Your Journey Blog

Nine Prayers of a Missional Leader Part 5

“Father, grant me the courage to make the right missional decisions.”

Winston Churchill said, "Without courage, all other virtues lose their meaning." Missional leaders are not thin-skinned when it comes to keeping the church engaged in God’s missional purposes.  They are willing to take a hard look at themselves and their organization to evaluate their effectiveness.  They are willing to ask difficult questions such as, “What are we doing or not doing that is hindering us from being at the center of God’s mission?”

Missional leaders are willing to push themselves out of their own comfort zone, like Peter did when he walked into Cornelius' house and broke all kinds of cultural barriers for the sake of the gospel (Acts 10:22-48).  Peter was willing to be misunderstood and to stand up for the missional decision he made (Acts 11:1-18).

Courageous leaders are also willing to be misunderstood for the sake of the mission and are willing to risk criticism head on, like Paul and Barnabas did when they went to Jerusalem to face the concerns and questions that were arising from the ministry (Acts 15:1-4).

These types of leaders rise to the challenge when key decisions need to be made and they use their influence to see that it is carried through. James is a example of this, when at the Jerusalem council he declared, "It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.” (Acts 15:19 NIV)  That decision wasn't essential in seeing God’s mission move forward into new regions but it was critical in aligning the church in Jerusalem with God’s plan. 

Spiritual leadership at its core is basically keeping God’s people on God’s agenda.  As Joshua was leading God’s people forward into His purposes, we see that strength and courage was going to be needed.

"Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."  (Joshua 1:6-9 NIV)

Courage isn’t something that leaders can muster up. Spiritual leaders find courage from three sources: 1) understanding God’s purpose (Joshua 1:2) 2) by trusting in God’s promises (Joshua 1:3-4) and 3) experiencing God’s presence (Joshua 1:5).

What courageous decisions do you need to make this week to keep yourself, your family, your church, or your organization on mission with God?

Next time: “Father, help me focus on my strengths and trust others to fill the gaps of my weaknesses”

Excerpt from Gary's book: NextSteps for Leading a Missional Church

Join Gary "live" at an upcoming "NextSteps Workshop"  August 27-28th

The Theology of Resistance in Church Planting

One of the best newsletters on church multiplication I personally read is one written by Dr. Bob and Noreen Vajko veteran church planting missionaries who function now as church planting consultants with TEAM (The Evangelical Alliance Mission)  Recently they dealt with the Theology of Resistance in Church Planting, Here are Bob's thoughts:

 

As missionaries work in church planting, the question of “where” to plant a church is a key factor in an effective and enduring church plant.  This leads to the question of what to do in order to plant a church in a resistant area in any given country. I would like to look at the biblical data and then move from the theology of church planting to the question of the application of what is gleaned from this data. 

 

What is Resistance?

• The word “resist” has an interesting etymology coming from the Latin “resistere” and means “to take a stand” or “to exert force in opposition.”
• This is exactly what we talk about when we deal with the concept of “resistance” to the message of Christ.
• Michael Pocock states that “The resistant are those who have or are receiving an adequate opportunity to hear the gospel but over some time have not responded properly.” (Woodberry 1998, 5).
• In particular certain parts of the world, certain ethnic groups, and those adhering to certain religious groups have shown themselves resistant to the life-changing message of Christ.

What Causes Resistance to the Gospel?

• Belonging to an ethnic group that is opposed to Christianity.
  • We see this in many parts of the world today and especially among certain ethnic groups.
  • Usually this means that becoming a Christian means being a traitor to your given ethnic group.
• Belonging to a religion that is considered superior to Christianity.
  • This is the case with most of the major religions of the world.
  • To become a Christian is to betray your previous religion.
• A misunderstanding of the message of the gospel.
  • Many are resistant because the message of the gospel is tied in with cultural baggage that is not a part of the gospel.
  • Many are resistant because they have not heard a message that is related to their context and the gospel seems to be either incomprehensible or foreign.
• Resistance to the person bringing the message. 
  • After the 2^nd world war, a German missionary seeking to work in Francewould normally find resistance not because of the message but because of the link with a previous invader. 
  • The same would be true of Japanese missionaries going to China right after the war with China.
• Certain times and seasons of resistance.
  • Amazingly enough there are times when resistance is broken down because of some change in the circumstances.
  • There is also the question of the supernatural working of the Holy Spirit who, as Jesus stated, "the wind (same word as Spirit in Greek) blowa where it wishes..." and there are special times and seasons where suddenly an openness to the gospel shows itself.

How Can Resistance be Overcome?

• By love.

• By prayer.

• By a new presentation of the message of Christ.

• By better contextualization.

• By a new understanding of the message.

• By planting churches in concentric circles thus increasing receptivity. “Nothing increases general responsiveness like the spread of evangelical churches.  Every Christian has scores of relatives who know him intimately.  Every congregation is a center of influence.” (McGavran 1963, 64).

Resistance and Church Planting

• It is evident that it will be more difficult to plant a new church in a resistant area or among resistant peoples.
• It will be helpful if we think about “pockets of receptivity” in resistant areas.
• • This has been mentioned previously in HPMC where we discovered in a new city where people where moving in at an unusually rapid rate) an amazing openness to the gospel in France whereas the general population was more resistant.  
  • This can happen within a given ethnic or demographic group where some people are more open for a number of reasons  
  • Contact with some kind of “bridge of God”- a friend, relative, or even business contact who has been changed by the gospel.   
  • Some kind of change in their life – a crisis or period of difficulty where they need help and loving concern that the gospel provides.   
• The question of urbanization and resistance.  Newer areas in a given population open the door and provide receptivity.
• The question of demographics and resistance.   Areas where there are younger people are more open and less resistant.
• The multiplication of churches within a given area increases receptivity as can be seen in the quote of McGavran above.  We experienced this in the Paris area as new churches helped to plant new churches and thus increased responsiveness.

