First Nordic-Baltic Summit meets in Tallinn

Estonia missionary appointee Crick Porier was among a dozen Converge leaders who participated in the Nordic-Baltic Regional Summit October 12-14 in Tallinn, Estonia. Nordic-Baltic Region director Bill Ankerberg reports: "Our first Nordic-Baltic Summit was blessed by God. Thirty-four church leaders from Sweden, Finland, Estonia and America met for several days to explore greater connections and partnerships. Participants included Doug and Donna Fagerstrom, Steve and Debbie Doggett, Gene Selander, Hal and Marla Lentz and Bruce and Kym Sumner. The summit ended with a dedication and communion service for our new regional office in Tallinn."

Bill and Arlie Ankerberg also went to Stockholm with Gene Selander, Converge A2:5 international director (English-speaking church planting), to meet with Anders Blaberg (Evangeliska Frikyrkan) and Karen Wiborn (Baptist Union), leaders of the two largest Baptist groups in Sweden. Bill said: "Both groups have asked us for help in church planting. We are exploring increased levels of cooperation to help evangelize Scandinavia and the Baltics. Continue to support us with your gifts and prayers." taken from Converge Worldwide

Praying for the Persecuted Church

Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church

November 14 is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Learn more at www.idop.org. IDOP is a time set apart to remember thousands of Christian brothers and sisters around the world who suffer persecution simply because they confess Jesus Christ as Lord.

copied from Converge Worldwide

The 6 Types of People You Meet in Church Planting

Great article by Todd Bumgarner a church planter in Lincoln, NE about the type of people a church plant attracts.

Asking

Last Saturday, as I was loading up the truck with our AV equipment after the Gathering, I was approached by a man in his mid to late 20s who said he lived in the neighborhood. He gave a story about his sister having a miscarriage and needing money for gas and he figured that he would come ask us for help since we were a church. I knew he was lying about needing the money for gas, but I was pretty pleased to hear that a guy from that neighborhood knew who were and what we were about. I told him to get his car and pick me up and I’d go with him to fill up his gas tank. He looked down, dejected, mumbled “Thanks”, and walked off. He never come to get his gas.
I was bummed that he didn’t come back. I was willing to help him, but not the way he wanted. It’s unfortunate, had he asked for money and been honest about what he wanted it for, I could have helped him. No, not with money. But with what he really needed. Since he asked dishonestly, and asked for the wrong thing, he didn’t get his need met. That’s too bad. I pray that I remember that lesson when I’m praying to God about stuff.

Curtis Young
SoulSearch
Kansas City, KS

Everything you need to know to plant a church in 3 minutes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjHMZKNKbTk

News from Kearney NE

We're Going To Need More Bricks

Building a church from scratch is much like building a brick wall.  It takes the right tools, elements, more time than you think it will, and a lot of sweat equity.  The main elements required in building this wall are bricks and mortar.  In building a church plant you need two kinds of people; bricks and mortar.  

Bricks are people with a firm foundation in Christ.  They are the ones you can count on to lead and serve.  While not perfect, they are solid.  You can put things on top of them and trust that they can take a bit of the load.  For The Table, bricks are people who love the vision of the church and devoted to the community so much they are ready to work for it.

Mortar are the people who are seekers.  They play a viable part in holding the community together and building it, but they need bricks around them to solidify the building that is The Table.

We have seen God draw people who I would classify as "mortar" to The Table.  This is great!  It has always been our hope to start growing new disciples from the beginning.  However, as I (The Jobsite Foreman???) look at our project I see that we need more bricks.  We are working to attract a few more of these committed people to The Table, and I ask as this month's major prayer request you would join us in praying for this.


