THE MISSIONAL CHALLENGE

Clarify Your Values

noreply@blogger.com (DaveDV) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Values reflect a person’s unique beliefs, core convictions, and guiding principles. These values will guide ongoing attitudes and behaviors. Often times, values are unwritten assumptions that guide actions. In any situation…

Values are confirmed by actions, not just words.

Values are more about deeds than words. Core values should be able to be expressed in terms of acceptable and unacceptable behavior.

Values help us determine what to do and what not to do. They’re deep-seated, pervasive standards that influence every aspect of our lives: our moral judgments, our responses to others, our commitments to personal and organizational goals. Values set the parameters for the hundreds of decisions we make every day.
- Kouzes & Posner, The Leadership Challenge

Another way of viewing values is that values are “rules of the road” for people on a journey.

Core values are necessary to help people with day-to-day decision making. Vision is long term. People need guiding stars to navigate and make decisions day to day. But core values are only helpful if they can be translated into concrete behaviors. For example, one of our core values is openness, which we worked long and hard to understand–finally recognizing that it requires the skills of reflection and inquiry within an overall context of trusting and supporting one another.
- Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline

Conflict in churches often arises from differing expectations or values. The mission of Jesus is often hindered because missional values are not embraced in a local church. If these values are absent or not practiced, even the highest levels of commitment to Christ and devotion to one another will not accomplish the mission.

Although they are not our theology they must be firmly rooted in Scripture and thoroughly understood by the leaders and emerging church body. Firmly rooted values protect the church from every strong opinion or dominant personality that tries to shape the church. Strong values keep the church from being taken off course by every fad or new program that comes along.
- Steve Ogne, What Are My Ministry Values?

Values provide the foundation for formulating goals and setting the direction of your church’s ministry.

Most strategic planning fails because values are not articulated at the beginning of the process. If values differ significantly, even the best action plan will not be effectively implemented.

Conflict in churches often arises from differing values.

Values Describe Who You Are!

They are the hills you have already died on.

When the waves come, you will throw values off the ship that are not yours. You’ll throw over the side the things that you don’t hold on to.

Clarifying your values will enable you to…

Explain to others what you are doing.

Build agenda harmony.

Maintain your missional focus.

Use Resources wisely.

Steps to Clarify Your Values...

Clarifying values is an important step to take when planting a church!

Circle 7-10 words in the wordle above that reflect your values (or choose your own). (http://wordle.net/)
Prayerfully list 4-7 core values and define each one.
Identify 2-3 behavioral indicators for each of your core values.
Include a key verse or passage for each of your core values.
Consider how each of your core values impacts...

how you spend your time
how you deal with crisis
how you budget
what you reward

Now, go live your values!

What Do You Want To Do?

noreply@blogger.com (DaveDV) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:30:00 +0000

That's a good coaching question!

As a coach, I find that asking good questions is one of the things that I really enjoy. In fact, it makes me smile when I hear someone I am coaching say to me, "That's a good question." That response is often followed by an extended silence as they consider an appropriate answer to the question.

However, good questions aren't good simply because they require thoughtful reflections. Good questions lead to appropriate actions. When I ask a series of good questions in a coaching session, the person I am coaching is able to identify the next steps to take to accomplish their goals, dreams or desires.

While flying back to Seattle from Los Angeles on Virgin America recently, I awoke from a brief nap and found myself staring at the red video screen in front of me. A simple question was written across the screen: What do you want to do?

Sometimes it is a simple question that can lead someone to a breakthrough moment or a lifelong decision.

As I stared at the screen, I realized that I had many wonderful options presented to me. I could watch on demand movies, foreign films, satellite tv, or on demand tv. I could listen to music or the radio or even watch music videos. I could even play a variety of video games or chat seat-to-seat with another passenger. I sat there and considered my options.

The question "What do you want to do?" helped me to recognize that I had multiple options in front of me. It also caused me to focus on which of those options did I really want.

As a coach, I not only want to help someone discover thier options, but I want to help them to choose what's essential for them to achieve what they really want.

Sitting on the plane, I was reminded that I had choices. Ultimately I could choose what I wanted to do. So I chose to listen to U2 while writing this blog post. Next, I'm going to finish writing a pre-assessment report for a church planter candidate.

As you think about your choices - What do you want to do? What is really essential? Of all the things you could do today, what will help you achieve your goals, dreams, or desires?

Now - go do it!

Church Planting: START HERE!

noreply@blogger.com (DaveDV) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 22:00:00 +0000

George Patterson, who served as a missionary to Honduras where he pioneered principles of church planting that resulted in the spontaneous multiplication of churches, notes this:

Many church planters follow such a long list of things to do to start a church that they fail to give top priority to the few essential activities, and end up doing so many things that the key, pivotal elements of church planting are buried in the plethora of work items.

Patterson suggests that church planters should simply start out doing what Jesus orders us to do in the New Testament: make obedient disciples. He discovered the priority of applying basic biblical principles in Honduran villages where church planting methods were ineffective.

