House Church Conference Denver 2005

Warning... And enjoy!

2006-09-30T11:00:00.000-06:00

This blog is written by a novice... So enjoy. If you are unfamiliar with what a house church or simple church is. I encourage you to look at the links down the side. The Church of Jesus Christ is diverse and does not always meet in a large building or need big budgets! It can be experiential and participatory.

I am still updating from notes taken and thoughts, I should have it all complete by Tuesday, September 13, 2005.

Those who'd be Englush Majoirs, Jornalists, ur Gramur Kritiks... Soree!

No Place Like Home... No Place Like Home

2006-09-07T16:36:00.000-06:00

No Place Like Home... No Place Like Home
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Reed Family Tradition: Whenever anyone goes away overnight, we have a party for them when they get home. Tradition states that there must be a Welcome Home Sign to greet the person. I am glad to be home.

Developing a Regional Strategy Notes

2005-09-09T17:55:00.000-06:00

Developing a Regional Strategy
House Church Conference 9/05
Tim Pynes, Kenny Moore, Mike Steele, John White

The larger story.

“…At the center of the universe is relationship. From all eternity the living God has been community, family. From all eternity the living God has been infinitely pleased as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

”…The community at the center of the universe draws near to me. That would be good enough. And draws near to me in such a way that the community draws me into that inner relatedness of that community. An astounding claim! But this is the fundamental message of Scripture. It is what friendship with God is all about. It is what the Kingdom is all about.” Darrell Johnson, Experiencing the Trinity , P. 60-62,

“What we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, that you also may have fellowship (koinonia) with us; and indeed our fellowship (koinonia) is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” 1 Jn. 1:3

Developing a regional strategy means join God in what He is already doing. The Community (also known as the Trinity) is drawing me/us into “the inner relatedness of that community”. And, I am invited to join The Community in drawing others into that same fellowship (koinonia). That invitation is found in Mt. 28:19-20. “Therefore as you are going, make disciples of all ethne, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…”

Dallas Willard’s paraphrase, “Renovation of the Heart,” p. 240: “As you go throughout the world, make apprentices to me from all kinds of people, immerse them in Trinitarian reality, and teach them to do everything I have commanded you.”

In order to join God in His work in our part of the harvest field (ie, develop a regional strategy), there are at least four things that we need to be clear about.

1. Clarity about God’s desired outcome. How are we to disciple a whole ethne?

Some years ago, Jim Montgomery, founder of DAWN Ministries, was asking God how the Great Commission was to be fulfilled. The Master's answer to him was, "See to it that I, the Lord, truly become incarnate in every small group of people on the earth."

Jim continues, "In a flash of insight from the Lord it all became very clear. Where does the Lord now dwell? 'Christ in you, the hope of glory' (Col. 1:27). 'Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them' (Mt. 18:20). Christ could be alive and well and present in all his power and glory and compassion while communicating his wonderful message of the Kingdom in a totally contextualized way in every small community of people if only there were some truly born-again believers exercising the gifts of the Spirit and functioning there as the body of Christ." (p. 31-32, DAWN2000: 7 Million Churches to Go)

The DAWN Vision: When we think about fulfilling the Great Commission (Mt. 28:19-20) we think about a church (a vibrant family of Jesus, an expression of the Trinitarian community) within easy access of every human being in a particular region or people group.

2. Clarity about my assignment. What is the region or people group that God has called me to? Is it a neighborhood or a county or a city or a province or a nation? Or a particular ethnic group? The “John Knoxer” concept.

3. Clarity about the starting point. We believe that the single most important thing we can do toward the objective is to be highly faithful in praying the prayer that Jesus commanded us to pray in Luke 10:2. Everything else grows out of this. Kenny: “This is our Plan A. (We don’t have a Plan B.”)
• Relentless. Wear God out. See parables about prayer in Lk. 11 and 18. Praying as close to every day as possible.
• “…to send forth workers…” exballo = thrust forth, launch, used of casting out demons, implies high degree of motivation. Once you get one of these “sent ones” everything else is relatively easy. Some probable answers to this prayer: Paul, Cornelius, Aquila & Priscilla, Lydia, etc.
• Harvest workers. Two kinds in this context: apostolic church planters (mobile) and people of peace (stationary). (Kenny: “The Leadership Solution”.)
• “Beseech” = a command. Connect with Mt. 28:20: “…teaching them to obey all I’ve commanded you.” One of Jesus’ commands was the 10:2b Prayer. Therefore, every disciple should be taught this prayer.
• Organic and viral in nature. 10:2b Virus.
• God gets the glory. He does the “heavy lifting”. We ask for “fully formed” workers. “1 Tim. 3” kind of people.
• The Lord of the Harvest responds to our prayers. 10:2b stories.
• By-products of praying this prayer daily: increase in our faith (seeing the answers), develops a “harvest mentality”, close friendship with Kenny and Mike.

Want to be on an elist where we share 10:2b stories and insights? Email John White at DenverWH@aol.com and say, “Put me on your elist”.

4. Clarity about my partner. Jesus paired people up and sent them out into the harvest by twos. He knows I need a partner who has the same assignment I have with whom I can passionately and daily beseech the Lord of the harvest to thrust out (exballo - launch!) motivated and gifted harvest workers into our part of the harvest.
• Why Jesus sent them out two by two – Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
• The basic relationship in the church is the pair. The healthiest house church will be made up of many pairs (prayer partners, LTG, etc.). The house church is not the most foundational unit.
• When Jesus sent them out two by two, he was sending churches (Mt. 18:20) to plant churches.
• Good article on the biblical concept of pairs. http://kingwatch.co.nz/Church_Ministry/power_pairs.htm

Good Bye Denver...

2005-09-05T16:00:00.000-06:00

Good Bye Denver...
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Keith Broadbent drove me to the airport. I am not sure if I am going to do that again? :-) Two missed off-ramps and a couple wrong directions in the road and to top it off, after all that, he stops at a red light... Go figure? After talking to his wife on Keith's cell phone, I was reassured that he was normally a safe driver and that I would make it alive to the airport. I guess those freeways out of Denver are tricky. Love ya Keith! THANX!

Last Look at the Adam's Mark... Off to Airport

2005-09-05T15:50:00.000-06:00

Last Look at the Adam's Mark... Off to Airport
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Lunch at the Taste of Colorado

2005-09-05T13:15:00.000-06:00

Keith and Bill on way to lunch at the Taste of Colorado...
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Thanks Keith for the ride to the airport.

Taste of CO... This is a big deal!
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

We enjoyed Thai Food... I've been hooked since traveling with Youthbuilders and Dean Bruns

Lunch at the Taste of Colorado
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Taste of CO... Big Ski!
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

T of CO...Beautiful place for a food festival...
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Chris and Simi Valley Team 2

2005-09-05T13:06:00.000-06:00

Chris and Simi Valley Team 2
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Chris and Simi Valley Team

2005-09-05T13:05:00.000-06:00

Chris and Simi Valley Team
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Roger got books signed...

2005-09-05T13:04:00.000-06:00

Roger got books signed...
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Roger Thoman is thrilled to have signed copies... Pray for Roger, he is planning a book about a pastor who moves from the traditional church to the house church network philosphy. Isn't that a hard thing to do? Oh... Yeah! Roger did that! Email him with encouragements by going to his blog and encouraging him in the process.

Art the Soundman Breaking Down

2005-09-05T13:00:00.000-06:00

Art the Soundman Breaking Down
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Clean Up and Book Packing Crew

2005-09-05T12:55:00.000-06:00

Clean Up and Book Packing Crew
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Thanks for the Resources! Job well done!

Roger and Bill Blogging and Taking Notes

2005-09-05T12:54:00.000-06:00

Roger and Bill Blogging and Taking Notes
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

We¹re wireless!

Wolfgang's Charge to go start churches... People lined up.

2005-09-05T12:30:00.000-06:00

Wolfgang's Charge to go start churches... People lined up.
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

The following are notes from the last meeting. Roger Thoman assisted in the taking of notes.

The problem is not with the Harvest it is with the Harvesters. The Harvesters are not prepared.

He has seen so many people who have enjoyed a revival but the emphasis was on the "enjoyed". They forgot that the Holy Spirit is an apostolic figure. Upon receiving the Holy Spirit, you are sent out.

