Amateur Disciples and Professional Christians

QUOTE

Major League Disciple Making:
A Guided Tour of the Best Research on the Cell Church (IFD580)

Below are the books discussed and recommended for each week of the class. Internet links are to sites where the books can be purchased. While most are available through Amazon.com, where possible the author=s own online bookstore is specified as a courtesy.

Week 1: Introduction to Discipleship Systems and Cell Church Theory

Miller, Craig Kennet. NextChurch.Now: Creating New Faith Communities. Nashville, TN: Discipleship Resources, 2000.

http://www.cokesbury.com/forms/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=519421

Ogden, Greg. Transforming Discipleship: Making Disciples A Few At A Time. Downers

Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003.

http://www.cokesbury.com/forms/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=504128

Kueker, David O. Diagnosis, Dialogue, and Decision: A Threefold Process of Revitalization For

 the Illinois Great Rivers Conference (Pasadena, CA: Doctor of Ministry Project, School of Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary, 2008; available free online at www.disciplewalk.com)

Week 2: The First Wave: Yoido Full Gospel Church

Cho, David Yongii. Successful Home Cell Groups. Gainesville, FL: Bridge-Logos, 1981.

http://www.cokesbury.com/forms/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=519726

Hurston, Karen. Growing The World’s Largest Church. Springfield, MO: Gospel Publishing House, 1994.

Out of print: used copies are available through Amazon.com.

Week 3: The First Wave Interpreted Worldwide

Neighbour, Ralph W., Jr. Where Do We Go From Here? A Guidebook For The Cell Group Church. Tenth Anniversary Edition. Houston, TX: Touch Publications, 2000.

http://www.touchusa.org/web/products/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=86

 Beckham, William A. The Second Reformation: Reshaping The Church For The

Twenty‑First Century. Houston, TX: Touch Publications, 1997.

http://www.touchusa.org/web/products/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=77

George, Carl F. Prepare Your Church For The Future. Grand Rapids, MI: Revell, 1991.

Available through Amazon.com.

Week 4: The Second Wave: South American Innovations

Comiskey, Joel. Leadership Explosion. Houston, TX: Touch Publications, 2000.

http://store.joelcomiskeygroup.com/leexmucegrto.html

Comiskey, Joel. Reap The Harvest. Houston, TX: Touch Publications, 1999.

http://store.joelcomiskeygroup.com/rehahowsmgrs.html

Cordle, Steve. Church In Many Houses: Reaching Your Community Through Cell-Based

Ministry. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2005. (Dr. Steve Cordle is a partner with the Joel Comiskey Group and pastors Crossroads UMC, a growing, cell‑based congregation, in Pittsburgh, PA.)

http://store.joelcomiskeygroup.com/whchmoinnedo1.html

Week 5: The Third Wave: “Cellish” Churches in the USA

Hybels, Bill. The Seven Step Philosophy. Tape c9002. Barrington, IL: Seeds Tape Ministry, 1999.

http://www.willowcreek.com/wca_prodsb.asp?invtid=PR00600 (Transcript)

Warren, Rick. The Purpose Driven Church. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1995.

http://www.cokesbury.com/forms/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=402906

Slaughter, Michael. Spiritual Entrepreneurs: Six Principles For Risking Renewal. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1996.

http://www.cokesbury.com/forms/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=438619

Week 6: The Fourth Wave: Church Multiplication Movements

Cole, Neil. Cultivating A Life For God. Carol Stream, IL: Church Smart Resources,

1999.

http://www.cmaresources.org/Resources.aspx

Garrison, David. Church Planting Movements: How God Is Redeeming A Lost World.

Midlothian, VA: WIGTake Resources, 2004.

http://www.churchplantingmovements.com/

Week 7: Methodist Historical DNA and Modern Cell Churches: Is There A Match?

Henderson, D. Michael. John Wesley=s Class Meeting: A Model For Making Disciples. Nappanee, IN: Francis Asbury Press of Evangel Publishing House, 1997.

http://www.cokesbury.com/forms/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=604510

Week 8: Implications and Applications

(No books suggested.)

NOTE (my response)

DISCERNMENT QUESTIONS

RESOURCES

Footnotes:
The quote is from Major League Disciple Making: An Overview of the Best Research on the Cell Church, an online course developed for the Institute for Discipleship at www.BeADisciple.com in 2009. Course materials, including these lectures, can be downloaded here: http://www.disciplewalk.com/IFD_MLD_Class_Links.html

All Scripture quotations are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Please review the page How and Why We Use Quotes.