IF you want to start a church, you might want to check out this check list of 400+ things to do to start a new church - click here.

OR, you can start by making disciples who choose to live a life of simple, loving, childlike obedience to Jesus commands.

Infantilism

noreply@blogger.com (DaveDV) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 03:00:00 +0000

INFANTALISM. You may have never heard of this before but it’s a danger for many Christians – Here’s what it is…

The inability of a Christian to spiritually feed oneself, resulting in an unhealthy dependence on supplemental nourishment from pre-digested food (sermons, books, study guides, etc.).

Instead of becoming Self-Feeders, lots of Christians become dependent on good Bible teachers to feed them. Now when you are a spiritual infant, that’s great. But you don’t want to stay an infant. You don’t want to keep eating pre-digested meals. You don’t want to become dependent on pastors and commentaries to study the Bible for you and tell you what it means. You need to learn to feed yourself.

Pastor Willie O’Burke, a church planter in Greeley, Colorado, refers to those believers who want to come and sit in their pew and be fed gourmet spiritual meals every Sunday as “pew leeches.” They are just taking up space. They are not making any contribution to the Body. They come to church to be fed, and they are quick to complain if they feel that they are not getting enough pre-digested spiritual food to eat.

Pew leeches will never become growing, healthy Christians because they don’t learn to study God’s Word for themselves. Many churches are failing to teach believers how to feed themselves. Instead, they are teaching them to grow fat on a diet of pre-digested spiritual sermons which leave them spiritually weak and dependent. “We are never doing people in the church a favor by encouraging them to come and just listen and take notes … if we want them to grow.”

Imagine if you are out to dinner tonight at Outback Steak House with your family and you see my wife and me and my daughter eating there too. Suppose as you look over, you see that I have ordered a nice big juicy steak and my wife is cutting it up into little pieces for me. She then takes my fork and picks up a piece of meat and places it in my mouth. If you were to observe this from your table, you would not think that was cute. You would think that there was something wrong with me. If my wife is feeding me like an infant, you would think that I had maturity problems. If you looked at my outward appearance, you would think that I was physically mature, but when my wife feeds me, you realize that I am not.

Wayne Cordeiro, founding pastor of New Hope Christian Fellowship in Honolulu, Hawaii, is devoted to training believers to spend daily time with God in His Word. He emphasizes the importance of being mentored daily by the Holy Spirit through the Word. By the use of analogy, he pictures himself wanting to learn to play the guitar and contrasts the results from a group class once each week at a community college versus personal mentoring by Jazz great, Joe Pass, for one hour each day. After one year, anyone would be able to recognize that he did not learn to play at a community college. He learned from the master.

Applying this concept to your spiritual development, it is obvious that there is a huge difference between learning the Bible once a week in a group class (church service) or the Holy Spirit mentoring through the Word for one hour each day. At the Exponential Conference in 2007, Wayne affirmed, “The best things we’ve ever done for our church is to teach people to feed themselves.”

Mark Atteberry asks the question “With all the new Bible translations, software packages, study aids, teaching conferences, and wonderful Christian books that are available nowadays, how is it possible that a conscientious Christian could be malnourished? Unless he’s sitting around waiting to be spoon-fed. My advice to any starving Christian is to pick up your fork and eat!” (The 10 Dumbest Things Christians Do, p 88)

Wolfgang Simson believes that the way to keep disciples immature is through teaching. “The teacher’s job is to teach them how to teach, and not endlessly do it for them. This, in fact, is a way of artificially keeping people in perpetual immaturity, prolonging their baby status in the name of great and wonderful discipleship teaching.” (Houses That Change the World, p 105)

We need to be students of the Word of God and study it for ourselves. Don’t let your pastor or some pastor on the radio or anyone else do that for you. Learn to study it for yourself. Be like the Bereans in Acts 17. Luke describes the Jews in Berea, “Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (v 11). They didn’t just accept Paul’s teaching, they checked the Scriptures for themselves. They didn’t just eat what Paul taught, but they taught themselves from God’s Word.

Here’s what Paul tells Timothy in 2 Tim 2:15 – “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

1. Be Diligent! – Do your best! Focus. Give it your full effort. Pursue it. Make it your priority. Don’t put it off – don’t delay it. Be diligent to do your best in your pursuit of being an approved worker. Take effort.

We are all busy – and each one of us must discipline ourselves to continually be feeding on God’s Word. Like the wise man who built his house on the solid rock, this demands work. It isn’t easy. And that’s why so many Christians neglect the study of God’s Word.

R. C. Sproul recognizes this so well – He says, “Here then is the real problem of our negligence. We fail in our duty to study God’s Word not so much because it is difficult to understand, not so much because it is dull and boring, but because it is work. Our problem is not a lack of intelligence or a lack of passion. Our problem is that we are lazy.”

We choose to neglect the intake of God’s Word because we are unwilling to put forth the effort. Paul says, "Be diligent...." Do your best! Give it your best effort.