Receiving the Holy Spirit is not meant to be a fleeting moment. It is not the moment .

Enemy wants us to believe that the harvest is not ripe.

Preparing the harvest workers

Holy Spirit is apostolic-- not for us to enjoy

Spirit comes-- then there is a kicking out process-- casting out laborers for the harvest-- separating people from things they cling to that makes them unusable for the harvest

Our safe life-- keeps us from being cast out

This is preparation time-- things are not yet exploding-- so make us ready for this

We have to learn to trust God for our finances-- God pays for what He orders.

There is an absence of God's order-- church being run according to the rules of the world

What do people do when they get up? People need to be slain in the flesh.

Kingdom = new set of rules that need to be heard-- not your own weapons and tools
You are not your own-- you are the property of God
Sword - word
Cycle- for harvest
Take your place in the army

God is not going to sign off on your strategy

Love others and serve them = God's order

Judges 3:31 -- Shamgar-- the hero-- saved Israel-- spiritual super-heros do it all-- This is the hour of the small guys. Bye-bye to Shamgar.

Don't build the house without the Lord-- He builds it.

How is it when God builds the house-- and when the HS comes and stays.

He builds according to a pattern in heaven -- we reflect what He is about

Marriage reflects what He is in heaven perfectly

Noah built according to the pattern-- then the HS came (rain) and stayed

People take dirt from the ground to build things from-- rather than the pattern from heaven.

Brick=symbol of rebellion

We make beautiful, living people into bricks. They don't want to be part of your plan.

They want love, passion, and let's turn the world upside down.

Spirit's structure has seed in it-- and reproduces itself.

Wolfgang's Charge... Word, Sword of Spirit, Church Planting Sicil

2005-09-05T12:10:00.000-06:00

Wolfgang's Charge... Word, Sword of Spirit, Church Planting Sicil
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Distracted by a Baby... Why?

2005-09-05T12:03:00.000-06:00

I held a restless crying baby for a couple who was trying to listen to Wolfgang. At the end of the time, this couple stood up to be sent out to plant house church in Brooklynn, NY.

I don't like spit up (those of you who know me, know about my bodily fluid thing) and the little baby boy... 4 months... spit up all over my arm and hand. There was nothing to do but grin and bear it. I got a spit up rag from the mother and kept holding the baby.

Well, after a time the little guy got hungry, so I put the spit up rag over my thumb and let him suck on my thumb. Well, after a time of that, he was ready for the real thing. BACK TO MAMA! But this time, he was not crying and wanted to eat and sleep.

Well, sometimes obeying the still small voice of God is as simple as holding a baby. I had no idea that holding a baby would would be an act of obedience to God. I guess practice makes perfect. Obedience was a major theme of the weekend.

Pray for this couple, that the grace, power, and peace of God would rest on them. That there calling would be fruitful for the Kingdom and that little Aiden would grow up in the power and might of God.

Paul and Kyle Eid (Abigail and Aiden)

Paul and Kyle Eid with Abigail and Aiden
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Last Session - Monday AM

2005-09-05T11:07:00.000-06:00

Last Session - Monday AM
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Layton Lynch from Bakersfield

2005-09-05T00:01:00.000-06:00

Layton Lynch from Bakersfield
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Remember Layton, He visited our Gathering a couple months ago.

Back In Paso Robles, CA... While I am away ... Gathering Together for a Sunday Evening Meal

2005-09-04T22:49:00.004-06:00

Well, I miss the family. Rich was willing to send some photo's to me of the Gathering tonight at his house. Sunday night is reserved for Playing and Praying together. Sometimes movies, cards, games, and always great food. Rich... is that one of the Work Ranch Steers? If so, I am truly missing out on dinner tonight. That is good beef! Better than anything I have had in Denver!

Back In Paso Robles, CA... My kids and friends from our Gathering.
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Photo 2
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Photo 3
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Photo 4
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Photo 5
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Photo 6
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Photo 7
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Neil Cole on Humility

2005-09-04T22:24:00.000-06:00

Neil Cole
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Opening was a Film Clip: The Jerk

False Modesty is not humility. Putting yourself down is very self centered. Ego is deadly. Neil says this is something that he deals with every year, ... ok every month..., ok... every week, ... ok... every day... every morning.

When he got out of seminary he thought he would turn the world upside down in one year.

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is not thinking of yourself at all.

The Christian life is about tearing off the false identities so that our self image is what God intended it to be.

What is your true identity?
The Kingdom is costly but worth it
Christ in you is the hope of glory (Col 1:27), and nothing else.
*Marriage is learning to strip away the layers of false identity and seeing Christ in each one of us... Christ is the hope of Glory.
*In order to get to that point, it takes pain, conflict, fear, etc. You must go through it to get the reward.
When will Christ be enough?

1Peter 5
"... all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble."

God does not bless those who are proud. We must learn to be humble. God grace will be poured out on this movement if we are humble.

"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that HE may exalt you at the proper time."

You have two choices in humility...
1. Humble yourself and let God exalt you.
2. Let God humble you.

You also have two choices.
1. Exalt yourself and let God humble you.
2. Humble yourself and let God exalt you.

Humility is not putting yourself down, but rather putting others up.

Read Philippians 2

Summary:
We need to learn to exalt others around us. We need to lift up others. We need to accept when Christ is stripping things away from us. We need to respond with humility.

Ask yourself the following questions to Philippians 2
When will Christ be enough for you?
What will it take for Christ's Spirit to become the most noticeable thing about you?

Let other's have first on things. Lift up others and care for others.

Film Clip: Aragorn recieves the sword from the head elf, Elrond, to defend himself during the battle. Aragorn walks out a differnt man. He walks in a common Ranger, but leaves the person he was meant to be, humble king.

We all need to put aside the Ranger and become the person that we were meant to be. We all have royal lineage in Jesus Christ. Who can summon spiritual warriors to fight for you.

Film Clip 2: Aragorn goes to visit the dead in the mountain... He does not fear death.

Sunday Night Interview

2005-09-04T20:43:00.000-06:00

Sunday Night Interview
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Tony Dale and Neil Cole Interviewed
How does this continue as the body rather than expressions of the body.
We must be bound together by good DNA
D- Divine Truth
N- Nurturing Relationships
A- Apostolic Mission

Neil Cole
We are good with the D and N of the DNA

Divine Truth
Nurturing Relationship

They forgot about the Apostolic mission that unites the "body of Christ" The mission is what unites us. We need to be less offended and give honor to each other and the expressions of the body of Christ. There is no "one" expression of the faith that can stand on its own.

Tony Dale
God told us to love each other not agree with each other.
We need to look at different sides of each issue. The body of Jesus Christ needs to look at things different ways and after looking at it, walk away from each other as brothers being willing to disagree but still love each other.

Summary:
The interviews centered around issues of unity... A critical issue that needs to be continually looked at. My favorite quote is from Neil Cole... The question was "Being rather conservative... What do you say to peole who see this as a charasmatic movement? I believe in "charima" the opperation of all the gifts for the body of Christ." I think that sums up the interviews. We believe in all the gifts of the Holy Spirit. God decides when and how to use them, we just need to be willing to use them. We need to be willing to not look at another brother who is doing something different and say... hey that is weird. The body of Christ is diverse!

Duffy's Waitress Kristine

2005-09-04T20:36:00.000-06:00

Duffy's Waitress Kristine
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Come to Denver... Go to Duffy¹s and get this waitress! She is great! She asked us what we were doing. We shared about house church...her response was typical of people. Interesting... We must give the church and the Bible and the gospel back to the common people.

Networking with Turlock and East Bay

2005-09-04T20:34:00.000-06:00

Networking with Turlock and East Bay
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Ephesians 4:11 cont.

2005-09-04T20:32:00.000-06:00

Ephesians 4:11 cont.
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

The goal is always Christ!

Ephesians 4:11 Counterfeit of 4/11 teams

2005-09-04T20:28:00.000-06:00

Ephesians 4:11 Counterfeit of 4/11 teams
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

I love this comparrision

Ephesians 4:11 Team Responsibilities

2005-09-04T20:27:00.000-06:00

Ephesians 4:11 Team Responsibilities
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Equip the Body to do the work!

