Homemade Churches

“So many Christians have been saying recently: the established ways of worship aren’t working anymore. “

“What’s going on is a kind of deinstitutionalization of religious life,” says Gary Laderman, professor of American religious history at Emory University and author of Sacred Matters.

- Lisa Miller

Have you ever attended religious services in someone’s home? Maybe there’s one for you right next door. A friend Robert Fitts Sr. often predict ‘that in these last days home churches is springing up all over t he world.” Paul Veiera has written this interesting book called “Jesus Has left the Building” and there’s another prolific writer penned a book called “The Church Has Left the Building.”  What is happening around church circles? Don’t be shock, it is God moving away from temple building paradigms of worship to temple body, which is His Ekklesia, meeting in homes as family.

Search the web for “house churches,” “simple churches,” “organic churches,” “home churches,” and they are everywhere. Testimonies of leaders, pastors even of after 40 years of maintaining church members attendance and spirituality are leaving with unprecedented  numbers. These are indeed alarming signs saying, “Hey, it’s time to rethink why we’re doing what we’re doing.”

In the U.S. the number of people attending church in the homes exceeds of that the number of Atheist!  [Newsweek by Lisa Miller]

Unlike before that church people are leaving their church because they have backslidden, fair reason. But now people are leaving as it might be their reason to backslide. [New Zealand pastor Alan Jamieson, author of the book A Churchless Faith has its stunning surveys along with George Barna. See my article on BEING CHURCH.]

And here is my friend Wolfy’s statistics shows of what is going on around the world:

India has 1,000,000 house churches

Pakistan has 10,000

Bangladish has 80,000

Egypt has 6,000

Israel has 400

Middle East, exluding Israel and Egypt has 10,000

United States has 60,000

Canada 5,000

Spain has 400

Switzerland has 800

Germany has 3,000

Austria has 200

Albania has 100

Finland has 300

Philippines has 5,000

Indonesia has 70,000

Australia has 2,500

Myanmar has 5,500

“Soon the former caterpillar [the church as we know it]” as Wolfy added, “will break forth and show itself as a startling butterfly [the church as God wants it].”

How Does This Affect Our View of Church?

Nothing to be afraid of as they are just numbers eh? Yeah, millions of numbers as in the U.S. alone the number of Christians getting out of their church every year is one million! In my country as I do a lot of traveling, interviewing different people, there are hundreds of people are leaving church or say, are ready to leave it if they found a different way of doing church. It just shows how unsatisfactory conventional churches are these days, “relevant no more” they say. Marcus Borg rightly points out:

“There’s a lot of interest in early Christian diversity because people who have left church, and some who are still in it, are looking for another way of being a Christian.”

My friend Robert Murphy says about Homemade Churches that, “it maybe something new to you but it smells like home.”

So, here are some benefits of a Homemade Church:

1. Becoming Responsible Believers. First, people are leaving the church though because of its unsatisfactory experience with God ‘in the box’ but not for long they will realized and some are already in this stage, that they could not depend on their spirituality in the church leadership and programs but in their relationship with Christ and one another alone, not a lot [John 13:34]. Since church today have become ’spiritual machines’ that is trying to maintain their members through their ‘programs’ it may not well end until Jesus Christ comes yet people were not made like robots to be controlled by pushing their ‘opening prayer’ buttons to start their ‘Christian Life Mode’  but are individuals created by God and so can hear ‘what the spirit is saying’ in their situations. Their capability of being spirit led is possible simply because the Holy Spirit lives within 24 hours a day, seven day a week.

Through their sort of rebellion against the church, as their religious brethren will call it, they have become revolutionaries of the Kingdom. They didn’t call ‘getting out of the church’ as backsliding but simply obeying Jesus command to ‘go and make disciples.’  We are not called to ‘go to church’ but ‘go to the world.’

2. Becoming Family Focus. Most house church guys I know who aren’t successful in their house-churching is because they didn’t count their families as one! However, more have come to realize how important family is as nineteenth-century scholar J. B. Lightfoot rightly points out:

‘Henceforth the worship of households plays an important part in the divine economy of the Church…The family religion is the true starting-point, the surest foundation, of the religion of cities and dioceses, of nations and empires.’

If one fails to recognize his own family as his oikos of faith he cannot simply manage the household of God [1 Tim. 3: 4-5]. As many would adhere that ‘church comes home’ where it truly belongs. Church true revival will not come in churches. It will come in the homes first where sin begins. As Roy Hession author of The Calvary Road points out, “

Revival is desperately needed in the church – in the country – in the world, but a revived church with unrevived homes would be sheer hypocrisy. It is the hardest place, the most costly, but the most necessary place to begin.

What do you think will happen 10 years from now if Christians would have their allegiance on Jesus and His Kingdom and to their loved ones? Surely the devil will be in sure fail his plans to destroy families. We know that our enemy is not up to destroy the churches, but our families. If he got that right then churches can continue playing their games.

3. Becoming Community Lovers. Much of church resources was wasted on facilities and programs which its only aim is to maintain the status quo where in at the other side of the world there are poor families, widows and orphans unattended. If we look at Jesus and the early church priorities falls into this three misfortunes of the church. In Homemade churches, Jesus followers are aware of the need of the community and so able to serve them using the resources of everyone in a daily basis [Acts 6:1].  Unlike structured ones, church happenings happens most in a ’static religious mode’ – they have to come to the venue where it’s service happens, they have to wait for the day where ministry schedules would take place. And after church service they don’t even see the community at all. And imagine these people lived exactly in the center of the village but hardly get involed in the community activities. In simple words, we have lost the community.

We have created our ‘own world’ and we labeled them each as:

‘Christian Church’ who offers ‘worship services.’ No difference with the Catholic of offers ‘Sunday Liturgical Services’ and if a Business it offers a “Laundry Service.’

‘Christian Ministry’ who offers ‘especializing ministry’ such as ‘children’s ministry,’ ‘youth ministry,’ ‘women’s ministry,’ choir ministry’ and so on.

‘Christian Family’ who offer isolation in the community.

‘Christian Songs and Band’ who offers ‘religious’ songs that separate from ‘worldly’ songs. By the way, it’s OK to sing worldly songs during ‘Christian weddings.’

‘Christian School’ who offers biblically sound doctrine.

‘Christian Language’ who offers phrases like ‘hallelujah,’ Amen,’ and ‘Praise the Lord.’ We call them ‘Christianese’ if you don’t mind. That when these words blurt out of your mouth the people around knows that you’re a Christian. We speak our own ‘Christianese language.’

Hence, a complete isolation from the world has come fully! That is why my friend Gary Goodell quote his co-author Graham Cooke, of his book, “Permission Granted: To Do CHurch Differently int he 21st Century,

“I have  a theory, and this is just a theory, that God is not trying to protect the church from the world but the world from the church.”

PUSHING MORE

Homemade Churches, I believe is only a means to what Jesus intended His Body to become on earth. They have an end in itself. Many movements of God have become denomination and so become a religion. “Doing the same thing week after week’ is a cycle of religion. Example we religiously continue working day after day. Though nothing wrong with that but when it comes to living with Jesus as disciples, people of the Kingdom, it should be more on spirit-led, spontaneous and unpredictable. From the movie Ratatouille I quote:

“The only predictable about life is its unpredictability.”