2. Rightly Handle the Word! – Be precise! Be accurate. Don’t guess what it means. Study it.

Let me give you the three principles I learned for accurately studying the Bible –
1. Context
2. Context
3. Context

Study the passage in its original context. Ask, "What did it mean to its original hearers? How would they have understood this passage? What was the historical background? What was the cultural setting?"

Be a student involves asking questions as you read! That’s the difference between really studying the passage and just reading the passage.

What questions should you ask? Start with some really basic questions…

Who?
What?
Where?
When?
Why?
How?

Here’s a basic principle as you study the Bible and ask questions as you read…“If the plain sense makes common sense – seek no other sense, for it will be nonsense.” – Dr. Curtis Mitchell

You can also ask these C.A.S.E. questions. Is there…

a Command to obey?
an Attitude to adopt?
a Sin to avoid?
an Example to follow?

If you ask these questions as you study God's Word in context, you will discover the truth of the passage. Then you can work to apply it to your life.

When I was in college I learned 5 ways to really get a grip on God’s Word. If you want to be approved by God – grasp the Word of God and live it out in your life.

Here are 5 ways to GRASP GOD’S WORD…

Hear it regularly.
Read it daily.
Memorize it accurately.
Meditate on it fully.
Study it thoroughly.

How can we do this? We need to be diligent. We need to give it our best effort.

HEAR
+ Attend church weekly where you can hear it being taught. Come prepared to hear what God wants to teach you. Prepare your heart to hear from God.
+ Listen to God's Word on your iPod.

READ
+ A USA Today poll showed only 11% of Americans read the Bible every day. More than half read it less than once a month or never at all. When Jesus said, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Mt 4:4), He certainly intended for us to read every word.

MEMORIZE
+ Find verses that apply to the issues you are facing and right them down and memorize them. When you store God’s Word in your mind, it is available for the Holy Spirit to take and bring it to your attention when you need it most.
+ You can remember 100% of the verses that you memorize.

MEDITATE
+ Ps 1:1-2, "How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night."
+ To "meditate" is the picture of a cow chewing its cud, digesting the food over and over and over again.
+ When you meditate, you think about what it says and what it means over and over and over again.

STUDY
+ Ask questions as you read and find the answers to the questions.
+ Look at cross-references to clarify the meaning.
+ Discover how the verses tie together with the theme or purpose of the entire chapter, and then the entire book.

HEAR – READ – MEMORIZE – MEDITATE – STUDY God’s Word!

You don't have to be infantile in your spiritual life. Be a student of the Bible. Saturate yourself with the Bible.

Become a Self-Feeder!

(Infantilism is one of the dangers to Missional Christianity that I wrote about in my doctoral dissertation; other obstacles include Extractionalism, Attractionalism, Clericalism, Mega-ism, and Consumerism. Portions of this post were included in the message I taught at CBC Arise on June 21, 2009)

What If?

noreply@blogger.com (DaveDV) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 15:00:00 +0000

David Garrison describes church planting movements (CPMs) as "a rapid multiplication of indigenous churches planting churches that sweeps through a people group or population segment." After studying lots and lots of these movements worldwide, they've observed that church plating movements always outstrip the population growth rate as they race toward reaching the entire people group.

One thing that is happening in CPMs is that they do not simply add new churches. Instead, they multiply. Surveys of CPMs indicated that virtually every church is engaged in starting multiple new churches. They are satisfied with nothing less than a vision to reach their entire people group or city - every man, woman and child.

What if your church decided to reach every man, woman, and child in your city? What would it take? How many churches could be birthed if you started making disciples who make disciples who make disciples who make disciples?

What if you partnered together with other churches to start multiplying disciplemakers and churches all over the place? What if you started inviting other churches to join you to disciple your local neighborhoods? and to disciple your city?

What if the momentum of reproducing churches outstripped the ability of your church to control it? What if the making of disciplemakers and multiplying of churches became the ONE THING that every believer in your city was committed to? How many lives would be transformed by the power of the gospel?

What if...?

What Stops Church Multiplication? Disobedient Christians

noreply@blogger.com (DaveDV) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:00:00 +0000

When disciplemaking stops, new churches stop being birthed. Jesus told His disciples to make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). This required going, baptizing, and teaching to obey. When we fail to teach obedience to Christ's commands, disciplemaking stops. When disciplemaking stops, church multiplication stops.

Disobedient Christians hinder the advancement of the kingdom. Disobedient Christians stop the church.

Obedient Christians make disciples who make disciples who make disciples. Obedient Christians reproduce obedient Christians.

What would it look like to teach others to obey everything Jesus commanded?

What would it take to start teaching your family: If the Bible says "Do it," then you must do it. If the Bible says "Don't do it," then you don't do it?

What would happen if Christians started passing everything they learned on to someone else as soon as possible?

What if obedience-based discipleship was the norm for all Christians? What if every Christian became an obedient disciplemaker? Churches would start all over the place as disciplemaking communities multiplied!