Sources:

• Liao, David E. E. 1972. The Unresponsive: Resistant or Neglected? The Hakka Chinese inTaiwan Illustrate a Common Missions Problem. Chicago: Moody Press.
• McGavran, Donald A. 1963. Church Growth in Mexico. Grand Rapid MI: Eerdmans.
• McGavran, Donald A.. 1980. Understanding Church Growth, Revised Edition. Grand Rapids MI: Eerdmans.

To sign up for Bob and Noreen's Newsletter email bobvajko@gmail.com 

Check out Gary's thoughts on the subject No Respnse to the Gospel

Nine Prayers of a Missional Leader Pt 4

Have you ever read the "Present with the Lord" sections in your Alumni magazines or newsletters?  Many of us may have because we know that one day our name will be listed there.   Years ago as I was Ieafing through mine I came across a couple of pastors who where remembered for their faithful service in local churches, faithfulness to their families and interestingly enough, they were also remembered for the number of men and women they helped enter into full-time ministry.  So with that thought in the back of my head, the next time I scanned through another Alumni magazine I saw another pastor remembered for his service, his family and those he mentored into full-time ministry.  Was I starting to see a pattern here?  I saw it again and again!  Then I noticed that these pastors served during the 30's, 40's and 50's!  My conclusion was people remember what is important to them. Faithful service and loving family, along with the raising up and the sending out of leaders were badges of honor to these generations of leaders. I am very confident that faithful service and family are very high on our list, but I have to wonder...is raising up and sending out leaders in the harvest field a value for our generation?  We celebrate building, budgets, attendance, the number of staff we have but there is little talk about the leaders we send out.  

This leads us to our fourth prayer that will enlarge the heart of a missional leader: “Father, help me empower others and release them into your harvest field.”

This can be a dangerous prayer for a leader because leadership development is a costly and risky business.  The making of leaders is filled with all sorts of pitfalls, setbacks, and victories.  Consider the example of Barnabas, the first century "leader maker".  At great risk to himself, he invested into the life of a young convert named Saul.  He risked his very life and he risked his reputation in bringing him to the rest of the Apostles (Acts 9:26-27). Years later, at great cost to himself, he went to find Saul in Tarsus and gave him a platform in the Church in Antioch (Acts 11:25-26). When the Holy Spirit spoke and told him to leave Antioch with Saul to take the gospel to Asia Minor; it was no mistake that he brought along a young apprentice, named John Mark (Acts 13:5). When he saw God uniquely empowering Saul, who become Paul, he stepped back and in an enableing move, let Paul take the lead (Acts 13:42-46). Finally, when a decision to reinvest in a wayward apprentice needed to be made, Barnabas took an empowering posture and put the development of a young leader ahead of the task. This decision cost him dearly (Acts 15:36-42). As leaders we need to count the cost of praying this prayer because investing, empowering and releasing leaders can be a messy business.

We are called to pour our lives into others, first on a discipleship level (Matthew 28:19-20) and second on a leadership level (II Timothy 2:2).  It is surprising how little we pray about identifying, raising up and sending out workers into the harvest field.  Praying for workers was critical to Jesus' missional training process.  "After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.'"(Luke 10:1-2)

As he was sending out workers he taught them to pray for more workers.  Let us earnestly ask the Lord of the harvest to bring us more workers to send out into His harvest.

Next time: “Father, grant me the courage to make the right missional decisions.”

Excerpt from Gary's book: NextSteps for Leading a Missional Church

Join Gary "live" at an upcoming "NextSteps Workshop"

We Want to Share Your Stories - Send Them to Us

Over the years I have heard hundreds of amazing stories of how the Spiritual Journey Guide has made a difference in how pastors and ministry leaders engage in spiritual conversations.

I am finishing up a new book entitled, Spiritual Conversations: Creating & Sustaining Them Without Being a Jerk (It is a working title - send me your thoughts). In this book I hope to offer a biblically centered approach towards evangelism through examining how "Lordship and Rapport" must work together for one to be fruitful in their spiritual conversations. It will take a close look at the training pattern that Jesus used in Luke 10, as well as the "person of peace" principle that Jesus taught his disciples. It will be filled with practical advice and usable tools that I have gleaned from the 20 books I have read on evangelism as well as the 29 years of experience (June 1980 is my spiritual birthday) I have had as a practitioner, trainer and coach.

We would love to fill it with your stories! So submit your story in 250-400 words, with your name, and church or ministry information to: Gary Rohrmayer at gary@yourjourney.org Send us your best stories that are from one of the following categories:

• How it has helped you increase your spiritual conversations.
• How you helped someone take the next step towards spiritual discovery.
• How you helped someone take the next step towards missional living.
• How have you used it in a small group setting?
• How have you used it in a worship setting?
• How has it helped you in assessing where a person is spiritually?
• How has it helped you relationally sustain a spiritual dialog?

The deadline is July 1st

The Spiritual Journey Guide

Through four simple diagnostic questions you can help the spiritual searcher identify and discover the barriers on their spiritual journey and you can identify how deeply the Holy Spirit is at work in their lives drawing them towards Christ. (Click to see a Sample Version)

The goal of this process is not to lead a person towards a forced prayer of repentance but to help them develop a personalized plan towards spiritual discovery or spiritual maturity.