Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. Mark 1:38-39 Have a look at this map of first century Galilee. It’s rare to see such detail in map of [...]
Monthly Archives: September 2010
Best books on Movements
22 September, 2010 – 9:06 PM
I’ve published a list of what I regard as the top books on Movements. A mixture of biblical, sociological, organizational, and historical studies. Happy reading!
Not for the faint hearted
22 September, 2010 – 2:03 AM
Ever wonder why there are so few church planting movements (CPMs) in the west? One of the reasons is we’re just not doing the basics—CPM 101. These are the questions Barney asks the workers he’s supervising every month. These workers are not just planting churches. Their calling is to fuel CPMs. The expectations are high. [...]
The rising tide of Chinese Christianity
18 September, 2010 – 9:40 AM
NPR reports on one of the most amazing advances in the history of the Christian movement. The missionaries planted the seed of the gospel but it’s the Chinese themselves, largely without foreign interference, who are reaching their nation. The current estimate is 100,000,000 followers of Jesus in China today. We have much to learn from [...]
Seven themes of fruitfulness
17 September, 2010 – 6:01 AM
In March 2007, a group of 300 practitioners met for five days in Southeast Asia to discuss what the Spirit is doing as they seek to facilitate communities of Jesus-followers among Muslims. A list of the findings: 1. Sharing the Hope within: Fluency 2. Engaging Hearts and Minds: Storying 3. Exemplary Lifestyle: Reputation 4. Redemptive [...]
It’s 5:21am in the morning. . .
15 September, 2010 – 5:08 AM
I got up this morning before 5:00am to drive across town with Dave Lawton for a prayer meeting with his church planters. Along the way we talked about making disciples and planting churches in Melbourne, Australia. After the interview and a coffee we gathered to pray. Dave pulled out a whiteboard and drew on it [...]
Kingdom without borders
14 September, 2010 – 2:17 AM
Miriam Adeney tells the story of how the gospel saved a whole people from annihilation. In Borneo, in the middle of the nineteenth century the British governor prohibited head-hunting and improved agricultural methods. More rice and freedom from fear led to more fermented beverages, partying and heavy drinking. Alcoholism became a major scourge, families were [...]
Anyone for a walk?
9 September, 2010 – 11:22 PM
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is [...]
Emerging doubt (continued)
8 September, 2010 – 12:17 AM
I’ve always had my doubts . . . Four years ago emerging church leader, Brian McLaren, called for a five year moratorium on making pronouncements about homosexuality. He felt time was needed to consult “scholars in biblical studies, theology, ethics, psychology, genetics, sociology, and related fields.” With a year remaining on his moratorium, McLaren has [...]
Sparking CPMs: 1. Head.
2 September, 2010 – 8:46 PM
I caught up with Barney via skype recently and talked to him about the qualities required to spark church planting movements. He gave me four that he looks for: 1. Head: Knowing 2. Heart: Being 3. Hands: Doing 4. House: Relating In this podcast he introduces the first one—Head: Knowing. You can download the mp3 [...]
