Saturday, April 26, 2008

Starting Fresh

Welcome to a new beginning, a fresh beginning for our team to communicate and interact. I hope even some of you that lack some tech stuff will join in.

The conference we just attended www.exponentialconference.com was an awesome time for each of us. I haven't heard a bad word yet except some disappointment that one of our guys promised to show up in a speedo and didn't. Bummer, what happened Joe?!

Guys, lets start here and further the discussion....a couple of initial things on my mind.
First I am primarily focused on making disciples and reproducing new churches from parent churches. But disciple making (ie. multiplication) is my actual passion and behind my suggestions, insights and life.

Second, my vision I feel is from the Lord (Deut 1:10-11) is to launch a 1,000 new churches focused on using the laity and their giftedness. To see 10 more men (we have India & Costa Rica) from other countries be equipped with some of the knowledge the Lord has given us to enable them to multiply a movement. My vision for the gospel extends to the world, the poor, the remote, the cities and all people for God's kingdom and His glory!

Third, all of this can only happen in complete dependence on what God and His plan. There will be a day coming when our lives may take a different turn, a different place and different relationships so how can we challenge and build each other up to further what God wants in building His church, His way wherever we land in this life?

Isaiah 43:18-21 was given to me by the Lord in ministry in Wisconsin almost 20 yrs ago. The prophet said, " Do not call to mind the former things, Or ponder things of the past. "Behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert. The beasts of the field will glorify Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because I have given waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My chosen people. The people whom I formed for Myself Will declare My praise."
To me and my application is the remainder of this chapter....read, what do you think, how does it apply to whatever we do?

Each of you guys are awesome and this is for all of us....add some pic's, decorate it as you wish and let's enjoy the conversation and see what God does in the future.

2 comments:

Dave Manst said...

Even at this early stage we're in danger of getting lost in too many words.
Let's break it down. We all have a passion to "brand" the church planting movement. Bruce, we need a green light from you to move on this.
We need to define some terms. This may be difficult to do over internet lines, but may need to be done. "Sustainability" and "Health" seem to be the two biggies.
Based on terms, we would like to have an accurate inventory of our current plants. It's only with a realistic picture of where our current movement lies that we can address necessary needs.
From this point, we can begin to design strategy to enhance the multiplicative value ($0.25 for that one) of our movement.

Dave Manst said...

Even at this early stage we're in danger of getting lost in too many words.
Let's break it down. We all have a passion to "brand" the church planting movement. Bruce, we need a green light from you to move on this.
We need to define some terms. This may be difficult to do over internet lines, but may need to be done. "Sustainability" and "Health" seem to be the two biggies.
Based on terms, we would like to have an accurate inventory of our current plants. It's only with a realistic picture of where our current movement lies that we can address necessary needs.
From this point, we can begin to design strategy to enhance the multiplicative value ($0.25 for that one) of our movement.