 Tools & Trainings E-Newsletter Issue 58 July 15, 2011 |
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How Can Our Church Become Closer Relationally?
Becoming close relationally in an organic church is necessary and should be normal but it should not be orchestrated. We need relationships that are nurtured so how can this be?
Many people think that in order to grow more intimate with each other they need to expose more of themselves or ask probing questions about the struggles of life. This is not wrong but when it is asked as an assignment, it feels more like a formula and un-natural. Many may rebuff because they view it as artificial. In the past, I've tried this approach. of asking probing questions. What I met was people actually sharing less because they 'felt' forced or manipulated into sharing things they didn't want to share. So, what is the answer to help an organic church grow closer together?
What I've learned is the best way to grow more intimate in an organic church or any setting is to be on mission together. It may sound counter-intuitive, but I have found it to be absolutely true. God has placed in each of us an organic bent towards mission and adventure. While on a mission together you will see each other mess up, get angry, do something heroic, be lazy, see leadership arise or whatever. It is at those moments that hearts begin to be sown together...naturally.
As we work together on a task, we will reach out to help or comment on something done well or ask someone about a bonehead move they made during the adventure together. We often grow the fastest when we are focused on others instead of ourselves (individually or corporately). So maybe, just maybe all churches needs focus outward in order to grow inward!
Think about the deep friendships that are forged out of being on a sports team (missional) or working on a project at your job (missional) or with soldiers fighting a battle on the front lines (missional). These 'liminal' experiences often forge things deep in our souls that can't be done sitting around a living room in conversation. I hope I never lose the desire for adventure with people because that is how friendships are best forged.
Blessings,
Ed Waken
Originally posted here
We hope these words along with the trainings, resources and the articles below encourage & challenge you as you are living it out in your part of God's World.
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 Upcoming Trainings- Organic Greenhouse
 Cleveland, OH // Story 1
July 22-23, 2011
with Neil Cole & Ed Waken
Online Registration ends Sunday 7/17!
Austin, TX // Story 1
August 11-13, 2011
with Neil Cole & Ed Waken
Embedded in the SENT Lab (as afternoon sessions)
Others in the works: Harrisburg, PA; New Orleans; Sydney, Australia; Los Angeles
Click HERE for more Details and to Register
Other Organic Church Learning Opportunities 8 Summer Sites for Student Church Planting Experiences (CPx)
Check em out here
Register now at www.sbtexas.com/sentlab
 September 2-4
Jacksonville, FL
Keynote speakers: Neil Cole, Frank Viola, and Wolfgang Simson
Register Now!
(Groups which register 5 get one registration FREE!)
September 29 - October 1
Olathe, Kansas
with Alan Hirsch, Neil Cole, Hugh Halter, Michael Frost, Dan Kimball and more!
Website
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Featured Resources
 Small Is Big: Unleashing the Big Impact of Intentionally Small Churches
By Tony & Felicity Dale, George Barna
Small Is Big offers keys to 21st-century evangelism: leveraging the power of the small-and taking the gospel to where the people are and the pain is. And as God uses us to channel Jesus' love into a hurting, desperate world, we'll see his church grow beyond anything we could have imagined.
>>Read an Excerpt Here
>> For a Summary or to Order
 Journeys To Significance: Charting a Leadership Course from the Life of Paul
by Neil Cole
"Neil gives the best interpretation of Paul's progress of ministry breakthrough insights that I have seen.... This interpretive biography of Paul is a valuable resource for a leader who wants to pursue the Leadership mandate (Hebrews 13:7,8) and learn from Paul's examples." -Dr. J. Robert Clinton
 The Making of a Leader: Recognizing the Lessons and Stages of Leadership
By Dr. J. Robert Clinton
By studying the lives of hundreds of historical, biblical, and contemporary leaders, Clinton has determined the six stages of leadership development, and he establishes checkpoints to clarify where you are in the process. This classic leadership text is timeless and worth your time in the first reading and even more so in the subsequent reviews!
>> For a Summary or to Order
For the whole list of resources on Sale >> click HERE
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Free Resources
Also there are a host of audio files for you to listen to or download >> HERE or on iTunes
Online Map of Organic Churches and Networks
Check it out here and add your group! |
New Free Articles & Videos
Why are We So Ineffective in Making Disciples? by Katie Driver
One of my classes at the University of Minnesota this spring was focused on adult education and particularly, how adults learn and retain that learnin...
Upgrading the Operating System of the Church by Neil Cole
Computer software upgrades can be a blessing and a curse. They come with fanfare and promise. Sometimes they deliver on the promise; at other times, t... Small is Big by Neil Cole
I am a big thinker. Some people assume that because I do church in a small way I am opposed to big things, and this is vastly untrue.... It's Not About Succession; It's About Sacrifice by Neil Cole
This morning as I read the paper I was struck by the contrast of two separate articles.... Make Disciples, Let Jesus Build The Church by Neil Cole
Christ comes first. He than commands us into His mission. The byproduct of our mission is His kingdom spread on earth via the building of His church.... Book Interview from Ed Stetzer on Journeys To Significance by Neil Cole
Neil Cole's new book, Journeys to Significance: Charting a Leadership Course from the Life of Paul, is out and aims at helping us understand... The Curse of Knowledge by Neil Cole Did you ever have a silly song in your head that you wished you could get rid of? It happens to us all. Some songs are so contagious... LTGs and Kids FAQ by Mindi Jentes Life Transformation Groups (LTGs) are a backbone for the organic church movement. Our Jesus honored children and exhorted us to become like them...
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Featured Article
The DNA of a Church Planting Movement by Rich Hagler Over the past 20 years, I've been reading startling accounts of God initiating Church Planting Movements in every corner of the globe as hundreds, thousands, even ten of thousands are coming to faith in Christ. These new converts, as they exponentially spread their newfound faith throughout their relational networks, creating explosive movements of multiplying cells and house churches, are awe inspiring. And if that weren't enough, their frequent testimonies of signs, wonders, and miracles as a catalyst for this tremendous growth - just like in the Book of Acts - are just that, miraculous. One such example is the Mode of Deliverance Ministry (MOD) led by our friend Rodrick Gilbert in North India. Rodrick began MOD with a handful of teenage boys "who wanted to know more about God" in the slums of Delhi in 1992. He has now trained these young men and others to assist him in leading a Church Planting Movement (CPM) that has multiplied throughout 7 states in Northern India. Through teaching and implementing the simple, easily reproducible discipleship and church planting patterns found in the Scriptures, MOD has seen 164,000 new converts baptized, 15,500 new churches planted, and 15,500 new lay and bi-vocational people trained and sent out as church planters over the last 18 years. What's more, Rodrick leads not 1 but 3 CPMs -- one focusing on urban Hindus, another on rural Hindus, and the third on Muslims. Yeah God! 8 Primary Themes in a Church Planting Movement
Jesus throughout the Gospels (e.g. Matthew 10:1-23; Mark 6:7-13, 30; Luke 10:1-24), and the Apostle Paul throughout Acts and his Epistles (e.g. Acts 2:37-27, 14:21-28), are the models for 8 primary themes that are essential in establishing a healthy, rapidly multiplying CPM of new disciples, leaders, and churches.
It's important to keep in mind that these 8 primary themes or patterns are not necessarily sequential, but are meant to work together and are often done all at the same time, as the Holy Spirit leads in various circumstances.
1. Intimacy with...
...>>Read the rest here
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