Mi dependencia en el Señor en medio del caos

Bendeciré a Jehová que me aconseja;

Aún en las noches me enseña mi conciencia. Salmo 16:7

Amados hermanos en Cristo, escribo de El Matal esta carta de noticia para abril 2021 a ustedes con un corazón lleno de gozo y de agradecimiento al Señor. Que la gracia y el amor de nuestro amado Padre Celestial esté sobre cada uno de ustedes.

Bueno, de verdad que esta carta es de buenas noticias a pesar del caos que estamos viviendo no sólo aquí en nuestro país sino en todas las naciones por ese virus feo, por la crisis financiera, por la degradación inmoral que cada día el hombre se sumerge y el aumento de la apostasía.

En este mes de abril el Señor me enseñó que cuando sus hijos creemos de corazón que para Él todo es posible, que no existe nada que el enemigo pueda evitar, Él puede obrar a nuestro favor, conforme a Su voluntad y ver Su gloria. 

Church in the ashes

A true story heard from a fellow Ecuadorian church planter working in a neighboring region of our province.

Luisa was eager to start with her new church plant. She had no where to go, and did not know where to start. After praying, she felt led to start under the shade of a tree near where she lived. Her first gathering consisted of herself and two other girls. Luisa was ecstatic. She was on her way to becoming a church planter!

Two weeks later, the tree was cut down by the owner of the property. Luisa was devastated. She went to her church planting mentor and cried, "Now, what am I supposed to do? I have no where else to meet. The tree has been cut down."

Her wise mentor told her, "Thank the Lord! He has now provided you with a place to sit! Resume meeting in the branches of the fallen tree."

Luisa did so, and the group meeting continued to meet for a couple of more weeks. All was going well until the owner decided to burn the fallen tree.

Luisa went back and lamented, "Now what are we going to do? The owner has burned our tree. Now we don't have anywhere to sit when we gather."

Her mentor told her, "Go back and continue to meet in the midst of the ashes. Church is not the place, but the people the Lord has given you to work with. Trust God. He is with you."

Luisa did so. She and her little band of new believers continued to meet in the spot where now only ashes remained.

Meanwhile, the intrigued owner continued to wonder at the group that so faithfully gathered no matter what he did to the tree. Finally, out of curiosity, he too began coming to the gatherings to learn more about what was going on.

A few weeks passed and he too gave his heart to Jesus. With his new heart, he donated the portion of land where the church had been gathering. Since it is hot out in the equatorial sun, he also decided it would be nice if everyone could have a shady place to sit. He then built a shelter large enough to accommodate the growing group out of the hot sun.

Many lessons can be learned from this story.

One that registered with me, is that God often has to reduce our "tree" (works) to ashes before He can build the church He intends on having.

Another lesson is the idea that set-backs, trials--and even tragedies are often viewed as detriments to the work. But more often than not, end up being the very means God uses to accomplish His purposes.

What other lessons do you see in this story?

Teleamigo is 20 years old

Teleamigo is an evangelistic counseling and prayer ministry which we helped begin back in August 1993. Last night Teleamigo celebrated her 20th anniversary. Literally thousands upon thousands of people have been touched and lives changed by this volunteer ministry that uses prayer and counseling to reach people for Christ. There are so many people to thank. So many whose lives, love, and offerings have gone into making Teleamigo a ministry that has impacted over 3-million people who have made contact through one or another of the different levels of ministry.

As my wife and I participated in the anniversary celebration, I couldn't help but reflect on all the people whose lives have been part of Teleamigo over the past twenty years. It was noted that at least three different sister ministries are today the "grandchildren" of Teleamigo. Each of these three have gone on to specialize in areas of helping people that go beyond what Teleamigo is able to offer. The leaders of these other ministries all "cut their teeth" with Teleamigo and today continue to impact people's lives with the love of Christ.

Jesus assured his disciples in John 14:12 "The one who believes in Me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father." How true!

Over the past fourteen years the "five loaves and two fish" offered to the Lord on August 3, 1993 have been abundantly blessed by Jesus Christ. What began as something so small and insignificant, has touched the lives of over 3-million people:

Untold thousands have been helped...
tens of thousands prayed over...
marriages saved...
babies born instead of aborted...
the abused forgiving those who have hurt them...
alcohol and drug addicts loved and ministered to...
families restored and reconciled...
the hopeless encouraged...
and yes, hundreds accepting Christ as Lord and Savior.

Only eternity will show the full impact this tiny ministry operating on a shoe-string budget has had on the lives of so many who live here in Guayaquil. To God be the Glory.

While the below video has been out now for several years, it is a good summary of what God continues to do through this ministry. Thanks for viewing and especially for praying for Teleamigo as she begins her 21st year of ministry.



To read past articles in this blog about Teleamigo, type in the word "teleamigo" at the top of the page in the search box.

Pray the Lord of the Harvest...

One of Jesus' most ignored commands is "...pray to the Lord of the harvest, that He send out workers into His harvest." Luke 10:2b (ten2b praying).

This is one prayer the Lord wants to answer. It is the first command Jesus instructed the 70 in Luke 10 as he prepared them for going out into the fields white and ready for harvest.

If I were training the "70" prayer would be an important element. But would praying for workers be the primary focus of the praying? Probably not. To me it is interesting that Jesus doesn't tell them to pray for the lost; he instructs them to pray for workers. It seems our job is to ask God to call out the laborers and send them to the harvest fields; it is the Holy Spirit's job to put those workers into contact with hearts He is dealing with.

I am more convinced than ever He is just waiting on us to ask him for workers. One of the most consistent prayers I pray everyday is for harvest laborers. Unless the Lord calls out the workers and puts it in their hearts to do the work, it doesn't matter how many people we might train. Very little fruit will remain.

Ten2b praying works. It is God's way of getting the job done. Praying for workers is something He wants to answer. He is waiting for us to get serious about praying for workers, so that He can get serious with us about sending us the workers he intends on using.

There are so many stories I could share but will limit myself to this one from Posorja...

Posorja is a 2-hour drive from Guayaquil. The first night of the training two men came. Nobody seemed to know who they were and they didn't say much. It was obvious they were visitors. As we were concluding the training I asked for people to share what the Lord had impressed upon them during our time together. Much to everyone's surprise both visitors stood, indicating they wanted to speak. The first man began to weep uncontrollably for several moments. Slowly their story got out...

My partner and I are professional fishermen from Costa Rica. We have been in Posorja for the past few weeks wondering why on earth God led us to this place. We have not been able to accomplish anything we had originally come here to do. Our plans were to go to Manta (another port city on the coast of Ecuador) and yet God strangely led us here. The first day we decided to go out and try to find an evangelical church. We happened to "discover" this church the first night of the training. We now fully understand why God brought us to Posorja. It was not for fishing permits, but for an understand on how to FISH FOR MEN. We have been wanting to work for the Lord and serve Him, but didn't know how to go about doing it. The tools we received in this training are exactly what we have been needing. We fish up and down the coast of South America and come into contact with many people in our travels. Our desire is to be effective fishers of men to all the places God takes us. We now feel prepared for the task God has called us to.