Tyler Wilterding
The Table
Kearney, NE

2 Pillars Youth Training Information

The 815 Youth Training and Information Meeting


The 815 Youth is our effort to start a drop-in shelter for at-risk teens here at The 815 on Tuesday nights from 4-7pm. We've been working diligently with both LPS and CEDARS and it has been great to see God bringing the pieces together for this. There will be an informational/training meeting this Sunday, October 17th following the worship gathering. We'll cover the mission and vision of The 815 Youth as well as talk through some goals and objectives and also let you know how you can get involved in this area of ministry. The meeting will be in the lower-level of The 815 and run from 12-1pm. If you are interested in getting involved in this mission in any way, or simply desiring to learn more about it, please plan to attend the meeting on the 17th. The 815 Youth will kick-off on Tuesday, October 26th from 4-7pm.

2 Pillars
Lincoln, NE
http://project2pillars.com/

Time Management

Here are some great question to consider about how you use your time. Taken from Matt Perman blog.

Questions on Time Management

Here are some good questions from Shopping for Time: How to Do It All and Not Be Overwhelmed:

* Do you plan ahead to maximize your fruitfulness each day, or do you simply let life happen?
* Do you make choices based on Scripture or on what feels good at the moment?
* Do you strategize to use your talents to bless your family and church, or do you employ them primarily for your own personal fulfillment?
* Do you evaluate every opportunity in light of biblical priorities, or do you do whatever it takes to get ahead?
* Do you consider whom God would have you serve, or do you try to please everyone all the time?

Upward / Inward / Outward

“From the teaching of the New Testament it is easily perceived that the church operates in three relationships: upward to God in worship and glorification; inward to herself in edification, purification, education and discipline; outward to the world in evangelization and service ministries.” Charles Brock, Indigenous Church Planting

As churches we delight in the upward, can bask in the inward but at times the outward becomes a struggle. Christ ministry keep a great focus on all three.

Staff effectiveness

I like check list and Don Cousins has generate four different list for measuring the effectiveness of a church. Following is his listing for evaluating staff, individual or multiple

"When seeking to measure the effectiveness of the “staff” ask the following:

- Are those in leadership positions functioning as equippers?
- Are additional leaders being raised up and developed within ministry?
- Is the ministry expanding because newly developed leaders are being deployed in additional leadership roles?
- Are more and more servers (those meeting needs) being identified, developed, and engaged in ministry service?
- Is the ministry increasing in its impact because more servers are actively involved in serving?"

(Cousins, Don, Experiencing LeaderShift, David Cook, 2008, pg 140-141)

Measure the effectiveness of the elders.

Don Cousins in "Experiencing LeaderShift" gives four questions to be asked in regards to evaluating the effectiveness of the elders.

- "Throughout the ministries, services and programs of the church , is the teaching of the Word accurate, anointed, and applicable to life?

- Is the church covered and bathed in prayer?

- Can the Spirit move freely because we're untied and free from the consequences of sin?

- Is the church operating as a true body, fulfilling it biblically stated purpose to one another and the unsaved world?

An important note here: The board doesn't serve as representatives of the congregation. It is not their role or responsibility to represent the people's views or to guarantee that their desires are met. Elders are to serve as representatives of God to the people and to lead the people into obedience to what God says."

(Cousins, Don, Experiencing LeaderShift, David Cook, 2008, pg 136)

Twitter Bible

Yes, now you can have a "Twitter Bible". Todd Rhodades from MMI talks about this new Bible. It seems to change the mean of whole Bible.

new so-called “Twitter Bible,” which summarizes the over 31,000-verse Bible into nearly 4,000 short-form tweets, is being released at the Frankfurt Book Fair this week.

According to The Christian Post, this project was formerly named And God Decided to Chill. The German language book is the compilation of tweets by more than 3,000 German Christians who participated in the church project earlier this year.

In honor of the Pentecost holiday, German Christians used the micro-blogging service Twitter to summarize 3,906 Bible sections into 140 character messages, according to Berlin-based newspaper “The Local.” Though the project was scheduled for May 20-30, it was completed 37 hours ahead of schedule and achieved a world record.

Do Denomations Have a Future

Discussion abounds regard the need for or against denominations. Ed Stetzer piped in on the subjected and said,

Two Faulty Assumptions about Denominations

1. Denominations are a necessary or even integral part of the mission of God.
2. Attempting to interpret the role of denominations in the life of the local church apart from the Missio Dei (the mission of God)

Denominations might not be necessary, but they are valuable. They are good tools to be used in the mission of the church.