The Key to Multiplying Churches: Obedient Christians

noreply@blogger.com (DaveDV) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:00:00 +0000

Jesus told His disciples to make disciples who make disciples who make disciples who make disciples... (Matt 28:19-20). I am a disciple of Jesus today because of Christians who obeyed Jesus' command. There would be more Christians and more churches if more Christians obeyed Jesus.

I've been thinking about this a lot. If I were to start Lake Hills Church again, I would focus on making obedient disciplemakers.

Disciplemaking isn't optional for Christians. It is essential. But somehow, I act like it's okay to disobey. In fact, most churches tolerate disobedience.

I wonder what God thinks of disobedient pastors, disobedient elders, and disobedient Christians.

The key to multiplying churches is obedient Christians who make disciplemakers.

Think about your church (if you belong to one) - whether there are 40, 400, or 4,000 members. Imagine if everyone was obedient to the Great Commission and started this week to be a disciplemaker. What would happen if every Christian in your church just obeyed this one command of Jesus to make disciples? What would happen if 50% of them actually obeyed the Great Commission and started making disciples?

How would your church be changed? How would your city be changed?

God Sent You Here!

noreply@blogger.com (DaveDV) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:00:00 +0000

"If you are a Christian in New York City, the reason you are here is because God sent you here. You are part of His story." - David Bisgrove, March 29, 2009

Those words in a message at the West Side Evening Worship of Redeemer Presbyterian Church capture the essence of Missional Christianity. Every believer is sent on mission by God. It's no accident that you are where you are. You've been sent there by God. Jesus said in John 20:21, "As the Father sent Me, so I send you."

Many young Christians (as well as older Christians) wrestle with God's will for their life. I learned many years ago that it's not about me or God's will for my life. I've been sent on mission with God, for God and by God!

My son lives in New York City. I live in Seattle. Why? Because God sent us here! Our responsibility as followers of Jesus is to align ourselves with God's mission in the zip code, community, neighborhood, building, or block where we live. Missionaries are those sent on mission - God sent Jesus as a missionary to this world - and He sends each believer as a missionary wherever you live.

What does it look like to live as if God sent you here?

Native Churches (vs. Transplanted Churches)

noreply@blogger.com (DaveDV) — Sat, 02 May 2009 20:30:00 +0000

What would it look like if the gospel was planted in your city and the church that emerged was "native" to the culture?

What would a church that arises from the soil of your native context/community look like? What forms would it take? What behaviors would it demonstrate?

What if an indigenous expression of Christ's church originated in your neighborhood? What does a "native church" look like? act like?

Too often church planting is actually about transplanting a form of church from another soil (environment) into the native soil of another community. When you (trans)plant churches, you often take with you a form of church that imports the features, behaviors, and norms of another cultural context.

What if the next generation of churches in America were actually native to their context/environment rather than transplanted from outside areas?

What would a Native Church look like in your particular environment/city/neighborhood? And would it look like for churches to be started by "natives," rather than outsiders? What would it take for church planters to stop transplanting churches and to start making disciplemakers who then started native churches?

How could you plant a "homegrown" church in the native soil rather than transplanting a "foreign" form of church?

Any ideas?

How Do Non-Christians View Your Community Service?

noreply@blogger.com (DaveDV) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 02:00:00 +0000

As believers take steps to focus on meeting needs beyond the walls of the church, it's important to consider how those being served (as well as those who may observe your acts of service) will interpret your actions. It's possible that your best intentions and efforts to serve may be misunderstood. Avoid drawing attention to yourselves or your church or ministry group as you seek to meet needs. Do they see you and your church, or do they see Jesus and the hope of the gospel?

I regret the time we served a Thanksgiving meal to families at the local community center and I called up the newspaper to make sure that they sent a photographer and reporter to cover the story. I was so thrilled that we were featured on the front page of the local paper on Thanksgiving Day. Even though our church members genuinely served the families in the community who may not have enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal otherwise, I was motivated by the publicity this could bring our church. Now, I am wondering how non-Christians actually viewed our community service. Did they see the values and hope of the kingdom, or did they see us as self-serving to get attention for group?

Many groups get T-shirts for group members to wear as they serve together. There's nothing wrong with T-shirts and they can often help to build team unity and identify who is involved. However, what is being communicated by your T-shirts to those you are serving? Or what is communicated to those observing? [If it is "look at us" - don't do it.]

Realize that all acts of service to any group of people (addressing social, economic or physical needs) carry a message that must be understood and interpreted through an outsider's point of view.

Ask: Are we willing to partner together with others to bring about change and not be concerned with who gets the credit? Are we communicating the values and hope of the kingdom?

The Tangible Kingdom>>TK Primer

noreply@blogger.com (DaveDV) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 21:30:00 +0000

I always enjoy hanging out with my friends Hugh Halter and Matt Smay. At the Exponential '09 conference this week in Orlando I got my hands on their newest resource - an eight-week guide to incarnational community. This is Missional Transformation made practical!