QUOTE

What if we combined both ways of church planting?

Throughout this course we have discussed a great variety of ways that cell churches organize ordinary people into discipleship systems where they go into the world and make disciples (Matthew 28:19), along with equipping tracks which help the new disciples become better disciples and then disciple makers by Ateaching them to observe all that I have commanded you@ (Matthew 28:20). These churches are inspired by John Wesley=s original discipleship system and are a good example of his very clear statement: You have nothing to do but to save souls. Therefore spend and be spent in this work. And go always, not only to those who want you, but to those who want you most… Observe: It is not your business to preach so many times, and to take care merely of this or that Society, but to save as many souls as you can; to bring as many sinners as you possibly can to repentance; and, with all your power, to build them up in that holiness, without which they cannot see the Lord.

The commitment described in the Path 1 movement (http://www.path1.org/) Ato start 650 new congregations with 63,000 members by 2012 @ is a goal of great and wonderful beauty. I support it entirely and with my whole heart. I appreciate and honor the leaders who are involved in it and pray and believe that they will be successful.

As a student of the former and a supporter of the latter, I can=t help but believe that the church would be blessed by reuniting together the two systems that allow a two winged church to fly.

NOTE (my response)

DISCERNMENT QUESTIONS

RESOURCES

Footnotes:
The quote is from Major League Disciple Making: An Overview of the Best Research on the Cell Church, an online course developed for the Institute for Discipleship at www.BeADisciple.com in 2009. Course materials, including these lectures, can be downloaded here: http://www.disciplewalk.com/IFD_MLD_Class_Links.html

All Scripture quotations are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Please review the page How and Why We Use Quotes.

QUOTE

Statement #2:   Neil Cole,  Sharing the Truth in a Postmodern Context^[1]

I teach people to listen for three things when talking with an unbeliever: pains, passions and purposes. These are the deeper parts of a person=s soul and will probably not come out early in the course of a conversation. We don=t entrust these things to just anyone. We want to make sure we can trust a person before we share what really makes us tick. Strobel points out that often people will first share something they don=t believe strongly in to see if they can trust someone with the deeper, more vulnerable stuff. If we play the antagonist immediately they will never move on to a deeper heart issue and evangelism will remain at a surface level.

Let me give you an example to illustrate this from our ministry. John was a self‑proclaimed Satanist. He is also one of the most intelligent men I have met. He reads almost a book a day and can quote ancient Greek poets off the top of his head. We met John by building relationships with people at a local coffeehouse called Portfolios.

One evening we had a visitor at Awakening Chapel who is an expert at using apologetics in evangelism. This particular man had taught me much and I was excited to have him with us. After experiencing an Awakening Chapel time of worship he commented, AOh, I see if you lower the lights and use candles and incense you can reach postmoderns.@ I must admit I was a little disappointed; Awakening is so much more than that. I decided that the best way for him to see the heart of this new church was to take him to Portfolios to see where we do much of our relational evangelism.

At Portfolios, my friend ran into John the Satanist (not to be confused with John the Baptist). In the course of their conversation John made some comment about what a good man and teacher Jesus was. This started my missionary friend on a logical message about how, based on Jesus= own words, He is either the Lord or He is a liar or He is a lunaticYbut He can=t logically be just a good man or teacher. The talented evangelist got as far as the first point and John then jumped in and finished the rest of the argument. Then he commented that he had read all of C. S. Lewis= works and that Lewis was one of his favorite authors. Then John turned and walked away untouched by the attempts of the evangelist.

About a week later, John came to Awakening. During a break in the service he went outside with some of our newer converts to smoke a cigarette and chat. I noticed John was talking with a young girl name Michelle whom had just recently come to Christ herself. Remembering how easily John dispatched the veteran evangelist, I was very concerned for her. A guy like John could really confuse a new believer like Michelle. Later I pulled her aside to see how she was doing. I asked, AI noticed you were talking with John. He=s a handful. Are you okay?@ She said, AOh yeah, I=m fine. He just kept talking and talking and I kept listening and listening. Finally at one point he stopped to take a breath and I jumped in and said, >John, you=re too smart for me. I can=t keep up with you.=@ Then she paused and added, A>but I sense that you=re lonely. I was lonely too. For many years I would go to bed at night and wonder if anyone in the whole universe cared if I would wake up the next day. Then I met Jesus and I don=t go to bed lonely anymore. I know that Jesus loves me and He cares about what is going on in my life.=@

For the first time in his life, John was silent. Michelle had struck right to the heart of John=s soul. This wasn=t a peripheral discussion about theoretic facts. This was his life, his need, his core identity.