Why Denominations Do Have a Future

1. Denominations are inevitable. (Whether positively – for missional cooperation, or negatively – for tribal self-preservation)
2. Younger evangelicals are looking for a sense of rootedness in a fragmented society. (Young, Restless, Reformed / Emerging Church / Deep Church / Ancient-Future / Worship)
3. Churches that belong to denominations have confessional systems and accountability that ground them in orthodoxy.

What Kind of Denominationalism is Desirable?

1. We want to see denominations that are missional as opposed to tribal.
2. We want to see denominations based on confessional consensus.
3. We want to see denominations that value methodological diversity.
4. We want to see denominations that assist local churches, not vice versa.

Why I am staying in our denomination:

• I believe what we believe.
• Churches that belong to denominations are the primary agents of global evangelization.
• Diverse leadership environments stretch me.
• Because God led me to.
• Denominational affiliation is not just about me.

Read the complete blog here

Seminary education

Bob Thune, in Omaha, has a great post about seminary education. Some may not like it but it is worth pondering. Here are some bullet statements that he made. You can read the entire article article here.

So I’m not denying the importance of sound, rigorous theological training. I’m simply questioning whether seminary is the place to get it. Here are some of my concerns:

• Seminary pulls pastors “off the streets” for 3 or 4 years to isolate them in a sterile academic environment. While this might be great for paper-writing, it’s really bad for missional living.
• The nature of the business means that seminaries are always juggling the best interests of students, faculty, donors, and accrediting agencies. These players are never in agreement, which means that no one is ever happy.
• Seminaries seek to accomplish theological training apart from immersion in a local church. Though most require their students to be active in a church, seminaries tend to be a breeding ground for Monday-morning-theologians who want to critique the church rather than serve it.
• Because professors are pressured to publish and gain tenure, the classes they teach are often little more than laboratories for their latest projects. One seminary student in our church told me that every one of his classes this semester uses a book written by the professor.
• Seminaries have to pay the bills, which means it’s in their best interests to keep students around as long as possible. Seminaries continue to promote the M.Div. as the “flagship” degree – even though a 2-year M.A. with well-chosen electives is often just as good, and about $15,000 cheaper.
• Seminary graduates tend to exit with heads full of theology, but without worshipful hearts or authentic relationships with non-Christians. I am aware this is an over-generalization. But unfortunately it’s an accurate one.
• Because of a seminary’s need to cater to a diverse student body, most seminaries can’t offer a truly systematic theological education. Students end up having to piece together the fragmented bits of data they’ve accumulated in so many haphazard, out-of-sequence courses. The idea of a cohesive “body of learning” is all but lost in the modern academy.

Results oriented thinking

I enjoy this story by Elisabeth Elliot, "One day Jesus said to his disciples: "I'd like you to carry a stone for me." He didn't give any explanation. So the disciple looked around for a stone to carry, and Peter, being the practical sort, sought out the smallest stone he could possibly find. After all, Jesus didn't give any regulations for weight and size! So he put it in his pocket. Jesus then said: "Follow Me." He led them on a journey. About noontime Jesus had everyone sit down. He waved his hands an all the stones turned to bread. He said, "now it's time for lunch." In a few seconds, Peter's lunch was over. When lunch was done Jesus told them to stand up. He said again, "I'd like you to carry a stone for Me." This time Peter said, "Aha! Now I get it!" So he looked around and saw a small boulder. He hoisted it on his back and it was painful, it made his stagger. But he said, "I can't wait for supper." Jesus then said "Follow Me." He led them on a journey, with Peter barely being able to keep up. Around supper time Jesus led them to the side of a river. He said, "Now everyone throw your stones into the water." They did. Then he said, "Follow Me." and began to walk. Peter and the others looked at him dumbfounded. Jesus sighed and said, "Don't you remember what I asked you to do?" Who were you carrying the stone for?"