How do leaders hear the voice of the Holy Spirit?

20 06 2013

This excerpt of THE AMAZING POTENTIAL OF ONE SURRENDERED CHURCH (p. 91) explores how the Antioch leaders may have “heard” from the Lord.

There are those who say that God has given His full revelation in the 66 books of the Bible, and that any further “listening” to God is not only unnecessary but heretical. Truly, God’s revelation is complete (Revelation 22:18). Yet, our resurrected Savior is the living Head of the Church, and the lead Shepherd of each local church. We should pursue a closeness and immediacy with Him such that we receive guidance for each and every step of our ministry. In this sense, the Spirit of Jesus willingly leads the church that is united in prayer and humble before God, eagerly seeking His direction.

How did this happen at Antioch? Was the Spirit’s voice audible to all or even one? Was a prophecy given by one of the leaders? We don’t know. But we do know the Spirit worked in all of their hearts until His directive was evident to all of the leaders. It may be that as they prayed, the Lord brought to mind the grace of the gospel that had come to them as Gentiles. The Spirit brought to mind the Lord’s commands to “make disciples of all nations,” and the promise that He would make them witnesses “even to the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). God had shown them that Barnabas and Saul were a compatible and trustworthy ministry pair, for they had faithfully dispatched the gift to Jerusalem. And just as importantly, the church had seen that they could continue in ministry even when their two founding leaders were gone.

Out of the melting pot of these realizations, the Spirit began to burden Barnabas and Saul with the thought of thousands of Gentiles who had not yet heard of the cross of Christ. A new “calling” emerged within them. The other elders, realizing they had received this grace, knew they were now responsible to convey that same grace to others. So, by mutual understanding, the elders knew the Holy Spirit was asking Barnabas and Saul to launch out in a new ministry. “Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away” (Acts 13:3).

FOR DISCUSSION

How would you describe the listening capability of your leadership team? What conditions are right for the Holy Spirit to clearly guide you as a church and leadership team? What obstacles might block the Spirit’s guidance within your leadership team?


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Categories : Amazing Potential of One Surrendered Church book

A new displaced person every 4.1 seconds

19 06 2013

One of the signs of our time is the rise in the number of refugees. This reality can be viewed through the lens of economics and politics, but we as believers in Christ are also to view the movement of peoples through the lens of the call of God to love the stranger and alien (Lev. 19:33-34). A general trend historically is for the USA to receive refugees from countries where there has been conflict, and where our government hopes to instill democratic ideals. Already, the USA holds 20% of all international immigrants. It could be that we will be seeing refugees increase in the near future from Afghanistan and Syria.

For now, consider this excerpt from the article published June 19, 2013 by the BBC:

  • The UN says 7.6 million people became refugees in 2012, with the total number now higher than at any time since 1994.

  • A report from the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says that Syria is “a major new factor” driving up refugee numbers. The war in Syria could displace another two million people by the end of 2013

  • The report says 55% of all refugees come from five countries: Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, Sudan and Syria.

  • It also found that developing countries now hosted 81% of the world’s refugees, 11% more than a decade ago.

“These truly are alarming numbers. They reflect individual suffering on a huge scale and they reflect the difficulties of the international community in preventing conflicts and promoting timely solutions for them,” said UNHCR chief Antonio Guterres.

Mr Guterres said that the figure of 7.6 million meant there was a new displaced person every 4.1 seconds. “Each time you blink another person is forced to flee,” he said.

The UNHCR says the figures are based on data from the agency itself as well as from governments and other NGOs.

Afghanistan remained the world’s biggest source of refugees, a position it has now held for 32 years, with 95% of Afghan refugees located in either Iran or Pakistan.

Somalis were the second biggest group of refugees in 2012, followed by Iraqis. Syrians were the fourth biggest group.

Accessed 6/19/2013 at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-22963060

 


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Categories : Mission

Without Love, I am a missional sham

19 06 2013

To talk about cross-cultural competency or multiethnic church is premature until we talk about loving others, loving everyone in Jesus’ name. The heart of love drives the hands of reconciliation.

