and places in history. To understand well the individual stories of Scripture it is important to catch something of the panorama of the whole story. That is best done by carefully reading the Bible through chronologically, paying attention to the threads that stitch the whole story together.

I would also like to recommend a book I just finished reading, which I found very helpful in recognizing these threads that run through the Bible. The title of the book is ‘Telling God’s Story’ written by Preban Vang & Terry Carter. If you share in this passion to make God’s story known to others I believe this book can help you.

A Week In Saint Louis

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 23:18:00 +0000

I have had a full week here in Saint Louis, teaching a course called ‘The History of Christian Missions’. I taught it in front of a video camera for our on-line three year training course called the Trilogy Project. Spending hours talking into a lens was a new experience for me I must say. Even though I had taught this material before I found my heart being stirred afresh as I spoke about the lives of those in church history who gave themselves to walk with Jesus in his mission. Their hearts beat with a passion that people from all nations would come to know the joy of Christ’s great salvation and they dedicated their lives to carrying the Good News to them.

As I think afresh about Patrick and the those amazing Celtic Monks, Raymond Lull in North Africa, the Moravians fanning out into many nations in the 1700’s, William Carey, Hudson Taylor and scores of others, I can’t help but think of the opportunities we have in our generation to take this wonderful message to people everywhere. The baton has been passed to us!

If you would like to know more out the kind of people I mentioned above, may I recommend the text book I use for this missions course, 'From Jerusalem To Irian Jaya' by Ruth A. Tucker? It is not dry reading! It is full of the stories of real people with all their strengths and weaknesses who committed their lives to doing all they could do to make Jesus known in all the earth. Check it out.

Prophetic Ministry Can Help Shape What We Do

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 17:26:00 +0000

I have been reflecting recently on how prophetic revelation can shape the church. For example the first mention of prophets serving among the churches in the Book of Acts is in Acts chapter 9. Here is a team of prophets from the church in Jerusalem traveling down to the new church in the city of Antioch. One of these prophets named Agabus prophesies that a severe famine was going to devastate the country. The church there took hold of this prophetic word in faith and began to lay plans to raise money to help their fellow Christians who lived in the region around Jerusalem. After raising the offering they sent it in the hands of two of their leaders, Barnabus and Saul, to the elders in the church at Jerusalem. The effect of the prophetic word was encouragement to take a positive step of faith.

This story involves a known prophet named Agabus along with a team of prophets coming to serve and strengthen the young church in Antioch. It is clear here that Agabus was a ‘team player’. He doesn’t come off as a bigger than life ‘super-star’. He is not isolated and aloof. He flows in the grace of God working in his own life and uniqueness but he does so in the context of relationship with others. I believe this is a healthy posture for all Christian ministries.

The church in Antioch was significantly shaped by these visiting prophets. I’m sure the church followed the New Testament injunction to first weigh the prophecy to see if there was truly the confirmation from the Holy Spirit that it was to be received. (See 1 Cor. 14:29) Having received confirmation in their hearts they adjusted their plans and programs in response to the prophetic word. Their ministry of giving to the poor, which in principle was a mandate to all the churches, was shaped in practice by the prophetic word.

A current example of this in our own lives recently has to do with our time spent in Zimbabwe over this last year. A prophetic word came during a leadership prayer meeting that the churches in Zimbabwe would be like Jacob’s prophecy to Joseph, ‘a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall’. (See Gen. 49:22) As a result the leaders there made a decision to lay plans to help the poor in that nation using Farming God’s Way as a means and at the same time sharing the Gospel in city after city across the nation. Many churches from around the world got involved with this plan by gathering a large contribution to help resource this prophetically inspired plan. We believe it will bear lots of fruit in that nation and beyond.

What was happening in the Book of Acts is still happening today. That’s something to rejoice about!

Follow-up on Ukraine Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:44:00 +0000

I want to thank everyone who prayed for us while I was in England and the Ukraine. It was a very fruitful trip. The schedule was quite full but I was very aware of being strengthened by the Lord's Presence. Since a primary purpose for this trip to the Ukraine was to 'fan the flame' of prophetic ministry in the churches we are in relationship to there I was really looking to the Lord for his help in ministering prophetically to the people. God was so faithful! In meeting after meeting his presence came to confirm his purposes for whole churches and individual church members.

Thanks again for praying.