Ephesians 4:11 Leadership Spectrum

2005-09-04T20:26:00.000-06:00

Ephesians 4:11 Leadership Spectrum
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Great slide on how different leadership gifts view the world.

Neil Cole: Ephesians 4:11

2005-09-04T20:23:00.000-06:00

Neil Cole: Ephesians 4:11
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Neil Cole
411 Teams
Ephesians 4:11-12
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up

- These are gifts/people given to the church. They have spiritual enablements.
- He gave the gifts for them to equip others to do the work.
- Not all have these gifts. (I Cor. 12:29-30)
- You will find that if you do not have these gifts, you probably operate better under someone who has one of these gifts.
- These Leadership functions are more regional and broader in influence than the elder/deacon roles found in each expression of simple church.

There is not much information about these functions...
Examples of believers

Apostle: A sent one to lay a foundation for the expansion of the church with a specific God given assignment
- a sent on (apostlos) is often looking for new places and people to spread the kingdom of God.
- Lays a foundation in a given region or movement (Ephesians 2:19-22) and does not build on another's foundation (Rom 15:20-21.
- Often unappreciated by contemporaries ( 1 Cor. 4:9-13; 2 Cor. 12:15), but looked upon favorably by history (Heb. 13:7-8).
- Identifies/ empowers leaders quickly, and is often the one who will call out the other 4/11 leaders
- They are good at reading culture and sees open doors for teh message (1 Cor. 9:19-23, 16:7-9, 2 Cor. 2:12)
- They see opportunities where others see closed doors.
- Passionate for the churches (2 Cor. 11:28; 1 Thess 2:7-12)
- But is driven by concern for the captives ( 1 Cor. 9:18, 23; Rom 10:1
- Has a patriarchal authority rather than positional (1 Cor. 9:1-2; 2 Cor. 3:1-3; Philemon 9, 1 Thess. 2:11; 1 Tim. 1:22)
Romans 16:7 Junias (Woman's names)

1Cor. 15:3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. (Note: That apostles are after the "A" Apostles)

(Showed clip from Big Wave Surfing) Application: Apostles go places that people dare to go. They start trends.
Task is bigger than a one man job.
Willing to go somewhere where no one has ever been before.
Willing to experiement in different ways
Willing to risk it all/ loose his life.
He relied on the others to see what he could see.

Rom. 1:1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God
*He was first a servant not a prophet. Don't go around

Prophet: One who hears and speaks a specific word from God to a distinct persn or persons.
- Rules have changed since the days of the OT prophet (Heb. 1:1-3)
- Encourager, comforter, strengthener (1 Cor 14:3)
- Messenger (14:4)
- Often unappreciated (James 5:10-11)
- Speaks for God (1Cor. 14:25, 30-33)
- Speaks of the future (1 tim. 4:14; Acts 20:23; 21:10-11)
- Tells teh truth with out fear of consequence
- Subject to the other prophets for verification (1 Cor. 14:32)

In the health of the simple and organic church, it is healthier because there is a open church type of format.

Apostles adn Prophets are the foundation of the church. They function as a start up team that can initiate the momentum and get down all teh needed parts for self perpetuation and self progagation aof the churches (eph 2:19-22)

This team is especially designed by God to start a movement of church multiplication - identifying good soul, reading teh culture, discovering open doors, finding person's of peace, calling the church to holiness, establishing elders.

- Giving instruction on how to proceed
- Apostle needs the prophet. However the Prophet is there to help the apostle move forward.

Evangelist: One who is called to passionately seek out opportunities to share the gospel with others and lead them toward accceptance of Christ.
- Good News teller ("euangelistes")
Driven to share the gospel (2 Tim 3:1-5; 1 Cor. 9:16-18).

Often more comfortable with lost than found (1 Cor. 9;19-23)
Makes opportunities happen ( Col 4:5-6; Acts 8:40
Contagine in the church

Shepherd: One who has an overwhelming concern for the continuing care for a specific community.

Protects and cares for the flock acts 20:28-131; John 10:11-13
Makes sure they are well fed psalm 23:1-3
Stengthens the weak and searches for the lost sheep
Values inteimancy
Ledas by example, not for personal gain, and is trusted by the flock because he/she has relational authority not positional (John 10:4=5, 27; 1 Petter 5:1-3)

Teacher: One responsible for progressive growth in understanding and application of turth

gift of teaching (Rom 12:7P
facilitates learning of truth and a kingdom lifestyle
mentors on a personal level
Aim people in correct direction
Instruts, corrects, trains in righteousness
teachers by exmaple under a fear of God
Ther is not a need for many teachers
Continuning to expose false assumptions and reveal actual truth
Authority comes from the truth of the scritpture

DNA
Divine Truth
Nurturing Relationships
Apostolic

Evangelist, shepherds & Teachers function as the set-up team that builds up the body for ongoing growth, health and direction.
Notice that each team (Start-up and set up) starts with a gift dedicated to out reach. Notcie that the DNA is present in the set-up Team:

D-Teaching
N-Shepherding
A-evangelizing

The apostleff unctions like a glandular system in that it instills in the body what is needed to dictate the development, mood and reproduction of the body.

Prophet central nervous system

Evangelist - Functions like the muscular/skelital system

Shephard - circulator system, oxygen gets spread out

Teacher - Digestive system, energy to the life of the church, eliminates the waste.

Apostle - Thumb
Prophet - Fourth finger
Evangelist - middle finger reaches out further/likely to offend
Shepherd - LIke a ring finger/ committed to this relationhip until death do us part
Teacher - pinky, picks things apart

There seems to be a magic number of 15 in a network.

15 houses per network

That will be our goal for the central coast. A network of 15 house churches.

Ephesians 4:11 Team Workshop

2005-09-04T20:22:00.000-06:00

Ephesians 4:11 Team Workshop
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Sunday Night 500+

2005-09-04T20:21:00.000-06:00

Sunday Night 500+
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Jim Rutz and the Seelyes

2005-09-04T20:15:00.000-06:00

Jim Rutz and the Seelyes
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

They have been friends since 1953...

Robert and Barbara Seelye

2005-09-04T20:14:00.000-06:00

Robert and Barbara Seelye
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Art Miller adding to the Blog

2005-09-04T20:13:00.000-06:00

Art Miller adding to the Blog
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Art Miller
artmiller@pobox.com
805-341-4878
Neil Cole spoke for the second time this morning, and covered the development of leaders. He explained the need for multiplying leaders as a fundamental requirement for supporting the multiplication of disciples and then churches. The big picture is useful here to see why this is so needed. 100 million new house churches in the next fifteen years is a large picture, but is entirely possible. Neil said 100 million new house churches isn't enough. They need to be healthy and vibrant: real pictures of Christ living in their community.

After explaining the need before us, Neil moved into concepts for developing leaders. There were quite a few, and it is a challenge to decide which parts to leave out. One key piece is that leadership development must come relationally, from other leaders, pouring into them. He also said to look for leaders in the hurting and the broken, the rejected, those who have been passed by on the side of the road as lost. Instilling in them the spiritual DNA (Divine Truth, Nurturing relationships, Apostolic Missions - see Life Transformation Groups for more info) into them allows them to be independent Spirit led people, meaning they can move into the calling God has for them. The final point I'd want to share is a great concept Neil illustrated with the "Hoosiers" movie. The head coach intentionally gets thrown out of the big State game, and forces the assistant coach to step up and make the calls. It can be difficult to yield control, but it isn't ours to take. It's the final step of raising a leader - and very Christlike.

Thanks for the chance to share - Neil had a lot of things that aren't here, but are on the video. If your interested you'll have to watch the video.

Latino Amway

2005-09-04T20:11:00.000-06:00

Latino Amway
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Rolland Baker... He Believes in Jesus of the Bible!

2005-09-03T21:37:00.000-06:00

Rolland & Heidi Baker
Missionaries to the Poorest of the Poor in Mozambique

Watched a video of Heidi and Rolland taking kids back to their home. They minister to the poorest of the poor, the orphans.

After a 40 days of rain and 40 nights of rain. Half of Mozambique was destroyed by flood waters.

The entire nation of Mozambique is coming to God. They are on the front lines of watching the nation of Africa take notice.