Frank Viola says that in order to prevent a movement into a denomination or religion, the answer is, “I do not know,” he says. “But,” he continued, “two things that we can prepare and they are 50/50. Fifty percent we can learn past movement of how they become a religion and the other 50% is we have to find that out!” Well, one of my spiritual father Stuart Gramenz has already predicted as he reads this article [so I edited this part], that in 10 years from now or less we could say that ‘the church has left the homes’ if unless we address the deeper issues.

Here are my few suggestions to rectify Homemade churches:

1. Focus on Relationships, not models.

Church is about relationships; nothing more, nothing less. Loving God and loving one another is Jesus commands for His disciples [John 13:34-35]. As my dear friend and spiritual father Mike Peters said, ‘helping one another to love Jesus more,’ this summarizes the Jesus commands in a practical way. He added that in rebuking the churches in Revelation chapter 2 and 3, Jesus points out their sins and not their church models. If there were any church models that appears there I certainly sure that he doesn’t like it. It is the ‘deeds of the Nicolaitans’ which He hated [Rev. 2:5]. You know what they did eh? Trying to destroy the priesthood of all believers that God intended.

Is naming a group OK? Well, honestly naming your group makes you a founder eh? And that alone puts you a gap between you and your brother. You then create some rules to control. As one founder would say to me, “It’s not me who decide it but the church, and the church have some rules.” And I asked him, “And who made the rules and signs them with a name? Who is the founder/president of the group?” Just an alibi to protect his name of who’s is controlling and who’s to blame in case there’s a fight!

Church in the N.T. has no name though men’s desire wants one, but it has a description. It is a body that has ‘many members’ of one another, not ‘many names.’  Having names is having a descriptions of that name. It divides Jesus body. It elevates oneself. And it gives more opportunity to become proud, and God opposes the proud and no wonder we have credible facts that there are men and women who are humbled by God. Once you’re on top you are untouchables, hard to question and so hard to correct and rebuke. It reminds me of Lucifer who wants to be on the top!

2. Focus on Making Disciples, not meetings. Homemade churches are in the verge of sitting comfortably in their meetings, they hardly get out there and do their job. They love each other and the binding taste of the food yet they have forgotten the world. Jesus commands us to ‘go, to the world’ not having religious meetings. I remember Max Lucado’s exciting fishing schedule one day with his brother. It rained the whole day and so they stayed long enough in the tents talking. And what fishing day it could be had turned out arguing about things. He then realized that ‘if fishers don’t fish, they fight!’. Imagine if church is an army, as we are, and we keep on talking and discussing about how to conquer the enemy without going into war, that’s just like having Sunday School for 20 years without ever graduating! As Napolion Bonaparte would say to his enemies after he wins, “While they think I act!”

3. Focus on being family, not having church. A ‘church’ ask a question, “When is our meeting?” A family gathers spontaneously. Until we stop meeting we wouldn’t be family. Until we become family, we would still having meetings. Though a family at times have to call up for a meeting but these are not weekly as we do normally to a church. In a church we do pray and sing together, sit and stand together. But in a family setting we do things together having daily life together. So much encouragements in the epistles that we cannot do them during our meetings but in our daily lives together. The question of having meetings week after week is when do we stop it? The problem is even if we are the one’s who started it, we can hardly stop it. Imagine having meetings until when? No one can even answer this question. Guilty of not attending and being late have created some condemnation.

4. Focus on fathering, not leadership. We need more of fathers and mothers in the Lord in our generation. We are full of leaders and leadership. A leader cannot father, though he may lead a hundreds or even thousands, but fathering is only for a few and this the beauty of it, that means anyone can do fathering. Of course, to qualify someone to become a father is to bear some spiritual children. If we are to become family then we will have ‘parents in the Lord.’ Jesus said that we can ‘hundreds’ of them. Fathering is simply raising a spiritual child to become a son. He will become a son when he is led by the spirit. “For as many as are led by the spirit are called sons of God” Romans 8:14.

5. Focus on spirit-led life, not programs. Homemade churches have a tendency still to hear though not one man’s voice during preaching times but many voices that surrounds them during meetings because everybody talks now, instead of hearing God from their own individual situation. My friend John White made an interesting comments,

“We make programs simply because we don’t know how to hear God.”

As I always says, “I cannot tell you what to do or else you will be led by me. You cannot be spirit led but Molongs led. You cannot tell me what to do or else I will be led by you. We cannot be spirit-led.” Sheep must start hearing their Shepherd’s voice. At this stage, a sheep doesn’t hear a strangers voice anymore, at times, or most of the times a pastor’s voice can be a strangers voice. It is the reason why people are leaving church and finds another church but not for long they will realize that what they needed is to hear what the spirit is saying to the churches.

Unless we are spirit led, governed and ruled by the Kingdom within us this movement die soon enough before this generation all died.

We Are A Fathering Generation

Not only we are a transitional generation but also we are a fathering generation. The church is full of spiritual orphans who need spiritual fathers and mothers. This is the ‘turning the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children to their fathers’ in which the prophet Malachi has leave to his generation and which John the Baptist began his ministry. This is to ‘make ready a people prepared for the Lord’ Luke 1:16-17 .  The relationships here are far beyond ‘pastoring’ or ‘couching’ and ‘mentoring’ or becoming members of the church and have endless meetings. The relationship is lifetime of raising and empowering sons and daughters of God.

Talking About Relationships

There are different basis on where our relationships with every body depends. Will name only a few and see where your relationships belongs.

1. Business or political based relationship. They’re having business meetings, they only see each other for that reason. They talk about it, and their relationships is based on money or power.

2. Church based relationship. It’s all about church. If someone sees you their question is, “Where do you go to church now?” Relationships is dependent on church. If you go the same church then you be a friend, if not then your relationships to them is cut off. New relationships are formed then in your new church.

3. Family based relationship. Most of our friends in church or business circles have never become family to us, only a few maybe. This takes years of experience and working together. They talk about family most of them, when you see each other the question is all about family, “How are you? How is your wife and the children?” Every details of your family he or she knows and cares.

Though we have had great friends but only those who we intentionally invited to become one with us are our family. It is hard to name my family as ‘Molong’s Christian Fellowship’ or  ‘Molong’s Christian Association of Families.’ Absurd eh? Families are families and no need to name it. I do have a name, It’s Molong’s families!

From my ‘father in the Lord’ Dan Hubbel

Dear Sons,

It is my joy to write this letter of encouragement in order to build you up in your faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

For over 55 years, I have been blessed to serve the Lord in ministry here in the USA and around the world, for which I give all the glory to Him.  I was saved at the age of 9; called to preach at age 14; became a pastor at 19; continued pastoring churches for 25 years; have ministered as an apostle servant for an additional 30 years, which now makes me 73 years of age.

