Tagged: DAWN RSS

  • Mark 4:14 pm on June 23, 2006 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: DAWN   

    Tinkering 

    earth_th.jpgI’ve been tinkering around with Google Earth lately…what an awesome program! It has been especially fun for me as I’m spending more time this summer thinking about how North America is on the precipice of moving deeper and deeper into more authentic expressions of the Christian faith.

    Over on my sidebar of this blog, I have written one of the goals that has been central to what I am to be about: I want to see a vibrant family of Jesus in close proximity geographically and culturally, of every single person in North America. So many of the established, “legacy” churches (which is exactly what they are for many of us, since that is our legacy) reach out only to a select number of people, leaving millions on this continent without a vibrant, healthy expression of Jesus anywhere close to the lost. Within organic church conversations, a central principle is that of keeping only the essentials, in order for the “church” to take on many strange, new forms. Always new wineskins, for the ever-new wine.

    But how will we know if these “vibrant families of Jesus” are in close reach? How will we know which neighborhoods to pray for? There’s probably lots of ways to do it, but for a small group in Abilene, we are looking carefully at our city’s ethnographic and geographic fingerprints. Programs like Google Earth, are helpful, but we are also setting out on foot, meeting new people who are very different from your standard issue church-goer. (Finally!)

    Who are the different people groups in this city? In other cities? What makes them tick? What are their hopes, dreams, and deepest fears? What is their “God-language”? If we’re serious about raising up a family of Jesus in close proximity to every people group in the nation, and eventually the whole world, we can’t just sit back and hope it happens. We have to begin to examine the harvest field!

    There are many others in many other cities doing similar things as we are. Not connected through anything more than their connection to Christ, these brothers and sisters are praying that the lost of this world come to Christ, and are discipled by Him. Among others, DAWN is one great resource and has given me words to form a lot of the hopes and dreams I’ve been having lately. They are a grassroots system for getting the word out about church planting and reaching the lost.

    Simple, and organic churches are certainly not the only way to reach the lost world, but they are making a significant impact in places like China, India, Africa and now in Latin America (there called “Base Ecclesial Communities”). God is knocking at the door of the West, ready to unleash a new/ancient power: his very people as the multi-ethnic church.

    Share
     

    • Guy Muse 7:58 pm on June 23, 2006 Permalink

      I want to see a vibrant family of Jesus in close proximity geographically and culturally, of every single person in North America.

      What a great goal. May the Lord grant this desire of your heart. Keep at it and don’t stop till He returns for us!

      I just ‘discovered’ your blog and have really enjoyed reading through several of the articles.

    • Mark 3:23 pm on June 24, 2006 Permalink

      Thanks Guy, and I have enjoyed reading your blog as well. You bring some great wisdom and plenty of experience to the table in this new emerging world of church planting. Keep praying that the Lord of the Harvest will send out workers in Ecuador, as will I!

      The goal of seeing a “vibrant family of Jesus in close reach of every person” will be impossible to attain if there are not workers, and any minister will tell you, its like pulling teeth to get “volunteers” to do anything. So I’m praying Luke 10:2′s prayer of asking the Lord of the Harvest for honest-to-goodness WORKERS in his harvest field! You are one of those workers in Ecuador, Guy. God bless.

  • Mark 2:26 pm on June 12, 2006 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: DAWN   

    Coaching in Austin 

    Last Thursday I took a nice drive down to Austin, TX with some old friends and some new faces to gather for a Texas-wide organic church planter’s conference on coaching.

    In terms of moving people deeper into realizing their potential in God’s Kingdom, I think coaching offers a healthy alternative.  Rather than top-down training programs that command and control the blossoming church leader, the coach simply learns to ask questions to the coachee in hopes of raising their awareness and responsibility towards a certain topic that the coachee is interested in growing in.  The “leader” is the one being coached, not the coach himself.  This is a big paradigm shift for me, because it means that I must have faith that God can be trusted with the other person’s life; it is not all up to me to see discipleship happen in others.
    As the weekend went on, we Abilenians built closer relationships with each other, and shared stories about the particular communities and house churches we were involved in.  It was inspiring to hear about the diversity found in the Jesus Family Network, and at the same time to hear about the common dream to see Christ formed among natural relationships in our city!  Over lunch, just before our return to Abilene, the 6 of us sat around the table and challenged each other to take new steps in creating a more cohesive church network in our city.  We talked about the need to raise awareness in our individual house churches – sharing what God is doing around the city.  We encouraged each other to begin coaching relationships with people of similar giftings.  It is simply amazing to see what can happen when you put two pastors in the same room and give them opportunity to learn from one another.  I’m hoping and praying that as the network of simple churches in Abilene develops, more and more people of similar gifting will find each other and began to rely on each other for resources, encouragement and coaching.

