In a previous post “Discipleship Catalyzed by Mission” I wrote on the importance of recognizing how God’s mission can (and should) catalyze discipleship. In the comment section someone mentioned the need to highlight engagement in mission communally—or with others. I wholeheartedly agree. Part of the need to do mission in community involves the need to create opportunities to reflect, or debrief, the how, what and why of missional engagement. The importance of debriefing with others is just one the “Four D’s” that I use to describe different components of living out missionality.
Month: April 2013
A Prophet’s Doubts
[This is part of a series on John The Baptist as Prophet. You can read the other posts here!]
By Sarah Carter
One of the most intriguing windows into John the Baptist’s heart is found in Matthew 11 (or Luke 7) as he sits in jail, his life close to its end. Something about this conversation between Jesus and John speaks deeply to the places of doubt and misunderstanding in my own life, particularly in the prophetic or apostolic risks I have stepped into.
In the story, John sends some of his disciples to ask Jesus an important question: “Are you the one who is to come,or should we expect someone else?” This inquiry seems bold in its skepticism, or perhaps disappointment. Without assuming John’s attitude behind such a question, it’s safe to say he was struggling with some serious uncertainty about Jesus’ identity. Maybe it was the lack of fire baptisms, threshing, and chaff burning…basically any judgment in general (Matt. 3:12). Maybe it was tinged with a little more self-interest or even entitlement as John rotted in jail (could you help a ‘cuz out?)
The Roller Coaster of Planting
By Beau Crosetto
Staring new things for God is such a roller coaster of emotion!
I really hate it some days and love it others. But if we are going to be effective at starting new things for God then we have to be faithful people. We cannot let emotions dictate how we will act. We cannot let how we feel determine if we will go forward and stick it out.
There will be high highs, and low lows in planting.
There will be days you feel super lame, get stood up, and wonder why you are even doing this. There will be days when you have the best conversations and witness the most life-changing encounter and wonder how you could ever do anything else.
But the key in it all is being faithful and showing up no matter what.
The Power of Stories
By James Choung
I just came back from Q Los Angeles, and my brain is full of ideas and thoughts and dreams — it’ll take a month to unpack it all. But I know already what I want to do first.
I want to learn how to tell a better story.
I know the idea of stories has been around the block a few times, even in evangelical neighborhoods. But still, stories have tremendous power. The best stories tell us what the world is like, and point to how the world could be. At Q, Bobette Buster, a creative consultant to some of the biggest names in Hollywood, said that if you tell your story, then it can lead to courage and healing. But if you bottle it up, then they’re liking ticking time bombs, ready to explode in destructive ways in the world around us. We need stories to make sense of our world, and to help us picture a better one. No wonder storytelling, especially in movies, is a multi-billion dollar industry.
The Apostolic Impulse
abstract moving lights
Last week I had the privilege of being at InterVarsity’s Directors meetings with all the Directors in InterVarsity nation wide. During the time I was in a track on planting and we talked all about planting movements, and how to increase the number of campuses that InterVarsity is currently reaching in the USA. Right now we are on 575. We want to get to 1000 by 2017 (At least some of us are dreaming that way!)
If that is going to happen we need an apostolic movement, and we have to continue to welcome this in InterVarsity. Here is a definition of apostolic that a core group of us have landed on for now:
“An apostolic person is sent by God’s Spirit to expand the Kingdom across boundaries into new places”.
The key thing about apostolic people and therefore apostolic movements is that “sending” is happening and boundaries are being crossed.
Give me Nebraska or I die?
By Eric Rafferty
It’s pretty much universally accepted that driving across Nebraska is boring. It’s extremely flat, it’s a long drive, and this time of year it’s nearly lifeless. So why, when we’ve found ourselves driving across the state twice in the last two months, has it been so fun? On top of the general boringness, throw on the fact that we were driving across Nebraska on the way home from sunny, sexy California and we should have been completely depressed right?
But honestly, driving across flat, bland Nebraska has felt like a travelling celebration. We’ve been so filled with joy and love!
