Learning to preach

I was just reviewing my notes from slingshot which is a short leadership training course held by Youth with a Mission (YWAM). These notes are a bit scattered and following the trail of someone's thoughts but i found it an incredible help when thinking about sharing my faith especially as I often find it difficult talking about jesus to non believers who might well want to have their own living relationship with the Lord.

Please let me know your thoughts to add love to get some advice on this . Thank you.

What would you imagine, what comes to mind, if I were to tell you that I spent today preaching?

These passages look similar but are different. Mark 16:15 says preach. Preach means communicate. Make it understandable, make it clear. Ask questions. Get clarification. Build bridges in your communication...seek out culturally sensitive ways to enter into conversation and bring the gospel. There’s no virtue in being ‘right’ and alienating people from the Kingdom of God. Seek to have integrity with your communication (don’t lie or trick), but seek God’s wisdom in the way you communicate. Rarely do you win people into the Kingdom through theological arguments. Know your audience. This relates to the apostolic calling in missions.

Keys to reaching the lost/preaching the gospel:
Listen to God
Ask questions and listen to the person you’re speaking to.
Be sensitive, allow the spirit to move and speak into the situation.

For example: When people say they don’t believe in God, ask them to describe the god they don’t believe in.

Go is a command. It is outward focused.
Ref. Celtic church in Ireland. Small buildings just used for storage of precious documents. The congregation and the pulpit and alter were outside.

The church is the only institution that is created to serve non-members.

We have a commission to communicate the message of the gospel to every person. This is do-able in every generation. We have failed to fulfil his calling.

→ Reaching the masses. A message for everyone. Monogenerational (has to happen in one generation (those alive at this time)). Has to be done with great urgency.

Matthew 28:18-20
Matthew 28:18-20 says disciple, not preach. Disciple is a verb in this context. “To shape, form, change, mould, transform.” Imagine a blacksmith moulding metal under great heat.

Much longer process than preaching. Takes a lifetime to be effective.

→ The command is to disciple every nation. Corporate. Going deep. Multigenerational (takes place over several generations, as a nation spans more than one generation). It’s strategic.

Day 3
Leadership. Leaders should be “blameless” - Titus 1 explains how.

God says ‘no’ and he says ‘yes’. Allow him to do both and trust him. Believe in his character and nature when the ‘no’ doesn’t make sense. The first thing that God highlights yes is to hospitality.

Hospitality = welcome/love the stranger in your midst. This applies especially to those who are different to you.

We need to work in our different giftings. When we ‘flow’ in our giftings, we won’t necessarily appreciate it, because it is so natural for us to do.

God has multi-generational purposes. Most organisations don’t survive beyond the third generation because of the disobedience of the second generation. There is a mandate on the second generation to be sacrificial (not being ‘known’ or famous). Being obedient to investing the clear values and foundations as laid out by the first generation and passing it on faithfully to the third generation, teaching them the things of the foundation.

Loren & Darlene – ‘Abraham/first Generation’
David Hamilton et al – ‘Isaac/second Generation’
Slingshot – ‘Jacob/third generation’

There are lots of apostles around but they haven’t built anything. It’s the building of the team and ministry that gives something its apostolic calling, where the apostle passes his calling/giftings on to the corporate.

“We have not achieved the great commission because we haven’t aimed high enough. I would suggest we set a 6 year goal → aim to reach the entire world. Repeat the next 6 years. Repeat the next 6 years.”

Reasons:
3 x 6 = 18, therefore we can reach a generation over 18 years
It takes average of three times of presenting the gospel for someone to respond.

To make this happen, we need to be more purposeful, bolder, more intentional. It is do-able.

376 non believers, for every Christian on earth in John’s time
Now: 5 non believers, for every Christian on earth.

It is a great time to be positioned to bring the gospel to this generation. That is why God is raising up a Jacob generation.

Christian Magna Carta. Important to know and learn. Know that it came with God and Loren in partnership. Intentionally not included finances – money is just a tool, it doesn’t bring fulfilment in and of itself.

). These notes are a bit scattered and following the trail of someone's thoughts but i found it an incredible help when thinking about sharing my faith especially as I often find it difficult talking about jesus to non believers who might well want to have their own living relationship with the Lord.
Please let me know your thoughts to add love to get some advice on this . Thank you.

What would you imagine, what comes to mind, if I were to tell you that I spent today preaching?

These passages look similar but are different. Mark 16:15 says preach. Preach means communicate. Make it understandable, make it clear. Ask questions. Get clarification. Build bridges in your communication...seek out culturally sensitive ways to enter into conversation and bring the gospel. There’s no virtue in being ‘right’ and alienating people from the Kingdom of God. Seek to have integrity with your communication (don’t lie or trick), but seek God’s wisdom in the way you communicate. Rarely do you win people into the Kingdom through theological arguments. Know your audience. This relates to the apostolic calling in missions.