Now, the Lord has given me a fresh vision of a “new season” in my life in which He has projected seven additional years into the future that I along with a team of co-laborers will be equipping young servant leaders like you in every major region of the world:

(All dates and locations below are subject to change by the Holy Spirit.)

2010 – Equip servant leaders from North America

(Mexico, US & Canada) here in Texas.

2010 – Africa

2011 – Asia

2012 – Middle East

2013 – Europe

2014 – Old Soviet Union Block Nations & Russia

2015 – Caribbean Islands, Central & South America

2016 – Islands of the Seas including Australia, New

Zealand, etc.

2017 – “Uttermost parts of the earth…”

Projecting these seven years this into the future, will make me 80 years old when completed.  My wife, Laurel, reminded me that Moses did not begin to lead the children of Israel until his 80th birthday.  So, perhaps the next 7 years will just be a practice run for yet another “season” of equipping ministry.

There are three passages of Scripture the Lord has given me over the years that have had a tremendous impact upon me and His ministry through me to the nations:

Psalms 71:9, 17-18 “Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.  O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.  Now also when I am old and grey-headed, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.”

Malachi 4:5-6 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.”

II Timothy 2:2 “And the things that thou(Timothy)hast heard of me(Paul)among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men(3rd generation), who shall be able to teach others(4th generation)also.”

Finally, allow me to share a dream I had many years ago.  I saw myself cutting a passage way through a jungle with a machete.  I encountered snakes, spiders and vines choking me.  Then the Lord told me to turn around and when I did, I saw young servants/sons like you, peering into the dark passage way I had cut in the jungle.

The look on your faces was that of wondering whether or not you should walk into the dark path.  Then the Lord had me to cry out to you, “Come on, sons, it’s alright, for God is faithful.  Follow me as I follow Jesus!”

Thus my challenge to you is to “follow me as I follow Jesus”!  I pray that the Lord will encourage you as sons to continue to mature in your faith to become future spiritual fathers in order to equip the future generations for the work of the Kingdom.

In His love and grace,

Dan Hubbell

His servant

From “a hired house”(Acts 28:30-31)

Winnsboro, Texas USA

http://www.churchrestoration.org

VIGAN and BAGUIO CITY

Most of my trips are mostly chaotic, messy, or unplanned but appeared ‘fractal’ in each location. Part of the reason, as my Singaporean extended family, Hezekiah Tee, would say, “We plan and plan until God is out of the plan” I became more convince of this truth. Even getting my airline tickets are messed up, I waited for cebupacificair to shoot me an email that they have promo fares, so to avail their marketing strategy I don’t have time to even to check with my friends in the places where I should go to. I simply asked and pray to Papa where and when within the given months that the airline offers. For 4 years that I have been traveling 2-3 times a month, at least some months I travel more than that either by air or by bus, once I flew 16 times in a month! I only canceled twice of my flights and stayed home knowing confidently that it is not His will for me to go. No ’super-spiritual’ feeling that I need to discern but simply trusting Jesus of His leading. I’m glad I did, that He did, ..we did it together.

It was my second visit to Vigan City, Ilocos Sur, about an hour and half flight from Cebu to Clark airbase, and an 8 hour by land trip. Normally flights there are in the everning, so I arrived there as usual at 4 o’clock in the morning! And Edwin, which is my extended family there always fetch me at the terminal with his trycicle, that is a 3 wheels motorbike use to fetch people and gain some coins. I should say that for most of the places where I’ve been in my country, Vigan is the best so far, it was voted with UNESCO’s favorite tourist spots. The Spanish hetitage is brilliant in its structure, the Filipino history will be mostly found there. A very small city but there’s a lot of things to see. Anyway, Edwin treated me a tour around on my first visit. This time, it was more focus on how was he doing when it comes to making disciples and building Jesus family intentionally.

Making Disciples

Wherever I went my task is two-fold: Making disciples to those who see my life becomes a light and salt, that in turns creating themselves to believe in me, trust me and become loyal to me….’for while.’ I call this, Disciple for awhile, since you will not ask them to follow you but to follow Jesus. Second is teaching them HOW to make disciples of Jesus through their friends. In a nutshell this is what is all about…

Our job is to ‘go and make disciples to all nations,’ don’t need to go through theological stuff here, am not good at that, never been to college and surely never been to a Bible School. And by the way, I am glad I did…not. “Going” is simply where you are right now that is God would want you to make people His disciple simply because anywhere you are now it has people around you that you can make one!  Jesus has already given the command to ‘go’ and ’sent’ you in the field. To simply ‘ask’ and ‘wait’ where only shows our timidity.

How can ‘making disciples’ becomes an easy job to reach the growing population? It is found in the word ‘make’ not in ‘disciple.’  Our job is to MAKE disciples not to disciple. I will only ‘make’ you a disciple, a disciple of Jesus Christ. If my job is to disciple you then you are my disciple. The question is, “Who’s disciple are you?” Jesus right. “So who is your discipler if you are Jesus disciple?” The Holy Spirit. The reason why disciple making becomes hard simply because we have come to believe that it is our job to disciple. Honestly, it is very hard to disciple people simply because it is not our job. But it is very easy to ‘make’ disciple simply because that is our only job.

Visitation Versus Habitation

When it comes to seminars on Discipleship, the teachers or speakers would quote how ‘Moses and Joshua” and “Elijah and Elisha’s” way of discipleship. Studying and recognizing traits of a disciple who follows his master “Moses” and “Elijah.” Sorry, it connot be done this way now simply because we are not trying to create our own disciples, but Jesus disciples. And Jesus has given us a better way to do it. Our job is to make disciples. The Holy Spirit’s job is to disciple. Jesus job is to build His Church, Ekklesia.

Old Testament way of handling the Holy Spirit is based on friendship principle, that is ‘give and take.’ The Holy Spirit was given only to three [3] kinds of person: Priest, prophet and kings. King David was such a man who has this three position. Though he is but still he knows that he only ‘borrowed’ God’s spirit that is in him: “Cast me not away from Thy presence, O Lord. And TAKE NOT Thy Holy Spirit from me.” was his prayer when he sinned against God through Batsheba. And it was the same in the case of many, “When the spirit of the came…” and He gladly came down and help in their troubles.

Indeed God is a faithful visitor…He visits Revival Nights Services on Sunday’s and what an awesome God who instantly revives people from the dead who mostly those people had just been on the mornings Sunday Worship Services! My my my, if we can revive people why don’t we do it everyday? Well, the fact is even if we are faithless He will remain faithful. We ask God to come down and He did but have ask God to stay with us? Knowing the Holy Spirit was given to us to stay within us ‘forever,’ ‘Never will leave you nor forsake you,” “I will be with you to the end of the age.” He is not ‘in’ and ‘out’ in if we fail Him but always ‘in’ in Christ Jesus, He is not looking for a place to visit but to stay at home! A visitor obviously visits for an hour or two simply because it’s not his house.

“God became flesh and dwelt among us.”

