Rick’s Journey from ‘Movement Soup’ to Movement
When Rick arrived in the Middle East, he had a vision for movements of disciples and churches, but didn’t know how.
He called it his ‘movement soup’ — a mixture of principles and strategies he’d never applied.
Then he met James.
James had turned vision into action, seeing multiplying disciples and churches.
James told him, ‘The best way to learn is to join me in the work.’ Rick began following James around, doing evangelism, making disciples and coaching leaders.
James gave Rick an assignment to train a Lebanese believer.
Abood had been a believer for a few years, but no one had discipled him. The only option he’d been given was to leave his Muslim neighborhood and move into a Christian neighborhood where he could attend a church. Once he’d done that, he’d be a marked man. He could never go back to his neighborhood.
Rick took Abood through the Commands of Christ. A series of discovery studies on discipleship.
He had Abood draw an oikos map of his relationships — his wife, best friends, and closest relatives.
Abood had never shared with any of them.
Rick taught him a simple gospel outline, but based on past behavior, he didn’t Abood would share.
James encouraged Rick to persist.
A month later, Abood had shared with six Syrian refugees. One was ready for baptism and there had been one attempt on his life.
He still hadn’t shared with his wife.
Rick urged Abood to train disciples who make disciples. Abood caught the vision and within a year he had a band of 25 he had trained to make disciples.
Now there was a new problem. The Syrian refugees were working 14-16 hour days. They had one or two days off each month. They had no time to meet and form churches.
They saw the challenge and prayed for a breakthrough.
A few days later, pagers began exploding in people’s pockets. The war had begun between Israel and Hezbollah.
Many refugees fled back to Syria, taking the gospel with them.
For those who remained, Abood and Rick provided safe houses. ‘They were unemployed with nothing else to do but read the Bible and do church every day.’
The pair thought, The guys can live together and we can train them in the four fields — gospel, making disciples, planting churches, and developing leaders.
Meanwhile, reports began coming in from the disciples who returned to Syria.
The population was weary after years of war and hungry for the gospel.
The mother of one leader was dying of cancer. He was sharing with others but was afraid to share with his family. He thought, If I share with strangers, they might get mad and beat me up. But if I share with family, it could cost my life. I don’t want to be rejected by the people I love.
Finally, he summoned the courage to share with his mother in the hospital. She was angry, ‘Why have you not told me this news yet? You see what Islam has done to our country — the destruction, the killing!’
She chose to follow Jesus in those last days of her life.
Despite the danger, Abood decided to visit the disciples and churches in Syria. Rick helped prepare him using the 100, 50, zero approach.
100: You watch me train 100%.
50: We train together 50/50.
Zero: You train 100% with your disciples, then 50 then zero.
As Abood was preparing, the Assad regime fell and the civil war ended. Abood arrived a few days later.
Abood now has a network of around 1,000 disciples in ten provinces.
Back in Lebanon, Abood finally shared with his family. They rejected him and threatened to kill him. He came to Rick distressed, ‘You’ve got to help me get fake passports for my wife and I. We have to escape!’
Rick challenged him to go back to God to find out whether this desire came from fear or from God. Abood went away and prayed and concluded that the plan to run away was from Satan.
Finally, he told his wife he was following Jesus. She was furious. They separated, but only for a short time. She loves him and wants to be with him, but is not ready to follow Jesus. They keep talking and recently, she asked for a Bible.
Abood has formed a leadership group from the disciples he’s trained. They own the strategy to multiply churches in every province of Lebanon and Syria.
Airstrikes continue every day in the city. People are fed up with war. They're fed up with a religion that tells them to hate.
They want to know who God really is, because tomorrow they might be dead,
