GROWING – How different people change us into different people. Brad Jersak at Ivy Church Didsbury @bradjersak #Bgbg2

Brad Jersak

Woah this was goooood!!  Theology is meant to be accessible and bring life to you. If this grabs you, why not check out the FREE Course ‘Living the Christian Story’ WTC (Westminster Theological Centre) are doing right now. Brad is one of the lecturers at WTC, oh, and so am I. We asked him to speak into our series on how we grow as disciples based on Ivy’s mission statement, KNOWING, GROWING, GOING – focusing on…

GROWING

God is gathering people who are very different, into one community of love – using that community to change us from the inside out.

Luke 6:12-19

12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. 13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: 14 Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.

Don’t you wish you were there? Power is coming out from Jesus!!

He picks 12, who will be eyewitnesses of everything, including His resurrection. So the rest of the disciples who go out after them subsequently will be able to check back that it’s the REAL gospel.

Luke lists their names. Notice they’re very different people.

He has this group who grow and go. They’re healing, setting people free – just like Jesus. But notice again, how different they are. There’s nothing very glorious about having a group of people who are just the same as each other meeting together. Having a group of very different people together is a sign of God’s Spirit doing something!

For example:

Matthew would be seen as a traitor to his people. Taking taxes, giving to the enemy and keeping some for himself.

Next to him is Simon, the Zealot – insurgents who would assassinate Romans. This is how terrorism starts. Desperation breeds that.

Jesus puts the two at the same table. The collaborator and the conspirator, get sent out two by two. He’s changing them to become brothers.

Isaiah prophesies one day,  ‘The lion and the lamb will lie down together.’ That’s not a vision for a petting zoo in heaven. It’s a picture for now. A community of love being formed. Reconciliation of very different people, even those at odds with each other. It’s happening now all round the world, in the name of Jesus.

Like Bob Ekblad (another WTC faculty member). Goes into prison every week. Bringing together immigrants from Central America and the poor and gang members and neo-Nazis and they end up in the same room and it’s like ‘Who would we hate the most?’ Everyone who does his Bible studies comes to Christ, because they connect to a God of love. And they pray for each other and are healed.

Brad’s church: They prayed for a strategy, thought they would reach to cool Gen X types. InsteadJesus told them to start a home group in a care home for people with disabilities. They had lots coming, disruptive adults but then the carers came along too and then families with kids who couldn’t sit still came. Then addicts came because they knew it was a safe place to be broken. All so different, God brings them all together.

Look at Romans. Paul’s list at the end we just skip through. Paul’s goodbyes. Don’t skim it.

He’s saying Hi to the people from the Emperor’s household.

And then two people who haven’t got names – they have numbers not names – because they are SLAVES. In the same group as the royalty?

When you get those kind of people together – it’s amazing.

What if you don’t make particular people your ‘target group’ – but make the Trinity your target group, then God will come, and bring His friends.

Think about the apostle John and his brother James. They were called ‘The Sons Of Thunder.’ Do you think they had tempers?

Is there any evidence they did? Ask the inhabitants of the Samaritan cities that rejected Jesus, who they wanted to ‘call fire down on like Elijah did?’

Jesus rebuked them and said ‘You don’t know what spirit you’re calling.’ That’s fascinating in itself… ‘I didn’t come to destroy people I came to SAVE them.’ He’s changing this son of thunder into a son of God.

So later John writes ‘Beloved, let us love one another- for everyone that loves knows God and is born of God…’ Wow. He’s John… Lennon! What happened? A community of love changed him.

How about Peter? Mark 8. Peter gives the right answer to a question and he’s on a roll and gets commended for that. He’s feeling good. But he absolutely refuses the idea of Jesus’ suffering.

Then you read 1 Peter – He says, ‘Don’t be surprised if you suffer for Jesus, it’s precious, powerful.’ What got into you?Jesus did.

And you know how Peter died don’t you? Crucified upside down, glorying in suffering for Christ.

Jesus brings us together to use us, to change us, into the Beatitudes people.

Where do you fit in this family?

Do you wonder if you belong?

You don’t belong because you’re like everyone else. You fit in because this is a family that’s so different.

Principles For Healthy Church Growth (From Acts 1 & 2) – Dave Smith #bgbg2

This is about principles not techniques for healthy church growth

From Acts 1 & 2

 

In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach

 

The key to healthy church ministry is that it is the CONTINUING ministry of Jesus. Acts is not just the acts of the apostles but the empowering continuing work of Jesus. We can’t create growth.

We can position ourselves close enough to Jesus to follow His Spirit and do what he tells us.

It’s about following Jesus. That’s  job 1! And it takes the pressure off.

 

But if it was all about Jesus, every church would be growing.

Before Jesus does something through us he wants to do some things in us.