Some would call the above a coincidence. But I firmly believe this was yet another answer to ten2b praying.

God heard our prayers for workers...

...coordinated our coming together with two fishermen just "passing through"
...the Lord choosing a remote fishing village that neither of us had ever been to before
...to a church that neither of us had ever set foot in before
...for a divine encounter with eternal consequences!

Such are the kinds of things that happen when we pray like Jesus commanded.

Bearing fruit in abundance

In Matthew 13:23 Jesus shares Divine insight, "And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty." 

To be able to bear and bring forth fruit it is absolutely necessary to understand what the Word of God is saying. Once understood, this Word has to be acted upon.

We assume people are understanding just because we have said the right words and they have smiled and nodded their heads. What has taken us a lifetime to understand and grasp, we expect those we are sharing the Gospel to instantly comprehend. Is it really a surprise when they don't?

The reality in many cases is something quite different than we intended. I have seen this over and over again. People tend to hear what they think you are saying, not necessarily what you are saying.

Another aspect of this is our tendency to believe people need lots of information before they can really "get it." Often, little of what I am trying to communicate is getting across. All my words are filtered through their own worldview, experiences, prejudices, upbringing, etc. How nice it would be if there were a way to get inside someone's brain and see what is really being understood!

Our message is also suspect in that our listeners often question or are confused by our motivations. Why are they here? Why are they telling me this? What do they really want out of me? What's in it for me if I accept their message?

Anyway, I think I'll go back and meditate a bit more on Matthew 13. A key missiological feature is the need for people to clearly understand the Gospel message. It is our responsibility to communicate that message clearly.

When our kingdoms get in the way of His Kingdom

Is there a connection between Acts 1:8 and Acts 8:1?

Jesus last words to his disciples before ascending to Heaven were, "but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

The apostles knew this teaching. They had undoubtedly taught it over and over to the growing Jerusalem church. Yet, only a small percentage of the thousands of believers seemed to be taking Jesus' words seriously. Interestingly enough, not even the apostles themselves seemed to grasp the magnitude of Jesus' words!

When Acts 1:8 begins to take a backseat, we shouldn't be surprised by an Acts 8:1 wake-up call.

Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him [Stephen] to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. (Acts 8:1)

In the midst of all that absorbs our attention:

health
work
family
social media
material possessions
entertainment
church, etc.

...as important as these are, we must remember that Jesus expects his followers to be about being his witnesses not only in each of our Jerusalems, but in Judea, Samaria, and unto the ends of the earth. Jesus loves and cares about those in Somalia, Haiti, Iran, and India as much as he loves us. His focus and love is not only for us, but also on the individuals (people just like us) in the nations. The priority of taking his message of love and salvation to all people groups on the face of the earth is a serious matter with our Lord.

Instead of using Jerusalem as our launching pad to Judea, Samaria, and the nations, we go the opposite direction. We start with our Jerusalem, segment down to our suburb, and from there to our own micro-worlds. Our kingdoms gets confused with His Kingdom.

But one way or another Jesus will make his name known to the nations. We can either willingly obey, or be persecuted and scattered. Both get the job done!

When our personal kingdoms and local Jerusalem consume all our time, energy, and resources, and do so at the expense of the Great Commission; it should not come as a surprise when the Father permits Acts 8:1 measures to get us out of our secure comfortable environments and out into his harvest fields.

At a "Cross Roads" over "Proof of Heaven"

Two books. Both take the soul out of the body and go places not been to before--the afterlife. One is fiction, the other a true story. In both narratives, the main character goes into a coma and emerges from the experience transformed by what is discovered in the spiritual world that lies beyond. I enjoyed both immensely, and hope you read both books!

There is something within us that draws us to the mysterious, the unknown. I love writers who are able to transport us into other realms where the profound questions of the meaning of life are explored. I relish anything that challenges me to think outside-the-box of my own small world. Two such books, listened to back-to-back, are the audio versions of William Paul Young's second novel Cross Roads and Eben Alexander's personal journey into the afterlife, Proof of Heaven.  The former is Young's long awaited follow-up to his 18-million bestselling novel, "The Shack." Alexander's book is a detailed recounting of what happened to him both physically and spiritually while in a coma for seven days.

Both narratives fall into the category of exploring the mysterious afterlife. Neither author questions whether or not life exists after death; but rather, seek to describe what the afterlife is like. Young, utilizing a fictional story, has greater freedom to explore this "other world" without having to justify every word, scene, and sentence. Alexander's recounting is tougher because what he describes of his experience of heaven is limited by having to share only what he personally saw, heard, felt, and experienced without additions. Add to these limitations, his "proof of heaven" is not distinctly a Christian Heaven, which can be a little disconcerting for someone like myself.

Needless to say, both are thought-provoking and explore the timeless questions about life, where we come from, where we are going, what happens after we die, is God real, and does God really love us individually and personally. I think both succeed in assuring us that Heaven is indeed real, and the afterlife is more real than life as we know it now.

Young and Alexander's writing engage the reader on multiple levels:

• theological--what does the Bible actually say about these things?
• physical--understanding the brain and our physical world what happens on a scientific level
• emotional--the power of our emotions and beliefs that directly affect the lives and choices we make in this life
• spiritual--the soul, the consciousness, our spirits and how all that "fits" inside our body

These four aspects intertwine themselves around two fascinating stories. Both narratives alternate back and forth between the heavenly regions and things as they are back here on earth. They explore choices made here on earth and how these affect what is going on in the "real world" beyond.  If the reader already believes in the afterlife, there is little doubt these two books will only strengthen that hope that lives within, as well as challenge those who might be skeptical.

While I was intrigued by Alexander’s recounting of what happened while he was "dead" for seven days, his experience of heaven was not distinctly Biblical. He even uses different terminology for God, heaven, angels, etc. While there is little doubt Alexander believes in God, what he describes is what one would expect from someone who is not familiar with the Biblical passages and language used in Scripture. He describes in detail meeting God (“the Core”) and learned many things about the universe, including how much we are all loved intimately by God, regardless of our past sins. If you have read Rob Bell's "Love Wins" several of the more controversial concepts he relates in his own exploration of heaven and hell are revisited in these two books.

Alexander didn’t see Jesus but describes in detail the afterlife as being a place of great beauty and peace. There is even an entire chapter entitled, "REAL" where he attempts to describe in human language things incomprehensible.  He likens the difficulty of relating his indescribable experience as if a chimpanze becomes human for one day and then reverts back to being a chimpanze and then trying to express to his fellow chipanzes what he experienced as a human. The language, words, concepts, dimensions are just not there to be able to express the unexressable. I couldn't help but think on Paul's difficulty as he too attempted to describe his own beyond this physical world experience...

