Tag: Mission

From Attendance to Action: How to Fully Participate in Church Life and Mission.

Playing Your Part: Embracing Fellowship, Discipleship, and Ministry in the local church.  The early church, as described in Acts 2:41-42, 46-47, provides a clear model for how believers should engage in church life just as much where you are now as they were then. It highlights essential aspects of a true church such as fellowship, discipleship, evangelism, and ministry. I have talked before about they each ‘devoted themselves’ (nobody but you can devote you) to the Word, Worship and One Another, they shared their Wealth and saw Wonders that made the world say ‘WOW!”  As members of the body of Christ today, we cannot settle for less and must pray for and deliberately participate in these areas to ensure a thriving and unified church community. The Power of Fellowship Fellowship is the heartbeat of the church.  Acts 2:42 emphasises that the early believers “continued steadfastly” in fellowship. This  means they stuck at it, there were no church shoppers or hoppers – they were intentional and consistent in connecting with one another.  As 1 John 1:3-4 reminds us, our joy is made […]

REFRAMATION – A Great Book To Get ASAP

I wouldn’t usually review a book half way through but I was given an advance copy and it sat on my ‘to read’ pile until a couple of days ago – then it grabbed hold of me. I’m definitely going to get lots of copies available for LAUNCH this year as this book is so needed. Amidst all the books on church techniques, strategies and goals (which I love) comes one which asks so many challenging questions and provides great insight into what the heck it is we are actually even doing. And why ‘it’ isn’t doing what it’s supposed to. Reframation – what’s that? Well Alan likes to make up new words when old ones don’t fit, or add a couple together to make a new one – which I think is cokay.  The basic idea of the book that is everyone sees through a frame, and we need to reframe our understandings of God, people and the church – which needs to keep on reforming rather than say ‘Oh yeah we did that 500 years ago.’ (See what they […]

Wanted: Jason (and Jane) Bournes for the Kingdom – NewThing Global

I am reflecting back on the inaugural NewThing Global meeting in Nairobi earlier this year and thought a summary post might help answer some of the many questions I get asked about NewThing Europe right now. We met there because of an initial connection between two leaders; Oscar Muriu of Nairobi Chapel was speaking at the Willow GLS and his message impacted my friend Dave Ferguson. They later reconnected through the conference Dave helps lead, Exponential – where Oscar in his amazing keynote from 2 Corinthians 5:14-20 he asked, ‘What are you living your life for that is worth Christ dying for?’ That led to our partnership discussions, and the idea of NewThing Global (of which I am now leading NewThing Europe) developed from that. We wanted to get a small group of friends to gather from the corners of the world to become part of a network, because trust can be communicated through all the relationships in that network. We’ve all been part of groups. There are groups that meet to train, or to talk, but a network is there […]