I’m Off to England and The Ukraine

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 17:50:00 +0000

Tomorrow morning I will be flying to England to attend the Newfrontiers International Forum. This is a gathering of key leaders of Newfrontiers from different nations. These times are very significant for us as a family of churches. It is time when we share together of what God is doing within the various spheres and cultures where we are working. There are always powerful times of prayer together which often become quite prophetic in nature as we lift up to the Lord the needs and challenges among us. This is also a time where we hear from Terry Virgo and other leaders in our movement regarding issues that are pivotal to what we are doing together at this time in our history as a family of churches.

Directly after the Forum I will be traveling on to Eastern Ukraine to join with Andrey Bondarenko to minister in the circle of churches that he relates to there. Andrey leads the apostolic team the serves a number of churches in that region. I have had the privilege of serving Andrey in the development of his team leadership. Through this we have become dear friends with him and his family. Our focus on this trip is to fan the flame of prophetic ministry in some of the churches he serves. I will be in Eastern Ukraine until March 27. From there I will travel to the region of Crimea in Southern Ukraine to minister to some Newfrontiers churches in that region as well. I plan to return home on April 2.

I want to ask you to pray for us as you think about us over these next weeks. Marlene will not be joining me on this trip due to the constant travel and intensity of schedule involved. I know that this is a right decision yet I certainly much prefer it when she travels with me. I ask you to pray for both of us at this time. It is always difficult to be apart. Also pray that all the churches we will visit will be strengthened and encouraged through this journey. Thanks!

Let God’s Story Burn in Your Heart!

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 21:48:00 +0000

Starting January 25, we here at New Community Church in Tacoma are going to embark on a journey. It is a journey through God’s Big Salvation Story in the Bible. We will begin in Genesis and about twenty eight weeks down the road we plan is finish in Revelation. Of course we will not be able to tell every single story there is to tell in the Bible during this time since there are around 500 of them! We do plan to encounter main scenes from this story God tells about his plan to have a redeemed people who know him, love him and will spend eternity with him.

It is important that we understand that the Bible is one Grand Story. Tom Steffen said in his book, ‘Reconnecting God’s Story to Ministry’, “The Bible is not just a collection of isolated stories; it is God’s unified Storybook. While each of the 66 documents that comprise the sacred Storybook has its own beauty and value, the eloquence of each is maximized when taken as a collective whole." Lesslie Newbigin, a favorite author of mine, said “The dogma, the thing given for our acceptance in faith, is not a set of timeless propositions: it is a story. Moreover, it is a story not yet finished, a story in which we are still awaiting the end when all becomes clear…” (From ‘The Gospel In A Pluralist Society’)

This amazing story is rooted in history. It involves real people who struggled with the realities and limitations of life in this present world. People who had to grapple with their personal frailties, sins and failures as well as the sins and failures of the culture they lived in. Yet they found themselves being caught up in a much bigger story than simply the personal struggles of trying make it through life with all its difficulty. They found God, who was there, who was speaking and active in their world drawing them into relationship with himself and setting them on his mission to draw others into that same relationship.

Jesus stands as the central character and hero of this Great Salvation Story. The Apostle Paul said, ‘for by him (Jesus) all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.’ (Colossians 1:16) Not only is Jesus the main focus of this drama, he is also the Master Storyteller. On the Sunday of his resurrection from the dead two of Jesus disciples were walking along the road to a village called Emmaus about seven miles out of Jerusalem. As they walked along Jesus joined them on the road but they were unable to recognize him at that point. He asked what they were so intently discussing as they walked. They said they were talking about the death of Jesus and how they had so hoped he was the promised Messiah (Savior). Now after three days it appears his body is missing from the tomb! This had them confused. Jesus knew that they hadn’t seen “the Big Picture” yet, so he began telling them the story. He started out in Genesis and traced the story right through the Bible and explained how he was the main character in the story.

A little later, when he sat down to eat supper with them in the village, he took the bread, blessed it and broke it and gave it to them. Those two disciples suddenly saw that he was Jesus, with that he disappeared from their sight. (He did this kind of thing quite a bit after he his resurrection.) However the thing those disciples continued to mostly talk about after this encounter with him was not the phenomenal disappearance but the fire they felt in their hearts as they heard Jesus tell the story on the road that day. (See Luke 24:13-35)

My prayer is that every one of us will experience this same fire of the Holy Spirit burning in our hearts as we hear and re-tell this amazing story. It is a story that each one of us is invited to be a part of!