If you are interested in understanding how to "live missionally" with other Christians, this TK Primer is a great tool to help you prepare your heart for mission. It will help you to develop life-long habits that are aligned with the mission of Jesus. "It will help move you into mission regardless of whether you know a lot of details, history, or theology."

Here's a video introduction to the TK Primer. (about 17 minutes)

Here are some of the Basic Concepts addressed:

Gospel: the good news of Jesus, capable of transforming everything about a person, their community and their world.

Missional People: individuals actively committed to living a "sent" life in the context of community.

Sojourner: a spiritually curious God-seeker; a traveler who has intersected the missional community.

Incarnational Community: a group of people with the posture, tone, motives, and heart of Jesus; those who physically represent him in a particular location.

Posture: the attitude of the body; the way a person or community expresses itself to others, especially in nonverbal ways.

The TK Primer provides an initial pathway that will help you and your community start missional activities in your daily life. There are daily readings for you to process together with God -- then in community with other Christians who desire to engage those in the culture right where you live.

If you'd like to check it out, you can download the introductions and first 2 chapters as a PDF here.

You can order your own copy online. (It's not available in stores or at Amazon.com)

Here's one of the practical steps suggested in the TK Primer: Bless one person, without any strings attached and without trying to talk about God or getting any acknowledgment. Reflect on how your heart felt. What is you could live a life of blessing? How might you be different? How might if develop street credibility if every Christian lived this way?

What other practical steps could you suggest for engaging in the mission of Jesus in your circle of influence?

Seven Benefits of Coaching

noreply@blogger.com (DaveDV) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0000

My friends Steve Ogne and Tim Roehl have written a great book that focuses on empowering leaders for ministry and mission in a changing world. Tranformissional Coaching captures the very best of Steve's and Tim's extensive coaching experience with a particular emphasis on coaching young and emerging leaders. He has developed a holistic approach which engages the whole leader in transformation that helps clarify calling, cultivate character, create community and connect with culture. [Note: you can download a free chapter at www.steveogne.org]

Coaching has many advantages! Here are seven benefits of having a coach:

1. A Coach points out what we can't, don't, or won't see. Coaches ask questions no one else is asking. Even the most effective leaders has blind spots. A coach has the unique advantage of being "outside" and "inside" the leader's environment at the same time. You can have the objective view of a specialist and also have genuine empathy as a member of the "team"....

2. A Coach provides a safe, compassionate, confidential environment. Sometimes...a leader needs someone to whom he or she can voice what he or she is feeling and thinking without worrying about whether there will be negative repercussions....

3. A Coach helps give perspective. Sometimes a leader needs a reality check. It is not uncommon for a leader to get tunnel vision about an issue, and a great coach helps him or her see the bigger picture before making a decision that could have unproductive consequences....

4. A Coach improves performance. Both anecdotal and formal research shows the effectiveness of coaching in this regard...

5. A Coach aids with problem solving and processing conflict. In the intense and often emotionally volatile environment of conflict, a coach can bring clarity and calm while helping the leader determine a productive course of action.

6. A Coach is a paraklete. That's the Greek word for "one who comes alongside, an advocate, and a comforter." A coach advocates for the leader and communicates between the leader and his or her organization and supervisors....

7. A Coach empowers leaders to plan their work and then work their plan effectively in proper sequence. A coach continually points leader back to the big picture, helping them connect all they do with their priorities and plan in mind.

Having a coach can greatly increase your personal productivity and ministry effectiveness. Ed Stetzer has found that church planters who met weekly with a coach led churches that averaged twice the size of those with no coach. (p 80)

If you would like to explore how coaching might benefit your life and ministry, contact me at davedevries@oc-us.org to set up a "test drive" coaching appointment.

The Value of Coaching

noreply@blogger.com (DaveDV) — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 03:00:00 +0000

Every church planter needs a coach! This is critical to the healthy start of any new church.

My friend Bob Logan has written a great book on church multiplication systems - Be Fruitful and Multiply. Here is Bob's perspective on the value of coaching.

Without someone helping us stay on track, we can lose sight of our vision in a very short time. We forget why we're doing what we're doing. We get discouraged and want to give up. It's so easy to lose our perspective and become sidetracked from our chosen path. That's true for all of us, and church planters are no exception. In fact, given the magnitude of the task they are undertaking and the resistance they are likely to encounter from the enemy, planters are especially vulnerable to becoming sidetracked from their vision. Regular, intentional coaching is the piece of the puzzle that helps planters get on track and stay on track. (p 49)

One of my primary roles is coaching church planters! I love coming alongside to help them focus on their own personal growth and character development, and also on the tasks necessary to launch a healthy, externally-focused church.

If you need a coach, let me know if I can help -- or if I can connect you to a coach in your area.

Great Gift: The Forgotten Ways - $10

noreply@blogger.com (DaveDV) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 17:00:00 +0000

I got an email this morning form the Barna Group and noticed that they were selling Alan Hirsch's book for $10 plus s&h. This is a fantastic book on missional engagement. If you haven't read it - buy it as a gift for yourself. If you have, then you would certainly want to give it to someone this Christmas! Click here.