Jesus had prepared the disciples for what lay ahead.

 

After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

 

God wants to do some foundational stuff, he lets us be broken down before he builds up through us. So much is seasonal in how he prepares us, it’s cyclical. Be alert to the season you’re in – if there’s not fruit work showing, maybe there’s root work growing.

 

We need a harvest vision.

“you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Get that ahead of now vision. God gives leaders a grace to see ahead of time. And he is able to do more than we can expect or imagine – that’s confidence not presumption. And you make your plan based on THAT. You see the big vision ahead and work back from that.

 

At this year (25 celebration) Stuart Bell said ‘hear that founding word again.’ So they say they want to play their part to see the UK come back to God.

If you’re stuck, maybe it’s a vision issue. Get back with God

 

LOVE where you are. Love your Jerusalem. Unless you love the place, you’ll never love and reach the people.

 

Ask the Holy Spirit to do an experiment with you to break the barriers.

 

Constant Prayer

 

When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.

 

The suddenly of God’s Pentecost starts because of the preparation in prayer. Yonghi Cho was asked how he got that amazing growth: ‘I pray, and I obey.’

 

Prayer is core to who they are. It grows out of him.

 

Prayer is not a monologue but a dialogue and he has a lot more interesting things to tell me than I have to tell him.

 

However you look at church history, revivals worldwide etc. – you see that when people seriously get hold of God in prayer, fasting, things happen.

 

In Sept 99 they started a pattern of fasting across the church

3 days one month. 1 day the next month.

They have ‘Deep Night’ prayer meetings regularly – create an atmosphere of presence, break through. We have to get hold of prayer and that’s how we advance and are protected. Don’t just have crisis prayer. 

 

The disciples were used to walking to the upper room to prayer. Never assume that people have got the basics.

Cf Willow’s Reveal.

Are the people getting built into regular daily Bible reading and prayer.

 

Right Leadership – and transitions

 

There was this strange thing that then took place about how they cast lots. Not the way we’d do it – but there’s something about leadership needing to be right before the Spirit gets poured out.

They had a forced leadership transition. But they said ‘we want someone who has our DNA, who’s been on the journey.

 

Some parts of the church in the world is it’s hire and fire.

Some parts of the church it’s family.

Both ways of doing it can be problematic.

 

We have to have a flexibility in our culture where some can be elevated and others not and it be okay and nobody throws their toys out.

 

Don’t get someone in because of their gift – have they got your DNA? Watch how much influence you give them.

 

Empowering Presence

Acts 1;8

 

His church was having an amazing time charismatically and spiritually, lying on the floor having a good time while lost people were staying well away.

 

The way they administered the moves of the Spirit were not furthering the work of the Spirit.

 

Look at Luke’s description of the work of the Spirit – it’s a prophetic empowerment for ministry, not lying down.

 

We have to think wisely about what we do and when.

We can learn to be attractive by being a little more attractional.

Roll on the floor before.

 

Maybe we don’t have to do everything in one service?

 

Have a deeper night regularly.

 

If they had not made those changes, they would never have got where they are – and they see MORE of the Holy Spirit moving and changing lives now and tangibly there – more than they ever did back then.

This is not diluting the gospel, but wise in the way we administer our Sunday service.

You don’t hear ‘My friend came in and was freaked out’

You do hear ‘My friend came in and just started weeping because they knew God is here.’

 

Have a swimming pool. A big shallow end and a deep end too. Don’t throw them all in at the deep end and expect them to swim! They call theirs ‘Touching Heaven.’

 

Mission

Most of what church does is aiming at the 20%. How do we reach the 80%

 

Finally

Nobody gets saved just because the Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost .  You can have lots of Holy Spirit meetings.

 

PREACHING MATTERS.

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say.

 

Do the work of an evangelist.

Lean into specials like Christmas. Where a whole lot of people invite a whole lot of people…

 

Get people to come, and then keep them coming…

 

Carefully crafted sermon series are key to reaching and keeping people.  Keep people on the journey, and build them into this kind of community…

 

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

@AlanHirsch – ReOrganise at #NWNLC12

Alan lives very near Azusa Street, where the Holy Spirit came up many very marginalised people, which went on to be a movement that changed the world. Jesus is the friend of the outcast and the sinners!

What practices stop the people of God being the people of God? Christianity got into China from Europe, and there were 2 million Christians, until Mao Tse Tung obliterated it. How? Threw out the leaders etc. Except for peasant people who were forced to rediscover themselves.

Compare that phenomenon with that of the early church. We have to ask, what am I doing that God has to take people like us out – to get what he wants done, done?

Don’t create systems that create dependences.

Go with the flow of what God wants done in us. He has what it takes. And he has given us agency!

We need to receive the gift of repentance, be immediately forgiven – then change our behaviours.