It isn=t what you know that is going to touch the hearts of this emerging generationYit=s who you know. If you are willing to listen and share personally with people the difference Christ has made in your life you can be effective in reaching the lost. We need to introduce the postmodern to truth incarnate rather than a defense of propositional facts.

A short time later I was having a conversation with John. He casually mentioned to me that he was thinking of changing his religion. I thought to myself, AAny change is a step in the right direction.@ I asked, AOh, what are you thinking of changing it to?@ He said, AI=m either going to become a Christian or a Buddhist.@ At that point I had a choice, I could ask him why on earth he would want to be a Buddhist and then he could defend Buddhism for the next hour, or, I could ask him why on earth he=d want to be a Christian and let him defend Jesus to me. I chose the latter. This time, my instincts proved wise. He said, AThe thing that attracts me to Christianity more than any other religion is the concept of grace. No other religion has this. The fact that we can receive God=s blessings without having to do anything is amazing to me.@ Then he went on to describe the cross and how Jesus died even though we are all sinners and John=s eyes watered up. He preached the gospel to himself that dayCand if he=d given an altar call I=d have gone forward myself! John didn=t receive Jesus that afternoon, but I believe he is on the way, he is in the process. It is the kindness of people that has made the difference. More than that, it is the kindness of God that will lead him to repentance, not our own intelligent arguments.

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^[1]Neil Cole, Sharing the Truth in a Postmodern Context, http://cmaresources.org/features/FeatureArticleArchieve/SharingArticle.aspx

NOTE (my response)

DISCERNMENT QUESTIONS

RESOURCES

Footnotes:
The quote is from Major League Disciple Making: An Overview of the Best Research on the Cell Church, an online course developed for the Institute for Discipleship at www.BeADisciple.com in 2009. Course materials, including these lectures, can be downloaded here: http://www.disciplewalk.com/IFD_MLD_Class_Links.html

All Scripture quotations are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Please review the page How and Why We Use Quotes.

QUOTE

Planting a Discipleship System

The preceding description of a church planting process only seems unusual when contrasted with a cell church, discipleship system church planting process, which is also quite unusual. This process has only a few uncomplicated steps and costs virtually nothing; rather than providing a place for people to come, it involves going to where the people are, making disciples out of lost people and then making disciple makers out of disciples. Below are two statements about the church planting ministry of Neil Cole, whose work was featured in Unit 6 of this course:^[1]

Statement #1:  Steve Lawson, Jesus With An Iced Latte^[2]  

Neil Cole has a saying: “If you want to reach this world for Christ, you have to sit in the smoking section.” This planter of postmodern congregations has a way with words. He also has a way of acting on his pithy maxims and seeing dramatic results in the form of changed lives. In 1999, Cole jettisoned his traditional pulpit ministry in Alta Loma, California, to launch Awakening Chapel‑‑founding it literally in the smoking section of The Coffee Tavern in Long Beach, an urban beach town southwest of Los Angeles. In a little more than four years, the crew he gleaned from the smokers’ ranks on the patio at The Coffee Tavern has ballooned into a movement of 400 churches in 16 states and 12 countries. Almost four new congregations started up each week in 2003 under Church Multiplication Associates (CMA)‑‑the umbrella organization Cole leads and started simultaneously with Awakening Chapel.

When Cole, 42, landed in Long Beach from Alta Loma, his initial brainstorm was to birth a coffee shop‑‑à la the Jesus Movement‑‑in a storefront he had rented on busy Cherry Avenue. He said God had told him: “‘Why don’t you just go to the coffeehouse where the lost people are already?’

“Instead of trying to convert them from the coffeehouse they really love to our coffeehouse so that we could then convert them to Christ, we just went and hung out at the coffeehouse where they were already at,” Cole recounts.

This taking‑church‑to‑where‑life‑happens approach has been a cornerstone of the movement since a group of about a dozen people started meeting at the coffee shop, as well as in Cole’s living room and in the storefront, to worship, read the Bible, pray and fellowship. Nothing too unusual about that‑‑many congregations have been launched in homes. What wasn’t normative was that the first church plant happened within months‑‑among the smokers at Portfolios, another local java joint that has become a nucleus of outreach.