Here is my summary of the book:

Jesus did not start a religion; He started a movement of spiritually transformed people on mission with Him. To better understand this movement from a historical perspective as well as its expression in the 21st century, Alan Hirsch’s The Forgotten Ways is a must read. Drawing on his own experiences in Australia, and both the 1st century movement in the early church and the 20th century movement in China, Hirsch unpacks the basic components of spiritual movements.

He details the “quintessential elements that combine to create Apostolic Genius” which are present in every believer: 1) Christocentric Monotheism: “Jesus is Lord”, 2) Disciplemaking, 3) Missional-Incarnational Impulse., 4) Apostolic Environment, and 5) Organic Systems, and 6) Communitas, not Community. Each of these chapters builds a deeper understanding of the foundational building blocks of movements. He also provides a valuable understanding of a missional church (p. 82) and the dangers of consumerism (p. 109).

Every missional leader should read this book to fully comprehend the process of multiplying disciples; “it is the essential task of discipleship to embody the mission of Jesus.” (p 102).

Becoming Missional: what will you abandon?

noreply@blogger.com (DaveDV) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 07:00:00 +0000

Too many churches in America are failing to make disciples of non-disciples. The mission of many churches is internally focused on more people, more money, and more buildings, rather than externally focused on the mission of Jesus. Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, has discovered that it is not what you add to your life, it is what you abandon that will make the difference.

Churches need to abandon those beliefs and practices that hinder the expansion of the kingdom. Churches in America must no longer measure success by size, must no longer be preoccupied with buildings and property, must no longer focus on Christian education without emphasizing life transformation, must no longer focus on the church instead of the harvest, and must no longer depend on professional clergy to do the work of ministry, discipleship, and evangelism. Instead, they must train every member to engage those in the culture with the gospel.

What is God telling you to abandon?

Missionary Preparation

noreply@blogger.com (DaveDV) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 07:45:00 +0000

Missionaries are needed to transform America. Local churches must prepare missionaries for both global and local ministry. Jesus is the One who sends; local churches are to prepare those whom He is sending. Every believer is sent somewhere—either to their local culture or to a distant culture. George W. Peters (former professor of world missions at Dallas Theological Seminary) notes,

The Bible does not make such geographical distinctions in connection with the call to the ministry of the Word. Certainly the apostles were not aware of the fact that they all would be led into “foreign missions” when the Lord called them and appointed them to apostleship. The choice of the geographical area of service is a matter of individual leading, but not a matter of the call. The Bible does not distinguish between a call for the home field and a call for the foreign field. (A Biblical Theology of Missions, Chicago: Moody Press, 1972, p 276)

The training of every believer as a missionary who is sent to their neighborhoods and workplaces is the responsibility of every church leader. Every Christian must adopt a “missionary mindset”—knowing that they have been sent with the gospel in community to the culture.

Thoughts on Transformational Leadership

noreply@blogger.com (DaveDV) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 07:00:00 +0000

Transformational leadership is critical to transforming the mission of local churches.

As it has been said, “Speed of the leader, speed of the team.” Until pastors and church planters actually start practicing what Jesus modeled, church members will keep doing what they have always done. It is only as church leaders are being transformed by the Holy Spirit and initiating missional activities themselves that the Church will be able to fulfill its mission in the world. Local church leaders must model missionary behaviors and enlist, equip, and empower every believer to engage in missionary practices where they live. By understanding their calling, gifting, and responsibility to “prepare God’s people for works of service” (Eph 4:12), church leaders will be able to train others to be on mission everywhere. Equipping is more than preaching. It requires modeling, practical training, and mobilizing of believers to accomplish the Great Commission (Matt 28:19–20).

A Prodigal Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (DaveDV) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 06:00:00 +0000

As we anticipate the celebration of the birth of Christ this month, I want to share with you some thoughts from Henri Nouwen in his classic book The Return of the Prodigal Son (pp 55-57). He helps me to picture the coming of Jesus in a totally different way.

“Jesus himself became the prodigal son for our sake. He left the house of his heavenly Father, came to a foreign country, gave away all that he had, and returned through his cross to his Father’s home. All of this he did, not as a rebellious son, but as the obedient son, sent out to bring home all the lost children of God.”

“Jesus is the prodigal son of the prodigal Father who gave away everything the Father had entrusted to him so that I could become like him and return with him to his Father’s house.”

“The eternal Son became a child so that I might become a child again and so re-enter with him into the Kingdom of the Father.”

Can you imagine one day hearing our Father say, “Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet; let us eat and celebrate! Because my children who, as you know, were dead have returned to life; they were lost and have been found again! My prodigal Son has brought them all back.”

I learned something this year from my daughter – I learned that the word “prodigal” doesn’t mean “wayward.” According to the dictionary it means “recklessly extravagant.” It describes someone who spends until there is nothing left.

Isn't that an awesome way to view the coming of Jesus into this world? He came with "reckless extravagance" so that we could be reconciled to God.