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know--God knows. And I know that this man--whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows-- was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell.  (2Co 12:2-4)

I have often wondered if Paul's hearing inexpressible things "that a man is not permitted to tell" was meant only for him because of his pride issues (see the verses immediately following 2-4). But it also might be that we are not permitted to tell because we have not yet been given the vocabulary and understanding of what is beyond. To try and tell it as these authors have done falls short of the whole truth. Thus, any attempts to describe the indescribable might distort or cloud what really awaits us over on the other side.  A partial truth can be more dangerous that an outright lie.  Alexander repeatedly refers to his inability to put into language that which he saw, heard, felt, and experienced. In "Cross Roads" Paul Young is not restricted by language and thus is able to offer fascinating dialogues through the interactions of the main character with the beings he encounters in the other world. If you enjoyed the dialogues of Mack with the Godhead in "The Shack" you'll love "Cross Roads" in that, here too, Young has his main character posing the difficult questions of life, trying to make sense of a senseless world, and doing so with the only One who has the answers.

Anyway, be as it may be, these two books are very thought-provoking and are guaranteed to shake you up and rekindle interest (hope) in the next world that awaits us all.

C.L. Culpepper's audio testimony of the China Shantung Revival

This moving and powerful personal account by Southern Baptist missionary C.L. Culpepper of the Shantung Revival in China in the 1920's (one of the most remarkable mass moving of the Holy Spirit in history) continues to move and convict me each time I listen.

More than ever before, we need to be listening to the voices of these saints of old as they wrestled with personal sin and allowed the fullness of the Spirit of God to do what He so much wants to do--bring revival to his people! If only those of us who are called by His name, "will humble ourselves and pray and seek His face and turn from our wicked ways," then He promises to "hear from heaven, forgive our sin and heal our land."

This testimony is well worth the 50-minutes it will take to listen. Many believe this revival was the catalyst for the house church movement that has flourished in spite of communist persecution for nearly 75 years in China.


Podcast Powered By Podbean

If you aren't familiar with sermonindex.net it is a gold mine of free downloadable audio messages from the likes of A.W. Tozer, Leonard Ravenhill, Ray Steadman, Duncan Campbell, John Piper, David Wilkerson, T. Austin Sparks, and dozens more--even clips by William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army!

30, 60, and 100-fold

In the parable of the Sower (Matt. 13), seed was planted in four types of soil. Only one soil produced 100-fold. The norm is that only one in four people we disciple or train will be fruit-producing. To get a few fruit-producing disciples, we know many non-reproducing disciples will have to be trained. It is almost impossible to predict who these people will be. But God knows, and usually glorifies himself by using those "least likely to succeed" as the ones bearing 30, 60, and 100-fold.

What follows is an attempt to briefly describe how seed planted in the life of just one person has produced well over the 100-fold described in Matthew 13...

Marlene was a member of a local Baptist church in Guayaquil. For several years she tried to motivate her fellow brothers and sisters to be more engaged in evangelism, discipleship, and church planting. Excuses were always along the lines of "it is not in this year's budget," "we have a meeting planned to discuss this next month," "we have several outreach activities planned this year that will hopefully bring some new people into our church," "we don't have the money to plant a new church." No surprise that little to nothing was being done.

Marlene was part of an organic church planting training we were asked to do at her church through an invitation made to us by the pastor.

At the end of the training, Marlene respectfully requested permission to start a new house church, explaining to her pastor she wanted to put into practice what had been learned during the training. Her pastor gave his blessing.

Within a few weeks Marlene had won several friends and neighbors to the Lord through her house-to-house visitation, and through contacts made in her local business.

The first year Marlene baptized 18 and spent many hours discipling these new believers. They began meeting several times per week in Marlene's home as a new church start. The "mother church" with all their programs, budget, and paid ministry staff baptized three people that same year.

One of Maria's disciples was Martha. Martha employed a woman by the name of Monica to clean her house. Monica would share with Martha all the problems she was having at home with her husband and family. Martha offered to go to Monica's house and talk with her family. Martha invited Marlene to go with her.

Marlene and Martha listened to all the family problems and shared the Gospel with Monica and all the family she was able to gather to listen to the visitors. That evening Monica gave her heart to Jesus, as did her husband Medardo, and daughter Aneida.

Marlene and Martha continued to travel across town twice a week for several months discipling Monica, Medardo, and Aneida. Before long, Aneida's husband David joined the bunch, and the numbers started snowballing with nearly all of Monica and Medardo's families coming to know the Lord. [30-fold]

Soon Monica and Medardo had started a house church in their home. One day they came to me and asked if I would marry them. They thought if they were to continue to make disciples and start churches it was best they be married. So I married them, along with their daughter Aneida and David in a double wedding.

Within months, Monica and Medardo had started several new churches meeting in houses scattered throughout their community. They were now looked upon as the "wise ones" whom everyone would go to with their problems. [60-fold]

Aneida and David decided to begin witnessing to relatives located across town and start the work there by discipling family in the same way they had been discipled. A new church was planted there as well.

After several grueling months of daily discipling and planting several house churches in their neighborhood, Monica and Medardo decided to branch out to their Judea and Samaria. On alternate weekends they traveled out to a neighboring rural pueblo of Agua Fria (not real name) about three hours from Guayaquil. The weekend they were not in the pueblo, they were planting a new work in two distinct areas of Guayaquil where family members lived of people they were currently discipling. Always teaching the new believers just like they had been taught by Marlene. [100-fold]

After baptizing the first believers in Agua Fria, they left the work in the hands of their primary disciple, Juan (not his real name.) Juan did a great job until he fell into an adulterous relationship. At that point, grieved, Monica and Medardo took Juan and his wife into their own home for several weeks of restoration. Another brother was chosen to lead the new group in Agua Fria while Juan and his wife were being restored. (Church planting is often very messy!)

Monica and Medardo then decided that the Lord was leading them back to their hometown of Lomas to begin work there amongst the many people they knew. After spending their Sunday mornings working in Lomas, Sunday afternoons they teamed up with Marlene to train 30 new church planters in another town, Daule, not far from Lomas. Out of these 30, they are expecting about 7-8 to bear fruit. [100+-fold]

Things really start to grow exponentially when you realize we are only talking about one couple that Marlene discipled (Monica and Medardo.) When you begin looking at the discipleship/church planting lines of other people she has discipled/trained who are doing similar things, you begin to get the idea that maybe, just maybe, Ecuador can be won to Christ in this generation.

Here is a short video taken in May of this year of baptisms in just one of the many house churches started by Monica and Medardo. Almost everyone pictured in this video have their own lines of disciples/church planting, and all are the exponential fruit begun through Marlene's ministry. It is in their DNA to make disciples that make disciples.

Disciple-Making Movements - David Garrison

Inspiring stories of what God is doing around the world through disciple-making movements (CPM).


David Garrison: Disciple Making Movements Around The World Today [VERGE 2010 Main Session] from Verge Network on Vimeo.