A Gift Idea For Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 18:59:00 +0000

As we are in the Christmas season, a time of rejoicing together in God’s great generosity towards us through the Gift of his Son who came into our fallen world to give us new hope, I find my mind dwelling on our many dear friends in Zimbabwe. Marlene and I have spent considerable time in that nation during this last year. It has been a genuine privilege to have stood side by side with them. Their faith in the midst of very difficult circumstances has had huge influence upon us.

Here are a few of the situations they face daily. The annual inflation rate is well over 200 million percent per year. Almost half the population is in danger of starvation by the first part of next year. Now there is a cholera epidemic that has claimed hundreds of lives and thousands are infected because of a breakdown in basic water and sanitation services. There is a lack of basic medical supplies and services to treat those who are sick.

In the face of this crisis these leaders and churches are declaring that there is hope for that nation through Jesus Christ. Their words are accompanied by action. Marlene and I were privileged to be present at a meeting where the leaders there began to lay plans to unite the churches across Zimbabwe to proclaim the Gospel and to set into action a plan to feed many in the nation through Farming God’s Way, an amazing farming method developed within the Newfrontiers churches there. Through this method they have been typically producing yields 10 times higher than the conventional farming methods. They are now carrying out this plan. They have mobilized teams to train those desiring to participate in Farming God’s Way across the nation. They face great needs as they are taking these steps of faith.

There are many Christians and churches that plan to participate with our friends in Zimbabwe during this Christmas season by giving a financial gift to help them in this mission. Would you like to join them? You can learn more about how you can participate by visiting the Newfrontiers-USA website at 'www.newfrontiersusa.org' and click on Zimbabwe Crisis Appeal for more information.

Have a wonderful and blessed Christmas!

Thanksgiving Day 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 17:46:00 +0000

I am so thankful today! I am thankful to be here in the world. I have been given life and breath as a gift from God who created me.

I am thankful that I am not alone. I have a loving wife, children and grandchildren who are God’s gift to me. I am a part of a church family full of people who long to know God and want to help others do the same. I have many friends around the world. I am thankful not only for the joy of being loved by them and loving them, but also for the joy of walking together with them with the purpose of making the glory and praise of the Living God known to people in many places.

Most of all, I am thankful to God for his mercy toward me. He has made known his love to me through his Son, Jesus, who carried my sin and rebellion to the cross and suffered my punishment there. Through that supreme sacrifice I have received the gift of eternal life. He has given me his glorious righteousness in place of the filthy rags of my sin. He has made me a member of his family. He has given me his Spirit. I have a place at his table today and I am flooded with thanksgiving!

Our Return Home

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:36:00 +0000

Last week Marlene and I returned home from Zimbabwe. It was by our estimation a full and fruitful month. During our last week there we had opportunity to participate in the annual Mega Vision Conference in Harare.

It was great to join with Dave and Liz Holden from the UK along with the Apostolic Leadership Team for Newfrontiers Churches in Zim led by Scott Marques.

I felt it was a VERY significant time in the life of our family of churches particularly in Southern Africa. There was a strong sense of God leading us on in faith to a new stage of involvement as a family of churches. A theme that seemed to be on our lips throughout the conference was that our Great Commander, Jesus, is calling for ‘all hands on deck’. We were all very conscience of God’s plan to use us as a family of churches to play a significant part in seeing the Good News about Jesus’ great salvation made known in cities and nations everywhere!

I really enjoyed doing a seminar on church planting along with Mbonisi, 'Bones'. I felt we made a great team. Bones shared a Biblical vision for church planting and a vision for doing business and farming God’s way as a front arm for church planting in Africa. I shared about planting churches cross-culturally and the great value of Chronological Bible Storying in this process. The seminar was very well attended.

Sadly, one of the teenage girls that came to Mega Vision died of injuries when someone in the neighborhood where she was staying flung a rock, hitting her in the head. We do not understand why this happened or who it was who did it. This was her very first time in the city. She came with a group from a church in a rural area. They were all very excited to be there for the conference. They were singing songs of praise when the incident occurred. This news came to us just as we were starting the first session of the conference. Certainly a wave of sorrow flooded over us all. The Holy Spirit prompted us to move forward in faith even in the face of this tragedy. We were given a picture at different points during the conference of this dear young girl very much alive and rejoicing in the presence of a loving Father! Because of what Jesus has accomplished for us, whether in our living or in our dying, God will be glorified.