What will it take for America to come to know God.

They are seeing people come to Christ just by showing up and asking the Holy Spirit to come. The place erupts with God. People are thirsty for God. Once when they showed up with food to feed the starving, people by-passed the food to get to the tracts and the Bibles. They are desperate for God. Revival is happening because they are desperate.

We don't chase signs and wonders, we don't chase works of the spirit. We don't chase money. We just chase Christ and these other things seem to follow.

53 people to his knowledge have been raised from the dead in Mozambique.

The church in Africa is exploding because they have found the All Mighty God. The Muslims have given up on Africa. Their numbers are slipping (according to Rolland).

The joy of the Lord is their strength. People are coming to the meetings because they hear that Jesus has shown up. So they go to these meetings, some 10,000 at a time standing in the rain listening to the Gospel. They don' t worry about "Seeker Sensative". They come because Jesus is there. Jesus is alive.

What is fueling this movement of God is just sheer pure humility. People are humble before God.

Summary: This guy knows Jesus and knows that the God the Bible is still alive and well. He wanted to go to the poorest of the poor. Well, they now are part of a thriving ministry of people, ordinary uneducated people starting churches and living the Christian life to the fullest.

Dinner... Saturday PM

2005-09-03T21:30:00.003-06:00

Dinner... Saturday PM
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Notice the sign above our heads and the waiter Stephen in the background. Jonny Rockets is a great place to get a burger!

The Resource Center

2005-09-03T21:30:00.002-06:00

The Resource Center
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

List of books later

Jon Dale prepares for the Evening Session

2005-09-03T21:30:00.001-06:00

Jon Dale prepares for the Evening Session
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Griffo Family as Worship Team

2005-09-03T21:30:00.000-06:00

Griffo Family Prays before Worship
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Well, I am always a little skeptical of worship teams. So before tonights session, I snuck behind the curtain and saw the Griffo family praying together before they led everyone in worship or prayers set to music.

Lunch with Robert Seeley and James Rutz

2005-09-03T16:22:00.000-06:00

This was a great time, lots of notes, will post them tonight. Things are moving at a rapid pace and I need to head to another seminar/Conf. meeting.

God is good and great!

Wolfgang Simson: Deliverance and Church Planting

2005-09-03T16:21:00.000-06:00

Interesting Seminar... still processing. All seemed very biblical and within biblical guidelines. This is beyond my experience, not that I would be opposed to it.

More later...

Thom Black was worth the weekend!!!!!

2005-09-03T10:16:00.000-06:00

Thom Black and his Bladder Story
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Thom Black was worth the trip. He hit on all topics... Youth, Parents, Church drop off, Passion, people, relationships, family matters!

Here is a quick snippet of the information. I was typing so fast, I am not sure that I got all of it.

The normal group he talks to are people that he is trying to convince that people like us (House Church People) exist!

10 years ago 95% of believers were tied to a congregation. Today approx. 75% of believers are tied to a congregation. According to there research, within 10-15 years there will be less than 35% of people attached to a traditional church.

Two things are fueling your movement / revolution

1. Promise Keepers sent men back to get involved and the men found out that the church had no place for them.

7-8 million guys went to promise keepers and upon returning realized that

2. Youth Ministry has propelled the movement / revolution. Young people are looking for a real experience.

Barely 1 out of 10 of young people from past youth ministries are tied to a church as adults. That is sad.

These two revolutionaries are propelling the movement.

They asked the question, what is this group all about? What they discovered is that these people are the most passionate group of believers that Barna has ever put there hands on.

7 Core Passions are shared by these Revolutionaries.
1. They want to be in a worshipful experience with God. This does not mean they want to sit on the other side of a pew listening to a band. Some of them are pulled in by singing to God and others are pulled in by listening. However, they are looking for environments that are real and genuine. The difference is that these people are wanting to worship God 24/7. Do not make this into a program, don't fall back on the old way of doing things. It will destroy what you are doing.
They are looking for authenticity, they are looking for something real.

2. They want to grow spiritually. They have been sitting in pews for years where nothing was happening. They are willing to get out and find it somewhere. We must have an authentic faith and they want to hang out with people who are living an authentic faith.

3. They are interested in spiritual friendships. Global church has defined it as coming under authority/ accountability groups/ etc. Churches today are clusters of like-minded people to the point where everyone is just follows and not revolutionaries. Revolutionaries want to have spiritual friends, a spiritual community that they can be authentic with and that they can share their lives with. There are virtual relationships going on today that will blow your minds. These are spiritual friendships that you investing your lives into each other. If you can offer it, then you have something that you want.

4. They are not into evangelism, they are into faith based conversation. They are not interested in the four spiritual laws being thrust into their hands. They are interested in a faith based life that thrusts them into a conversation about Jesus Christ. Not a paper put in their hand. They want to watch the reality of the experience we have with God. An inner reality that God exists.

5. Material Resources is an issue. The average local church has less than 6% tithe. In the revolutionary community is more than 50% tithe/share with those in need. The revolutionaries do not want to invest in buildings, lights, basketball courts etc. They want to put their money where it counts... for real! In our ministries, we are sitting on top of families who have an incredible heart who want to share their resources into very real life opportunities to affect change in the lives of people. (His example of this is Oprah and the cow idea and the response she had.) How can we create a real experience between people with resources and the people who have a genuine read.

The Revolutionary view of the Church...
Please come to our worship service... no one is coming because it is not changing our lives.
Please come to our Bible Studies... I don't want to study, I want to serve.
Please give money/tithe... I don't want to invest in buildings but people.
Please come to our meetings... They are not making a difference in peoples lives.

6. They want to be in works of service. Help them come up with ideas to invest their lives in people... not buildings.

7. Revolutionaries are deathly passionate about their families. They see that there is no difference between the world and the people inside their church. The highest numbers of people getting divorce are pastors. Revolutionaries see that they do not want their kids and families to reflect the current life/lack of life in the church. They want their families to be at the core of what they do.

Don't think that you can reproduce this... you must be diligent to stay away from a system, away from creating the experts, away from reproducing a model. This is about God assembling a team to do a great work.

It is Barna's opinion that this group (House Church Movement) is where the Spirit is falling. It is where they believe that people are growing and having an opportunity to use their gifts.

Other things...
Work place fellowships...
Business fellowships...
House Churches...
Home Schooling Movement is creating a network of families...
Worship Gypsies... (Worship festivals where 30-50,000 peoples)
Tranformation Churches... trying to change to reach the revolutionaries... (Example... get involved in other things outside of the buildings.)

BIG POINT...

Spouses are caught in this turmoil. One spouse sees the value of the worship service/music time... however the other spouse may see that it is producing not fruit. This seems to be an issue for many. Wives enjoy the experience at the traditional church and the husband may not see the validity of it. (or vice versa)

Any move of God that gives the book(Bible) back to the people will protect the truth of His doctrine.

Issue of Youth and Culture...

Big issue... is that kids travel in herds. That is why it is hard for kids to grow in the house church because they learn and grow better in groups than by themselves.

We must understand the youth culture and the needs of the youth culture. The passion of the parents is highly "family centric" yet if there are less than 2 kids in the group... they are probably struggling.

Thom Black after speaking... Hanging with friends.
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Thom Black Quote...

2005-09-03T10:12:00.000-06:00

The normal groups I speak to are people that I am trying to convince that people like you truly exist. (House Church People)

Thom Black - The Revolution - Opening - Barna Group

2005-09-03T10:09:00.000-06:00

We are live... we have internet connection in the conference hall. :-)

Story about childhood bladder issue... We will see how this goes. I am not sure where he is going... He is sharing personal things about a bladder problem using descriptive terms that I have never heard in such a public setting. Everyone is laughing and gasping throughout the story. His vulnerability has set a tone that is amazing. He is not the most gifted presenter, yet his realness is captivating.

He had a urinary track scare from childhood and kept the secret of the problem for 40 years. After telling a very interesting story about disclosing the problem to his wife, working with doctors, and having surgeries, He finally came to a realization about how stupid it was to keep the secret for so long. He has now healed up and can't believe that he kept the medical problem a secret for so long. He could have found freedom 40 years ago from the pain and issues surrounding his problem.