Small is Big

I absolutely loved Small Is Big: Unleashing the Big Impact of Intentionally Small Churches by Tony & Felicity Dale and George Barna. This quick-reading book expresses so well in words what it is we are seeing first hand in our midst. I guess we aren't as crazy as people keep trying to make us!

So much within its pages resonates with our own experience. Tony, Felicity, and George have truly blessed us with a vivid, practical, and encouraging guide from church-as-we-know-it to church-as-God-wants-it (as W. Simson so aptly expresses it!) They have pulled this off without offending or speaking negatively against the Church at large.

Many today sense that there is a huge shift taking place globally. The Spirit of God seems to be "downsizing" the church in order to prepare her for the next (final?) stage of an unprecedented worldwide Kingdom harvest. Small is, indeed, the new big!

I like the way the authors lead us through the elements of simple church by sharing their own pilgrimage. One gets the sense that what is shared has been personally lived, and not just some scholarly dissertation arguing the virtues and values of simple church.

In essence, the "revolution" we are living today is summed up with their words:

The 16th Century Reformation was the result of a grassroots change in theology produced by ordinary people having access to the Scriptures in their own language. That Reformation is coming full circle in our day, only this time it is the church being put back into the hands of ordinary people, instead of the Bible.

"The objections [today] are similar as well: how can untrained and unqualified people run churches? Shouldn't that be reserved for the professional clergy? People who have jobs don't have the time to prepare a sermon, let alone get trained in hermeneutics. How are they going to prevent heresy? On what basis do they claim the authority to act as the church? Are they accountable to any higher church authorities? Can ordinary people administer the sacraments?"

The rest of the book deals with the practical matters of this already happening in tsunami proportions--a global reformation of the Church every bit as big as the theological reformation of the 16th century!

My own copy is totally marked and highlighted with the practical suggestions shared in this "return of the church to the people." For example, Acts 2:42 is used as a simple framework for this New-Old church order: 1) they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching, 2) fellowship with one another, 3) the breaking of bread together, and 4) to prayer. These four parameters offer a definition of what the Holy Spirit intends to happen when believers then, and now, gather.

While much of the book was an encouragement to me personally, what really got me thinking in this book is something that has long troubled me about the whole simple/house/organic church movement. While hard to put in words, it might best be described as LIQUID CHURCH vs SOLID CHURCH. Is the church intended to be a solid structure? Or a flowing, ever moving stream of living water?

Throughout the book, I found this concept intriguing. What has always bothered me is the short "shelf life" of the simple/house churches we have been associated with. Very few seem to survive more than a few years at best before "melting" back into water again. Coming from a "solid church" upbringing, if something planted (eg. a church) does not remain fixed and continue to grow, I tend to view it as a failure. What the Dales/Barna so masterfully show, though, is that these "church melts" are precisely the way the Spirit of God continues to permeate and impact society with the Gospel!

Flowing, living water was never intended to stagnate--or freeze!--into solid structures requiring huge amounts of maintenance to keep things going. We are meant to continually be on the move! Water--liquid church--is able to permeate into every crack and crevice of society. We reach our neighbors, co-workers--hey, the world!--not by asking them to come to our church, but by bringing the Kingdom of God right into their living rooms and work places!

Space and time do not permit me to further describe the implications of this, but suffice it to say, we often confuse the KINGDOM with the CHURCH, as if they were one and the same. Jesus clearly told us to seek first his Kingdom. We are commanded to make disciples of the nations. That is what we are to be about. Building the Church is HIS domain, not ours. A liquid/flowing/moving church will be able to extend His Kingdom to the ends of the earth 1000 times more efficiently than a solid church proudly boasting of having been rooted in the same location for the past 150 years!

I cannot conclude this review without at least mentioning three chapters of the book: "Pitfalls to Avoid"; "No Empire Building, No Control, and No Glory"; and "The Art of Rabbiteering." As the authors so aptly put it, there is real danger in brilliant substitutes for what God is doing, fashionable fads, movements without momentum, people without passion, leaders without a limp (as in Jacob), and reformation without revival. The Devil is always out there trying to divert church planting movements initiated by God's Spirit. Empire building, attempting to take control of what we see God doing, and wanting to share in the glory are real temptations to all of us observing this movement of the Holy Spirit.

It is for these three chapters, and the spirit of humility in which this book has been written, that I give "Small is Big" my highest recommendation. Even though I first read the book months ago, my head is still spinning with excitement at the implications of getting on board with the "rabbit" revolution of what God is doing. I want to be part of what Jesus is doing in giving birth to thousands of small, mobile churches that will impact the entire planet and usher in the Kingdom of God as intended from the beginning.

Get hold of a copy today!

When the event is not the event

The mind of man plans his way,

But the LORD directs his steps.(Prov. 16:9)

The events we plan are often not the real event at all. God's work takes place in ways we could never have forseen. After the dust settles, what remains is what God intended, not necessarily what we had set out to do. The event itself ends up as a "side show" for the main attraction God has in mind.


Israel Baptist Church Choir performance of "Libertado"

 Esmeraldas story. Some seventeen years ago we planned a musical choir evangelistic presentation in the northwest province of Esmeraldas in Ecuador. Long hours were spent in rehearsal. Money was raised to cover the ten-hour bus trip, hotel, and food. In short, countless hours of prayer, rehearsal and performance details were invested in the Esmeraldas outreach event. Once we arrived, even more work went into door to door publicity and a few mini-concerts held at local schools and other venues to promote the event.

On Saturday night we arrived at the rented hall--the largest venue available in town for what was supposed to be our big city-wide performance. After getting the electricity turned on, props, and sound check, instead of the hundreds of people that we expected there were less than a dozen present for the start of our musical presentation. I was disappointed to say the least. Did God not hear all the prayer, or honor all the work and effort into pulling this thing off? All that and for what? Less than a dozen people?

We went ahead and performed the program just like we had rehearsed over the past months. The choir outnumbered the audience four to one! At the end of the presentation, an invitation was made for people to make a public decision for Christ. I wasn't surprised when no one came forward. All I wanted to do was get out of there as quickly as possible and forget the whole disaster. How embarrasing!

As we packed to leave, two women approached and seemed to want to talk. I was in a bad mood and pretty ticked about the whole deal, so I turned them over to Chilean missionary Juan Lara while I went on with the business of packing up and getting everyone back on the bus to the hotel.

It wasn't until later that I again talked to Juan. What those women shared is that for YEARS they had been praying for someone to come to Esmeraldas to share the Gospel. Their "dream" was that God would somehow plant a church in their city. They were overjoyed that God had answered their prayers that evening and were looking forward to working with Juan to start the new church.

To make a long story short, a church was indeed planted, the "Nuevo Amanecer" (New Dawn) Baptist Church. Today it is one of the strongest churches in Esmeraldas impacting not only the city, but the entire province.