Greetings from Zimbabwe

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 07:59:00 +0000

Hi everyone! For most of our stay here we have had limited access to the Internet, but today we are with some friends who have Broadband so I am taking advantage of that to share a brief report of our time here.

Two weeks ago we had the privilege of participating in the Farming God's Way Champion's Conference in Harare. We are so impressed with the work that is being done both here and in many other countries in Africa and beyond with this initiative to help the poor in practical areas of farming coupled with sharing the Good News about Jesus. I was asked to share on experiencing God's victory over the strongholds that keep many Christians from enjoying the full freedom God has for them through Christ. Numerous people shared with me how they really felt God had done something wonderful in them after the times of ministry we had together.

This last week we were on location at two sites where church plants are in progress. One is now using The Chronological Bible Storying method of sharing the Gospel that we have been working on here. The other will be launching the first CBS track for evangelism and sharing God's great redemptive story in the weeks ahead. It was very encouraging to be in a gathering last week where the story of Abraham offering Isaac was told and to hear the animated discussion that followed. One lady shared a story of her own about how the previous week she had needed food and did not have enough money to buy the food along with paying for public transport to town. Following the example of men like Abraham she headed off walking towards town in faith (which was quite a long distance from her home) and on the way she found on the ground sufficient money, added to what she already had, for transport to and from town as well as enough to buy the food! Everyone was greatly encouraged.

I had opportunity to share a story at the other church plant site. There is no electricity there. We all sat around the campfire in the evening and I shared the story of Adam and Eve in the the garden and the tragic fall into sin. Once again the discussion time became very lively and the next morning the buzz was still going. I am continually amazed at the way the Lord uses the stories from his Word to bring people into an awareness of his working among us here and now.

Marlene met with a number of ladies involved in children's work here to look at the possibility of developing a CBS teaching track for children. There is a great need for this. In one of the church plant sites on the first Sunday there were four children that came. On the second Sunday there were 42! On the third Sunday there were over 70. Wow!! Most of these children walk long distances, without their parents.

This last Sunday I had the privilege of speaking to the River of Life Church here in Bulawayo led by Mbonisi Malaba. At the end of the meeting we had a ministry time for people wanting to be filled with the Holy Spirit and quite a number needing healing. God's presence was tangible and I believe many were touched by his gracious presence.

I also had opportunity to speak to a class at the theological seminary here on the subject of Chronological Bible Storying. The students showed great interest in this approach to sharing the Gospel and planting churches particularly among those who are oral learners.

Later this week we will be traveling back to Harare where I will be speaking at the River of Life Church there led by Scott Marques and also participating in the Mega Vision Conference where over 1000 are expected to gather.

We want to thank you all for keeping us in prayer. Our health is good and we have felt strengthened by the Lord.

We’re Off To Africa

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:46:00 +0000

On August 29, Marlene and I are off to Zimbabwe where we will spend the full month of September. The primary reason of this trip is to continue developing strategy there for planting churches within people groups who do not learn primarily through literate means but are part of an oral culture. We are collaborating there with a wonderful team in this initiative. We are using Chronological Bible Storying as the basis for this plan of action. To date we have developed a story list running from Genesis to the events of the Day of Pentecost in Acts Chapter 2 as our evangelism track. We are already hearing great reports as the first of these stories are being told in one of the new church plants there.

On this journey we will continue to develop a track of stories for church planting especially from the Book of Acts. We want to tell the stories of how the Holy Spirit led the Apostles (and others) to plant churches in nation after nation in order to carry out the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations. What happened in that early church certainly is meant to be a model to us in this present generation.

While we are in Zimbabwe we will also have the privilege of participating in two conferences there. The first will be the Champion’s Conference, which is particularly for those engaged in the Farming God’s Way initiative. I have been asked to share a series of messages on being free from spiritual strongholds. We anticipate that many will experience new freedom in their life in Christ. We will finish the month by joining with Dave and Liz Holden from the UK in participating in the annual Mega Vision Conference that in recent years has been a great blessing for many who have attended.

I would like to ask you to pray for us. The Apostle Paul asked this of the Thessalonian believers with these words; “Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith.” (2 Thess. 3:1-2) I’ll just make his words mine. Please do the same for us. Thanks!

Historic Conference in England

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:11:00 +0000

We have just returned home from the NewFrontiers 'Together On a Mission' Conference in Brighton, England. I am confident that this will be one of those conferences that will go down as a milestone in the history of our movement. There were many messages and prophetic words pointing toward significant change and greater open doors in our future together.

