Month: December 2008

Last night, we as a family celebrated our last advent time before Christmas. We read from Luke 2 where the angels felt compelled to share the good news to the shepherds about an extraordinary babe in the manger. After reading the familiar passage, we went around as a family and answered the questions:

1. How has Christ’s birth transformed the world

2. How has Christ’s birth changed our own lives.

We talked about: 

• Knowledge: Jesus gave us true knowledge of the Father. He portrayed a loving, caring Father–so different from the impersonal dieties of that time period. Jesus showed us that God is love. In fact, He loved the world so much He came down Himself to die for the sins of the world.
• Purpose: the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus gives us reason to live. Christ’s birth and death sets us free to live holistic, joyful lives. We are not a freak accident of nature. Rather, God has a perfect plan for each of us, and one day we will live forever with Him in heaven.
• Dignity: Christ’s birth among the lowly reminds us that God desires to reach all of His creation. While on earth, Jesus demonstrated his love for the oppressed, the impoverished, the sick, and those on the margins of society. Jesus gave new dignity to women. Christ’s birth gives new new confidence and hope.

Christmas is all about Christ, and we at JCG want to wish a very merry Christmas and happy new year.

Becuase of these important holidays, we will not be blogging for the next two weeks. We will continue this blog on January 05. Enjoy time with you families!

Joel Comiskey and the JCG team,

by Mario Vega

Once the prayer process has been completed, the first contact has been made, the friendship promoted and a special gesture has been expressed, the person is finally ready to be invited to the cell meeting.

This invitation is not an isolated event but rather the continuation of a constant interest to help a person. In fact, the invitation to the cell meeting represents a more efficient way to help a person.

At the moment you interpenetrate with their problems and concerns, you can invite them to come to a cell meeting where they’ll meet another person who experienced similar problems but has found solutions. New friendships will provide support for the new person’s difficulties.

If this process to “make a new guest” is followed step by step, the person will not hesitate to attend the cell meeting. Once he or she does, we must keep on encouraging this person to continue to do so. The greater the number of times a person hears the gospel the greater the possibilities to be converted.

The road to bring a guest to the cell meeting may seem long, but every time you travel through it, a pattern is created that will soon become a lifestyle. It is the lifestyle of an evangelist.

Do you have the courage to do it?

Mario

Translation:

La invitación a la célula.

Una vez se ha completado el proceso de oración, establecer el primer contacto, fomentar la amistad y expresar detalles especiales, finalmente, la persona está lista para ser invitada a la célula.

Esta invitación no es un hecho aislado sino que es la continuación de un interés constante por ayudar a la persona. De hecho, la invitación a la célula se presenta como una forma de auxiliar más eficientemente a la persona.

Ya compenetrados de sus problemas y preocupaciones, se le ofrece ir a una reunión donde conocerá a otra persona que vivió problemas similares a los suyos y para los cuales encontró la solución. Se le ofrece nuevas amistades que le apoyarán en sus dificultades.

Si este proceso para ‘hacer un invitado’ se sigue paso a paso, la persona no pondrá reparos en asistir a la célula. Una vez lo haga, se le debe continuar animando a que siga haciéndolo. A mayor cantidad de veces una persona escucha la exposición del evangelio mayores posibilidades que llegue a la conversión.

El camino para llevar un invitado a la célula puede parecer largo; pero, cada vez que se transite irá creando una pauta que pronto se convertirá en un estilo de vida. Es el estilo de vida de un evangelizador.

¿Tienes ánimo para hacerlo?

by Jeff Tunnell

www.bigbearchristiancenter.org

Genius; the ability to make complex things simple. 

Choose from the following list the activity you most regularly begin with in pursuit of your calling: Pray, think, read, sing, work, connect with others, write, avoid, postpone, gather information, just get started with whatever presents itself, delegate, prioritize.

Now, if you picked anything but the first word, PRAY, how are things going for you? Really? Jesus said “abide” or you will be fruitless. Once you abide, keep the outworking “simple”.  This is true genius; dependence upon God FIRST in prayer.  It is so simple that we miss it easily and substitute many activities in the place of “learn of me”.  His yoke is easy and His burden is light – how’s your load?

Do a quick word study on “commit” from Proverbs 16:3 – roll your works into God’s care. The picture is of a camel burdened with a heavy load: when the load is to be removed, the camel kneels down, tilts far to one side and the load rolls off.

Mary or Martha? Luke 10:42! Read it again, “But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” Be a genius today! Keep your cell ministry simple from the start, don’t make it harder than it needs to be.

by Rob Campbell

www.cypresscreekchurch.com

This week, one of CCC’s network pastors relayed to me via email a few stories of life change.  I’m talking stories about salvation and redemption.  Nothing like these type of stories to provide wind for our sails, eh?

I’ve realized that each life changing story is hinged to prayer.  This reality encourages me to wrestle through the many hindrances that keep me from praying to a sovereign God.

Let me share a few words from Dom John Chapman (The Tablet, 1985).

“The only way to pray is to pray; and the way to pray well is to pray much.  If one has no time for this, then one must at least pray regularly.  But the less one prays, the worse it goes.  And if circumstances do not permit even regularity, then one must put up with the fact that when one does try to pray, one can’t pray– and our prayer will probably consist of telling this to God.  As to beginning afresh, or where you left off, I don’t think you have any choice.  You simply have to begin wherever you find yourself.  Make any acts you want to make and feel you ought to make, but do not force yourself into feelings of any kind…Yes, I suspect the only thing to do is to shut out….everything else, and just give yourself to God and beg him to have mercy on you, and offer him all your distractions.”

Henri Nouwen comments on Chapman’s words by writing, “It all boils down to his main point:  We must pray not first of all because if feels goods or helps, but because God loves us and wants our attention.”

Comments?

Rob

Could you give me your help in picking the title for my next book (October 2009)? This book will be primarily on community (e.g., fellowship, relationships, etc.).  As you know this is an important theme in the cell church/small group world.

Yet, there are a lot of books on community, so we decided to focus on how a follower of Jesus needs to be more relational and community oriented. I will establish the problem (isolationism/individualism) and talk about how God uses community relationships to make us more like him. And yes, I will talk about how those leading future groups need to be shaped in community. 

My editor felt it would be best to use the term “disciple” or “discipleship” to broaden the audience (some won’t pick up a book on leadership). However, I’ve received some feedback from those who think I should direct this book toward future leaders (this has been an emphasis in my past books). I’d like to know what you think.

Could you give me your #1 and #2 favorites:

1. The Relational Disciple: the priority of living in community
2. The Relational Leader: from Isolationism to Community
3. Relational Discipleship: how God Uses Community to Shape Followers of Jesus
4. Relational Leadership: how God Uses Community to Shape Us
5. Relationships: how God uses Community to Shape Us as Followers of Jesus

Thanks, 

Joel