Missional Leadership Development

noreply@blogger.com (DaveDV) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:00:00 +0000

Dr. James Choung is teaching a Bethel Seminary course this fall in San Diego on Missional Leadership Development. He introduces five themes needed for a missional leadership developer:

Theological thinker. They have the theological foundations — including their understanding of the gospel — to undergird a missional outlook in their ministries. They know that their ministries are not merely for those who are within local church structures, but beyond its walls into their surrounding communities and out into the world. They have a missional outlook.

Leadership developer. They have the skills to identify potential leaders in rising generations, and have the skills to invite them to grow in their leadership and impact to develop them into their full potential. They have a developmental outlook.

Cultural architect. They are able to identify prevailing themes in the overarching culture — and for the subcultures of rising generations — and speak relevantly and effectively into each of these cultures. They are able to describe the prevailing culture in any organization they lead, and have the skills to shape the culture to be ready for Kingdom ends. They have a communal outlook.

Spiritual mentor. They understand the necessity of spiritual formation in the development of their character and skills as well as their own leadership development. They know how to continue to develop others without ignoring their health and vitality of their entire beings. They have a transformational outlook.

Relevant communicator. They have the skills to communicate relevantly and effectively to rising generations, knowing how to speak and find other ways to connect in our over-stimulated world. They have a relevant outlook.

These themes are extremely helpful in raising missional leaders for the 21st Century. How are they expressed in your process of leadership development?

Power Through Prayer

noreply@blogger.com (DaveDV) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:00:00 +0000

One of the most challenging books I've read on prayer is by E.M. Bounds, Power Through Prayer. Recently I was unpacking my books and came across this gem. Here are some challenging thoughts from this classic work:

What the Church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use - men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men - men of prayer. (p 12)

Talking to men for God is a great thing, but talking to God for men is greater still. He will never talk well and with real success to men for God who has not learned to talk to God for men. (p 27)

The men who have most fully illustrated Christ in their character, and have most powerfully affected the world for Him, have been men who spent so much tim with God as to make it a notable feature of their lives. (p 36)

The men who have done the most for God in this world have been early on their knees. He who fritters away the early morning, its opportunity and freshness, in other pursuits than seeking God will make poor headway seeking Him the rest of the day. If God is not first in our thoughts and efforts in the morning, He will be in the last place the remainder of the day. (p 42)

To be little with God is to be little for God. (p 81)

I'm convicted. Anyone else?

DeVries Family Prayer Letters

noreply@blogger.com (DaveDV) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 06:00:00 +0000

We are missionaries to the United States with OC International. We are focused on equipping and empowering pastors and church planters to embrace missional practices, and partnering together with leaders to strategically multiply churches to reach our nation and the nations among us.

Click the links below to read our previous prayer letters:

September/October 2008: Sleeping in Seattle
August 2008: Running Alongside
April 2008: Culmination
Mar 2008: Steps to the Field
Feb 2008: Frequently Asked Questions
Jan 2008: Where are We Going?
Dec 2007: "Of the increase...there will be no end."
Nov 2007: Serving Church Planters through Coaching
Oct 2007: So You Think You Can...Start a Church
Aug 2007: Missionary Training at Bear Trap Ranch!
Apr 2007: Celebrate our Hope!
Aug 2006: You Can't Step in the Same River Twice
Jul 2006: Change!

How many letters in the Bible?

noreply@blogger.com (DaveDV) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:45:00 +0000

My grandfather had a great love for God's Word. He also had an obsession with numbers. Many years ago he shared with me the "Tree of Life Biblical Knowledge":

The Bible contains:
3,566,480 letters,
810,697 words,
31, 175 verses,
1,189 chapters,
and 66 books.
The longest chapter is the 119th Psalm.
The shortest & middle chapter is the 117th Psalm.
The middle is the 8th of the 118th chapter of Psalms.
The word "and" occurs 46,627 times.
The 37th chapter of Isaiah and the 19th chapter of the second book of Kings are alike.
The longest verse is the 9th of the 8th chapter of Esther.
The shortest is the 35th of the 11th chapter of John.
The 21st verse of the 7th chapter of Ezra is the only one of the entire collection which contains every letter in the alphabet.
The word "Lord" or its equivalent "Jehovah" occurs 7, 698 times in the Old Testament, or to be more exact, the word "Lord" occurs 1,853 times.
The word "God" does not occur in the book of Esther -
But there is WISDOM, KNOWLEDGE, HOLINESS AND LOVE IN EVERY CHAPTER OF THE ENTIRE BOOK. HALLELUJAH!

I don't know where my grandfather discovered all this. Since he died before I purchased my first computer (an IBM PC back in 1988), I know that he didn't use Bible software.

I love the Bible - and more important than all of this is that the Bible is the Word of God! It doesn't merely contain the Word of God, it is the Word of God! It has the power to change your life! As my dad told me years ago - "This book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this book."