Keys to reaching the lost/preaching the gospel:
Listen to God
Ask questions and listen to the person you’re speaking to.
Be sensitive, allow the spirit to move and speak into the situation.

For example: When people say they don’t believe in God, ask them to describe the god they don’t believe in.

Go is a command. It is outward focused.
Ref. Celtic church in Ireland. Small buildings just used for storage of precious documents. The congregation and the pulpit and alter were outside.

The church is the only institution that is created to serve non-members.

We have a commission to communicate the message of the gospel to every person. This is do-able in every generation. We have failed to fulfil his calling.

→ Reaching the masses. A message for everyone. Monogenerational (has to happen in one generation (those alive at this time)). Has to be done with great urgency.

Matthew 28:18-20
Matthew 28:18-20 says disciple, not preach. Disciple is a verb in this context. “To shape, form, change, mould, transform.” Imagine a blacksmith moulding metal under great heat.

Much longer process than preaching. Takes a lifetime to be effective.

→ The command is to disciple every nation. Corporate. Going deep. Multigenerational (takes place over several generations, as a nation spans more than one generation). It’s strategic.

Day 3
Leadership. Leaders should be “blameless” - Titus 1 explains how.

God says ‘no’ and he says ‘yes’. Allow him to do both and trust him. Believe in his character and nature when the ‘no’ doesn’t make sense. The first thing that God highlights yes is to hospitality.

Hospitality = welcome/love the stranger in your midst. This applies especially to those who are different to you.

We need to work in our different giftings. When we ‘flow’ in our giftings, we won’t necessarily appreciate it, because it is so natural for us to do.

God has multi-generational purposes. Most organisations don’t survive beyond the third generation because of the disobedience of the second generation. There is a mandate on the second generation to be sacrificial (not being ‘known’ or famous). Being obedient to investing the clear values and foundations as laid out by the first generation and passing it on faithfully to the third generation, teaching them the things of the foundation.

Loren & Darlene – ‘Abraham/first Generation’
David Hamilton et al – ‘Isaac/second Generation’
Slingshot – ‘Jacob/third generation’

There are lots of apostles around but they haven’t built anything. It’s the building of the team and ministry that gives something its apostolic calling, where the apostle passes his calling/giftings on to the corporate.

“We have not achieved the great commission because we haven’t aimed high enough. I would suggest we set a 6 year goal → aim to reach the entire world. Repeat the next 6 years. Repeat the next 6 years.”

Reasons:
3 x 6 = 18, therefore we can reach a generation over 18 years
It takes average of three times of presenting the gospel for someone to respond.

To make this happen, we need to be more purposeful, bolder, more intentional. It is do-able.

376 non believers, for every Christian on earth in John’s time
Now: 5 non believers, for every Christian on earth.

It is a great time to be positioned to bring the gospel to this generation. That is why God is raising up a Jacob generation.

Christian Magna Carta. Important to know and learn. Know that it came with God and Loren in partnership. Intentionally not included finances – money is just a tool, it doesn’t bring fulfilment in and of itself.

Waiting on the Lord

God has given me immense guidance this year. Much of it has been a sense of peace, assurance and hope, as I wait on him.

As we come to the end of 2013, it's great to reflect on what God has been doing among us and how things have developed this year. Though it's been a busy year, much of it has been spent on my knees, before God, asking him what next. He's been pretty quiet on what I need to do to take steps forward in the ministry. However, the big words he has said to me are: "Trust me, wait on me...". In the time when my team has been decimated due to finances and other logistical problems, much of my time is spent alone, just seeking God and doing small steps towards the things he guides me to do. I know that there is a massive undertaking to be done on this continent if I am to complete the task I believe he has given me to do. However, I'm assured by Him that rushing ahead without first seeking Him and waiting on Him would be fruitless!

So it's a time to carry on with the everyday: paying the bills, taking small steps forward and daily bowing my knees before Him in adoration, thanks and praise; pleas for guidance and putting everything that I am doing today in His hands.

Thank you Lord for a blessed 2013. May You guide me into 2014.

Saying Goodbye to Madiba

It's strange being in a country when you're the foreigner at the best of times. But it's especially strange when the country, as a whole, is going through something very significant.

We arrived from a three month trip to the UK and within a week, Nelson Mandela had died. Though it was long anticipated, the nation went into a measured state of shock as they came to terms with the passing of such an influential and loved figure of this nation. Madiba, as he's affectionately known, is widely loved and, many say, is the reason that peace remained with no uprising or bloodshed following the fall of Apartheid nearly 20 years ago.

At YWAM, our leader has encouraged us - whatever country we come from - to be in touch with the state of the nation and be respectful of those around us who are mourning at this time. We, as a family, have chosen during the commemorative activities to hold back from parties or celebrations, to show respect to those around us. We have also spent time reading the local newspapers and watching the events on TV so that we can 'tune in' to what is being said about this great father-figure, so loved by the South African people.