Are we keeping secrets? If so, why if you have an opportunity to have freedom.

We went to prayer to ask God to reveal secrets in our hearts that we may need to reveal. A number of people prayed out loud in the assembly for healing in those peoples lives.

Powerful... more to come.

Breakfast with other House Church People

2005-09-03T09:43:00.000-06:00

It appears that more people showed up than what was expected. So, we just had eggs.. and more eggs. They were good eggs if you put Ketchup, salt, and pepper on them. We are heading to get a front table seat!

Breakfast with other House Church People
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Eggs...and more eggs...
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

It's morning... Heading to Breakfast!

2005-09-03T09:42:00.000-06:00

It's morning... Heading to Breakfast!
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Had to get an elevator picture... I love elevators!

Read a Friends Blog trying to define church... Interesting.

2005-09-03T06:32:00.000-06:00

Something to chew on before the conference begins.

Rich's The Ekklesia Blog. Some food for thought or thoughts for food? Whatever... it is to early... Look forward to the day.

Good night!

2005-09-02T23:58:00.000-06:00

Another day in Denver was well spent. Prayer and People were the main course for the day. I wish all of you were here with me.

Miss the Fam... Jen and kids I love you!
Aren't they cute!

Reed Kids
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Thoughts... Church at the oikos level...

2005-09-02T23:54:00.000-06:00

Church must begin at home... at the level of 'oikos'. It must begin in my home and flow out from there. If our family is not living the peace of God, we cannot give anything away. This is why we resort to programs and pulpits! Imparting life takes time and energy. Programs and Pulpits are predictable, people are not. This is why we are quick to go to someone elses home to have a meeting, because our home is not peaceful.

A thought...

Felicity Dale and Friend

2005-09-02T23:01:00.000-06:00

Felicity Dale and Friend
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

It is great to see the speakers hang out and talk with people. It appears that all are living the idea of relational ministry or the impartation of life through relationship. All the speakers that I took pictures of, were doing just that...hanging out and being "human"!

John White and Friends

2005-09-02T22:59:00.000-06:00

John White and Friends
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Hanging out with the confernece leaders. Life imparts life! Just another example.

Tony Dale and three photographs...

2005-09-02T22:58:00.000-06:00

Well, I decided to get a close up picture of Tony Dale. All the pictures are from the back of a room. So it is now up to you to decide... Which is his better photo? A / B / or C?

A. FLASH.

Tony Dale and three photographs...
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

B. EYES CLOSED.

Tony Dale and three photographs...
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

C. EYES OPEN NO FLASH.

Tony Dale and three photographs...
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Robert Fitts...

2005-09-02T22:57:00.000-06:00

Robert Fitts...
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Remember, to our Central Coast Network, we were going to have lunch with him last month, but he took ill. He is planning a trip through the Central Coast in the spring. We can interact with him then. He is doing better. PTL!

You can check out some of Robert's ideas on his webiste. Click Here.

Neil Cole and Friends...

2005-09-02T22:55:00.000-06:00

Neil Cole and Friends...
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Tony and the Holy Spirit

2005-09-02T22:54:00.000-06:00

Tony and the Holy Spirit
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Friday PM Opening Session
(All Biblical references/verses are NIV, property of Zondervan Inc. used with Permission Etc., see the website for this permission thing. I hate having to do that... seems so commercial. Are there any money changers in the temple courts?... Sorry my bad... let's get back to the good stuff.)

What does it mean for the Holy Spirit to come among us to reveal/exalt Jesus Christ in our life?

What prepares the way for the Lord to come.

Psalm 24 Of David.

Ps. 24:1 The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;
- God is looking for a response from his people where every part of their lives is a passion for Jesus. "Seek first the kingdom of God and then all else will be added."
- God wants to invade every part of our life. All of it.
- Every part of what God has called you to be a part of... Jesus wants to redeem. Jesus wants to redeem all of the earth. He wants to be Lord of everything in our lives.
- Thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. He wants us to bring the kingdom to those around us. Revealing the kingdom to those around us.
- The world at this time is still in the grasp of the evil one.
- Evil wants to keep its hold on the earth.
- TD shared a example of being a medical doctor in England and the Board of Medicine trying to change the oath that doctors took to allow teenage girls to get abortions without their parents knowledge. TD and 2000 other doctors stood against it and as a result, they backed down. We are called to bring a little bit of the kingdom into all areas of our lives.

Ps. 24:2 for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.

Ps. 24:3 Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place?
- He is inviting us to come into God presence. ( John 14:15-21)
- What can we do to cooperate with God to help reveal to the nations Jesus Christ?
- If we do not accept the Holy Spirit role in our lives... are we rejecting Jesus Christ in our lives?
- We need to open the door to Him
- There is a link between obedience and living in the presence of God.
- We can live in the presence of God if we are willing to obey Him?

(John 14:15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever — 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” NIV)

Ps. 24:4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false.
- We will experience the guidance of the Holy Spirit at the moment that we are willing to seek holiness in every area of our life.
- TD shared a story about compromise in his life and how it cost him the peace and experience of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit nagged him about the compromise.
- As you cry out to experience the Holy Spirit... you will be reminded of things that you need to put right. The Holy Spirit will guide you to make those things right.
- Until we deal with the lies in our life, the Holy Spirit will not show up. If we are unwilling to deal with the deep issues in our life, God will not show up. He wants us to experience the depth of Him. We must ascend with "Clean hands and a pure heart".
- "Who does not life up our soul to an idol" - Are we taking credit for things that are not of us? The issue is all about our character. Not about our charisma or abilities, it is about our character before God. God knows the inmost souls of each one of us. We must ask Him, "Lord what else do I need to deal with or confess in order to move forward in my relationship with you?"
- Pride is a killer of our souls. It is our greatest idol! What is our idols in our lives?
- TD shared about the arrogance of the idea of "us" and "then". "We have a better grasp of God than the traditional church"... NO THIS IS AN IDOL OF PRIDE. God will not bless us if we live our lives that way. Who are we to look over Jordan and judge others who are working for the kingdom.
- "swear by what is false" - Do we keep our word? Do we follow through with our word even when it hurts.
- TD shared a testimony of a commitment they made to not do church if the Holy Spirit did not show up. We believe that if the presence of God does not show up at our meetings, then we should shut the church down. It happened and the church team let it go and ended up going out to other works in England. If they had not kept their word, Jesus would not have prospered all the other ministries that the house church leaders went to.

Ps. 24:5 He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior.

Ps. 24:6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob.
- The above desire for holiness needs to be who we are before we seek Him and His face.
- If you want to know Jesus... you better know His Holy Spirit. The two are one. The amazing idea of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is Jesus. They are not separate. They are one.
- When the oxen are not in the stable it is clean... but there is great strength in the ox... When the Holy Spirit is present there is going to be a mess. It is clean when we do not seek him... when we operate with Him... things get messy.
- Look at history of the church. When the Holy Spirit came, there is always a mess... a "thing" that happened that no one could control. We would like it to be neat and orderly, we want God to fit into our paradigm. The rebirth of the church throughout history was messy. Jesus came to destroy the strongholds and wants to give us freedom. On the way to freedom, there is a mess.

Ps. 24:7 Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
- God can win the battle. "LIFT UP OUR HEADS... THE KING OF GLORY IS COMING!"
- We have been invited to lift up our heads in praise and belief that He can do it.
- Mighty warrior count me in.
- "God dwells in the praises of his people."
- Come Holy Spirit Come!

Ps. 24:8 Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.
- Jesus Christ is King of Glory. He is victorious.

Ps. 24:9 Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.

Ps. 24:10 Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD Almighty — he is the King of glory.

James 5: Confess our faults to one another so that we may be healed.
TD asked that we, around our round tables, confess our sins to one another. To complete strangers? Then we are to pray for one another that we would be healed.

(A Bill Note: This is a little weird... I don't know anyone. I will let you know what happens.)

Well nothing happened that was not out of my experience. We, about 7 of us, prayed for three people. Some prayed in tongues, others prayed silently, others gave words of encouragement. It was meaningful. I had a chance to spend some time with a minister who is burnt out. Traditional church burnout. I prayed for him and spent some time encouraging him. He has lost his joy. His heart is tired. I pray that the Lord will minister to this man and his family. God can restore his joy. I will commit to pray for him for the next week.

