Tune and Prepare!

F   or two millennia a battle has raged for the soul of the church. And still the conflict rages. It is the contest between: The life of God, as he moves unpredictably and powerfully saving and transforming lives and creating Spirit-filled communities, and... The desire of man, to own, control and contain the work of God through traditions, programs and human authority structures. From from Duncan Kellard's book: "Grassroots Christianity" Grassroots...

­ Foreword   The church that changes the world. . . will not look impressive. It will not possess great buildings, nor its leaders hold high social standing. It will shun wealth and political acceptance, and run shy from the world of brands, image and sound bite.   The world-changing church, will be powerful in the things that matter, a simple dependence on the power of the gospel, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the authority of God’s Word; a people who love their God, love each other, and live salty lives as Christ’s disciples thus provoking both conversion and persecution. What was the New Testament experience? The Book of Acts records three striking examples of regional impact issuing from centers of numerical and spiritual strength. Jerusalem, Antioch and Ephesus. Jerusalem—The “Scatter Gun” example God allowed a wave of fierce persecution to scatter the believers, numbering probably between five and ten thousand, across the Roman Empire. It seems the me...

Foreword   The church that changes the world.. will not look impressive. It will not possess great buildings, nor its leaders hold high social standing. It will shun wealth and political acceptance, and run shy from the world of brands, image and sound bite.   The world-changing church, will be powerful in the things that matter, a simple dependence on the power of the gospel, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the authority of God’s Word; a people who love their God, love each other, and live salty lives as Christ’s disciples thus provoking both conversion and persecution. What does inspirational church life look like? What does a forest look like? What does a river look like? The point is that life is unique, every snowflake different and every human being distinct. So is every church that is born of God. ... Sadly, for many of us in church life, especially leaders, we are often looking for what “works” elsewhere so we can distil it, bottle it or...

­ Foreword  The church that changes the world. . . will not look impressive. It will not possess great buildings, nor its leaders hold high social standing. It will shun wealth and political acceptance, and run shy from the world of brands, image and sound bite.   The world-changing church, will be powerful in the things that matter, a simple dependence on the power of the gospel, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the authority of God’s Word; a people who love their God, love each other, and live salty lives as Christ’s disciples thus provoking both conversion and persecution. Recent Striking Example  In 1982 a Soviet backed communist coup took place in Ethiopia. Churches were “closed,” their meetings banned, their buildings confiscated and their senior leaders imprisoned.   At that time the Mesorite Church in the capital (Addis Ababa) numbered 5,000 members. Overnight it vanished. Unaware of each other, many tiny local groups began to gather inconspicuo...

Foreword   The church that changes the world. . . will not look impressive. It will not possess great buildings, nor its leaders hold high social standing. It will shun wealth and political acceptance, and run shy from the world of brands, image and sound bite. The world-changing church, will be powerful in the things that matter, a simple dependence on the power of the gospel, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the authority of God’s Word; a people who love their God, love each other, and live salty lives as Christ’s disciples thus provoking both conversion and persecution.  The Grassroots Understanding A minister was asked to look after another church for a few weeks at very short notice. He began his first talk “As I have had no opportunity to prepare for today, I shall have to speak only the words which God puts in my mouth” ; before adding “Next week I shall prepare something much better!” Oh Man! It was Groucho Marx who claimed to have sent a telegr...