    In a lot of ways, it all revolves around stories.  I get so encouraged hearing about the ways God is working in parts all over Abilene, outside of my little world.  I came back from Austin so excited that I mapped out all of the house churches in the city, as well as the families that are interested in starting one soon.

    I think one of the biggest potential dangers in house churches is the tendency to isolate ourselves from the larger family of Christ.  The more my wife and I begin to move into this way of living, the more we are hearing of others who are doing the same.  Wouldn’t it be foolish to avoid each other?

    At the very end of the conference, Kent Smith gave the “invitation”.  No, not for someone to come forward and be baptized, (although I DO wish we had ended the afternoon with “Just as I am,”)  but rather the DAWN invitation.  Basically, it is a broad overview of what DAWN (Disciple a Whole Nation) is all about (a flat-structured organization that promotes church planting awareness and training all over the world, including North America), as well as an invitation to join the emerging coaching network in the United States.  DAWN realizes how many people are out there truly working at planting a healthy church in their living room, but also is realistic about the fact that many of these Christians are going to need some encouragement and coaching.  Kent asked us as church planters from all over Texas to consider joining this network of coaches, and to invite others as well.  While I don’t want to be overwhelmed with “another responsibility”, it really sounds like this coaching network is there mainly for each other’s general encouragement and provides great opportunities to remain connected to others who are doing the same things you care about.  Very cool.

    Share
     

    • priest 3:02 pm on June 12, 2006 Permalink

      Mark, thanks for keeping me updated. excited to follow in a well-blazed trail this coming fall. and to join in stuff like this.

    • Agent B 3:59 pm on June 12, 2006 Permalink

      Admittedly…I’ve kept a interested, yet sceptical eye on this “organic” thing since I met you (or since I discovered your blog).

      Everything about the organic thing seemed to be the direction I’ve been going. But I kept awaiting for the punches to be pulled…you know…more of the same ole same ole (“Meet the new boss, same as the old boss” – The Who’s Won’t get Fooled Again). More church as we know it, as in, someone is ON TOP other than Jesus.

      By the sounds of it, I really respect that “coaching” thing. Like an individual isn’t trying to clone themself by training other leaders to be like them. But more like a natural “fathering” relationship (I’ll be your daddy until you grow up. Then you’re on your own). But coaching sounds less abusive than “fathering”.

      Right on.

      …from the fringes of the empire.

    • Mark 5:39 pm on June 12, 2006 Permalink

      Thanks for the words B, its all still very new for me, and for a long while I kept waiting for the proverbial “man behind the curtain” to reveal himself. If that ever happens, I’ll be outta here and on to something else, because Jesus seemed to make it pretty clear that we have direct access to him – avoiding all the voodoo middle man stuff.

      Keep me posted on your perspectives in all of this. Thanks B. And thanks again for the muffins, they were freakin’ awesome.

    • rob horton 9:03 pm on June 12, 2006 Permalink

      Mark,

      I enjoyed reading about your experience at the conference. I am thinking more along the lines of co-mentoring. Even if a brother with twenty years of journey experience gets together with a brother of two weeks, the two week brother has something to offer via the Spirit of the living God. I just feel like we have two many puffed up folk that love taking the role of expert, or more experienced, or more mature. Let’s get back to recognizing that we are all students in the school of the Anointed One. Keep pressing on!

    • Mark 9:39 am on June 13, 2006 Permalink

      Thanks Rob – great points. Not only do we have things to learn from our “younger” brothers/sisters in the faith, but as the church begins to think/look more globally, we have much to learn from the other corners of the globe. Gone are the days when America had a corner on the truth of God! Think about the Europeans, they are the great teachers of the faith. Think of the power of the Spirit seen in Africa. What about the pastoral spirit prevading Latin America? What about the other parts of God’s good creation? So much to learn.

    • rob horton 10:24 am on June 13, 2006 Permalink

      Mark – I am totally with you!

c
compose new post
j
next post/next comment
k
previous post/previous comment
r
reply
e
edit
o
show/hide comments
t
go to top
l
go to login
h
show/hide help
esc
cancel