That word ‘dwelt’ in Greek simply means ‘Tabernacle.’ We become His temple, His habitation. He cannot abandon us just as He could not abandon Himself. He is with us, in us, for us! Church is simply Christ in you. It is where His spirit lives, not where we meet. Has He find His habitation in you? Or He just simply visits because you put a limitations for Him to do that?

One of the ways we hinder Him to fully be in us is just around 12 inches from our hearts – the way we think of Him! When I was in Baguio, we joined a seminar called “Hearing God’s Voice.” The theme was very interesting but to our dismay with Art and Eric, my extended family who’s hearing the speaker speaks it was not what Jesus teaches. One of the many statements that was so frustrating is: “If you don’t feel the love of God then you are not in the spirit.” Much more of the statements ca be read like this: The Holy Spirit depends on what you’re doing, if He likes it then He will stay in you, if not? Sorry, He’ll leaves!

The Holy Spirit is IN you and will always be in you “until the end of the age.” Either you feel it or not, you don’t have to. Read 1 John, get a marker and start marking the word “know” and you be shock! I don’t feel that I have an ears both sides of my head but I know I have it. I don’t feel my intestine in my tummy but I know its there. Christ in me the hope of glory. Even if I ‘try’ to backslide, sorry, I cannot because that is against what He told me!”

Three days I spent with Edwin and his wife Norma, most conversations revolved around life, family and making disciples. The family have grown there. Actually, my visit prompt us to make his personal website here: www.edwinsarona.wordpress.com. Our sites on making disciples are more personal rather than like an organization where everyone visits and get help in one site. Those 42 that I made disciples for a year are the ones who are connected more simply because they are the one’s who are closely related to me. They are my ‘children in the Lord’ and I have become their ”parents in the Lord.’ Of course, others may visit and learn but we encourage everyone to make their own personal site for their friends who they make disciples can visit their own too. In this way, all we’ve got in our sites are more personal experiences on HOW we make disciples and in the ‘Blogroll’ are other personal sites and so on. At this time, since we’re just starting there’s only three for now. Visit also albert’s site on how he make disciples throguh his friends here: www.albertpacquiao.wordpress.com

A Quick Note on Albert

Albert is the first person that I make disciples last November 2008. He is 16 year old at that time, now 17. And on this span he make 10 disciples of Jesus. He ‘buries’ them hismself! Actually two days after I left home to Vigan, January 17th, he baptizes three. Oh, sorry, only one but there is three of them who was baptized. He only baptized one, and the one that baptizes, baptizes also the other one and so on….Fell free to visit his site and see it for yourself and how this chain works. He has all the stories of his journey there. Ophs, feel free to give comments to enourage him.

HOW?

How ‘making disciples’ be the job of everybody? Everyone has friends, look for people who believe in you, trust you and loyal to you. I am sure there are. As you recognize them they are mostly younger than your age simply because you will be fathering or mothering them soon. As my father in the Lord and friend Mike Peters always reminded me of one of the powerful words Jesus spake to have ‘hundreds of fathers, hundreds of mothers, hundreds f brothers and hundreds of sisters.” That will be second intentional word to say to them, “I have become your father in the Lord and you are now my children in the Lord.” 1 Cor. 4:14 – 17, Eph. 6:1. 1 John.

Disciple for Awhile

Looking for people who believe in you, trust you and loyal to you are the traits that only you will look for a person to qualify them as ‘faithful men who can be able to teach others also.” 2 Tim. 2:2. Of course, how can ‘obey’ you as their ‘parents in the Lord’ [Eph.6:1] if they don’t believe in what you say, and you cannot be trusted as a person? Or say, what does it take for them to believe in you and trust you? Surely your life must be a ‘light’ and ’salt’ of this earth right? Hey, we don’t bring Good News to the people, we are Good News!

‘Disciple for awhile’ as we mean it because when you finally recognize that they have your belief and trust and loyalty then you help them how to become His followers. Before he follow Jesus surely there is someone that he follows, let it be you. Because normally people will look someone who can be their leader, let it be so to you but not for long co’z there are two things that you cna do to them who normally follows you. Either you draw them to Christ or you draw them to yourself. Remember the warning of Paul to the Ephesian elders: There are those among you who draw disciples for themselves.

Again, Do it Intentionally

Being intentional is simply saying the word: I will make you a disciple of Jesus. And so on….[as you go under my HOME site you will find the article “I Will Make You A Disciple” in which my conversation with Albert and the other 42 of whom that I make disciples for a year and 2 months now. Of course, this is not a formula as these words will not work in most Ausies, however what works there is “I will help you how to follow Jesus.” And you can add to that, ” we can go together in this journey!”

PART TWO is coming….

Always IN HIM,

Long for short

A Message from my Father in the Lord: Paul Thomas, Apostle

Credit to this article goes to Stuart Gramenz who fathered Paul Thomas.

Hello and greetings to all fellow Saints!

This month I would like to discuss a very important topic which I think we need to know and understand, WORSHIP.

This particular subject I think has been seriously distorted and believers in general have had a very dim view of what this is really all about.

We know that God has His commands, His principles, His traditions. Since the dark ages, He has been restoring truths and replacing our traditions with liberty and freedom. Even in that restored truth, we can make a tradition out of something that was birthed by the Spirit of God.

Traditionally, when we hear the term “praise and worship,” many of us think of a period of time at a church meeting where we sing songs of devotion to the Lord. In many cases, these times of “praise and worship” consist, on average, of around 30 minutes out of the entire week of 100 hours, allowing for sleep and rest.

I know that I, along with countless others, have enjoyed this kind of corporate worship, sensing a closeness of His presence.

However, what I would like to talk about is not primarily designed to instruct us what to do during that 30 minutes. There is already much information and many books written on the subject. What we do wish to examine is the rest of the week (the 100 hours) and see what part praise, worship and God’s presence should play in it.

WORSHIP – TWO ASPECTS

I Will Make You A Disciple

“I will make you a disciple.”

These are the very words I spoke with Albert one morning while having coffee together at my house. He is the first person that I journey with to follow Jesus in a daily-life-together.

“What is that?” he replied with curiosity.

“I’ll help you how to follow Jesus, that is to be His disciple.”

As he listens intently I continued, “God has already saved you. He died on the cross to pay for your sin. When God created man he was fallen short of His plan by being independent of himself instead of being dependent on God. Man choose to follow himself. That sin of independence has penalty which is death. That’s why Jesus have to die on the cross.”

“So what should I do then?” Albert inquired.

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, that’s all. There is nothing you can do ,” I said and paused for a moment. “The work of the cross is done, Jesus said on the cross, “It is finished” not “To be continued. God loves you that He gave His life on the cross. There is absolutely nothing you can do to change what had happened. All you have to do is believe and accept that fact.”

“And what should I need to do next?” he insisted.

“Nothing,” again I sternly replied. “Sorry, you can’t help yourself to get saved. It was already done 2,000 years ago, that is while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.”

Albert can’t seemed to believe what he heard. He knows that Jesus came and died on the cross to save mankind, including him, yet it is quite a bit hard to accept that he can’t do anything at all. He somehow believe that at least we got to do something to help ourselves. As these words sunk deep within it is time to continue to make him a disciple.

