“People seldom do what they believe in. They do what is convenient, then repent.” ~ Bob Dylan
How have you and I allowed our convictions, formed around the habits of a life in Jesus, to give way to what is convenient?
What comes to mind?
(Sent via Seesmic http://www.seesmic.com)
How are you going about making disciples in your ministry context? How effective have you been in seeing disciples made? How are you measuring the effectiveness of your disciple making?
A recent blogger wrote the following article on making disciples using some information from adult learning theory. After you read his article, what would you need to do differently or continue to grow in as a disciplemaker to make disciples?
How do you believe we are doing as a CHURCH in making DISCIPLES?
Here is the article and a link to his blog:
“Why Are We So Ineffective In Making Disciples?
One of my classes at the University of Minnesota this spring was focused on adult education and particularly, how adults learn and retain that learning.
Let me share some basic points regarding adult education that many years of research have shown:
1. Adults retain 90% of what they learn if they teach it to someone else, and have immediate application of what they learn.
2. Adults retain 75% of what learn when they practice it.
3. Adults retain 50% of what they discuss in a group.
4. Adults retain 30% of what they see demonstrated.
Look at those percentages and think about it in the context of how it relates to making disciples. Paul told Timothy to be effective in his ministry of making disciples and extending the Kingdom when he exhorted Timothy’s efforts with; “so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” 2 Tim. 3:17.
If we truly want to see a multiplication movement of the Kingdom of God, instead of the centralized “addition” model we have settled for, then we have to understand how this is best accomplished. This a accomplished when we use the most affective ways to teach, train and equip.
Jesus obviously knew how to teach adults. Although we have him on a number of occasions standing publicly and teaching the masses, the majority of His training of the disciples took place in demonstration, (raising the dead, healing the sick, casting out demons), discussion (“Who do men say I am?, What do you think?”), practice (He sent them out two by two, “You do it”), and go teach someone what you know (“go and therefore make disciples… teaching them to observe all I have commanded you”). The gospels are full of examples of these top four ways that adults learn and retain what they learned. Go through the gospels yourself, and highlight all the ways you find these top four ways of learning.
Now in contrast to these top four that we’ve covered, here are the ways that adults learn and retain the least:
1. Adults retain 20% of what they see and hear in Audio-Visual teaching
2. Adults retain 10% of what we learn through reading
3. Adults retain 5% of what we learn through lecture
Wow! Doesn’t that resemble our dominant teaching/training practices of today? Almost all of what we do in ‘making disciples’ involves preaching and podium speaking at conferences, in churches every Sunday, and in the writing of books and blogs. Add some cool and entertaining video clips, and we have all the least effective ways to train up and equip a disciple for the work of the Kingdom!
Let’s get real about all of this and start being more effective in producing disciples. I know I want to see a movement that is true multiplication and not stagnated or settling for a few additions.
We have settled for the pedagogical manner of downloading all the information we want people to know, and then think we have accomplished something powerful and impacting. Where is the impact?
It’s pretty easy to give information download (I’m doing it right now and it’s taking a couple hours of my day - not such a sacrifice). Taking this route to make disciples really has little impact, except to make names for ourselves (ouch!). Easy, noncommittal, pretty ineffective and totally Western in culture. It also is primarily done by only a small minority in the Body of Christ. Have we had enough of it yet?
The good news I see in all this, is that we ALL can do the top four in the list of effective ways to learn and retain that learning. All of us! That is how God designed it to be. We can ALL demonstrate, discuss, practice with others, and give away what we already know! We are all in unique places that we are called and equipped by God to do this in. Each of us!
We are not all called to be teachers, writers and bloggers that download information regularly and hopefully through the Holy Spirits anointing. That is a gift the Body needs and does grow from, but it is not the only, or even BEST way. The BEST way is for us all to demonstrate, discuss, practice with others and give away what we know! Even a new Christian has things to give away, and that is why we see so many new Christians bringing others to Christ during the first year or two of their conversion. Then what happens? They settle into passivity. They get taught to do so.
Come on Church! Let’s get activated! Go activate others to make disciples through demonstrating, discussing, practicing and applying all that we know and turn the world upside down! Jesus has equipped and called us and provided all that we need. He is enough!
“Go, therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you and lo, I AM with you always, even unto the end of the age”. Matthew 28:19-20.”
Welcome to Portland Parachuters! Here is what you might see as you engage our context with the gospel? Thanks for giving your summer to the people and communities of Portland.
Enjoy your stay…..
http://ping.fm/RM6ay
What is keeping you from visiting Portland and considering planting your missional life here? Come join us in sowing the gospel in 20-minute communities throughout Portland and watching God grow his church!