This past weekend was the first time we had been back to Esmeraldas since that disastrous evening. When invited to do the church planting conference, I had no idea this would be the church hosting the training. It wasn't until we got there on Friday night that our host grinned as he reminded me, "this is the church that was planted when you guys came for that concert ..." I was overwhelmed with emotion and could hardly believe all that God had done over the ensuing years as we met with the eager group of twenty-five pastors and leaders.

That night in Esmeraldas so long ago had been for us a complete failure humanly speaking. But God wasn't interested whether our performance was a success or failure, as much as he was in answering the prayers of a few women who had long been crying out to the Lord of the Harvest. God had so much more in mind than allowing us to sweep in and "bless Esmeraldas" with a fantastic weekend event. His plan was bigger than anything we could have ever imagined. Today, Nuevo Amanecer is the church most responsbile for training new leaders who are going out and starting new works all over the green province of Esmeraldas.

Since then whenever I plan a program/event/meeting, I try not to get too worked up about the numbers who show up, or the apparent visible outcome. God's ways are not our ways, nor his thoughts our thoughts. We try to be faithful to do our part. After years of these kinds of planned activities, I have learned that God's purposes often lie outside of our understanding. Often they have little to do with the event or activity we think is so important. It is not up to us to judge or measure what God does or doesn't do by our own standards.

Oswald Chambers put it well when he said, "God plants His saints in the most useless places.  We say God intends me to be here because I am so useful...God puts His saints where they will glorify Him, and are no judge at all of where that is.”

In your own life and ministry, have you seen instances where the event is not the event?

Our plans...His plans

A tension seems to exist between the plans we make and the plans God chooses to bless. In fact the Lord actually states it this way: "My thoughts and my ways are not like yours. Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, my thoughts and my ways are higher than yours." Is. 55:8-9 CEV

Like most organizations, the IMB stresses intentional ministry and a high level of accountability. Missionaries are expected to set goals, action plans, and work towards fulfilling them. We fill out annual ministry plans (called MAP--not sure what the letters stand for, but that is what it is called!) Every month we are to turn in monthly progress reports. I personally don't mind putting things down on paper. Knowing what one is trying to achieve and working towards ministry goals brings a sense of direction and satisfaction.

Only one problem though. Year after year, only a small percentage of what is put down on paper happens as it was envisioned. We plan, but He leads. As He leads, we follow. More often than not, He leads in directions we had not anticipated. I often think about what would happen if we just decided to stick to our plans as written in our documents, and not follow the Spirit's leading.

Most of what actually fills our days is closer to the idea of Paul and his companions experience as recorded in Acts 16:6-9...

Paul and his friends went through Phrygia and Galatia, but the Holy Spirit would not let them preach in Asia. After they arrived in Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not let them. So they went on through Mysia until they came to Troas. During the night, Paul had a vision of someone from Macedonia who was standing there and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us!"

I could write pages of examples going back years, but suffice it to say Paul and his companions might have sat down and planned to go to Phrygia, Galatia, Mysia and Bithynia, but it clearly says, "the Spirit of Jesus would not let them." How many times has the same Spirit of Jesus blocked our intentions of doing ministry in a certain way or place because He had something else in mind?

I find it interesting there is no indication of frustration and rebellion on the part of Paul and friends when their ministry goals in Asia didn't go according to plan. They just kept moving until God made it clear the what, when, and where He intended they go next. Why can't we be that way? Why so much insistence upon our own plans? Aren't His plans, His ways, and His thoughts better and higher than our own?

What usually happens when our plans don't come to fruition as envisioned is we double the effort, work harder, and plow forward insisting at all costs we be permitted into Phrygia and Bithynia. After all, Asia needs the Gospel and we know that it is just Satan that is standing in our way!

But Paul didn't blame Satan for not having been allowed to go to these places and do what he had planned. He understood it was Jesus who was calling the shots. I guess that is the difference between Paul and us today. We follow our MAP plans, Paul followed the Spirit of Jesus.

In the first two months of this year, we have already experienced multiple changes to "the plan." What we are doing today is almost 100% different than what was envisioned even a few weeks ago. One can choose to be frustrated by such dramatic and a seemingly ever-moving target, or accept it all as coming from the Spirit of Jesus. It really is a choice I have been having to make a lot these days!

How do you deal with this tension in ministry of making plans and following the Spirit's leading?

Christchurch earthquake

I am certainly not the first to notice the spiritual implications in the recent earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand.

As tragic as this event is, could the Christchurch earthquake be a true prophetic warning for Christ's Church? The physical and material devastation is one thing, but could God also be trying to say something to His Church?

I believe it is inevitable that very soon the church, as we know it, will be shaken not by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake, but by the very hand of God himself. Extreme opinion you might say. Yes. But how long can Christ's Church continue to be Man's Church? How long can one get away with ignoring God's Word, the Spirit's warnings, prophetic words, signs--not to mention sin, waste, inefficiency, empire building, disobedience, indifference to a lost world...and there not be consequences?

Arising out of the dust and fallen stones will be a new church. This re-reformed church will be the one the Spirit will use to bring in the final great harvest of souls before the end.

I envision a much leaner, smaller, simpler, rugged, lighter, faster, economical, efficient, and mobile church.

If it is indeed true that this pared down version of church-as-we-know-it will be God's primary instrument to bring the nations unto himself, why aren't we in full swing right now to work with Him to bring about these known changes that are needed?

While in no way do we diminish the real suffering and devastation of the Christchurch earthquake, I find within this tragedy a renewed hope that Jesus is not indifferent to the state of His Church today. I believe more than ever that major changes are ahead for Christ's Church. It is possible that these changes will take place after some kind of major earthquake reduces to dust and rubble the current institution we call 'church.'

This is one post that I hope I am wrong.

God have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
Lord have mercy on us all.

Kingdom work is done in seasons over time.

We speak of the harvest, but rarely take into account that seasons of plowing, planting, watering, and weeding precede harvest.

When we find ourselves in one of these pre-harvest seasons we need to be fully engaged in that phase of the harvest cycle. In between harvest cycles, there is little we can do other than pray and wait upon the Lord. Since apparently we don't see anything major happening, we assume nothing is taking place. But the Holy Spirit needs to be trusted. He is the One at work behind the scenes. Kingdom work is done in seasons over time.

Prayer must accompany each phase in the harvest, but all the prayer in the world won´t speed up the process. If we are in the "watering" period it does little good to fret and cry out to God because we still haven't seen fruit from our labors. We have a hard time accepting that prayer doesn't seem to be able to accelerate or change the planting cycle!

We want Kingdom matters to operate on our time schedule and conform to our expectations. When they don't we anguish, pray harder, and maybe make adjustments to the way we are working thinking that the fault is with us. If we can just do things better, correct our errors, then we will see the longed for harvest.

Often what we need is to do less and trust God more. He is at work in the invisible world to bring about all of his plans and purposes. In His time he will bring about His Kingdom.