“There is nothing you can do to make God love you more. There is nothing you can do to make God love you less. Absolutely nothing. However, there is something that you need to respond to what He has done for you.” Albert’s mind again was triggered to hear what comes out of my mouth.

“Oh? What’s that?” he asked eagerly while staring at my eye.

“Repent of your sin. Since Jesus paid the penalty of your sin which is death on the cross, you are not on your own now but you are bought with a price, so sin does not own you now but Christ. What sin did for you – making you a slave of it – Jesus puts an end to it by you believing on what He has done on the cross.

Repentance is being aware of your sin and that you become enslave to it and remorse from it. It is leaving your old way of life of sinning and turn towards God’s Kingdom rule in your life. It is to fear God and turn away from evil.

“Are you willing to live this new way of life? Are you willing to get rid of independence and live dependence with God?”

Albert nods his head while eagerly listening to me.

“Other response that you need to show your willingness Albert is to go through baptism.”

This is your own funeral service, a dying to self. Jesus said that “if anyone wants to be His disciple he must deny himself and take up his cross daily.” The goal of the cross is crucifixion, a death to self. The life of independence has come to an end. And now a new life, that is dependent on God, has now come. Just as Jesus died, that is He overcome sin and death, so also we must die to ourselves, bury the sin in us under the water. And just as He rose from the dead, that is He becomes the author of life, you also rise out of the water and live a new life.

“Baptism is only a symbol of your death Albert, daily death to self happens when you follow Jesus leading everyday. Are you ready to go through baptism? Do you want to be one of His disciples?

“Yes, I want to but,” he replied, “I was already baptize when I was a baby?” [Albert is a Roman Catholic by birth, majority Filipino‘s are]

“The Bible says that, “He who believes will be baptized.” Do you know how to believe then when your parents decided that you be baptized? To believe is to know something what to believe. It is to hear something what has been done. God knows you even before you were born but you don’t know Him and what He has done for you until someone told you so, just as what I have done now to you. Now you believe.” Albert nods his head.

How I wished I’d baptizes him directly right at that moment. But he was baptized after a week along with his friend Jomy whom he makes disciple that same week. They were baptized together, but I only baptized Albert since I am the one who makes him a disciple. Who baptizes Jomy? It’s Albert because he is the one who makes him a disciple.

Whoever can make a person a disciple of Jesus Christ have the privilege to baptize him. No need to wait for a ‘Baptism Sunday,’ which is another holy day to observe. The early church baptizes anyone directly who becomes Jesus disciple and the ‘Lord added to their number daily.’

Since then, whenever anyone in my extended family makes disciples through their friends they baptizes him or her directly, that same day and time that they shared the Gospel.

In our experience, the fastest we can make disciples is 15 minutes.
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For a span of one year since we first re-structuring our 8 years time of starting and maintaining house churches from once a week meeting-based church to family-based gathering around the meal and everywhere, a daily life together, 39 extended individual person that is around my Jesus Family, my extended family – that’s a real house church in the New Testament times – being family together, doing things together, extending the Kingdom of God through making disciples of Jesus. And these 39 individuals have their own extended families as well since they make disciples also through their friends.

I have no idea how many are we now since each one has different capacities to make friends. And how expert you are to make more friends the better you are to have people around you who you can make disciples of Jesus. That’s the secret of making disciples.

I don’t worry much of the quantity, all I care is if you r-e-a-l-l-y know how to make disciples, that is the quality of each believers, the germs that you know you are spreading, don’t worry about where its going!

But know one thing for sure, know those people well who you make friends and ultimately make them Jesus disciples for they will become your extended families everywhere. And since you are the one who makes them Jesus disciples you know them by name. You have become their ‘parents in the Lord’ and they become your ‘children in the Lord.’ Why? Simple, because church is a family, nothing more, nothing less.
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“Yes, I am a disciple of Jesus now!”

These are the words that came out of Albert’s mouth when he rises up from the water during his baptism. Right there and then, Albert baptizes his friend Jomy.

Albert is my ‘extended’ family, or better say have become my family. He is a part of us and we become a part of him. Jomy has become Albert’s extended family as well, and to us. The most normal of what a family does together is eating. We call it, ‘The Lord’s Supper’ or we say it plainly, ‘eating with God.’ It is a way of accepting new disciples in Jesus family.
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“Should I get out of my religion?”

This is mostly a new disciples concern after conversion.

“Nope, not at all. You don’t remain as you are for you are a change person, but you remain where you are co’z it is where God uses you to make other people His disciples. You have become a light and salt now. Let them see your new life, let them tell the difference and influence them.

Jesus said to us as His disciples to ‘go’ around everywhere and meet people and make them His disciples. We are ’sent already’ to this world, so the ’going’ is not hard to understand. It is making friends everywhere and right time comes you can make them disciples.

This is the command.
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Who Am I?

Your identity is a disciple of Jesus Christ, a follower. If you are a Catholic then you are a follower of Jesus in a Catholic Church. If you are a Mormons, then you are now a follower of Jesus in a Mormon Church. Don’t get out of your religion but influence them to follow Jesus. If you are a Muslim then be a follower of Isa in the Muslim community.

The world is the field and in the field there are different weeds [religions]. Don’t worry about them, let them worry about you for you have the One greater than that is in the world, in you!
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“What Church should I go?”

A question every religious people asked, “What Church I belong to?” We don’t go to church nor do church to maintain our Christian life. It is being church because we are the church. Christ died for you and you believe in Him and then He lives in you. This is enough for you to be the church: Christ in you. We trust Christ alone, not a lot. You may go to a church building, be it a Mosque or a Catholic Church, it doesn’t matter. What matters is your relationship with God and your purpose to ‘go’ anywhere or ‘get in’ any place is to make disciples. Somehow people have their own belief of religion and to get them is to get in to where they are sitting either that’s a ‘smoking’ area or ‘non-smoking’ ‘religious’ or non-religious’ sect. Either in or out of the jail, we search the lost in every corner of hell.

We are not told to ‘go to church’ but to ‘go to the world!’
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Making Disciples Spontaneous Discussions and Learnings

“Hmnnn…teaching someone on how to make disciples of Jesus,” she blurted these words out while I’m wondering what she thinks about. “Are you ready to have your own funeral?” She puts exactly the words of Jesus, “Take up your cross and follow Me,” in a personal way.

Sure a person who wants to follow Christ must recognize his old self. After believing the work of Jesus on the cross for him, repenting of his sin, surely he is aware of the new life that God is offering through His Son. His old self must be condemned to death at once through baptism.

The Five[fold] Signs of Making Disciples

The early church has a way of discipling people. Let’s look at five visible facts or prerequisites.

1. Believing

Jesus says that ‘whoever believes in Me’ has life. The is the first prerequisite of following Christ. This includes trust on Jesus on believing what He did on the cross was for him and he ought to give his life also to the one who willingly gives Himself to him. Believe is in the statement, trust is in the person. This equates to FAITH.

2. Repenting

Repentance is a sign that a person admits his fault. “If we say we have no sin we make God a liar,” the Bible says. Repentance is a remorse of your sin. And I say this again and again that it is not something that you do to get saved, but something that you respond to what has done already in order to be saved. There’s a big difference on that, see my previous article down below entitled, “How To Make Disciples.” Repentance is a ‘godly sorrow’ not ‘worldly sorrow.’ It is His kindness that leads us to repentance rather than its something that we should do. No, salvation is done already 100% on the cross, nothing you can do to add what is finished already. Jesus said on the cross, “It is finished,” not “To be continued.” So here, we see repentance is necessary to follow Jesus.

3. Baptizing

This is where your own funeral will take place. It is a symbol of your own death to self just as Christ was buried with our sin and just as He rose up from the grave we also shall rise up from the water symbolizing our new man in Christ. There’s a lot of discussions going on on how to baptize. Well, as I first baptize Albert I began to think how in the world am I going to do it? Should I let him wear a white dress? Shall we sing some songs first? Shall I have a sermon on baptism in front of everybody in the beach? What in the world am I going to do. One thing struck me though, at that time he is taking with him Jomy to be baptize also. But should I be baptizing them both? I don’t feel it is right. But I wanted Albert to baptize his friend Jomy because he is the one who makes him a disciple, not me. Jomy doesn’t know me at all except in that first meeting. And so I have in my thinking, “What is the easiest, the fastest, the quickest way to baptize Albert that he can instantly do it right away after I baptize him for him to baptize Jomy right there and then?” We did it with no formula, sorry that I cannot even tell you how except for one thing, we uses the Name of the Trinity after thanking God in a very short prayer and dump him in! But as I go over on how the NT baptizes anyone, mine is still even complicated! Let’s start with John baptizing Jesus, did John pray some prayers? He just dump him in! The Antioch guy when he believed he was dump in by Stephen without a word while doing it. Paul has no mention on the how while he baptizes 4 people, as far as he remembers. Poor old guy can’t even remember who are the people he baptizes, guess he has some flue called ‘Baptisomia.’ However, Jesus said to baptize them in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost – but these words are titles, not names. Jesus is a Name. Well, please don’t get me wrong. But my point is, is how you baptize easy enough for others to follow? We must do it the fastest way or else we can make a doctrine out of it and fight over terms forever. And forever is such a long time!

Some even believes that baptism is not necessary at all, if it is only a symbol then what matters is the heart right? Well, carry on to that. Mostly also in my country are Roman Catholics in which they are baptize already when they are young, no need to re-baptize again. Well, carry on to that too.

One thing that we in a sort of ‘house church,’ ’simple church’ whatever church you wanna call it – hope these names be disappeared quickly as they arrive quickly -I wanna call it ‘Jesus Family’ as Biblical as that, well get to the point Molong, is that in doing baptism we still have a ‘holy day’ mindset. We still make schedules of it like “Baptism Sunday,” Have you recognize this or is it me alone? Molong? NT baptisms happen right away!

4. Receiving

Receiving what? The Holy Spirit on the sign of speaking in tongues. How I wish that one of these days as I continue making disciples suddenly the Holy Spirit will just drop from heaven to the person and he will speak in new tongues! Just as Peter when he preach the word the spirit came and they all speak in new tongues. Wow! Isn’t that amazing? I have been through some spirit movements like the preacher preach about ‘Speaking in Tongues’ and then have some altar calling and pray over and kind of like force something in it. Well I have done that several times though, but if it is done through what you can do you are not really satisfied with it. Do you know what I mean? I am firm to wait on the Lord, even if it takes forever, on the same happenings. Not to even try myself to do it co’z I have been through it and tired of it. Receiving the Holy Spirit happens right after or before the person’s decision to be baptize. I see it as, baptism is the person’s decision but baptism by the Holy Spirit is God’s. I feel sad that I was baptize by the spirit after one year of my conversion. But I was baptize the next day after I repent. But was glad through it all. Whew!

5. Accepting

After baptism, having a meal together is always the best thing to do to let the person feel that he is welcomed. And some affirmation words would be very helpful, I suggest you will say to the person, “Welcome to Jesus Family. We are His family. You have been a part of my family and we have been a part of you.” Then praying the Lord’s Supper should take place here. This maybe a time to shoot some words of comments to every household of God, why not make the Lord’s Supper prayer be the prayer for every meal we have? Instead of just praying for the food, thanking it and then done without recognizing the Lord’s body ‘do this as remembrance of Me,’ and ‘do this as often as you can,’ right? Thanking for the food seems too religious. Jesus didn’t pray always for the food. He just ate, but is He thankful? Of course, He is not just religious. Praying for the food is a tradition. But whenever we have meals together with Jesus Family we pray the Lord’s Prayer, that is remembering what Jesus has done on the cross for us and that by His body being broken, our lives also being broken, selfless to accept one another, empty to be used by Him.

Well, that’s all for tonight folks. Oh not tonight, but this morning, early morning! It’s 3:03 now! Bye.

Redeeming Families

“All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord,

and all the families of the nations shall worship before You.”

A Psalm of David, 22:27

To borrow from Roy Hession’s words from THE CALVARY ROAD,¹

THOUSANDS of years ago, in the most beautiful Garden the world has ever known, lived a man and a woman. Formed in the likeness of their Creator, they lived solely to reveal Him to His creation and to each other and thus to glorify Him every moment of the day. Humbly they accepted the position of a creature with the Creator – that of complete submission and yieldedness to His will. Because they always submitted their wills to His, because they lived for Him and not for themselves, they were also completely submitted to each other. Thus in that first home in that beautiful garden, there was absolute harmony, peace, love and oneness not only with God, but with each other.

Then one day, the harmony was shattered, for the serpent stole into that God-centred home, and with him, sin. And now, because they had lost their peace and fellowship with God, they lost it with each other. No longer did they live for God – they each lived for themselves. They were each their own gods now, and because they no longer lived for God, they no longer lived for each other. Instead of peace, harmony, love and oneness – there was now discord and hate – in other words, SIN!

It was into the home that sin first came. It is in the home that we sin more than perhaps anywhere else, and it is to the home that revival first needs to come. Revival is desperately needed in the church – in the country – in the world, but a revived church with unrevived homes would be sheer hypocrisy. It is the hardest place, the most costly, but the most necessary place to begin.

To Recapture the Church We Must Recapture The Home

Giving the modern description of the church today there is no resemblance to what the New Testament portrays. Instead of its leaders ‘fathers’ the church more like a family, they acted more on like a committee, and treated it as a corporation, and their ‘congregations is the clientele, and evangelism is sales and marketing. And there is competition with other corporations (“churches”) in the same town².’ What is once a ‘world-changers’ followers of Jesus has now become one of its ‘multi-billion’ enterprise in the business-world who is being conformed to its patterns.³

There are many sad church stories attached to this phenomenon, to name the most deadly one’s in the lists is the attacks of the family in which none of these so called ‘methods and strategies to win and earn more’ can support it nor protect it. Family members are in high risk of our own man-made persecutions. I was once in a ‘Blessing the Pastors Christmas Party’ attended by 200 Christian Leaders in my province. One recognized pastor of a mega-church was invited to speak instantly. I was surprised to hear his message to his co-pastors, “There is one thing that concerns us as pastors if our children would be willing to take over our ministry when we retire.”⁴

Dysfunctional Families

It was mentioned that for younger generations today the life of a Christian ‘had no appeal; for them, it was a sham of an existence, plastic, stenciled, prescribed, something to flee from, not something to pursue.’⁵ Or I should be merciful enough to say that church for many is something to run to for temporary relief of the pressures of the world, but still not something to pursue.

I should ask you politely and hope you will give me an honest answer. If you have been going to church for more than 10 years have you ever heard a sermon about family? I hope you did hear it more than 5 Sundays because me; aside those family seminars that I attended, only 4 Sunday on the row: 1^st Sunday: Husbands, love your wives, 2^nd Sunday: Wives, submit to your own husbands, (the pastor have even a hard time preaching about it in front of children around and singles!) 3^rd Sunday: Children, obey your parents in the Lord and 4^th Sunday: Sorry, I can’t remember it!

My point, we hardly hear sermons about how we should behave as family together but if you check out most of our problems? It’s almost all about family! One Sunday I was invited to preach in a church in the next city, I purposely tried to ‘prophesy in my mind’ just to see it for myself if this is really true. I tell you, I am not in the ‘spirit mode’ as I did this, as I said, I just tried if what I thought out is true. So, just after I prayed before my sermon on family, I called out personalities one by one,

“There are some wives here that have some marital problems with their husbands, stand up.”

“There are husbands here who have some relationship problems with their wives, stand up!”

“There are some mothers here that have problems with their children, stand up!”

“And lastly, there are some children here who have problems with their parents, stand up!

And honestly, you can count the heads of those who remain seated. Ninety-five percent of them stood up to their feet and the church numbered around 150 members! And I said to all of them,

“Our enemy, Satan, will never destroy God’s people by church but by family.”

He, Roy Hession, rightly said, “a revived church with unrevived homes would be sheer hypocrisy.”

His Dwelling: Temple Body

My Dad was saved about 3 years now in an ‘unnoticed’ organic church coffee talk meeting in a pastor’s friend’s house. After few weeks of being a Christian and can hardly go to this pastor’s friend church for a Sunday Service for he lives in the north, about 3 hours from the city, urges me to take my sisters to attend church next Sunday. I told him that ‘God, if He would choose to find a place to dwell either in a ‘church building’ or where he is at his home then He chooses to be with him. In His spirit inside my Dad, God chooses him to reveal Himself to him. That church is not where we meet but where His spirit lives. That church is not about ‘going’ or ‘attending’ a series of religious meetings once or twice a week for 2-3 hours nor ‘doing’ something to maintain his Christian life, but being with Him 24 hours a day, seven days a week,  a daily life that is affected by Him. My Dad ‘talks to God alone every night about his plans and dreams’ and ‘wakes up at 4 every morning and read his favorite Christian books and prays every dawn’ before doing his cleaning routine in his ‘My Home, My Garden’ as he calls it. And he doesn’t need to know what to call that. We Christians loves to have ‘themes’ in everything that we do; that’s a devotion, a prayer meeting, or a Bible Study and even name a ‘testimony’ when we shares our ‘Christian experiences’ to our brethren. Can we stop creating our own ’Christian Dictionary’? A simple person can know Christ without these eh?

God’s Very Own Family

If home is really where the heart is
Then home must be a place that we all share
for even with our differences our hearts are much the same
And where love is we come together there.

-Sandi Patti

“You came back” says the older Gorilla to Tarzan, after fighting over with the humans which he thought was his family. He replied, “I came home.” Coming back home from my trips is important for it is where I could be with my family. And we all share the same longing: to be with our loved ones. It is the person’s last resort or request here on earth aside God is to be or to see his or her loved ones! He maybe in death bed a husband always calls his children, or tried to find his lost son and see his face for the last time. Remember the rich man and the Lazarus? What was his last request? Is it to put his money and treasure in a safety box? Or is it to let Lazarus go back and take over his properties? Nope, but to let Lazarus go back and warned his five brothers to his current situation in hell. Who can live without a family? I interviewed a lady of his 60’s, we recognizes each other’s faces when we bump into each other. When I ask about how she feels being separated 15 years with she said, “It’s ok.” But when I ask about her not having their own children she replied with regrets by not having a family. “How pity I am and poor and needy that even when I die no one will take care me.” I realize then how important family is to her. Another incident I could not forget was when I was a youth pastor. Playing ‘ice breaker’ questions we bump into, “What is the most painful experience you’ve been through?” The answer turns out to be a story – it is to see my dad having a fight with mom.

God’s Broken Family

In my own experience was when my Dad was once have another woman and see my mom hurting I cried out in my bed. I was very young being a Christian then. I ask God many times with the same question: Why. God switch the topic from my family to His and said to me, “Have you not felt how it hurts me so bad to see my own family, Adam and Eve fell?” Those words cut so deep in my heart that I was crying for hours like carrying Gods burden in me. With just that sentence I was feeling the heart of God. I have the desire to see my own family restored but God gives me that desire by putting His desire in me!

“Delight yourself also in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4. It can be read also as follows, “Delight yourself also in the Lord and He will give you what to desire in your heart.” I am having His desire to restore families wherever I go. This is the way ‘to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.’ Lk.1:17

God’s Way of Family Redemption

To be continued…..

Footnotes:

1. The Calvary Road, Roy Hession. Chapter 6: Revival in the Home. http://www.christianissues.biz/pdf-bin/sanctification/thecalvaryroad.pdf
2. Reimagining Church, Frank Viola. Chapter 5. Page 99-100
3. http://www.truthwatch.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=130&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
4. Pastor Mel Caparus of Living Word Christian Fellowship. ‘Blessing the Pastors’ Party hosted by OMF Lit. Inc. held at Royal Concourse, 2006.
5. http://www.simsonwolfgang.de/betterthantheHippies.pdf

A Serious Conversation Tonight

Hours of talk tonight with a close friend of ours named Cathy. All has to do about on how to start a house church. Though I have been sharing to you about this on my past articles but as we get into specific details there are some important points that we came up with. This will be only a short one though.

In the middle of our discussions, “How to make disciples of Jesus” by starting to write down your friends that surrounds you and pick the people who has these 3 qualities on you – believe in you, trust you and loyal to you. Then talk to each of them for a meal or coffee and invite them to become Jesus followers. We started from sharing God’s love and let him repent of his sin as a response to what Christ has done for him. She was stuck realizing that I didn’t include in the sharing of the Gospel to the person about his sin, “For all have sinned and….” It’s quite awhile that I  didn’t get what she mean, actually she was referring on how we share the Gospel traditionally like you start from Romans 3:23 6:23 or somewhere pinpoint to him his sin.

I told him that man’s awareness of his sin is undeniable and irrefutable. He knows that he sinned against God. We only need to share the Good News that Christ died for him of his sin, no need to pinpoint, or make him guilty about it for he knows it. Actually we often use guilt to a person because we want him to repent of his sin. And that will look like ‘repentance’ is something that he do to GET saved rather than a response to what Christ has done for him to BE saved. Repentance then would be a bit harder for him to do it since his salvation was dependent on that. She understood when I first said to a person who you make disciple, “God has already saved you.”

THREE QUALITIES

Why find within your friends people who believe you, trust you and loyal to you. Here are some important points.

1. They are the workers of the fields.

2 Timothy 2:2 – “…find faithful people who can be able to teach others also.” You only know them by the three qualities that you look for. They are the easiest to make them Jesus disciples. They are the one’s who can carry the baton of disciple making.  Making Disciples up to your fourth generation can only be possible by these kinds people, even without you!

2. They are your genuine fruits.

Imagine having people who believe in what you say, trust you as a person and follow your leading, just what kind of a person you are? Trustworthy, honestly, integrity, character what else do you have then? So, what does it take for people to believe in you? What does it take for people to trust you? And be loyal to you?

3. They are committed.

These people simply would read their Bibles, pray and obey the leading of the Lord in their loves. These people will do what you ask them to do, go where you want them to go. Why? They have your trust!

LEAD FOR AWHILE

In these stage, you lead for awhile, disciple for while, then draw them to Christ. Do not draw disciples for yourself. We have been doing that for many years and ain’t no good at all – the become dependent on me and not the Lord. However, don’t cut off your relationship with them – they be your ‘children int he Lord’ and you be their ‘parents in the Lord.’ Ephesians 6:1

THE JOURNEY

Following Christ is a journey. The mistake in traditional church is that they want their members to become perfect, and so whenever someone is in error they can easily find it out who, what had happened and what should need to be done for it not to happen again. They became an expert of fault finding and problem solving in spite of broken relationships that may result. They value more on the church legislation’s than building healthy relationships. Their relationships is a church-based relationship, not family-based.

In this journey of making disciples, you treat a person as if your own son or daughter. How will you raise a son? Simple, you allow him to make decisions on his own and though he commits mistakes you still have the patience to teach him. No short cutting in building healthy relationships, there are risk to enter into such reality.

Have a nice day.

Church Unleashed!

[I feel led to re-post this last years trip with Roger and Brooks Thoman. This was posted at wwwlk10.com site for quite awhile.]

“I will take a bath first,” I said.

“No, stay AT my side.” She says. “You can brush my teeth Papa.”
And I did.

She missed me so much that she wanted me to do everything for her. She’s my sweet little princess, Shirley—my 31-month old baby.

Sorry, I am not that good of a missionary yet. Leaving family for just a couple of days and then coming back home for a day and traveling again is not what I am used to. But I have to since the network is growing and needs someone to initiate things…

Thanks for Roger and Brooks Thoman, without them I could never do this on my own. They traveled wtogether as we visited several areas. I have been in a shipwreck you know, floating for 2 hours without a life jacket at 4 o’clock in the morning and all you see is a bright fire, not God’s Shekinah glory but just the ship burning! That was a couple of years ago but since then I have had fear of taking a boat overnight. Fortunately, God provided us the ability to fly.

It is my first visit to these places where we’ve been. When someone wants to join the network, that means they want more information about simple house churches, most of them have already seen them as a way to reach more people. All we did was to affirm what they have been believing either for months or years, or even days or hours. We trust that they heard God speaking through us.

It’s all about the Holy Spirit…

During one of our meetings a pastor friend from the Island joined us as we discussed the idea. We have done seminars with some of his leaders but somehow it’s not his time yet. His heart was moved after hearing the testimonies of the Cebu Network friends who have tasted the freedom of the Spirit. His comment was, “I am a traditional Baptist pastor. I love the stories very much and I am troubled. What should I do now?”

Without hesitation, Roger could have said the ’steps’ to do but instead he bluntly and with kindness replied: “Listen to the Holy Spirit.”

A human question such as, “What should I do” can draw so much attention to our flesh with all its human strength, “Here are some tips you should follow” or “Why don’t you give up your church now?”

This movement of house church, simple church, micro-church, organic church, call it whatever you want as long as it is simple enough to duplicate. He has been speaking to hundreds of like-minded people like us all over the world, and even in my country. We have to realize that we could never create another vision except what has been started 2,000 years ago. God may allow us to have our day dreams of what our church should look like, but for your next generation’s sake do not ask God to cooperate with your plans trying to build your little empires of denomination.

God is in the move, let’s join ourselves in Him!

DISCIPLE MAKERS

How to Make Disciples

“Go and make disciples to all nations…”

Jesus, the Christ, Matthew 28:19

THE TASK

Wherever you are right now God strategically places you in the nations to make disciples for Himself. You cannot say, “I am now in California working but my heart for the ministry is in the Philippines. How can I be useful for His kingdom?” Jesus said, “Go” and though at times He will guide your feet in specific places but generally He already sent us to the world. Jesus in prayer for His disciples is not to take them out of the world. The world is ‘your’ field when Jesus spoke, “Look at the fields.”

John 17:16-18. Luke 10:2-3.

THE WORKER

You, A Disciple Maker

Jesus chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. A disciple is not only one who follows Jesus but also one who makes others disciple of Jesus. Through his life became ‘salt of the earth’ and ‘light of the world’ others are affected by him and ultimately be affected by the One whom he follows. His life then must be one who can be trusted so that when he asks others to be Jesus disciples; they will gladly follow Him without hesitation. For they see the life that is change of following Him. What does it take then for others to believe what you are going to say, to become a trustworthy person and to be loyal to your leading?

John 15:16, Matthew 5:13-14

Finding Faithful Men Who are Disciple Makers

The job of making disciples are entrusted to those who can be trusted, that is they have people around who believe in them, trust in them and loyal to them. Paul, who is fathering young Timothy in the Lord wrote to him saying, “the things that you have heard from me…commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

I believe that the job of making disciples is for everyone who faithfully follows Christ. They know how to follow Jesus and so can be able to teach others how to follow Him. Everyone can be a faithful follower of Jesus that is obeying His commands, live and walk in the Spirit and being led by the Spirit.

2 Timothy 2:2, John 14:15, Galatians 5:25, Romans 8:14

Finding Faithful Friends Who You Can Make Disciples

“We know a lot of people,” as my dad would say, “but we only have few friends.” Jesus have called His disciples ‘friends’ because He revealed to them everything He knew what His Father had said. They have become His family on earth. The same holds true to our friends, they have become our second family on earth.

So, to start your journey of making disciples you have to start with those people believe in you, trust you and loyal to you, namely, your friends! Everybody has friends, it’s normal that everybody also has people who are loyal to them. Take a minute now and try to call someone up and see who comes! These are the kind of people then who you can easily make disciples of Jesus.

How to make disciples is easy. Jesus commanded you to go and make one so there are gonna be people out there who you can make disciples.  And the closest place to find them is through your family circle and friends who are close to you. Remember, they have already your belief, your trust and loyalty. These qualities make them easier to follow Jesus through you.

Jesus, A Disciple Maker