Not all the churches‑‑which seldom grow to more than a few dozen members‑‑meet at coffeehouses. One came together on the lawn of the art building at California State University in Long Beach, another in a parking lot in east Los Angeles and another on a local beach. Many meet in homes, but Cole shuns the classification term “house church” and doesn’t apply it to those groups.

“The church is not a building, whether it has a steeple or a chimney. It is the people,” he says.

Nor are these groups defined as “cell churches”‑‑because the term implies that the smaller, or cell, church is part of a larger organism.

“In our case we are decentralized and most of them do not have any larger celebration meetings,” Cole explains. “Usually new believers do not want a large gathering‑‑it is just the people who were raised with that tradition who want it.”

The core of Awakening Chapel and the associated churches is called the Life Transformation Group. Usually only two or three strong, these same‑gender units meet weekly for Bible study, prayer and confidential discussion of shortcomings. There is a major emphasis placed on new believers reaching out to the people in their circles of influence.

Cole comes from a Grace Brethren denominational background, but churches in his movement are aligned with many denominations. Some of the groups have started as offshoots of 12‑step programs; one met in a barrio and another among a group of Filipinos.

Pastors are called shepherds. They include people from a variety of backgrounds‑‑a former grocery produce manager, a truck driver, an ex‑party girl. “The goal is to always see leaders come from the harvest,” Cole points out.

Some of the churches align themselves with Awakening Chapel, but several other groups of churches have also been launched, including The Refuge in Salt Lake City; Big Fish in Mesa, Arizona; and The Fountain, east of Los Angeles. This is all part of what Cole calls organic or natural church growth. Even Cole’s daughter, Heather, 17, has started a high school church.

“We did not plant a church. We planted a movement of churches,” Cole explains. “We want to reach young, urban, postmodern people. We want to reproduce disciples, then leaders, then churches, then movements.”

In fact, Cole would like to see a multiplying of similar movements that have no direct connection to Awakening Chapel or CMA.

What kind of people come? All sorts‑‑from athletes to artists to students. There have been Satanists, businessmen and musicians. Take Scott Hughes, for example. He was one of the first people Cole encountered at The Coffee Tavern.

Hughes was there to meet his drug dealer. Reluctantly he agreed to come to a gathering at Cole’s house. Later, more willingly, he went to a baptism at the beach, where he snapped photos. Soon enough Hughes made a decision to follow Christ.

How did he celebrate his new life? He got high. Hughes was an addict and could not buck it. Cole tried everything to help but finally told Hughes: “You and me have got to get into the car and drive over to your drug dealer’s and tell her about Jesus.” This runs right on course with Cole’s belief that Christians must bring light to wherever darkness exists.

Hughes laughed at the idea and said he would go alone. The next day he kept his word. The drug dealer did not accept Christ, but her son did, and he is now a part of Awakening Chapel. Moreover, since that day Hughes has not once been tempted to take drugs and is now a shepherd of an Awakening Chapel church plant.

“We value seeing true transformation of lives, not just converts and not just numbers,” Cole says. “We are not afraid to go to very dark places where there is much ugliness. Church should happen wherever life happens. The church is a sent agency, not a sending agency; therefore, we must go.”

And go Cole and the people of Awakening Chapel do, even if it means sitting in the smoking section.

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^[1]For a description of this approach, see www.greenhouseSTL.org.

^[2]Steve Lawson, Jesus With An Iced Latte, http://www.charismamag.com/display.php?id=8847.

NOTE (my response)

DISCERNMENT QUESTIONS

RESOURCES

Footnotes:
The quote is from Major League Disciple Making: An Overview of the Best Research on the Cell Church, an online course developed for the Institute for Discipleship at www.BeADisciple.com in 2009. Course materials, including these lectures, can be downloaded here: http://www.disciplewalk.com/IFD_MLD_Class_Links.html

All Scripture quotations are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Please review the page How and Why We Use Quotes.

QUOTE

Statement #4:  Each of these twelve groups is a task oriented group, yet at their heart they have Bible study, pray together, hold one another accountable for attendance and service, every time they meet. Some of these also have a ministry beyond the local church ‑ singing in the nursing homes, visiting the hospital, etc.