We went down to the V&A Waterfront last week to pay respects at one of the many posts available to do so. There were many queueing to sign the book of remembrance and laying flowers at his statue which stands next to other Nobel Peace prize winners, Albert Luthuli, former president of the African National Congress, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and the last president of the old South Africa FW de Klerk. It was a sober occasion with many just taking a moment of quiet by his statue to respectfully say good-bye to Tata Madiba.

It is in this light that we have chosen not to enter into discussions on the web and elsewhere about Madiba's salvation, or political activities or anything controversial. Rather, being sensitive to the state of this sometimes fragile nation, pay our own respects to Nelson Mandela. He was, in so many ways, a great man. And though I won't attempt to analyse his own personal faith, I will say one thing: the fruit of what he has achieved, though diligence, discipline, a good work ethic, a listening hear, humility and forgiveness is something that should be greatly admired, and sought after. We have a lot to thank God for, that this man has achieved and we mourn his loss with the beautiful nation of South Africa.

Jesus take the wheel

We were discussing this morning in the office about what it means to fully submit to Jesus. We were observing how, in many cases, we have seen people fully embrace the Christian life and become famous as they go Holy Spirit 'crazy', but quickly stumble in their personal life through affairs, embezzling funds and other sinful activities in secret.

Giving up your will for his is not about willfully losing control or letting God do everything for us. It's just a simple re-allignment in our mental process to say: I am no longer submitting to my own authority, but to his. I must still walk on this earth and engage with the world as I see it, but I no longer allow it, or my own will, to determine what I do and how I do it.

The great piece of advise someone once gave to me when I am tempted by sinful thoughts, is to say: "I have permisson from my father not to do this act." Suddenly the thoughts and feeling dim down and I am able to think clearly again. That is willful submission to the authority that is my Father in Heaven.

In Carrie Underwood's song, Jesus Take The Wheel, she shows a wonderful abandonment to Jesus at the moment when it's vital to do it. She recognises that, a submission to God means that once she had hit back ice and the car was spinning out of control, and she needed a supernatural intervention, she knew that He was there to step in. There are times when we desperately need the Holy Spirit to act on our behalf, other times we just choose to submit to His wisdom and then act on that, submitting our minds, hearts and thoughts and will to His.

We still need to drive the car, though!

Daring to dream big

Dreaming big. What is that?

Noah trusted God

In our humdrum everyday lives (yes, even us in so-called 'missions' have those too), it's very easy to get caught in the mundane and lose track of what we are called to.

Today, in the staff meeting, the leader, Hans, encouraged us to remember (and ask God to help us remember) the great things that we should be thankful for this year. This was hard for many, who felt the negatives of the year so easily come to mind!

Yet, remembering is an important part of the Christian walk. God answers prayers daily, but we forget and still hold onto areas where we feel that He has been absent. Remembering the good things God has done for us helps us to have perspective on the present and have hope for the future.

There is a certain higher calling that we have when we know Jesus. It's not to (in our own strength) bring him into our workplaces, home lives, schools and social activities. He's not an 'add-on' or an extra app that we simply download daily and live towards. No, it's a radical calling to give up everything to follow him. It's turning our world upside down and saying, I am no longer my own, but His. This is a radical transforming of our very being from living for ourselves, to living for Christ. If we recognise this Sonship and the authority that it carries, then we will soon recognise the need to lay ourselves down, yes, even our own hopes and dreams, and drop everything to follow him, just as He did for us through the cross.

This, as we saw from the encounters with the first disciples, is a process. A process that we must be willing to go through, if we are to see communities around us transformed by His love; if we are to experience and know the inheritance for which He promises us.

God is calling me to dream big right now. To allow Him to speak into my life in a whole new way. The reality of what I see around me, does not match what He has promised. My job seems impossible - to connect missionaries across the continent to fulfil their calling. I'm not African, I cannot speak any African languages. There are many many other factors which I could list which say: I am not qualified or able to complete this job. However, I am willing to dream big and trust the His goodness, mercy and will are good and I can trust Him. I'm learning how to lay everything down for the sake of following him. But it starts by trusting the one who asks me to lay everything down: Jesus.

Do you trust Him enough to do this? I, myself, am a work in progress! It's a brave new world!

Back in Muizenberg

We've just returned from a trip to Europe (UK, Germany and Holland) to see supporters, friends and family. It was a busy trip which, any missionary will know, was far from a 'holiday'. It doesn't stop people from asking when (albeit exhausted) you return to the place of ministry (for us, South Africa) and people ask "Did you have a nice holiday?".

Nonetheless, we're back and ready to get going. I return to an office where the internet has dropped down to a crawl, the telephone doesn't work and there is a massive pile of messages/post/paperwork to go through. It looks like my work is cut out for me from now until Christmas just catching up on what I missed, paying bills, replying to emails and generally sorting stuff out! Here I am, pulling a selfie at the computer whilst writing this blog post!