Resources to look into:
Destined for the Throne (Book recommended by Tony Dale during his challenge.)

Summary:
The Holy Spirit will not make his presence known/felt/experienced in a vessel that is not seeking holiness before God. "Grieve not the Holy Spirit" is a verse that kept coming back to me throughout the talk. Jesus desires to make his supernatural presence know in the lives of each of us, but we must do a number of things... (1) Want it (2) Clean house, sweep out the closets of our souls. By the way, it is not just a once in a lifetime thing, we must continually fight that battle. (3) Remember our position and esteem is in Jesus Christ. Hold our heads high! (4) Be open to His leading and His work for us. It is not for us to "exploit" the Holy Spirit for our ego's or ministries, but rather the Holy Spirit will do whatever it takes to honor and lift up the Son, Jesus Christ.

Prayer is a continual theme of this conference. Pray and the Lord will reveal to each of us our sins, shortcomings, unchecked ego's, etc. Ask for forgiveness, confess it to others, seek wholeness in Jesus Christ, His Word, and His power through the Holy Spirit.

What can I say... we need to pray... pray... pray. If God is truly who he says he is, he will speak to our hearts if we listen.

By the way, He is who He says He is. :-)

Not sure of the count... But people did show up!

2005-09-02T22:53:00.000-06:00

Not sure of the count... But people did show up!
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

House Church Conference Begins with Praise and Singing...

2005-09-02T22:52:00.000-06:00

House Church Conference Begins with Praise and Singing...
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Opening the Conference with a Band???

The conference was opened with a worship band. Not your typical band. A family leading worship at a house church conference. It was appropriate. The music was inspiring and uplifting. When the music sang about dancing, people danced on the side. When the music sang of lifting your hands, people lifted their hands. People where in all sorts of praise and worship or as I would like to call it... prayer and meditation set to music. (Worship is what we do all day not just to music.) People were reading their Bibles. Kids sang with their parents. Couples held hands and just prayed. Old people (70+) were raising their hands and praising God. Young and old were at this conference. Such a mix of generations is delightful.

Prayers of the saints could be heard during the praise and music time. I was compelled to write during this time of praise. Remembering who I am before God almighty and the lies that the evil one wants us to listen to. Here is a sample of some of the things He brought to my mind.

-I am forgiven... Evil wants me to feel shame and embarresment... God says I was worth dying for
-I am victorious in Jesus... Evil wants me to feel failure... God says he will fight the battle, stand back and be amazed at me(God) Bill!
-I can trust God... Evil says God will forget about me... I will protect you and keep you.
-I am a child of God... Evil says I am alone... God says you are my son.
-I am a child of the King... Evil says you are fatherless... God says, I adopted you!
-I have access to God... Evil says that God is too busy... God says, Call unto me and I will answer you.

God is the one worthy of praise. Praise be to God Almighty. I and We should be amazed at the wonders of his creation, his work in our lives, and everything that takes place. I encourage you to take some time this next day, get away and be amazed at God. Read through the Creation account and take a long walk through it. Experience the Joy of the Lord! Experience the Joy of His Creation. God is worthy of Praise.

The room is filled with round tables. Rich Amick would be proud of the set up team... no rows of chairs! Round tables to accomidate sum 500+?? people.

I gather a sense that this will have to get smaller not larger. Maybe they will break it down into regions. It still has a personal touch.

Buildings with Gold... Ask Roger about it... Enough said!

2005-09-02T22:51:00.000-06:00

Buildings with Gold... Ask Roger about it... Enough said!
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Roger was buying into the idea that it was actual gold... Is it?

Taste of Colorado and Deep Discussion

2005-09-02T22:50:00.000-06:00

Three dudes imparting life...
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Taste of Denver
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Around the corner from the Adam's Mark Hotel was an annual event called the tast of Denver. Well for one big chubby guy, that sounds like fun. So we grabbed another guy and headed out to have dinner. Great event, but the conversation was stimulating. That is how it works, in the midst of an every day event, like dinner, we can be life to each other.

Recommend the Taste of Colorado in Denver to everyone! Great music and food.

Prayer and a Bus Ride

2005-09-02T22:48:00.000-06:00

The mind can only absorb what the butt can endure. So I asked a friend to take some final notes on Neil Cole's Organic Church seminar and went for a walk, bus ride, a phone call home and some focussed prayer. I figured if they keep telling us to pray, why not go practice it. A long free bus ride and a good walk was good for the soul.

Prayer and a Bus Ride
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Prayer and a Bus Ride 2
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

The Supernatural Relationship Must Come Home... First!

2005-09-02T20:08:00.000-06:00

God has a divine purpose for our life... It is first to have a supernatural relationship with us. Secondly it is for us to impart and share that supernatural life with our family. Lastly, it is, as a family to share that relationship with the world, first in our community and then to the uttermost parts of the earth.

Neil Cole - Organic Church - Friday AM

2005-09-02T13:38:00.000-06:00

Neil Cole
Organic Church: Second Story

Are we Christians that will live the adventure or just read about it? The challenge is to live the adventure and let other people write about your adventures.

Foundation
We each have a choice as to how we will live life.

Life, in fact, is a flowing stream of conscious decisions that make up who you are.

In God's kingdom, who you are is more important than what you do.

What is a successful leader?
Faithful
Fruitful
Finishes Well

The only applause that counts is at the finish line. At the beginning of the race there is always a cheer and an applause, however the applause that counts is after you cross the finish line.

5 Qualities of a leader that finishes well.
by Bobby Clinton - The Making of a Leader

1. Perspective that focusses his/her energies on ministry strengths
2. Maintains a learning posture throughout all of his/her life.
3. Enjoys repeated times of spiritual renewal. We must always stop and ask the question, what is next Lord. What do I need to clean up or out?
4. Mentors others and is mentored him/herself. We do not need just one mentor to do what God has called us to do. It is a plurality of leaders speaking truth and wisdom into our circumstances and life.
5. Disciplines his/her own spiritual formation. They know how to discipline themselves for the spiritual walk. (Prayer, Word of God, Fasting, etc.)

A quick thought by Mike Steele

2005-09-02T13:37:00.000-06:00

Mike got up before Neil cole and shared a quick thought he had. Here is a summary of it.

Folks, this is about relationships. If you think you can get it out of a book. You are wrong. If you think you can package it and sell a program this is wrong. I cannot say it any stronger.

He is right. It is about diving into relationship with people and imparting life to them. Imparting the story of Jesus Christ through words and through actions. Jesus was available to his disciples to move them along their journey towards maturity. We need to understand that hanging out with each other and encouraging each other in our key relationships, God and Family, is critical to the maturing of the saints.

Sense at this point in the morning...

2005-09-02T13:36:00.000-06:00

I sense at this point that God is talking to my heart. This conference for me is about three things.

1. Holiness - I must continue to struggle towards that goal. Ministry will continue effectiveness as Bill continually strives to release sin issues in his life to God.
2. Prayer - I must continue the struggle to stay focussed on this item. My job description is just that, prayer. (Personal, for Workers, for geographic areas, for family)
3. Family - It all begins in the home and will go out from our homes. Holiness, prayer, peace, love, etc. all must come from our home out to other homes. If it is not happening at home, it cannot be given away.

After hearing these things over and over again for 2 hours, I took a walk to pray. Called Jenny to tell her that I love her. Grabbed a snack to get the blood sugar up. Prayed and wept a little more. These three things above are burning in my heart.

Tim Pynes-Southern Baptist-Friday AM

2005-09-02T13:33:00.001-06:00

Developing a Regional Strategy (cont.)
Clarity About Our Assignment

Testimony of Tim:
He and his wife were praying about what the Lord would have them do.
They both felt a sense that they were to move soon. They were not sure where, however, they knew that God was moving them.
Tim has a passion to reach Denver.
There was a growing sense in their HC that each person was being called to a different neighborhood in the metro Denver area.
The people were all from different areas of Denver, and they all started sensing that they needed to pray for all the counties in Denver.
God is provide workers for the harvest. We must pray.