#sendportland namb gcr sbc
THE BIG IDEA…..
The Portland Parachute Project is a spiritual adventure designed to deploy collegiate students and young adults into strategic 20-minute communities throughout Portland to experience firsthand the realities of church planting activities while cultivating the “spiritual soil” of a community in preparation for starting new churches.
Our Missionary participants will be equipped to interact and build relationships with those who are disconnected from Christ and His Church. Our Parachuters will be “dropped off” in a strategic location for service, information gathering and other missionary activities. Pray for our team of 9 serving in two 20-minute locations.
THE GOALS:
The project carries seven goals.
(1) Develop an influential rapport between the missionary teams and the community.
(2) Gather critical information on the rhythms of the community that can be handed over to a church planting team.
(3) Identify persons of peace and other strategic contacts in the community.
(4) PRAY for the opportunity to gather at least one small group and engage them in disciple making.
(5) If the team were working with a church plant, they would help the new work have a greater Kingdom Impact within that community.
(6) Create an enlistment strategy for the field based on young adults returning to the place of service to help plant a church (Matt Jolley is coming back this summer from last summer’s team and in January will move to Portland!)
(7) Be a part of a larger “farm system” that helps develop young adults’ character, knowledge and skills in the areas of
networking for evangelism, starting multiplying small groups and identifying and equipping leaders.
THE PLAN:
The Portland Parachute Project is a high velocity missional experience. A team of NINE students have committed to live for 8-10 weeks in Portland to help cultivate the “spiritual soil” of a 20-minute community in preparation for starting a new
church.
Like the name “The Portland Parachute Project” suggests, teams are “dropped off” in the middle of a community. The 20-minute neighborhoods we have chose are Sellwood and NE Portland near Fremont and Alberta. Our team’s mission is simple: Live missionaly (doing missions in everyday life) by building relationships and seeping into the cracks and crevices of the culture.
Summer mission experiences often involve a specific job description. However, The Portland Parachute Project, participants will be equipped to initiate ministry. They will discover, plan, and implement ministry based on what God is doing in the community and the team’s giftedness. They will be encouraged to interact with disconnected people and value meeting them on their turf. Participants will be equipped and encouraged to volunteer in community clubs, do acts of kindness /service, and build relationships around personal gifting. The team will be coached by Ken Harmon and myself while we introduce them to church planters and Portland Church Planting (coming soon www.portlandchurchplanting.com and www.portlandchurchplanting.org).
Pray for the communities of Sellwood and NE Portland (we hope to be able strengthen a church plant in the area) and for our team. Pray for Ken and myself as we coach the team in missional living, disciple-making and community activities. Pray how you can be involved in 20-minute communities throughout Portland. Pray for people in these communities to become followers of Christ and for a faith community to be started.
#sendportland namb sbc gcr
If you have ever watched Star Trek, than perhaps, you remember the episode with the Tribbles. These Tribbles multiplied profusely. Why? Because they were born pregnant and here is the similarity I would like to make with Missional Communities.
Missional Communities must be BORN pregnant and ready to reproduce — MULTIPLY. (says Neil Cole).
When you BIRTH a missional community the expectation is multiplication – anything less leads to death.
Here is a little secret — it is easier to multiple groups of two, three, twelve. It is more difficult to multiple your gathering or worship service of 40, 50, 150. The beauty of missional community is this: It is a simple organism!
What you aime for you will hit. Target missional living and you will get communitas (which is better than community). If you just aime for community, you will possibly miss missional living.
The gravitational pull —for most churches in America -– is the holy huddle. HUDDLES (not communitas) of community singing kumbaya and growing old together. Comfort and community can lead to the death of a reproducing community.
Sometimes, missional communities can become too old to reproduce because of this gravitational pull.
Multiply everything you do. Let your missional communities be born pregnant.
What do you think? Where do you agree or disagree with what has been written?
Go therefore and MULTIPLY……
In fact, come to Portland OR and live missionally with us. Come live here and sow the gospel. Come live here “born pregnant” ready to multiply communitas into a gathered, called out people of God in a 20-minute community. sendportland gcr namb sbc
Here are three ways to use FB for your non-profit:
1. Use Status Updates to Be Persistent and Engaging
2. Use Events to Drive Awareness.
3. Use Apps to Publicly Track Your Goals
Read more here at: http://ping.fm/eqjdc
Another reason to live in the Portland Metro, you will be fit.
Portland ranked fourth behind Minneapolis/St. Paul, Washington D.C. and Boston out of the top 50 most populous metro cities.
Like you needed another reason to come to Portland and sow the gospel to see new churches started!
Join us in the harvest sendPortland namb gcr sbc
