My Driving Convictions Concerning Frontier Missions P3 // Apostolic Community
[read the intro] [read part 1] [read part 2]
The seedbed in which frontier missionaries are cultivated is apostolic community. I will define both of these terms as we work through a brief exposition of Romans 15:17-33, Acts 11, and Acts 13. This chapter contains the clearest presentation of frontier missions in the whole Bible. And it also demonstrates how important apostolic community is to the task of frontier ministry. Read more >>
“China Will Be Reached Through Large Open Churches Preaching the Gospel”
Below is a fascinating article written by Dennis Balcome, the founder of Revival Chinese Ministries International about the changing face of the Chinese Church.
“I have come to the conclusion that China will be reached not only through house churches, but through large open churches preaching the gospel.”
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I recently was invited to speak in an official “Three-Self Patriotic Church” in Wuchang, which is in Wuhan in central China. Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, is actually made up of three cities (Wuchang, Hankou and Hanyang), and is the most populous city in Central China with a population of about 9.8 million. There are several hundred official churches registered with the Religious Affairs Bureau and without a doubt several thousand house churches.
The pastor, Rev. Xu, then spoke to me about the situation with Christianity in China. He said, “In the West you are now putting emphasis on the cell church, or house church movement and many think the only way to reach China is through support of the house church movement. But after studying Christianity in China for many decades, I have come to the conclusion that China will be reached not only through house churches, but through large open churches preaching the gospel.” Read more >>
Did Jesus Discourage Corporate Public Prayer in Matthew 6?
I labor in the midst of a stream that desires to establish corporate prayer and worship from the rising of the sun to its going down. I love it. I am gripped with it. I’m sowing the majority of my time, my energy, and my resources in the prime of my life to this end: that the Church in our generation would be a praying Church with a high vision for the glory of God in the face of Christ and committed to serving the nations through intercession and a bold witness to the Gospel.
CRITICS OF CORPORATE PUBLIC PRAYER
Often critics of our stream point us to Matthew 6 saying that Jesus never asked this of His people. They argue that in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus openly discouraged corporate public prayer. Having been ‘swimming’ in this particular stream for almost a decade, Matthew 6 has been the passage I’ve heard cited the most as evidence against the prayer movement that is currently emerging in the nations. And so I wanted to give a brief response. Read more >>
The Culture of Prayer in the Early Church – A Survey of the Role of Prayer in Acts 1-13
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I. INTRODUCTION
A. Currently we are witnessing the emergence of the greatest expression of prayer in all of Church history. And it will not plateau or wane before the return of the Lord. Before Jesus splits the sky the Church in the nations will be a praying Church (Rev. 5:8; 8:1-5; 22:17). The prayers of the saints will rise from every tribe and tongue, from the rising of the sun to its going down (Malachi 1:11).
B. With that said, it’s important that we understand that this is not a new idea or foreign to the pages of Church history. Far from being an exclusively modern phenomenon the call to corporate prayer was intended by the Lord to be foundational to the ethos of the people of the covenant from the Garden of Eden.
C. In this session I want to give an overview of the role of prayer in the book of Acts to demonstrate the fact that the Lord has always desired the Church to be a praying Church. Read more >>
Solitude and the Restoration of True Community
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Solitude and the Restoration of True Community
With the witness of Scripture, the testimony of Church history, and the conviction borne by personal experience all whispering in my ears, I am convinced that the call to Christ-centered solitude is one of the most important and yet most misunderstood and neglected practices in the Church; particularly in the west; specifically with regards to the cultivation of true community. The impact of this neglect is deep and wide.
In this session we’re going to look at the place of solitude in the midst of community.
I. THE DESTRUCTION OF TRUE COMMUNITY – GENESIS 2-3 Read more >>
The Value of Solitude in Life and Ministry: 8 Misconceptions About Solitude
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With the witness of Scripture, the testimony of Church history, and the conviction borne by personal experience all whispering in my ears, I am convinced that the call to Christ-centered solitude is one of the most important and yet most misunderstood and neglected practices in the Church; particularly in the west. The impact of this neglect is deep and wide.
After looking at three examples of solitude in Jesus’ ministry I want to address eight misconceptions about the call to solitude that we would rightly understand what it is and what it isn’t.
I. THE PLACE OF SOLITUDE IN JESUS’ MINISTRY – THREE EXAMPLES Read more >>
Radically Managing the Fleeting Resource of Time in the Context of a Melodious Community
Paul’s exhortations in Ephesians 5:15-21 have been instrumental in shaping my understanding of personal time management and collective community life:
15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:15-21)
Observations from the text:
- Wisdom is defined explicitly in terms of time management (v. 15).
- The center of gravity in the discipline of time management is ruthlessly aiming at the “best use” of time (v. 16); which includes, I would add, a ruthless pruning of that which isn’t.
- The antithesis of foolishness (‘wisdom’) is knowing the will of God (v. 17) in our personal lives, the communities He’s placed us in and the generation that we live in. Discerning the heart of God is the genesis of practical wisdom.
- Paul connects being filled with the Spirit in verse 18 with time management in verse 15 (could it be that those who are sloppy with their time are superficial with the Spirit?).
- The way in which we’re filled with the Spirit in verse 18 is described in verses 19-21: in the context of community (v. 21) with a posture of gratitude (v. 20) engaging in the persistent declaration of the Word of God through singing to one another (v. 19).
Application of the text:
(1) Don’t squander your life through the foolish stewardship of the time given to you; (2) Do this by laboring in a community setting to center your life around the Word of God through the joyful and melodious declaration of it; (3) This works when communities understand the limitations of preaching the Word and the great value of singing the Word (while preaching is most definitely preeminent over singing, the place of the communal discipleship-oriented singing of the Word has been all but abandoned in our generation and ecclesiological streams; and much to our demise).