It’s because this place is our mission field and God has filled us with His love for it. There are 35 college campuses in the state of Nebraska and God has given us vision to see multiethnic and missional communities bring his love to every corner of every one of those campuses.
So when we drive across the state, even with two noisy kids in the back seat, we look out at the brown barren looking fields and we see the place that we love. We see good soil pregnant with potential and campus after campus that groan for something more.
Unlock The Potential of an Apostolic Movement
Linson’s Staff Team in North Texas and Oklahoma
I love planting new communities on university campuses all over my geographic area. It is a thrilling experience to meet students, empower them, and start missional communities that produce renewal. I often get labeled as an “apostolic” person, but my heart wants something more than being one apostolic person… I want to start movements that are apostolic!
But first, there has been much discussion about what it means to be apostolic. A few of my colleagues and I have landed on a phrase that encapsulates the idea of an apostle. “An apostolic person is sent by God’s Spirit to expand the Kingdom across boundaries into new places”. I like this definition for four reasons.
The Unscripted & Surprising Talk
By Luke Cawley
After several hours of careful preparation, I had my talk down to perfection.
I was ready to share with a room full of parents how following Jesus affects my parenting.
Almost none of the parents were Christians and I was keen to communicate that though I struggle with all the same aspects of parents as they do, taking Jesus seriously has at least pointed me in a more helpful direction with some of these struggles.
I printed off the talk and put it in my bag.
The person organizing the event, which was a children’s Easter party, picked me up in her car and as I put on my seatbelt I thought I heard her say that I was not addressing the parents.
I was to speak with nine and ten year-olds.
Panic hit, as I haven’t done any kids’ work for over a decade.
Anxious Toil
It is with great excitement and pleasure that I introduce to you Steve Stuckey. Steve is my spiritual director and many others as well. In a nut shell, he keeps me focussed on Jesus and paying attention to His voice. I would say he is a master at helping to shape the APE type leader and keep them walking with Jesus in healthy and whole ways. I have asked Steve to write a monthly post with us to help us think about the spiritual formation side our lives. He is going to do a year long series called “Rooted” for us! We only need to turn so far to see how many leaders like us have crashed and burned…not because they weren’t well trained, or prepared, but because they lost their inner compass that pointed them to Jesus. I hope these posts from Steve are a monthly online opportunity to stop and reflect as catalytic leaders. He is passionate about helping APE’s get shaped, just in a different way than we normally read about here!
[This post is part of a series called Rooted. Find the other posts here]
Anxious Toil
“It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for God gives to his beloved, even while they sleep.” Psalm 127:2
A recent conversation with a fellow InterVarsity staff member began this way. “I feel anxious,” he said. “I have too much to do with the InterVarsity group on campus. My wife is upset that I am out so many evenings. My donors are feeling the economic crunch and donations are down. God seems distant and I have a hard time sitting still long enough to pray.”
I have noticed that 8 out of 10 people that I meet with mentioned feeling anxious. Maybe it is a disease of our American culture which tends to be narcissistic, goal oriented, and constantly restless. It is certainly a dis-ease of the soul that disturbs our peace, undermines our confidence in God, and focuses our minds upon things temporal and often irrelevant. Leaders who are inclined to be highly responsible and future focused seem to be especially prone to the condition. Some even wear their anxiety as a badge of honor to demonstrate how hard they are working.
We Are Looking For College Student Writers!
I want some college students to start writing on our team! Could it be you?
I work with College students and so do many of our writers, so obviously I am passionate about raising them up and seeing them lead in dynamic and world changing ways. A huge reason I started this blog was to empower college students.
I thought to myself, “What kind of online space would I have loved in college as a young apostolic evangelist?”
The answer was a daily post and community of inspiring leaders that were writing to fire me up. People that were living into the APE calling and understood there was something stirring deep inside to catalyze movements and ministry beyond the current context and for sure beyond the walls of the church.
I would have absolutely loved reading these posts in college and would have loved the opportunity to interact with the different writers here as well.