The Cell Church’s Two Wings Penetrate Society

ralph

by Ralph Neighbour (guest blogging for Jeff Tunnell, who is on vacation this week)

Last week we discussed the biblical foundations for a Two Winged Church. Bill Beckham has a classic text on this subject you simply must read. It is a free download from www.cellsymposium.com/articles, entitled Measuring God’s Small Group River. It reviews all the various types of structures for contemporary church life.

We would all fully agree that in the Kingdom there are no dismembered body parts! The first official act of the Holy Spirit is to baptize each new convert to become a functioning arm, leg, inward part, etc. Am I right? Yes! We must all live in community if we live in the Kingdom.

But why do we stop the principle there? Is a “Simple Church” a dismembered body part? (I am not trying to be offensive, just grieving over the separateness that seems to be built into the body?)

When I went to Singapore, we had 300 in the church. Five years later when my apostolic calling moved me on, we had 7,000. Four services on Sunday, one on Saturday night. The power of God fell on those services in awesome ways never to be matched by 8 or 10 people in a living room. And in the high rise flats of Bishan Village, Ruth and I would meet with our cell  on Tuesday nights and through the opened windows we would hear a sister cell in the adjoining building also singing worship songs.

My deep concern about the house church movement targets their rejection of the large wing lifestyle:

1. When the large wing is present, the impact into the community draws people who would never, ever be drawn to a little group of 8 or 12 meeting in a living room. Thus, Dion Robert’s massive gatherings in Abidjan has attracted even the President, along with powerful leaders in business and industry. (They then entered cell life. Same thing in El Salvador. Same thing in Uganda, where the 1,000+ cells gather and the President’s wife is a faithful cell member. I could go on and on . . .

QUESTION: HOW DOES THE SIMPLE CHURCH IMPACT THE SOCIETY AROUND IT?

2. Because of the large group wing, there is a weekly reunion of the small groups that brings cohesion and symmetry. Their separate witnesses in the community are enhanced by the larger gathering. Ride the buses in Seoul and you will find hundreds of handbags carried proudly by women cell leaders with an imprint of their main sanctuary on Yoido Island. Their handbag opens them to many hurting people who trust them on the bus to share their burdens.Yet, if you drive through the city at night you see hundreds of red neon crosses glowing to reveal a small group of 30 or so meeting in that building who have no impact on their surroundings apart from the glow of the cross.

QUESTION: HOW CAN DISMEMBERED BODY PARTS IMPACT SOCIETY?

3. One house group or small cell church that keeps multiplying when it hits 6-8 cells and remains independent will never have enough resources to serve the greater needs of the society. My classic example of what a large two wing cell church can do is the Watoto Church in Kampala, Uganda. Gary Skinner and his 1,000+ cells have built several villages of residences to house orphans of aids victims. I will never forget the drama of walking through one of them, complete with school, clinic, and underground plumbing. Harold Weitsz in South Africa is now planting an orphanage where he plants a new cell church!

I am solidly committed to the cell model. It is not just “descriptive;” it is PRESCRIPTIVE.

Dr. Ralph  W. Neighbour

Character

robby Rob Campbell

Joel’s blog yesterday spurred in my mind/heart some thoughts about one’s character in relation to community. Joel wrote:

There’s something beautiful about God’s people openly sharing, confessing sins and struggles, applying God’s Word, and asking for prayer. God is pleased when koinonia takes place because He’s a community-oriented God, dwelling in perfect unity with the other members of the Trinity. And He wants us to act like Him.

In light of these statements, a godly connection between character and community would be ideal. Don’t you think?

How do you define character? How do you recognize character? How do you know if you are a man/woman of character? These questions probed my mind today as I reflected upon character. In the various venues of life, there seems to be a large void of character among men/women.

Certainly, our homes, churches, communities and work places are crying out for people of character.

D.L. Moody said, “Character is what you are in the dark.” I like this, but I am still left searching for some handles to grasp the essence of character. Horace Mann adds that “character is what God and the angels know of us; reputation is what men and women think of us.” Character deals with one’s inner core values, convictions, thoughts and purposes. Image (or reputation) is how others perceive you and me.

Let’s dig a little deeper! The American Heritage Dictionary suggests that character is “the combination of qualities, features or attributes that distinguishes one person, group, or thing from another; moral or ethical strength; integrity; fortitude.” Karl Day summarizes these before mentioned thoughts by writing, “Character connotes noble, positive, distinguishing or defining standards of moral and ethical behavior. Implicit in the definition are such attributes as industriousness, honor, loyalty, compassion, self-control, integrity, courage, and fortitude.”

Therefore, what does character look like?

 Character is keeping appointments, being on time, honoring your commitments.

 Character is choosing the harder right instead of the easier wrong.

 Character is working through the tough times of a marriage instead of throwing in the proverbial towel.

 Character is being committed to the well-being of others even if it is personally costly.

 Character is setting a good example- even if it requires playing a difficult and unfamiliar role.

 A person of character does not envy another’s success, but rejoices in it.

 A person of character recognizes that lust is a second look and shuns even the appearance of evil.

 A person of character is self-disciplined and self-controlled.

 Character implies the courage to stand for what is right, to oppose what is wrong, and to make the effort to discern the difference.

Remember, character is developed over time. It is forged in the fires of daily living, often in adversity. It is a product of our environment, our experience, our reaction to our circumstances, and our willingness to learn.

A final thought: “People of character fear neither the light nor the dark.”

Comments?

Rob

My Journey into Cell Community

joelby Joel Comiskey

A lot of my writing on cell ministry has focused on cell evangelism, multiplication, leadership development, and growing cell churches. When talking about cell community, I’ve often referred to it as a byproduct of cell outreach and multiplication. When a cell is evangelizing, I’ve taught, the group will experience community. I’ve often warned others about the dangers of cell stagnation that comes from over-emphasizing cell community and fellowship.