Are you Trading Leaders for Lessons?

noreply@blogger.com (DaveDV) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 05:45:00 +0000

I started Lake Hills Church when I was 25 years old. I had just graduated from seminary - and somehow I was just naive enough to think that I could do it. With my wife and six-month old son, we moved to Castaic, California to start "a growing church for a growing community." It was an incredible opportunity and I praise God for the lives that were transformed by the power of the gospel as we established a vibrant church.

One day my friend Phil Graf came over to spend some time sharing about ministry and life. He challenged me with this question - "When will we stop trading leaders for lessons?"

Wow! That question has haunted me ever since. I have learned so many lessons as a church planter and pastor. But unfortunately, many of those lessons have come at the expense of people - valuable leaders in our church.

Learning the importance of clearly defined doctrinal positions resulted in the loss of several leaders. Once I was asked, "Are you open to the moving of the Holy Spirit in this church?" I thought to myself, "How could anyone answer that question 'no'?" So I responded that we were open to the leading of the Spirit. However, this created what I have since referred to as "charismatic chaos." By not clearly defining our position on supernatural manifestations of the Spirit, we created confusion and several leaders left the church. At least I learned to speak clearly on this issue in the future.

However, our position on the security of the believer also resulted in leaders who left the church. Our involvement with a building campaign also resulted in lessons learned and leaders "lost." I wish that was it - but I can think of several more examples.

I got tired of trading leaders for lessons!

My prayer for you as a pastor or church planter is that God will protect you from trading leaders for lessons. Maybe you should make that your prayer, too.

Are We Too Focused on "How We Meet"?

noreply@blogger.com (DaveDV) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 23:30:00 +0000

Last year I was challenged by the teaching of Richard Green at a conference of church leaders in Washington.

He said this -

Our focus cannot be: "How many people can we get to our meetings??
It must be: "How can we train disciplemakers?"
The truest test of your church is not what happens on Sunday mornings. It's what happens in your community.
You have a vision for your church but not for your community!

I have to admit that as a church planter and pastor, for many years I was too focused on "what happens on Sunday mornings." In fact, the majority of the effort of our pastoral staff and volunteers was focused on Sunday morning. We also emphasized small groups during the week - but the majority of our resources were focused on being prepared for our Sunday meeting and how to get more people to come to our meetings.

I think that is the focus of too many churches. Rather than focusing on multiplying disciples, we are focused on multiplying the number of seats we can fill and services we can offer on Sunday morning. Don't get me wrong - I'm all for believers coming together to worship God and to hear good teaching from God's Word. I just don't believe that the majority of our resources should be focused on Sunday morning.

Towns and Stetzer make this observation in Perimeters of Light:

Most churches have no real basis for choosing what takes place in worship. Their only thoughts are, "Will it attract people?" In other words, what will the consumer think? (p 82)

I don't think that's the question we should be asking or the focus we should maintain.

The real question we need to ask is: "Will it make disciples?"

Appreciating Your Pastor

noreply@blogger.com (DaveDV) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:30:00 +0000

A few years ago, Deanne and I took a few weeks vacation during the summer with our kids. When we came back to our church the next Sunday, I got up to preach and was interrupted in my sermon. Our church family took over the service (literally) and expressed their appreciation for our ministry at Lake Hills. I cried. It was quite moving.

I don't remember all that was said, however I knew that I was loved. They gave us gifts and cards and affirmed us. They even wrote this song that I came across the other day (sung to the tune of "Gilligan's Island"):

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale
a tale of a fateful search
that started by this man of God
to start a local church

His mate was a little bit unnerved,
but Dave was brave and sure
For the congregants that came that day
for a two hour service...a two hour service

The school board started getting tough,
the tiny church was tossed
if not f the courage of the fearless few,
Lake Hills Church would be lost...
Lake Hills Church would be lost

The church set down at the door of this Live Oak School
With Pastor Dave, our leader true
Deanne his wife
Douglas, and don't forget Maddie too
Here at Lake Hills Church

So this is a tale of our Pastor Dave
He's here fore a long, long time
He'll have to make the best of things
it's an uphill climb

His first mate and his elder board
will do their very best
to help the others grow in Christ,
that's their heartfelt quest

No land, no rooms, no padded pews
not a single luxury
like Robinson Crusoe,
it's primitive as can be

So Dave, Deanne, we love you guys
you sure deserve some smiles
so accept our little song of love
Here in Lake Hills wilds

Okay - so the song is a little bit corny, but it was filled with love and I still feel that love and support from those that were part of the Lake Hills' family! It's hard to believe that the Lord allowed us to serve there for 16 years! There were joys and there were challenges - but that's what being family is about.

I can't say "I love you" enough to the people of Lake Hills! As we prepare to move to Seattle in August, we are leaving part of us behind in Castaic in these wonderful brothers and sisters!

One last thought - church planting is hard work! It requires sacrifice and perseverance through difficult times. If you are part of a new church - take time to appreciate your pastor! It won't just make his day - it may make his week (or even his month).

1 Thessalonians 5:12 "But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction."