1. Information doesn’t guarantee transformation.

2. Never equate longevity with maturity.

3. The measurement of discipleship is merely obedience.

4. Personal charisma doesn’t guarantee transformation.

5. Disciples aren’t made effectively in classes.

In the ministry of Jesus, the invitation is a call to encounter. Jesus invited people to engage Him. He said things like: “Come, follow me,” “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…” It is an invitation to understand the world differently. It is an invitation to grow in our understanding of who Jesus is and what it means to follow Him. It is an invitation to exercise our growing faith, to take the next step; even when that next step is out a perfectly good boat onto a stormy sea. Jesus’ word to Peter was, “Come.”

Those who encountered Jesus had a similar, seemingly spontaneous, response. They invited others. Nathanial’s skepticism (Can anything good come out of Nazareth?) is met with Philip’s invitation, “Come, and you will see” (John 1:39). A broken woman, after coming to believe in Jesus, goes back into a town that despised her and said: “Come and see a man who told me everything I had ever done.” The result of that simple invitation was that the whole village came to believe in Jesus.

What does this have to do with inviting people to a worship gathering? It is one of the ways the power of an invitation can be seen at work in the Kingdom. What happens when God’s people gather? One important thing that happens is that we encounter God again. We are reminded of who Jesus is and what it means to follow Him. Our encounter leads us to grateful worship of the one who loves us and gave himself for us. This is what happens when we gather. It’s not really about doing something, it is about encountering someone. When we invite someone to join us we also invite them to encounter the one who loves them, and gave himself for them. We invite them to encounter Jesus, maybe for the first time. In that encounter, Jesus engages them – which is really what we are after anyway. It is that encounter that impacted visitors to assemblies of the early church. Their conclusion: “God is really among you.”

From the last verses of the bible come this lingering invitation: “The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” (Rev. 22:17).

If I understand this text properly, the word spoken by the church, through endless generations, into a broken world is an invitation, “Come.”

Being on the cutting edge of what God is doing in this world can be as simple as offering an invitation.

• Wrong mindsets are momentum killers. – Craig Groeschel #catoneday

• RT @tbritton77: What got you here will most likely not get you where God wants you to go. #catoneday craig groeschel

• “Most delay in decision making is not about lack of knowledge, but lack of courage.” – Groschel #catoneday

• You will never become everything God wants you to be until you get over caring about what other people think – Craig Groeschel #catoneday

• The quickest way to forget what God thinks about you is to obsess abt what ppl think about you Groeschel #catoneday

• Change the mindset from “Our people won’t….” to “We haven’t led them to” Groeschel

• “Our church won’t because we don’t.” @craiggroeschel – #catoneday. Where is our church not going because we aren’t leading them there?

• RT @mbstockdale: Think diffly abt prgrming: Rate of transformed lives was decreasing in direct proportion to increasing # of activities Groeschel #catoneday

• The church is too concerned with people’s feelings that it leaves the wrong person in the wrong place – Craig Groeschel #catoneday

• The mission of the church is more important than worrying about hurting someone’s feelings #catoneday

• To gain momentum, sometimes you need to allow someone to leave. Groeschel #catoneday

• RT @tmpollard: Hire and recruit for the future not the present. – Craig Groeschel #catoneday

• Find someone one or two steps ahead of you and learn how they THINK. Groeschel #catoneday (We are often interested in what they do, but should be more concerned with how they think.)

• People want to cover the what without understanding the why #catoneday

• God guides by what he provides and by what he withholds. Limitation is the breeding ground for innovation. -Groeschel #catoneday

• Struggling economy brings opportunity for the church to minister to people w deeper needs than just financial. cb #CatOneDay

• RT @RonEdmondson: Create margin in your time & budget so you can fully take advantage of unexpected opportunities-Craig Groeschel #catoneday

• Delegate authority and create a leader. Delegate tasks and create a follower. #catoneday Groeschel

• RT @mbstockdale: One of the greatest killers of productivity is meetings – Craig Groeschel #catoneday RT @tim_gleason //halelujah!

• My church has been forced to take dramatic steps to get financially healthy, many of which we would never have taken if times were good. We are learning that when we pull back and tighten up, God sends blessings on the other side. It is about stewardship. The time of testing has taught us the value of creating margin in our budget so we can weather storms and fully leverage unexpected opportunities. We are also equipping our families to go through the same process. This will have an impact on those families for generations to come.
  

• We’ve been forced to identify our priorities, not just on paper but in our hearts. Paper is easy, but when decisions affect the livelihood of staff families and the future of individual ministries you do not make those decisions lightly. In a downturn we are forced to distinguish between those roles and ministries which are critical to fulfilling our mission and those which are simply very important.
  

• We have seen a burst of creativity among our ministries as leaders seek to continue to deliver vibrant ministry with scarce resources. Scarcity is fertile soil for innovation. God gives us everything we need to accomplish what He is calling us to accomplish, though often it is less than we desire.
  

• Though some have left due to the financial challenges, the core of members that remain are deeply committed to our church family and are investing in the future. Temporary disciples are prevalent when things are going well. When difficulty comes you learn who is really with you. The same was true in Jesus’ ministry.
  

• We have learned that God leads as much by what He withholds as by what He provides. There are times God will not give us what we think we need so He can show us something we would have never seen before. We are learning to ask, God what are you trying to show us through our greatest limitations.

• We have learned that scarcity of resources creates opportunities for partnership. In order for churches to thrive we need to work together. No single congregation can do it all. We are learning to lock arms with others who follow Jesus in order to accomplish His mission in our community.

• We are learning that the most important things about us (as a church) have little to do with money. Though our offerings may be down, God is still alive and active in our times of worship and in the lives of individuals in our family. New people are present every week and are being impacted by the experience. This week we have over 40 homeless men staying in our facility and being blessed by the hospitality of our members. In spite of the challenges, His mission continues.
  

• Because there are upsides, even in a downturn, we are learning to trust in God. Our God is bigger than our bottom line.

• Negative circumstances are fertile soil for burst of positive momentum. @AndyStanley. #catoneday.

• Momentum is sustained thru continuous improvement @andystanley #catoneday

• #catoneday if you are able to create sustainable buzz in any area, the tide lifts all ships, better to unfund 5 areas and fund that one

• RT @tristanmason: Andy Stanley: The question is not “”is God blessing?” but rather, “what does God bless?” #catoneday

• RT @thinkingsmall: RT @stevekmccoy: Some of you need to quit your church job so you can get back into ministry. -Stanley #catoneday

• RT @kduggleby: “Momentum is disruptive, so most churches don’t like it…” – @AndyStanley #catoneday

• RT @mbstockdale: pay the bills – mission statement for most churches @andystanley #catoneday

• When u lack momentum… ask – do we need a new leader, direction, product or combo of the 3? @AndyStanley #catoneday

• #catoneday natural tendency of ch leaders is to excuse our own lack of momentum

• You know you have momentum when you love your problems – @andystanley #catoneday

• Momentum: forward motion fueled by a series of wins. How can you set up your team to win today? #catoneday

1. We get a better message in less time.

• Everyone brings different insights, angles, illustrations that can be used to communicate God’s message. When I sit down to put the message into final form, I’m never starting from scratch. It is a good thing. Always better with more input and insight.

2. We are able to access a broader range of Scripture.

• Every week someone brings up a relevant and important passage I would never have thought of on my own.

3. We are faced with how different groups of people will hear the message.

• More people in the process reminds us of how different people in our congregation will hear the message.

4. We allow our creative arts people have more time to be “creative.”

• Our worship folks are able to plan, with an message outline, for six weeks. It allows them time to think, plan and explore how to best reinforce the message.

Any other potential benefits you’d include?

Anatomy of a Preaching Team Meeting

Creative Discipleship Process

• Able to hold bats used by Shoeless Joe Jackson and Babe Ruth!
• My hero: Roberto Clemente. Was allowed to put on a helmet, take RC’s bat into a batting cage and hit.
• A Little Boys Dream – Surreal

• I feel that way sometimes when I read through the book of Acts. Church was bigger than life…
  • Acts 1:8-11 “You will be my witnesses” – 3,000 on the Day of Pentecost – Summary statements in the book of Acts.
  • So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. Acts 6:7
  • Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord. Acts 9:31
  • But the word of God continued to increase and spread. Acts 12:24
  • So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers. Acts 16:5
  • Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds . . . In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. Acts 19:18, 20
  • He [Paul] lived there two whole years at his own expense and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. Acts 28:30,31
  • The Last Word in Acts (in the Greek) is the word:  UNHINDERED.

THE CHURCH IS A MOVEMENT OF GOD THAT CANNOT BE STOPPED!

By end of 1^st century – 1,000,000 by the year 300 AD 20,000,000 Christ-followers!

• How are churches doing today? What we are experiencing now doesn’t look much like the Church in Acts…
  • My generation will witness the closing of 100,000 churches. (National Association of Evangelicals – Michael Noel) (My grandson is 3: 250,000 will close in his).
  • Each year 3500 to 4,000 churches close their doors.
  • North America is the only continent where Christianity is not growing.
  • Out of 350,000 churches in America
    • 80% are plateaued or declining.
    • 15% are growing by transfer growth.
    • 5% are growing because they are converting  people to Jesus. (Barna).
  • Simple Church: Churches that grew 5% per year for three consecutive years = Less than 2% of churches in America experience that type of consistent growth.
• I really believe we love the church – I just think we aren’t very good at it.
• We serve the same God the early church served. We have accepted a reality that is so much less than God intends for us. Our calling in to get back on mission with him. I grew up in a church that talked a lot about restoring NT Xianity. Lord’s Supper every week, Elders, Deacons, doctrines, etc. Focused on the form of Xianity – often absent its power. One things was always ironic to me – one thing no one seemed concerned about restoring was the missional heartbeat of the early church.

How Can Reclaim our Heritage?

Matthew 9: ³⁵Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. ³⁶When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. ³⁸Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

I. We Must Reclaim the Heart of Jesus! (Looked at people far from God with compassion).

• One place we’ve gotten off track is that we have substituted knowledge for love.

1. 1. Thought spiritual maturity equated with knowledge.
      • Yet most knowledgeable were the meanest, cantankerous, most divisive, etc.
      • Matthew 22:34ff – “Love God, Love People” – Spiritual maturity is not measured by how much we know but how well we love.
      • Spiritual Maturity is having the things that matter to God matter to us.
      • People matter to God.

Many churches unwittingly focus inward and forget those who are the very purpose for Jesus’ coming, the very purpose for our being here on earth. These churches are like a hospital which no longer accepts patients. Or a soup kitchen which no longer feeds hungry people. (It, Groeschel)

“You don’t have to look far to find churches full of people who are insulating themselves from the world, hunkering down, avoiding PG-13 moving and secular music. There inward looking religious types keep their distance from anyone who drinks beer, cusses after a bad golf swing, smokes anything, has a tattoo, or wears designer jeans with holes in them. They avoid homosexuals. They criticize rock stars. They stare disapprovingly at purple hair and mohawks. And they are afraid of MTV. Too many believers are avoiding “that kind” of person. And they’ve forgotten that Jesus came for that kind of person.” (It, Groeschel)

Not wrong to be holy in your conduct – it is wrong to let your holiness keep you from reaching out to people who aren’t.

II. We Must Recognize the Mission Field At Our Door!

• Church grew to nearly 20 million Christ-followers in two centuries. How did they do this? (from small movement to religious force in the empire in two centuries). All the while …
  • They were an illegal religion throughout this period.
  • They didn’t have any church buildings as we know them.
  • They didn’t have a Bible they could carry around.
  • They didn’t have a bunch of programs.

• Their reputation: Were known as a Burial Society for indigents – touching their community with the love of Christ. When there was a plague and people ran for their lives, Christ-followers rushed in to alleviate the pain and suffering of their neighbors. They were on-mission. They ministered to those right in front of them who were in need.

• There are about 200 million non-churched people in America, making America one of the 4 largest ‘unchurched’ nations in the world. Piper Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.
  • “The place you need to be on mission is right here.”
  • Congregations need to survive and thrive – not just to exist so it doesn’t become a statistic; not just so original members have a place to come to worship; but to be a light in a dark place.
  • Erwin McManus: The church doesn’t exist for us – we are the church and we exist for the world.
  • We don’t have to go to the other side of the world to minister to people who are far from God.

III. We Must See Other Workers As A Gift From God!

• ³⁸Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
• Churches tend to view one another as the competition, with suspicion.
• Rather than critique and criticize the other mission workers around us – we must value them and pray for the Lord to send more. We must lock arms with other followers and get about the task of being the hands, feet and heart of Jesus in a broken world.

The Story of Lifeboat 14

On the night of April 15, 1912 the British luxury liner Titanic disappeared beneath the icy waters of the North Atlantic. The “unsinkable” ship had betrayed those who trusted her. With over 2,000 people aboard and only twenty lifeboats available, hundreds of people were left to perish. The lifeboats, some only partially full, rowed to safety beyond the desperate reach of those struggling in the frigid waters. (first officer Harold Lowe). Those safe in the lifeboats rowed aimlessly into the night, listening to the horrible cries of the lost and justifying why they could not go back to save those who were drowning. The fear of capsizing paralyzed the very ones who could offer help and hope.

But the survivors in Lifeboat No.14 chose a different course. Compelled by the sense that they were morally bound to save as many as they could, they rowed toward the voices in the darkness. A precious few were saved. They were the only ones who went back.

Will we (church and Christ-followers) sit in the darkness listening to their cries because of fear? Or will we put fear aside, and row back in to save those who are unable to save themselves? Will we choose to be on mission with Jesus?

Thoughts for week 2

Part 1.

Read Nehemiah 4:1-15

In this passage, the Jews face two attacks from satan; one from the enemies who sought to gstir up troubleh for them and the other from within. The attack from within came in the form of despair and discouragement. The task seemed too great and the opposition to strong. To answer these threats, Nehemiah protected the people of God by posting families at the weakest spots, and protected their mission by giving them a sense of unity and purpose.

Part 2.

Read Nehemiah 4:16-23

In this passage, Nehemiah devises a plan for how to both accomplish the mission and protect the family. A call to arms is issued.

• #Leadership 101: vision > clarity > alignment > execution > accomplishment. The 1st 3 will define the last 2.

• The church is by its very nature composed of tent dwellers ~ Paul Minear

• “If you’re looking for the next big thing, & you’re looking where everyone else is, you’re looking in the wrong place.” –Mark Cuban

• New Testament church was a church-multiplying ministry–not church growth movement. Multiplication, not expansion. (via @RevMSlaughter)

• “Leaders know well that innovation and change involve experimenting and taking risks.” Kouzes & Posner

• RT @ligonier: Top 5 Commentaries on Every Book of the Bible http://bit.ly/6ReK11

• RT @RevJames41 “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” – Thomas A Edison

• Truth is irrelevant until it is applied… Bob Parr

• To be right with God often means to be in trouble with men – Tozer