Summary:
Tim Pynes understands that everything that will happen in the Denver area will be wrought through prayer. Pray began in a small group of people who were committed to come together to pray. They would study the word by themselves as families and then gather together to pray and share what God is doing. Tim prays through a map of the area that the city of Denver put together explaining the different neighborhoods. Tim shared that as they did this, he was able to start marking off the map people who started to show up to fill those spots on the map. God asks us to beseech the Lord of the harvest to bring workers... It works!

Mike Steele - Dawn Ministries-Friday AM

2005-09-02T13:33:00.000-06:00

Mike Steele - Dawn Ministries

2Pet. 1:12
So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have.

John 10:27
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

Matt 22:37-40
Matt. 22:37 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Fall in love with God so that it oozes out into everything we do. We must learn to stay in the presence of Jesus Christ.

We need to understand that Jesus did nothing apart from the father. We must learn from the master, he did nothing apart from God the father.
John 5:19 - The Son does nothing by himself. He can only do what he sees the father doing. What ever the father does the son does also. God the father shows the son what to do.

We need to be connected to God, an intimacy with God is what will produce fruit. Love and Obey God.

Flowing out the relationship with God will come the second part of Matthew 22 (Love our neighbor as ourself) We are unable to do this if we do not get the first part of the verse.

If we live this out at home, then it will naturally permeate all that we do. We need to understand that it happens at home.

Summary:
1. We need to continue to remind each other of the basics.
2. Basic 1: Love the Lord your God with all your heart. All other things flow from there. A person who loves God will first hear his voice and secondly obey his voice.
3. Basic 2: Loving your neighbor is a natural outgrowth of taking care of Basic 1.
4. Basic 3: Church begins at home. Learning to love God must first be imparted to our family so that it is a natural outgrowth of who your family is. We cannot export something from our home that we ourselves do not posses.

Good Morning

2005-09-02T13:32:00.000-06:00

Nice rest last night. Spent some time reading testimonies of God's work throughout the world. All of it was wrought through prayer. Prayer is key!

Lunch with Roger Thoman

2005-09-02T11:50:00.000-06:00

Had a great lunch with Roger.

I had "lunch special" sushi and rice. Not much to eat, however I hope I don't get sick. It tasted good!

:-)

Summary of Thursday Network Leaders Meeting...

2005-09-01T23:22:00.000-06:00

A network leaders should be no more or less than a person who actively...

1. Assists people in gathering together to explore what God has for them to do.

2. Encourages others to share testimony of God's work in their gatherings.

3. Prays for leaders to come to the harvest at the location where God has guided him/her.

4. Pursues a deep relationship with God, one that is founded on the holiness of God and His grace.

I know there are more, I would be currious to know what each of you think.

One of the points that was interesting to me is that there are different types of overseers in the gathering of God's people. First there are apostlic types (Not apostles, but ones that are sent out) who are mobile and then there are "people of peace" (stationary people) who minister to the community over the long haul. Which are you? I understand the concept.

I am tired and desire to hit go horizontal on a nice soft bed. I will blog more tomorrow. I feel like I should be reading the book, Good Night Moon right now. With four kids and having read that for each kid, I miss it tonight. :-)

Note: The internet connection is only in the hotel lobby and in our room, so that I will only be uploading about every 6 hours as the conference goes on.

Blessings and may God peace find you!

John White

2005-09-01T21:10:00.000-06:00

John White
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

John White
(John White is committed to the Colorado area. He believes God has called him to assist in the development of house churches in the entire region.)

Hebrews 10:25 – What am I supposed to bring to house church to “encourage one another”. What are we to bring to the meeting to build up one another?

Developing a Regional Strategy
House Church Conference 9/05
Time Pynes, Kenny Moore, Mike Steele, John White

The Larger Story (I will include the notes to this after Monday. John White is going to email me the two page document.)

Developing a Regional Strategy means join God in what He is already doing.

In order to join God in His work in our part of the harvest field (ie. develop a regional strategy). There are at least four things that we need to be clear about.

1. Clarity about God's desired outcome. How are we to disciple a whole ethne?

1a. Some years ago, Jim Montgomery, founder of Dawn Ministries, was asking God how the Great Commission was to be fulfilled. The Master’s answer to him was, “See to it that I, the Lord, truly becomes incarnate in every small group of people on the earth.”

1b. A house church within reach of every community around the world. What does it mean for the Central Coast?

2. Clarity about my assignment. What is the region or people group that God has called me to? It is a neighborhood or a county or a city or a province or a nation? Or a particular ethnic group? The "John Knoxer" concept.

3. Clarity about the starting point. We believe that the single most important thing we can do toward the objective is to be highly faithful in praying the prayer that jesus commanded us to pray. Luke 10:2 Everything else grows out of this. Kenny: " This is our Plan A (We don't have a Plan B)

3a. Relentless Prayer. Wear God out. See parales about prayer in Lk. 11 and 18. praying as close to every day as possible.

3b. “.. to send forth workers…” exballo= thrust forth, launch, used of casting out demons, implies high degree of motivation. Once you get one of these “sent ones” everything else is relatively easy. Some probable answers to this prayer: Paul, Cornelius, Aquila and Pracilla, Lydia, etc.

3c. Harvest Workers. Two kinds in this context: apostolic church planters (mobile) and people of peace (stationary). (Kenny: “The Leadership Solution”)

3d. “Beseech” = a command. Connect with Mt. 28:20: “teaching them to obey all I’ve commanded you.” One of Jesus’ commands was the 10:2b Prayer. Therefore, every disciple should be taught this prayer.

3e. Organic and viral in nature. 10:2b Virus (See Felicity Dales book on Getting Started)

3f. God gets the glory. He does the “heavy lifting”. We ask for “fully formed” workers. “1 Tim. 3” kind of people.

3g. The Lord of the Harvest responds to our prayers. 10:2b stories

3h. By-products of praying this prayer daily: increase in our faith (seeing the answers). Develops a “harvest mentality”, close friendships with Kenny and Mike (The people that John White prays with.). see the thoughts from their talk below.

i. Testimonies from the prayer team was great. Here are a couple of points from them.
ii. Feel free to ask God to help you pray for workers. Ask God to teach us how to pray.
iii. Answered prayers kept them going.
iv. Prayer increases our faith and our belief that God does exist.
v. Prayer is a daily reminder that God is at work. I am saying that I am not going to do the work that you God are supposed to do. God please help me remember that it is not what I am going to do.
vi. I am now more aware of what God is doing around me. It is like buying a new car. A white Honda hatchback… all of a sudden everyone has a white Honda hatchback. It raises our awareness of God’s working around us.
vii. We need to pray like the woman that wore out the king and the king finally granted her request because she wore him out. We need to be relentless.
viii. Let God do the heavy lifting.

4. Clarity about my partner. Jesus paired people up and sent them out into the harvest by twos. he knows I need apartner who has the same assignment I have with whom I can passionately and daily beseech the Lord of the harvest to thrust out ( exballo-launch!) motivated and gifted harvest owrkers into our part of the harvest.

4a. Why Jesus sent them out two by two? – Ecc. 4:9-12

4b. The basic relationship in the church is the pair. The healthiest house church will be made up of many pairs (prayer partners, LTG’s, etc.) The house church is not the most foundational unit. The foundational unit is pairs. (Bill Note: Pairs make sense! Are we gathering in pairs to pray and study God’s word together apart from our gatherings?)

4c. When Jesus sent them out two by two, he was sending churches (MT. 18:20) to plant churches.

4d. Good article on the biblical concept of pairs. http://kingwatch.co.nz/church_ministry/power_pairs.htm

Wolfgang Simson

2005-09-01T19:45:00.000-06:00

Wolfgang Simson
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Wolfgang Simson opened up with a number of stories and the importance that this is not to be about him. So many people are falling into the "pit" of commercialism and trying to get the next big book out so that they can go speak. I believe after hearing Wolfgang, that he wants to be about the work. I would say it this way... He wants to be a practitioner and not a historian.

Story about a young couple who in one year who has planted 7 house churches in one year to people who do not know Jesus.

Shared about the weirdness about being in his position. God constantly reminds him that it is

We are running our own race, we just need to finish. God has designed a special goal for us. He has a special task for us. What is it?