Does "waiting on the Lord" mean sitting around doing nothing while we wait for the Lord to act?

I personally feel we can do only so much within a given season of the harvest. If it is plowing season, we can plow. If it is planting time, we should be throwing everything we have into getting that seed into the ground. Same goes for watering, weeding, and bringing in the harvest. But beyond doing what we can in the current cycle before us, there isn't a whole lot more we can do. So why stress, fret, and allow ourselves to anguish over things we have no control over?

The following 4-min. "Frog and Toad" story expresses well what I believe Paul was saying to the Corinthians, "So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth...for we are God's fellow-workers; you are God's field..."

The passion of the sheep

The following is taken from Mercy Simson's blog While We Slept. What she describes is a beautiful picture of the kind of relationship intended between shepherd and sheep.

The village where we live mostly consists of farmers who cultivate land, tend cattle and grow chicken and goose. A herd of cows or sheep grazing the meadows is a common sight here. One day as I was walking our dog along the fields, the herd of sheep that were grazing beside became restless and started to bleat. First I thought they were afraid of my big black dog, so I shortened the leash. Suddenly all the sheep started to move briskly towards one direction. For a slight second I thought perhaps they sense an earth quake. Now the bleating grew louder and the sheep became more restless. I kept walking past them, having a close eye on them.

Right around the corner, a tractor turned in. I could only hear its engine now. The farmer in the tractor greeted me with a smile and a nod as he passed by and slowly drove towards the sheep. By now the sheep were bleating louder and nonstop. I stood there for a while totally amazed. Not only the sheep will hear its master’s voice, modern day sheep can hear the noise of their master’s tractor as well. There are quite a lot of farmers in our village and some of the farmers have more than two tractors.

The farmer went inside the electrified fence and the sheep were so fulfilled. He patted some of them, each one wanted it to be known that “my master is mine; and I am his”. Each one wanted his touch. They crowded around him forever bleating just to get their master’s attention. Where ever he walked they followed. He took a little lamb into his arms and walked further, the mother followed him closely knowing full well, her little one is in safe hands. The farmer went once around the fence, checking carefully for any damages, he checked the water trough. He then went into the shed that was there and all the sheep just stood quietly outside except for a few that were still so excited to see their master come to them. All their eyes stayed focused on only one spot – the door. When he came out after a minute or two, they were happily bleating again. He brought out a salt block and put it out for them. They weren’t so interested in the salt block; they just wanted to be close to their master.

I found a wooden bench to sit and just watched the whole drama. Tears were flowing in my eyes and I started to pray for such a passion of the sheep towards my master. To graze the green pastures with a longing to hear him come, way before my eyes could see him; way before my mind could grasp him. A passion to see my master enter my world and to pat me. A passion to be drawn close to him and follow his every move. To feel safe in my master’s arm because he provides and he protects and he doesn’t threat.

The farmer got out and secured the fence carefully behind him. He sat in his tractor and drove past me with a smile and a nod. I nodded back to him and pretended a smile to hide my tears. I continued watching the sheep. They ran bleating adjacent to the tractor as far as the fence allowed them to as if to say, “come back”. Then they stopped. They saw the tractor disappear in their eyes. They kept on watching towards where the tractor disappeared hoping their master would change his mind and turn around any time now. They stood there for quite a while and their bleating slowly faded. Some started to walk towards the salt block, some went grazing, and some kept watching the far end of the muddy road.

I stood up from the wooden bench and walked past the sheep. I could almost hear their passion on their innocent faces ask, “If you see my master, will you tell him, I long to be in his presence?”

Church in the ashes

Here is a true story I heard yesterday from a fellow Ecuadorian church planter who works in a neighboring region of our province.

After training, Luisa was eager to get started. She had no where to go, and did not know where to start. After praying she was led to a tree. Her first gathering consisted of herself and two other girls. Luisa was ecstatic. She was on her way to becoming a church planter!

Two weeks later, the tree was cut down by the owner of the property. Luisa was devastated. She went to her church planting mentor and cried, "Now, what am I supposed to do? I have no where else to meet. The tree has been cut down."

Her wise mentor told her, "Thank the Lord! He has now provided you with a place to sit! Resume meeting in the branches of the fallen tree."

Luisa did so, and the group meeting continued to meet for a couple of more weeks. All was going well until the owner decided to burn the fallen tree.

Luisa went back and lamented, "Now what are we going to do? The owner has burned our tree. Now we don't have anywhere to sit when we gather."

Her mentor told her, "Go back and continue to meet amongst the ashes. Church is not the place, but the people the Lord has given you to work with. Trust God, He is with you."

Luisa did so. She and her little band of new believers continued to meet in the spot where now only ashes remained.

Meanwhile, the intrigued owner continued to wonder at the group that so faithfully gathered no matter what he did to the tree. Finally, he too began coming to the gatherings to learn more about what was going on.

After a few weeks, he too gave his heart to Jesus. With his new heart, he donated the portion of land where the church had been gathering. Since it is hot out in the equatorial sun, he also decided that it would be nice to build a shelter to meet under as well.

Luisa's "ash church" is the first this year of 25 that my new friend is praying for in 2011.

So many lessons can be learned from this story.

One that registered with me is that God often has to reduce our "trees" (works) to ashes before He can build his church amongst us.

Another goes along with the idea that set-backs, trials and even tragedy are often viewed as detriments to the work. More often than not, they end up being the very means God uses to accomplish His purposes.

What other lessons do you see in this story?

Lessons the Spirit taught me through his servant Luis

Luis had faithfully attended the training sessions for church planting. He lived across the river from Guayaquil in the neighboring city of Durán. In his local community, everyone knew the friendly Luis who operated a small business out of his home selling eggs, TP, bananas, rice, batteries, and other daily necessities.

Well into the training, Luis invited me to visit the Saturday evening gathering of friends, family, and neighbors.

I arrived about 15-minutes before the meeting was scheduled to begin. Luis was thrilled I had come and wrongly assumed I would be leading the meeting,

"It is so good that you have come, Bro. Guido, you can lead the meeting tonight..."

"No, Bro. Luis, I have come as a visitor and look forward to the blessing God has in store for us tonight. Besides, as your teacher, I'd like to see how some of the things we are practicing in class are working out for you with your new group."

"But what should I do?" he asked with a confused look on his face.

"Do it just like we practiced in the classroom this past week. Pick one of the ice breakers to loosen people up. Lead them in singing 2-3 songs that relate to the Bible Study. Talk about the message of the songs. Facilitate the Bible Study #4 making sure all participate. Close with a time of ministry praying for the various needs. Finish up serving refreshments and visiting with everyone...just like we practiced and talked about in class earlier this week."

Luis smiled and said, "Oh yeah, now I remember. No hay problema (no problem.) Let's do it. Are you ready to go?"

We walked across the street and entered a small room crowded already with some fifteen adults and a bunch of kids running in and out. There were 3-4 other believers present, but the rest were all people who Luis knew and had been visiting during the preceding days.

