We have a friend whose father was influential in saving this village. It also has the distinction of having the longest name in all of Spain (I believe). The name of the village is Colinas del Campo de Martín Moro Toledano.
What if it could? That is a big question. I am sure that you have seen some strengthening of your church, maybe through your online engagement, maybe through more people “watching services”, maybe through other means. But I am thinking of something different. What if people were actually more engaged in evangelism and discipleship during the COVID reality than then were before it? Could it happen?
In thinking about this question I remembered a book I read back in 2012. While I had disagreements with the author and some of his ideas, it was the book which got me thinking along these lines. I am posting my review from the first time I read it, and then will be posting quotes, notes, and summaries of each chapter over the coming weeks. Would you be willing to pick it up and read along? Maybe some of the quotes will get you thinking or enable you to share some of what you think about the issue.
The Church In Many Houses: Reaching your Community through Cell-Based Ministry
Point: The cell-based understanding of the church facilitates and stimulates personal growth and community outreach.
Path:The book is divided into three sections: 1) The emerging cell movement (background and general principles) 2) Laying the foundations (what it looks like) 3) Strategic Issues (moving forward and answers for difficulties).
Sources: Cordle relies on personal experience, statistical data, Methodist methodology, and Biblical principles.
Agreement:
The overarching principle is right on – we are not a church “with” cells (or small groups), we are a church “of” cells. Whether we admit it or not, the local church functions at a relational base. If there is no relationship going on, what are we considering the “church”?
He uses the terminology “pre-Christian friend” instead of “unbeliever.” I loved that!
Everyone is involved.
There is a focus on prayer.
Multiplication is the purpose.
This is not a program.
Disagreement:
His view of the worship service, or celebration, is geared toward unbelievers.
He uses numbers all the time to prove points, but numbers are not what Jesus focused on.
I have questions about his view of woman in leadership. I don’t think that woman should be relegated to the back seat, but he has them in pastoral roles.
He sees spiritual gifts as things to be discovered and stressed.
Personal App: Am I seeking to reach outward and multiply disciples? If so, how am I implementing that?
Favorite Quote: “Meeting in homes also locates ministry in the midst of multiple neighborhoods, spreading the gospel across an area instead of stockpiling believers in a central building” (34).
Stars: 4 out of 5
The concept gets a 5, but I had to let a lot of terminology, specific application, etc. slide through.
It would be worth another read and I would recommend it.
Who ever thought this was a good idea, ice being hurled from the sky? There is a sense of awe, a godly dread, which I feel in my stomach when I look out at a cloud that sits enthroned miles about the earth. There is within this mass of moisture a power which I could never fathom. There are gusts of winds sweeping up inside of its own super system, pulling water into itself, freezing it, and then flinging it to the earth at speeds faster than I can drive a car. What kind of a planet is this? Isn’t there someone who can control this?
Wind and water
Power and fury
Gusting
Smashing
Hurling
Crashing
Strength and taunting
Power and ice
“Where is the way to the dwelling of light, and where is the place of darkness,
that you may take it to its territory
and that you may discern the paths to its home?
You know, for you were born then,
and the number of your days is great!
“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
for the day of battle and war?
What is the way to the place where the light is distributed,
or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?
“Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain
and a way for the thunderbolt,
to bring rain on a land where no man is,
on the desert in which there is no man,
to satisfy the waste and desolate land,
and to make the ground sprout with grass?
“Has the rain a father,
or who has begotten the drops of dew?
From whose womb did the ice come forth,
and who has given birth to the frost of heaven?
The waters become hard like stone,
and the face of the deep is frozen.
Job 38:19–30 (ESV)
Moisture sucked in, spun, and spit to the ground. Heat and cold clash. Molecules bind. Vapor condenses. Hail descends in a rage.
As seen from under the sun, this is merely the product of the heating and cooling of the earth’s surface. To the one with eyes to see, this is the hand of the LORD.
We try to visit different places in our valley for our own enjoyment and also to make connections with our friends and soon-to-be friends. There is a bond that is formed as soon as we hear someone say, “I’m from the village ___________.” And we can say, “We have been there! We really liked the __________.”
This past week we took a hike to an abandoned village in the Tabaida Berciana which is a section of mountains we can see from our city. Here are some photos from the hike.
We live in a golden age of learning. The access we have to ideas, cultures, and religions is unprecedented. At no other time in history has it been easier to be a student. Yet, so much of this is scrolled past. Along with this deluge of information comes a recoil. We instinctively back away and hide in what is familiar. If given the choice between sitting through a dense defense of a particular idea or scrolling through a personalized stream of pretty faces or funny quips, not many people will choose the former.
The reason why we shy away from these fountains of knowledge is not the point of this post. Rather, I would like to highlight a few platforms where those who are interested can find many choices to hear a different point of view, learn a new skill or subject, or broaden their knowledge base.