Rodney Stark & Roger Fink described how Methodism in the USA grew like mad, then plateaued – then dropped off a cliff.

It started with the Methodist circuit riders blazing trails. Radical pioneers.

Then they took them out and got them to study Latin, Greek and Hebrew, domesticated them.

And have been in decline ever since.

If it takes seven years to train in CofE as a leader – you have over-complicated it.

Our methodology is blocking us.

In China, 65% of the leaders are women. What does that tell us? 2 million to hundreds of millions in a very short space of time.

If I was the devil and I wanted to take the church out, I’d create an elite two -tier system with cleros (calling) being to clergy – rather than ALL God’s people being called. Yes, believe in leadership, but don’t take all the leadership on.

If you want to destroy a movement – don’t make it easily reproducible. The genius of Al Quaeda is that is so diverse – (I think there’s references to this in Starfish & Spider?).

Someone asks – ‘how do you make a case for the ordination of women?’

Well – what about making a case for ordination at ALL first off. It came out of Rome not the NT. It doesn’t honour Jesus to suppress anyone. Our practices are our problems.

The ‘Back to Jerusalem’ movement have this slogan: ‘Every believer is a church planter, every church is a church planting church.’ We all contain ecclesia…

So even if there’s only ONE believer left, he or she carries the seed to reproduce the whole movement. God got the whole universe going in a particular way. In every seed there’s a tree and in very tree there’s a forest – there’s POTENTIAL, contained. A spark has the potential for a fire.

This is how God sees us.

We need to see our churches like this.

The potential is HUGE!

It’s amazing what God can do with us. So a leader’s job is to bring EVERYONE into the game.

When we have thought of church planting, we have thought we have to extract people from the domains of everyday life. How about we rather plant church IN the domains of society, and let it break out in the arts and media and government.

Someone ask, ‘How do we control that?’

Trust God. He is able to lead!

God is not simply God of the church, but of all we are. We locate God in our structure (which is just one way to manifest His presence).

The best way to learn chess? Take the Queen out. Then you learn how to use all the other pieces.

Are we over-relying on the Sunday services? Even very good ones with great teaching.

To see how effective your sermons are, next week – ask, ‘What did I preach about three weeks ago?’

What if we put all that effort into disciple-making instead?

It takes time at the front end, but it’s the way of multiplication.

We believe in ‘the priesthood of all believers,’ but it’s largely a doctrine not a practice. As long as you’re wearing a collar it speaks louder than your words. You’re representing the institution. It’s very hard to get a person to understand something when their salary depends on not understanding it.

Look afresh at Ephesians, written as a general letter to a group of ordinary people, in various churches. This applies to everyone!  It’s Paul’s fundamental ecclesiology. Barth Jr called it ‘the constititional document of the church.’ And it was NOT written to leaders. This is for everyone.

Eph 4:1-6 UNITY (applies not just to early church but all time)

Eph 4:7-11

Grace was given to EACH ONE OF US.. (literally us all). Give = aorist indicative, very strong and applies to all 5.

To become… APEST – apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, teachers..

So, ‘I wonder what I am?’

He’s given APEST – to build the church. To get us to Maturity.

It’s Jesus’ intention that we find our place in this framework.

Vs 12 – 16 applies to the church of all time, too – you have to torture the obvious meaning of the chapter to say the preceding verses don’t!

Why did we code out the Apostles and Prophets and Evangelists?

How many times in the Bible do you hear the word Pastor? ONCE – here.

Apostles. gets used 80+ times.

Teachers – we get told by James ‘not many of you should be!’

But isn’t it dangerous to release the APE?

Well the Shepherds and Teachers who have run the church so far have historically hurt people over doctrine a lot. Inquisition etc.

This is not a leadership text, it’s a ministry text.

Apostle = missio, sent. people who feel God pushing them out into the future, they’re boundary people. Could be Petrine (in system) or Pauline (outside system).

Prophets – sensitive to God, hear him, see him, speak for Him. Irritate everyone as result. They feel deeply for the poor.

Evangelists – recruiters to the cause, people buy in because of them.

Shepherds – Bring love and community.

Teachers – Bring wisdom and understanding. No sense of urgency. Systematic.

You need ALL FIVE to change the world.

These 5 are of course in the creation order – you see such people in all kids of organisations, but he’s given it to the redemption order.

Ministries are started by the generative (APE) – and sustained by the operative (ST – maintainers).

The problems are when the APES are exiled, and the STs take over. Every movement in decline takes this model.

Jesus has given us (the church) FIVEFOLD ministry so we might MATURE!

Jesus is all 5. We are meant to be His body. How else can we represent HIM in the world? You can’t run an organisation on having a HR department.

If you want a missional movement you have to have missional ministry to go with it.