One particularly significant message came from Mark Driscoll, who leads Mars Hill Church, here in the Seattle area. He spoke of the great importance of truly honoring what God has done in the founding of our movement particularly through Terry Virgo and simultaneously honoring where God desires take us in our future together. At the end of this message there was a standing ovation for several minutes. I don't think there were many dry eyes in the place as we honored what God has done among us and looked to the future in faith for a new generation of leaders coming forth.

The seminar track on prophets and prophetic ministry that I had the privilege of participating in along with Guy Miller, Keith Hazell, Julian Adams and Phil Wilthew went very well. I really felt the prophetic teamwork we were experiencing during the three sessions of this track was wonderfully blessed by the Lord. I want to thank you all for praying for us during these days.

We're off to England

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 15:45:00 +0000

Marlene and I are about to leave for Brighton, England where we will be involved in the 'Together on a Mission' leadership conference all this next week. There will be several thousand people from many nations in attendance. We are going with great expectations of receiving from God.

I would especially appreciate your prayer. I will be sharing in a seminar track on prophetic ministry. Please pray for the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon all of us who are involved in this three day seminar. Our desire is that there will be both clear prophetic teaching as well as manifestations of the Holy Spirit's presence among us bringing prophetic revelation.

Celebration Midwest Was Great!

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 22:13:00 +0000

We just finished "Celebration Midwest" in Warrensburg, Missouri, a gathering of the churches related to Newfrontiers in the Midwest. There was the feel of a big family reunion. Of course in a growing family there are always new members to get to know. There was certainly an excitement in the air and a very real sense that the Lord is leading us on into new dimensions in our mission together as a family of churches.

For me it was a great joy to see so many young people worshiping God with such passion in the meetings. As I looked around I can remember many of them as little kids running around at these events. Now to see them setting their hearts on God and desiring to dedicate their lives to live for His glory I am deeply moved. There are 15 of these young people who are making plans to take a year out this year for training on one of our Frontier Year Teams.

I was particularly thrilled to hear the reports from our recent Life Change Team that went to North Africa. What a joy it was to hear stories of really life changing experiences in the lives of those who went. The Life Change Teams are a part of our Cross Cultural Training Track. I personally have a strong desire is to serve our family of churches by participating in training those who believe God has called them to cross cultural ministry. We know we are a people who will go into all the world with the greatest message human ears will ever here, the Good News of Jesus' great salvation.

What is Chronological Bible Storying?

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Sat, 10 May 2008 03:31:00 +0000

I am often asked about our involvement in sharing the message of the Bible with oral learners through Chronological Bible Storying. I would like to share a bit about this in that it is an important part of what Marlene and I are involved with at this stage of our lives. We are committed to the vital need of sharing the Good News in this way with the millions on earth today that do not learn through reading.

About two thirds of the world’s population are oral learners. They can’t, won’t or don’t learn through reading and writing. The printed page does not shape their thinking to any significant degree. Their cultural perspective is primarily oral and event-oriented. I prefer the term ‘oral learner’ over terms like ‘illiterate’ and ‘semi-literate’ since these terms often carry a negative idea from our Western perspective. There can be an assumption of either intellectual or cultural inferiority among such people. The fact is that oral learners can handle most of the thoughts, ideas and concepts that literate learners deal with as long as they are presented in an understandable way that can be retained.

Among the world’s least evangelized people groups at least 70% of them are oral learners and communicators. Many of these people live in major urban centers throughout the world a well as in rural villages. Here in the USA about 50% of the population desires a non-literate approach to learning and decision making. They are probably the least evangelized group in the nation. If we are serious about reaching the people of this generation who are not yet Christians we must give ourselves to understand how they communicate and learn and develop skills for bringing the Message to them. It is estimated that over 90% of all preachers of the Gospel have been trained to communicate only to literates using an analytical format which oral learners find nearly impossible to relate to or remember. Outlines, steps, principles, lists and similar constructions assume literacy. Within oral cultures people do not learn and retain their understanding of truth and life in these ways.

University professor Walter Ong, a scholar in the field of orality and literacy, said, “Without writing, the literate mind would not and could not think as it does, not only when engaged in writing but normally even when it is composing its thoughts in oral from.” Writing and print allows us to restructure the way we think. Visual print makes possible isolating individual words or ideas so we can analyze each word or idea.