This just becomes the DNA of the new church. These teams continue to be the basic structure of the new church. Empowered laity, and as the body grows and strengthens, the pastor does NOT attend all these meetings. After the constituting conference, you may have 15 to 20 people involved in the four Disciplinary committees (PPR, Finance, Trustees, Council).

The prayer group is really the Leadership or Launch Team. The pastor leads this group, and the pastor begins to discern who has gifts and talents for leading these various other eleven small groups. Look for leadership in the area of prayer, hospitality, electronics, advertizing, set up, music, and drama. You know the jobs that you need to fill. Some of those you attract will not have these particular skills, so you many also be adding what look like adult Sunday School classes that meet in homes mid‑week.

The pastor must keep them from worshiping until they are ready ‑ you need to have 144 people involved before you set a date for the first worship service.

You can see why it is difficult to delay the start of the first worship service … is the center of all that this new church is about. Whether the worship is traditional or Taizé, emergent, contemporary or hip-hop, it is a worship system. It does not attempt to make disciples as much as scoop up people who are unattached to a church and interested in spiritual things. The primary method of this form of church planting is to provide an environment attractive to unchurched people and then invite them to come. There is nothing at all wrong with this system of church planting, and it blesses many people. It is capital intensive to provide that worship place; it is also assumed that the church planter is sufficiently attractive and charismatic to fill any size worship space. Another assumption is that the beginning of a new church is a sufficiently exciting motivation to gather 144 people and hold them together until worship begins within a culture that emphasizes immediate gratification.

NOTE (my response)

DISCERNMENT QUESTIONS

RESOURCES

Footnotes:
The quote is from Major League Disciple Making: An Overview of the Best Research on the Cell Church, an online course developed for the Institute for Discipleship at www.BeADisciple.com in 2009. Course materials, including these lectures, can be downloaded here: http://www.disciplewalk.com/IFD_MLD_Class_Links.html

All Scripture quotations are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Please review the page How and Why We Use Quotes.

QUOTE

Statement #3:  THE TWELVE SMALL GROUPS:

Each group, (even the Video Team) when it meets, initially led by the pastor around the core values of the church ‑ there is a time of joy and concern, praying for one another, a time of Bible study/devotion, they meet together at least twice a month. {A committee is a group that decides what others are going to do. A team decides with IT is going to do.}

$ Intercessory Prayer Team / Launch Team ‑ your future church will look like this team ‑ they anoint and pray for the empty chairs, pray for the lost, pray for those the Lord wants to come to this church, they pray in each of the empty rooms on Sunday morning,

$ Worship Planning Team, Worship Leader, and Pastor to plan 6 to 8 weeks in advance. On the first Sunday, you better have the next 7 or eight Sundays already Ain the can@ with every song, drama, video, and sermon complete. This team has a representative/convener from most of the other teams. Usually have to pay worship leaders because they are so rare. (We are looking for ways to train a pool of worship leaders.)

$ Music team to implement the music program ‑ plans the music. The performers don=t have time to get all the charts together, etc. This team overlaps with the Praise Team below.

$ Praise Team ‑ the actual singers and musicians ‑ three or four with voices and microphones ‑ don=t even think of starting worship if you don=t have those key musicians in place. Sometimes you have to pay some of your musicians, sometimes you don=t.

$ Drama Team ‑ a drama program if you have one

$ Video Team ‑ selects videos/editing

$ Electronics Team to operate sound/video equipment ‑ usually a large team

$ Logistics Team to set up and take down every Sunday morning ‑ about 20 people on this team

$ Publicity Team to do advertizing ‑ including handouts

$ Hospitality Team for food, name tag, greeters, usher people to the nursery

$ Special Events Team to secure special guest, speakers, performers, testimony by star football players that will bring Abutts in the seats.@ It=s far easier to witness to people when they are in your seats.

$ Culture Surfers Team ‑ what is hot and what=s not ‑ meets at Star Bucks, reads the magazines, and

keeps worship planning committee in touch with current issues in the culture.

NOTE (my response)

DISCERNMENT QUESTIONS

RESOURCES

Footnotes:
The quote is from Major League Disciple Making: An Overview of the Best Research on the Cell Church, an online course developed for the Institute for Discipleship at www.BeADisciple.com in 2009. Course materials, including these lectures, can be downloaded here: http://www.disciplewalk.com/IFD_MLD_Class_Links.html

All Scripture quotations are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Please review the page How and Why We Use Quotes.