Smarter Every Day
Bible Project
CS Lewis Doodle
Anything by Elizabeth Vandiver (mostly classics and myths)
Espionage and Covert Operations: A Global History
Customs of the World: Using Cultural Intelligence to Adapt, Wherever You Are
Their Logos Training – Study the Bible with Logos is a great help to figure out basic Bible study with modern tools
I really enjoyed Pennington’s NT301 The Gospels as Ancient Biography course
We live in an incredible universe. Everywhere we look we can see bits of creation that should really take our breathe away, if we only had the eyes to see. I keep learning because I want to be amazed again. Some of these teachers have helped me see something I had regularly overlooked. I hope one or two of these options open your eyes too.
“He died, and no one cried.” (2 Chron 21:20)
I cannot think of many epitaphs which bring more sadness than the ones revealing the stark reality that no one was sad. There is a real horror to contemplate dying and not being missed.
From one perspective, it seems to be no big deal. If this life is all there is; if all is nothing but an accident; if life and death are only two sides of the same insignificant coin; then it should not matter. I should not be sad when I think that one day I will die and no one will care. I should not feel an uneasiness in my conscience for living a live worthy of others hating me, or worse yet, ignoring me. It is what it is. There is life, and there is death, blessed be the name of materialistic nihilism.
But who can live that out consistently? Who among the angry horseman could close their mouth and stop their pen? Who could systematically begin to wipe of the face of the earth every remembrance of themselves? Who could find peace in the face of indifference? There is something that cries out within us. Is it only an evolutionary incentive for the further reproduction of genes? A wishful thinking of a false meaning so as to make a more stable society for my offspring? I think not.
But from another perspective, it is fearful. If life has meaning; if death is a door; if there really is a purpose behind all that I see and a Being over all there is; then living a life where no other divine image bearers take notice when I am gone is a serious business. For if I was created to reflect the love of the eternal Triune God, but no one ever saw that love, what was the point? If a watch cannot tell time or a pitcher hold water, what worth does it hold?
There is more to life and death than the fading memory in the mind of humanity, regardless of what the secular humanists may preach. They grip a vapor. They grasp at the wind. There is life and there is death, and then the Judgment. And perhaps one small step toward living a life in light of that judgement is considering those who ought to cry when I die.
Who would have ever come up with the idea of sleep? If it were not part of the very fabric of our existence from the absolute beginning, would it ever have caught on?
I can imagine the first brainstorming session. “Hey! I have an idea. Let’s all take about one third of our day and shut down completely. We won’t be able to hear anything, see anything, do anything. We will be completely unreachable, unless someone in the apartment above us decides to play marbles at 2 am. We won’t eat, or read, or work, or play. It will be like we are dead, except sometimes we will have these thoughts that are extremely realistic in the moment but nearly impossible to remember once we are awake again. Oh, yes. And then if we go for a few nights without doing this, it will drive us mad. What a great idea!”
Would that really have ever been a fad? Would it have been the younger or older generations who had adapted to it first, with all the others mocking it until they figured it out? Who would have thought of this?
And then, who would have ever come up with the plan of taking this third of our day, and therefore a third of our life, and use it to allow our bodies to process everything that has happened. Our cells use it to clean themselves, multiply into more, or eliminate others. Our brain uses it to process information stored in the various parts of our consciousness. Even our organs, muscles, and tissues use it to relax, repair, and prepare for the upcoming day. Who would have built it into the solar system by covering parts of this rotating earth in darkness for hours every day? And then on top of that, built it into the very circuit of the year, where the fields, animals, trees, and the very land itself sleeps in the winter season? Who would have ever come up with this?
I suppose one could say it was an unfortunate accident and all of life just adapted to it. That is possible. But it seems to take a leap of faith I’m not ready to make. The evidence points to a God who has a plan and knows how to build an element of trust and dependence into every day.
One of the things we enjoyed doing nearly as soon as we moved to Spain was visiting different villages. Before purchasing a vehicle, we had a running stroller to cart Tanzen around, then bikes. Now we have three, so our caravan is a little more intimidating, but we keep exploring! This past week we followed the Camino De Santiago through a few villages and celebrated with snacks…and a nap.
One thing I love about using the Logos.com platform is the monthly giveaways. Awhile back they were highlighting resources on Bible translations, and I picked up some new resources for free and cheap. One of those I just recently finished, the MobileEd course by Lexham Press, God’s Word as Translation. It was helpful for more than just Bible translation questions.
Path: Dr. Trick builds a foundation for the translation process by explaining the concept and problems behind “literalness”, the nature of meaning and communication, how this affects the translation process, and the missiological implications of Bible translation.
Sources: As a translator himself, having worked with language groups around the world, Dr. Trick helps the student understand not only how translation works, but how language and communication work.
Agreement: This course was so much more than just translating a word or verse. I found his metaphors very helpful in my own understanding of meaning and communication.
Other books along this theme would be:
For me, this was the most helpful diagram of the whole class. It is his explanation of how communication happens.
“Now it is a strange thing, but things that are good to have and days that are good to spend are soon told about, and not much to listen to; while things that are uncomfortable, palpitating, and even gruesome, may make a good tale, and take a deal of telling anyway.”
The Hobbit
Many today are in some of those uncomfortable days right now. I wonder what the stories will be years from today.