Within a purely oral culture words are sounds that do not have a visual presence. Words have little meaning until used in a sentence or paragraph associated with a life event or a story about a life event. Therefore truths are not isolated from the story but understood and held holistically within the story. The story is the point. Proverbs, which are distilled stories, are also used in this way. A literate culture tends to condense stories into ‘bottom line’ statements, principles, outlines or a list of steps in a process. I have heard comments like this from literate learners regarding Bible storytelling as a means of teaching. “We don’t need whole stories; just give us the ‘gist’ and move on into the teaching.” On the other hand oral learners have commented about our analytical teaching approach. “When I begin to hear lists of points and principles in the teaching after awhile my head becomes so tired trying to remember it all that I give up and just space out.”

Oral learners carry with them what they know in stories, proverbs or mental pictures of life events, which they can remember and use as necessary in dealing with the situations of life. They depend on their memory for understanding. They often have a remarkable ability to memorize long stories and treasure them if they are perceived as authoritative or part of a heritage. Literate learners tend to think of their knowledge in terms of what they can recover from their files, materials, notes, or hard drives. As literate skills develop they tend to shy away from memorization and the ability is diminished through lack of use.

People in oral cultures tend to learn together in community. They depend a great deal upon the feelings and opinions of their peers. What they are together and the heritage they hold is a very strong influence in their lives. Therefore they often focus on doing acceptable things in acceptable ways within their community. Those from a literate culture can tend toward individualism and often move away from a highly relational approach to learning. Reading is most often done silently and in private. In a literate culture there is often a tendency toward demanding personal rights rather than acknowledging the groups’ rights.

In sharing these things I am not demeaning literacy. As a result of becoming a Christian I have moved toward literacy in my own life. I began to read more because I wanted to learn more about Jesus through the written word. That is why the spread of Christianity has tended to move cultures toward literacy. But we must not inadvertently make non Christians feel they must be good readers in order to live effective Christian lives.

Since oral communicators depend upon their memory for learning they like to hold things in tack through remembered life experiences or stories. If we are going to effectively bring the Gospel to those in oral cultures we must become effective storytellers and enter their culture in a relational way which usually requires dialog and listening to their stories as well. Understanding their worldview will inform us in selecting the stories that best bring the Gospel across to them.

Chronological Bible Storying is a plan to share the panorama of the Bible through telling key stories of the Bible in chronological order within an oral culture. In the process of telling these stories there is a strategy to evangelize, plant a church among them and train workers and leaders who will be capable of continuing in this work of bringing the Gospel to their own people as well as reaching out to others. Within this process an 'oral Bible' will be brought into the life of their community.

Telling the stories of the Bible chronologically linked together, rather than in isolated or unconnected ways, helps the hearers understand individual stories in the light of God’s Big Story. Oral learners describe people by telling stories about them. For these people to learn about God and Jesus they need to hear the stories which characterize them. They need to hear the stories that characterize God’s community, the church. Finally they must hear of the glorious finale of the history of this present age with Jesus coming again to gather his beloved Church to himself forever and ever. What a magnificent Story to tell!

Great to be home!

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 18:19:00 +0000

This last week I retuned home to Tacoma after being gone for six weeks on three different continents. Marlene arrived home a week before me.

I have been reading through the book of Acts and a couple of days ago I was reflecting on that first missionary journey made by Paul and Barnabas. (Acts 13-14). They were sent out from the church they were connected to at Antioch. This first journey probably lasted about two years, but when they returned they immediately reconnected with the church in Antioch and reported to the church all the many things that happened while they were away. Chapter 14 ends with this phrase, “They stayed there a long time with the disciples.” I’m sure it took quite a while just to recount what all had happened during their two years away. Those experiences were to become a part of the corporate experience of that base church there in Antioch.

As I reflected on this story and then upon our own experience over these past few weeks I found myself giving thanks for New Community Church here in Tacoma that we are very much a part of. It was with real joy that we were reunited with the church last Sunday. Though the church is in its infancy there was a true sense of ‘family’ in the gathering. As I looked around the room I saw some faces I had never seen before. The family continues to grow, which is a sign of good health.

I can honestly say that I am just as excited about being here participating in seeing this church move forward in the mission we are on together as I am excited about the progress we are seeing in the initiatives the Lord has allowed us to be a part of in other nations. This is not two different stories, it is one big story.