  • Though I speak of the virtues of welcoming the nations, and enlighten the masses about cultural competency, but have not love, I am nothing.
  • Though I have a church of 20% Latinos and 20% Blacks and 20% Asians and 20% Anglos and 20% Pacific Islanders, yet have not love, I am merely counting heads.
  • If I don’t look my neighbor in the eye, and hear his story–if I don’t have him in my home and visit his, if I don’t ask about his hurts and reconcile our differences, I am merely pursuing a strategy, merely playing church with diversity–I have not love, I am a missional sham.

Lord, I desire to be a “vessel of honor”–a useful, sharp tool you can readily and frequently reach for and find satisfactory for the job. I offer myself fresh today.


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Categories : Ethnicity & Culture, New Community

The man who smoked his way through the NT one page at a time

14 06 2013

I love stories of how God is moving people around the world that they might find him! I came across this story in the training manual of Culture ConneXions, a ministry of SIM USA.

indexMany immigrants have absolutely astounding testimonies as to how they came to Christ and how God brought them through persecution, and other problems, to arrive where they are at this time in their lives.  The impact can transform people’s thinking about that people group.

There is a local pastor, Rev. Sam Om, from Cambodia.  He pastors the only Cambodian church in Charlotte and is a constant challenge to my own commitment to Christ.  Sam came to Christ in the midst of the “killing fields” of Cambodia during the oppression perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge regime.  Well over a million Cambodians died in that hideous modern day holocaust.  Sam was right in the middle of it.

Sam was among those spared from death so he could work the fields to provide for the regime.  He worked every day from early morning to late in the evening, being fed very little and allowed almost no rest during the day.  At times he thought it would be easier to just be killed and end the suffering.

His one small joy during the day came at the short break time for a small unappetizing lunch.  Sam smoked cigarettes after his meal.  The prisoners made their own cigarettes and there was always a shortage of paper suitable for such “strategic” use.

One day someone gave him a New Testament.  It had smooth, thin yet strong pages.  They were just right for making cigarettes. So Sam began “smoking his way through the New Testament” beginning in Matthew.  He used the pages sparingly so it would last longer.  Finally he decided that for interest’s sake he would read the page before he used it to make another cigarette.

The more he read, the more interested he became.  Because of the horrific circumstances all around him, he was particularly interested in Jesus’ promise of eternal life.  Without the help of other Christians, Sam put his faith in Christ and knew he had become a new creation, bound for heaven!

Through a miraculous journey and deliverance, Sam was able to get to Bangkok, Thailand and obtain a passport and visa to the U.S.  Sam, who is now a graduate of Gordon Conwell Seminary here in Charlotte, not only continues to lead and pastor his church but takes trips with some of his church leaders on frequent trips back to Cambodia to train Cambodian pastors for their ministry there.  I love to hear Sam share his testimony and especially when he is sharing it with a European American audience.  They are on the edge of their chairs!

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Categories : Uncategorized

God’s whistle

11 06 2013

I came across this passage this morning and love it:

pakistani woman“He will lift up a banner to the nations from afar,
And will whistle to them from the end of the earth;
Surely they shall come with speed, swiftly.
No one will be weary or stumble among them,
No one will slumber or sleep;
Nor will the belt on their loins be loosed, Nor the strap of their sandals be broken.” (Isa. 5:26-27 NKJV)

What a picture! Here is God, who in previous verses excoriates those who out of greed acquire more land and houses than they need or can even use…warning those who in their partying have long forgotten Him….who call out to God not in need but as if He is their servant (“Let Him make speed and hasten His work, that we may see it,” v 19). But now God lifts up this huge banner of mercy, and He whistles to the nations! “Y’all come! From the ends of the earth…you, steeped in strange religions, bowing to gods of your own craftsmanship, come to the living God. You who are humble, seek me, and you will find me.”

And they come! They run, “with speed, swiftly.” They don’t dawdle, but like the disciples, they leave what it is they have been so focused on, and they pursue the master. They don’t trip along the way, don’t sleep in for that extra hour. No, they strap their sandles tightly, gather up the loose ends of their garments, and RUN!

God is a gathering God. Ever looking into the future, He desires to restore fellowship, reunite His peoples…to each other, to Himself. I love this picture. I see it in Jesus, who said, “Come, follow Me.” Leave what you’re so preoccupied with, and come be with me.

Lord, sound out with your liberating whistle, and let the nations run to you. And God, let me be a part of making that sound. Give me the privilege of being a small part of the nations coming back to you.


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Categories : Ethnicity & Culture, Mission, New Community

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