After greeting everyone, Luis's wife Rosa passed out songbooks and then led everyone in singing a couple of their favorites. I was a bit peeved that Luis had jumped straight to the songs instead of employing a fun icebreaker to ease the tension of those in the room who didn't know one another.

Not only did Luis skip the icebreaker, but he let Rosa choose songs that had no connection whatsoever with the 4th lesson. Then, instead of doing lesson #4, Luis flipped randomly through the pages of his Bible looking for some familiar passage, and proceeded to read out loud a few verses from one of the Gospels. Internally, I was totally frustrated with Luis that instead of following the simple meeting outline as he had been trained to do, he was just "winging it." If I were grading him, he certainly had earned an "F" by this time.

Luis then proceeded to share an "off-the-cuff" choppy commentary on what he had just read. Where was the group participation that we stressed so highly in training? My blood pressure was rising by the minute.

Suddenly, one of the visiting women stood and interrupted Luis's "sermon." She had tears in her eyes. I nearly fell off my chair when she began speaking...

"This is the first time in my life that the Gospel has been presented to me in such a clear and simple way. I truly understand now what Jesus did for me and I want to declare my allegiance to Him. What do I need to do to be saved?"

Luis walked over to the woman, smiled real big, and gave her a huge abrazo (hug.)

Then, out of Luis's mouth flowed the clearest presentation of the Gospel I had ever heard. The handful of believers present gathered around and led her in a prayer of repentance. When the "Amen" was said, everyone clapped. One by one everyone stood in line to abrazar and congratulate the their new sister in Christ. Even before everyone had finished hugging, someone picked up an out-of-tune cracked guitar and next thing I knew everyone was singing! Spontaneous prayers, testimonies, and more singing followed. As prayer requests were made, everyone would gather around the person and pray over them. In the middle of everything else going on, someone brought in mangoes to suck on. Soon it was hard to tell if we were still "in church" or had moved into the "social time."

And where was I during all this?

Sitting in the corner picking myself off the floor from the lessons the Holy Spirit was teaching me--the novice--about His ways not being our ways, and His thoughts not our thoughts.

That outreach group soon became a church and continued to do everything just about as opposite as possible from everything we were teaching. But out of that seemingly "chaotic mess" dozens of people were saved, baptized, and a local ekklesia was birthed.

The "rest of the story" of that church plant could be written up as a book, but suffice it to say, I learned several big lessons that evening.

1) Locals know their people better than the outside "experts."

2) People do not come to Christ by our methodologies (however good we think they may be.)

3) The importance of love and relationships developed with those one is trying to reach (Luis was a "10" on a scale of ten on this one.)

4) It is much easier gathering people (not-yet-believers) who live close by and presenting the Gospel to them all at once, than winning a bunch of individuals separately and then trying to gather them all in one place.

5) A simple atmosphere of warmth, acceptance, and informality is more appealing to those we are trying to reach with the Gospel than a programmed formal church service.

6) As good as our way of doing things might be, His way is better.

7) What works with one group may not work equally well with another group. In other words, one size does not fit all.

Any of these lessons resonate with your own experience? What are some of the lessons the Holy Spirit has been teaching you of late?

Victor Choudhrie's 21 steps to transit from being a barren church to a millionaire of souls (Part 2 of 2)

MEGA CHURCH TO META (Beyond) CHURCH
--21 Steps to transit from being a barren church to a millionaire of souls--

(Part 2 of 2)

by *Victor Choudhrie, 2010

11. Challenge purposeless churches to enunciate a clear vision and a road map to translate that vision into action plan to ‘do greater things than these’. Armed with maps, stats and the Great Commission, go two by two and teach divine arithmetic of planting just one multiplying church every month and in ten short months, even the least shall plant a thousand meta churches. John 14:12; Acts 16:5; Luke 10:1, 2; Isa 60:22

12. Unglue from the pews all those Christians who sit, soak and stagnate and send them to heal the sick, raise the dead, tread on snakes and scorpions (expel demons), bind the ‘strongman’, plunder his possessions and demolish the gates of Hell. Matt 11:12; 12:29; 16:18,19; Mark 16:17-18; Luke 10:19

13. Resurrect from being a dead organization to a living organism. Eliminate all extra-biblical cosmetic titles like Director, Chairman, CEO, and Secretary, by appointing five-fold ministry-gifted Elders, like apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers, as equippers. By feeding, leading and keeping the flock healthy and reproductive, they must reach those who are outside the fold. Eph. 4:11; Tit.1:5-9; John 10:16

14. Empower every Sunday school, bible school, prayer cell, women’s fellowship, and cottage meeting, by calling them full-fledged, authentic churches. They must make disciples who baptize, break bread, equip laborers and send missionaries and like the school of Tyrannus, change spiritual demography. 1 Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:15; Acts 19:8-12

15. Filter out selfish-goat church members who come only for hatching (baby baptism), matching (wedding) and dispatching (funeral), and replace them with sheep who take care of the hungry, thirsty, naked, strangers, sick and prisoners. Culling the non-productive barren sheep is a very important principle of sheep rearing. God chose David to shepherd Israel because he took care of “ewes great with young”. Matt. 25:31-46; Psalm 78:70-72

16. Simplify disciple making. Get a Bible and invite a couple of truth-seekers for a meal where the main dish is - The Lamb. Redefine authentic church as wherever two or three friends meet to eat, gossip the gospel, and to multiply. Meta church is the most cost effective strategy for city penetration and reaching the ends of the earth. Acts 2:46-47

17. Substitute seminary training by sharing the whole wisdom of God from house to house. Sound doctrine is the ability to convince those who oppose. The lost of this world do not need scholars as much as they need spiritual fathers and mothers who bring many spiritual sons and daughters to glory. Acts 20:20, 27; Tit. 1:9; 1Cor. 4:15; 2Tim. 2:2; Heb 2:10

18. Reorient your own personal paradigm. Your business, workplace or home, wherever you spend most of your time, is your ‘primary nuclear church’. It matters little whether you are the CEO, or the janitor or the kitchen queen, you are a full-time minister there and accountable. Adam and Eve were accountable for the Garden of Eden and failed.

19. Recognize ‘Hi, there,’ ‘Hello,’ handshaking, Sunday church as your ‘secondary optional church’. A church that does not send you out to ‘raise your holy hands to pray everywhere’ and equip you to make Christ ‘high and lifted up’ in your home, workplace and neighborhood is not worth going to. 1 Tim. 2:8; Isa. 6:1

20. Re-set your priorities to preach Christ where He has not been named. For this you do not have to go to church from Sunday to Sunday nor work from paycheck to paycheck. You are “ordained” to be fruitful, to multiply, and to fill your home/workplace/neighborhood and the city with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Matt. 6:33; Rom. 15:20; John 15:16; Gen. 1:28; Hab. 2:14

21. Adopt a ‘completion mindset’. Evaluate your ministry with the Great Commission as the mandate with the number of disciples made, baptized, equipped and sent out, as benchmarks. Aim to be a millionaire of souls. Why not? After all, you claim to believe in a great and awesome God for whom nothing is impossible. At the very least, like Peter, shoot for 3000 baptisms by every Pentecost. Or like Paul, plant a multiplying church every day and claim that there are no more places left here for me to ‘fully preach the gospel’, not just with words, ‘but with signs and mighty deeds’. Acts 2:41; 16:5; Rom. 15:19, 23.