God has been changing my thinking over the past year. I now see community as an essential part of cell ministry. I’ve been marveling lately in God’s triune nature, and how often Scripture talks about one-another ministry. Jesus even said that the way non-Christians will know we are His disciples is by our love and unity.

I now understand why so many cell voices have promoted relational ministry over the years. Ralph Neighbour and Bill Beckham have always seen community as an essential reason for cell ministry–maybe even the basis. Others have echoed this same sentiment. I’m a late bloomer. Yet, now I’m on board.

I realize now that it’s important to prioritize and enjoy relational ministry in the cell group–not just as a means to win people for Jesus and multiply a group, but as an essential part of cell life. There’s something beautiful about God’s people openly sharing, confessing sins and struggles, applying God’s Word, and asking for prayer. God is pleased when koinonia takes place because He’s a community-oriented God, dwelling in perfect unity with the other members of the Trinity. And He wants us to act like Him.

Thoughts?

Joel

P.S.: My new book, The Relational Disciple, explores this topic in much more detail. . .

God’s Work in El Salvador

by Mario Vega

This past week, a prestigious institute of public opinion, which belongs to the Universidad Centroamericana (UCA), directed by Jesuit priests, issued a  survey on the status of religion in El Salvador. The results are very interesting.

In the first place, 38% of the population identifies itself as Evangelical Christians while another 50% define themselves as Catholics. This means that in the past eleven years the number of evangelicals in El Salvador has doubled. Meanwhile, the number of Catholics has declined.

The evangelicals are members, in their vast majority, of four churches: Assemblies of God, Baptists, Elim and Church of God.

Another interesting fact is that 95.5% of the population claims to believe in God while only 0.5% say they don’t believe in God. 90% of the population of El Salvador affirm  that what is written in the Bible should be believed word by word and only 10% believe that it should not be believed.

The vast majority of Salvadorians believe in the existence of life after death, in salvation, heaven, hell, and Satan. Almost all believe in miracles, and most of the people pray more than three times daily. Most are of the opinion that public schools should teach the Gospel.

There is more valuable data, but what I mentioned already tells us that in El Salvador there is a visitation from God and that in the past few years God has produce a  strong interest in Himself among the people.  This is a  “kairós” moment of God, and we give Him all the praise for what He’s doing.  It also represents a huge responsibility for Salvadorian Christians.

Comments?

Mario

Translation in Spanish:

Dios en El Salvador.

En la presente semana un prestigioso instituto de opinión pública, que pertenece a la Universidad Centroamericana (UCA), dirigida por sacerdotes jesuitas, publicó una reciente encuesta sobre la condición de la religión en El Salvador. Los resultados son muy interesantes.

En primer lugar, salta a la vista que un 38% de la población se define como cristiana evangélica en tanto que otro 50% se define como católica. Esto supone que en los últimos once años la cantidad de evangélicos en El Salvador se ha duplicado. Por su parte, la cantidad de católicos ha descendido.

Esa gran cantidad de evangélicos son miembros, en su inmensa mayora, de cuatro iglesias: Asambleas de Dios, Bautistas, Elim e Iglesia de Dios.

Otro dato interesante es que el 95.5% de la población afirma creer en Dios en tanto que sólo un 0.5% afirma no creer en Dios. El 90% de la población de El Salvador afirma que se debe creer lo que está escrito en la Biblia palabra por palabra y solamente un 10% cree que no se debe creer.

La inmensa mayora de salvadoreños creen en la existencia de la vida después de la muerte, en la salvación, en el cielo, en el infierno, en Satanás. Casi todos creen en los milagros y la mayora ora más de tres veces diarias. La mayora es de la opinión que en las escuelas públicas debera enseñarse el evangelio.

Existen más datos valiosos, pero los mencionados deben servir para conocer que en El Salvador existe una visitación de Dios y que en los últimos años se ha producido un interés muy fuerte por Dios y su iglesia. Es un kairós de Dios que alabamos pero que al mismo tiempo representa una inmensa responsabilidad para los cristianos salvadoreños.

Don’t Throw the Weekly Gathering of Cells under the Bus

ralph

by Ralph Neighbour (Jeff Tunnell is on vacation for two weeks)

Recently one of my doctoral students was challenged by some pastors of traditional churches, stating that the early church only met in house groups and that there was no need for cells to gather in a public service. The current house church community endorsers take great pains to defend the position that regular gatherings of the house groups is unnecessary.  One view they endorse is that we should be guided by the Jewish Old Testament festivals and meet only a few times a year.

This flies in the face of important facts:

1. From the start of the ecclesia’s life in acts, they went from house to house and to the temple to hear the Apostles teach. We are also told that the Apostles taught both in the Temple and from house to house. That sounds to me like Bill Beckham’s reference to a “two winged church” was present from the start.

2.  1 Corinthians 16:2 reveals Paul directs that upon the first day of each week (Sunday) the congregation should set aside support for the needs of the brethren in Jerusalem. Obviously in addition to the daily house meetings there were gatherings on a weekly basis. Sunday was the chosen day for the congregational meeting.

3.  By the time Hebrews was penned (AD 65), the weekly gathering is obviously referenced as the writer says in 1 Corinthians 11:33-34, So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you may not come together for judgment. And the remaining matters I shall arrange when I come. (NASB77)

In the next blog, I will add additional reasons why the cell church that is allowed to grow and grow by the cleaving of its basic communities brings an impact to a community never possible when the house churches all exist in semi-secret in home groups.

Comments?

Ralph