1Cor. 9:24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

To finish strong, we need to...… Beat our Body into submission. Train our bodies to run the race that God has for us. It is not for anyone else it is for me. Wolfgang has a goal of reaching half the population. (One will be taken the other left)

Wolfgang shared what the Lord has laid on his heart to reach/have direct impact on 100 million house churches in his lifetime.

He asked, "What has God put on your heart as your goal/purpose for doing what you do?"

Consider the cost of what is God has laid on your heart. We must understand the cost so that we are not left with 1/2 a building or 1/2 a ministry.

We in the states must become the learners of what is working in other countries. Bangladeshh 500,000 + new converts baptized in the last number of years. Muslims coming to know Jesus Christ as their Savior.

These are the items that Wolfgang believes are some of the costs that we must considerÂ…
1. Luke 14:33 No one can be my disciple if he does not give up everything. What would be the hardest to give up right now? What makes you really secure/safe? (Theological Training, $$$ that just came in, your house church?) Are we willing to give it up?
2. Luke 14:26 – If you want to be my own disciples, you will need to hate your own life. This does not mean that you hate yourself as you stand in front of a mirror. It means loose your and Jesus'us's life. Are you willing to give up your selfish needs to do what God has called you to do? Are we willing to fight sin and give up our selfish desires to do things for the Lord.
3. Luke 10:2b – Driven out to be Driven into something. If you are sent out, you are be sent away from something. What are we being sent away from? Jesus wants us to leave something kicking and screaming. There is something that he wants us driven out from in order to get into the harvest field. What is it that you need to be driven out from in order to get out there and do the work? (Sin? Security? Money? Etc?) We may need to be kicked out of something in order to be kicked into the harvest. Have you been kicked out yet?
4. When the prince comes are we ready to live a clean life? No metal objects in our life? Live a life of purity so that the enemy does not have access.
5. Romans 15:17 – Pay the price of not being the "expert" but rather pointing the glory to Jesus Christ. Where does the glory point when things go well? We must not relish in the things that others have done but we need to relish/glory in Jesus. Let all glory go to Jesus. We are not to take the glory. Are we willing to pay the price of being a nobody.
6. Plan to finish your job well. Many start jobs well but they do not finish the job well.
7. Luke 11:21 – When the great harvest is on, are we ready to divide the spoils with the kingdom. Not taking the praise and honor for our "system" , "religion", "group","movement".

Three things that Jesus was a champion at...
Jesus as a champion in eating at other peoples houses
Jesus was a champion in telling stories
Jesus was a champion in healing and casting out demons.

I must come to the realization that I am at the end of doing it myself. To not pay the price would bear a greater cost in the end.

I need to be a practitioner not a historian.

There is no such thing as "successful ministry". We need to seek "real ministry". Success is determined by our relationship with God not our results in planting ministries.

Thursday evening starts with prayer and singing.

2005-09-01T19:00:00.000-06:00

Thursday evening starts with prayer and singing.
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Network Leaders Meeting started at 7 p.m. and lasted until 10:30 p.m. It was a great time. I will post what some of the speakers had to say. You can catch some of it. It may have some personal application for me. Just ignore it if it does not apply to you.

Opening was 35 min. of singing acapela, prayer, and times of silent praise.

Tony Dale Spoke from the following passage.
Ps. 103:7 He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel:
(God revealed a strategy to Moses and the people witnessed the miracles.)
Do leaders need to lead? Is it important to understand that a leader is called to lead in a way that is important. God calls people to leadership. Servant Leadership is the proper model. Jesus humbled himself and became a servant.

Some personal thoughts about how I am to lead. What has God called the people around me to do? What passions has he placed in their lives? Now join with them in seeing it become a reality. Pray with them, equip them, resource them, struggle with them, celebrate victories with them, and walk with them into seeing God do some thing great through them. Each person is called uniquely by God to do something for him. Jesus orchestrates the hearts of men and women. I do not need to!

Roommate Roger Arrives

2005-09-01T18:30:00.000-06:00

Roommate Roger Arrives
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

The Dale Family

2005-09-01T14:52:00.000-06:00

As I entered the Adam's Mark. I ran into Tony, Felicity, and John Dale by the front desk. Tony and Felicity wrote Simply Church and Getting Started Manual. Brief descriptions of what a house church/simple church could be. They are great people. John is there son who lives locally and is heading up the details of the conference.

Super Shuttle Ride

2005-09-01T14:39:00.000-06:00

Super Shuttle Ride
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Chris, from Super Shuttle, drove me 35 min. into Denver. I have never been in an airport shuttle that was driven so safely and smoothly. He is Nigerian and has been in the states for 20 years. We had some great laughs about the way people drive. He is a VERY safe driver. He shared a number of his stories.

Leaving Denver Airport

2005-09-01T14:38:00.001-06:00

Leaving Denver Airport
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Arrived on time to Denver. Trip was smooth. Had a little shut eye. Wrote about 18 emails and look forward to getting them out. Already miss the kids and Jen. I think the Denverites miss their snow covered mountains during the summer months. That must be why they made the top of the airport look like snow capped mountains. Different is good! :-)

Rich, Thanks for the Ride!

2005-09-01T14:38:00.000-06:00

Rich, Thanks for the Ride!
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Rich arrived on time as always... 4:50 a.m. to shuttle me to the SLO Airport. Check out Rich's new post on his Blog Ekklesia. If you leave a comment, He would be thrilled.

Denver Workshops

2005-08-31T17:13:00.000-06:00

I thought it would be a good thing if any of you would like to get the notes or information on any of the workshops, I can try to get someone to take notes in it if I am not the one attending. Check out the list and let me know if you would like me to get any specific items from any of the workshops. I will post it online for you. Please make your suggestions in the comment window below. You can also email me at bill@youthandfamily.com.

Denver House Church Conference Program Schedule

2005-08-31T12:39:00.000-06:00

"There will ALWAYS be ENOUGH!"
September 2 - 5, 2005
Denver, CO
Click Here for more details.

Thursday, September 1
7:00 �- 10:00 p.m. - PRE-CONFERENCE DAY for Network Leaders (FREE)

Friday, September 2
9:00 �- 4:00 p.m. - PRE-CONFERENCE DAY for Network Leaders (FREE)

4:00 �- 7:30 p.m. - REGISTRATION OPEN � Plaza Ballroom Lobby

7:30 - 10:30 p.m. - Opening Session � Rolland Baker: God is Enough, Small Groups: �Is He really enough?�

Saturday, September 3
7:00 - 8:30 a.m. - Breakfast in Plaza Ballroom Lobby

9:00 � 11:00 a.m. - General Session � Thom Black: Revolution: A New Breed of Christ Followers

11:00 � 11:30 a.m. - Break

11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. - Practical House Church Workshops focused on house church life and practice (optional) [Note: most workshops will be repeated on Sunday]

12:45 p.m. - Break for Lunch and afternoon FREE

4:30 � 6:00 p.m. - General Session � Wolfgang Simson: How does God resource movements?

6:00 p.m. - Break for Dinner

7:30 � 10:30 p.m. - General Session � Tony Dale: Come Holy Spirit

Sunday, September 4
7:00 - 8:30 a.m. - Breakfast in Plaza Ballroom Lobby

9:00 � 10:00 a.m. - Small Groups: Prayer for revival and our churches

10:15 � 11:30 a.m. - General Session�Rolland Baker: God is Enough for the American Church

11:30 � 12:00 p.m. - Break

12:00 p.m. - 12:45 p.m. -Meeting in Regions

12:45 p.m. - Break for Lunch and Afternoon FREE

4:30 - 5:45 p.m. - Practical House Church Workshops focused on house church life and practice (optional)

5:45 p.m. - Break for Dinner

7:30 - 10:30 p.m. - TBA

Monday, September 5
7:00 - 8:30 a.m. - Breakfast in Plaza Ballroom Lobby

9:00 - 11:00 a.m. - Closing Session � Wolfgang Simson: Workers for the Harvest!

11:30 a.m. - Check-out time

"Flight Home Next to a Hollywood Star"

2004-09-06T16:10:00.000-06:00

Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

Originally uploaded by yafflickr.

I was talking to a couple on the way back to Los Angeles. Well, half way through the flight, I realize that the person is reading a script. Well, I have never been good at recognizing people. Guess which one is an actor/actress and from what show.