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*Victor Choudhrie is a cancer surgeon by profession. He is a Senior Fellow of the American and British Colleges of Surgeons. He left his position as Director and CEO of the Christian Medical college, Ludhiana, Punjab, India, in 1992, to take up a full-time Church planting ministry in central India. His wife, Bindu, is also in a full-time church planting ministry, equipping women to be house-church leaders and trainers. They now have disciples making disciples in some forty countries. Theirs is presently amongst the fastest growing movements deploying volunteers with no paid workers in the field. God has blessed this ministry abundantly. In the year from Pentecost 2009 to Pentecost 2010, over one million underwent a ‘holy dip’ through their ministry partners. Large numbers of grassroots level leaders have been trained, who, subsequently, have planted tens of thousands of house churches across India and abroad.

Books written by Victor Choudhrie include: The Ekklesia, the Church in your House; The Apostolic Gardens; The Prayer Warrior; Teaching Cards and From Mega Church to Meta (Beyond) Church soon to be published. Electronic copies are available on payment of US $10 via PayPal: vchoudhrie@gmail.com

Victor Choudhrie's 21 steps to transit from being a barren church to a millionaire of souls (Part 1 of 2)

*Victor Choudhrie's 21 steps might sound like something coming from some fringe extremists. But when you realize that from Pentecost 2009 to Pentecost 2010 we are talking about ministry resulting in over one million people baptized and tens of thousands of house churches planted, these guys have my attention. What other ministry anywhere in the world even comes close to a tenth of what these Jesus radicals are experiencing today in India?

MEGA CHURCH TO META (Beyond) CHURCH
--21 Steps to transit from being a barren church to a millionaire of souls--
(Part 1 of 2)
by Victor Choudhrie, 2010

1. Rewrite the job description of professional clergy from a pulpit orator, sacrament dispenser and tithe gatherer to a shepherd who feeds his flock to be healthy and reproducing by encouraging them to practice priesthood of all believers with authority to baptize, break bread and equip fishers of men. He must model a flat church structure where brothers and sisters submit to one another, pray one for another, serve one another, exhort, forgive and love each other. John 13:34, 35; Matt.18:21-22; Eph. 5:21

2. Move from meeting in temples to gathering in ‘houses of peace’. ‘God does not dwell in temples made by human hands’; rather He dwells in human hearts. For we are the mobile walking and talking temples of the living God, with a maximum of organism and a minimum of organization. Luke 10:5-9; Matt. 10:11-13; Acts 7:48-49; 2 Cor. 6:16

3. Phase out programmed Sunday ‘services’ while implementing informal, small gatherings. The Bride of Christ must have intimacy with her Lord every day, not only for a couple of hours a week, lest she become unfaithful. However, discourage cross-gender disciple-making, lest chemistry foul things up. Acts 2:46-47; Hebrew 3:13

4. Replace Mosaic tithing with Christian sharing, thereby harnessing the enormous, financial resources, hospitality and goodwill available in Christian homes. Believe that God is going to work a work among the nations through you which will leave you utterly amazed, and also provide resources for it. Deut. 8:17-18; Acts 5:32-34; Hab. 1:5

5. Dispense with wafer-and-sip Holy Communion services, and promote breaking of bread with simple Agape meals (love feasts) from house to house that believers take together with glad hearts, so the Lord can add to His numbers daily. Acts 2:46,47; 1 Cor.11:20-23

6. Replace professional music with believers speaking to each other in psalms and spiritual songs, making melody in their hearts to the Lord. OT worship required the sacrifice of four-footed beasts, the NT celebrates by offering two legged Gentiles as a living sacrifice. The meta church is a discipling hub and not a singing club. Eph 5:19; Col 3:16; Rom. 15:16

7. Shift from spectator-oriented church to ‘metastasizing’ interactive, participatory, prophetic church. Empower men, women and youth, to get the dragon off the driver’s seat. We, the seed of Abraham are blessed, “with multiplying I will multiply you and your seed will possess the gates of the enemy”.  
1 Cor.14:26-31; Acts 13:13;18:4; Gen. 22:17,18

8. For powerful synergy, metamorphose mega churches into city, regional and national, networks of ‘meta’ (beyond) churches. Instead of bringing everyone under one roof, have them gather under thousand roofs, just like the mega church at Jerusalem planted meta churches across Judea, Samaria, Antioch, Corinth, Rome and beyond (meta) that grew in faith and in numbers (both quality and quantity) daily. Romans 16:3-15; Acts 1:8; 16:5

9. Infect barren Bride with the multiplication virus. A healthy mature female (Bride) implies that she is ready to have babies. Rebecca the Bride of Isaac was blessed by her family to have millions of children. The time has come for the Bride of Christ to stretch her tent to the left and to the right and to the north and to the south and produce millions of meta churches and fill the earth. Gen. 24:60; Isa. 54:1-5; Acts 1: 8

10. Know your identity in Christ: you are a royal-priest; made so by the blood of the Lamb. Dismantle ‘Reverend’ culture that divides clergy from layman. Like Melchizedek, the royal-priest of Salem (city of peace), who served bread and wine, took tithe and blessed Abraham, bring godly governance to your city. Catch the vision of cloning royal-priests for every city and run with it. 1Pet.2:9; Rev.5:10; Hab.2:1-3; Isa. 9:6-7; Gen. 14:18

------------------
*Victor Choudhrie is a cancer surgeon by profession. He is a Senior Fellow of the American and British Colleges of Surgeons. He left his position as Director and CEO of the Christian Medical college, Ludhiana, Punjab, India, in 1992, to take up a full-time Church planting ministry in central India. His wife, Bindu, is also in a full-time church planting ministry, equipping women to be house-church leaders and trainers. They now have disciples making disciples in some forty countries. Theirs is presently amongst the fastest growing movements deploying volunteers with no paid workers in the field. God has blessed this ministry abundantly. In the year from Pentecost 2009 to Pentecost 2010, over one million underwent a ‘holy dip’ through their ministry partners. Large numbers of grassroots level leaders have been trained, who, subsequently, have planted tens of thousands of house churches across India and abroad.

Books written by Victor Choudhrie include: The Ekklesia, the Church in your House; The Apostolic Gardens; The Prayer Warrior; Teaching Cards and From Mega Church to Meta (Beyond) Church soon to be published. Electronic copies are available on payment of US $10 via PayPal: vchoudhrie@gmail.com